Showing posts with label Gallagher Girls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gallagher Girls. Show all posts

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Heist Society by Ally Carter


***



From Author’s Website:

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s history–and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

I love Carter’s Gallagher Girls.  I try to get everyone to read them (hint, hint).  Heist Society was a natural progression while I wait for the next installment of the GGs.  I found I love Kat & Hale almost as much as Cammie & Crew.  I find Heist Society to be for a slightly older reader than I would recommend GG, but such a fun series.  If you like Leverage or White Collar, you will enjoy Heist Society.

I cannot tell you how excited I am for Double Crossed, a cross-over story between the two series!

~Shel 

Friday, December 28, 2012

Shel's Top 10 of 2012


Hi all!  Sorry I've been a little absent on the blog.  The holidays are always a busy time, but this year has been absolutely nuts.  Throw in a promotion at work and I'm doing a vanishing act.  I promise to be better, mostly because I miss you all!
 
I had such a problem this year narrowing down my choices for my top 10 reads for 2012.  What a great year for book lovers, and if my TBR pile gets any bigger it's going to take over my entire house.  I only got in about 100 books this year and there were so many more great books I wanted to read.  So, without further adieu and in no particular order...
 
 
The Elemental Series by Brigid Kemmerer
 

 
The first two books, Storm and Spark, just knocked my socks off.  I love this series.
 
The Mythos Academy Series by Jennifer Estep (Dark Frost and Crimson Frost)
 
This has been one of my favorite series since we started the blog (as I'm sure you can tell by my frequent ramblings on the subject).  This year brought us Dark Frost and Crimson Frost.  Both are freaking amazing.  Kudos Jennifer!
 


 















The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax by Trinity Faegen

 
 
Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis  (And Slow Heat by Jill Shalvis and let's face it, pretty much anything by Jill Shalvis)
 
Ok, ok.  I know, but seriously, if you haven't picked up a Jill Shalvis book you NEED to.  She's supposed to be at the RT convention this year and it is very likely that I will go all fan-girl crazy when I meet her!  Her books are hilarious AND steamy.
 











Much Ado About Magic by Shanna Swendson
 

I was so happy that Shanna decided to self-publish the rest of the Enchanted, Inc series and she has not disappointed.
 
The Gallagher Girls Series by Ally Carter
 
I soooo want to be a Gallagher Girl!

 
 
Shadows In The Silence by Courtney Allison Moulton
 

Wow, just wow.  That's all I can say for now.  You will have to check out my review in February.
 
Alex Van Helsing: The Triumph of Death by Jason Henderson
 


The finale of this great series.  I love Alex so much and am sad to see him go!  If HarperCollins or Harper Teen is reading this, please give us more of this seriously fun series!
 
The Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
 
 Oh Jem!  Oh Will!  I think you both need hugs!




Well, that's the best I could do to narrow down my Top Ten.  I know, I know, I cheated a little bit, but seriously, it's tough to pick just 10!  So, what are your favorites from 2012?

~Shel
 
 

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Armchair BEA - Best of 2012


It's the second day of Armchair BEA and everyone is sharing their favorite 2012 reads.  We mentioned them briefly in our intro yesterday.  Today we are going to share just a bit more...

Gallagher Series by Ally Carter - Shel so wants to go to Gallagher Academy to hang out with Cammie, Bex, Liz and Macey







Storm by Brigid Kemmerer - Shel is pretty stingy with her 4 and 5 star ratings.  Storm earned 4.5 stars AND Shel read it twice in one weekend.






Half-Blood by Jennifer Armentrout - Shel found the "smack-talk" she loves in this book.





The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen - It's not often Shel describes a book as phenomenal.  High praise indeed for the Mephisto Covenant.





Chase in Shadow by Amy Lane - You can't use just a few words to describe the heartbreaking journey that is Chase in Shadow.  Read Bel's review as it packs a powerful punch that compliments the book wonderfully.





The Fault in our Stars by John Green - John Green writes what he writes best.  Angst and Humor for the intelligent teen.








Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson - The Bloggess is Nat's hero for taking her inappropriate and off-the-wall humor and sharing it with the world.






Thursday, April 5, 2012

Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter

*** 1/2

The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan–an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.
Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

The Bad:
I really do not have anything bad to say about Out of Sight, Out of Time, except maybe I wish it was longer or that the next book would be out sooner!

The Good:
I truly enjoy the Gallagher Girls series and this installment illustrates a darker side of Cammie.  The stakes are high because Cammie has no idea what happened to her after she left Gallagher Academy at the end of Only the Good Spy Young.  The series has grown and become more intense as the characters get older and face more dangerous scenarios, while keeping the fun adventure that started with I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You.  OOSOOT is an intense, suspenseful ride that you should definitely check out!

~Shel

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter

****

The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school—that is, if every school teaches advanced martial arts in PE, chemistry always consists of the latest in chemical warfare, and everyone breaks CIA codes for extra credit in computer class. So in truth, while the Gallagher Academy might say it’s a school for geniuses what they really mean is spies. But what happens when a Gallagher Girl falls for a boy who doesn’t have a code name?
Cammie Morgan may be 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 Gallagher Academy hasn’t prepared her for 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, and track him through a mall without him ever being the wiser, but can she have a regular relationship with a regular boy who can never know the truth about her? Cammie may be an elite spy in training, but in her sophomore year, she’s doing something riskier than ever—she’s falling in love.






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.






When Cammie “the Chameleon” Morgan visits her roommate Macey in Boston, she thinks she’s in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she’s there to watch Macey’s father accept a nomination for vice president of the United States. But when you go to the world’s best school (for spies), “exciting” and “deadly” are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves trapped in a kidnapper’s dangerous plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.
As her junior year begins, Cammie can’t shake the memory of what happened in Boston, and even the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women doesn’t feel like the safe haven it once did.
Shocking secrets and old flames seem to lurk around every one of the mansion’s corners as Cammie and her friends struggle to answer the questions, Who is after Macey? And how can they keep her safe?
Soon Cammie is joining Bex and Liz as Macey’s private security team on the campaign trail. The girls must use their spy training at every turn as the stakes are raised, and Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth…


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 she 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…. 

The Good:
Gallagher Girls is one of those series' that I would see in the bookstore or while shopping online and thought looked interesting, but never seemed to have the time to read.  Finally, a few weeks ago I was looking for something light and fun, so I picked up I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You.  Much to Nat's amusement, I ended up reading the entire series in 24 hours.  The books are so much fun!  Not only are the GG engrossing and fun, but they were the perfect antidote to a really bad week.  Cammie, Bex, Liz and Macey are great characters.  I so want to go to Gallagher Academy and hang out with them! 

The concept for the books is simple and Ally Carter expertly executes the stories.  Gallagher Academy is an all girl school training the next generation of spies.  These girls are genius, athletic and all have exceptional talents.  The one thing they do not know is how to deal with boys (and really, do any of us?).  This idea leads to hilarious situations and begins the spy adventures for the girls. 

I definitely recommend this series.  I cannot wait for the next installment!

~Shel

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday (10)


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.



By Ally Carter
Publication Date: March 13, 2012

The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer