Book Review: Only the Good Spy Young (Gallagher Girls 4)

ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG

by Ally Carter

When Cammie Morgan enrolled at the Gallagher Academy, she knew she was preparing for the dangerous life of a spy. What she didn’t know was that the serious, real-life danger would start during her junior year of high school. But that’s exactly what happened two months ago when Cammie faced off against an ancient terrorist organization dead set on kidnapping her.

Now the danger follows her everywhere, and even Cammie “The Chameleon” can’t hide. When a terrifying encounter in London reveals that one of her most-trusted allies is actually a rogue double-agent, Cammie no longer knows if she can trust her classmates, her teachers—or even her own heart.

In this fourth installment of the New York Times best-selling series, the Gallagher Girls must hack, spy, steal, and lie their way to the truth.as they go searching for answers, recognizing that the key to Cammie’s future may lie deep in the past.

Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Only the Good Spy Young is the Gallagher Girls book I'd like to call "know more about Zach GG book". As always, Ally Carter delivers a fast-paced, thrilling, adventurous, romantic and enigmatic story in this fourth installment of the GG series.

I cannot believe it's the fourth book already! It only feels like yesterday when I opened the first one and read about Cammie and her elite, spy school. I still feel a lot like there's more that we don't know though - about Cammie, her past, her father, and of course Zachary. But I have to say that there are some pretty juicy stuff we'd be (finally) privy to in this book and they're quite surprising.

I love that there's so much more mystery and action in this book than the previous ones. It's packed, fast-paced and there's so much going on in every page turned. I love how Cammie finally unravels bit by bit things about herself and her past she never knew before. We'll see a different, stronger, more grown up Cammie in this one and for that I came to adore her character more. Also we get to see Zach in a whole new light - that there's so much more to the cocky, tough guy exterior he chooses to show. It felt nice to see that for once, Zach was sharing things about himself voluntarily (although very reluctantly) and not hiding the truth with his sarcastic words and swoon-worthy smile. This books presents a vulnerable, soft side to him and I just fell in love with him even more!

This book will definitely not disappoint. I feel that it's cut too short though and that some things should've took more time to develop and unravel. But aside from that, I couldn't come up with anything more to say that I didn't like about the book.

Trust me, you wouldn't want to miss this!

"Despite having known him for almost a year, there were a lot of things I still didn't know about Zachary Goode. Like how soap and shampoo could smell so much better on him than anyone else. Like where he went when he wasn't mysteriously showing up at random (and frequently dangerous) points in my life. And, most of all, I didn't know how, when he mentioned the jacket, he made me think about the sweet, romantic part of the night last November when he'd given it to me, and not the terrible, bloody, international-terrorists-are-trying-to-kidnap-me part that came right after."

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Tour Stop: The Exemeus + Review, Excerpt and Giveaway!

THE EXEMEUS

Her short life was devoted to love and to hate. Love of the man who stole her heart, hate for the man who stole the world. Murdered by the government she swore to destroy, she's been given another chance to make it right. But to save the planet, she needs the help of the most powerful mystic the world has ever seen—unfortunately he hasn’t been born yet. 

In a world where fear is the only currency, Dephon has committed the ultimate crime: inspiring hope.

His only goal is to make it safely through ninth grade, but on a post-apocalyptic Earth run by the Treptonian government, it isn’t that simple. Heir to a legendary power, Dephon Johnson is the only threat to the government’s rule. And on Trepton, all threats must be eliminated. When hundreds of assassins are dispatched to neutralize him, Dephon is forced to fight back. His only chance of survival is to enlist the aid of the greatest warrior the world has ever known. The only problem is, she's been dead for 13 years.

Amazon | Goodreads 

I received a free ebook copy of the book as part of the blog tour.

“Life isn’t how long you live it, but what you do with it.”

The Exemeus is far from what I expected. I’m not sure if this is a good thing but what I felt when I read the blurb is very different from what I did when I started reading the book. Having said that however, I can say that I greatly enjoyed reading the book and that one should never judge a book by its cover.

