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Ivory Tower Spies #1
For Your Ears Only
Seventeen-year-old spy Loveday has been training for her first international spy mission for years, with a former-CIA father and a secret team that works in the underbelly of Washington, D.C.
For her first mission, all she has to do is crack a ring of car thieves for London’s premiere hotel owner, Charles Darnay. But Darnay’s bumbling buffoon public persona belies secrets that could add dangerous complications to Loveday’s mission.
And he’s not the only one who’s lying. If Loveday doesn’t expose the truth, her team could be in mortal danger.
For her first mission, all she has to do is crack a ring of car thieves for London’s premiere hotel owner, Charles Darnay. But Darnay’s bumbling buffoon public persona belies secrets that could add dangerous complications to Loveday’s mission.
And he’s not the only one who’s lying. If Loveday doesn’t expose the truth, her team could be in mortal danger.
243 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2018
45 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Emily Kazmierski
25 books98 followersEmily lives in sunny Southern California with her husband and two daughters. When she's not in her book dragon form devouring books, she can be found in the kitchen making homemade ice cream or baking something delicious. In addition to reading and writing, Emily loves watching police procedurals, playing with makeup, and cuddling with her two long-haired dachshunds Nestlé and Kiefer.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 13, 2018
I'm not crying, you're crying.
Loveday is just your average 17 year old girl... just kidding. She is a bad ass agent, ready to kill. Life in the ivory tower isn't just missions and guns. Sje loves her hodgepodge family, and doesnt want any harm to come to her new-to-the-field boyfriend. Can she get to the bottom of the hotel car thefts, and protect everyone she loves?
I love this book. I really like tge characters and the the world surrounding them. I hope to see Julep in the next book as well. If you have ever enjoyed an Ally Carter book, or want to read young adult Charlie's Angels, this is it. And of course, can't lie, but reqlly feeling some tears trying to escape right now. I want the next book NOW!
Loveday is just your average 17 year old girl... just kidding. She is a bad ass agent, ready to kill. Life in the ivory tower isn't just missions and guns. Sje loves her hodgepodge family, and doesnt want any harm to come to her new-to-the-field boyfriend. Can she get to the bottom of the hotel car thefts, and protect everyone she loves?
I love this book. I really like tge characters and the the world surrounding them. I hope to see Julep in the next book as well. If you have ever enjoyed an Ally Carter book, or want to read young adult Charlie's Angels, this is it. And of course, can't lie, but reqlly feeling some tears trying to escape right now. I want the next book NOW!
October 29, 2018
Very enjoyable beginning to what appears to be an interesting series. Love the characters and how the whole thing plays out. Although the premise, teenagers involved in intrigue and espionage, may seem to be a bit of a stretch, the author pulls it off quite well. I’ll definitely be following the further escapades of this team of spies.
November 3, 2021
A delightful joyride through the world of teenage espionage. Where Timothy Dalton is the best Bond and found family is everything.
I was not expecting such an emotional rollercoaster!
I was not expecting such an emotional rollercoaster!
December 23, 2021
I'm currently editing this and I'm so excited about it. It's easily the best thing I've ever written.
If you like diverse teams of snarky teenagers, sibling relationships (both biological and adopted), action and adventure in far off locations, food, and romance, you'll love this.
Some books that inspired me to write this are Ally Carter's Heist Society and Gallagher Girls series. Also, I may have picked up some things from a recent binge-watch of Pretty Little Liars. :)
If you like diverse teams of snarky teenagers, sibling relationships (both biological and adopted), action and adventure in far off locations, food, and romance, you'll love this.
Some books that inspired me to write this are Ally Carter's Heist Society and Gallagher Girls series. Also, I may have picked up some things from a recent binge-watch of Pretty Little Liars. :)
January 10, 2020
When her world comes down in flames.
A great start. Our main female character is the leader of a group of teens, trained by her dad, as spies in the ilk of James Bond. She tough, motivated but has one flaw. She's in love with another member of the team and has been keeping him of missions to keep him safe. Her adopted sister and 'broher' make up the other two members. Her sister is a wizard at disguises and moving silently whilst he can drive anything - land, sea or air.
With a successful mission just completed, they are told that they are going to London. One of his old colleagues has been asked to try and find out who is stealing high end vehicles. Add in the mob, a missing birth certificate, a flash drive hidden in one of the recently stolen cars,a battle royale and pain. Will they get the flash drive? Will she ever recover? Who was behind the theft and knew about the flash drive?
A great start. Our main female character is the leader of a group of teens, trained by her dad, as spies in the ilk of James Bond. She tough, motivated but has one flaw. She's in love with another member of the team and has been keeping him of missions to keep him safe. Her adopted sister and 'broher' make up the other two members. Her sister is a wizard at disguises and moving silently whilst he can drive anything - land, sea or air.
With a successful mission just completed, they are told that they are going to London. One of his old colleagues has been asked to try and find out who is stealing high end vehicles. Add in the mob, a missing birth certificate, a flash drive hidden in one of the recently stolen cars,a battle royale and pain. Will they get the flash drive? Will she ever recover? Who was behind the theft and knew about the flash drive?
November 29, 2018
The characters really drew me in, and didn’t let go! The book covers a lot of ground between character development and intriguing story, with a riveting finale. Definitely looking forward to the rest of the series.
December 9, 2018
This was a solid teen spy book, that you won't regret reading.
I have read my share of them, like by Ally Carter, Robert Muchamore, Gail Carriger or Alex Rider series.
This means that nothing REALLY surprised me in Emily Kazmierski's book, but compared to the other - admitedly more popular books - this one can stand its own ground.
Straight away, Emily throws us into action, and, tbh, I wouldn't be able to tell how old/young our heroine is, as she acts like a capable adult. This is more or less represented in the whole book, so let's look at the characters a bit more.
