Into the Light

by Samantha M. Thomas

Coming Soon...

291 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 21, 2026

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you open a book to find the dedication to your obsessively favorite movie - how can you not swoon instantly!!

First line in Chapter 1, had me sucked right in! I immediately liked Chris/Adam! I love humor in my books, and I am a sucker for it.

Four solid stars for this book. The book is broken into 2 parts, the fake identity and relationship between Chris and Nova. Part 2 revolves around Adam and Claire, as themselves. Each part had their positives and a little negative for me.

Part 1, I felt Chris's jump with Nova seemed a bit unrealistic for being uncover and risking it all. However, at the same time I loved that he showed who he was at his core and cared about protecting her. I loved that they cared about the artifacts and the history that belonged to the world. I loved Nova and all her sass. I am all about the sassy in my MFC.

Part 2, my only negative was Claire. She seemed like a different person than Nova. Which also could be fair because she was holding onto the wall of anger to be Nova. Claire was just not as strong of a female as I like. But again, this is a personal preference. Claire was also dealing with a lot, so I tried to see it from her perspective. I loved the addition of Chris's co-workers and their banter. I also really loved Chris's sisters and how their family interacted with love and humor. It was so beautiful to see Claire being loved and immediately swept into being one of them.

I am looking forward to book 2. I have a feeling it will be full of snark and sass!

* ARC provided for honest review *

[Constance Haske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! So much story in less than 300 pages! Chris is deep undercover with the US Marshalls, trying to bust an illegal ancient artifact ring, when he's enchanted by Nova, a dancer who's also not who she seems. He knows that he shouldn't let her affect him, but yet he's drawn to her anyway. Nova has one goal: to take down the drug lord who stood by while her twin brother died of an overdose. She can't let a man in her boss's employ steal her focus. Over time they get closer, but only as their fake personas. A successful sting operation uncovers their true identities and tears them apart.

This book is uniquely written in two parts - part one is their budding relationship under their false identities. Part two is Nova and Chris (actually Claire and Adam), reunited six months later, learning to be themselves again and with each other, processing their trauma, oh and did I mention - the one time Chris and Nova hooked up resulted in a surprise pregnancy? Don't presume that part two is just two calm, rational adults working towards a shared future (though that's a part); there is still plenty of action and edge-of-your-seats moments. This book is one part Indiana Jones, one part True Lies, and an entirely captivating read.


Tropes
Secret Identity
Surprise Pregnancy
Hurt/comfort
Organized Crime
Found family
Age gap

ARC received free, opinions are my own.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!

Chris (Who is really Adam) and Nova (who is really Claire) were perfect together. }

This book stood out to me because it is less than 300 pages but yet is split into two parts, and the story moves quickly, but you don't feel you missed anything!

Part 1 is the start of their story, and this is where we meet Chris and Nova. These two were drawn to each other instantly. I loved Chris and the humor that he had, especially with his internal thoughts that we get to see. I also loved Nova and her strength and sass with Chris. Chris made sure to show Nova who he really was underneath everything, and I loved how he cared for and protected her.

In Part 2 we get to see them as Adam and Claire navigating life after everything that happened and with Claire being pregnant. I loved how they didn't immediately jump into being together; it was still a slow build-up, and it was perfect for these two, especially with everything that had happened and what was still going on.

Overall,
I really enjoyed this story and the side characters!! I am super excited to see where book 2 takes us!

Thank you Samantha for the ARC of this book

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Into the Light is the first book in Thomas' Arcane Connections series. This romantic suspense features Adam Morrison (aka Christopher Roth) and Nova Olsen (aka Claire Daniels).

Adam, 38, has been a US Marshall for 16 years. Most of his assignments are undercover. He's been undercover with the Cano Cartel for the past 10 months as Christopher Roth and has slowly climbed the ranks. He's determined to bring down Oscar Cano.

While on assignment, Adam meets Nova. The 28-year old is working as an exotic dancer in a club owned by Cano. Her twin brother, Charlie, died as a result of Cano and now Nova wants retribution.

The book is split into two parts. The first is mostly the undercover aspect and how Chris and Nova connect and get involved while the second looks at Adam and Claire, no longer hiding who they are. The story itself was quite captivating. While there were some aspects that required a bit of a stretch to believe, I was still engrossed in this blossoming love story and wanting to see if justice would be served. The main characters are both quite likable, and I enjoyed the suspense aspect that was folded in. Meeting Adam's extended team was also fun. I liked their interactions and hope they make appearances in future installments to this series.

[Stephanie Skiffington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a unique story and I loved every minute of it! Also a very quick read. Chris is an undercover US Marshall trying to take down an illegal artifact ring. He meets Nova in a strip club and he was instantly intrigued. He asks her to go out and everything changes. They help each other out, but they don't want to get any closer. But one job lets out their true identities and she is not happy. I like that there are two parts and the second part follows their true identities (Claire and Adam) six months later. But she is also SURPRISE pregnant from when they hooked up. I love the action, secrets, indiana jones vibe, and shocking moments. I can't wait for the next one!

[Darlingvbookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story! I really enjoyed "Chris" and "Nova". The mysteries, the secrets! How everything unfolded.. when I thought I knew where the story was going I was blindsided by something else. It was an amazing way to keep me hooked. Loved their relationship from the beginning, plus the case surrounding them as well. I can't give any more without spoiling so give this story a chance: it has an undercover agent, secrets, immediate love connection, danger.. everything to keep you guessing! And I loveee the relationship between the team. Great start to this series!

[Nicole Wills · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a whirlwind! Things between these two are destined to be complicated from the beginning considering that they're both undercover when they meet. Things only get more complicated as time goes by, and it was fun to watch them both work through the things they needed to. The team and Maisie definitely added a bit of found family aspect, along with Adam's sisters and I found myself looking forward to seeing them interact. I'm interested to see what happens next.

[Shae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a wild ride and I loved every second of it! This book is full of secret identities for both MCs, twist and turns you don’t see coming, and all over such a fun time! I love this book and cannot wait for the rest of this series.

[Shannon Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow.. this book had me on the edge of my seat. There are so many secrets and action taking place it keeps your attention. There are twist and turns that you don’t expect but it was definitely a great book.
I received this arc and these are my opinions