Under the Rose

Codex Series, Book 2

De: Kathryn Nolan

Narrado por: Troy Duran, Samantha Summers

From the outside, the gorgeous Freya Evandale seems like a quirky bookworm with a taco addiction. Most people would never guess she's a proud drop-out of the FBI's training academy and a highly skilled computer nerd. These days, she's happy as a private detective at Codex, specializing in stolen rare books.

That is until an old nemesis with an arrogant smirk and superhero shoulders ends up in her office.

Special Agent Sam Byrne is a tightly-wound workaholic with a secret...or 10. When a betrayal leaves him questioning his career with the Bureau, consulting for Codex seems like the perfect place to hide. But he certainly never expected to see Freya again. At the academy, their rivalry was legendary. And their sparring sessions resembled an actual battle, or worse...foreplay.

Now these enemies are forced to play nice as they go undercover to infiltrate a secret society. It's a dangerous world of power, wealth, and shifting alliances. The higher the stakes, the harder it is to resist the true reason behind their rivalry. But surrendering to years of pent-up lust is a direct threat to their mission...and their safety.

Contains mature themes.

©2020 Kathryn Nolan (P)2021 Tantor

Sam is sweet

The beginning of the book is definitely a slow burn but overall very cute. The narrator for Freya isn’t my favorite but Sam, Sam is amazing!

3 chili peppers

Only 2.5 spicy scenes. The chemistry was good. But the storyline was meh. Blah blah

Exhilarating!

“The element of surprise is a crucial part of my leadership style.” -Abe Royal

Under the Rose takes us back to the intricate underworld where high society trades in stolen, priceless literary artifacts. Codex agents are once again needed to infiltrate an Antiquarian Convention as undercover operators to recover recently stolen letters of famous literary couple.
On this case, Codex gets help from temporarily available FBI agent Sam Byrne, who happens to have a complicated history with Freya, and as they work together to expose the secret society involved in the latest theft, they’ll have to navigate their feelings towards each other and overcome the demons of their past.
The narration is spot on and the story comes alive around you as you listen.
This book is a phenomenal combination of suspense and romance, the glamorous wealth and the intrigue of the prohibition-era historic location. It captivates you from page one and keeps you on the edge until the very end!

Great story… exhausting narrator.

As always, Troy Duran was excellent. But Samantha Summers was slow and stilted the entire time. A third of the way through I took to stopping every chapter so I could speed up her parts 1.15x just to have it sound somewhat normal and just tried to ignore her pacing. I do not like criticizing voice actors, I know it’s difficult. But this needed to be completely redone.

That being said, I did love the story and wanted to finish. It was very sweet, even if some loose ends were left. I’ll have to see if they are addressed in the third installment!

Sam and Freya

Sam and Freya were adversaries constantly bickering and fighting during College and at Quantico. But really it was them fighting their feelings. Freya dropped out and went into the private sector and Sam never really got over her. 7 years later he is forced to step back from the FBI to fix himself and consult with the codex team only to find the woman he has never gotten out of his system is now his new temporary partner and they are forced to work with each other on the recovery of Sands love letters. Read or listen to this fun and steamy enemies to lovers tale and their HEA

Female Narrator

Samantha Summers is a poor reader. Troy Duran is fantastic and I like the author, but I’m unsure I’ll be able to finish this book because of of the slow and choppy pace of female reader. I’m taken out of the story every time it’s her turn to read. Unfortunately might have to return. What a waste.