OBSESSED!!! It’s very clear to me that I fall into the group of girls this book was dedicated to, because I feel like this book was written just for me. It had me at the epigraph. I knew without even reading the first chapter I was going to love it. Any characters that can bring even a fraction of the spirit of Logan and Veronica and destined to be great. And Carter sure did not disappoint.

A super fun, fast paced, funny action packed enemies to lovers spy rom com. I mean, do you really need more of a description then that? Alex and King are rival spies, loving to hate each other since their days on the farm. But being the best of the best means that they often get paired together for missions. This book perfectly intertwines their present-day predicament with glimpse of their past missions that led them to where they are now. Can they manage to work together one more time to figure out who is trying to get them? In lives where you can trust no one can they actually trust each other?

It's very clear they hate each other as much at they love each other, the chemistry was undeniable! And I thought I might die before we finally got to find out what in Scotland?!! Without a doubt the most fun you will have reading a book this summer!

this book was so fun!! I was so excited to read the follow up to the blonde identity and it did not disappoint! Why are spy romances so fun?? the tension in this one was great, with the mystery of their past being revealed slowly. This was such a fun and quick read

This book was highly entertaining! My only complaint was that the dual pov, multiple timelines was hard to keep track off and I had trouble orienting myself every other chapter. Still a fun read!

I grew up reading Ally Carter’s YA spy series (literally my favorite books when I was younger) so once I learned about this new series, I immediately knew I had to read them. I read and enjoyed the first book in the series but this one, The Blonde Who Came In From The Cold, blew it out of the water. I ADORED this book. Amazing chemistry and tension between the two characters and fun spy escapades that I had a blast reading about. This book had me hooked from the very first page. 10/10!

Oh the way I love Ally Carter's fun spy rom-com novels! The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold is book 2 of the The Blonde Identity series and follows a parallel timeline to the first book, but featuring different characters. This book is like a grown up version of Carter's Gallagher Girl series and I loved it.

It's a quick fun read that isn't too deep. It features an enemy to lovers trope and the story telling is done in dual POV toggling between flashbacks and today. My only complaint is that the flashback chapters felt too short and it made the novel read a little jumpy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy. My opinions are my own.

Handcuffed to your ex in a mystery dungeon? Sounds like romance to me. 😏

In The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold, Ally Carter serves up a second-chance romance with a side of gunfire, betrayal, and serious unresolved tension 🔥

👱‍♀️ She's the spy who ran.
🕵️‍♂️ He's the one she left behind.
🔒 Now they’re chained together (literally) with no clue how they got there—or who wants them dead.

✅ Rivals to lovers
✅ Second-chance angst
✅ Forced proximity (like, VERY forced)
✅ Secrets, betrayals, banter that slaps

This book felt like Mr. and Mrs. Smith had a baby with The Love Hypothesis and then dropped it into an international conspiracy. 10/10 recommend letting these two ruin your life 💀💘

⚡ Release Date: August 5, 2025
⠀ #TheBlondeWhoCameInfromtheCold #AllyCarter #EnemiesToLovers #SecondChanceRomance #ForcedProximity #SpiesInLove #RomanticThriller #Bookstagram #UpcomingReleases #NetGalley #BookishChaos #SlowBurnRomance #ActionPackedReads #BookRecommendations #HarperVoyager #AvonBooks #LiteraryHavocReviews

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

"The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold" is a quick read and compliments well "The Blonde Identity", explaining Alex's backstory. The fun, sarcastic writing abounds (more so than its predecessor, as both main characters bust out great one liners) and it fills in the behind the scenes material from Book 1 in the series. The only warning I would give is to not read it too fast as the shifting from past to present can get confusing if you are not tracking. Other than that, a good story.

I absolutely loved this book—I could not put it down! Ally Carter delivered another fantastic story packed with tension, banter, and that signature enemies-to-lovers spark she does so well.

I was especially impressed with how the story was told through dual POV—but only when King and Alex were together. It kept the pacing tight and the chemistry front and center. Their character development was so well done, and even though this is a closed-door romance, the emotional and romantic tension is palpable. You can feel how much these two care for each other.

