Proceed With Caution:
This book contains violence, death, and blood.
The Basics:
Conning for Keeps is the second book in the series, but it stands alone. There’s only a brief mention of Cal and Pen from the previous book, but no spoilers. This is an interracial romance between Marissa and Trevor, coworkers at that super secret branch of the FBI.
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed Conning for Keeps at the beginning! It’s a mash-up of all things that I adore: interracial romance, feisty ladies, fake engagement, and curses! Okay, so that last one was unexpected, weird, and not really developed, but I give the author props for trying. Marissa and Trevor are tasked with bringing in this long-lost painting that’s believed to have the ability to kill people, and is currently in the possession of a feared mafia don. The two go undercover as an engaged couple, as said mafia don is paying for his son and a bunch of other couples to get married. Yep, there is a lot going on here!
Conning for Keeps honestly did some things that I had never read before. First of all, this wasn’t just a straight forward fake engagement between two secret agents. Marissa is actually put under hypnosis so that she doesn’t slip out of character! What in the world?! I’m sure you can imagine what kind of drama that can cause for a budding romance. Being a novella, it doesn’t really “go there” but it was fun while it lasted.
There really isn’t much to say about Conning for Keeps without giving anything away. It’s a very short and quick read at just over a hundred pages. I loved how Marissa was a professional con artist and handled the mission using her unconventional skills. While there are a lot of unique elements here, I’m not sure that they worked all that well together. However, it did leave me wanting to read a novel about an actually cursed, killer painting…