Conspiracy Girl by Sarah Alderson

Title: Conspiracy Girl

Author: Sarah Alderson

Release Date: 12th February 2015

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

Everybody knows about the Cooper Killings.

There was only one survivor – sixteen year-old Nic Preston.

Now eighteen, Nic is trying hard to rebuild her life. But then one night her high-security apartment is broken into. It seems the killers are back to finish the job.

Finn Carter – hacker, rule breaker, player – is the last person Nic ever wants to see again. He’s the reason her mother’s murderers walked free. But as the people hunting her close in, Nic has to accept that her best chance of staying alive is by staying close to Finn.

And the closer they get to the truth, and to each other, the greater the danger becomes.

In a Nutshell:

Conspiracy Girl is a thrilling mystery full of suspense that had me speed-reading from the first page.

My Review:

Conspiracy Girl is a thrilling mystery full of suspense that had me speed-reading from the first page. Once again, I made the mistake of starting chapter one just before I went to bed and wasn’t able to put it down until I finished the whole book in the early hours of the following day. 

Nic Preston is paranoid, but with good reason. After her mother and stepsister were murdered in a home invasion, the killers were never brought to justice. Nic has spent the last two years constantly looking over her shoulder, never feeling safe, even with the top security systems utilized and taking every precaution. She is strong and resilient but has built up a fortress around herself, not just literally but emotionally, to make sure she never feels powerless and vulnerable again. But when her security system is compromised and the FBI’s ability to protect her is questioned, it looks like the worst moment of Nic’s life is set to repeat itself. 

Enter Finn, gorgeous computer hacker and seeker of justice who is asked to ‘babysit’ Nic while the FBI look for the mole in their organisation. Finn has an interesting catalogue of skills and also a tragic past of his own, one, much to Nic’s annoyance, which has also crossed paths with her own. Battling her constant fear and survivors guilt, Nic has to learn to trust again if she and Finn have any chance of escaping the people on their tail, who somehow keep managing to find them as they go on the run, dodging bullets across country while searching for answers. 

I can tell you now, if I had assassins after me, I’d want Finn by my side! Don’t get me wrong, Nic isn’t useless at protecting herself, she’s just in way over her head! Finn is super protective of Nic and willing to do anything to keep her safe, and the more that’s revealed about him, the more you fall in love with him. There’s also some killer sexual tension thrown in to heat things up and complicate the situation! 

Conspiracy Girl was a total page-turner and I can’t wait to get my hands on another Sarah Alderson book! 

Spark by Rachael Craw

Title: Spark

Author: Rachael Craw

Release Date: 1st July 2014

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

Evie doesn’t have a choice.

One day she’s an ordinary seventeen year old, grieving for her mother. The next, she’s a Shield, the result of a decades-old experiment gone wrong, bound by DNA to defend her best friend from an unknown killer.

The threat could come at home, at school, anywhere. All Evie knows is that it will be a fight to the death.

And then there’s Jamie. Irresistible. Off-limits

In A Nutshell:

Spark is a compelling and suspenseful debut with a likeable, determined heroine, swoon-worthy guys and a mega twist at the end.

My Review:

I really enjoyed Spark. In fact, I found it so compelling that I stayed up until 2am to finish it. I really shouldn’t start books just before bed...

Evie’s had a tough six months and after the death of her mother, she moves from Pennsylvania to live with her aunt and braces herself for her new high school. Unfortunately she won’t be at the same school as her childhood friend Kitty who has moved back to New Hampshire from London to attend the prestigious Gainsborough Collegiate. However, both girls’ futures become uncertain when Evie discovers she is a Shield, a protector of those who are targeted by Strays (DNA-controlled killers), and is destined to protect Kitty at all costs.

Shields and Strays are the result of a secret synthetic gene experiment originally developed two generations ago that went wrong, and are now passed down randomly through the genetic line. For Evie, all aspects of her life change and she has to learn to adjust to the fact she has a pre-determined future and will never be a ‘normal’ teenager. With her body evolving in response to the mutated gene, she experiences enhanced speed and strength and battles with the consequences of being separated from Kitty, who she has ‘sparked’ with.