I also loved how seamlessly this book tied into the first one in the series. It added depth without feeling like a rehash. And while I’m usually not a fan of timeline jumps, they worked so well here—they actually enhanced the story. Plus, the short chapters made it such a binge-worthy read!

If you're a fan of smart, swoony romances with spies, sass, and serious chemistry, don’t miss this one!

I’ve been an Ally Carter fan since I was 12 and got my hands on I’d tell you I love you but then I’d have to kill you. I still credit Ally for my love of reading- especially fast-paced romance with an action subplot.

This was no different. I had a great time reading it and flew through it quickly. Seeing the flip side of Zoe’s experience through Alex was a great completion to the story.

I think at times the past and future chapters made it a bit confusing and I lost track of which mansion and which island a few times. And it sometimes brought me out of the relationship by pausing the momentum.

Overall a fun, well-written story as I’ve come to expect from Ally. It definitely reminded me of this quote from Out of Sight, Out of Time:
“Zach,” I said as I lay there “Where did you go? When you were looking for me?”
I shifted in his arms, looked into his eyes.
“Crazy.” His voice was a whisper against my skin. “I went crazy.”

Listen. It was really not amazing, but it was entertaining.

I liked it less than book one in the series, but it hit the mark for cheap thrills, you know? For me, the relationship in this book didn’t hit the same as the relationship in the first book.

Even suspending belief, this one was harder to buy into. If you like cheesy spy stories though, you will probably like this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I absolutely loved the first in the series, The Blonde Identity, and Ally Carter’s YA series were a benchmark for me in the late 2000’s. I was already so excited and she hooked me right from the epigraph - a Veronica Mars quote will get me every time!

Black cat mmc x golden retriever fmc and they’re both spies. Enough said. I absolutely loved this book and I want this series to continue on forever! Getting the male pov when he’s standoffish/rude but it’s truly him distancing himself from her because he’s already down bad. And he was was. King wanted to stay as far away from Alex as he could because he knew it would destroy him if she got hurt or worse.

Unlike a lot of written protective/overprotective male characters, King wanted to drag Alex away from danger and protect her but knew that she was strong, if not stronger than him, and she would always run towards danger. These two were so equally matched and they both had a competency kink about the other. A double competency kink is a trope I didn’t know I needed!
From King in present day: “It was all he could do not to grin because no one did that better. No one did anything better and part of him hated that he'd never told her.”

From Alex’s POV in their second year/second mission: “ But he was looking at her like she mattered. Like she was the only language he couldn't speak—the only code he couldn't crack. She was the photograph his mind couldn't hold on to and he needed to know the answer to this question. Like this small piece of information was the key to her cipher and he needed to find the thing that would finally make her make sense”

I mean!!! This is years before they get together or even tolerate each other's presence. Ally can write chemistry between a couple so well. I’m obsessed with Alex and King and would read one hundred more pages of them just bothering each other. He’s a man who answers the question why with “because it made you smile”. I cannot recommend this book and series enough!

The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold is out August 5th!

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-spy x spy
-idiots to lovers
-insta attraction
-second chance
-roasting you is my love language
-dual timeline

As if I wasn't already hyped for this book after being obsesed with the first one, I screamed when I saw the Logan Echolls quote. I loved the banter between these two, the heist/spy maneuvers. This is definitely best enjoyed after reading the first book. I couldn't put it down. Action packed, tension filled, I'm already looking forward to rereading

After reading Blonde Identity, I knew I would read anything like this from Ally Carter. Although it is a closed door romance for the most part, I adored the relationship between the main characters. This book kept me engrossed so much that I didn't want to sleep without finishing it. If this book was 700 pages, I would have happily stayed awake to read them. She is an incredible storyteller and I am excited to preorder this book!!



Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyage for the early review copy. All the above opinions are my own.

3.75 stars. Thank you NetGalley for giving me access to this book early. I enjoyed hearing Alex’s story and getting context on the characters’ background. I felt the story dragged a bit but it picked up the pace closer to the end. Fun book to read if you’re a fan of spy adventures.

A dream come true for 12 year old me who could not possibly get enough of the Gallagher girls series!!!

