Review: Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners. 
There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.
Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.
Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

The first book in the series ‘Heist Society’ was a perfect blend of humour, the slow burn of romance, intelligence and downright sassy awesomeness. There is nothing I love more than intelligent teenagers and cons, and HS handed them to me on a silver platter with a neat little bow.

So it’s no surprise that I was insanely excited to get my hands on this, the second book in the series. Because Ally Carter never disappoints, so there was no fear that this wouldn’t live up to my expectations going in.

And it was, if possible even better than the first book. Yes ok, the first book has that magical element that the first book in a series always has because it is fresh and new and you can’t help but goggle at the characters in all their awesome continent hopping glory.

Carter manages to keep all the things that worked so well in the first book and yet still turn it completely on its head. The first book we got to see how good Kat is, and how well she and her crew work together. In the second book we get to see Kat completely screw it up. And whilst it was horrifying for her to not be the smooth operator from the first book, it was so awesome to see her fall down and try to pick herself back up again.

We really got to see a lot more of Kat as she developed. There is a lot more to her than you initially see in the first book, so it was good to see her and her issues over the family life of crime fight their way to the surface. I loved seeing how she tries to do what she’s good at whilst trying to create a distance and distinction between what she does and what her family does. And yes she gets cocky, she’s obscenely good at what she does, and she’s a teenager, so it was good to see her take a fall, but instead of running to the grown-ups she owns up to it and tries to make it right. I loved watched how she grows and loses the chip off her shoulder, and really starts to embrace who she is and those around her. I really hated watching her try to distance herself from everyone else, most particularly Hale, so it was good to watch her come round and start to accept that she is never in it on her own.

Hale, oh Hale. How do I love thee? Lots. I loved the slow burn between Hale and Kat in the first book, and it’s back and even more smouldering in this second instalment. Carter really knows how to draw out the romance and keep it burning on nothing more than fleeting touches and lingering glances. I loved seeing Hale and Kat finally start to reconnect after her desperate attempts to keep him at arm’s length, and I can’t wait to see how their relationship progresses from here.

The plot is deviously twisty – even more so than in the first book. It genuinely had me guessing right from the start. You want Kat to come out on top and yet she seems to get thwarted at every turn. I loved seeing the crew come together again, they are such a fascinating bunch of kids with some truly incredible talents between them. I was laughing, screaming and whooping right from the start. There’s plenty for everyone, whether you want romance, thrills, desperate plots, incredible cons or just a truly awesome book. I highly recommend this whole series and can’t wait to see what Kitty Kat gets up to next.

Review: Black Heart by Holly Black

Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.
But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves about to take her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.

Holly Black is one of the triumavate of authors at the top of fantastic young adult urban fantasy (the other two being Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan) and she just doesn’t disappoint – in fact I think her books just get better and better the more she writes.

I have loved the Curse Workers series since the first book ‘White Cate’ graced our shelves and each book has been consistently even more awesome. In fact the only reason that I didn’t want to read ‘Black Heart’ was because I didn’t want this series to ever end. Unfortunately all good things more, or so I’m told, come to an end, and Cassel’s story goes out with a bang.

This series is genius – absolute genius I tell you, because it has kept me guessing at every single turn. I never know how things are going to play out, who might be double crossing who, and who is secretly double crossing everyone else for their own agenda. Normally with a book I can see roughly where we’re going with it, so I find it especially exciting when there’s a book that genuinely keeps me hanging until the very last moment when everything drops into place.

Cassel. Oh Cassel baby where would I be without you? He is one of my favourite young adult male protagonists, and Black Heart has done nothing more than cement his position in my heart. He’s brooding, he’s tortured, but he’s funny and snarky and always tries so hard to do the right thing, to protect those he cares about and he’s in this constant battle against everyone and everything, including himself and his inner demons. But he doesn’t wallow in his brooding torturedness, he’s no Heathcliffe wandering the moors. Instead he goes out and does everything in his power to try and keep the upper hand and protect his friends, and above all his family. He’s in this eternal guilt and power struggle, but it’s been fascinating to see his arc through this series, to see how he’s matured and developed and come into his own power and discovered himself. It’s been an incredible journey full of twists and turns and double crossing and sneaking and I’ve loved every moment of it.

