When I go in search of a new book to read, series romances are not the place I normally start for a number of reasons. Largely, I find them to be decent reads, but nothing spectacular. This book, one of Harlequin’s Superromances, was just that: a reasonably good read, but not particularly fantastic.

Maggie Fitzgerald is a FBI special agent, and even though she would rather be a lawyer, she puts aside her own desires in order to please her father. On an assignment, she is placed undercover as a cleaning lady in the home of a lauded journalist in order to recover information he has regarding a local crime lord. Benny Delgado is an up-and-coming criminal in a powerful crime ring, whom Maggie knows is responsible for killing her brother, though the media has painted him as a dirty cop.

Caleb Gomez was in the middle of preparing for a groundbreaking story on Benny, with whom he had become friends while undercover, when the Iraq War broke out. He soon put that story away and volunteered to be sent overseas to report. However, he was taken hostage and tortured brutally before he was rescued. Now he’s back in the U.S., recuperating both physically and emotionally from his wounds.

But things start looking up when he hires his new cleaning lady. He is afraid to leave the house since his face shows the scars of his torture, so he enjoys the flirting and attraction between them. Maggie, for her part, hates the deception. She admires the strength, intelligence, and humor Caleb maintains. As she begins to care about him, she becomes caught in-between her job, her family, and her heart.

Though the story is interesting and provides a good mix of suspense and mystery, the romance portion – which is the largest part of the book – fell a bit flat. Caleb just didn’t appeal to me. While I could admire his character, viewing him in a romantic light was difficult. I am sure many people would be attracted to him, but I simply was not one of them.

The basic plot of this story – one character assuming an identity, unknown to the other – is a classic romance plot and, though this is a good book, it tells a familiar story. There is very little individuality here, nothing that makes the book stand out from the scores of others with similar plots. The characters, while believable and with whom the reader can empathize, were average.

Is Undercover Protector worth reading? The conflict, while not original, entertained me. I also liked the characters, and found their relationship believable. So the answer is yes, but it’s one with some reservations. This is a reasonably good read, but because it lacks that special something and features a hero who just doesn’t do it for me, I can’t give an unqualified recommendation.