While they are quite well written, each with their own personality and maybe even voice, I feel like they're all also very predictable and, well, too good. They don't really have flaws, which is something that I guess needs a bit more work.
The author really enjoys torturing the readers. With food descriptions! There were just so many. I was feeling hungry most of the time, thank you very much.
When we talk about writing style, Emily still has something to work on. What I did not enjoy, was that there were time jumps to the "future" (as in, we're talking evening of Monday one paragraph, then suddenly, it's Wednesday lunch) without any warning and it was making me confused. Very, very confused.
Also the writing seemed a bit repetitive what with the repetition of the grey trench coat and I felt like the verb "scrunch" was overused. Weird thing to notice, but once you start, you unfortunately cannot stop.
The plot. Weeeeeell. While it wasn't predictable and I didn't know what was going to happen, I guess I had a general idea? I also have this confusing feeling like the blurb says too much while not a lot happens in the first part of the book? But as I said, I couldn't really guess what would happen next, which was nice.
All in all, we can't expect all authors to write perfect books early in their career and who knows? Maybe this book is more than perfect for someone?
I enjoyed reading this despite the flaws that I found and the ending leaves me wanting for more!
I have read my share of them, like by Ally Carter, Robert Muchamore, Gail Carriger or Alex Rider series.
This means that nothing REALLY surprised me in Emily Kazmierski's book, but compared to the other - admitedly more popular books - this one can stand its own ground.
Straight away, Emily throws us into action, and, tbh, I wouldn't be able to tell how old/young our heroine is, as she acts like a capable adult. This is more or less represented in the whole book, so let's look at the characters a bit more.
While they are quite well written, each with their own personality and maybe even voice, I feel like they're all also very predictable and, well, too good. They don't really have flaws, which is something that I guess needs a bit more work.
The author really enjoys torturing the readers. With food descriptions! There were just so many. I was feeling hungry most of the time, thank you very much.
When we talk about writing style, Emily still has something to work on. What I did not enjoy, was that there were time jumps to the "future" (as in, we're talking evening of Monday one paragraph, then suddenly, it's Wednesday lunch) without any warning and it was making me confused. Very, very confused.
Also the writing seemed a bit repetitive what with the repetition of the grey trench coat and I felt like the verb "scrunch" was overused. Weird thing to notice, but once you start, you unfortunately cannot stop.
The plot. Weeeeeell. While it wasn't predictable and I didn't know what was going to happen, I guess I had a general idea? I also have this confusing feeling like the blurb says too much while not a lot happens in the first part of the book? But as I said, I couldn't really guess what would happen next, which was nice.
All in all, we can't expect all authors to write perfect books early in their career and who knows? Maybe this book is more than perfect for someone?
I enjoyed reading this despite the flaws that I found and the ending leaves me wanting for more!
October 24, 2019
After reading this book, I wanted to write and post this review to share my honest experiences toward the story. And it definitely did not disappoint! If you’re into teen spy novels and don’t mind a bit of romance in them, this should definitely be on your TBR list!
Our story follows seventeen-year-old Loveday, who has been training to be a spy. Her first mission definitely isn’t an easy one, and it’s going to take everything she’s got to make it out of this.
The story hooks you in from page one with a strong action scene leading to drama, more action, suspense, and a beautifully woven plot. The characters were amazing, I especially loved the relationship between Loveday and Clarity. Clarity’s subplot was awesome, and I can’t wait to see it explored more in the series.
There is an element of romance in this, but doesn’t go farther than a few kisses. All romantic interaction is clean and contains no explicit adult content.
This book is very well-written and engaging, definitely a great start to the series. That ending definitely left me wanting more! Definitely one to reread in the future, and looking forward to the rest of the series.
Our story follows seventeen-year-old Loveday, who has been training to be a spy. Her first mission definitely isn’t an easy one, and it’s going to take everything she’s got to make it out of this.
The story hooks you in from page one with a strong action scene leading to drama, more action, suspense, and a beautifully woven plot. The characters were amazing, I especially loved the relationship between Loveday and Clarity. Clarity’s subplot was awesome, and I can’t wait to see it explored more in the series.
There is an element of romance in this, but doesn’t go farther than a few kisses. All romantic interaction is clean and contains no explicit adult content.
This book is very well-written and engaging, definitely a great start to the series. That ending definitely left me wanting more! Definitely one to reread in the future, and looking forward to the rest of the series.
June 16, 2021
Fast read that’s packed with action, mystery, romance, and adventure. This book is great for people who are in 9th grade and up.
February 25, 2019
A fantastic read. This book pulls you in right from the start. While there doing a Mission. I loved the fast action, and how well the Author creates the surroundings. And backgrounds of the scenes. They have you on the edge of your seat. Loveday and her team are sent on missions, it reminds me alot of teams that work together. The Characters are well trained and the way the story us written it makes the first read in this series Epic. A definite must read.
Shauna Joesten
Shauna Joesten
February 28, 2019
I became so invested in the lives of the spies living in the Ivory Tower. Getting to know each one as the book goes on was a complete joy. I loved the romance between Vale and Loveday. What does Royal know about Clarity's heritage? Why did Darnay try to hide the importance of the mission? Who is Haru and why did Royal bring her back to the US? I have so many questions after finishing this book and my heart is slightly broken. I can't wait to read the next story about the Ivory Tower Spies!
August 1, 2019
The beginning was hard for me to get in to but I was invested halfway through! Teenage spies are much like adult spies, but with more emotions making their decisions more difficult. Some of the description seemed for the benefit of the YA reader more than me, an adult. I had to reread the final shoot out scene to understand what happened. It's much easier to follow an action scene on TV than in a book!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews