The Specialists

Let it be stated for the record that I really liked this series and am totally bummed that it got discontinued.

Also, I read these books a few years ago, so short reviews based on what I remember.

The Winning Element Shannon Greenland

Beaker and GiGi are off to a cheerleading competition (oh the LOLS!) to track down a chemical smuggler who not only has a big deal that needs to be stopped, but is also killed GiGi's parents.

Overall, I liked the suspense and the mission and the humor of GiGi and Beaker as cheerleaders. One thing that annoyed me was TL. He gave GiGi control of the mission, but micro-managed and reversed every decision she made. She didn't want the responsibility, but he made her take it and then he took away all of her authority. He pretty much set her up to fail, but no one realizes this in the book. I wanted to smack him.

Native Tongue Shannon Greenland

So, a legendary vase turns up and several South American Indian tribes claim it as their cultural heritage. There's a big summit in the jungle to decide which tribe gets it. GiGi and Parrot are on the case-- Parrot as a translator and GiGi because there are some cave hieroglyphics that may say who gets the vase, but no one can read them, but with GiGi's code breaking abilities, she might be able to. Only problem is one of the guys is the bad guy from Parrot's past (is every book dealing with bad guys from the past? I'm remembering yes, but don't quote me on that one.)

IIRC, the Native content is handled really well. I also remember the tension.

And not all the lose ends of over-reaching plots were tied up. WE WANT MORE! GIVE US MORE!

Ah well.


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Apparently, Teenage Girls Make the BEST Spies...

You know how I said I was doing a lot of spy book reading lately? Yeah. This is a really long post.

First up,

Down to the Wire Shannon Greenland

Y'all know I loved the first in this series, Model Spy. The Specialists are back, but this time, it's Wirenut's case.

But GiGi is still narrating. The action starts with how Wirenut was conned into joining the Specialists, and then jumps to Gigi's narration of the action picking up where the last book left off. It's a little weird.

Basically, the guy who hacked Wirenut's family to death is hiding some top-secret biological weapon in the handle of the sword that was used to hack his family to death. Wirenut's the only one who can break into the museums to get the clues to lead to the sword, GiGi's the only one who can decode the clues...

Murder. Mayhem, some girls, some kissing, and a whole lot of David-related angst.

All the techno babble is utter crap, and the countries are made up but... I still get totally sucked into these books and can't wait for the rest of the series. Excellent titles for reading while lying in the hammock on a hot day.

The Squad: Perfect Cover Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Toby Klein is the ultimate slacker, so why is she being invited to try out for Varsity Cheerleading?! Something weird is going on, especially since Toby's cheer invites are being written in code.

Fast forward. Toby's on the squad, only cheerleading is a cover for a group of elite teen CIA operatives. Cheerleaders are peppy and dumb, right? Wrong, but it's the perfect cover for girls like Toby with ninja-like martial arts skills and hacker skills to beat GiGi's from The Specialists. Sadly, being on the squad means getting a Level 6 makeover (which means that the cheerleading twins have come in and completely replaced Toby's closet.) Sure, her new trendy belt buckle doubles as a camera, but her new highlights are just that, highlights. And Toby's dorky brother? In loooooooooooooooooove with cheerleaders and thinks he is quite the ladies man. (He's not.)

Toby is now one of those girls. Yes, catching terrorists is cool, but she does still have to learn how to do pyramids and something called a herkie...

Here's why I love this: The technology is vaguely plausible (in that James Bond way). Also, Toby does NOT appreciate going from invisible girl to overnight in-crowd. She doesn't handle it well. Toby's voice is perfect sarcasm. I love her.

Example (Hayley is pissed off that she didn't make the squad and Toby did. She's been spreading gossip and the rest of the squad keeps telling Toby to ignore it.):

"Well, I heard that she's a complete lezbo who's sleeping with one of the other girls on the squad. Can you say casting couch?"

I had to hand it to Hayley Hoffman. She was creative and she must have had an excellent command of acoustics, because she pitched her voice just loud enough so that I could hear her, but not loud enough that Tara, Bubbles, or April could. I thought about just sucking it up and taking my place at the center table, but I couldn't quite bring myself to turn the other cheek, because the fact that Hayley was using that particular term as an insult meant that her words weren't just insulting me. With that in mind, I waled toward the JV table, ready to draw blood, metaphorically speaking. Probably.

