There are Spy School agents, and there are Spy School Royals. My family, we’re the royals. I am fifth generation Spy School, the best of the best. My family started training me while I was still in the womb. Yet, despite all the training, I’m still a disappointment to them. Not good enough, not smart enough, not fast enough, and definitely not strong enough. Even The Royals don’t think think I’m good enough, but I’ll show them. I’ll prove to everybody that I’m not as weak as they think I am.
I'm Scarlett Haven. I write YA and NA books and I write a lot. My books are a fun mixture of romance, mystery, and now some paranormal too!
Besides writing, I also love to read anything I can get my hands on and I'm always drawn to the villain of the story. I am 29 years old and am married to the love of my life.
A theme that Scarlett Haven has seemed to stick with when she is writing most of her series and there have been a few with this exact setting and themes are the Spy Academy run by Michael Sinclair out of Switzerland. The story then focuses on one girl being stuck amongst a team of four boys and then of course the book ends with the group being in a reverse harem situation as the girl has fallen for all the boys and vice versa. The Unwanted Spy was another one of those. The Royals part comes from the elites of the Spy School. These are the students that are the best of the best. Our main female character Roxy is the fifth generation of Spies and all her family has been Royal. Unlike her family, though Roxy hasn't quite gotten the finesse side of being a spy and often seemed like a disappointment. This is her chance to prove to her mother especially that she can be part of their group. The downside is that the boys aren't exactly welcoming and hating the fact they have a girl in the mix or is this just a facade the boys are putting up and are they secretly harboring feelings for Roxy? Will this help or compromise their mission when danger and tragedy strike their team? Find out in Book #1 The Unwanted Spy. The first book in Scarlett Haven's latest Spy Academy series.
I have read nearly all of Scarlett Havens work and this has to be one of my favourites so far!
Where do I start....
Roxy, I absolutely love her. How she doesn't let anything stop her from being the best Royal she can be and that includes her parents (who are vile) or her own team and heck even her own self doubt! She is a hardworking stronger woman that everyone can relate to and get behind!
Then there are the guy (fanning my face) West, Ian, Alek and Kai, to begin with they are horrible and do everything in their powers to get rid of her but she doesn't let them beat her.
I have to say the storyline flowed and I felt every emotion Roxy was feeling and I haven't read a book lately that's sucked me in this much and I can not wait for the next installment and more from Roxy and her Royals.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I have mixed feelings about this book. There were a lot of sexist comments made by the men to Roxy and it kind of put a sour taste in my mouth. I love Scarlett Haven’s books but Roxy not standing up for herself against all of the comments, seemed unrealistic to her character. The book portrayed her as someone who gets back up no matter how many times she’s knocked down and I felt that her not responding was not authentic to her personality.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
What a great first book to this series! I cant wait to see what else is in store though out these books! I do wish this was a bit longer but that could just be because I didnt want it to end!
I just finished and WOW. Roxy has such uncertainty in her and at the same time has such a spark and sass. This book is fun and it has triggered a range of emotions from amusement to outrage or anger all the time. From the first pages you can't help but like Roxy. At the mention of her parents, I plot their slow death in my head (or something really bad). To the very end of the book is uncertain of who Roxy will choose, and I can't wait to find out. I heartily recommend this book to everyone who like to reads good books with interesting characters.
The FMC was way too whiny, weak and annoying. It didn’t make sense that she was chosen to be a ‘royal’ if she was so crap and appeared to have absolutely no spy skills whatsoever. All she did was whinge, cry and eff everything up. It was tedious. DNF.
This was basically a story about a love pentagon lol with a barely there spy school sub plot. It was weird that the spy school didn't actually have a name. It's just always referred to as 'spy school '. The author also doesn't attempt to create any real characters besides the main five, the main character and her teammates. It was very slow paced, no real action. I was baffled by the actual action scenes. Not only did they lack detail, but the MC didn't seem like someone who'd gone through 4 years of spy school. There wasn't much explanation about this Royals thing either. Here's some of my thoughts:
Why didn't they speak Greek? Why on earth would these super high level spies be sent on a top secret and important mission in Greece but be unable to speak the language?
Why haven't they done any actual spying? They were practically fed information from Michael Sinclair all the time. And Ian hacked. But they didn't really use their super great spy skills for anything. This made the MC a little frustrating. I kind of liked that she wasn't your conventional super awesome spy like Cammie Morgan, but she really seemed really bad, like an amateur.
Why isn't there more school? Like, teachers? Classes? All they did was run, spar, and learn French (which was useless for their mission).
No one thought it would be a bad idea to put a pretty girl alone on a team with four teenage boys??? The director didn't think this would cause issues? I mean the MC's parents conceived her from being locked alone together in a room for days.
Why don't we know more about Michael Sinclair?
Where are the other agents? Trainees and seasoned agents alike? It would've been nice to have more diverse and well rounded characters.
Why did they shoot the druggie in the woods? They could have just left him alone and sent someone back to check on it later. Then West sets the storage container on fire in the woods? A container full of chemicals? With no way of putting out the fire? A chemical fire at that????
Why was West so mean? There was nothing loveable about him other than that he was handsome. I'm tired of that always being the case in these stories. What are we telling young girls? Like the guy who disrespects you? Fall in love with someone who is emotionally intelligent and verbally abusive?? I was hoping she would fall for Ian.
There was some interesting premises that could have been fleshed out more. Like the original mission. It should have been longer and they should have been more involved in it. The book was mainly about the drama she had being on a team with all boys who are falling in love with her because she's so beautiful. I get it. The drama is entertaining. But the drama could have happened while on an actual mission instead of in their condo in Florida.
