Book Review #28 [Heist Society by Ally Carter]

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.


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And, I'm back. Hello, hello yes.

I'm starting the new season reviews with a book from a favorite author of mine - Heist Society by Ally Carter.

Now, Carter's other series is more of the spy/assassin persuasion. This one? Well, here we dive into the world of professional thieves and con-artists!

We follow Katarina Bishop and her skillful family. Along with her best bud W.W Hale, her cousin Gabrielle, the twins Angus and Hamish, and the our resident tech Simon. Kat and the gang set out to con not just anybody but a legendary thief among their world. I really loved this story it was almost like Ocean Eleven except with teenagers.

Everyone has an air of mystery around them in this book. Kat's not your typical girl besides being a thief she's also very calm and level-minded; the brains and leader of the operation. Quite a contrast, to her cousin who's all smiles and seduction and her best friend who tends to ooze charm and money.

We also meet some heavy hitters within the Bishop family; Kat's father and Uncle Eddie. Now, Kat's dad I totally love he seems pretty cool. I was a bit miffed we didn't get to see much of him but from everything that happened I can understand. Now, Uncle Eddie? Nope. Nuh uh. This is someone you DO NOT mess with. You know that one family member that's pretty quiet and to the side? Everyone has a measure of respect for him/her, you look in their eyes and you KNOW they've been through some shit? And, that when THEY give you advice, you best take it? Yeah, that's Uncle Eddie in a nutshell.

There's more to the series I can't wait for the third book to come out. I already read the second - Uncommon Criminals. I'll review it.....someday. (lol)

Review: 4/5

Book Review #18 [Out Of Sight Out Of Time by Ally Carter]

 

The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

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I bring you the recent adventures of Cammie Morgan in Ally Carter's -- Out Of Sight Out Of Time.

Similar from my Goodreads review -- You know, I was a bit worried about how Carter was going to pull off this one, seeing how Cammie upped and left in the last book but she did it and IT WAS FANTASTIC.
Cammie grew up immensely in this book. I mean to think about how she was in the first book to now?!

Cammie went through a lot in this book, fighting to regain her lost memories. These books are just in first person so we always know what's going on with Cammie and her thoughts. But, this time Cammie was in the dark and so were we. You had no idea what she'd remember or what she do. Cammie most of the time in this book worked on auto-pilot; so it wasn't until someone had to scream her name that she realized she was holding a gun...

There was a moment in the book dealing with Bex that had me VERY WORRIED. I had to stop reading for a moment and I said to myself  "Let's not go there, Ms. Carter. PLEASE?" Thankfully she didn't. Loved Zach, weird how he was the sane person in this book, because usually he's "mister brooding in the corner let me be mysterious over here" guy. (lol) We got to see a different more vulnerable side to Zach and Carter did it so well that it wasn't too mushy or didn't deviate from the type person Zach is. 

A little short on Cammie and Zach's relationship. PERFECT. You know how in some YA books the guy and the girl are in danger and they decide to make-out or something in the middle of that? UGH! Doesn't that make you mad? It does for me. Zach and Cam? These two knew that there's a time and a place. And, that's what makes me love them so much. While everyone else, even her friends, questioned Cammie's sanity. Zach never did. He went along with her.


Towards the end we found out a lot of answers, and it tied up a lot of loose ends. There's only one book left in the series. ;~~~; I'm not ready for this to end. I'm not. But, it will be the final battle between Gallagher/Blackthorne v.s The Circle.

Rating: 5/5