At times the time jumps could be a bit confusing but overall I loved the dual timeline and the insight it offered to all the characters relationships. Alex and Michael were so fun to read about and fall in love with, their banter had me giggling and blushing and their chemistry was so palpable from the first second they were on the page together.

I flew through this and loved every second, it was such a fun read!

5 Stars

OMGSH this series..... It continues to be one of my favorite of all time. I will be so sad if there isn't more in this genre for Ally Carter. I never read any of Ally's back list books but I did read the first of this series. I adored it so much. It was over the top, cute, spy romance. This one is the same.

Ally kills it with the humor and characters. Both characters are so enjoyable and loveable. I really appreciate that Alex, is almost this legally blonde type character that 100% kicks so much butt. She is witty, charming and incredibly dangerous. While King broody, protective, but has moments of sillyness. Both characters complement each other so well.

This story is told is dual pov and dual timeline. We get flash back chapters of Alex and King, meeting each other and begrudgingly going on missions together where they have to be fake couples. Over that time we see their friendship grow. In present day, we start off of them now hating each other again but find themselves kidnapped and handcuffed together. Just like the first book, its self aware and understands its silly, fun and intense at a times. It doesn't itself too seriously and does a great job sneaking in snarky/funny dialogue. I love this about this book.

If this is Ally's writing style, I am going to have to go back in time and read all her back list titles. These books are fantastic and some of my favorites. She is now an autobuy author for me :).

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Ally Carter has written spy novels for every season of my life and I am SO THANKFUL. This one is so much fun, a true enemies to lovers but they’re SPIES. Fast paced, lots of mystery and intrigue, and so romantic!

This book picks up from where The Blonde Identity left off and follows the other twin who is actually a spy - Alex Sterling. For the past ten years, she has been kicking butt around the world, proving everyone, but ESPECIALLY Michael Kingsley, wrong - she can be the best spy there ever was. After a year of completely disappearing, she wakes up to find herself handcuffed to none other than Kingsley, with both of them missing memories. Why are they there, who is trying to kill them, and how can they get out? They’ll have to dig back in their very complex past 10 years to figure out a way forward.

I loved this book! It was so much fun to explore the dynamics of Alex and Michael’s relationship from the past and the present. With the flashbacks, I will say it did make it difficult to put the book down and pick it back up - I would often lose my place or have a hard time keeping the timeline straight. However, it made the present-day interactions even more rich.

I simply love sassy Alex, and reserved, perfectionist Kingsley. They are such a great team, the banter is on point, and they make the perfect rivals to lovers. I LOVED the crossover with book 1… and does the ending mean we get a book 3? Because I’m here for that… Overall, this book is a thrilling, hilarious, fast-paced adventure!

Fast paced, slow burn, enemies to lovers, slow burn spy thriller rom com that takes you from the Vegas desert to an island paradise to a dusty seaside shack in Portugal and I loved it.

Alexandra Sterling and Michael Kingsley are A+ spies in training when they meet at the Farm and the story leaps from the present to the past over a 10 year span showing us the history of their relationship and the background of their mission.

Loved the writing and the chemistry between the characters was amazing. There is no spice at all, but the tension and yearning between Alex and King is so well portrayed. While it was easy to guess who the Big Bad is, I did not foresee the “why”. Side characters were well done, notably Merritt and the island-owning sibling duo.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for a digital ARC!

My pre-teen self who ate up Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series is screaming right now (let's be real my adult self is also screaming too)!

I was living for Alex and King's interactions and loved how the story was flashing from current time to moments over the last decade that Alex and King interacted on different missions. Their banter had me kicking and giggling even when they were fully in the I hate you era. I will admit I wasn't a full Alex supporter after reading the first book because my girl Zoe goes through it for just looking like her sister and I judged Alex a little harshly in that book. But I am a full Alex stan (she may be my favorite sister now).

I loved this book! I finished it in about 24 hours, it was so bingeable and with the short chapters you are definitely going to find yourself saying one more chapter.

This was a 4.5/5 stars for me, would highly recommend even if you felt book 1 fell a little short.