Private Eye

The Spies Who Loved Her #2

by Katrina Jackson

Every Thursday night Kenny logs into Maya's camroom for a private, steamy session that leaves them both giddy, breathless and hungry for more. Their online relationship is complicated. She's a sex worker and he's her client. He's a spy and she was once his surveillance subject. Technically there are only two degrees of separation between them, but only Kenny knows that. What works online could never work in the real world, right? That's why they have to hide - even from each other - that their feelings run much deeper than they should.
When Kenny finally gets the chance to train under Monica, this career-defining opportunity comes with a catch: he has to tell Maya who he is and confess his deception, because the spies need her help to bring down an international arms ring.
Maya is heartbroken to find out that Kenny has been deceiving her for months. She struggles to reconcile the man she used to fantasize about and the one in front of her. But she agrees to help him for one reason: she needs the money. Or at least that's what she tells herself.
The entire mission hinges on the two being a believable couple in Maya's camroom to lure an Albanian mobster into a trap. In the process, they find that their online connection is even stronger offline. But is it strong enough to keep them alive when they have to walk into the mobster's lair and put on the performance of their lives?

Private Eye is the second book in The Spies Who Loved Her series. These erotic romantic suspense novels are about sexy secret agents and the civilians who bring them to their knees.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Smut, Adult, Erotica

382 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 7, 2019

About the author

Katrina is a seasoned spinster with an active imagination, a love of romcoms and a keenly critical nature. She's a college professor by day who writes romances by...weekend. Right now she also happens to be on summer vacation. She enjoys yogurt, sparkling water and her three cats, who don't appreciate her love.

Reviews

[mina reads™️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i will now describe this book in three words: Horny spy excellence

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was SO FUN. I love how this was a spy romance and how Kenny was falling for Maya before they even met when he was watching her to check up on her for a case. It was so cute how they both fell for each other virtually and then actually had to work together for a case Kenny was working on. Things were definitely spicy between those two and I loved their chemistry. I will say, most of the book does take place in their apartments and I wish there was a bit more thrill, seeing as they're spies trying to take down a dangerous arms dealer. I also didn't enjoy the random shifts in POV of characters we barely knew. Those took me out of the story and I just wanted to get back to Kenny and Maya. Kenny was just so adorable and I loved how sweet he was to Maya. I also loved how confident Maya was as a plus-size cam girl. This was just a fun time and I can't wait to read more by Katrina Jackson!

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is like that "fbi agent assigned to me falls for me while he looks through the webcam" LMAOO but instead of an fbi agent, the hero is a spy and yup he's assigned to the heroine to check in on her because the bad guys are logging into her camgirl sessions, but he falls for her and now can't seem to tell her he is a spy.

it was so good, Katrina Jackson made me go through a roller coaster of emotions and I thank her for them. I had the time of my life!!! I actually literally love all the characters in this book? And all of them have their own little stories, so if you find yourself wanting to read about x character you can!!!!

Kenny and Maya are iconic! Spy x camgirl romance you crave and it's amazing. The softness. The blushes Kenny provides (he's so into Maya he just can't help blush when he is in front of her). A sex club. Yearning!!!! This book has everything and you will love it I am sure of this.

Also Kenny has the "has broken his nose at least once" trope. We love to see it.

[Audrey ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF’d at 65%

At first, I was really enjoying this but for some reason I just couldn’t care enough about the mission and felt like parts of this book wasn’t necessary. It just felt dragged out.

Also, Kierra is annoying and I wish there wasn’t a lot of perspectives. I only cared for Kenny and Maya, not everyone else

[Adriana Martinez Figueroa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Kenny and Maya!! I will marry kenny.