I found it a bit confusing when Evie’s situation was explained to her, trying to keep track and wrap my head around the acronyms and reasons for the mutation. However you experience the confusion as Evie does and it becomes clearer as she learns more. While it is a relief that Evie now understands why she has been experiencing strange dreams, hallucinations, heart palpitations and dizziness, as well as the odd feelings towards her friend, it doesn’t make them any easier to deal with. Being an outsider is never easy, but for Evie, fitting into Kitty’s upper-class life will be even harder, especially when her protective instincts kick into overdrive with Kitty’s social life. And if things weren’t difficult enough, the reappearance of Kitty’s brother Jamie complicates Evie’s life once again.

As many of you know, contemporary novels are my thing, favouring them over sci-fi/fantasy/supernatural. However, Spark’s sci-fi element didn’t bother me as the characters live in the real world and are battling the same everyday dramas of teen life: fitting in, not embarrassing themselves, having a crush, etc. These problems just get mixed in with a few more complications, like a killer stalker on the loose.

Spark is a compelling and suspenseful debut with a likeable, determined heroine, swoon-worthy guys and a mega twist at the end.

And how awesome is that cover?!

Spark on Goodreads

Rachael's Website

Rachael on Twitter

Rachael on Facebook

My interview with Rachael

Tuesday, June 24 Diva Booknerd 

Wednesday, June 25 The Tales Compendium 

Thursday, June 26 Kids' Book Review & Happy Indulgence 

Friday, June 27 Fictional Thoughts 

Saturday, June 28 Inside My Worlds: R.L.Sharpe & Aussie Reviews 

Sunday, June 29 Striking Keys & Thoughts by J 

Monday, June 30 Books for a Delicate Eternity & Fiction in Fiction in Fiction 

Tuesday, July 1 The Loony Teen Writer & Kkatie Reads

@RachaelCraw | RachaelCraw.com

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

Title: Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick
Author: Joe Schreiber

Release Date: 19th September 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

It’s prom night—and Perry just wants to stick to his own plan and finally play a much-anticipated gig with his band in the Big Apple. But when his mother makes him take Gobija Zaksauskas—their quiet, geeky Lithuanian exchange student—to the prom, he never expects that his ordinary high school guy life will soon turn on its head. Perry finds that Gobi is on a mission, and Perry has no other choice but to go along for a reckless ride through Manhattan’s concrete grid with a trained assassin in Dad’s red Jag.

Infused with capers, car chases, heists, hits, henchmen, and even a bear fight, this story mixes romance, comedy, and tragedy in a true teen coming-of-age adventure—and it’s not over until it’s “au revoir.”

In A Nutshell:

An entertaining, fast-paced read with a female assassin, bad guys, bullets and blood.

My Review:
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick is a fast-paced, enjoyable, light read that sees Perry accidentally on a roaring adventure one night through New York City when he discovers his Lithuanian exchange student, Gobi, isn’t quite who she says she is.

As Perry becomes Gobi’s chauffeur, in his father’s Jaguar no less, Gobi tracks down the five criminals responsible for the death of someone she cared about. Avenging death comes at a price though as they come face to face with bad guys, bullets and blood, and some knife wounds that end up a little too close for home for Perry.

What you see is not always what you get and this time, it ends with a bang!

I've always loved spy-type novels and Gobi, the kickass female assassin, was a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. It’s no deep read, but it is an entertaining one.

The Industry by Rose Foster

Title: The Industry
Author: Rose Foster

Release Date: 20th March 2012

My Rating: 3/5

Blurb:
Kirra Hayward is an ordinary sixteen year old - smarter than most, but otherwise completely anonymous. When she solves an unusual decrypting puzzle on the internet to fill in a moment of boredom at school, she has no idea of what she's letting herself in for.

Kidnapped by a shadowy organisation of mercenaries known only as The Industry, Kirra soon discovers how valuable her code-breaking skills are. And when she stubbornly refuses to help them, they decide to break her ... by any means at their disposal.

Kirra knows that to protect herself, she must trust no one, not even her fellow prisoner, Milo. But as time goes by she wonders if he is the only person she can rely on.

In A Nutshell:
Kirra’s in a no-win situation. She struggles with the moral dilemmas that are put in front of her and tries to pick the lesser of two evils. But can she live with herself over the choices she makes? Part psychological thriller, part espionage conspiracy, I look forward to seeing what direction Foster will take in the sequel.