Speaking of double crossing and families, can we take just a moment to also appreciate the audacious badassery of Barron? He’s been a bit of a fabulous loose cannon ever since the start of the series, but I’ve really loved to see his character develop – no he’s probably never going to adopt a kitten and help old ladies across the street, but he has grown and developed over the course of the books so we established by the end that he may even have a heart and a core of goodness hidden in there somewhere. I have to say I’ve found Barron’s story incredibly intriguing right from the start. To be able to work memories but lose your own in the process, to have to leave notes and photographs all over the place in preparation for the next memory you might lose – it’s heart breaking and twisted and brilliant and I would totally be on board of a Barron spin off… Just saying… I’ve also loved seeing how Barron and Cassel’s relationship has developed. It’s never going to be hugs and brotherly love in the traditional sense, but their loyalty and bond was one of the most fascinating things for me in this series.

The other of course being Lila and Cassel’s relationship. I have loved watching these two dance around each other – they are so bad at communicating it isn’t even funny, so to finally have some progress and communication between them was a payoff well worth waiting for. It’s steamy and tender and bittersweet and I just adored their relationship.

“Falling in love with them is like falling down a flight of stairs. What no one told me, with all those warnings, is that even after you’ve fallen, even after you know how painful it is, you’d still get in line to do it again.” 

I have loved the concept from the start, the idea of the blowback, of the mobs and the gangs and the undercover workers – the whole idea is seamlessly brilliant. I wholeheartedly recommend this series to, well, pretty much anyone actually. Fans of magic, of urban fantasy, of crimes and mobs and smooth talking bad boys, of family dynamics and romance will all love this, but ultimately anyone who’s a fan of a fantastically written and crafted book should pick up this series because you won’t be disappointed.

“But now I wonder--what if everyone is pretty much the same and it's just a thousand small choices that add up to the person you are? No good or evil, no black and white, no inner demons or angels whispering the right answers in our ears like it's some cosmic SAT test. Just us, hour by hour, minute by minute, day by day, making the best choices we can.
The thought is horrifying. If that's true, then there's no right choice. There's only choice.” 

Review: Heist Society by Ally Carter

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie travelled 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 her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. 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 (very crooked) history—and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

This book was even better than the Gallagher Girls series for me – and I love that series. This book is, quite simply, in a league of its own.

The characters are brilliant – there wasn’t a single one that I didn’t gel with – but then again I am a complete sucker for con’s – be it in books, tv or films. There’s something ridiculously thrilling about a team being put together, the plans, the plotting, the highs, the lows, the genius that I can only dream of. And the hot boys – there are always hot boys.

And the sexual tensions is swoon worthy. I mean seriously, so many books these days don’t draw out the S.T for very long – it feels like they’re almost afraid of the reader not being interested unless there is making out right now. And I am totally a fan of making out with swoonworthy boys, but there is something about the subtle looks and touches, the moments where they might and then they don’t – it draws you out like a violin string and makes you shiver, because everything becomes so much more intimate and every movement is filled with that much more meaning than it would if they just made out.

The thing that makes this book so brilliant though, is the thought, time and planning that go into the heist. This isn’t just a bunch of kids getting away with something so far-fetched you can’t believe it. Carter knows her stuff – hell she could be a con woman herself her detailing and plans are that good. It’s part fab young adult fiction and part handbook on how to case a joint. Not that I’m recommending you try that – but if I ever did, I’d want this book to come up with a battle plan.
I loved all the names for the different types of cons – particularly the nod to the Princess Bride. “Do you know where we can get a six fingered man at short notice?”

And Kat herself, she’s brilliant. When I grow up I want to be her. She’s a genius, she’s a thief, and she’s one of the sassiest and smartest girls I’ve read in a book in a long time. But she’s not all super brains and perfect – she has her doubts, her worries, her moments of jealousy and insecurity, and most of all she is not super perfect  because she does things that show that she’s out of practice, that show she’s not quite on par with how she used to be.
And I really want to see her how she used to be…

My only complaint was that in a few places it was all too rushed or there wasn’t enough information given for me to fully know what was happening. This only really bugged me when the characters had an ‘ohhhh’ moment, and didn’t let me in on it. They’d let me in in the next chapter or section, but for those brief moments I’d feel like I’d missed something, and frantically re-read the passage before it to work out if I was just being particularly dense.