Reading the book reminds me a lot of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series. Considering that I loved that series is just a testament to how good this book is. All parts fantasy, adventure, romance, magic and dystopian, The Exemeus is packed with everything that makes a good book really good.

The protagonist, Dephon Johnson has a very admirable character. He’s the unpopular guy who gets bullied and shoved up the lockers by the more popular jocks. He isn’t exactly a “hero” material but that doesn’t stop him from being fearless and reckless. He is very grounded and down to earth. And he’s ready to take on anyone just to help the people around him. He’s very spontaneous and figuring things about him at the same time that he does makes you connect with him more.   

I liked the transition between the present time and the events of the past. The transition allows very little confusion on the readers’ part since it clearly defines how everything became what they are and it shows how greatly the past affects the present. One can see that everyone has some big part to play and that everything is connected.

I loved reading Hyalee and Singleton’s story. The romance between them didn’t overpower the wholeness of the story but I feel giddy reading Singleton’s sweet, charming comebacks just the same. Hyalee has a strong personality, full of willpower and guts. She’s audacious, quite unpredictable and always with a sarcastic retort.

There was always something happening. It didn’t felt rushed and the buildup was just right. I admit some parts were quite confusing to me and I had a slightly hard time familiarizing myself with a few things (i.e. the magical lexicon) and some of the characters’ names I even forgot while reading, but that doesn’t take away the thrill of reading the book.

What I love most about the book is the characters. Not one of them lacks a sense of humor and personality. Their relationship and the way they interact, one could just relate to them. They were all very fun to read. They’re quirky, enigmatic and dynamic.

With a unique, twisty plot that is mysterious, exciting and humorous, The Exemeus is another good book to add to the ever growing to-read list of book-lovers.

BOOK EXCERPT.

I was trying to think of a surefire way to kill David Morrow, but Virginia’s constant chatter kept disrupting my thoughts. 

“I don’t think you should worry about David. He was a total loser,” Virginia said. “You could do so much better.”

“You’re just saying that,” I told her. “Face it, I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life. Guys want girls who are attractive and popular. They don’t want someone who looks like me.”

“Oh, please, what’s bringing this on? David was nobody, and if a guy only cares about looks, who needs him? Trust me, there are lots of great guys out there who’ll fall for a girl who’s intelligent and funny like you. You don’t need bland David. You need someone who’s so passionate that he lights you on fire.”

“Why don’t I just get some kerosene and a match, and then I can do it myself?”

“Don’t be bitter,” Virginia said as we reached the front door of my house. “Today’s your birthday. We should go out and do something wild.”

Instantly, I became nervous. Whenever Virginia said the word wild in that Spanish accent of hers, I either ended up in a lot of trouble or in a lot of pain. When we were really wild, I ended up in both.

“I don’t think we should do anything of the sort,” I said as I fumbled in my purse for the key.

“No, I definitely think we should go to the salon in the mall and dye our hair pink. Ooohh, oooh,” she said, jumping up and down like she needed to find a ladies’ room fast, “or blue! I could totally see you with blue hair. We don’t have to get it professionally done. We can do it ourselves.”

I looked at her in amazement. She was completely serious. “Do you remember the perm you gave me? My hair is only now growing back.” I found my key and pushed it into the lock. “In fact, it shrinks a little every time you come near it.”

Virginia waved her hand airily, as though what I said was trivial. “You can’t let little things set you back or you’ll end up like...” she leaned over to whisper the last two words as we entered my house, “your father.”

I shook my head. There he was on the couch.

“I’m surprised to find you here, Mr. Smith,” Virginia said cheerfully. She had an amazing talent for keeping the sarcasm out of her voice.

“Hello, Ms. Castellanos,” my dad said. He didn’t bother to take his eyes off the television.

“Anything interesting on?” She derived perverse pleasure from needling my dad. In the beginning he used to get annoyed, but he’s learned to tune her out. Most of the time, anyway.

