Code of Conduct

Shane is a PI in Chicago who specialises in exposing cheating spouses. Out on a 'date' to expose a cheater she borrows his phone and transfers half of the balance from his secret bank account to his wife's account. Shortly after the transfer her 'date's' phone sets off an alarm, he's protected by the top secret Cipher Security. Shane makes her escape, but not before she sees and is seen by a representative from Cipher, who looks a lot like Idris Elba. Now, I don't know about you but I think Idris Elba is one seriously beautiful man so I can understand Shane's rabbit in the headlights attitude. Gabriel Eze is a British-Jamaican-Nigerian ex-soldier and ex-peacekeeper, recent joiner to Cipher. He can't help but think the tall woman with the slight limp leaving the restaurant may be connected to the theft of $500,000 from Cipher's obnoxious client. But his reason for tracking her down have very little to do with the case. This is very different from the other series I have read by April White, The Immortal Descendants but I found it equally as fascinating. She has created a whole cast of clever, interesting characters that I want to know better. Honestly the only character that I don't think warrants his own book is the man who owns the Armenian supermarket (and I'm willing to be persuaded about him). There's politics, Russian gangsters, murder, mystery, and just a whole load of fabulous intrigue. Loved it, loved Shane and Gabriel, loved Jorge, the Greenes and all the other characters. Can't wait to see what comes next. An autobuy for lovers of The Princess Bride, snarky heroines, men raised by strong women and the dark web.

4.5 stars — This was a delight from start to finish. It was so easy to fall in love with ALL OF THE CHARACTERS in this book, most especially Shane and Gabriel. They both had such interesting struggles to work through in their pasts. I love how these traumas affected who they are now, but it didn’t define all of them. I loved that, because of their burgeoning relationship, they were able to work through some of those things and gain new perspectives. They each helped the other grow, just by being themselves and supporting one another. Shane is the type of heroine that I don’t always connect with, b/c she’s so hardened by her experiences, and she likes to hide behind her shell. I’m a soft marshmallow, so I don’t always get that. But I was able to understand Shane, and connect with other parts of her. I loved (weird word) her insecurities, they made her accessible to me in that way. I loved that she was simultaneously aware of her badassness, but deep down there was still a kernel of insecurity always at work. I love that she didn’t let it stop her though, but fought to prove people wrong. I loved what I learned from her experiences as an amputee, and all the stuff with the prosthetics. Gabriel was definitely my kind of hero. He was soft spoken, kind, confident in who he was (enough to like things that aren’t traditionally masculine). It was super sexy. I loved that his strong mother, grandmother, and sister helped to shape him and his views on women. I see that in my own husband. I loved how he supported Shane, how he actively worked against his caveman tendencies, how he wasn’t afraid to admit when he was wrong. And I loved that he wasn’t perfect, that his experiences had made him overly protective of the ones he loves. I also loved the subtle ways we got to experience what life is like for him as a black man in America…perhaps especially as a British ex-pat. Some were subtle, some were overt, all were thought provoking. I loved the scene with his family, and how we got to see him interacting with them. I also loved what they gave to Shane in return. I LOVED the new secondary characters we were introduced to, most especially Sparky and Jorge. God I hope they get their own books eventually and we see more of them. I have a feeling we will with some of the Cipher Security people (like Dallas, Darius, and maybe even Van?). And while there was so much to love in this book, the cherry on top of the whip cream on top of the sundae was definitely the cameos from all of our favourite Penny Reid characters. I will admit I was worried about how well another author would represent them, but each scene was delightful…whether they made me laugh, cry, or think, it was like meeting up with old friends. I LOVED the chemistry between Gabriel and Shane, and loved watching their relationship evolve over time. You could feel the undercurrent of chemistry between them, but I appreciated how they worked their way through a working relationship and friendship to testing the waters for more. My one complaint is that I wouldn’t have minded a bit longer in the sexy times. I enjoyed the underlying suspense/mystery plot more than I expected to! It was so on the nose for things going on in our society now, and it actually sparked conversation between my hubby and I about social media, and data, and corrupt influence. Not to mention the horrors of Boko Haram. So basically, this was just an overall hit for me. It was a delight to read, and I always appreciate when a book surprises me in the best ways.

Before picking up this captivating book, April White was a completely unknown entity to me as I don’t often read paranormal or historical tales, but she has leapt far and away from her typical genres with this cleverly penned Romantic Suspense entry into Penny Reid’s Universe of Smartypants Romance. Ms. White’s volume was a seamless insertion using several of Ms. Reid’s established characters from a previous series, some I was familiar with, many I was not as I haven’t read the Knitting in the City series, although that didn’t seem to matter at all. Ms. White’s nimble writing quickly drew me into the story and held my interest and curiosity throughout. The storylines and writing style were unfailingly engaging and well-balanced between heart-squeezing insights and cleverly amusing levity. The characters were enticing, charismatic, uncommonly quirky, and highly likable. I do loves me a kickass chick and my new gal-pal Shane pulled that off with breath to spare. Shane was a striking female who deserves Superhero status given her cool bravado and sleek wardrobe of tricked-out prosthetic legs with badass gadgets hidden inside. I adored her and her new partner Gabriel as they stumbled into an intriguing case that kept mushrooming from the cheating husband scenario it started out to be. Their adventure was well-crafted and highly entertaining and sets the bar high for subsequent volumes.