On the whole though, I completely loved this book. It was just what I needed, and I’m desperate to get my hands on the sequel which has just come out – ‘Uncommon Criminals’.

Review: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter

Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses - but it's really a school for spies. Cammie Morgan is 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 one thing the Gallagher Academy hasn't prepared her for is what to do when she falls for 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 his ever being the wiser, but can Cammie have a normal relationship with a boy who can never know the truth about her?

I am going to give you all a nice big warning now, that this review may contain copious amounts of CAPITALS which I may use to express my LOVE for this book. It also may be a tiny bit spoilery although I’ve tried to keep it as light as possible.

I have taken way too long to read this book. I am ashamed of myself. When it first came out I saw the blurb and the title and the agent, and I said to myself ‘that looks hysterical, I must henceforth to the book store and purchase a copy!’ But alas! I got swept up in silly things like university, and I didn’t do it.
And then my Mum rang me up and said, I have just seen this totally awesome book, and she described this book, and I went, ah yes, I have been meaning to buy it.
And then I was actually in the bookstore and this book fell off the shelf at me. 

And you know what? This book is GENIUS. No really – screw Hogwarts, I want to be a Gallagher Girl. Cos they are way cooler. And the classes! Oh man, I so want to go!

 So basically, this book is brilliant. I was laughing out loud pretty much every page. And when there was a sad bit and I didn’t laugh for a few pages, Ally made up for it by putting such funny bits in that I actually snorted. I think this may be the first book this year to claim to do that to me.

Cammie is amazing. She is this brilliantly witty and intelligent fifteen year old, who can pretty much do ANYTHING in the spying world, but when it comes to analysing the words a boy has said to her she is CLUELESS. And I loved this because I felt her pain. Every girl has been there. The oh my god what does this mean – how do I interpret this? WHAT DOES HE MEAN WHEN HE SAYS MAYBE SEE YOU AROUND? Most frustrating thing in the world for a boy to say.

Seriously, best female character ever. Ok well maybe not ever, I like my strong females, but she certainly ranks really, really high.

And her friends. I want friends like this. I mean I like my friends loads and all, but they can’t do half the things that Liz does with a computer! And Bex would totally be an awesome side kick for anything. I can imagine ANYTHING would be fun if you were doing it with Duchess and Bookworm…

And Josh… Oh good lord is he swoony and dream worthy, and he totally turned me into a fifteen year old girl again and made my insides go all mushy.
I love it.

It just works. The premise is genius, the characters are brilliant. It’s funny and poignant, and totally makes you feel like a dorky teenager again – only less brilliant than any of the characters. Although I wish I was that intelligent.

I love the entire set up, the school, the little quirks, code red, the ridiculous things that you see the teacher’s doing. Every little ridiculous moment where Cammie does an aside and you just go OH MY GOD THAT WAS GENIUS.
And it so totally takes me back to school, because I went to an all-girls school, but it was not nearly as cool as this, and the uniform was terrible. But it really captures the whole idea that boys are a completely alien species, and no one ever taught you how to talk to them… Or swoon worthy teachers either…

I’ve never read any of Ally Carter’s work before, and I am kicking myself for not reading her books sooner. But on the other hand, I totally needed a cheering up, and that book did it for me.

To the point that I am heading out of the house, with the shops only just opening in the morning, to go out and buy the rest of the books. And probably not sleep until I’ve read them too.

So next on my list is the second book in the series, “Cross My Heart and Hope To Spy.” Followed by “Don’t judge a Girl by her Cover.” And I have obviously picked the right moment to obsess, because the fourth book is out in a few days on May 5^th “Only The Good Spy Young.”

I cannot recommend this book enough. I loved it, a quick brilliantly witty read, that I’m going to thrust at my Mum and go ‘OMG you were totally right, now read it and see how awesome it is!’ That’s right, I’m totally going to get my Mum to read a book about an all-girls spy school…

And then I’m going to go get the next books before the caffeine wears off…

Review: Red Glove by Holly Black

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.

