A Spy Like Me (Circle of Spies) [Kindle Edition]

Laura Pauling (Author)

Book Description

Love can be dangerous. Games can be deadly.

Savvy dodges a bullet on a first date.

Her best friend disappears.

The boy she's kissing is hiding deadly secrets. About her.

Eventually, the truth comes out.

Heart of an Assassin, the sequel, is live!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Move over Gallagher Girls - there's a new spy in town! A Spy Like Me is a fast paced, high energy ride through Paris that left me almost as breathless as Pauling's hot hero. Super fun beginning, great story, and an ending that won't disappoint!"

Gemma Halliday - NYT best selling author of Spying in High Heels

From the Author

I heard the advice to write what you love to read. Well, I love spy stories with adventure, suspense, heart and some humor thrown in for good measure. 

Hope you'll give it a try and enjoy!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 424 KB
• Print Length: 333 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0985232706
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Redpoint Press (April 9, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007SUULY0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,836 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Adventures in Paris April 11, 2012

By Emily L Ayers

Format:Kindle Edition

This was such a fun read! The adventures and misadventures of Savvy (who, despite her name, is pretty clueless) kept me guessing all the way until the end. Mystery, adventure, spying, baking - this has it all.

I am looking forward to Book 2!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Witty and Exciting Spy Adventure! June 11, 2012

By The Housework Can Wait

Format:Kindle Edition

I was honestly completely surprised by my reaction to this book. I was winding down from a bad day, and decided to just take a peek at the first chapter, to see if I was in for an okay read or a big stinker (I was in a bit of a pessimistic mood at the time).

Next thing I knew, it was past midnight and I had torn through half the book. The only reason I forced myself to put it down then was because I have small children who WILL be up at 7 am, no matter how late I stay up, and they don't let me stay in bed if they're awake.

Savvy was funny and sassy, and I liked her immediately. My heart went out to her poor fumbling spy-wannabe father, and I was guessing about the other characters right along with Savvy for most of the book. And the Parisian setting was a lot of fun, even though all the pastries made me ridiculously hungry.

The pacing of this book was very quick, and the chapters felt like they were just flying by. Each time I'd reach the end of a chapter, I couldn't just stop there, so I'd read "just one more." There is a good amount of action, escapes and intrigue, and while I predicted some of the plot twists, some of them definitely took me be surprise.

I did have a few issues with the book. The first (and I have this problem with YA heroines a lot) is Savvy's willingness to just let things go, or not ask about them out of spite. Without getting into spoiler territory, I'll just say that something shocking and potentially catastrophic will happen, Savvy will be consumed by curiosity...and then someone with the power to clue her into what's going on will annoy her, then offer her the missing information. And she will pass, because she's being spiteful. I kind of wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her. Doesn't the knowledge of why someone is trying to kill you trump your bruised ego? Apparently not.

Also, I found Savvy's reactions to the romantic story line far-fetched. One minute she's cowering in fear, afraid that her discovery could lead to her torture or death, and the next minute she's...kissing? I could buy it if it was done in a spy-like way, using her feminine wiles to get herself out of a tricky situation, but that's not the way it happens. Instead, she seems totally at the mercy of her hormones, which are utterly oblivious and independent of her fear and anger.

I'm sorry, but even as a teenager, if I was afraid the boy in the next room kidnapped my friend and was trying to kill me, I am pretty sure my hormones would be dormant, if not completely extinct. I don't care how cute he is.

And I was a fan of the crazy roller coaster plot right up until the end. A couple new elements were introduced to the story line close to the end of the book that I felt muddled the plot rather than helped resolve it. I would have been happy just learning who was trying to kill who and why, without bringing in new characters and associations.

But despite my complaints, they really didn't do much to detract from my enjoyment of this book. I could overlook them because I was enjoying the pacing and the characters so much. This was a fun, witty, fast-paced book that I'm thrilled I agreed to review. Thank you, Laura Pauling, for having faith in a new blogger. I've now read enough great indie titles to know that indie does not = bad, and I'm glad I overcame my unfounded misconceptions to read this book. I enjoyed it immensely, and am excited to read about more of Savvy's adventures.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun but Juvenile March 31, 2013

By Darian

Format:Kindle Edition

This Review and more at my blog ([...])
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Series book: Yes
Will I read the next book: Um, maybe
Spy books are generally a hit or miss, but this one's hard to decide. On the hit side, I liked the plot and the pacing. On the miss side, the writing wasn't super smooth. I had to read certain things like five times before I got it. But there was something about it that made it hard to put down.

The writing was confusing. I feel like it jumped from subject to subject and to be honest Savvy's thoughts were all over the place. But the pacing made up for the confusion here and there. A spy book has to go fast, if not then it's not as action-y as it's supposed to be. This one was like snap and your done, but in a good way. I also looooooved the first chapter (hot guy in his underwear, any takers? Yeah I see your hand over there raise it high!) and how it related back to the last chapter. It was one of those books where everything was resolved, which was refreshing from like every other book out there right now. I wouldn't exactly call this YA though, it's more like childrens fiction with a little bit of romance.

The plot was original. As original as a spy book can be anyway. And when I thought I understood where the plot was going, I was smacked in the face with this twist Secret Societies? Really? That just slipped into cliche chosen one territory! Leave it out next time! I feel like A Spy Like Me was kind of a shorter, more confusing version of the Gallagher Girl series (Which I had an obsession with a few years back) but in Paris. And Savvy really wasn't the best spy. If the plot had been consistent and that particular plot twist hadn't been used, the book would be more enjoyable and more original.

The characters were paper thin. By that I mean the didn't jump off the paper at me. Their personalities were almost non-existent and their role in the book jumped from place to place. My biggest pet peeve from this book: Not everyone can be a spy. Especially if their barely-there personalities don't warrant the spy-like actions. I couldn't even picture Malcolm, which sucked because he was supposed to be the hot-six-pack-having-guy.

The romance didn't completely take over the book, which I was okay with. But when it was in the story it was totally confusing. One minute Savvy's like glaring at him from a chair Like tied to a chair and the next they're getting all "hot and heavy" (Savvy's words not mine) on the table. Um, what? Pick a feeling Savvy! You can't like him one minute, hate him the next, then be totally in love with him the next. I mean I know he's hot and all but have some will power! I mean I know teenage hormones are all over the place, but not like that!

Favorite quotes:
"You are hereby sentenced to fifteen minutes of intense embarrassment by sitting in your underwear in public"

"Kind of like when God created the earth, I imagined. Dad evoked this kind of scary presence when he was in full Spy Games mode."

SUMMARY OF REVIEW(In case you don't actually feel like reading the review):
Plot: 3 out of 5
Characters: 3 out of 5
Romance: 3 out of 5
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5
Rated PG Minor make out scenes, some guns, blood, not so gory violence.

More About the Author

Laura Pauling writes about spies, murder and mystery for the young at heart. She lives the cover of suburban mom/author perfectly, from the minivan to the home-baked snickerdoodles, while hiding her secret missions and covert operations. But shh. Don't tell anyone.

And her kids wonder what she does all day while they're at school; or why on Monday mornings she's a bit grumpy. Living the life of a secret agent isn't easy, but someone has to do it.

This may or may not be what she really looks like. And she may or may not actually bake cookies.

You decide.

A SPY LIKE ME, her YA debut novel, and the sequel, HEART OF AN ASSASSIN are now available.
THE ALMOST ASSASSIN, the prequel to A Spy Like Me is a short story also found in the In His Eyes Anthology but now available separately.