My Review:
Unlike a lot of teen crime style books, Kirra isn’t a spy. She has, quite seriously, been kidnapped. We’re not talking about a nice kidnapper, who lets her watch TV and sleep in a relatively comfy room until her parents pay a ransom. No, for Kirra, there is no ransom; money can’t buy what Kirra can offer. She spends her days in a freezing cold cell, with a metal toilet, 24/7 guards, supervised showers, meals if the guards remember, and torture if she doesn’t comply with her kidnapper, Latham’s, requests. She suffers hypothermia and watches the closest person she has to a friend be executed. She’s been transported somewhere overseas and she knows they will never release her. As her incarceration passes six months, her hope and resolve begin to fade away. She’s a long way from her invisible existence back in her quiet Australian suburb.

Kirra’s in a no-win situation. She struggles with the moral dilemmas that are put in front of her and tries to pick the lesser of two evils. But can she live with herself over the choices she makes? I think the sequel is going to be really interesting as Kirra is thrown deeper into The Industry, whether she wants to be or not.

The character of Kirra is an interesting one. I really liked her at the beginning; her feelings of isolation at school and in her family were really sad and not unusual for many teenagers. I really liked her relationship with her brother Mitchell and I hope he is brought back into the story in some way. I personally found Kirra to be less likeable the further the story went on and even though she attempts to stand up for herself, I don’t think she will really come into her own skin until the sequel.

I’d love to find out more about the mysterious Desmond and why he is apparently so infamous. As for Latham, I thought the inclusion of his daughter, Simone, was interesting. Generally bad guys like to keep their families as separate from their dealings as possible, but here, Simone is living metres away from Latham’s prisoners. With Milo, I made assumptions about him from the start and I was glad to see I was correct. The development of Milo and Kirra’s relationship came as no surprise to me. Perhaps I’ve read and seen too many espionage/crime books, TV shows and films to know that bonds are always formed between prisoners. I won’t say any more on the topic as I’m sure many readers will come to different conclusions.

I’m looking forward to seeing which direction Foster will develop the story in. My guess is it will either take an espionage/Cherub series direction, or a more psychological thriller route.

Released by Megan Duncan

Title: Released
Series: Agents of Evil #1
Author: Megan Duncan

Release Date: 1st April 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:
After a demon apocalypse kills their parents and everyone they know, 17-year old Abby Phillips, her brother, Carter, and friend, Max flee their home to travel through what has become the wastelands of America. When radio transmissions of a resistance offering shelter and safety cease, Abby is tempted to give up. Struggling to overcome life-threatening obstacles in their dangerous journey, Abby and her companions quickly discover there are much worse things lurking in the dark than they could have ever imagined.

In A Nutshell:
A kick-butt girl, a post-apocalyptic America and a hot boy who will make you swoon and sweat. Released has plenty of action, suspense, demons and death, with a little romance thrown in as well. Can't wait for the sequel!

My Review:
Released was a novel that got my attention straight away as I love reading books about girls that kick butt and post-apocalyptic-fight-to-survive type stories.

Strange demons have taken over the world and Abby, Carter and Max decide the time has come to set off across America and find other survivors and a place of refuge. As they travel from Washington to New Mexico using whatever means necessary to survive, they each have their roles to play; Carter, the brains and the one his sister and best mate turn to for ideas, and Abby and Max, the ‘brawn’, with their unspoken agreement to watch out for Carter who is less skilled in the self-defence/fighting department. The developing relationship between Abby and Max is sweet and a ray of light in the grim reality of what awaits them around every corner.

As the trio get closer to New Mexico, they stumble upon other survivors and take in the distraught Taya who joins them on their journey and turns out to be more capable than originally thought. They also come across what appears to be a well-organised refuge, although something about the relationship between the leader and those who live there doesn’t fit right with Abby, Carter and Max. When they try to help, they are thrown into a whole unexpected bout of trouble other than the demons. Fighting for their survival suddenly got a lot more complicated than they thought it would and Abby has to question which lines she will cross, and how far she will go, to protect the ones she loves.

Released has plenty of action, suspense, demons and death, with a little romance thrown in as well. Our characters have managed to hold on to their humour despite their dire circumstances and they are smart and tough teenagers who readers will become attached to. There are no boring bits and I can’t wait to read the sequel, Chaos, when it is released early 2012.

Shadow Wave by Robert Muchamore

Title: Shadow Wave
Series: Cherub Book 12
Author: Robert Muchamore

Release Date: 1st September 2010

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:
After a tsunami causes massive devastation to a tropical island, its governor sends in the bulldozers to knock down villages, replacing them with luxury hotels.

Guarding the corrupt governor’s family isn’t James Adams’ idea of the perfect mission, especially as it’s going to be his last as a CHERUB agent. And then retired colleague Kyle Blueman comes up with an unofficial and highly dangerous plan of his own.

James must choose between loyalty to CHERUB, and loyalty to his oldest friend.

In A Nutshell:
Shadow Wave highlights environmental issues, human rights and government corruption. A fitting and satisfying ending.

My Review:
Shadow Wave is the twelfth and final Cherub book featuring our hero James Adams. James is now seventeen and, after finishing up his undercover assignment with the Brigands M.C., he is looking at one last mission before retiring as a Cherub agent.

Just under a third of the book is dedicated to a mission James' friend and ex-agent Kyle worked on four years earlier, which provides us with all the background information as to why James will need to make a decision whether to meet up with Kyle and be part of an unauthorised mission, or keep his assigned final job.

Cherub is a guilty pleasure of mine and I feel that Shadow Wave was a terrific note to end on. Not only is the subject matter important for today's youth to be aware of, but it is also relevant to them as most would know of the tsunami that is being referred to. Shadow Wave highlights environmental issues, human rights and government corruption. A fitting ending.


About The Series:
For those of you unfamiliar with the Cherub series, author Robert Muchamore created the series after his nephew complained about there being nothing interesting to read. The series revolves around a secret branch of MI5 that trains children to become spies, as people never suspect children. After completing training, kids, from the age of 12 until they are 17, are sent on missions all over the world in an attempt to help bring down illegal operations.

James Adams is our main character and he is supported by his sister Lauren, girlfriend Kerry, best friend Kyle and a host of other agents and ex-cherub agents who now run the compound. We first meet an eleven year old James in The Recruit after he and Lauren are left homeless after the death of their mother. Each book in the series covers roughly 6 months or so in James life so while the first book is written with an eleven year old in mind, as James gets older, so does the content.

Time Witch by Jacqueline Corcoran

Title: Time Witch
Author: Jacqueline Corcoran

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Release Date: 1st March 2011

Blurb: Twelve year old Genevieve, in search of her missing single-parent mother, finds her way to another world where competing dynasties of witches battle, as time ticks backward, for control over a magical clock and a winged horse as part of an ancient prophecy. Genevieve discovers that she is the niece of the Snow Queen on whose island Genevieve is initiated into magic.

When the Snow Queen appears to be killed by her frozen prisoners, Genevieve must carry on to the Black Crystal Witch's castle with a herbologist slave she meets on the way. With a critical combination of spell-crafting, herbology, and the exponential power of witch bloodlines, Genevieve plays an integral role in vanquishing the Black Crystal Witch's hold over time.

My Review:
Time Witch is the story of 12-year-old Genevieve who, while searching for her mother (who has mysteriously disappeared), discovers that the magical world she made up with her best friend, is actually real. Mistakenly she enters the fantasy realm and comes face to face with flying horses, treasure hunting trolls, the evil witch Duvessa and her terrifying hawk. Here she joins forces with snooty princess Ciera and the dashing prince Rowan to find the three missing pieces of a magical crystal clock and get them to the last remaining rose witch, The Snow Queen, before Witch Duvessa can lay her hands on it and make time disappear forever.

The magical realm that Genevieve creates is based on fairy tales she has read, the sparkling rocks at the Natural History Museum in Washington DC (where she lives), and the classic troll dolls with funky hair. This is the kind of story-world I would have created when I was younger.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and is perfect for ages 9-13 who love fantasy worlds with magic and daring adventures. For fans of The Chronicles of Narnia.

Time Witch is available as an ebook from eBookwise, Solstice Publishing and Amazon.

