Despite what most people seem to think, Annie Weaver isn’t just a girl. Until very recently, she was a CIA agent, but after an operation in Eastern Europe went wrong, she quit and is about to go back to studying in Los Angeles. Apparently though, the CIA isn’t happy with the breakup and Annie gets caught in a deal she can’t decline. This deal, however, leads her to find a different place to live, bringing her to one of the teachers’ garage apartment.

Set in 1992, Two Is a Pattern, an adaptation of Waters’ fanfic Your Heart Like A Dam When It Breaks, is a roller coaster of a story, both for the characters and the reader. When a book belongs on my mental best-books-of-all-times shelf, I rarely read the synopsis of subsequent books by the same author. I, therefore, didn’t have a clue what the story was going to be beyond the author’s promotional graphic on Instagram. From the cover, I expected it to be different from Honey in the Marrow, which it is, but it didn’t go in the direction I expected. If you think a pretty cover with palm trees means romcom, you’re wrong. It’s Emily Waters after all, and while this story is not as heavy with grief as Honey in the Marrow, it’s not terribly fluffy either. It’s not all darkness and despair—though there’s definitely that as well. There are quite a few lighter moments, and some very sweet yet hot scenes between Annie and Helen. I loved the romance arc and every interaction between the two MCs. Both Annie and Helen are a tad judgy at times, but maybe that comes with the territory.

The spy arc, however, I found most frustrating. I loved the idea but I wish Annie had more agency, a lot happens to her, for reasons that are explained and can make sense, but it could have been balanced with a few scenes about her work, moments when she actually rocks at what she does. And while I like the very end of the book, I would have happily taken 20 or 50 more pages of the events leading to it. That last twist really feels rushed, to the point that it could, in itself, be the premise of another book. I even wondered near the end whether the author was setting us up for a sequel. Actually, I wouldn’t say no to another book that would look into the way Annie and Helen’s relationship would develop after the events of this book, how they’d overcome the pain and hurt and (at least in Annie’s case) PTSD, and where their careers would take them. 3.5⭐️

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