Customer Reviews

Spy Candy (Zebra Debut)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am not your typical romance reader. First of all Im a guy. Second, this is the first romance book I ever read. I loved it. Funny, clever, unexpected, and for me at least, very interesting to see the point of view of the opposing team. Its a great read, and it should be on you list of gifts for yourself.

Let me start off by saying that I'm in awe of the research that must have gone into this book. I NEVER want to be on the opposite end of the author's gun or her bad mood! LOL. Bond trivia galore (hmmm, maybe that's the next Bond Babe's name), and the first "evah" heroine with falsies...Gina Robinson goes for the laughs!

Spy Candy is a tasty treat filled with fun and adventure. From chocolate martinis to delectable instructors, this romp through spy camp is one any Bond Girl will love. (You'll enjoy it even if you only watch Bond films to admire James!)

Fast paced and filled with fun twists and turns, this a read not to be missed!

Like the gentleman above, I am not a big fan of this genre.

I am, however, a fan of spies and mysteries and this has plenty of both along with plenty of tips for when I decide to enter the spy business on my own.

The main character is well drawn, the villain a surprise and the male interest, well, interesting.

A story that moves right along, has an interesting James Bond background context and is a good read.

I loved this book and I couldn't put it down until I was finished. Spy Candy re-introduced me to the romance genre. The story is a multi-level mix and would hold the interest of romance fans, mystery fans and adventure fans. I could identify with Jenna Jarvis. She had an inexhaustible need to know and solve the mystery, and her whole-hearted effort to stay in character at the spy camp was hilarious and heart-warming. I was captivated by the spy industry and their "tool box" of expertise. Gina Robinson leaves no secret agent skill unrevealed, and Jenna Jarvis made it seem like even I could manage it!

Ah, Moneypenny. The nice, safe, and terribly underappreciated Bond Girl - until now. Jenna Jarvis is a play-it-safe financial wizard, more Moneypenny than Bondesque Bombshell, that is, until her best friend gives her the chance to shed her conservative persona for one hellacious week at a Fantasy Spy Camp.

Enter James Bond, er, rather, Torque Toricelli, a super bad-boy instructor who's not immune to Jenna's charms as she tries, with varying degrees of success, to shed her inner Moneypenny and embrace her fantasy persona of Domino, the bodacious brunette from Thunderball.

Gina Robinson's debut novel has a little bit of everything - laughs, romance, and some incredibly interesting nuggets of information. You'll finish the book with some useful survival tips and a whole lot of James Bond trivia - all woven seamlessly throughout the book. I'd tell you what they are, but then I'd have to...well, you get the idea.

Jenna Jarvis lives a perfectly sensible but boring life in Seattle. However for one week she looks forward to an espionage adventure in the cold; of course being sensible about her escapade Jenna heads to Fantasy Spy Camp in Arizona where she figures the only downturn of being a Bond female sidekick is the name. Thankfully she is Domino and not Honey, Pussy, Warmflash or Goodhead.

However, all fun and games turn realistically ugly as if someone truly wants Jenna, make that Domino, dead. The instructor, former CIA Agent Torq Toricelli tries to keep Miss Sensible safe even as he wants this wannabe Jane Bond under his covers with him while also trying to uncover what appears to be a spy ring using FSC as a cover.

This is a lighthearted espionage romantic suspense that uses trivia references to the Bond books and movies to enhance the fun. The story line is fast-paced with a sort of Bondian wink to the plot. Domino and Torq are a wonderful pairing as the audience learns what happens to a spy who comes in from the cold; he gets warm with his woman while teaming up to find enemy agents. Camp was never like this as Gina Robinson provides an enjoyable humorous suspense thriller with a perfect homage to Ian Fleming ending: "oh, James".

Harriet Klausner

Practical and predictable Jenna Jarvis' sleuthing skills are put to the test when her fun adventure at a fantasy spy camp takes a serious, and deadly, turn. With her silicone bra inserts and Bond-girl persona in place, Jenna pairs the tricks of the trade with a few up her own sleeve, and mixes them with a large dose of bravery and brains to solve the mystery AND entice the hot spy instructor in the process. All in a day's work for this amateur spy.

While the Bond references in Spy Candy are plentiful, even readers with limited Bond knowledge will enjoy the humor and flavor of the delightful Spy Candy.

I'm looking forward to Gina Robinson's second fantasy spy camp novel.

STORY BRIEF:
A lottery winner paid to attend a fantasy spy camp for a week but had to cancel. She gave the trip to Jenna who works in a bank. Most or all of the other attendees are lottery winners. They are given spy names and learn how to shoot paintball guns, hide spy gadgets, drive racing style, repel down a building, etc. The final project will be a kidnapping in which they have to rescue a victim. During the week, there are several suspicious accidents nearly killing one of the attendees. Jenna suspects foul play. She doesn't know who to trust as she tries to solve the mystery.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
This is not my kind of book. Jenna might be a smart banker, but her role in this story was being a stupid spy camper. She is squeamish, klutzy, easily frightened, and forgetful. She lacks conversation skills, drinks too much and gets sick, has a jerky dance style, doesn't think to look at the license plate as she watches a hit and run car. When a nearby explosion happens, she has her cell phone in her hand, but is unable to dial 911. Also, there are too many reminders that she is wearing silicone breast padding. I didn't enjoy reading about her. Everyone else is a suspect, so we don't get to watch anyone doing smart things except the unknown bad guy. The story is told in first person by Jenna. Her self-deprecating style and foolish mistakes are meant to be funny, but I didn't find it so. However what some people find funny, others don't. So there may be some who will like it. There was one sex scene which was told rather than shown, making it appropriate for teenagers.

DATA:
Story length: 343 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one, one page long. Setting: current day Arizona. Copyright: 2008. Genre: romantic suspense.