Review: Cross My Heart & Hope To Spy by Ally Carter

After staking out, obtaining, and then being forced to give up her first boyfriend, Josh, all Cammie Morgan wants is a peaceful semester. But that's easier said than done when you're a CIA legacy and go to the premier school in the world...for spies. Cammie may have a genius IQ, but there are still a lot of things she doesn't know. Like, will her ex-boyfriend even remember she exists? And how much trouble is she really in after what happened last semester? And most of all, why is her mother acting so strangely? Despite Cammie's best intentions to be a normal student, danger seems to follow her. She and her best friends learn that their school is going to play host to some mysterious guests--code name: "Blackthorne.” Then she's blamed for a security breach that leaves the school's top-secret status at risk. Soon Cammie and her friends are crawling through walls and surveying the school to learn the truth about Blackthorne and clear Cammie's name. Even though they have confidence in their spy skills, this time the targets are tougher (and hotter), and the stakes for Cammie's heart--and her beloved school--are higher than ever.

Oh my gosh you guys, I loved the first book in this series “I’d tell you I love you, but then I’d have to kill you” and I couldn’t wait to get my mitts on the rest of the series, and “Cross my heart and hope to spy” did not disappoint.

It was a different kind of awesome to ITYILYBTIHTKY (hereafter referred to as book 1…) There was less laugh out loud moments, although it was still extremely funny. It was a quieter humour, and a darker undertone throughout.

It was a great idea to bring in the boy’s school – because it was the obvious counter to the all-girls school, and also because it took the concept of how out of their depth the girls were when it came to boys, and spread it to the entire school. Whilst we didn’t get the personal humour from the experience as we did in book 1, it was still hilarious to see how the girls reacted on a larger scale – particularly when it came to events like the ball.
And oh wow, I swooned over that. It’s every girls dream to have a big ball like that – although of course with a spy school twist!

And the boys… I would have liked to get to know them a bit more, but I suppose that would have defeated the point of them seeming like the enemy. I’m hoping we do get to see them, particularly Zach, again. That was my only frustration, was that I wanted more. It felt like we barely skimmed the surface of some things, which was frustrating because I want more – hell I want everything when it comes to this series.
But in a way that’s a good thing, so whilst it’s a frustration, it’s also a compliment.

It didn’t grab me in the same way the first book did, but it was a brilliant instalment, and furthered the plot and the characters to set everything up for the next two books – and I can’t wait to get into them.
More Gallagher Girls, more spy lessons, more spy boys, and more drama – what more could you want?!

The third book in the series is “Don’t Judge a Girl by her Cover.” Followed by “Only the Good Spy Young.” Go and get the next books in the Gallagher Girls series now!