This Top 5 series started back in October 2018 and I kind of lost motivation for making it every week. But it’s back! This is a series of books that I want to read that all have a common theme. Previously on the blog I have focused on witches, werewolves, thrillers, faeries, fairy tale re-tellings, high fantasy and many more. I am going to try and bring this series back for every Saturday.
The Upcoming Schedule Is:
2/1/20 — Dystopian Books
2/8/20 — Mental Illness
2/15/20 — Books about Mermaids
2/22/20 — Books about Spies
2/29/20 — Books inspired by Mythology
Rules!
- Share your top 5 books of the current topic– these can be books that you want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, you can do it any way you want.
- Tag the original post (This one!)
- Tag 5 people
Spies!
I LOVE THIS TOPIC! I had SUCH a hard time limiting this topic to only 5 books. I have always loved books about spies, especially teenage spies. Books about spies are always just so much fun to read about. I love all of the scheming and the planning and the amazing things that these characters pull off. When reading a book about spies you’re always in for a really cool plot. I’m a huge fan of this topic and have read a lot of books about teenage spies. Some of my favorites are H.I.V.E by Mark Walden, I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter, Heist Society by Ally Carter and The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. When searching for books for this week’s list I found that I was adding so many books to my TBR. Honestly after making this list I think I will read one of these books next because they just look like so much fun.
Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel
A warning to all young ladies of delicate breeding who wish to embark upon lives of adventure: Don’t.
Sixteen-year-old Peggy is a well-bred orphan who is coerced into posing as a lady in waiting at the palace of King George I. Life is grand, until Peggy starts to suspect that the girl she’s impersonating might have been murdered. Unless Peggy can discover the truth, she might be doomed to the same terrible fate. But in a court of shadows and intrigue, anyone could be a spy—perhaps even the handsome young artist with whom Peggy is falling in love…
History and mystery spark in this effervescent series debut.
Spies in a royal court setting? This is everything I love to read about. I actually already have a copy of Palace of Spies and its sequel. I picked them up at Penfield Public Library’s Used Book Sale last fall. It sounds like a fun historical spy series and I can’t wait to read it!
The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom
The Cruelty is the first book from a groundbreaking new YA voice: an utterly compelling thriller.
When Gwendolyn Bloom realizes that her father has been kidnapped, she has to take matters into her own hands. She traces him from New York City across the dark underbelly of Europe, taking on a new identity to survive in a world of brutal criminal masterminds. As she slowly leaves behind her schoolgirl self, she realizes that she must learn the terrifying truth about herself. To overcome the cruelty she encounters, she must also embrace it.
I didn’t even know what this book was about until it showed up on a search for spy novels. This sounds like a mix of a lot of themes that I love in books. From reviews I’ve heard that this has an original feel and is filled with seedy characters. This one looks like a dark spy novel, and I think I could really get into this one.
Trust Me, I’m Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer
Fans of Ally Carter’s Heist Society novels will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action.
Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average.
But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal.
The blurb of this book kind of reminds me of The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, which is a huge compliment because I LOVED that book and have spent so much time searching for something similar. I hope that I love it even half as much as I loved The Fixer!
Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Bayport High operates like any other high school–jocks at the top, outsiders at the bottom, and everyone else in between. Enter Toby Klein, a sophomore computer hacker who doesn’t play well with others. She has zero school spirit, a black belt in karate, and what her guidance counselor calls an attitude problem. She’s the last person you’d expect to be invited to join the varsity cheerleading squad.
But things are different at Bayport.
Bayport’s varsity cheer squad is made up of the hottest of the hot. But this A-list is dangerous in more ways than one. The Squad is actually a cover for the most highly trained group of underage government operatives the United States has ever assembled. Athletically, they’re unmatchable, though they make it all look easy on the field. Mentally, they’re exceptional–but with one flash of their gorgeous smiles, you’ll completely forget that. Socially, they’re gifted, so they can command and manipulate any situation. And above all, they have the perfect cover, because, beyond herkies and highlights, no one expects anything from a cheerleader.
Toby Klein might not seem like the most likely recruit, but she’s never been one to turn down a challenge. If she can handle the makeover, Bayport Hight may just have found its newest cheerleader.
Pretty, popular, armed, and extremely dangerous–meet THE SQUAD.
I LOVE JENNIFER LYNN BARNES. But even if I didn’t I would want to read this book. The cheerleaders are also undercover government operatives. This just sounds like it will be such a fun read. I’ve read a lot of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ books and I have enjoyed every single one of them.
Model Spy by Shannon Greenland
Teen genius Kelly James is in a lot of hot water. A whiz with computers, she agreed to help her college RA, David, uncover some top-secret information. After all, she doesn’t have many friends and David has always been nice to her. It doesn’t hurt that he’s supercute and irresistible, too. All she has to do is hack into the government’s main computer system.
But a few hours later, her whole life changes. She is caught and taken in for questioning, only this isn’t your run-of-the-mill arrest. Rather than serve a juvenile detention sentence, she accepts the option to change her name and enlist in a secret government spy agency that trains teen agents to go undercover. As if that wasn’t overwhelming enough, she discovers that David works for this agency as well!
And before she even begins to understand what is going on, she’s sent on her first mission as an undercover model. And who better to partner with than David himself!
Honestly I would pick up this book based on it’s title alone, but the blurb is also super enticing. This looks like a perfect choice for a quick read. The reviews say that this book is not full of action, but is full of comic relief. I will pick this up when I need something fun.
Honorable Mentions
I had a really hard time keeping this list to only 5 titles and since I couldn’t decide this week, I decided that I would mention a few extra titles that I think deserved to be included in this list as well.
Tagged!
Maria @ Varietats
Lynne @ Fictionophile
Catherine @ This one is for the Books
Amy @ Bookish Heights
Step @ Bookshine and Readbows
Check out Other Book Blogger’s Top 5!
Nen & Jen @ Nen & Jen — Top 5 Sat: Books About Spies
Louise @ Foxes and Fairytales —Top 5 Books with Spies and Espionage
Jill @ Jill’s Book Blog — Top 5 Saturday — Books About Spies
Dini @ Dinipandareads — Top 5 Saturday: Books about Spies
Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog — Shaken Not Stirred — Top 5 Saturday
Blair @ Feed the Crime — -|Books With Spies I’ve Yet to Read… Top 5 Saturday|-
Let’s Chat!
What do you love about books about spies? What are some of your favorite stories about spies? Have you read any of the books I mentioned above? What books about spies should I add to my TBR? Make sure to comment below so we can talk about books about spies!
Devouring Books 
Great list! I haven’t heard of any of these but the synopsis for Trust Me, I’m Lying (and that title though) sounds so good! Will definitely check it out 😀
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If you like the way Trust Me I’m Lying looks you should totally check out The Fixer
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