“You’re not watching this tired old show, are you?” she continued, pointing to the television. “I’ll save you the trouble--he dies in the end.” The vein in my father’s neck bulged, and his jaw clenched. Score, Virginia.

As my father grumpily changed the channel, she said, “Oh, I love this show, I’ve seen every episode a million times. Maybe I’ll come back down in a bit and watch some of it with you.” The muscle in Dad’s neck twitched again. Virginia grinned her sadist’s grin, heading up the stairs with a spring in her step.

“Bye, Dad,” I said, trying to keep from laughing.

“Bye, Hyalee,” he sighed, changing the channel to the local news.

By the time I got upstairs, the door to my room was already open and Virginia was rummaging through my closet.

“What’re you doing?” I threw myself down on the bed. Kicking off my shoes, I picked up the latest issue of People from my nightstand and flipped through it.

“I’m looking for something you can wear with our new blue hair, but you have less selection than a nun. Just like your mom. Soon you’ll be wearing turtle necks on burning hot days.”  

My parents had a turtleneck for every occasion--turtleneck evening wear to turtleneck pajamas. Mom never went swimming, but if she did, I was sure she could find a turtleneck bathing suit.

“I’m not dyeing my hair. My mom would flip.” Why would I want blue hair anyway?

“On the bright side, your dad would only notice if you stood in front of the TV,” she said, holding up a green and blue hoodie to her body before chucking it on the closet floor.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, but my mom would see it. She notices everything.”

“Come on, it’s your birthday! Your mom should remember how much birthdays meant to her when she was our age. Hers is in what, two days? I’m sure even she’s going to let loose a little. Besides, you only turn seventeen once, and it is senior year. The whole occasion practically screams blue hair.”

“That might make sense in your convoluted little mind, but if I cross my mom, the only screaming will come from me.”

Virginia pouted. I hated that look, but I wasn’t going to get dumped and get grounded on my birthday. “Okay, maybe I’ll go to the store and watch you and maybe... I’ll try on a blue wig,” I said, biting my fingernail.

“Fair enough. If we’re lucky, they’ll have a sale and you can get an outfit to match your wig.”

I snorted. “You know that’s not going to happen. I have the worst luck.” I pulled on my shoes and grabbed my Dallas Cowboys hat from the floor, placing it on my head.

“We all make our own luck,” Virginia said confidently, shimmying in front of the mirror. She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. “But if I did believe in luck, I definitely wouldn’t want yours.”

“Thanks,” I said as we headed out the door. “Thanks a lot.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS.

Folami and Abeni Morris are a sister-sister writing team. Together they wrote (and rewrote) The Exemeus, somehow managing to accomplish it without murdering one another. Despite their facial similarities, tendency to finish each other’s thoughts and stick up for each other constantly, no, they’re not twins and thus deserve their own individual bio.

Folami Morris grew up in the tiny city of San Mateo Ca, where nothing ever happens and no one ever leaves. She went to Xavier University for undergraduate, getting her B.A in physics and her B.S in Biology. After graduation she returned to California, to live in an even smaller city, where even less happens, Antioch Ca. During this time she escaped the monotony by hanging out with her imaginary friends Hyalee and Dephon, and by writing the Exemeus. She finally escaped to Queens NY and now realizes that quiet and tiny aren’t so bad. 

As luck (and logic) would have it, Abeni Morris grew up in the same tiny little town as her sister, then she too escaped to the tinier town of Antioch. She has yet to leave. She received her bachelor’s degree in early childhood development from Cal State East Bay. She is the mom of two amazing kids, who swear that they deserve a percentage of the book proceeds and a ton of the credit. At least she raised dreamers.

Find the authors: Website 

1 winner will get the Kindle 6" e-ink,  1 will get a $25 Amazon Gift Card and 1 will get a Paperback of Demon's at Deadnight by A & E Kirk.

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SCAVENGER HUNT - Join in the fun!

