Viper's Kiss - Shannon Curtis This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.

Expected Release Date: July 25, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Carina Press
Author’s Website: http://www.shannoncurtis.com/
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: No
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Steamy

This book started out with a bang and didn’t slow down until the very ending. We open with dowdy Maggie Kincaid, librarian for a large university, having to sneak into work so that she won’t be mobbed by her “admiring fans”. You see, Maggie, for all her prim clothes and boring lifestyle, bears a striking resemblance to a luscious model who recently posed nude for a car calendar.

Unfortunately for Maggie, this case of mistaken identity is not the only one in store for her, and minutes later she finds herself under arrest for theft and murder. It seems she’s been mistaken for a notorious international spy named Viper! But the police aren’t the only ones who want to get their hands on Maggie — the real Viper has double-crossed her boss and framed Maggie, and suffice it to say that the bossman isn’t happy. Kidnapped from the police, she must rely on her own quick thinking to escape a horrible fate when she literally stumbles into the incredibly handsome Luke Fletcher, who insists that if she wants to live, she’ll have to come with him.

Luke is a security expert charged with capturing the Viper and recovering the suit she’s stolen — a prototype of technology that can literally render the wearer invisible as it bends light particles around it. Sounding more in the realm of science fiction, the technology is frighteningly real, and the implications of it being sold on the black market are absolutely devastating.

Convinced that Maggie is actually the Viper, he presents to her seemingly irrefutable evidence of her guilt in an attempt to gain her cooperation, but Maggie insists on her innocence. Chastising himself for falling for the ploys of a master spy, he continues to interrogate her, but the more time he spends with her, the more he begins to doubt that her innocence, fear, and frustration are a ploy, as well as the harder it becomes to ignore the temptation of her body.

Soon, he not only begins to work to clear Maggie’s name, but also allows himself to give into their attraction. When more details come in, however, Luke becomes convinced that Maggie is yet again lying to him, and once again begins treating her as a suspect.

Heartbroken by Luke’s mistrust and casual disregard for their budding relationship, she escapes, determined to prove her innocence in the only way she knows how — by capturing the notorious Viper herself!

Overall, this was an incredibly fun read with just the right amount of sexual tension. A heroine whose prim facade was a result of her situation rather than lack of personality, a hero who can’t help but resist the one woman he knows he should avoid at all costs, and an exciting mystery with both espionage and just enough of a sci-fi element to appeal to the geek in all of us lead me to a solid final rating of 4/5 Stars