What I've Read This Week
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls) by Ally Carter -- Young Adult Fiction
A departure from my usual genres, I picked up this book recommended by my friend Irish at Ticket to Anywhere.
Sixteen year-old Cammie Morgan attends a super select prep school for girls but this isn't your typical high school novel for Cammie's school is a school for spies! The Gallagher Girls are taught multiple languages, covert operations, culture and assimilation, and advanced encryption. During a Covert Ops training class, the Gallagher girls head off to town to mingle with the townies and spy on their teacher. Cammie does her best to blend in to her surroundings and remain unseen, but someone does see her and he happens to be a cute teenage boy and it seems like he's kinda into her. Cammie turns to her new classmate to explain the language of boys, something they definitely DON'T teach at her school. Her friends worry that Josh is also a spy and set out to discover his true identity, but Cammie just wants to be a normal teenage girl and date the boy she likes. She has to figure out whether she can be normal and how to have a relationship, because, in her world the rule is "I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you." This is a cute adventure novel for teens. It combines elements of Harry Potter, The Princess Diaries and adds a whole new dimension with a spy plot. Cammie is a really interesting character for a girl who is learning to be a spy. She's shy and a bit awkward and isn't sure where she fits in. She relies on her more outgoing friends to help her get along in the world outside the school. I could really identify with Cammie and I liked that she wasn't a super smart, smooth spy-in-training who had all the answers. She's a normal teenage girl, aside from being a spy. Josh was a little bit too good to be true but he had his moments of acting like a normal teen too. I liked the contrast between Cammie's world and Josh's world and how they connect even though they come from different backgrounds. This is a fun adventure story for teens. I couldn't put it down and can't wait to read the next!
Lady Emma's Dilemma by Rhonda Woodward -- Regency Romance
This book is a companion to The Wagered Heart but can easily be read as a stand-alone. Lady Emmaline Fallon, the older sister of the Duke of Kelbourne, is a young widow grown tired of life in the country and come to Town for some adventure. Emma becomes the new reigning beauty, much to the dismay of an actress named Mrs. Willoughby alias Queen Willow, the former beauty. Emma is looking for love but not to remarry. She vows never again to allow a man to have complete control over her. Several candidates present themselves to Emma, none quite as dashing or alarming as handsome, rakish Baron, Jack Devruex who broke Emma's heart thirteen years ago. Bitter over events that happened in the past, Emma remains angry with Jack while he tries to make amends. Thirteen years ago Jack was a penniless boy trying to restore his family name and fortune and now he's a self-made man. He's told himself he's over Emma, but his heart tells him otherwise. Emma is conflicted and has to learn to let go of the past. I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to. I thought both Emma and Jack were rather selfish and annoying. Neither tried to understand what the other was feeling. Emma was really angry at herself but that never came up in the plot and instead she continued to blame Jack for everything that happened to her. The romantic development is good, though and there's just the right amount of romantic tension between Emma and Jack to make the story believable. This is a decent Regency novel and worth checking out from the library.
Sixteen year-old Cammie Morgan attends a super select prep school for girls but this isn't your typical high school novel for Cammie's school is a school for spies! The Gallagher Girls are taught multiple languages, covert operations, culture and assimilation, and advanced encryption. During a Covert Ops training class, the Gallagher girls head off to town to mingle with the townies and spy on their teacher. Cammie does her best to blend in to her surroundings and remain unseen, but someone does see her and he happens to be a cute teenage boy and it seems like he's kinda into her. Cammie turns to her new classmate to explain the language of boys, something they definitely DON'T teach at her school. Her friends worry that Josh is also a spy and set out to discover his true identity, but Cammie just wants to be a normal teenage girl and date the boy she likes. She has to figure out whether she can be normal and how to have a relationship, because, in her world the rule is "I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you." This is a cute adventure novel for teens. It combines elements of Harry Potter, The Princess Diaries and adds a whole new dimension with a spy plot. Cammie is a really interesting character for a girl who is learning to be a spy. She's shy and a bit awkward and isn't sure where she fits in. She relies on her more outgoing friends to help her get along in the world outside the school. I could really identify with Cammie and I liked that she wasn't a super smart, smooth spy-in-training who had all the answers. She's a normal teenage girl, aside from being a spy. Josh was a little bit too good to be true but he had his moments of acting like a normal teen too. I liked the contrast between Cammie's world and Josh's world and how they connect even though they come from different backgrounds. This is a fun adventure story for teens. I couldn't put it down and can't wait to read the next!
Lady Emma's Dilemma by Rhonda Woodward -- Regency RomanceThis book is a companion to The Wagered Heart but can easily be read as a stand-alone. Lady Emmaline Fallon, the older sister of the Duke of Kelbourne, is a young widow grown tired of life in the country and come to Town for some adventure. Emma becomes the new reigning beauty, much to the dismay of an actress named Mrs. Willoughby alias Queen Willow, the former beauty. Emma is looking for love but not to remarry. She vows never again to allow a man to have complete control over her. Several candidates present themselves to Emma, none quite as dashing or alarming as handsome, rakish Baron, Jack Devruex who broke Emma's heart thirteen years ago. Bitter over events that happened in the past, Emma remains angry with Jack while he tries to make amends. Thirteen years ago Jack was a penniless boy trying to restore his family name and fortune and now he's a self-made man. He's told himself he's over Emma, but his heart tells him otherwise. Emma is conflicted and has to learn to let go of the past. I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to. I thought both Emma and Jack were rather selfish and annoying. Neither tried to understand what the other was feeling. Emma was really angry at herself but that never came up in the plot and instead she continued to blame Jack for everything that happened to her. The romantic development is good, though and there's just the right amount of romantic tension between Emma and Jack to make the story believable. This is a decent Regency novel and worth checking out from the library.
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