Also Known As by Robin Benway

Also Known As by Robin Benway
"Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations. Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover."- summary from Amazon

I've been a fan of Robin Benway since her debut, even though I have yet to read her second book and this is her third. Her writing is so witty and compelling that I have trouble putting the book down. I absolutely loved returning to her writing and reading this awesome book. Maggie is a wonderful character and I loved her wit and sarcasm. Benway also has a great gift of really fleshing out secondary characters and making them extremely memorable. I will say that Maggie's parents didn't benefit from this though; I just didn't feel the same way about them as I did about Roux, Jesse, and Angelo. I loved seeing them in scenes and reading their interactions with each other. Roux especially made me laugh out loud multiple times.

The spy aspect wasn't as thorough as maybe it could have been, but maybe Ally Carter has just spoiled me. It just didn't feel like a big part of the plot, even though it should be. It was a bit in the background for most of the novel, I felt, and then busted out for the climax, so it was a bit out of place. But I didn't think that's too much of a big deal; plus, there were some interesting twists and turns I wasn't expecting. The romance was amazing; loved Jesse and Maggie's interactions and how they got to know each other throughout the book.

Overall, a fantastic new book from Benway and now I really need to read her second book. So go get this book on Feb 26 when it's released. You won't regret it. It's a fast, hilarious, and intriguing read.

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.