Tag: ally carter

Categories
Book Reviews Book Series Books

The Blonde Identity Duology: A Spy Romance That Doesn’t Take Itself Too Seriously

Estimated Reading Time: 6min

If Jason Bourne were actually a blonde woman that didn’t quite know what was going on, would the story have been different? When another spy who does know who he is shows up, the answers become pretty clear.

The Blonde Identity

It’s the middle of the night in the middle of Paris and a woman just woke up with no memory. She only knows three things for certain:

1. She has a splitting headache.

2. The hottest guy she has (probably) ever seen is standing over her, telling her to run.

And oh yeah…

3. People keep trying to kill her.

She doesn’t know who. Or why. But when she sees footage of herself fighting off a dozen men there’s only one explanation: obviously. . . she’s a spy!  Except, according to Mr. Hot Guy, she’s not. She’s a spy’s identical twin sister. Too bad the only person who knows she’s not the woman they’re looking for is this very grouchy, very sexy, very secret agent who (reluctantly) agrees to help her disappear. Which is easier said than done when a criminal organization wants you dead and every intelligence service in the world wants you caught. 

Luckily, no one is looking for a pair of lovesick newlyweds on their honeymoon. And soon they’re lying their way across Europe—dodging bullets and faking kisses as they race to unravel a deadly conspiracy and clear her sister’s name. But with every secret they uncover, the truth shifts, until she no longer knows who to trust: the twin she can’t remember or the mysterious man she can’t let herself forget…

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun Violence, Injury
Moderate: Blood, Sexual Content, Murder
Minor: Death of Parent, Cursing, Death

My Review

Hilarious, clever and very well done.
Enjoyed the story and characters a lot. Used to her YA novels and this one had the humour of those, but adult concepts that pushed it to a different level. I’m still deciding if I liked that or not.
Content warning: moderate sexual content, swearing and violence.

The Blonde Who Came In From The Cold

An action-packed, second-chance rom-com about two rival spies who must join forces in order to stay alive, from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter. Ten years ago, they joined the CIA.  Six years ago, he left the game.  Five years ago, they fell in love.  One year ago, she ran out into the cold with absolutely no intention of ever coming back. And two minutes ago, they woke up, bloody and bruised and handcuffed together in the dark.

They don’t know where they are. They don’t know how they got there. And they have absolutely no idea who is after them or what this nameless, faceless villain wants.  The only thing that’s clear is that, after ten years of covers and chemistry, secrets and lies, these two rival spies have been sucked into their greatest mission yet, and now they’re going to have to team up to stay alive. (If they don’t kill each other first.)

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun Violence, Injury
Moderate: Death, Death of Parent, Sexual Content
Minor: Pregnancy, Alcohol, Kidnapping

My Review

I enjoyed seeing The spy journey of Alex and King. It has been a long time since since the first book came out, so I basically forgotten everything. For some reason I thought they were the same twin that I was reading about, so I was a bit confused until about halfway when I realised the opposite was true. I didn’t mind The twisty spy type plot. I liked the dynamic between the two main characters, however it did feel a little bit disingenuous. I don’t quite see how they made it from point A to point B. I know what they were like in A, but I didn’t feel like there was enough character work done in the middle for it to get to point B. I understand what was happening where we were going and how they ended up there, but something just felt a little bit… Off. I still love them, I still love where they ended up, don’t get me wrong. It was really fun.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes! This was so fun, and for me, better than the original Bourne stories!

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • The Rom-Commers (Katherine Center)
  • The Fixer (Jennifer Lynn-Barnes)
  • Not if I Save You First (Ally Carter)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Authors Book Advice Books

List of my Top 5 Authors

Estimated Reading Time: 5min

Everyone likes different books and authors, and there are many (many, many, many) places you can go to get recommendations. Booktube, Booktok, Instagram, Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon… just so many more – and that didn’t include blogs like mine.

So, I decided to jump on board and share the top FIVE authors that I LOVE and will never shut up about if we are debating who is a great author… here they are!

Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker is almost the ultimate in terms of Fantasy or Dark Crime, and you’re looking for it to hold a hopeful note thread throughout. With probably his most notable works being the Circle world, Ted manages to twist your brain into a pretzel with his incredible worlds, interesting characters, and almost philosophical ideas. By the end of a Dekker book, you’ll find yourself not only with heart pounding after an incredible adventure, but your brain melting with new world views that you HAVE to explore – or you’ll explode. Okay, so I might be overselling it just a little BUT Dekker has a way of dragging you into a new world and leaving with the desire to keep going back for more every time!

Bethany Turner

Almost to the opposite end of the spectrum, Bethany Turner is a hilarious, heart warming and dig in deep to root out the feels Contemporary Romance author. She has a way of bringing very serious, very real situations and adding humour that has me almost rolling on the floor and coughing for five minutes because I laughed too hard. Not even exaggerating. She is absolutely hilarious, cuts right to the heart and leaves you with ALL the feels and hugging your book to your chest, wishing there was another story to keep reading.

Brandon Sanderson

Brandon is a widely known name in the Fantasy community, and actually just all over the place really. While I’ve only actually read the Reckoner series, I LOVE his writing. I Love his style, and every time he talks about his work and how he does what he does, his passion for writing and telling stories shines through. An absolute legend, and an author that will ALWAYS be worth reading.

