Tag: amnesia

REVIEW: The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter

REVIEW: The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

A woman wakes up on the snowy ground, looking up at the Eiffel Tower.  But  she doesn’t remember her name, how she came to be in Paris, or even why her head hurts. It’s all troublesome. But nothing compared to the men with guns. One of them calls her Alex. That must be her name. But it doesn’t ring a bell or bring back anything else.

Jack Sawyer is a spy – an “operative” – and he’s worked with Alex for years. She’s supremely competent (and annoying), so it doesn’t take long for him to figure out this is NOT Alex.

Alex is a spy gone rogue, and everyone is after her – her bosses at the CIA, and the bad guys. And Jake didn’t manage to find Alex like he was trying to – he found her twin sister. A person he always assumed didn’t actually exist. And now everyone after Alex will make the same mistake he did. So Alex’s twin – whatever her name and story is – is in life-ending kinds of trouble.

Review

I had a lot of fun with this one. I laughed often and read funny sections to my husband. I enjoyed the banter and got a kick out of the bumbling-into-success way of the main character. I would read this again and will definitely give the sequel a try – although with some hesitation. The hinted POV character was not a favorite for me in this one.

That said, this felt more like my favorite YA stories (Prince in Disguise, 10 Blind Dates) than my favorite adult romances (The Bodyguard, Undercover Bromance) – and not just because this is a “closed door” romance. The main character comes off as young. And my favorite banter-y moments at times felt like a different book when compared to the parts where f-bombs are dropping and bullets are flying.

So, YA fans – especially fans of the author’s YA and Older Middle Grade novels – who are not looking for a spicy romance may find a lot here to enjoy – I did! But for die hard adult romance fans, YMMV.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read

REVIEW: The Van Gogh Deception by Deron R. Hicks

REVIEW: The Van Gogh Deception by Deron R. Hicks

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

A twelve-year-old boy is found in the National Gallery. No one knows who he is or where he came from. The boy remembers nothing – not his name and nothing about how he got there.

The boy is placed in a temporary foster home. He goes by the name Art because the name “Arthur” is in his coat. He knows a crazy amount of information about famous artists and their paintings, so the family goes back to the Gallery to see if anything trigger’s Art’s memory.

But they have no idea that someone is watching them, determined to find Art before he gets his memory back and foils their plans.

When they make their move on Art, they get his foster sister, Camille, too. Soon the kids are on the run with no idea who to trust or why they are being pursued.

Review

This was awesome! I loved everything. The energy and adventure worked for me. I thought the kids’ responses were realistic (although they seemed a little older than their stated ages) for the story. I loved the QR codes embedded in the story so the reader could SEE the art they were discussing in the story. Such a clever idea!

Art and Camille are a lot of fun. Art is bright and curious and determined. Camille is fiercely loyal. They make a great team, and I’d love to see them take on another mystery together.

I feel like I learned things about the art world while having a great time with a terrific story. This reminded me of FRAMED by James Ponti with the art tie-in, but this has it’s own features to love. I’d definitely give this to FRAMED fans, mystery lovers, and art lovers. This would be a perfect addition to home, school and classroom libraries – and even art classrooms. This is a book I will be telling folks about for the rest of this year!

Thanks to Netgalley and HMH Books for providing an electronic review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