The Spies That Bind by Ally Carter
Normally, I’m not that huge into spy books as I find them better suited for the silver screen. But I’ve been reconsidering my stance on the subject after reading this free Audible book. It also doesn’t hurt that the book is the prequel to a series so, you know, more to come and what not.
The Audible Original focus on how Cammie Morgan, the only child of a legendary spy, became a Gallagher Girl, an elite female spy trained in The Gallagher Academy. Think of it as an origin story of sorts. It’s laying down the foundation for the series by explaining a few details that would otherwise be lost to the reader. Plus, the book does a really good job of making you want to proceed to the actual series but leaving some questions unanswered.
Now, to the actual story…
See, Cammie is still dealing with the disappearance of her father while being filled with excitement, along with nervousness, of being accepted in The Gallagher Academy. It also doesn’t help that her mother is the Headmaster so, yeah, no pressure. But there’s something about that school that needs to be pointed out. Something obvious but still important. Every girl was sent there for a specific reason. Some for bloodline. Some for a particular skillset. Some for one specific skill. Despite the reason, they’re there to learn…and be a little catty towards each other.
As one would guess, there is an antagonist in this story and it’s actually one of the girls. A girl of bloodline from another spy which makes her think that she’s above it all. Because of that mentality, she works to get Cammie and her new friends, Liz, a tech genius, and Bex, a girl gifted with athleticism, kicked out. Why? Well, she thinks that they don’t belong.
Too bad that becomes her own undoing. Yeah, ratting people out is something that The Gallagher Academy frowns. And she almost got kicked out until the other girls showed sympathy for her. How they all ended up at this point? Oh, you know better than that…I’m not telling. But it ended the story quite nicely.
This is going an A and I’m so reading the series later on in the year.
