#8 [2025/CBR17] Mr. Nice Spy by Tiana Smith

I downloaded the audiobook of Mr. Nice Spy (2024) by Tiana Smith because it looked like a fun book to listen to on my commute. I'm a big fan of adventurous romances with hunky, protective men, and I figured a book with a CIA agent as its hero would be right up my alley. Mr. Nice Spy started out well. Adam Chan, before we even know he's a CIA agent, saves our heroine (Andee Paxton) from a hulking man who is after her. He's immediately interested in Andee, and manages to clearly convey that to her without being overbearing or creepy.

After a very compelling first scene, the story gets kind of crazy. It's still entertaining, but you definitely just have to go with the flow. Andee is a young, single woman who works as a fireworks designer (cool job). Andee's mother had always told her that her father was a famous actor. After seeing her presumed actor father on TV talking about DNA testing, Andee decides to get tested herself to know the truth once and for all.

Suddenly Andee's been picked up by the CIA after a (very illegal) search of her apartment. They inform her that her father is actually the very dangerous, recently escaped prisoner, and international arms dealer named Holt. They want Andy to work with the CIA. Their plan is that they use her like a pawn in order to draw Holt out, so they can nab him again. Adam Chan is one of the CIA agents, and for what it's worth, he advises her against working with the CIA because its too dangerous and he's interested in dating her.

Before Andee can even make up her mind, both Andee and Chan are kidnapped by Holt and brought to a secret lair in the catacombs of Paris. Holt knew he had a long, lost daughter, and he's been looking for her for years. He had the DNA results even before the CIA, and he acted too quickly for them. He wants Andee (who he calls Karma) to join him in his diabolical scheme to wreak havoc all over the world. Andee and Chan pretend to be a couple, so the gangster won't find out that Chan is CIA. Luckily, they are given a little room dug out of the caves with a rustic ensuite. 

The longer the book went on, the more bonkers the plot got. I liked some of the scenes with Andee and Chan getting to know each other and becoming closer, but the pacing sometimes felt off. I even got a little frustrated at the end when Andee is dragged back into it all over again. In the end, I did like the characters, but this wasn't a favorite for me.