Oh my word I love this book so much. Seriously, anyone who hasn’t yet discovered Holly Black’s work is missing out – and the Curse Workers series is, in my opinion, her best writing yet.

There are a few things that make this series so awesome for me.
1) Cassel. I spend most of my time torn between wanting him to pin me against  something, and wanting to wrap him up in blankets and feed him soup.

2) The world. We’re in modern day America, and curse workers are terrifying mobsters whose powers are illegal but sought after. Being a curse worker is a blessing and a curse, and it’s fascinating to see how different people respond to their gift – and the range of workers there are. 

3) Blowback. It’s so good to see people with these amazing magical gifts who get some sort of blowback for using them. Cassel seems to transform into weird things and blacks out. His brother Barron loses memories of his own – his grandfather loses limbs. With a price to pay on every little curse, it makes the stakes that much higher and more interesting when people are forced to use their powers.

4) The fact that Cassel (and most of his family) are all CON ARTISTS. There are not enough books that have this as a plot line. I love it. Words cannot describe my love. I love the way that Cassel's mind works, the cons and tricks he pulls off, the sheer awesome as you watch all the pieces slot into place. It is magic, plain and simple.

I love Cassel. He is on my list of fictional characters I would love to kidnap. The book is in first person point of view, (and from a female writer, yeah that’s right doubters who think women can’t write male perspective, read this!) So you really get into Cassel’s head. I think this is the only way that the reader would be able to identify with him, as it’s only in his head that he allows himself to show anything other than a cool unruffled front. As it is Black has created a believable bad boy, who the reader can identify with and frequently want to wrap him up in blankets and feed him soup. This guy just doesn’t catch a break!

If it’s not the Feds it’s the crime bosses. And if it’s not them it’s school, or the girl he loves who has been cursed to love him back. And if it’s not all of those combined, it’s his family black mailing him to get what they want.
How anyone could survive all that is beyond me, but somehow he does, and usually emerges mostly unscathed. He’s snarky and the banter and wit between him and the other characters had me laughing out loud. But on the inside, whilst the funny is still there, he’s more calculating, and you see a greater depth to him that he doesn’t necessarily let on is there to anyone else.

Luckily the friendships that had begun to sprout during the first book have really taken off, and I loved seeing the dynamic between Sam and Cassel as he learned to trust someone other than himself. And the sheer blind faith that Sam puts in Cassel, even when faced with such lines as “I want to frame someone for my brother’s murder” Sam just asks “Ok,why?”
I think I might be a little bit on team Sam as well.

Even Cassel’s family, who are some of the most sneaky people on the planet, somehow are likeable. Some of the time. I’m constantly torn over Cassel’s mother – one minute she’s the most selfish person in the world, and yet Cassel will still do anything to protect her, and the next she’s actually sort of being a mother. The same goes for Barron, I love and hate him in equal parts.
The only member of Cassel’s family I genuinely trust is his Grandfather. Which is good, cos the poor guy needs someone he can go to.

Due out in paperback
on 16th June 2011

But in some ways the family are one of the most interesting aspects about the series. I love novels that centre around families – particularly weird families. In a few months when Demon’s Surrender comes out, you’ll see me wax lyrical about Sarah Rees Brennan’s take on family.
I love seeing the dynamics, the need to protect your flesh and blood even if they’re the ones ultimately hurting you – and then the bigger picture of the mob as a family. And seeing how those relationships can take over your life.

And speaking of relationships, his one with Lila is one of the most messed up things. It's heart breaking to watch. It was so good to see more of her as a (relatively) normal girl than we had in 'White Cat' - even if half the time she was being so weird I didn't trust her. And given the end of 'Red Glove' I'm even more excited to see what happens next in the Cassel/Lila saga of epicly thwarted love.

I cannot wait for the next book. This series is one of my favourites, and is becoming stronger with each instalment. The third book in the series “Black Heart” is due out sometime in 2012, and I’m so excited already, I may just have to go back and re-read the series and try to calm down.