Review - Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

Title: Perfect Scoundrels
Author: Ally Carter
Series: Heist Society #3
Pages: 349
Release Date: February 7th 2013
Publisher: Orchard
Source: Amazon
Format: Paperback
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it's that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting-or stealing-whatever they want. No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale's family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother's billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there's no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won't let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother's will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company's fortune. So instead of being the heir-this time, Hale might be the mark. Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she's willing to save her boyfriend's company if it means losing the boy.

I love the Heist Society series but when it comes to reading books in a series I sometimes get bored with the characters after reading the second book so it takes me a while to either start reading the next book or it takes me a while to finish the next book in the series so when I finished reading Perfect Scoundrels I was surprised that it took me around a week to read this book (my normal reading rate per book).

I'm not going to lie and say that this book was totally awesome as I did prefer book 2 over book 3 and I think this was because I love Hale and he wasn't in this one as much even though the book was about him and because they didn't do a heist like they have in the previous books. Yes they talked and planned to rob a bank to get back something that had been stolen from Hale's Company but they didn't do it. Kat decided to cave and decided to let the man get away with it (yes I know the guy got arrested in the end but still no heist).

We got to get to know the Hale family and finally meet them but we get to do this under sad circumstances. I love Hale but I hate the fact that he was sad all the time and horrible to Kat. At first I was sure that Hale was dating another girl as well as Kat which made me mad because you can tell from book 1 that Kat and Hale belong together.

Even though Hale pushed Kat away after the sad news of his grandmothers death she was the perfect girlfriend and was there all the time to support him and to help him along with her "family" which shows that you don't need to be related by blood to be family.

We find out that Hale's life is more messed up than we ever thought, his family are stuck up  and only care about money after the death of Hales grandmother but Hale is genuinely upset about her death. The only person who really cares about Hale is Marcus the butler and it would seem that his grandmother also cared about him leaving him the company.

I love this series and I need another Hale fix so I am hoping that Ally decides to continue with this series.

Review - Double Crossed: A Spies and Thieves Story by Ally Carter

Release Date: January 22nd 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Format: e-book
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Macey McHenry—Glamorous society girl or spy-in-training?

W.W. Hale V—Heir to an American dynasty or master thief?

There are two sides to every coin. Whether these two can work together is a tossup.

Born into privilege, Macey and Hale are experts at mingling with the upper class. But even if they’ve never raised an eyebrow at the glitz, neither teenager has ever felt at home with the glamour.

When Macey and Hale meet at a society gala, the party takes a dangerous turn. Suddenly they’re at the center of a hostage situation, and it’s up to them to stop the thugs from becoming hostile. Will Macey’s spy skills and Hale’s con-man ways be enough to outsmart a ruthless gang? Or will they have to seek out the ultimate inside girl to help?

The worlds of Heist Society and the Gallagher Girls collide in Ally Carter’s fast-paced, high-stakes and tantalizing new story. Get a behind the scenes glimpse as Ally delivers an irresistible thriller that is full of her signature style and savvy twists.

My review: I wasn't sure if I was going to read this at first as I haven't read The Gallagher Girls yet but I am glad I did because I now want to read The Gallagher Girls after I have finished reading Perfect Scoundrels.

Their is not really much you can say about Double Crossed without giving away the plot but although I love the fact that Hale and Kat pull heists it was nice seeing Hale team up with someone completely different from Kat to help to try and catch the thieves instead of being one.

I think the story could have been a little longer but it's only a novella hopefully Ally will write more of these. Maybe Ally could have Macey turn up in and help Kat and Hale out on a heist in a future book in the Heist Society series.

Currently Reading: Perfect Scoundrel by Ally Carter
Read in 2014: 5/40

Review - Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Release Date: June 21st 2011
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners. 

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

Uncommon Criminals was just as good as Heist Society if not better. Just like Heist Society there are plenty of plot twists.

It starts off with Kat leaving the airport with Hale after Kat had completed a Heist when some old lady comes up to them asking her to steal the Cleopatra Emerald which of course is also cursed.

The old lady cons Kat and Hale into believing that the Cleopatra Emerald rightfully belongs to her because her parents discovered it in an archaeological find. The lady tells them that Visily Romani told her where the emerald would be and that Kat was the person she needed to retrieve it and give it back to its rightful owner.

Even though Kat's uncle tells Kat not to go after the Cleopatra Emerald, Kat and her crew do it anyway and later find out that the old lady was conning them just so she could have the emerald. She planned to take the emerald and pass it off as the emeralds twin the Anthony and have it auctioned off.

At first Kat doesnt believe in the curse of the emerald, but after Kat steals the Cleopatra she finds out that the old lady conned her and Gabrielle (who held the emerald) starts getting hurt and this is when she starts to believe that maybe there really is a curse after all .

If you loved Heist Society you are bound to love Uncommon Criminals (especially if like me your team Hale)

Review - Heist Society by Ally Carter

Release Date: February 9th 2010
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

I really liked Heist Society because it was different from the books I had been currently reading, I had never read any books about thieves and con artists before and I found I really enjoyed it. It was a light easy read with lots of plot twists and it was really hard to put down once I had started reading.

The characters were well written and they all had there own traits and secrets and it was fun getting to know each one of the characters. My favourite character is Hale but I am also a fan of geeky Simon.

I liked how you could tell right from the beginning (well when we get introduced to Hale) that Kat and Hale obviously have feelings for each other by all the detail that is in the book and by the images you get while reading the scene between them.

Kat has become tired of her life of crime and she now wants an education so she becomes a student at a respectable school. Without giving to much away, the book starts with Kat being expelled from the school for pulling a prank that she did not commit, her friends and family set her up because her dad is in trouble and they think Kat can help resolve the situation.

Kat's dad however did not commit the crime he is being blamed for and has an alibi but this doesn't stop the mobster from blaming him and demanding Kat does something no one else has ever done before... steal from the Henley Museum.

The best part of the book was the planning of the heist and pulling the heist itself. There are so many things that could have gone wrong while they were doing it that the book has you gripped to find out if they get caught or if they manage to get away with it.

I would recommend this to my friends and to anyone who likes a good quick read with a lot of fun plot twists and I cannot wait to get started on Uncommon Criminals.