Name: Ellen Ivey's review of The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter
Item: The Blonde Identity
Rating: 3.5
Author: Ellen Ivey

Ally Carter

'A unique, delightful, hilarious, unputdownable romance. . .I’m wonderstruck by The Blonde Identity!' - ALI HAZELWOOD author of THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS The Blonde Identity is a hilarious, action-packed, road-trip romance with witty banter, sexy operatives, and the ultimate high-stakes. It’s the middle of the night in the middle of Paris and a woman just woke up with no memory. She only knows three things for certain: 1. She has a splitting headache. 2. The hottest guy she has (probably) ever seen is standing over her, telling her to run. And oh yeah... 3. People keep trying to kill her. She doesn’t know who. Or why. But when she sees footage of herself fighting off a dozen men there’s only one explanation: obviously. . . she’s a spy! Except, according to Mr. Hot Guy, she’s not. She’s a spy’s identical twin sister. Too bad the only person who knows she’s not the woman they’re looking for is this very grouchy, very sexy, very secret agent who (reluctantly) agrees to help her disappear. Which is easier said than done when a criminal organization wants you dead and every intelligence service in the world wants you caught. Luckily, no one is looking for a pair of lovesick newlyweds on their honeymoon. And soon they’re lying their way across Europe—dodging bullets and faking kisses as they race to unravel a deadly conspiracy and clear her sister’s name. But with every secret they uncover, the truth shifts, until she no longer knows who to trust: the twin she can’t remember or the mysterious man she can’t let herself forget. . .

The Blonde Identity

Ellen Ivey

really bad. which is unfortunate because i loved the gallagher girls. this was written by either an author who thinks you’re stupid and has to hold your hand to get to a point by doing the “tell don’t show” writing method or it was written by ai. there’s literally no in between. the thing is i’ve read romance no plot and given them high stars because the book knows exactly what it is, but this book INSISTS it is smart and clever when it is in fact just dumb hence the very low stars. ok i’m done.

big ab

Definitely something different than my normal read. It was an enjoyable spy read with an unexpected romance!

Amanda 

in your dreams lady (fond, affectionate even)

karina

*A delightful spy romance full of tropes but just as full of fun adventure*

series was so much fun, so when I found out that Ally Carter was publishing her first adult book, I was giddy. And the description of a Romantic Suspense novel about a woman who gets mistaken for her spy sister sounded like a lot of fun.

And the story certainly delivered on the fun angle. Look, this isn’t some serious espionage tale. It isn’t overly fluffy, but it is an entertaining action/adventure story with some romance thrown in. And it is full of tropes. There is amnesia, mistaken identity involving identical twins, enemies-to-lovers, grumpyXsunshine, fake dating, and bad guys that aren’t very competent. This is much more like “The Spy Who Dumped Me” rather than “Bourne Identity” (even if the latter also uses the spy amnesia trope).

 delivered exactly what I wanted: a humorous spy adventure blending action and romance. It is very much Gallagher Girls for adults. I had some minor quibbles about it, but I enjoyed the story a lot. It was a grand time to ignore the world for a bit and go gallivanting around Europe on a spy mission.

The story opens with our heroine waking up on the street in Paris with no memory and a lot of bad guys chasing her. Good thing a sexy spy guy turns up to help her. But is he really on her side? And how did she get into this mess in the first place?

The story is told in alterating close third person, past tense POVs labeled “Her” and “Him.”

Admittedly, I didn’t love the female lead character at first. She had that overly-bubbly Kindergarten teacher vibe and actually said things like "gasp." I get that Carter was really leaning into the dumb blonde sterotype, but there is such thing as too perky. But she did grow on me. And there was enough witty banter between the main characters to keep me hooked. As I mentioned, this was a fun little adventure that left me wanting more. I sincerely hope that Carter publishers more books similar to this!

Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars

Colleen

4 Stars

*A delightful spy romance full of tropes but just as full of fun adventure*


The Gallagher Girls series was so much fun, so when I found out that Ally Carter was publishing her first adult book, I was giddy. And the description of a Romantic Suspense novel about a woman who gets mistaken for her spy sister sounded like a lot of fun.

And the story certainly delivered on the fun angle. Look, this isn’t some serious espionage tale. It isn’t overly fluffy, but it is an entertaining action/adventure story with some romance thrown in. And it is full of tropes. There is amnesia, mistaken identity involving identical twins, enemies-to-lovers, grumpyXsunshine, fake dating, and bad guys that aren’t very competent. This is much more like “The Spy Who Dumped Me” rather than “Bourne Identity” (even if the latter also uses the spy amnesia trope).

And yet despite the tropes, The Blonde Identity delivered exactly what I wanted: a humorous spy adventure blending action and romance. It is very much Gallagher Girls for adults. I had some minor quibbles about it, but I enjoyed the story a lot. It was a grand time to ignore the world for a bit and go gallivanting around Europe on a spy mission.

The story opens with our heroine waking up on the street in Paris with no memory and a lot of bad guys chasing her. Good thing a sexy spy guy turns up to help her. But is he really on her side? And how did she get into this mess in the first place?



“So that’s how she found herself straddling a stranger on top of a floating terrarium while two dozen tourists took photos from below.”


The story is told in alterating close third person, past tense POVs labeled “Her” and “Him.”

Admittedly, I didn’t love the female lead character at first. She had that overly-bubbly Kindergarten teacher vibe and actually said things like "gasp." I get that Carter was really leaning into the dumb blonde sterotype, but there is such thing as too perky. But she did grow on me. And there was enough witty banter between the main characters to keep me hooked. As I mentioned, this was a fun little adventure that left me wanting more. I sincerely hope that Carter publishers more books similar to this!


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 5 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 5 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

Ellen Ivey &
The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter

Reviews

Join the club

Ellen Ivey &The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter

Reviews

Join the club

Ellen Ivey &
The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter