Review by clairebartholomew549 - The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold

clairebartholomew549 's review for:

The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold by Ally Carter

4.0

emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is just such a fun book! Alex joins the CIA to escape her life and what she views as her identity. Her very first day, she meets the most annoying and smug man named Michael. Naturally, they end up paired together for all sorts of missions, and over the years things get weird and emotionally fraught between them. One year ago, Alex abandoned the spy world for good. But of course, it's not that simple, and she and Michael have to find their way out of the colossal disaster they find themselves in before it's too late.

Ally's books don't take themselves too seriously, and I love that. But they also challenge our conceptions of what "serious" or "complicated" people look like, and I love that too. The plot here is engaging and moves fast - we have flashbacks to earlier in Alex and Michael's spy careers, but it doesn't detract from the main narrative because you can tell right away that everything is connected. Alex and Michael have just the right amount of push and pull to be intriguing without being too aggravating, and the spy aspects are just silly enough that it made me chuckle. This is just a really fun read :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper and Voyage for an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings