If you know one thing about me, and so far you do because this is my only my second blog, it's that I love spy shows and movies.
Someone walking through a store or market and stealing things to change their appearance while on the run? I’m there.
A couple in formal wear at a lavish event where they’ll set a trap for the villain? Yes, please! Let's get fancy!
Using planes, trains, and various car chases to see beautiful locales all around the world? Travel without needing my passport!
Explosions, shoot outs, and high-stakes leaps off tall buildings? Love to watch it, don’t want to do it myself. Thanks, for the armchair thrill ride!
I will watch just about anything with spies, secret agents, and hired killers with (or without) a heart of gold. Some of my favorite shows in this genre include: Homeland, The Americans, Killing Eve, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and Nikita (2010). Unfortunately, the aforementioned favorites rarely seem to have romances that last, since the point is generally espionage and saving the world, not finding True Love™, which is a bummer, because you know what else I love? Rom coms. Give me the happy ending wrapped in a neat little bow! True Love’s kiss! Romance tropes! *swoon*
Anyway...some spy-type movies and shows like Chuck and The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) do fall into this “spy rom com” sub-genre, but it wasn’t until I stumbled across Ally’s Carter’s The Blonde Identity that I thought to look for books with humorous spy stories and romance. I’d read some of Carter’s previous books about teenage spies and heists - I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You and Heist Society, come to mind - but I loved this one even more. Inspired by Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity (the books that became the Matt Damon films), our main character wakes up in Paris with amnesia and is immediately mistaken for her identical twin sister who is apparently a rogue spy. Her love interest is also a spy, and together while on the run they must find out what happened to her sister, while various romance novel tropes like forced proximity, fake dating, and grumpy/sunshine ensue.
The Blonde Identity began my journey for readalikes, and you can find several series in the list I created below in case you, too, enjoy romcom spy stories. I also added some titles with similar vibes that feature heists, assassins, and bodyguards if that’s more your thing. I know my TBR list just got longer, and I hope you can find something here to spark your interest as well.
Secret agents, hired killers, and career criminals find love amidst mistaken identities, international travel, and humorous hijinks.