That awesome, awesome voice continues in:

The Squad: Killer Spirit Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Check it out:

Less than an hour ago, all I'd wanted was detention. Now, I was nominated for homecoming court and going to the big dance with the hottest guy in the school. Somewhere out there, God was laughing at me. I was sure of it.

And that sets up the plot. There are a ton of baddies in town, and the Squad isn't the only crew tracking them. The Big Guys keep trying to take away the case and Brooke's trying to keep control. Plus, Toby's on homecoming court and Noah's trying to do anything possible to make her queen. Someone's trying to kill Toby. If the mission succeeds and Toby survives, Brooke will take her out if she steals the crown... what's a cheerleader to do?

What I liked about this is the stakes were a little higher, but we also learned some info on Brooke that rounded her out a bit as a character.

I'm looking forward to future volumes, but can't find if any are forthcoming... :(

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You Ally Carter

Cammie Morgan goes to en elite boarding school. Everyone else thinks it's where the daughters of the country's richest go, but really, it's a boarding school for spies in training.

They only take the best and the brightest and they take classes in foreign language and covert operations. When they grow up, the NSA and CIA are ready to take them.

Cammie Morgan may speak over 14 languages, but none of them is "boy." When she starts falling for a boy from town, it's up to her and her friends to use all their training to find out if he likes her not.

This is fun. I really like that Cammie and Co. don't go on any missions to save the world. Unlike these other books, where kids are thrown into hardcore situations with only a month or two of training, Cammie is getting a complete education and not going on any serious missions until then.

Not that she can't find other uses for her skills...

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy Ally Carter

After what happened last semester, something new is coming to Gallagher Academy. Boys. Boys will be taking classes and training with the girls.

But who are these boys and why are they really here? And who's been leaking Gallagher information to the outside world?

And what could be more mortifying than running into your ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend while you're wearing a comms unit that your entire class and teacher can hear over?!

If you liked the first, you'll like this. More action, more intrigue, even though I guess the ending, I still liked reading it.

James Bond, you're on. Girls are coming to get you.

Rainy Fridays, Sunny Saturdays

It's absolutely gorgeous outside today. I'm at work.

Yesterday, I was at home, and it was rainy, rainy, rainy, so I curled up with some tea and good books.

I'm super-behind in my blogging. I've blogged 85 books this year, and I should be up to 100. PLUS, I have 45 books that I've read and haven't blogged about.

But before we begin, Life Sucks and Confessions of a Serial Kisser are now out. I reviewed both of them here.

And, now, some books.

Dream Factory Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler

This has one of the best opening sentences I've read in a while:

I wasn't at all surprised when Cinderella gave me the finger.

The basic premise is that the characters at Disney World have gone on strike and so Disney has hired a bunch of high school students as scabs.

The story is told in the alternating voices of Ella (who plays Cinderella) and Luke (who plays Dale, as in Chip and Dale). Along the way we find out how hard it is to walk around all day with a giant head on and that Princesses don't eat, so even though Ella hosts 7 meals a day (including the Princess breakfast, Cinderella's tea and her wedding banquet) she's starving by the time she gets off work.

While the first few chapters are hysterical, we quickly dive in Luke and Ella's angsty back-stories. Plus, it's obvious they totally are into each other, but Luke is dating perfect (but not for Luke) Cassie and so Ella starts dating Mark, who plays Prince Charming and buys the whole Disney schtick.

There's nothing overly surprising plot-wise and I figured out what Luke's middle name was really early on, but it was still a sweet story that teens will get into. A nice fluffy read.

Model Spy (The Specialists) Shannon Greenland

Oooooo... I just ate this one right up and can't wait to read the next ones in the series.

Kelly James has been set-up. She's only 16, but a senior in college. To impress her really nice and really cute RA David, she hacks through 9 out of 18 levels of the government's main computer system. Hours later, she's arrested. She's then given a choice-- go to juvie, or become a government spy. She chooses the spy option and then discovers that David asked her to hack the system just to prove that she could do it so that she could be recruited.

She's not overly pleased.

Her first mission is to rescue David's father who's being sold to the highest bidder. In order to do so, she has to go undercover as a model. Kelly may look like a model, but she lacks all coordination and social skills.

This book was super-fun and exciting. I loved it. I'm sure all the techno babble was completely made up, but I don't care. I like the socially awkward smart, yet hot girl. The plot kept moving and I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for the rest of the books in the series.A good bet for those who like The Squad: Perfect Cover, I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You or CHERUB.