Book Review: Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

Title: Only the Good Spy Young Series: Gallagher Girls #4 Written by: Ally Carter Published: June 29, 2017 by Disney Hyperion (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis:When Cammie Morgan enrolled at the Gallagher Academy, she knew she was preparing for the dangerous life of a spy. What she didn’t know was that the serious, real-life danger would start during her junior year of high school. But that’s exactly what happened two months ago when Cammie faced off against an ancient terrorist organization dead set on kidnapping her.  Now the danger follows her everywhere, and even Cammie “The Chameleon” can’t hide. When a terrifying encounter in London reveals that one of her most-trusted allies is actually a rogue double-agent, Cammie no longer knows if she can trust her classmates, her teachers—or even her own heart.   In this fourth installment of the New York Times best-selling series, the Gallagher Girls must hack, spy, steal, and lie their way to the truth.as they go searching for answers, recognizing that the key to Cammie’s future may lie deep in the past

This series keeps getting better. I am really taking my time reading them at a rate about one a year but I am loving my summer read of a Gallagher Girls book. They are such fun and engaging spy novels with fantastic characters and a lot of action and mystery.

I think the best thing about this book is the way that the world has developed over time. With each book everything keeps getting bigger as we learn more about the world and the spy organizations that are affecting it. It's not often that I come across a contemporary, mystery or otherwise, that has such a developed mythology to it and this is one that definitely has that. In this book we learn a lot more about the Circle of Cavan and I found it quite interesting but there is still so much to learn.

And because there was still so much to learn it made for a book full of mystery, but there was a lot more to the plot than that. What I really enjoy about this series is that there is the plot for the series that this books services but each one also has it's own individual plot as well. And both the individual and larger plot were very interesting. This is a spy novel and therefore the book is full of action and adventure. The characters were going on missions, breaking into places they were locked out of, breaking codes, and narrowly missing being captured during the whole time. It makes for a totally engaging plot that had me whizzing through it's 250 pages.

But I will say, I didn't totally love the pacing of this one. Yes, it is a fast read. it's incredibly engaging and there are only 250 pages so it's easy to finish this book in a day or two. It's a fast and fun read that is the perfect palette cleanser. But it also had some weird lulls to it. It didn't flow as well as I remember some of the other books. Maybe because it serves as a more transitional book for the series or maybe because it has just been a while since I read the others but I felt like it was a little disjointed and almost too fast. I would have appreciated a little more development with some parts of the book.

However, I always love my time I spend with these Gallagher Girls. Ally Carter really knows how to write fun and likable characters. In these four books I have definitely have connected with Cammie and all her friends. What I appreciate about Cammie is that she is this kickass spy do just about anything but she also surrounds herself with a team of friends to help her. There is a real story of friendship and teamwork here that I enjoy a lot. However her friends did take a bit of a backseat here to Zach. He was the star secondary character here, well and Mr. Soloman. And both of them were interesting in the same way. They are characters who have you questioning what they are doing and why they are doing it. I really like those characters and I like both of them for that reason. But in general I think Ally does a great job with her characterizations.

On the whole I really enjoyed Only the Good Spy Young. It was a really fun and action-packed read with a fantastic world and likable characters. I;m really enjoying this series and hoping to find time over the next few months to finish the last two books.

I give Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter 8.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. I really enjoy this series. I wish I had taken the time to read it early.  If you are looking for a book that on the more lighthearted side but you want an interesting mystery then definitely check it out.

Have you read Only the Good Spy Young? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!