Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

In the world of espionage thrillers, Monica McGurk’s “The Handler” stands out with its unique blend of domestic drama and high-stakes international intrigue. As the second installment in The Norwood Nanny Chronicles, this novel takes readers on a whirlwind journey through the eyes of protagonist Bree and her fellow nanny spies.

The narrative picks up with the Norwood Agency’s nannies, who double as spies, racing against time to locate children kidnapped under their watch. The plot thickens with layers of distrust and betrayal, leading to a revelation about Bree’s deceased parents and the mission that led to their demise. McGurk’s storytelling prowess shines as she weaves a tale that is as much about espionage as it is about the exploration of motherhood, family ties, and the sacrifices women make.

The book’s strength lies in its ability to subvert expectations. The nannies of Norwood Agency are not just caregivers but formidable spies who use societal stereotypes to their advantage, turning domesticity into a weapon. This feminist twist on the spy genre is refreshing and thought-provoking, challenging readers to consider the roles and perceptions of women in society.

McGurk’s writing is taut and thrilling, with a pace that keeps the pages turning. The backdrop of significant diplomatic events adds a layer of authenticity and urgency to the story, making it resonate with contemporary issues. The Handler is a portrait of loss and regret, but also a celebration of resilience and the pursuit of truth.

As a sequel, it stands on its own, delivering a satisfying continuation of the story that began with “The Agency”. Newcomers to the series will find themselves drawn into the world of Norwood without feeling lost, while returning readers will appreciate the deeper dive into the characters they’ve come to know.

“The Handler” is a compelling read that offers a fresh perspective on the spy thriller genre. Monica McGurk has crafted a story that is not only entertaining but also a poignant commentary on the complexities of modern womanhood.

Despite its promising premise, the execution of the story leaves much to be desired. The alternating points of view occasionally feel drawn out, detracting from the overall pacing. Moreover, the final chapters appear rushed, with the anticipated twists failing to deliver the intended impact, leaving some plot threads unresolved or feeling unsatisfactorily concluded. One particular aspect that feels notably lacking is the resolution surrounding Bree and her half-sister, leaving a lingering sense of dissatisfaction.

Overall, an okay read. Not as good as the first installment.

A combination of the plot being not for me and the writing containing one of my biggest writing pet peeves made this a DNF at 11%. It wasn't all bad, and in fact to most people it might not be bad at all, but the beginning irritated me enough that I couldn't manage to get past it.

The actually-pretty-good:
- The author knows how a sentence works! I don't mean this facetiously or or damning with faint praise, the flow and vividness of word choice were great. The author knows how to get in touch with all the reader's senses, which makes for very strong imagery and a very immersive experience.
- The dynamic between Bree and Dash was fantastic. Very shippable, especially for anyone whole likes friends to lovers in fiction where the main characters are traumabonded and tightly enmeshed, and where the guy falls first and harder. (Disclaimer: I haven't finished this book and don't know if that changes halfway through or anything.)
- The concept is so fun! Superspy nannies at a unyieldingly Machiavellian school, an orphan desperate to find her mother, British nobility bff... a recipe for some prime James Bond/Maximum Ride shenaniganry.

The if-you-like-it-you'll-like-this:
- It's campy—as you could probably guess from the book description. It kind of goes halfway on the camp, though, so if you're "go hard or go home" about camp, this one probably isn't for you.
- Dual developing storylines. One storyline follows Bree and Dash, and the other follows the people they are presumably looking for, except 20(ish?) years in the past. I can't say how well they were executed, as I didn't particularly like following either storyline, but this is a trope many people enjoy.
- Politics, recent historical politics especially. I can't speak for how much of it is accurate, given that I personally have 0 interest in politics, but the author loved their politics and it shone through.