Dee Henderson

Okay, this one is a specialty type of author – Dee Henderson is a Romantic Suspense writer of Christian Fiction. Her early works include the O’Malley series, which follows a family of orphaned adults (who adopted themselves when nobody else would) who all work in very serious and high stakes jobs. The stories are edge of your seat worthy, and the romances are beautiful – especially in the midst of danger and family drama. Dee started writing a lot more slow paced books as she kept on, so if you like fast paced, stick with the early works. If you dig that slow burn, you can check out later ones like Taken.

Ally Carter

Again, another change of tone and pace – a Young Adult writer who creates adventurous and suspension of disbelief teenagers. The Gallagher Girl’s series follow a teenage spy school for girls, while the Heist Society series follows teenage thieves… yeah it’s that kind of world for Ally, and we’re all just living in it. These books may be written for teens, but dang if they aren’t fun and easy to get through. I love her writing, and if you want something to dive into without ripping off your skin with worry, this would be it.

Well, those are my top five authors that I would recommend any day of the week. Of course there are so many amazing stories, and incredible writers who bring those to life. It’s impossible to choose just five – and that’s what makes reading such an amazing experience. Every time you find a new cast of characters to love, and add authors onto your list of favs (Like Marie Lu’s Legend series!) you get to put another notch on the belt!

Who are your fav authors? Let me know in the comments so that I can celebrate them with you!

See You in the Adventures
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Book Series Books

Gallagher Girl Series Review | Ally Carter

Estimated Reading Time: 7min

Another week, another series review! This time, it’s one that I stumbled across without any knowledge, and fell in love with after book one! The Gallagher Girls – teenage spies in training…

Yes, I know how that sounds – and looks when you type it out – but there’s something about this series that even as an adult I still love. It’s about a group of girls who are in a special and elite private school, that secretly is a training ground for female spies! So, let me share a bit about the books and why I think they’re worth reading (and as with some of these reviews, it’s been a while since I read them so I’m going totally off memory!)

I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You

Cammie is a spy in training at the Gallagher Academy – supposedly a school for genius level young ladies, but not everything is as it seems. So when she meets a regular boy, who thinks she is a regular girl, and falls for him, she’s in trouble. It’s difficult to start a relationship by hiding who you really are, and add to that fact that you’re able to hack into his life and you’ve got a complicated situation!

This was a pretty soft start into the series. It was about what you’d expect from the above description, spy in training goes to school and defuses bombs, talking in French, then gets her first boyfriend in her spare time. The series really takes off into some fun places, and even though this was a very soft start it was just enough introduction into Cammie’s spy world that kept me interested to see where it would all go.

Grab the book Here

Cross My Heart and Hope To Spy

There are intruders in the Gallagher Academy… and they are tougher (and hotter) than ever before. A boys spy school are guests at Gallagher and while Cammie tries to figure out if she can give away her heart again, things are happening that could endanger everyone.

The addition of Blackthorne boys was amazing. I LOVED this side of the series, where we get to face off girls against boys and see who makes the better spies. There also brings another romantic element which Ally uses through the series in an exciting way.

Grab the book Here

Don’t Judge A Girl By Her Cover

carter

Cammie is back and this time, she’s a Junior. When her best friend is targeted for kidnapping or worse, she will do anything to protect her. When the hot Blackthorne boy, Zach, shows up again she isn’t sure what to think about it – or him. Figuring out what the bad guys want, and who they really are leads to dangerous adventure.

We start really getting into the arching story in this book. There have been things going on in the background that are starting to be revealed, and it’s fun to see it all unfold. Spies (in books at least) have trouble knowing who to trust and what to do in the face of betrayal and friendship. I loved seeing Cammie balance duty with friendship, and trying to have it all.

Grab the book Here

Only The Good Spy Young

The organisation that’s been working in the background is after Cammie and she’s going to have to decide who to trust. Someone has been labelled a traitor, and as she and her friends try to make sense of it all, she’s trying to hold her heart close to her chest.

Things are really heating up in this book. We get more information about the bigger threat, and start seeing cracks in everyone’s facade. The relationship with Zach and Cammie has been back and forth, and I loved seeing them continue with added complications.

Grab the book Here

Out of Sight, Out of Time

Cammie Morgan – spy in training – meets Jason Bourne. Cammie has woken up in an Alpine convent with no memory of what happened during the summer… just the bruises. As she and her spy-in-training friends try to piece it all together, the Circle of Cavan (an evil organisation after Cammie) is trying to stop her from remembering.

I’ve read a Bourne book – well, half of one – and this was nothing like that. I loved this story as we try to work backwards with Cammie and figure out what devastating secret led to her memory loss. With only one book left, things really come to an exciting point in this book!

Grab the book Here

United We Spy

Cammie is close to graduating, but she has to try and balance that with her fight against the evil organisation Circle of Cavan. They’re planning something that would devastate the world, and she and her friends have to try and figure out how to stop it all.

Okay, I know the idea that a teenage spy in training could save the world from a big terror threat is a little thin, but this series made you believe it could be possible (sorta)! The final part to the story, all answers revealed and an ending that I had conflicting feelings about… But it was a wild ride!

Grab the book Here

There they are, in all their glory. And with a new book coming out of Ally’s that’s similar vibes but an adult fiction, not YA maybe this is the perfect time to read or re-read the series!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace