United We Spy, by Ally Carter

You would think that after all these years I would have had time to mentally and emotionally prepare myself for the end of this series. Unfortunately, that didn't work out too well. It's never fun to come to the end of a wonderful series like this one, and I would like to thank Ally Carter for taking me on this thrilling adventure from my junior year of high school with the first book (I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have To Kill You) to my senior year of college with this final chapter. All that being said, I'm going to try to make this review as spoiler free as possible, but it might be hard. So here's your WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS SERIES/ARE NOT CAUGHT UP YET, be warned that there might be some spoilers ahead.

Here's what I liked: It would be too cliche of me to say I liked everything, but that was very close to the case. I love the characters and always have. Cammie is such a strong female protagonist and we really get to see her grow throughout the series, leading up to her knowing exactly who she is in the end. I liked how in I'd Tell You I love You she was super normal girl. Yeah, she went to a school for spies, but she just wanted the nice, normal boy to like her. At that point, she wasn't really sure that this was the life she wanted for herself. But life goes on and so does the series, and the adventures and tests continue to get harder. Cammie realizes how good she is at being a spy, and she finds her passion in it. Let me tell you, she is absolutely awesome in this book. Our little girl has grown up! And this wouldn't be a proper review if I didn't take a quick second to mention my love for Zach. I love him I love him I love him. He's a good match for Cammie and they make a great team (relationship wise and spy wise). The action in this book is nonstop; you're literally at the edge of your seat the entire time and I wouldn't have it any other way. Ally Carter is especially good at planting pieces of information throughout the book that end up being super duper important at the end, so A+ for that. Also, it makes me wonder if Ally is secretly a spy herself...? But you didn't hear that from me. Oh, and did I mention the plot twists? I literally had to put the book down many times to process what had just happened because I SO DID NOT SEE THAT COMING BUT OMG. The plot twists will leave you gasping for air (in a totally good way), and that makes the espionage series ten times more realistic.

Here's what I didn't like: Not much, but I have to be picky. I know Cammie is the protagonist so it's all up to her to save the day, but I really love her gang and I wanted to see them much more in this book. Maybe it was just me, but I wanted Macy to be much more assertive throughout the book and I feel like she was a little passive. But I can totally overlook that considering everything the girl's been through in the last couple books. Also, there were multiple times when I feel like we just completely forgot that Preston was there. Like, he was in the scene but didn't do anything, which was kind of disappointing. Maybe I wanted him to play a bigger role than he did, but maybe I was only expecting that because he seemed to be a big player in the last book.

Overall, this was the perfect ending. I'm not going to spoil what exactly happened, but there was a part at the end that broke my heart because of the symbolism (when you've read it, you'll know what I'm talking about- fresh start and all that jazz). But I can't see the series ending without that specific event and as sad as I was that it happened, it just seemed to fit. Sorry for being vague. I'm also very willing to admit that I shed a few tears, especially during the graduation speech, but it was so well done and this series has such a special place in my heart that it was hard not to cry. I'm sad it's over, but the ending was worth it. So thanks again, Ally, for sharing this story with us and leaving me feeling like I could conquer the world. Just like Cammie.

-Annie