[Leigh Kramer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure if I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind while reading or what because I fully expected to enjoy the ride, like I did with the first book in this series—you have to suspend disbelief and treat it like a caper but it was fun and sexy. This installment, however, tested me on several fronts. First, I wish that we’d only had Kenny and Maya’s POVs. I loved both of them and thought they were great together, starting with the meet-disaster, figuring out if their online connection could translate to real life, and the rest. If we had just stuck with them, I would have enjoyed this much more because I really was in their corner. Their sex scenes were hot, beyond what Maya did as a cam model. Maya was particularly wonderful and I adored her confidence. Whenever we got a different POV, which was frequent, I was yanked out of the story and frequently annoyed with whoever was now narrating, especially Kierra. Which leads me to my second issue: the severe lack of professionalism. Your mileage may vary (the majority of my friends loved this after all) but Monica, Lane, and Kierra were extremely unprofessional and their lack of personal and professional boundaries really got under my skin. Especially when Kierra had a viewing party for Maya and Kenny’s on camera work which is part of the mission. Did I get that the session would need to be monitored? Absolutely. But a viewing party? Especially without asking or telling Maya and Kenny about it? This really bothered me. Someone asked them if they were really spies or just horny and the only answer is they’re just horny. This story took danger bang to new levels, which also didn’t work for me. Next, “breathed” is used as a dialogue tag 75 times. I was cringing by the end any time it was used. Last, Kenny is only ever described as Asian but since we get his POV and he is the main character…wouldn’t he think of himself in terms of his specific ethnicity? This struck me as a misstep, although I'm white so I'll defer to Asian reviewers. I normally love Katrina Jackson’s stories but this was a miss for me.

Character notes: Maya is a Black cam model. Kenny is an Asian spy. This is set in New Jersey and they travel to San Francisco

CW: hero is a spy, on-page gunfire and bombing villains, murder in self-defense, physical assault, heroine’s mother died of a stroke two years ago and she became guardian of her teen brother and sister (they’re now in college), past torture and imprisonment, online sexual harassment, slut-shaming (countered), alcohol, secondary character grew up in foster care, references to white supremacist gang, reference to human trafficking, ableist language

[Bree Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

♡ worshipping hero
♡ cam girl heroine
♡ super-steamy
♡ alpha mellow hero
♡ Interracial romance

Katrina Jackson is quickly becoming a favorite.

I knew I needed to read this book simply because of the premise: the heroine is a cam girl and the hero is a spy who is supposed to be watching her cam room for work, but quickly starts falling for her and becomes a regular customer.

OMG Kenny is one of my all-time favorite heroes. He's definitely a worship-the-ground-the-heroine-walks-on-hero that I love and there are definitely bonus points for Maya actually deserving his praise. She's a confident, plus-size, business-savvy cam model and I adored her, too.

After reading this book, I know I HAVE to read the first book in this series. I am hoping it follows the polyamorous relationship that is happening between the side characters in this book.

Rep: Asian hero, Black & Plus Size heroine, Black author

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katrina Jackson really broke the mold with this one. The sexual tension was off the charts and I think this will definitely be my favorite of the series, even if I haven't finished the others yet. I loved that we got to see Maya and Kenny's relationship develop, but we also got to see Kierra, Lane and Monica develop their relationship as well. The way she integrated the stories was amazing, but what else would I expect from my fave.

[Myriamnadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Look asshole,” Maya hissed. “You don’t get to catfish me in my own cam room, burst into my apartment, tell me you’re a whole ass spy and then get me caught up with the Algerian mob.”

The second book delivered in everything I didn’t want to let go of in the first book! Thank you Katrina Jackson for keeping these characters alive so I can read more about their crazy antics and sexcapades.

[The_Book_Queen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fucking delight from start to finish!



A sex positive, queer friendly, body positive, and diverse sexy spy rom-com that you need in your life. Trust. Me.



I didn't start with book one, because I'm horrible like that, but I am positive that it is also an amazing read and would probably give you a better insight into some of the characters (especially, of course the throuple for that book, Monica, Lane, and Kierra). You bet your ass I'll be reading it soon though.



I can't say enough good things about this book. It's just . . . perfect. It's so hot and sex positive (yes, that also means sex-worker positive, remember, because she's a cam girl and it is literally NEVER A PROBLEM, amen). And I loved that Jackson filled it with great sexual tension and teasing and everything. There's actually no PIV sex until literally the last few chapters. But I was okay with this because the build-up was hot AND there was still plenty of other sex throughout the book. Mutual masturbation, sexy videos, oral and fingering/handjobs, oh my! It's alllll good.





I fell in love with the crazy-fun, crazy-horny cast of characters in this book and I cannot wait to read their stories and see them pop up again in future books.




I will note that while I LOVED this book, yes, it needed a bit more editing, as far as some grammar and punctuation. But that's okay, I'll take those errors if it means I continue to get Jackson's fun voice and writing.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still struggle to articulate in words how much I'm loving this series. I love the characters, the flirting and the sexy scenes. But also the suspense, the thrills and the danger. It's an irresistible combination for me that just gets better and better - and makes me fall in love more with each and every character in this cast.

