Tag: amnesia

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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
Fiction Hannah Carmichael Chronicles

WHAT NOW | Hannah Carmichael Chronicles (SIXTY-EIGHT)

Your Briefing:

Hannah Carmichael is a Super Spy, who was trying to take down CGT – the evil spy agency, which she used to be a part of. Her husband Zeke, was secretly working to take them down, and roped Hannah (and her fellow agent and best friend, Stephanie) into the fight.
Hannah’s mother Evelyn was a CGT and Global enemy, but now, she seems to have been on the same side all along. Her Father James, was believed to be dead, and missing for over a decade, but revealed himself from the fight in the shadows to help take them down once and for all.
With Hannah’s memories sketchy after a CGT Kidnapping, it was decided that a mission may jog her memories. Desperate to remember, and to stop the World War III event – Cataclysm – will Hannah regain her memory, and stop a CGT weapons shipment? 

 

SIXTY-EIGHT

The roar of an aeroplane overhead flooded Hannah’s ears as she tried to decipher Zeke’s shouts above the noise.
“What?” She asked, finally abandoning the idea that she could determine the words. He waited for the plane to pass over then pointed to the far right of the small airport, “That’s your position in the far right. The weapons shipment will land in Strip 7!”
Hannah nodded and the three agents split up, each taking a different vantage point. She wasn’t sure if this was going to bring back her memories, but Stephanie’s was coming back with every experience, so why not hers?

 

As she ducked behind an abandoned information counter, Hannah set herself up as if she worked there and sighed.
“You know I think this is a ridiculous idea right?” Zeke asked through their communication earwigs.
“Maybe, maybe not. The brain is an interesting maze,” Hannah said quietly as two pilots passed her on the tarmac.
“I guess, but putting yourself in danger when you don’t actually remember who it is your chasing, seems ridiculous.”
Hannah tried not to chuckle. “Okay, I’ll give you that one, but I have to try and jolt my memory back somehow. Then we can go public with this CGT agency, and blow the lid off their plans. Memories or not, I want to stop a world war.”
“Guys, incoming!” Stephanie shouted into the earwig as a large plane descended on Strip 7. Being the closest to the plane, her voice was barely audible above the sounds of the jet turbines. Hannah took in a breath, and checked for the gun that she had tucked into her waist.
“When they come out we’ll attack, and use the surprise to take out as many as possible. We can’t let these weapons reach CGT.”
As the plane got closer, even Zeke’s voice was beginning to fade under the noise. Hannah quickly made her way closer to the plane, which was now on the ground.
She reached cover and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, until shouts echoed from the direction of the plane.
Zeke started the count, “One, two, three!”

She turned and let shots fly from her gun as the three agents struck down the CGT weapons suppliers. When no others emerged, they slowly made their way closer to the plane. Flames licked out from all open spaces and Stephanie waved her arms, “Get back!”
The force of the blast slammed Hannah into the side of a truck and her ears rang with the aftershock. When she finally looked up, Zeke was yelling, his voice slowly becoming audible.
“Let’s go!” He shouted, helping her to her feet. They moved swiftly back to their car and Zeke skidded away from the explosion.
What now?

Author’s Note:

Thanks for reading the latest instalment of the Hannah Carmichael Chronicles! Hannah will be back Soon for the next part of her adventure – we both look forward to seeing you there!
Christy Grace

Categories
Fiction Hannah Carmichael Chronicles

SKILLS | Hannah Carmichael Chronicles (SIXTY-SIX)

Your Briefing:

Hannah Carmichael is a Super Spy, who was trying to take down CGT – the evil spy agency, which she used to be a part of. Her husband Zeke, was secretly working to take them down, and roped Hannah (and her fellow agent and best friend, Stephanie) into the fight.
Hannah’s mother Evelyn was a CGT and Global enemy, but now, she seems to have been on the same side all along. Her Father James, was believed to be dead, and missing for over a decade, but revealed himself from the fight in the shadows to help take them down once and for all.
With Hannah’s memories sketchy after a CGT Kidnapping, she went with Zeke to a Peace Talks conference, where the Cataclysm domino’s were to start falling – but things went unexpectedly. Shots were fired into the crowd, at the leaders on the podium, and Zeke confirmed the shooter was his Boss – supposedly a ‘good guy’. What will this mean for the team, and for Cataclysm – is it still on? What will CGT do to strike back?

SIXTY-SIX

Hannah held the gun in her hand, angling it like she had seen as a kid in movies. It was funny how the memories were returning; slowly. Sometimes they were helpful, others not so much, but they were returning none the less.
The target seemed too far, but she readjusted her grip on the gun properly, letting three shots out of the pistol.

Pulling off her ear protection, she walked slowly towards the target and sighed, tracing her fingers over the perfectly placed shots.
Two to the heart, one to the head; how did she do that?
The door to the warehouse floor screeched open and Hannah turned, her gun raised out of an instinct that she didn’t realise was there. The woman at the door raised her own gun, then sighed as she recognised Hannah.
It was Stephanie Winchester.

“You startled me,” Stephanie said. Hannah slowly lowered her own weapon.
“I guess a spy shouldn’t admit that, but hey, we can’t remember all of our training,” Stephanie smiled then shrugged. As she glanced at Hannah’s target, Stephanie nodded towards it, “Weird huh? How we have the skills, just to not the memory on how we got them.”
Hannah nodded, then put the pistol onto the table and bent to pick up the long arms rifle she’d also carried in for practise.
“Heavy artillery ay?” Stephanie asked, chuckling. “I get some memories of us in remote locations, on missions together. Somehow, I’m not surprised that you’re a good shot.”

Hannah dropped the rifle back into the case and squared her shoulders, “Well I’m surprised. At least someone’s starting to remember, because I can’t remember jack!”
Stephanie raised both hands in a surrendering gesture and sighed, “I’m sorry Hannah. Some of the things that have come back to my mind,” she lowered her shoulders and looked at the ground, “I wish I didn’t have to remember them.”
Stephanie looked back up at Hannah and smiled softly, “You know, we were really close. I’m starting to miss it.”

Hannah stared at the person who only returned to her memories briefly. She’d seen Stephanie in a few mission memories, but the ones in social places, laughing and singing, those were her favourites.
“I just want everything to come back. I’m sick of feeling like I’m constantly out of a semi-familiar loop.”

Stephanie nodded and picked up her gun, holstering it and walking back towards the warehouse doors, “I’ll come back a bit later.”
“Stephanie?”
Stephanie Winchester turned and smiled, “Yeah?”
“Do I even want to remember everything?”
Stephanie shrugged, “maybe not.”

Author’s Note:

Thanks for reading the latest instalment of the Hannah Carmichael Chronicles! Hannah will be back Soon for the next part of her adventure – we both look forward to seeing you there!
Christy Grace

Categories
Life

Reacting to the Unknown

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Amnesia is a fascinating phenomenon.

Story tellers in all sorts of forms have used it, whether it’s Jason Bourne, The Vow, or Overboard (The original with Goldie Hawn, not the recent remake – just to make that clear), it can lead to funny, heartbreaking, interesting and thought provoking ideas.

When Hannah Carmichael (HCC) found herself waking up with Amnesia in WHERE AM I – HCC 61 (link below), it was something fun and different I got to play around with writing. How would you feel if you had to wake up and couldn’t remember some of the people closest to you, how you got where you are, or why you can’t remember a thing?

For Hannah, it was also life threatening – who was she supposed to trust? How could she know that the people around her were trustworthy?

For normal people, it’s less life and death, and more readjusting. Our memories and experience make up who we are. They guide how we make our decisions and why we react to things the way we do.

So, how do you think you would react to meeting someone you’ve been told you’ve known your whole life? Would you just trust everyone around you is telling the truth? (I imagine if you have amnesia, you wouldn’t remember all the movies you’ve seen about it, and/or any spy training you’ve had)

Let me know in the comments how you’d react, and see how Hannah reacted with a clip from HCC 61 below:

—I opened my eyes and squinted at the sudden burst of light overstimulating my optical senses. The pain in my head registered and I groaned as I closed my eyes again. I heard shuffling around me and I flipped open my eyes, suddenly unsure of where I was. The light was harsh, but I forced myself to readjust quickly as the adrenaline and the panic overtook my other senses. —

Catch the full instalment in the link below and keep up to date with Hannah Carmichael as she continues to navigate her mission with her memory loss:

https://atomic-temporary-148610121.wpcomstaging.com/2019/11/06/where-am-i-hcc-61/

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace