TBR Challenge 2013: Heist Society by Ally Carter

Oups, I'm once again late for the TBR challenge ^_^; After how many times does it become a habit? LOL.  This time though it's not because I'm off my game reviewing. I think in the past couple of weeks, I've been very good at getting back into a reviewing rhythm... It's simply that I forgot that I read something that qualified  for the challenge!! I know, very sad ^_^; When I read Wendy's reminder last week, I was "Crap, I won't have time to read something!" and it's only on Wednesday, while I was planning to review Double Crossed and Heist Society that I realized Heist Society was actually a TBR read! Yay! However, the past couple of days have been quite busy, so it's only now that I have to time to write the review. I think "Better late than never" might become my  new motto LOL.

All right, let's talk about Heist Society. This book has been in my TBR pile for almost three years. I got it when I attended the RT Convention 2010 in Columbus. One of the panels I went to was the Young Adult Authors Chat. Back then, I didn't read as much YA, but I went because one of my favorite authors, Kelley Armstrong, was there. Ms Carter was one of the other authors present and I really enjoyed her answers. As a result, I wanted to give her a try­. During the chat, she spoke of her new series, Heist Society, and I thought I'd pick that one up because I really like cat burglar characters and plots. I even got an autographed copy! However, often at those conventions/conferences, you come home with so many books that you're a bit overwhelmed and a lot of them end in the TBR pile... Finally, I picked up Heist Society back in February after reading Double Crossed because I really enjoyed the novella. I was already familiar with the Gallagher Girls series and now, it was time to finally check out Heist Society :)

And here are my thoughts on the book... enjoy!

Heist Society by Ally Carter
published by Hyperion in February 2010

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.

Genre: YA, contemporary, cat burglar
Series: Heist Society, Book #1

The Story: The blurb is pretty accurate, but as usual, I like to give my own spin :) So Katarina Bishop comes from a family of burglars and she's been taught the trade. However, she wanted to live a normal life and walked away from the family business, i.e. her family, and conned her way into a prestigious boarding school. However, normal life didn't last long for Kat because W.W. Hale V, the heir to a prestigious and rich family, a born grifter and one of Kat's past associates, got her kicked out of boarding school. Turns out a very powerful mobster was robbed of his priceless art collection - 5 paintings that were lost during World War II - and he believes that Kat's father did it. Even after Kat has confirmed her father didn't do it - he was busy pulling another job - the mobster won't believe Kat... and she only has one option in front of her if she doesn't want her family to come to harm: to retrieve the paintings. Unfortunately for Kat, Visily Romani, the master thief, is cunning and has hidden them in the most secure museum in the world: the Henley. On a deadline and with her young crew, can Kat pull it off?

My Opinion: Let see, let see. So I'm a fan of cat burglar characters and plots. Don't ask me why, but I just like it. There's just something so cool about those kind of robberies - in fiction at least LOL. I think it's the cleverness and the sophistication involved which makes the whole thing so mysterious :) However, I also think it's one of the hardest plots to pull off in books because as I said, it has to be clever, but there's also the narration. In movies and TV shows, they can always play with the sequences and have stuff happened off cameras and the important scenes are revealed at the end in flashbacks, but  in books, when your plot is narrated at the first POV, well the readers have to be told what happened and it just takes out the mystery.

So how did Ms Carter fare with Heist Society? I actually think she did a great job with the plot! Everything was quite interesting :) How Kat contacted her father to see whether he was the master being the robbery or not, then the investigation and the actual theft. I like how this world is so small and everyone knows everyone. Also, if you don't have the contacts and the money to start with, you don't get far. I also enjoyed the formation of Kat's crew, the casing of the Henley, how their plans came together and how they executed it. Of course, the age makes it a bit unbelievable, but it's fiction after all and you read this for its entertaining value :) In addition, there was some good twists to the plot which made the whole thing quite clever :)