The reasons I dropped it:
- Too much showing, not enough telling. A problem that is somewhat rarer than its inverse, but a problem nonetheless. For as vivid as the characters' experiences and world itself was, there was very little telling us why we should care. Bree was tied up and left in a barn—and? She and Dash have been chipped by the school—so what? Bree is invested in finding her mother—why? I can come up with reasons why they might matter, but none of them were given to me by the narrative, which is a flaw in campy action-adventure YA, even if it isn't in, say, adult litfic.
- We get very little of Bree's inner life. Tying into the first bulletpoint, we don't really see Bree's opinions on... anything. We see outward indication of what she thinks about things, but very little reasoning or emotion backs any of it, and what little emotion there is seems to leave no mark on her. She simply wasn't there enough. It seemed like it was written for a TV audience, where all we see are the actor's outward expression, and none of the character's inner experience.
- No emotional blending or follow through. She has PTSD trauma over being tied up and left in a barn, but this doesn't result in anything but her trying, weakly, to get her father figure/the owner to tear it down—no emotional hangover, no real upset, no strange air, she just keeps going. She has a rather charged, electric moment with Dash when they dance at a concert, which is interrupted, and then she and Dash are mildly awkward around each other, and... that's it. No complicated feelings, no yearning (or even wanting), no lingering tingles. Things that should have left a mark simply dissipated into nothing without a whisper.
- The lack of emotion and opinions was directly at odds with the lovely texture of the prose and made the whole experience empty; missing the emotional component kept the prose from being as richly immersive as it should have been, and the immersiveness of the prose made the lack of narrator opinions and emotional follow through much more jarring than it would have been if the writing was stripped down and purely practical.

I would recommend this one to anyone who's interested in the politics and adventure and doesn't mind if the finer points of characterization are missing.

I thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for this ARC and this review is based on my reading of this book.

This is a 3.5 star book for me.

I have read the first book in the series before coming to this one and although reading the earlier is not a perquisite to this book but it made my enjoying this book a lot easier.

This is the second book in the Norwood Nanny Chronicles series. The premise is good and there are elements that are interesting with nannies being taught to be spies. There have been the share of nannies as spies in movies and this story is also enjoyable.
There is good camaraderie between the main characters and Bree as the protagonist is dependable as is her chemistry with Dash. As the first american student in a nanny academy that operates a nanny secret services the story oscillates between the current and Bree's past which features her parents.
The story is packed with a lot of details and is a fun ride. There is a lot of blunt violence in the story which is a par for the course considering the book is about spies.
Enjoyable reading.

Thank you to the author, River Grove Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in the "Norwood Nanny Chronicles" series - I read the first and was underwhelmed, but hoped that the second would improve on the first. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I found it even more chock-ful of fantastical and unhinged plot points, most stretching my credulity well beyond its limits. There were too many references back to the first book to make this an easy stand-alone read, but again too many gaping plot holes and unnecessary build-up without resolution. I will not be going for the third book in the series, should there be one.

While this book is the second book in the Norwood Nannies Chronicles, I found this book easy to understand, despite not having read the first book. The book does a good job of informing the reader of what's going on even if you haven't read the first book. Reading the first book may give you a bit more knowledge around past events that are talked about, however.

I enjoyed reading this book. I thought the chemistry between Dash and Bree was great. I also liked the idea of spies being nannies. I never thought of that, but I suppose it could be a possibility. I liked how the reveal of Bree's past was revealed slowly and it kept you guessing. While I did assume some people that were in on the ordeal, I wasn't able to guess all the people involved.

One thing I wasn't the biggest fan of was the chapter lengths. This is probably just a "me" thing, but I prefer the chapters to be shorter. I use the chapters as possible stopping spots and when they are 40 pages apart I sometimes struggle or lose interest. I will say though, that the chapters were jam-packed with important information and they were pretty interesting!

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery, spy, or historical fiction books.

The premise on this book was interesting. The spy agency as a nanny group. At times I found it a bit hard to follow with some of the characters and things they did. It might have been good to read the first one.

The Handler is the second book in The Norwood Nanny Chronicles, and I while it's not essential to have read the first book in the series, I think I would have enjoyed this one more if I had a better understanding of the backstory. Bree grew up in an orphanage in America after the untimely deaths of her parents. When we meet her, she's a student at a school for nannies that is a front for a secret spy ring. The story goes back and forth between the present day and Bree's efforts to rescue her kidnapped charges, and the past story of Bree's parents.

There was a lot going on in this book! While I'm generally a fan of the popular device of telling alternating stories in different time periods, I don't think either story was fully developed. I found it difficult to keep track of everything and wanted to learn more about the characters and their backstories.

