Last Updated on February 7, 2021 by Natalie
If a simple romance isn’t quite adventurous enough for you, there are awesome action romance books that keep the kissing and add in a healthy dash of adrenaline. Whether one of the main characters is a secret agent or is an uncover officer of the law, these books will delight those adventure junkies who want more than merely romance. Let’s check out some action and kickin’ women in these romance adventure books!
Best Action Romance Books
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Best Romance Action Books Reviewed
If you love action and adventure and romance, there’s a book or two out there for you. I enjoyed the following action romance books, many of which reminded me of movies like The Tourist or even hints of James Bond. As always, we also get our happily ever afters.
Lola Carlyle Reveals All
by Rachel Gibson
Lola Carlyle is trying to lay low for awhile. She’s a former supermodel and her ex has leaked her naked pictures on the internet for his profit. According to her lawyers, since he took the photos, there isn’t anything she can do about it.
Max Zamora needs to get away from the Bahamas, like yesterday. An ex-Navy Seal turned Black Ops, he commandeers an empty boat that isn’t as empty as he’d thought. Lola is scared crapless, since she doesn’t really believe Max’s story. She ends up blowing up the boat, so they drift aimlessly for awhile. This gives them the chance to get to know each other.
It’s light and fluffy, for the most part. It definitely runs a bit stereotypical, but it still ends up being a satisfying ending. If you like action, this is a fun read. Warning, the dog does get kidnapped, but he’s okay (because I can’t handle it when the pets die!)
Dr. Strange Beard
by Penny Reid
Roscoe Winston has avoided Simone Payton since he unceremoniously “ghosted” her when they were in high school. 10 years later, this undercover FBI needs his help… and has to try to stop feeling all her feelings for him.
Okay, that’s the super short synopsis of this wonderful story. It’s the 5th book in the Winston brothers series, which while they are standalone novels, are an amazing series deserving of being read in order. Simone Payton is a smart woman and she’s good at her job as a scientist in a lab. However, she’s undercover in her hometown. Roscoe Winston is a vet in Nashville, but he visits Green Valley every weekend. One weekend, he sees that she’s unexpectedly working in her family’s diner, which makes him pause outside. This pause gives his father, Darrell, an opening to talk to him. Darrell Winston, the father of the Winston brothers and hardened criminal, needs Roscoe’s help. It’s a matter of life and death.
This is one of those books that is better reviewed without giving away too much detail of the story. It has exciting parts and poignant parts. Penny Reid doesn’t shy away from writing about atypical heroes and heroines, which give her stories a lot of diversity. Roscoe has a type of eidetic memory that makes him wary of making new memories, since he can recall them with too much clarity and they sometimes come up when he doesn’t want to remember them. Simone is a woman of color. Her family is a prominent family in Tennessee, but that doesn’t totally shield her from a local cop’s racism (and he almost blows her cover).
This isn’t a light and fluffy story, yet it helps knowing we are going to get our HEA or at least HFN (happy ever after or happy for now) ending. Take a deep breath and dive into this wonderful and intense story!
This is book 5 from the Winston Brothers series.
Happily Ever Ninja
by Penny Reid
Fiona Archer isn’t exactly what she seems. Sure, she’s a normal mom, former gymnast, and former spy? Fiona and Greg have been married for 14 years (and the beginning of their love story actually takes place in Ninja At First Sight book 4.5 in the Knitting in the City series). Greg is away most of the year doing something or other with oil. Fiona remains stateside, working and caring for their children. It’s hard. But when Greg is kidnapped, Fiona springs into action to save her beloved husband.
Normally, I’m not a huge fan of romances that center on already married couples. There aren’t a huge number of options and generally, this particular trope or sub-genre just doesn’t spark excitement for me. However, enter Happily Ever Ninja, a book determined to blow preconceived notions out the window. Adding the secret agent element to this story really takes it up a notch on the excitement scale. I don’t know what I expected from this book, but it wasn’t a book about a woman sneaking her way in and out of several countries in order to rescue her husband.
It’s high on the excitement scale and fun read for the adventure romance loving crowd.
This is book 5 from the Knitting in the City series.
Take Me Back
by Meghan March
I didn’t know what to expect from this short novel, because the description I read contained an author’s note stating that this book is best read going in blind. Since reviews can contain spoilers, I didn’t read anything about it before consuming the book.
Since our couple is married, I figured I’d have a hard time getting into it (the already married and the spark is gone genre is my least favorite trope). However, apparently adventure novels that take place in paradise are something I enjoy.
Our two main characters are on a last ditch attempt to save the marriage anniversary trip to paradise. No joking, I want to visit the island where they went! Anyway, if I don’t want to give anything away, I more or less have to stop here. There’s so much adventure and I was enjoyed with this book tremendously.
This is also one this author’s standalone books that isn’t part of a duet or trilogy. A few things make more sense having read all of her books prior to this one, but they aren’t necessary to enjoy this book.
Action Adventure Romance Books Rock
Sometimes, plain old romances just aren’t enough for our adrenaline junkies. When you want to read about undercover agents or normal people getting involved with super spies, there’s a novel out there about it. It just has to be romance!
What are your favorite action romance books? My readers provide the best feedback. Please leave a comment with your suggestions and thoughts. Thank you!
