Review: Blonde Ops by Charlotte Bennardo & Natalie Zaman

Blonde OpsBlonde Ops - ARC
by Charlotte Bennardo & Natalie Zaman
YA Contemporary Suspense
Hardcover288 Pages
May 6th 2014 by St. Martin's Griffin                

Summary

Pitched as The Devil Wears Prada meets James Bond for teens, featuring a fashion magazine intern in Rome who uncovers a plot to kidnap the First Lady.

Expelled from yet another boarding school for hacking, sixteen-year-old Rebecca "Bec" Jackson is shipped off to Rome to intern for Parker Phillips, the editor-in-chief of one of the world’s top fashion magazines. But when a mysterious accident lands Parker in a coma, former supermodel and notorious drama queen Candace Worthington takes the reins of the magazine. The First Lady is in Rome for a cover shoot, and all hands are on deck to make sure her visit goes smoothly.

Bec quickly realizes that Parker's "accident" may not have been quite so accidental, and when the First Lady's life is threatened, Bec is determined to uncover the truth. On top of that, Bec must contend with bitchy models, her new boss, Candace, who is just as difficult as the tabloids say, and two guys, a hunky Italian bike messenger with a thousand-watt smile and a fashion blogger with a razor-sharp wit, who are both vying for her heart.

Can Bec catch the person who's after the First Lady, solve the mystery of Parker's accident, and juggle two cute boys at the same time? Blonde Ops is a fun, action-packed romp through the hallways of a fashion magazine and the cobblestone streets of Rome.

   

My Review

I love YA detective books! There's just something about the snarky voice that the MC normally has, the crazy antics, and the suspense that I thoroughly enjoy. Blonde Ops is no different. Bec's voice is definitely snarky, almost more on the angst side. There are also plenty of crazy antics as Bec tries to figure out what is going on.

There were only a few things that I didn't completely love and I'm going to get them out of the way here. I didn't like Bec kissing two different guys. Uh, just wrong. She also could be a little bit of a drama queen and rude. I also would have loved for there to have been no swearing since I like to share books with my nieces. Then there was just something missing to shift this book from a good book to a great book, but I'm not quite sure what that would be. Would I still recommend reading this? YES. I really enjoyed it and I'm so glad I read it! The ending is open enough for there to be a series and I'm hoping that it will be because with the Gallagher Girls series finished, I need some more of these types of books! 

What did I like? I loved the dialogue, how intelligent Bec was in places that made up for her foolishness in others, the setting (ROME - totally awesome!), the way the authors kept me guessing so that I wasn't completely sure who the bad guys would end up being, the humor (there were parts that definitely cracked me up), the swarmy guys, and the other characters that were so fun. I also LOVED the ending!! I didn't see it coming the way it did and the way everything fit in the end, the surprise for the villain, and the way the good guys got away...well, that's all I can say without spoiling it.

I'd recommend Blonde Ops to those who enjoy fun, yet suspenseful stories with a touch of romance. If you have read and enjoyed Also Known As, Gallagher Girls, or Pretty Crooked then I'd definitely pick this one up!


Content: Some mild swearing and profanity.

Source: From the publisher/NetGalley, which did not affect my review in any way.


Have you read this or do you plan too?



No comments

Post a Comment

I love comments! I try to read and reply to them all. Feel free to agree or disagree and generally share your thoughts with me.