Maya and Kenny were perfect together, and I loved their push and pull as much as the deep connection they shared throughout all the sexy and the dangerous and the angsty times. And cannot wait to read more in the series, and more about these two.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

So hot. So full of feeling. Love all the characters, happy for them to get their own stories. And the plot is enough to be believable and keep things moving ('cause it's really not the point).

That scene where she comes across a fan in the plane! So happy with that.

Also, I love it when characters talk real about their work so I loved that aspect in this.

My favorite of her books so far.

[Keisha]

DNF at 39%

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

the middle of these books sometimes tends to lag but the characters and relationships always make up for it

[Darci · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just too all over the place for my liking 😅

[Maz Hedgehog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hopelessly cute

Its cute and sexy and actiony and I adore everyone in it.

Maya and Kierra are everything i wanna be, Monica is life goals, Kenny is bae and Lane is now my book boyfriend.

Katrina is one of my perpetual insta-buys for a reason.

[b.andherbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maya is a cam girl, a profession she didn't set out to have but one she is awesome at and one she loves. She loves her body and she loves letting others see that. It pays the bills and supports herself and her family and she has no regrets.

Kenny is Maya's favorite client, a client she knows only by his user name. Kenny has good reasons for never showing Maya his face, even in their private chats. Kenny is a spy and he also kind of knows Maya in real life. She was once a surveillance subject of his and is the friend and roommate of his bosses' girlfriend.

When Kenny gets the chance to work and train under his boss Monica, he has to come clean to Maya as they need her to help catch a notorious arms dealer. Maya is outraged by his deception, but agrees to help him because she does need the money.

But, as they work together to take down the criminal, including having to pretend Kenny is Maya's boyfriend both on and off camera, their feelings cannot be denied. Maya sees Kenny is all in and she'll risk it all for him too.

I loved this story! Super sexy and hot, not a kink I'm usually into (voyeurism) but one I enjoyed reading about. I loved how supportive Kenny was. He didn't shame Maya's career, didn't force her to change careers even at the end (I'm assuming he continued on participating), and is just H-O-T hot and also the sweetest. I loved Maya as well, especially her confidence and love of her body. She's fat, she's Black, and her size was never an issue beyond being mentioned as how she looked. She's also a proud sex worker.

While you most definitely can read this as a standalone, you should really just also read Jackson's The Spies who Loved Her, as those characters do have a role in this story. Also it is just as fun and hot, so why not?!

[Ollie Z Book Minx · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book that got in its own way a bit too much and became a good book. It could *really* have benefited from tighter/sharper editing.

I love that Maya is an unapologetic cam model. She’s smart, full of entrepreneurial zeal, and a professional who knows the tools of her trade. Major props for the positive portrayal of SW - and to the concept that she discovered cam modelling from a flyer denouncing porn - and cheers for Kenny at no point asking her to give it up.

Honestly, I loved Maya and Kenny and I think they could’ve carried this book. The other characters are fun but, while I enjoyed a bunch of the zany shenanigans and sexy interludes, they mostly distracted from the main story and I found myself skimming their bits so as to get back to the “real” book.

The sex ... so much of it was so good and I’m super disappointed at the cisheteronormative focus on PIV being the only thing that “counted” as sex. These two have sex *throughout* the book and yet they keep talking about waiting cuz they haven’t had PIV. It felt rather disingenuous, especially considering 1) the amount of hot sex they’re having and 2) the backdrop of Kierra + Monica & Lane ... I mean, I’m guessing Kierra & Monica would be pretty irate at the idea that they weren’t having sex unless Lane’s cock was involved, even Lane would fight that assertion. As with the myriad POV, it pulled focus as I kept getting confused about why they were talking about “when I finally fuck you” as though they hadn’t just done so.

As for the spy stuff ... the suspension of disbelief didn’t work until I reframed this as a spy caper movie. Then it was hilarious.

