Review Tuesday: No More Secrets by Fiona McGier -- #SecretAgent #EroticRomance #ReviewTuesday

No More Secrets by Fiona McGier (Minnesota Romances #4)

Smashwords, 2020

Oscar-winning actress Kelly Ann Sheridan is on location in Columbia, filming a new movie at the mansion of a wealthy oligarch. Though she takes her work seriously, she finds herself distracted by Felipe, temporary tutor for their host’s children. She’s eager to know Felipe better, despite her gut feeling that the Latin charmer is not who he pretends.

Her instincts are on target. “Felipe” is in fact U.S. government agent Tomas Escobedo, who is working undercover in Columbia, looking for evidence to incriminate the vicious drug lord living on the neighboring hacienda. Tomas knows he shouldn’t get involved with the vivacious blond beauty – and certainly that he shouldn’t confide in her – but the chemistry between them is too strong for him to resist. She proves to be not just gorgeous, but also brave and clever. Together they hatch an audacious plan to acquire the proof Tomas needs – a plan that just might get both of them killed.

Anyone who believes that vanilla heterosexual erotic romance is bland and unexciting should pick up a novel by Fiona McGier. She understands the way love can amplify lust, and vice versa. Most of her couples have active sex lives before they meet – in Kelly’s and Tomas’ case, very active! - but the whole experience changes when they connect with one another. What may start out as recreational sex turns into something very different, profoundly satisfying as well as exquisitely pleasurable. Ms. McGier probably wouldn’t use a term as cheesy as “soul mate”, but when Kelly Ann and Tomas finally manage to consummate their attraction, there’s a sense of emotional rightness, along with off-the-charts erotic heat.

No More Secrets is the fourth book in Ms. McGier’s Minnesota Romance series. One of the joys in reading it was reconnecting with characters from previous books. I especially enjoyed the reappearance of Kelly Ann’s mother and step-father, Stella and Ivan from Her Last Resort. As former spies themselves, neither is enthusiastic about having an agent for a son-in-law. There’s a very funny scene when Stella and Tomas first meet. I won’t spill the beans by saying anything more, but if you’ve read Stella’s and Ivan’s story, I guarantee you’ll appreciate the interaction.

Overall I liked No More Secrets. However, the character of Kelly Ann seemed to me to be implausibly immature. Based on the series time line, she’s supposed to be in her thirties, but sometimes she acts like a ditzy undergraduate rather than a seasoned professional who has spent more than a decade in the movie business. For instance, when Tomas takes her out for a tour of the local nightspots, she allows a bunch of guys get her so drunk that she’s too sick to act on her lust for Tomas. That’s not the behavior I’d expect, given her supposed age and experience. A woman in her mid to late thirties would have known better.

My other, much more minor, complaint involves the author’s attempt to link this story with an earlier book in which Tomas first appears. I understood that Ms. McGier was trying to give readers a sense of his history, but the references to characters I hadn’t met and events I hadn’t read about just confused me. Fortunately this was a brief section of the book, and not really necessary in order to appreciate the rest of the story.

Neither of these issues spoiled the book for me. If you like red-hot romance with sassy, self-confident characters, I recommend this novel. Actually, you should read the first three books in the series first. If you do, you’ll enjoy this one even more.