What didn't work so well for me was the characters... Actually, not so much the characters, but the lack of expansion on their background. For example, Kat and Hale. There's obviously a past between them, but we're never really shown or told. It's like we're dropped into the story and not given any explanations. Why did Kat really walk away from the family business? How do they know Simon, the boy who helped them with the security plans, and so on. I needed more information, more background to get a clear image of everything and I feel I didn't get it. I don't know if it was to amp up the mystery factor for the story, but it didn't work for me. Also, I thought Kat was a so-so heroine. I didn't really connect with her character. It's not that she was selfish or self-centered, but it felt to me that she was so focused on her feelings and what was happening that she disregarded the others' feelings. A good leader should be attuned to her team members and she wasn't. Also, I wasn't thrilled with her decision to bring a stranger boy into a crew at the end. It just seemed weird ^_^; It felt like his only purpose was to start a love triangle or a rivalry and I think it was unnecessary. Otherwise, I actually liked all the other characters - they were just a lot more fun.

All in all, Ms Carter delivered a fun book with Heist Society :) I think her ideas were more concise and it resulted in a a great plot. Also, to me, Heist Society read better than the Gallagher Girls books because of the flow and the conciseness. Unfortunately, that pertains only to the plot :( The let down of the book was the lack of background on the characters and situations, it felt like I was dropped in the middle of the story and was missing a few introductory chapters.

My Grade: B. In the end, I'm glad I picked up this book because it was fun and enjoyable.

Review: Double Crossed by Ally Carter

Double Crossed by Ally Carter

published by Hyperion in January 2013

Macey McHenry—Glamorous society girl or spy-in-training?

W.W. Hale V—Heir to an American dynasty or master thief?

There are two sides to every coin. Whether these two can work together is a tossup.

Born into privilege, Macey and Hale are experts at mingling with the upper class. But even if they’ve never raised an eyebrow at the glitz, neither teenager has ever felt at home with the glamour.

When Macey and Hale meet at a society gala, the party takes a dangerous turn. Suddenly they’re at the center of a hostage situation, and it’s up to them to stop the thugs from becoming hostile. Will Macey’s spy skills and Hale’s con-man ways be enough to outsmart a ruthless gang? Or will they have to seek out the ultimate inside girl to help?

Genre: Young Adult
Series: Gallagher Girls, Book #5.5/Heist Society, Book #2.5

The Story: Double Crossed is a novella that combines both of Ms Carter's series, the Gallagher Girls and the Heist Society. Macey McHenry and W.W. Hale V are charity event with their socialite parents. They meet, flirt with each other a little and quickly recognize that the other is more than just a spoiled, bored brat born with a silver spoon. In order to keep their cover, distance seems prudent. However, when the charity event is hijacked by thieves who intend to steal the Calloway Canary diamond and escape by holding the social elite hostages, Macey and Hale need to team up. With their special set of skills and outside back-up, the thieves won't know what hit them :)

My Opinion: I was looking for a short story to bulk up my number of reads in January and thought Double Crossed was perfect. I'm really glad I picked this one up because it turned out to be a very fun and enjoyable novella.

I think the idea of combining these two series into one short story was genius on Ms Carter's part :) While the basis of the series are opposites - on one side you have girls training to become spies and on the other, a crew of cat burglers - the feels are very similar, what with the youngsters being more than what they appear to be thanks to their extra set of skills. Also, the lives they have are also very different and interesting... And really, while the end result is opposite, some of the skills they learn are very similar :) Subterfuge, languages, knowledge, stealth, etc. LOL. So I thought the combination of the two series was very natural and the story in Double Crossed kept the spirit of both series :)

It was also a very good idea to feature Macey and Hale as the protagonists because these two have a lot in common... and were more likely to be at the same place at the same time given their background LOL. But seriously, I actually find Macey more interesting than Cam because I think she has more depth and life experience. Cam has always known her path and her whole life has been focused on spy-stuff. In contrast, Macey's path hasn't been as obvious and she's just more complex personality-wise. She has her public persona, especially while her father was campaigning to become USA's vice-president, and her true self. Anyway, Macey being one of central character of this novella was one of the reasons I picked up Double Crossed and I'm really happy I did :)