[Jodie Slaughter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll start by admitting that, while I 100% plan on reading all of them, I'm going through this series a bit out of order. I started with Private Eye, mostly just because the concept made me one-click within seconds. I wasn't at all disappointed in my purchase. Kenny and Maya had me hooked immediately. Their interactions were equal parts sexy and swoon-worthy. I love that Maya's SW profession wasn't portrayed in a way that was degrading or steeped in shame or misogyny. I honestly wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy the spy element of the book but I had just as much fun with it as I did everything else. It was intriguing and perfectly played without taking anything away from the erotic love story. The way the side characters are weaved in throughout Private Eye is so genius - you can't help but want to go devour their books too. With a really cool plot, well-developed characters, and incredibly hot scenes, I can't think of anything I disliked about this book. I can't wait to dive into the other books in the series.

[Zayah Wrights · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katrina Jackson has proven, once again, that she can never write a bad book and I'm here for it all...

This rocked my socks right off and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy I can hold in my hands every once in a while. There's just a lot of things I loved about this book:

1. Kenny and Maya are such couple goals it makes no sense. For a great portion of the book, who they were and who they wanted to be matched so damn bad with their emotions, their actions, their intentions and their inner thoughts. I loved them both together as a couple and as individuals. I will gladly marry Kenny if Maya (for some undisclosed reason) doesn't want to.

2. The different forms of representations we had weaved into every essence of this book. From the seamless polyamory rep to the interracial relationship/s, to the queer/LGBTQIA+ rep, to the sex worker rep and the found family rep. Every facet of livelihood and community that Katrina Jackson touches on is explored in the most humane and passionate ways that I have ever come across.

3. The fact that Maya and Kenny had a hard time reconciling the memories they were making and the feelings they were feeling with their relationship was a depth I hadn't expected to be introduced to. Here is a couple (?) who haven't been in each other's lives for long and who were working hard to get to know each other, going on a deadly mission with so many parts at risk and they're experiencing each other in contexts they hadn't thought of before and it being their first time being together in these capacities! What was for work sure did blend in with what was for them personally and I liked the way they handled everything.

4. I loved the fact that Maya's profession was treated as such: a profession. And one that requires so much time, consideration, planning, execution, etc. like every other one out there. The fact that her sex work didn't pose any threat to her relationship with Kenny was a refreshing aspect to experience, especially because I was lowkey expecting him to change up on her and suddenly develop some resentment because of the work she does now that she's with him. None of that happened, though, and I can't tell you how happy I was for that alone!

5. The simplified spy-talk/stuff. The fact that every single part of this book was easy to read and grapple with made me love it all the more. It was detailed where it needed to be and the descriptions used, especially on Kenny's POV and about his job and The Agency, were daunting at first but I had nothing to fear.

6. No third act break-up.

This is just a short list of things I absolutely lived for! And, though I rate this book a perfect 5 stars, there's just one point I can think of right now that made me put it down for a couple of days before picking it back up:

Too many moving parts. Sometimes it got distracting how many characters we had interacting with each other in a single page and that made the story feel like it was dragging on and on and on... It was a never-ending, winding journey that almost got up to my neck. Another one was that of too many bloody POVs. Omg. It was so draining having to be in so many people's heads and inner thoughts and feelings. There were parts where I was reading just to finish the chapter, not because I was interested or invested in what that particular character had going on in their head and personal life. Would've appreciated it more if the focus on our main couple didn't wane as the book kept going.

[Angela Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It balances the sexy moments and the sweet moments so well and it was just an absolute delight to read! Katrina Jackson really does write the best male protagonists proving that not all men need to be alphaholes. They can be badass, sexy and dangerous while still being the most gooey cinnamon rolls 😍

I loved Kenny and Maya instantly I didn’t need to be convinced. From page 1 I was sold 🤣 their chemistry was great and the way he loved her?! Too good. I loved the plot of the story and this new to me sub genre of romance, spies and secret government agencies. It’s fun and pretty cool. The way Katrina Jackson weaves in the side plots and side characters’ stories is so gripping! It makes you want to read all the other books so you learn about Kierra and Lane and Monica and Chanté and Asif and Lamont and Caleb 😂 I was so thirsty for anything about Chanté I ended up reading the entire series! That’s how good the book is.

[Renée Dahlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first one in this series, Pink Slip, ages ago and loved it. This story is fantastic - it builds on the relationship in Pink Slip as they turn up as side characters. It feels like it has a million points of view with a huge cast, and while that would usually put me off because it can distract from the main relationship, in this book, it felt natural and worked really well.

