In a Fix by Linda Grimes

Synopsis: The start of an original new urban fantasy series starring human chameleon Ciel Halligan

Snagging a marriage proposal for her client while on an all-expenses-paid vacation should be a simple job for Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor extraordinaire. A kind of human chameleon, she’s able to take on her clients’ appearances and slip seamlessly into their lives, solving any sticky problems they don’t want to deal with themselves. No fuss, no muss. Big paycheck.

This particular assignment is pretty enjoyable... that is, until Ciel’s island resort bungalow is blown to smithereens and her client’s about-to-be-fiancé is snatched by modern-day Vikings. For some reason, Ciel begins to suspect that getting the ring is going to be a tad more difficult than originally anticipated.

Going from romance to rescue requires some serious gear-shifting, as well as a little backup. Her best friend, Billy, and Mark, the CIA agent she’s been crushing on for years—both skilled adaptors—step in to help, but their priority is, annoyingly, keeping her safe. Before long, Ciel is dedicating more energy to escaping their watchful eyes than she is to saving her client’s intended.

Suddenly, facing down a horde of Vikings feels like the least of her problems.

Review: This book was a real surprise for me. I confess I was immediately attracted by the synopsis, well we don’t often meet human chameleons in literature, or it wasn't my case until now. I therefore was very intrigued to discover something new and to learn more about this incredible talent. 

We discover a young heroine, Ciel (I never thought it was possible to use "Ciel" as a name, but I really love the idea), a woman who sells her services to the persons who need it, well the ones who can pay her as well. She can become any persons if we ask her, and when her last client asks her to replace her to get her wedding ring, the job doesn’t seem so difficult. But she is so wrong, and while she finds the ring, her “fiancé” Trey is kidnapped by some modern Vikings, and the bungalow where they lived, is blown up. So many things that weren’t in her planning. Besides, when she realizes that her cousin Billy keeps an eye on her, as the best friend of her brother, Mark, she is really angry. But it’s not even the end. When despite everyone tells her what to do, she decides to check on her Client’s health, she finds herself in a compromising situation. Kidnapped when she looked like Mina, the Trey’s girlfriend, she will end in a big, complex story. But, well, she is lucky enough to always attract the most crazy and dangerous situations in a second. And when she begins to understand that she is attracted by Billy and Mark, and that they’re not indifferent either, things get even more complicated.

I must say that I really loved these two men. They’re totally different and both of them really interesting! It’s difficult to really understand Mark or to know what he wants from our beautiful heroine. He is very secretive but we know that he would do anything to protect Ciel. Billy, is more like the ugly duckling of the family, always immersed in something suspicious, but he is also very intriguing (well if not, it wouldn’t be so fun). We understand easily his interest for our heroine and he will do anything to win her attention, for her to see him differently. I loved their arguments all along the book, or even the Ciel’s attempts to avoid all the orders that everyone gives her. It’s a heroine who has a wonderful sense of humor, something that is very pleasant to discover with the chapters. She is funny, not very lucky but so determined when she decides to do something. Well, even if it’s always synonym to a new disaster.

From the start of the book I was hooked by the plot and the rhythm of the story. This volume is very different from the urban fantasy novels I read before, I even thought I have a girl like Stephanie Plum in a different world. Well I really loved this book and I’m so curious to learn more now. I highly recommend this new series!