As for the story, it was fun and actually exciting. It was also the perfect situation for a spy and grifter to join force because each had their strengths such as Hale knowing that the Calloway Canary diamond was false and Macey recognizing and understand the language the thieves were speaking. What was fun also was Macey and Hale recognizing the situation - knowing there was danger - but also wondering why the thieves were doing such and such. If there's a complaint from me is that I wished there's been a little bit more action ^_^; But otherwise, this was a good novella.

My Grade: B+. As I said, a very fun novella. If you're a fan of either or both series, you won't want to miss Double Crossed. Me, I had only read the Gallagher Girls series prior to reading Double Crossed, but afterwards, my curiosity sure was piqued and I went to check Heist Society. In any case, I hope that Ms Carter has plans to write more of these cross-over stories because I'd definitively pick them up :)

Monthly Reads: April 2012

Over the week-end, I was thinking the blogland was in a lull once again. Today, I came back home from work and there were 27 posts waiting in my Google Reader... In a couple of hours, that's not bad. It seems everyone has decided to post today :) And I won't be left behind!

So here is what I read in April:


1) About that Night by Julie James: B

2) Just Down the Road by Jodi Thomas: B+

3) Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire: C+

4) Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman: D

5) I Want Candy by Susan Donovan: C+

6) Flirting with Intent by Kelly Hunter: B-

7) We'll Always Have Paris by Jessica Hart: C+

8) I'd Tell You I Love You, But I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter: B-

9) Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter: C

It's the start of a new semester at Gallagher Academy and the girls are in for a surprise. The first mission in their Covert Operations class takes place in at the Jeffersonian museum in Washington D.C. and it is to make it to a certain display at a given time, without being tailed. Unfortunately for Cammie, she trusted the wrong person and failed miserably. However, she does confirm the existence of the male counterpart of Gallagher Academy: Blackthorne. And for the first time in history, the two academies are going to work together... which explains the presence of Zach - the boy whom she trusted in Washinton, at the academy. The more she interacts with Zach, the more Cammie feels something fishy is going on... and with her friends, she decides to put into practice the skills they learned to find out what.

I picked this right up after reading I'd Tell You I Love You, But I'd Have to Kill You. Why not right? Since the story and world would still be fresh in my mind :) While Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy was still a fun book, I thought it wasn't as good as I'd Tell You I Love You, But I'd Have to Kill You. One reason is I thought there was a bit too much moping from Cammie since her relationship with Josh came to an end. Then, there was the new love interest introduced: Zach. In this case, because she's not over Josh, it felt very much like a love triangle which I really dislike ^_^; Also, Cammie is a character who needs to have the upper hand and knowing that Zach knows something she doesn't, she doesn't feel secure. As a result, she questions Zach's action and motives a lot. Obviously, it doesn't help that Zach is indeed keeping some stuff away from her ^_^; And what really hurt Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy in my opinion was the fact that it didn't really have an overall plot. Li said on Goodreads that it lacked substance and I agree with her. Ms Carter got away in  I'd Tell You I Love You, But I'd Have to Kill You because she was setting up the series, so there was a lot of world building... but it wasn't the case in Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy and it impacted the enjoyment a lot.

Still, as I said, the book was fun. I did like the friendship between the girls and the test at the end was entertaining. I still wonder if the Code Black breach was part of the test or not... Also, I liked that there are people able to get the upper hands on Cammie and her friends when it comes to spying or uncover their spying :P It makes it realistic and more balanced. In any case, I was still interested enough to read the next book :)

10) Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter: C+

It's summer and Cammie is visiting one of her roommate, Macey McHenry, in Boston. Actually, Macey is on the presidential campaign as her father, Senator McHenry, has accepted the nomination for vice-president and she wanted company. During the visit, Cammie and Macey thwarted a kidnapping attempt... and for the first time, Cammie is confront with the reality that despite all her training, there are things that she cannot do. When school starts again, Macey is back to Gallagher Academy, but this time, with a bodyguard from Secret Service... who turns out to be Cammie's aunt Abby. However, Macey is still expected to participate to the campaign and that means doing brief appearances at several events. Cammie has seen how Macey's father's political aspirations is stifling her life. However, what concerns Cammie most is the kidnapping attempt and she worries Macey is still in danger. Therefore, Cammie and her friends decide to take matters into their hands.

I was really looking forward to Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, because based on the blurb, I thought the setting was going to be different than the two previous books, not taking place at school. I was wrong, but Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover still turned out to be an enjoyable read.

I thought the first part of Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover was very good and solid. I liked the electoral campaign, it was a good backdrop for the story and it fits the concept of this series: being secretive, acting discreetly and not getting noticed :P Also, the influx of new blood - Cammie's aunt and geeky boy Preston who is Macey's counterpart - is a good move on Ms Carter's part too. I also think the plot in Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover was the most interesting thus far in the series and that we're finally getting somewhere with the overall storyline of the series. The best part though, what makes the book for me, is the deepening friendship between Cammie and Macey :) It's nice to see the evolution of their friendship and some development of the secondary characters. Hopefully, Liz and Bex get the same treatment :)

The reason Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover is not getting a higher grade though is that while they are improvement on several fronts, others are getting old and predictable. For example, the whole snooping around is getting old and how Cammie can so easily sneak out of the academy. I know that's the basis of the series given that Cammie and her friends are spies in training, but it feels very repetitive. Also, the whole Zach thing is getting old as well. Cammie's wishy-washy attitude towards him: is he a good or bad guy, is he interesting in her or not and the fact that he knows more than her and she kind of resents him for that ^_^; Also, what bothers me is that I find it arrogant that Cammie and her friends thought they could protect their friend better than the pros. It stems from a good heart, but you really think you can do better when you don't have all the facts? I feel their just stumbling around like an elephant in a china store and perhaps making things worst instead of aiding.

While I enjoyed Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover more than the previous installment, I found that I needed a break from the series... and have yet to pick up the next book.


11) Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins: C+

12) Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg: A-

13) The Witness by Nora Roberts: A-

14) The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan: B

15) Ten Things We Did (and probably shouldn't have) by Sarah Mlynowski: B-

16) Hunting Kat by Kelley Armstrong: B-
Upcoming review to come.


17) The Calling by Kelley Armstrong: B-
Upcoming review to come.

18) Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford: C-

The Sullivans family is a well-off family, but their wealth relies on the matriarch, Arden Louisa Norris Sullivan Weems Maguire Hightower Beckendorf, and unfortunately, someone has displeased her. As a consequence, she demands a written apology by New Year or else, she's disinheriting the whole family. The problem is the family has no idea who have displeased Almighty Lou, but they guess it's one of the girls. So each writes their own letter, confessing their sins. First you have Norrie who fell in love with a guy 8 years her senior and ran out to him on the night of the Bachelors Cotillon which is basically her introduction to society. Then there's Jane who got into a feud with her best friend and has taken to blogging - revealing all the family dark secrets... and finally Sassy who believes she has accidentally murdered her step-grandfather.

I got this book through a contest over at RT and was really looking forward to it for some reasons... but once I got it, it languished in my TBR pile. Having read it now, well I wouldn't have minded if it languished in the TBR pile a bit more ^_^; I think the problem is I was expecting something a bit more fun based on the cover and Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters wasn't. Basically, the book is divided into 3 parts, each narrated by one sister retelling what happened. Overall, I thought the writing was good, but the problem was the story. First, the book was too short to contain 3 POVs and as a result, Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters lacked some depth in my opinion. It would have been a lot better if Ms Standiford had focused on one story. My favorite was Norrie's, probably because it was the most mature and romantic. I thought Jane's story was passable, but Sassy's was pointless. Seriously, I could have done without.

