Code of Conduct

Cipher Security Series, Book 1

By: Smartypants Romance, April White

Narrated by: Cornell Collins, Anastasia Watley

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

There are three things you need to know about Shane P. I.  

1. P.I. is not her last name, it's her job title 
2. Her specialty is catching cheaters
3. She's a superhuman - kind of.  

Gabriel is a security expert for Cipher Security, and a former UN Peacekeeper with a fierce protective streak that finds its focus on the beautiful P.I. Their attraction is like an elephant in a room full of breakable things, and figuring out how to trust each other with their hearts, and maybe their lives, is the most fragile thing of all.  

Contains mature themes.

©2019 Smartypants Romance (P)2020 Tantor

Extremely slow and boring

I was looking forward to this book. The premise was great, but fell short of an interesting story line. The characters and their stories weren’t developed and they didn’t have back up character stories to give the readers a break from listening to them do nothing everyday. The male characters voice sounded like he was 80 years old with a stick up his behind. I made myself finish and it was painstakingly miserable. Not worth an audible purchase.

Swoooon! And I have a new online bio

SPOILERS AHEAD

Short of it already being taken, I will forever explain in my bios and in person that the type of guy I am searching for is my Star Lord to my Gamora. Now, I just have to be as badass as Gamora and I’ll be halfway there!

I haven’t written a review in a while but hats off for this book being the positive trigger for it. I appreciated that there were bits of real life added to the scene where Gabriel was being interrogated. Of course, if it had been MORE real in the scene leading up to it, I would have likely dropped this book like a hot potato, pulled my hair out and gone running madly into the wind. HEAs and ridiculously, sickeningly sweet is my escape and that would have been a bit too much “real”. I live this issue and so many other social justice issues in my professional and personal life daily and HEAs are part of my self-care routine. That said, I greatly appreciate the acknowledgment of it because that would have left me queasy, too. I also appreciate that the author chose not to have Gabriel express his feelings on the issue. I don’t know anything about the author’s background but I hope they let that hang out there 1) because they can’t really know what he would feel and 2) every experience is unique to that person and it wouldn’t be fair to imply that everyone would come out of the experience in the same way.
As for the build between S.Hane and Gabriel, it was a VERY slow burn and the self-restraint on both sides was almost unbelievable. Having just finished the book, though, I think I need to rest on it a bit. It’s making more sense to me as I think on the characters and there back stories. While reading, I tend to be in the “what happens next” mode rather than the “let me reflect on this” mode.

It’s been a while but I now want to go back and read the knitting series all over again. I’ve fallen in love with those characters all over again. Very excited to listen/read to the other Smartypants books as well. The audiobooks are great.
I’m hoping Sparky, Han, and Van get their own stories, too.

Too much drama

Life is hard, but both lead characters have serious mental health issues. They both need to work on liking themselves before moving on to an intimate relationship. We all have to make tough choices but some of the choices both leads had to make are impossible. Gabriel has a strong support system with his immediate family. He needs to heal all those relationships before getting into a relationship with a woman. Shane does not. She blames others for relationship issues that are between her and the other guy. She needs to heal the relationship with her mom prior to getting into another relationship. My ex hubby cheated on me and I feel sorry for his new girlfriend. IJS

Perfection. Smart, nerdy references and characters you love.

I never leave reviews, but this one warrants one. I love Penny Reid and this series could have been written by her it’s that good. April has all of the right elements in it and characters you adore. I’m sad it’s over.

painful attempt at south Boston accent

I couldn't get past the first few chapters. trying to listen to a Brit poorly attempt a Southie (south Boston) accent, is just painful to the ears. if you've listened to, and loved, marriage of inconvenience, don't even try the Audible.

Love this!

I did not know what to expect when I started this book, to be honest I was not as excited about the Cipher Security setting for this launch. But this book blew it out of the park! I loved it! Shane and Gabriel have amazing chemistry and are a witty couple. The plot kept me guessing and I loved how April White built her world. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves smart, steamy and witty romance!

Another strong interesting woman!!!

I am a huge fan of the “Knitting in the City” series and very happy for this addition, well done April! I was a little wary in the beginning with the male narrator only because I had Dan and Quinns’ original voices still in my head. Once I let that go I throughly enjoyed the book!

loved the non-typical main characters

I loved that the hero and heroine were not typical , bringing some diversity to the romance genre. It was definitely slow burn with dry humor, which was a nice change of pace from my usual romance picks. I found it a bit heavy in the social commentary, particularly as the author seemed to be trying to address multiple social/political issues in one romance book.

Romantic,smart an funny who need more?

The 2 main hero, are venerable and strong. Stand alone but works great together. Couldn’t stop listen.

Fascinating story!

This was a very adult story with more swearing and sex than I'm used to reading teen books. The story was interesting and the characters were engaging. I was rooting for both main characters and loved the ending. The narrators did a great job!