Review: Under His Name by M.A. Grant

Title: Under His Name

Series: Accidentally Undercover: Book Five

Author: M.A. Grant

Length: 182 Pages

Category: Romantic Suspense

Rating: 4 Stars

At a Glance: M.A. Grant throws two men together in a forced proximity situation of no small magnitude, and then allows them to reevaluate their misperceptions and first impressions. All leading to the promise of something more, something real.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: Sam Walch has never tried to match up to his flashy, high-spirited twin brother Brad in anything—school, sports, or romance. Competing against Brad only led to disappointment and heartbreak, which is why Sam stayed in town after their mom’s death and let Brad take off for grander adventures. After years being stuck in neutral, Sam finally plans a dream trip to Malta to start a new chapter in his life. Too bad a hospital phone call about his long-lost brother comes just days before he’s due to step onto the plane.

Agent Nicolas Conti and his promotion-minded colleague Brad Walch had an easy gig: observe the target, seduce and infiltrate, and gather the intelligence needed to take down the guy’s boss. But a stupid accident lands Brad in the hospital instead of their target’s bed and leaves Nicolas holding the bag. With time on the op running out, he has no choice but to convince (okay, blackmail) Brad’s twin Sam to step in and cover, so they can finish this final job and punch his ticket to freedom.

The only problem? Sam is nothing like Brad, a fact Nicolas finds harder to ignore every passing day. The op seems doomed to fail, until Sam catches the target’s attention by being … himself. Now Nicolas has to decide which is more important: using Sam to get out of the spy game for good, or protecting the self-sacrificing man from everyone, including himself.

Review: Sam Walch is a classic cinnamon roll. His twin brother, Brad, is a classic dipshit. Nicolas Conti is the classic grump to Sam’s sunshine. And there you have it: the ingredients for a fun romantic suspense story that throws Sam into a scenario in which he learns to stop underestimating himself and draws Nicolas out from behind his hardened exterior to show he really does have a soft inside.

The way Sam is conned into the covert op his brother royally hosed is some classic smoke and mirrors, but once Sam’s in, he’s in it lock, stock, and smoking barrel. The unnamed agency for which Nicolas and his handler, Beverly, work is gunning for a human trafficker. How could Sam, in good conscience, possibly say no to helping? Even if he’s being blackmailed to do it. Even if it means he has to have the case solved in three days so he can make his flight to Malta for a hard-earned vacation.

M.A. Grant throws two men together in a forced proximity situation of no small consequence, and then allows them to reevaluate their misperceptions and first impressions. All while giving Sam the spotlight he’d always been denied because he lived in his narcissistic brother’s shadow. There are warm moments among the danger, some intrigue among the sharing, some flirting amidst the suspense, leading to the promise of something more, something real.