While Norrie's story was my favorite, I do question the relationship between a 17 years old woman and a 25 years old man. I'm not saying that it's bad or anything... I just wonder if a 25 years old guy would really be interested in such a young woman for an invested relationship. I think this might have worked better for me if the man was a tad younger.

Book-wise, Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters was definitively not the best YA I've read. Far from it. Based on the story, I think I would have given it a D. However, it got upgraded to C- because I did like Norrie's story and I really enjoyed the family dynamics, especially the siblings complicity :)

***

Balance
Books bought: + 10
Books read: -18
TBR pile: -8

Genre
Category Romance – 2
Contemporary Romance – 4
Fiction – 1
Romantic Suspense – 1
Urban Fantasy – 1
YA – 9

***

Sigh, time goes by so fast! It's almost the end of May and I forgot how awesome a month April has been! I'm really happy with my numbers :) 18 books is a great number and I reviewed almost all of it! Unbelievable. Seriously, that would have been impossible last year. As months pass, I'm really tickled with my Week-End's Minis feature :)

Reading-wise, I think the month was very balanced :) I had some really great reads - hey 2 As in there!  Those are rare for me LOL. There were also some duds, but they happen and didn't really dominate the month for me, so that's a good thing :) Really, thinking back, I have to say April was a really good month. I was looking forward to many new releases and they all delivered! :)

I also really like the negative number in the TBR :) Another thing I'm doing great at this year. I realized today that I have not been running after new releases as much as previous years either. It feels unnatural at times and good at others LOL.

Also, I think the surprise is the number of YA I've read last month... I feel I've been burning out on a lot of genres lately and therefore, fell back on YA. Even though it's really the same genres that I read usually - contemporary and urban fantasy - the fact that it's a younger set of characters does make a difference LOL.

All in all, April turned out to be a really good month :) What do you think?

TBR Challenge 2012: I'd Tell You I Love You, but then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Ahhhh, I was hoping to have this post up earlier!! I had a symposium in the afternoon, but figured I'd have time in the morning to write the review... but I did not have time to finish ^_^; Luckily, the day is not over, phew!

So, guess what? Today's the TBR challenge day and I made it for a 4th consecutive month! Not only that, but I stuck to the theme! Yes! I know the themes are not mandatory, but it's fun to make it. Gives you a feeling of accomplishment, especially for someone like me who doesn't do well reading under pressure :)

Anyway, I'm happy that I made it because my reading has been kind of slow lately. Except for the new releases I was really looking forward, I have been picking up books and putting them back down, reading only a few pages :( So I was pleasantly surprised when I zipped through this book for the TBR challenge :)

Here we go!

I'd Tell You I Love You, but then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
published by Hyperion in April 2006

The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school, that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE, the latest in chemical warfare in science; and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes computer class. So in truth, Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses, but its really a school for spies. Cammie Morgan is a second generation Gallagher Girl, and by her sophomore year she's already 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 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, shes beginning her most dangerous mission; she's falling in love.

Genre: YA, contemporary
Series: Gallagher Girls, Book #1

The Story: Cameron Morgan, aka Cammie aka Chameleon, is the daughter of two spies. When her father went on mission and didn't come back, everyone knew what it meant. That's when Cammie's mother decided to switch gear and come home... to Gallagher Academy as the headmistress. On the outside, Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a boarding school for rich, spoiled girls... but in truth, it recruits girls to train them to become spies and secret agents.

Cammie has been at Gallagher Academy for a couple of years and expect to enjoy her sophomore year with her two best friends and roommates, Bex and Liz. However, the routine is disrupted by the arrival of two new persons. One is Macey McHenry, the new student who happens to be Cammie's new roommate and also the rich, spoiled daughter of Senator McHenry. The other is Joe Solomon, the new teacher for CoveOps whose made his goal to show his students what field work is really and that not everyone is suited for it.