The whole series has a Netflix/Lucifer aesthetic and vibe and I'd love to see it made into a series. I binge read the rest of the novellas after reading this one and completely ignored my family for a few days (which is a huge compliment to the author!).

Brilliant. Sexy. Hot. Fast paced. Emotional. Lots of friendships and complex relationships.

[Sandy Cornell]

2nd book I’m DNF’ing this month, which makes me wonder if it’s me and not them! But I just couldn’t get into this.

I absolutely adore the two main love interests, Maya and Kenny. They’re likeable and hot and have chemistry for days! And I would probably sail through this read and give it a 4* or 5* if that’s where the story stayed. But we keep getting random POVs from side characters... characters I don’t care about. I know this is the second book in a series, and perhaps the author is building storylines for future books as well, but I just don’t care about them. At all. It keeps pulling me out of the story and happens pretty consistently.

I’m done for now. But I’m not counting this one out forever.

[Bruin Mccon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Private Eye is a romantic suspense novel about spies.

Kenny digs Maya; after following ever rule “The Agency” has given him for six years, he continues to privately chat with Maya, an online sex worker, every week despite this being 100% against CIA rules.

Instead of firing Kenny, his boss decides to catch a white supremacist guns dealer by luring him into a private chat with Maya pretending Kenny is her boyfriend.

There is plenty that is farfetched in this novel but it is a fast-moving plot that isn’t too scary. It’s considered an erotic novel, and it’s pro-sex and body positive. This isn’t a thriller but the suspense storyline was decent and well integrated into the plot.

3.5 ⭐️s.

[sinag · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars!

This book was a bit too over the place for me, a Kenny & Maya stan. I read His Only Valentine first before this one and that book got me invested with these two and I'm really grateful that I read that first before this book because this one is a disappointing origin story of their relationship. The actual beginning of how they met and knew each other was good, but they were kind of overshadowed by the other couples (i.e. Monica x Lane x Kierra & Chanté x Asif) as the story progressed. I feel like this book was not for them specifically and that made me sad and annoyed because I feel like I was deceived by the premise. However, the writing style was good and the actual origin story was excellent.

[Chioma]

DNF @54%

I was just really bored. In the beginning I was intrigued and I thought the original premise would provide for more conflict throughout the book but it didn't at all. I didn't really care about the primary love story between the two main characters because it seems as if their relationship was already built and we were really just going about their day-to-day even though they were meant to be in the process of rebuilding their relationship. And I found myself caring less and less about the secondary plot or the mission more and more. I can see why a lot of people love this book, but I think it was just not for me.

[N.G. Peltier · Rating 5 out of 5]

loooved this book. the characters really make the story. i laughed so damn much because eachh character is so unique and interesting. I need stories for alll of them and i'm pretty sure we're getting it (Chante and Asif !!)

I loved that at no time did Kenny every try to change Maya or try to make her feel guilty for being a cam model. I loved how much he adored her from the beginning. :) and he's so easily flustered! poor guy ;)

Maya is the best and she and her bestie Kierra are forces to be reckoned with, no doubt.

a fun read for sure!

[思莹 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

love maya and kenny's dynamic, love it when men grovel. the spy aspect was cute, obviously, you have to suspend your belief cause it's just a cool premise but the characters do make it so entertaining to read.

my one issue is the number of characters that are suddenly inserted into the story, it's clearly just to set up the next book in the series or hint at the reader to also get the first book (which you got me there) but some characters just took too much time when my focus and love was on maya and Kenny cause,, you know,, this is Their book..

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was really fun! I specifically looked for a webcam romance, and it was not exactly what I imagined. the whole webcam aspect between main characters disappears pretty quickly, but then they both had to be on camera which was HOT :) the spy plot line was super fun and not heavy at all, despite the serious topics. I didn't really enjoy the change of POV for the side characters, I would've preferred if their stories were told through the main POVs. it felt kinda weird and sure they were interesting but it took me out of the book quite a bit.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure the second book in this series could possibly match the first, but IT DID. Plus, it managed to amp everything to 11. I pre-ordered book 3, it comes out in a few days, because I am invested in these characters. :) Great sexy scenes, great action and tension versus great humor for a brilliant prose balance. Diverse cast (race, temperaments, sexualities, body types, etc) and just enough reality to sharpen the tension.