There were quite a few editing issues. This should be re-written. It reads like a rough draft.
I kind of wish they all didn't fall in love with her. I really was trying to figure out how pretty this girl is supposed to be. It was mentioned over and over again.
I really wish she liked Ian. Come one guys, let's do something unexpected and untypical for once. Ian was super sweet.
Again, where are all the adults? It seemed like West was the papa of the group. Where is the adult supervision? They're trainees but where are the trainers?
The MC has too many pointless reveries. In what chapter she explained the function of a leader, like we didn't already know what a leaders purpose is within a group.
The story has potential but it should be heavily edited and re-written. It feels like a Wattpad book.
It was still entertaining to read though, for those who don't mind the love pentagon drama. The four roomies were well written and I liked the dialogue. It should everyone's personalities well.
I enjoy a good Scarlett Haven read and this start to a new Spy Academy: The Royals was exactly what I wanted. Roxy is supposed to be from Spy Academy royalty, already some huge successes because of her family. Who hasn't at some point felt like they have something to prove and sets out to do just that. I may have, so i connected to Roxy quickly. She is going to show them just what she is made of and I so look forward to witnessing that through out the series.
Also love that the guys and Roxy are not hitting it off right away. I always love reading about alpha males, and yeah we got that here.
Overall, I can't wait to see where this series goes and see what Roxy will become!!!
I loved this book so much. It was so well written and so emotionally charged. It had bully themes without taking it too far. I was so into it, I had a running commentary of reactions I sent a friend while reading it.
Roxy grew up the child of "Royal" spies, the ultra elite of spy school. She is selected to join a team, but the men aren't too eager to deal with the consequences of adding an attractive woman in the mix. She has to deal with her indifferent and occasionally cruel team for months as she trains, in addition to her parent's egos and expectations.
Loved this book! Was so gutted when I read ‘the end’ as I just wanted more. I don’t normally enjoy hate to love relationships but this one just worked, at the start I was unsure whether I would enjoy it as to how the guys were treating Roxy but carrying on reading you could just tell that the reasons behind them treating her the way they were was because they liked her and they were trying to hide it. It’s such a good storyline to and I cannot wait to see where it goes in the future!
I just loved this book. I love how relatable Roxy is. The Spy Academy series is one of my favorites, but this series just takes it to another level. This new dynamic side of Spy Academy is exciting, and this book is packed with great action, emotion, and fun. Though it is helpful to read the other Spy Academy series first, it is not necessary. I cannot wait for the next book to see how the characters develop in their relationships and to see Roxy continue to develop as a spy. Totally recommend!
Roxy is finally a Royal and therefore an elite member of Spy Academy, something she has been working for her entire life. Except its not really all that Roxy though it would be, Kal, Alek, West and Ian are not keen on making her new life easy. The story was great with an element of bullying themes but not taken to far. Roxy is relatable and an easy character to like and the rest of her team are intriguing. I cant wait to see where the rest of her story goes.
With Roxy and her story! The Inadequate Spy is pure magic. It’s not a love at first sight type of story but the best part is that you see the development of relationships as the characters grow. Roxy isn’t perfect and doesn’t try to be. She does work hard and tries her best in really tough circumstances. I can’t wait to see where her story takes her!
This has been very eye opening about Roxy. We saw how her parents really are. We also saw the guys getting closer to her during the story. They at times were defensive but mostly because they saw her as their weakness. This was a good starting point because of the complication of their relationship. Overall the story caught my attention and really had me involved with the characters.
This was an enjoyable story, you wouldn't think someone so clumsy could be a spy. The guys were entertaining, especially their interactions with Roxy. Although tensions between the guys and Roxy are intense at the beginning the acceptance at the end is hard earned. Loved the story and this is definitely a series I'll be continuing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I love still being able to read about this world. I have loved Spy School since I read the first book in this world. With each book, they have gotten better. I loved the twist on this series, with it being set in a different location. I can't wait to read more with these characters. I think they are my favorite so far.
With each book I think Scarlett gets better. I can so relate to Roxie and how she self doubt herself. Sometimes you need someone to believe in yourself but sometimes you have to believe in yourself. Roxie caught knocked down many times but she never gave up. I cant wait for more. Pure amazing
What can I say? I absolutely love these books that are set in the Spy School world and this one was no exception. I'm happy to see another series in this world, and I loved the characters. Well worth the read!
I was super pumped to see anothet spy academy story especially one that was so long! I loved the whole new dynamic of being a royal. It was fun to read. I loved the back and forth between the characters and liked how they didnt all instantly gel. Im excited for the next book to come out.
I live the spy school series, but this one was even better! New characters and plot! I live it! I like that the story line has changed and they aren’t just running around!
I loved this book. It was fun reading it from the beginning to the end. It's great RH book with cute characters, spies and some actions. This book is pleasure to read and I can't wait for more of this series.
Totally different than the other spy academy books.
In a good way. The story was way more fleshed out though it is a bully book and I’m not such a huge fan of that genre. Ended well though and I’ll definitely read the next to see where it leads!
I shouldn't have started book 2 🙈. THIS IS NOT AN RH PEOPLE! I can't believe West became the sole love interest who gives a crap about West?! So disappointed and slightly pissed. I wish I read the blurb for book 2 before I started this. That's a few hours I'll never get back.
I really like Roxy and the guys. This series is so much fun to read and I love how these characters interact. I’m already in love with this series and can not wait to see what happens next!