Book Review #686 - Stormbreaker (Alex Rider #1) by Anthony Horowitz

They told him his uncle died in a car accident. Fourteen-year-old Alex knows that's a lie, and the bullet holes in his uncle's windshield confirm his suspicions. But nothing prepares him for the news that the uncle he always thought he knew was really a spy for MI6 Britain's top secret intelligence agency. Recruited to find his uncle's killers and complete his final mission, Alex suddenly finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

My Rating: 2.5/5

This book was fast paced and full of action and adventure from the very first page. 

Alex Rider is a reluctant hero, but entertaining protagonist. His introduction into the life of a spy was a little rushed and I wished there was more build up to the training aspect of it, especially if we are to believe later on that Alex is a professional. 

I've never really been a fan of the espionage genre so the fact that this book takes a rather simplistic approach to the topic was a huge positive for me. 

The plot was rather unbelievable and the amount of action really tried to cover up this fact which might work for the children the book is targeted for, but for me it was annoying. 

This is a really long series, in fact it takes up almost an entire shelf on my TBR and so I'm interested to see how the characters and more significantly, the plot develop. 

Also, funnily enough soon after finishing this book my nephew randomly picked this movie out on Netflix to watch and like almost every single book to movie adaptation, the book was 100% better. 

Book Review #399 - I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1) by Ally Carter

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea 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, or track him through town with the skill of a real "pavement artist"-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?

Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.

 

 

My Rating: 3/5

 

 

I had high expectations for this book as I had heard nothing but good things about it.

 

 

I found it really hard to read this book for any extended period of time. I found it really slow paced and the characters just did nothing for me.

 

 

The whole spy concept was the only positive I could find in this book. The whole idea of a spy school was fun and fresh.

 

 

I do intend to read the second book simply because I own it but if it doesn't improve then I don't intend to read any further into the series.