Overall an enjoyable read, though, and I plan to go back and read the first book to find out more about these characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I was really excited for this one, having enjoyed a fresh twist on a spy novel. However, I struggled with this one, I think at least partially because I'm unfamiliar with the political history of the countries. I'm not super into politics anyway, but it made the story confusing and hard to follow for me. Not the author's fault of course, but it may decrease the readability for readers such as myself. Otherwise, the story was interesting though there were a few too many twists and double crosses in such a short time that it got a bit muddy for me.

This is the second book in the Norwood Nanny series. I didn’t enjoy the first one as much as I had hoped but I still wanted to try this one.

Unfortunately, I DNFed this book. I don’t like spy novels too much so this one was not for me. i don’t feel like the pacing was right with this one either.

I still enjoyed the characters and the premise was good. It just was not for me. Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the copy of The Handler by Monica McGurk. Don’t be put off by the YA label, it didn’t have a teen MC or deal with YA issues. I didn’t like the different timelines and I was lost about how everyone fit in, but it finally made sense and the timelines started to make sense. There were times I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I think it might be better to have read the first book in the series. This was an intricatelyplotted read with a lot of surprises, and it got better the more I read. If you love spy thrillers, don’t miss this series! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks to NetGalley and River Grove Books. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

This is the second book in a series; I had not read The Agency, and didn't feel lost while reading The Handler. I also don't feel compelled to go back and read the first, and probably won't continue with the next. I loved the "school for spies" idea and thought it would have been more action packed. Instead, more than half the story was about Bree's parents and how Bree ended up at the school. I actually liked the chapters pertaining to her parents more than I did the students'. I'm ambivalent about Bree's character - I neither liked nor disliked her. If there was supposed to be a romantic angle between her and Dash, that didn't come across. I think there was too much going on for one book. The premise of book two seems to be finding the children who were kidnapped in book one, but that wasn't the focus for a lot of the story, and that part of it was a little too quickly & easily tied up at the very end. The China plot line confused me and took me right out of the story. Well written, too much going on, a little too long.

The Handler is an enthralling literary masterpiece that delves into the depths of human nature, weaving a complex web of intrigue, deception, and unexpected twists. Author [Author's Name] has crafted a gripping narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from the very first page to the exhilarating conclusion.

The story revolves around protagonist Emma Daniels, an enigmatic intelligence operative known as "The Handler," who navigates the shadowy world of espionage with unparalleled skill and cunning. From the bustling streets of Paris to the remote corners of the globe, readers are taken on a heart-pounding journey filled with suspense and unexpected revelations.

One of the novel's standout features is its well-developed characters. Emma Daniels is not your typical spy; she is a multifaceted, deeply human character whose vulnerabilities and strengths are explored with great depth. The supporting cast is equally compelling, each playing a crucial role in the intricate plot. Their relationships are nuanced and realistic, adding layers of emotional depth to the story.

The plot of The Handler is intricately woven, with unexpected twists and turns that keep readers guessing until the final chapter. The pacing is flawless, balancing intense action sequences with moments of introspection and character development. The author's attention to detail is commendable, creating a vivid and immersive world that readers can easily get lost in.

What sets this book apart is its exploration of moral ambiguity and the ethical dilemmas faced by the characters. As Emma navigates a world where trust is a rare commodity, readers are prompted to question their own beliefs about loyalty, justice, and the greater good. The story challenges conventional notions of right and wrong, leaving readers pondering the blurred lines between heroism and villainy.

In addition to its compelling narrative, The Handler is beautifully written. The prose is elegant and evocative, painting vivid imagery of the various settings and enhancing the overall reading experience. The dialogue is sharp and realistic, capturing the essence of each character and their unique voice.

In conclusion, The Handler is a tour de force in the world of espionage fiction. With its rich characterizations, masterful storytelling, and thought-provoking themes, it stands as a shining example of the genre. Fans of thrillers, mysteries, and literary fiction alike will find themselves utterly captivated by this brilliant work. [Author's Name] has proven once again that they are a force to be reckoned with in the literary world, and The Handler is undoubtedly a must-read for anyone seeking a truly unforgettable literary experience.