However, CoveOps takes an entirely new meaning when during an assignment in town, a boy notices Cammie who is used to be unremarkable. Later on, she runs into him again and he asks her out on a date... Is he for a real or a honeypot? Can Cammie really have a relationship with a normal guy... based on lies?

My Opinion: A few years ago, I attended a Young Adult Authors Chat panel during the RT convention in Columbus and Ms Carter was one of the featured authors. I remembered really enjoying her talk and thought that if her books were anything like her, they'd be a lot of fun. Also, at that time, she had just started a new series, Heist Society, featuring the cat burgler business which I love! So I was really interested in her books. At the convention, I bought Heist Society, but when I came back to home, I decided to also get I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, the first book in her Gallagher Girls series which made Ms Carter so popular. As you can guess though, it's been sitting in my TBR pile ever since ^_^; Once I saw this month's theme for the challenge, I thought this would be the perfect occasion to pick it up... Mission accomplished :)

Being the first book of the series, I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You is definitively a set-up book. Readers are introduced to the school and its history, get acquainted with the characters and the world these girls live in. While the concept is not new, it was well executed and I like the ideas that Ms Carter came up with and also how the girls apply what they learn :) I thought the atmosphere was fun and exciting and I could totally visualize it. I think Ms Carter really did a good job thinking it through and it resulted in being one of the strong aspects of the book.

Throughout the book, the story unfolds through Cammie's POV and I think she was a good character, a good narrator. While she is training to become a spy and her life is so abnormal, deep down, Cammie is just a regular girl... especially when she meets a cute boy LOL. I thought that part was pretty fun. The fact that they are so savvy and have a lot more specialized knowledge, but at the end of the day, they are still teenagers. In that sense, I think it was great to have Macey to show the contrast... Macey has lived in the "normal" world, has a life experience that these girls don't. I think the perfect operative would be someone that has the right balance in between. Anyway, back to Cammie. She was a nice girl in love for the first time. She's sweet, she's loyal to her friends, eager to live... She could have been annoying because of all the spy-knowledge, but Ms Carter did a good job at balancing the spy and the teenage girl personality :) Also, I thought the dilemma - being an operative or not - Cammie faced was quite interesting and I liked the direction she took at the end. At her age, I thought it made the most sense. Bex and Liz were also nice friends, but a bit stereotypical in the sense that Bex likes action and Liz is the brain. One other thing is that I like the teaching staff from Cammie's mother to the new teacher, Mr. Solomon and the funnier and stereotypical teachers :)

While I really liked the concept and the characters, I felt the story was lacking a little bit. I actually liked the part about Cammie meeting a guy and falling in love with him, developing a relationship. I liked how they spied on him, putting in practice what they learned. I thought that was fun :) However, the rest of the book seemed a bit disjointed. I felt there was no flow between the different storylines - life at Gallagher Academy, Cammie's romance and their mission - nothing connecting them and making it "whole." Part of it is due to the fact that Ms Carter spent a little bit too much time setting up the world. To her credit, Ms Carter does try, but the thread is so thin that it doesn't really work... And I think it really hurt the final impression of I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You.

Overall, I thought that I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You was a fun book. It's the kind of books that you want to read when you wish to escape reality, because what happens in here is so out there, so foreign LOL. And obviously, you have to be able to suspend disbelief to truly enjoy it. If you're able to do that, then you're in for a good time. Also, it says on the back cover that I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You has been optioned for film by Walt Disney Pictures. I can totally picture it as a movie in my head. The way Ms Carter has written this book, it'd really be easy to adapt it on the big screen... and I hope we'll have the chance to see it :)

My Grade: B-. A fun and quick read, but lacking a little bit in depth. I'd say I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You is a bit like a Walt Disney movie, eg. the Spy Kids movies (not the spy aspect). It's a fun way to spend time and you're happy if you do read/watch it, but it is not ground-breaking and no real loss if you don't.