Review: Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls #2) by Ally Carter
Published by Orchard 2007

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.

♥♥♥♥♥

Now is the time to say that I'm impressed. I loved this book, so much so that I read in less than half the time that I read the first in the series.

Cammie Morgan starts a new school year hoping to put what happened with Josh behind her. As if that wasn't difficult enough, Cammie finds out that the school is keeping a secret from the girls, called Blackthorne, and she and her friends have to find out just what is going on. Little does she know that her school life as she knows it is about to undergo a radical change, and soon it's up to her to help put things right.

This is going to be slightly hard to review without spoilers, so I'm tiptoeing around it. Wow, this one was so much better than the first that I just ate. it. up. The tone was more somber this time around because Cammie was trying to move on and stay away from Josh, but the book was a lot more action-packed than the first and there were a few really good oh-my-god moments. There were some very interesting missions this time around and the whole time you didn't really know what everyone's motives were. There were the usual laughs at the girls' antics and I had a grin on my face at several moments. The romance was also a whole lot hotter. Whereas the first book had the sweetness of first love, this book had romance that was filled with mysteriousness and intrigue, and like I said, it was just a whole lot hotter. I loved the host of new characters that made an appearance in this book, and I really do hope to see them again, because things are a lot more interesting with them around. Overall, this was action-packed with great missions, laughs and an intriguing romance.

5 stars