Picking up where Spy Goddess: To Hawaii, With Love left off, Rachel Buchanan and her Blackthorn Academy team return from Hawaii with the Idol of Fury, only to find the worst possible thing has happened. Someone has stolen The Book of Seraphim directly from Mr. Kim’s situation room.
With no clues and no way to track Simon Blankenship, Rachel and her friends must sit back and wait for him to make his next move. There’s only one thing wrong with that strategy: Rachel Buchanan does not like to sit back and wait for the action to come to her.
When a mysterious new student arrives at Blackthorn Academy and he’s, shall we say, attractive, there’s a problem. He also seems to know just a little to much about Rachel and her band and their unusual activities. And now Rachel’s head is spinning, because the new guy is sending her all kinds of signals, and he’s making Alex jealous and oh yeah…since Blankenship is always one step ahead of them, it can only mean one thing. One of her friends is a traitor.
Some days being a reincarnated Goddess is not all it’s cracked up to be.
This is the third book in the Spy Goddess series by Michael P. Spradlin.
Basic premise: Rachel is from Beverley Hills and has a bit of an attitude problem. So she was sent to this special school which is part prep school part spy school. Her and her schoolmates are trying to foil supervillain Simon Blankenship as he tries to find some mystical artifacts in his bid to rule the world. It is their job to stop him. The kids are introduced to a new face while also struggling with the fact there is a mole in their midsts.
All I can say is OMG, you can’t end a series like that!! This series has so much promise. I mean along the lines of Rick Riordan promise. The three books in this series barely brush the surface of all it has to offer. There hasn’t been a new book since 2011 and I have to wonder why. This story has all the makings of a great middle grade blockbuster like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. Rachel has yet to fully understand what these goddess powers are she possesses and that alone is a thread that could last for four more books at least.
I want to call up the author and say “Please write more of this!” It can’t end this way. This is like the biggest cliffhanger in history. Nothing is really settled. The supervillain is still out there foiling all their attempts to catch him and I am sitting here puzzled as to why there are no more books in this series!
This human with goddess powers is so marketable right now. I mean look at how well all of Riordan’s series have sold. This should be a no brainer! Please, Spradlin, revisit this series and give me five more books!
If you love a good middle grade, goddess, prep school spy story, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
THE ENDING IS TERRIBLE!!! I was so disappointed and very angry. If there is not another book coming out (which I don't think there is) then I suggest you never read this book.
Awesome. She's starting to fight back and take this seriously. The storyline has our mastermind not only having the book and the first artifact but he's now got a good lead on the others as well as showing them that he can enter the school at will. Kim has her practising stealing the book and artifact back but she just doesn't have the speed as yet, nor do they know where his lair is. Plus a new kid in school is throwing everyone out. A new artifact hunt, gang warfare, a traitor and the big bang. Will they find the new artifact and keep it? Will they retrieve the others? How will the big bang affect them? About time that she started to get serious about causing the baddie real grief. The changes in the dynamics of the small group lend another dimension to the read. I just wish that more had been done to keep a bit closer to the myths and legends. Although Mithras is part of Roman mythology, there is more sign of an Etheria in any mythology. Shame as would have given this more meaning.
I love all of the other books in the series, mainly because they have hot spy boys, but also because of the story itself. Despite the fact that this book had another hot villain in it, I found this one boring because it wasn't as interesting as all of the others and didn't really do much to catch my attention. I also hated the confusing ending.
For the final book in an action series, it was a major disappointment. Not only did the story end on a cliffhanger, but most our heroine's friends fall with her archfoe poised on the cusp of total and final victory.
This book was the best I think they could of made the new kid wait a little longer to find the wing it was to simple when it took months for her to find it in the first book.
I love this series. I adore it. I generally don't go for teenage spy books...okay, I just don't ADMIT that I do, but Spradlin manages to make this all somewhat realistic.
Also, for those of you who cried at the ending, don't despair. According to his blog, Michael stated this book is very much like a 'prequel' in that: It never actually happened.
But it did happen, didn't it? In our hearts.
Without giving too much away, Rachel is (was) ((but still really is)) a trouble maker from a well off family in Beverly hills. After one last stint, she was sent to Blackthorn academy and discovered all sorts of awesome secrets and met some bad guys and still doesn't consider herself a hero. I like that about her.
If you like this, I recommend reading the Gallagher Girls series (because I TOTALLY DON'T read girl spy novels) ((lie))
Also, for those who have read at least the second book: this one reveals Brent's past!
I have enjoyed Spy Goddess since I was a kid and was sad back then when the series only consisted of the first two books both amazing. Yet left something to be desired.
However when the third book was released I was ecstatic and yet while I loved the story and character development. If your like me, you'll be happy to know we finally learn the mysterious past of Brent. I couldn't help but be extremely disappointed with the ending.
*Spoilers Below*
When I say we don't know what has happened to any of them, I mean we know nothing. Brent and Pilar might be dead, Rachel as well. I have no idea how Michael got away from Alex, leaving me to wonder if anything has happened to him as well? Simon is still loose, artifacts are still all over the map (literally) and we still don't know who the mole is! *Spoilers over*
All in all I enjoyed the book and would be rather happy to see more though it is most unlikely.
So in the blurb it was talking about Alex liked Rachel? But from the start of the series I felt like it was always going to end up being Brent and Rachel. And it was kind of obvious that Michael was the bad guy, but i'm disappointed none of Rachel's friends really discussed their concerns about him with her.
The ending wasn't sooooo bad, and i really really really hope there's another book coming out but im not so sure.
Anyway it's been a pretty good series, although i think i would definitely recommend Gallagher Girls over this if someone wanted to read a teen spy novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Liked the book but why did this series end when there should be at least one or two more books don't read this series unless you want to be disappointed or you like unfinished books or series