I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Summary on Goodreads:

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real "pavement artist"-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?

Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.

Review:

This sounds weird, but I couldn’t remember a single detail of this book. I believe I’ve read it before, maybe 9 or 10 years ago…I do remember a lot of details from this author’s other series: Heist Society. I absolutely adored the Heist Society books. I’m not sure why I never went back and continued with this earlier series. However, I’ve come to realize I now own all but the last book in this series, so why not give it a go?

It was a lot of fun to read. And I read it super fast (one day fast). However, I’m pretty sure I would have loved it more 10 year ago. It’s not that I didn’t like it now; it’s just that there’s a lot of the older YA tropes happening here and I while they are annoying and formulaic now, I’m sure back then they wouldn’t have been.

I still ate it up. The concept itself is pretty amazing. Though, it’s a bit reminiscent of the Finishing School series by Carriger, which I just finished. Of course, this book came first, but I couldn’t help making comparisons between the two schools, which made for some sereious epic settings. And well, one school hides in plane site as a school for wealthy kids and the other book has a school that hides in the sky on a giant balloon…Why do you think sounds cooler?

Any way, it was still super fun reading about about spy classes and spy lunches, where the characters are only allowed to speak in whatever foreign language of the day is given to them. I also loved the characters. The main character was believable. The two best friends were pretty awesome. The new girl (who starts off mean) was also pretty interesting. Though the whole “mean girl” idea was one of those things I was tired of reading about.

I loved the mother/daughter dynamic. The mother of the main character is in charge of the school. I loved their relationship. Though, I want to know more about what happened to her dad. My guess is I’ll learn this later.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the insta-love romance. I also don’t get how quite as bad with boys the main character is. Shouldn’t one of the classes be about seduction (like it is in the Finishing School books)? I feel like a very important element of spying is being neglected here. Though, the main character’s constant thinking of the boy and crushing were super believable for me. I just wish everything involving said boy could have been handled a lot better, and maybe have built up over a longer period of time. And honestly, I was super disappointed in how stuff ended with him at the end, but it certainly leaves things interesting.

All in all, this was a fast-paced, girly, spy-school book. It was a lot of fun to read. There were a few things I’ve seen before (though this book came out 10 years ago and maybe started the trends). I loved the characters, but I was not a fan of the romance. I’m excited to see where things go with the series because I know this author can be amazing. I give this first one a 7/10.