Make sure to check out The Exemeus Scavenger Hunt, where you can win a Kindle Fire or $150!  The first stop is at My Guilty Obsession, where you can get the first clues on this incredible journey for an amazing prize!  

The Scavenger Hunt starts on Monday, August 26th and runs through Friday, August 30th.  Chances to win are through midnight on September 1st.  Buy your copy of The Exemeus today, if you haven't already!

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Tour Stop: Take It All + Excerpt, Giveaway and more!

***Inspired by true events***

Judy Garland said it best, ‘For it was not into my ear you whispered but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed but my soul.’

If you asked her why she loved him, she would only be able to tell you it was because he was who he was and well, she was who she was.

Plain and simple.

All her life Lennox Ward felt incomplete. That her heart was always searching for that one special thing; that special someone she had yet to find.

Then Caleb Kingston came strolling back into her life unexpectedly, and little did she know her world was about to come crashing down around her; forever shattering it.

Is love enough to conquer all?

Will she be able to lead them out of hell and off their path of self destruction?

Or will Caleb take it all?

*This book contains mature subject matter and is not intended for those under 17 years of age.*

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Teasers.

Excerpt.

“Hey guys, do you know where Caleb is?” she asked, looking between the two of them. They shot each other a look that she found unsettling but pushed it aside. “Do you?”

“He’s–”

“Amb,” Alex cut her off with a sharp tone and stony eyes.

Amber looked from Lennox to Alex, then gave him a remorseful look before turning her attention back to Lennox, saying, “A few of his and Ty’s buddies showed up, so they’re all in Caleb’s room. I’m sorry Lennox.”

She looked back at her then Alex who was avoiding eye contact all the while shaking his head unimpressed, “Sorry for what?” she asked, confused having no idea what was going on.

“Caleb’s a great guy, and you seem like a great girl who makes him happy but he’s...” Amber trailed off, unable to say the words.

Lennox backed away from the table looking at the two, her face twisted; having a feeling she knew what they were trying to tell her. She turned on her heels and headed for Caleb’s room. She thought she had it figured out, all the weird moments with him over the last couple weeks; the short calls, the way he would act so distant one day then so close the next, the gifts, all of it was out of guilt. Guilt from cheating on her, it was the only thing that made sense; what else could there be.

As she walked down the hall and past the bathroom, she came to Caleb’s bedroom door that was closed. She knew it was never closed, unless they were in there during one of their hot and heavy make out sessions. Standing in front of the door, her heart began to pound in her chest and it was all she could hear rushing through her ears. Her whole body began to shake as images of him with another girl flashed through her mind. She didn’t know what she was going to do after catching him but she was unable to think that far ahead when her hand gripped the handle and turned; slowly pushing open the door.

The Playlist.

