Today I'm taking part in the blog tour for Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi :) Hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. Thank you for letting me take part in this tour. I'm such a huge fan of Veronica and have loved her and her books for years now. And so I knew I had to read Rebel Spy. And I knew I would enjoy this so very much. Which I did. Today I'm sharing my four star review of this lovely book. You all need to read this precious book too. It looks so stunning and it was so incredible too. Most definitely worth reading. Buy it :)
Review of Rebel Spy.
I have been waiting so long for the chance to read this book. Been a fan of Veronica for years now; she is amazing. And I knew I would end up adoring this book. So happy to say that I did. I am giving it four stars, as I had a few small issues. But for the most part I really adored and loved this story. The writing was fully stunning. I had to problem connecting with this beautiful book. The setting was incredible; I loved that this took part between 1776 and 1780. I very much loved how historical and lovely it was. Very interesting too.
This book tells the story about Frannie. She lived with her mom and stepdad on an island in the Grand Bahamas. There is so little of her life there, but gosh, it was so exciting. Wreck diving. A great best friend. I wish there had been even more of it all. Sigh. When she was fifteen, her mother died. And her stepdad wanted to marry Frannie next. Which was beyond gross and terrifying. And so Frannie did the only thing she could to get away. She took over the life of a dead girl she found floating in the sea after a ship crash.
Which is how this story begins. With Frannie escaping from her violent and so awful stepdad. And taking over the life of someone else. We see a bit about her few weeks aboard a ship after she was rescued by them, before she was taken to her new stolen life. We see how Frannie struggles to live the life of a rich young lady. How she has to learn to behave like she would have done, how Frannie has to change pretty much everything about herself. Which was kind of sad, yet the only way she would be able to live at all.
And oh, how I adored Frannie. She was such an amazing girl to get to know. I loved her fighting spirit. I only wish that there had been more about her as Frannie, and less of her as Emmeline. Though I loved her life as her too. But yeah. Frannie was much more awesome. I loved the small parts of her diving. It was so lovely to read about. On the ship, for a few weeks, she meets a boy. Asa. And falls in love right away. I liked reading about them together so much. A bit too fast, but so adorable too. But it ended badly.
Which is all I will say about that. It was so interesting too, though. I just so liked reading about them both. She was on this ship for a little while, until she arrived in New York ready to start her new life as someone else. Then the book skips three years. I wish we had seen more of the missing years, but also loved this jump. During those years, Frannie had to learn how to be a lady. How to do everything right, so that none would learn that Frannie was not really Emmeline. Her life was good, but also so boring for her at times.
But yes. I very much did like reading about Frannie in her new life too. Though her past life was way more exciting, haha. But her life as a lady was good too. I adored her new family. Lucy was fully adorable. And Charlotte, their friend, was too cute as well. I liked how they were her friends, even though she could not tell them her secret. Frannie hadn't seen Asa in three years. Until now. There was some drama, which I did not like very much, but it was not a lot of it. And I just loved this boy a whole lot. And shipped them so.
This book is about Frannie turning into a spy. Everyone she knows are with the British and the King. But she is secretly wishing for the Americans to win this war. She wants to help. And so she starts spying on those she spend time around. It was interesting, but it was also a little boring, as I had hoped there would be higher stakes and more happening, haha. It was good, though, despite that. The prologue shares that she will be caught spying. I liked this, but how she got caught was a little boring too, ha. But written well.
Okay. So. This book was about Frannie and her life as Emmeline. A bit about her spying too. But mostly just about her life and her feelings. Which is one thing I had issues with. The romance. Ack. Frannie was courting this guy, Duncan, for about a year. A few kisses. I did not really like him, as we had loved Asa first. And then he is there too, and somehow a tiny love triangle. Yet not really too, as it was not dramatic or silly. But I still wish the Duncan thing had not been included, haha. But it was a good thing for Frannie.
Anyway. The few things I had issues with in this book was as I mentioned the romance. And I wish that the ending had been longer, I needed to know more. Did any others get to know her truth? How did they react? I really wanted to see that. I wanted to see her come back to her home too. Sigh. I also felt like the whole spying this was a bit too tame. I liked the prison ships. Horrible and so real. But also wanted a little more horror and pain. Still. It was good and I liked it a lot. But wished there had been more of island life.
I must confess that I do not really know much about the war between America and Britain during this time period. Oops. Only the parts I remember from watching the Sleepy Hollow show, haha. Which is not a lot. And so I very much liked learning more about it all in this book. Learning about this war and things that took place during it. And how it was for people living in New York during this time. It was interesting and exciting too to read about. I think I must look more into this history of time. As I am now curious about it.
Rebel Spy was just as good and exciting as I thought it would be. Despite the few issues I had with it, I still loved this book. And I'm so glad that I read it. I cannot wait to get my gorgeous hardcover in the mail. Big thank you to the publisher and to The Fantastic Flying Book Club for letting me read this via Netgalley for the blog tour. It was such a great book. I only wish it had a longer ending. Hmph. How rude, haha. You all need to read this book too. Now I simply can't wait to read even more books by Veronica in the future.
Rebellious Frannie Tasker knows little about the war between England and its thirteen colonies in 1776, until a shipwreck off her home in Grand Bahama Island presents an unthinkable opportunity. The body of a young woman floating in the sea gives Frannie the chance to escape her brutal stepfather--and she takes it.
Assuming the identity of the drowned Emmeline Coates, Frannie is rescued by a British merchant ship and sails with the crew to New York. For the next three years, Frannie lives a lie as Miss Coates, swept up in a courtship by a dashing British lieutenant. But after witnessing the darker side of the war, she realizes that her position gives her power. Soon she finds herself eavesdropping on British officers, risking everything to pass information on to George Washington's Culper spy ring as agent 355. Frannie believes in the fight for American liberty--but what will it cost her? Inspired by the true "355" and rich in historical detail and intrigue, this is the story of an unlikely New York society girl turned an even unlikelier spy.
VERONICA ROSSI is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the UNDER THE NEVER SKY series. She was born in Rio de Janeiro, grew up in California, and graduated from UCLA. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two sons, one of whom just surpassed her in height. Find her online at veronicarossi.com or on Twitter at @rossibooks.
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