Blog Tour - Review + Giveaway: The Agent's Daughter by Ron Corriveau

Title: The Agent's Daughter

Author: Ron Corriveau

Genre: YA, mystery thriller

Publication date: May 18th 2013

Published by: Geek Parade Books

Source: From author for review for Blog Tour

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Synopsis:

Melina has been preparing for a future career as a spy.

She just doesn’t know it.

Legendary spy Evan Roberts always knew that his fifteen-year-old daughter Melina also possessed the absolute lack of fear required of an agent. Without telling her his real profession or his intention, he began to guide her toward an eventual career as a spy. However, Melina’s world is shattered after her mom is involved in an accident that leaves her mysteriously unhurt but unresponsive. Her father’s plans on hold, Melina settles into life at a suburban high school, immersing herself in a world of schoolwork, her friends and a budding romance with Alex, the cute new guy in her class.

When Melina and her father uncover shocking new information about her mother’s accident, Melina is pulled deep into her father’s shadowy world. With Alex desperately trying to find her and only hours to go before it will be too late to save her mother, Melina and her father work together using their combined skills to find a way to reach her.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
I found the concept of The Agent's Daughter very intriguing... I've always liked this adventurous spy stuff, so I couldn't wait to read it!

I really like the concept of the story, though I don't think it was executed as well as it could've been. From the start, I found the dialogue kind of off, and the underuse of contractions was driving me a little crazy! Now, we all now teenagers (well, at least most) use contractions like they breathe air. In fact, we all do it! The faster we can get our thoughts out with the least amount of words in our sentences, the better! The lack of contraction in this book just made it feel much too formal for my liking and it didn't help the story flow as well as it could've. We also got a lot of info dump every now and then... sometimes it seemed redundant, other times it was actually really interesting, but it was just in a huge chunk and my brain was overloaded with all this information.

The beginning of the book was very slow, and although I did find it interesting, it was hard for me to get completely hooked on it, especially since I couldn't see where the story was headed. There was a lot of build up and us getting to know the characters... which is nice, but not for the first seven chapters of the book.

Halfway into the book is when things started to get interesting for me! It was very suspenseful, action-y, and very, very clever ;) These agents are just very smart and I found myself being surprised by the crazy stuff they came up with! I really loved the second half of the book, to say the least :)

One thing that didn't surprise me though? The plot twist with the reveal of the "bad guy." Saw him coming from a mile away, and I was mildly disappointed since I love being surprised. I have read a lot of mystery novels, and I've gotten good at guessing over the years, though. But if you can catch me off guard with a plot twist, well, that is just awesomesauce!

Anyway, overall, I enjoyed the read and really liked the story that was told. I thought all the spy stuff was awesome and I actually laughed out loud a couple of times... I do love a book that can make me laugh :) Although I had problems with the slow beginning and a few technical things with the writing itself, I found myself to be thoroughly sucked into the story in the second half of the book when things really started to pick up! If you are looking for a light, adventurous read with spies, cool gadgets, and action, I recommend giving this one a try!

P.S. That cover? Epic!

Prize: 3x paperback copies of The Agent's Daughter (open INTL)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author: Ron Corriveau is an electrical engineer and works designing custom integrated circuits. He started writing to prove to himself that he actually does have a right side to his brain. Originally from Southern California, he currently lives outside of Dallas with his lovely wife and two awesome kids. He has only recently come to terms with the fact that he is a geek, although he would like to stress that he doesn’t hold any kind of leadership role in the organization.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a comment! :) And don't forget to follow the rest of the tour for more awesome features on The Agent's Daughter!