Kiss the Rain – Billie Myers

Drunk Enough – Angels Fall

Everything – Buckcherry

Monster You Made – Pop Evil

With You – Emerson Drive

Cry – Cassadee Pope

Poison & Wine – The Civil Wars

Try – Natasha Bedingfield

Let Her Go - Passenger

Colorblind – Counting Crows

It Goes Like – Thomas Rhett

Liar – The Cranberries

White Suburban – Skylar Grey

Linger – The Cranberries

Fall For You – Secondhand Serenade

This Years Love – David Grey

Wanted – Hunter Hayes

Cocaine – Eric Clapton

Skyfall - Adele

Stuttering – Fefe Dobson

Religion – Skylar Grey

Falls On Me – Fuel

I Knew You Were Trouble – Taylor Swift 

Titanium – Madilyn Bailey

Told You So – Cassadee Pope

Collide – Howie Day

Radioactive – Imagine Dragons

Wear Me Out – Skylar Grey

Cry With You – Hunter Hayes

Kiss You Inside Out - Hedley

Teenage Dream – Katy Perry

Falling – The Civil Wars

You – Paul Brandt

Wanted You More – Lady Antebellum

All You Ever – Hunter Hayes

Tangerine – Led Zepplin

I‟ll Be The Light – Colton Dixon

Bed of Lies – Matchbox Twenty

I Was A Fool – Tegan and Sara

For My Sake – Shinedown

Good To You – Marianas Trench

„A‟ Song - Hedley

Overjoyed – Matchbox Twenty

23 – Jimmy Eat World

Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley

The Way – Matchbox Twenty

All We Are - OneRepublic

Brave New World – Hedley

Wonderwall – Oasis

Wanted is Love – Phillip Phillips

Just Like a Pill – Pink

Broken - Seether

Back 2 Good – Matchbox Twenty

Everything – Lifehouse

Call Me - Shinedown

Every Lie – My Darkest Days

If I Lose Myself – OneRepublic

Bury Your Head - Saosin

So Easy – Phillip Phillips

Blurry – Puddle of Mudd

Love the Way You Lie part II – Rihanna & Eminem 

Breakdown – Seether

With Me – Sum 41

Dare You to Move – Switchfoot

Now I‟m All Messed Up – Tegan and Sara

Lie To Me (acoustic) – 12 Stones

The Kill – Thirty Seconds to Mars

Polaris – Jimmy Eat World

The Best I Ever Had – Vertical Horizon

Somebody Like You (acoustic) – Pop Evil

Bliss (I Don‟t Wanna Know) – Hinder

I Can’t Stay Away – The Veronicas

*The following songs don‟t appear in the playlist as they are songs I either listened to while writing specific scenes, play an overall part in Take it All, or belong to a character.

Take it All – Adele – I had everything I needed for this story except a title. I went crazy trying to find the perfect one that would sum up everything Caleb and Lennox would go through and as I sat at my kitchen table one day, this song happened to come on my iPod. After hearing Adele sing the opening lines, Caleb and Lennox came to life even more than they were. Their story played through my head to the entire song, sending chills over my body and tears through my eyes; I knew this was the one.

Demons – Imagine Dragons – Caleb and Lennox‟s song. There‟s a part of the song, as referenced in the beginning, that when I hear it I automatically think of Caleb and Lennox and think it fits them perfectly.

Better Than Me – Hinder – Caleb‟s song.

Fix You – Cold Play – Lennox‟s song.

Glycerine (acoustic) – Bush – This was the song playing when Caleb and Lennox made love for the first time.

I’ll Follow You – Shinedown – This song played when Lennox told Caleb no matter how far he falls, she‟s right there next to him.

Drugs Or Me – Jimmy Eat World – This song played when Lennox gave Caleb her ultimatum.

4am – Our Lady Peace – This was the band and the song that was playing during the concert when Lennox was overcome with emotion in never seeing Caleb again.

The One That Got Away – The Civil Wars – This played when Lennox finally blew up and told Caleb her feelings after the concert.

What’s Left Of Me – Nick Lachey – Lennox and Caleb‟s last night together after the concert.

We’ve Got Tonight – Phillip Phillips – Lennox and Caleb‟s last night together after the concert.

Not Enough – Our Lady Peace – This song played during the final moments of the last chapter of the book.

About the Author.

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Emma Grayson is a Canadian author who resides outside of Edmonton, Alberta with her family and six year old son. She is Amazon’s Bestselling author of Unbeautifully Loved, the first book in her Breathe Again series and Take it All, the first book in her two part series, Blinded by Love. She is currently working on Unbearable Guilt, Breathe Again book two, as well as Promise it All the conclusion to her Blinded by Love series. She is also in the prewriting stages of her new trilogy series, Saving You; a spin-off from Blinded by Love. 

When she’s not writing she enjoys time with her son, going to movies, reading, enjoying Starbucks latte’s with her girlfriends, or watching rerun episodes of Criminal Minds and Flashpoint. She’s the lover of music of all kinds, television, coffee, all things purple, Oilers hockey, Bradley Cooper, and doesn’t leave the house without her iPhone, Kobo, flip flops and a pack of gum.

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