The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter

I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You (#1)
Released: August 2008

Cammie Morgan is a second-generation Gallagher Girl, and by her sophomore year she’s already fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti). But the one thing the Gallagher Academy hasn’t prepared her for is what to do when she falls for an ordinary boy who thinks she’s an ordinary girl.

Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without his ever being the wiser, but can she have a regular relationship with a boy who can never know the truth about her?

Cammie may be an elite spy in training, but in her sophomore year, she’s beginning her most dangerous mission yet!

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (#2)
Released: November 2008

Cammie Morgan may have a genius IQ and attend the best school in the country, but as she starts the spring semester of her sophomore year there are a lot of things she doesn't know. Like will her ex-boyfriend even remember she exists? And how much trouble did she really get in last semester? And, most of all, exactly why is her mother acting so strangely?

All Cammie wants is a nice, normal semester, but she's about to learn her greatest lesson yet—that when you go to a school for spies, nothing is ever as it seems.




Don't Judge A Girl By Her Cover (#3)
Released: May 2009

Cammie Morgan has a cover for every occasion. Being a spy-in-training, aliases, phony passports and fake ID's are a means of survival. But what happens when the ghosts of her past see through her flawless façade?

This semester, Cammie continues to flirt with danger at Gallagher Academy. When a national political convention turns into a trap, Cammie is forced to lose her cover to save her best friend, Macey – a major political target – from being kidnapped.

But are the kidnappers’ political extremists or something more sinister? And why has Zach, Cammie’s mysterious (and totally h ot) crush, suddenly returned?

With the help of a glamorous ex-Gallagher Girl, Cammie and her friends are determined to hunt down the group that threatens to tear their secret sisterhood apart.

This time it's personal.

Only The Good Spy Young (#4)
Released: June 2010

When Cammie Morgan enrolled at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, she knew she was preparing for the dangerous life of a spy. She just didn’t know that life would start during her junior year of high school. But that’s exactly what happened two months ago when Cammie faced off against a mysterious organisation called the Circle of Cavan. Now even Cammie 'The Chameleon' can’t hide.

Danger has followed her to London where she discovers one of her most trusted allies has been labelled a double agent. The Gallagher Girls quickly realise that the Circle’s agents are closer than they’d feared -- maybe even within the Gallagher Academy’s own walls. Cammie and her room-mates must call upon old friends if they want to find the traitor at their beloved school before it's too late...

Book 5 in the Gallagher Girls series is as yet, currently untitled but will be released early 2012.


My Review:
The Gallagher Girls is a fun series about a girls boarding school that is actually a spy school. While it is written for ages eleven and up, I find, being in my twenties, that it is one of my guilty pleasures. The girls have their normal teenage problems but what I think makes a big difference in the series is that it is based on friendship.

Cammie and her three best friends always stick by each other and tackle whatever problem they come across together, whether it be boys, sneaking out of their school, a kidnapping plot or a secret ops mission. They are brave, likeable characters that have their weaknesses; even if they super-spies, it's nice to know they aren't invincible, and that the girls know this and are down-to-earth. The spy school is a great way to have the girls tackling normal teenage problems and while the stories are written light-heartedly, the girls are always faced with serious issues and consequences.

All the titles are lots of fun and entertaining and have up to date pop culture references. I personally feel that each title gets better than its predecessor.

Also by Ally Carter: Heist Society

The Ring of Five by Eoin McNamee

Title: The Ring of Five
Author: Eoin McNamee

Release Date: 1st April 2010

My Rating: 3/5

Danny thinks he is on his way to boarding school when he is taken instead to a mysterious Academy. When he arrives, some of the students have otherworldly talents, and someone is trying to murder him...

Yet he finds friends: Les, an exceptional thief, Dixie, who has as unsettling ability, and Vandra, a Physick with unusual powers.

It turns out Danny is destined for a terrifying mission. As he embarks on his training, he is determined to be a brilliant spy and keep his friends, but he soon discovers that he can trust no one, not even himself...

This is an exciting story of deceit, action and espionage as we meet the kids at Wilson's Spy School. It questions loyalties and friendship and entwines good and evil as Danny tries to figure out his destiny. I would describe it as a mix of Harry Potter crossed with Cherub for ages 10+.

Read this if you liked the Percy Jackson series, the Charlie Bone series, The Mysterious Benedict Society, the Nightmare Academy series or anything where kids get up to mischief!