Author: Ally Carter
Rating: ★★★★★
I don't know why I'm still surprised but Ally Carter did it again with I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I Have to Kill You. Based on experience, it's not likely that an author can get me totally hooked on another series (except for Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus, but that's more of a sequel-type of series, for me) but Ally did it with Gallagher Girls! I really enjoyed Heist Society, and the sequel to that is on my to-buy list, but I wasn't expecting to enjoy Gallagher Girls. Honestly, I thought it was about middle school kids. Haha oh how wrong I was - and I am so glad.
Cammie Morgan is a
student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly
typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced
martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and
students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class.
The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's
really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen
languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has
no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an
ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or
track him through town with the skill of a real "pavement artist"-but
can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the
truth about her?
Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.
Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.
The plot isn't unique by any means - a spy school for kids/teens/females - but for some reason, I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You just got me giddy because instead of reading about super awesome missions in the deep trenches of the Amazon, Cammie and her friends scrambled to make a mission that she was totally unequipped for: how to deal with boys and her first relationship. It was funny, and I can't help but chuckle as I remembered my first crush, my first relationship, the giddy of being with the boy you liked. Sometimes, books just have the magic to take the sting out of bad events and make you laugh at the days gone by, don't they? There is something so endearing about the whole story.
Cammie Morgan isn't a character that is so off-the-charts unique and super cool that I'd want to be her. Sure, she's funny and she's great with her friends but this is one of those times I just enjoyed reading about a great character without envying her. She's just this average girl - and that's what make her an excellent spy. Cammie and her friends, Liz and Bex, applied the things they learned in spy school into "studying" a boy that Cammie accidentally met during one training mission. Studying is the polite term, but stalking's more like it. :p
We don't really get to see all that much spectacular application of the things they learned in the Gallagher school. Sure they did some common spy maneuvers, but nothing so mind-blowing that would make me rave about it. It was only in the end that some kick-ass spy skills were showed off. However, even in that event, I think Josh takes the cake.
Josh? Whut? Josh is the cute and adorable guy I so want to date if he was ten years older (he's 15, I think). He's nice to everybody, sweet, and he really likes Cammie. He liked her so much he kept trying to rescue Cammie even though she just broke up with him about twice that night. Sweet, right? I'm hoping we'd still see more of him in the next books.
Wait, if there was nothing exceptional about the book, why am I giving this five stars you ask? Because from the moment I started reading it, I haven't been able to put it down. I carried my Nook around with me, I didn't watch TV, I just stayed in bed just so I could finish it. Believe me, any book that could get you hooked like that deserves all five stars. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You had a hint of humor, sweet moments, and butt-kicking action. It wasn't cheesy and over-the-top, and was written well enough that I could relate to the characters in small ways. I'm sure you readers know by now how much I adore kick-ass female protagonists, and this one did not let down. This totally cements Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series in my must-buy-in-hardbound list, right along with her Heist Society books.
How about you, read any five-star books lately? Ciao! :)
