Rick Perry seems to be a disreputable person. He says that he does handyman work, although Julia has observed the man is keeping some real irregular hours for a handyman.  

 With his scruffy, uncombed hair, puzzling responses when replying to questions  having even a small hint of a personal nature coupled with his having a mob of just as scandalous friends; Julia is convinced the man is nothing but trouble.  On the other hand Julia has to admit, Rick would be a whole lot easier to ignore or simply fail to notice if he weren't so pleasant, agreeable, and really pretty good-looking under the grunge. 

 What Julia does not know about Rick, is that he is actually an undercover cop.

Nor does she realize he is keeping an eye on a nearby, under police suspicion apartment dweller.  Rick makes friends with Julia. Up to this time; Julia’s life, including bad past relationship, has not been devoid of problems.  Julia was very distrustful of Rick when she first met him; in part because he reminded Julia of her former boyfriend who was a criminal.

Despite being drawn to Julia; Rick was not actually looking for a relationship. Rick kept his distance; sure didn’t need an entanglement which might jeopardize his cover.  

Rick was not the kind of man Julia believed she might want to meet. Julia had been raised by a single mom in the badly maintained city slum Mission District.  Her irresponsible single Mom continued getting involved in one devastating relationship or another. Now that Julia is today a third-grade schoolteacher, has finally been able to rid herself the stigma of her upbringing and has put her one unrewarding previous relation blunder behind her, she wants no repeat of that part of her life.

Julia's new life is grounded in uprightness, decency, and decorum. She is a well thought of and right-living young woman who is mindful of the fact that her track record where men are concerned could without difficulty lead her to follow in her mother’s footsteps if she does not keep her wits, and feelings in check.

Observing as her mother became charmed by first one and then another male prior to her being used and badly treated by a progression of losers did not well prepare Julia for her own potential relationships. As a teenager, Julia had come close to accepting her mother's relationship model as her own.

Julia determined that her mother’s self destructive type relationship with men is not ever again to be part of her life. She realized that if she chooses to become entranced by any man, he will have to be an upright man who will have an honest, law abiding and acceptable source of income on top of a rock solid sense of honor.

Rick Peralta has problems of his own concerning himself. What Julia doesn't know about her new neighbor is that he is an undercover vice cop. Using his handyman guise as a means to find some evidence, and verification concerning a big time drug dealer is pretty uncomplicated. Rick plans to get the guy arrested.  Rick’s justification for hanging around the apartment of that drug dealer is, that he is doing repair work on the site.

Rick’s plan is focused upon gaining the confidence of the drug dealer by appearing to arrange a large drug buy which in turn will lead to a long prison sentence for the dealer.   In order to pull the con off; Rick has got to look and behave as a user or dealer himself. As plans go, it's a not a bad plan. 

The whole thing would be working out a whole lot easier if Rick did not realize he is too attracted to his attention-grabbing neighbor.  On the one hand he knows he is being drawn to Julia. On the other hand, trying to develop a long term relationship with her is not something Rick is having much success since he can't share too much about himself for fear of blowing his cover. 

I found Undercover Love to be an enjoyable, well-rounded tale sure to tickle the reader's interest from the opening lines and right on through to the last paragraph. Writer Grijalva has sprinkled a collection of believable, fully-developed, likeable characters used to further the narrative.

 In Undercover Love first-time author Grijalva keeps the center of attention focused upon her main characters' burgeoning relationship. The seeming unrealistic, quixotic liaison should appeal to what readers who enjoy romance novels most want to read.

The growing connection between Rick and Julia in Undercover Love is agreeable to watch as it is unfolding. Their involvement advances naturally over time. Writer Grijalva follows a consistent plan for permitting the reader to feel the romantic pressure drawing the pair together. 

Notwithstanding their understandable disinclination for a romantic relationship; she wary of his seeming bad boy persona, and, he a police officer with a job to do along with the concern that danger could come to one or both of them should the drug dealer he is trying to bring down become suspicious of a relationship between the handyman and the school teacher; the pair do become progressively more responsive to one another.

Expressive dialogue between the duo add to the narrative.  Julia slowly learns to rely depend upon Rick as she learns to trust her own judgment regarding when or how much to disclose relating to the harm of her chaotic childhood.

Undercover Love presents just enough subplot concerning Rick's undercover police work as well as Julia's distress for one of her students.  The subplot in no way takes away from the romance itself; it serves to spice up the account a tad.

While romance novels per se are not my fav reads, I did enjoy the narrative presented in Writer Grijava la’s Undercover Love.  Watching as Julia and Rick circle and feint as they deal with their own emotions and realities set against a backdrop of society and social mores about what is right or correct and good and bad compounded by the deceit Rick must present in order to maintain his cover; have created a downright nifty tale.

 Enjoyed the read,  Happy to recommend.  A must have for those who enjoy the genre, Undercover Love will make a good addition to the personal reading list, as well as the home, school and public library for young adult and adult audience. 

 ==========================

Reviewed by Molly’s Reviews molly martin

==========================

         AMAZON  About the Author

Lucy Grijalva (pronounced gree-hall-va) has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area all her life. She attended the University of California while working as a coffee shop waitress, a job that provided her with a lifetime of ideas for quirky characters. Since then she has worked in the fields of marketing and promotion.

Her interests include her two children, quilting and needlework (in her dreams), playing trivia games (as long as she gets to win), catalog shopping (okay, no one ever said she's normal), and reading. She loves stories about cops and much of her writing has a backdrop of police work.

Undercover Love is Lucy's first published novel. She is currently working on another romance and a mainstream novel about a troubled police officer.

AMAZON PRODUCT DETAILS

Undercover Love

by Lucy Grijalva

Paperback: 271 pages

Publisher: Lionhearted Publishing

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1573430021

ISBN-13: 978-1573430029      

 eBook                Paperback