Do You Ever Really Leave The CIA?
A Book Review of Two Is a Pattern by Emily Waters
Published: January 17th 2024 by Ylva Publishing
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (3.5 stars)
Genres: Crime, LGBTQIA+, Romance
Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Ylva Publishing for sending me this ebook. All thoughts and opinions are 100% honest and my own.
CW/TW: Death (including of a child), murder, guns, mention of sex work, drug and alcohol use, kidnapping, divorce, sexism, age gap, sexual content, homophobia, child abuse and foster care challenges.
A Sapphic Age-Gap Romance Between an Ex-CIA Operative and Her Professor
After leaving the CIA, Annie Weaver is lost and decides she needs a new start and applies for her second Master’s degree in a new state. All she wants to do is focus on school, but the CIA has other plans for her. While juggling classes and keeping secrets, she still finds time to fall for her landlord/professor, but something has to give, and as the pressure builds, Annie’s new life begins to crumble.
Quite Short But So Long
Although I enjoyed this book, I struggled through the slow pace of the first half, which involved a lot of establishing the premise and backstory. After about halfway, the pacing picks up, and the story flows better.
Sudden Romance
The romance between Annie and Helen made me smile. I really liked both characters and just wanted the best for them. However, I felt there wasn’t much alluding to the possibility of romance until just before they got together. I would have enjoyed seeing more pining or conflicting/confusing emotions beforehand, especially to emphasise the struggle/frustration for bi/pan people in subtly figuring out the sexuality of others.
More Romance Than Mystery
I love mystery and thrillers, and unfortunately, there wasn’t enough in this book for me. It felt more like a sapphic romance that involved an ex-CIA operative than a romantic mystery/thriller.
The CIA aspect of the book also felt flat. Annie’s cases were more brushed over or summed up. Other than it being her job, the majority of cases didn’t move the plot forward, they just filled in time. I would have loved to see a more overarching story arc with the cases.
The 90s Throwback
Two is a Pattern is set in the late 90’s, which I liked, especially when the nostalgia hit after reading a scene with a GameBoy. It was pretty interesting, though, as the 90s are history but still very modern history. So although some things are different, like technology and behaviours, everything else could be modern day. I found, at points, I had to remind myself that this was set in the 90s and not today.
Overall Thoughts
With all that in mind, I did enjoy this book. I rated it 3.5 stars. It’s a good, gentle/kind of cozy read. If you’re a fan of romance, then you’d probably enjoy it. If you like mysteries and thrillers, you may enjoy it too, but keep in mind that it is a light mystery/thriller.
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