Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I was very excited to read this next installment in a series by Ally Carter. The Gallagher Girls series was one of my favorites as a kid and I am delighted that she is still writing. This book was very fun. I enjoyed the premise, and the main characters are well fleshed out and easy to read. I would have liked more about spy school (but that's always what I'd say). At points, the back and forth time hopping was a bit distracting but it did make sense when it all converged at the conclusion of the book. I really enjoyed reading Alex's Pov and love a good yearning man so King was fun as well. I'd highly recommend this to anyone looking for a lovely spy thriller.

I was so excited for Alex’s story after the first book and it did not disappoint. We first meet Alex in a hotel bar waiting for chicken fingers the night before she leaves to go to “spy school.” While there she meets a man who she thinks she’ll have a one night stand with but it turns out he’s also there for spy school and tells her she shouldn’t go.
The story is told in the present and flashbacks, which I loved cause it gave more information about Alex and King’s story. Seeing King being so besotted with Alex and Alex coming to realize that someone can love and take care of her was so beautiful.
All of the drama with them being handcuffed together and having to work out how it happened while also working through their issues was so so good.
I didn’t see the twist coming at all and that’s what makes the book so fun for me.
I loved getting to see Zoe and Sawyer again. Both sisters working together was such a nice touch.

Absolutely loved this book and hope just maybe there’ll be another one! Fingers crossed!

This was such a fun follow up to The Blonde Identity! I sometimes struggled with the flashbacks and split timeline, but the rivals to lovers vibes totally made up for any confusion. The tone of this series is so great, especially for scaredy-cat readers like myself who love a little excitement but need a happy ending!

The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold is another utterly entertaining romcom from Ally Carter. With spies, intrigue, and hijinks galore, this book is a great antagonists to lovers romance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Alexandra Sterling and Michael Kingsley meet at spy school. Ok it’s not officially called that, but it’s how Alex likes to think of it. Serious King is from an entire family of spies, though, and he tries to warn off the sassy blonde. Instead, over the course of ten years, the two regularly compete and work together on missions, with some pesky personal feelings popping up too. But now, after being apart for a year, they’ve woken up and found themselves handcuffed together with no memory of the last two days. Uh oh.

Alex and King are terrific antagonists to lovers. As competitive spies who seemingly hate each other, they actually thrive when they work together in forced proximity. The dual timelines featuring past missions and current events work well here. And while this is a closed door romance, there is plenty of bickering and bantering, and Alex and King’s mutual attraction is obvious.

While this story is written in the same world as The Blonde Identity, it can definitely be read as a standalone. The joy in this story is the over the top spies and the humor, and while it’s fun to see a glimpse of familiar characters near the end, it won’t affect your enjoyment of the book if they are new to you.

The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold is tons of fun. If you like romcoms with action and adventure, along with delightful characters, you’ll have a great time reading Ally Carter’s latest.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗦
Alex and King wake up handcuffed together in an underground bunker in Vegas AND THEY ARE NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

A decade after young Alex boarded a bus and headed off to spy camp, where she first met King, she realized she’s tired. Reinventing herself over and over for missions has given her purpose but not a way to forgive herself for things that happened in her past.

Things over which she had no control.

Another thing over which she has no control? Falling in and out - but mostly in - love with Michael Kingsley, often her spy partner in crime. This will be no exception as the two zip off into the night in search of answers: who tied them up and why?

But more importantly, can they find peace and happiness after years of denying themselves?

𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦
Banter be bantering, people.

Realizing this was the second in the series, I did a quick audio read of the first book just prior to this ARC. The two are quite similar in tone and plot and sexy, double crossing attraction, both a whole lotta fun.

Unlike the first, this one jumps around in time periods - through so many different time periods, in fact, that I sometimes felt lost. I don’t want that difficulty in my escapism; however, it was easy enough to sit back and let it all happen, so no worries.

I am an absolute King stan with his castle and his self flagellation and his beard grown during a time of monkish denial. Come here, baby.

I loved that Zoe and Alex were instrumental in the plot of this book and I have an ABSOLUTE love/hate with the epilogue.

𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗞
Alias, The Diplomat (gimme all the Keri Russell/Rufus Sewell) and a sprinkle of Mr. & Mrs. Smith (gimme all the Donald Glover/Maya Erskine).

𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗
If you like your palate cleansed with a fun, low stakes, low spice spy thriller with all the banter and longing, sweetie, do I have the book for you.

Do audio if you have the opportunity. Definitely enhanced by listening!

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞𝗦
Appreciation to @netgalley and @avon and @harperavon for the delightful ARC. Out 8/5/25.

I don’t often love the second book in a series more than the first, but that is absolutely the case with The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold. If you haven’t read The Blonde Identity, I do think you could read this and be ok. You just won’t understand that the book is, largely, giving you the backstory of what caused all of the chaos for Zoe and Sawyer in book one. (But honestly, just read the first book. It’s a fun time.)

In this second installment, Alex and King—both ex-spies—find themselves handcuffed together in the dark. They have no memory of the past two days. They don’t know who captured them or what they want. And to stay alive, they’re going to have to work together, which is easier said than done.

The story involves both a dual POV and dual timelines. There were a few moments where I had to think, “Wait. Which mission is this??” But honestly, it wasn’t that bad because Carter uses the flashback scenes to help the reader make sense of the present situation.

But here’s what you really need to know: This book is so fun! I told a friend it was kind of like going to see the big summer blockbuster, but in book form. This has everything you could ever want: spies, romance, fantastic banter. It never takes itself too seriously. This is a great summer read.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold publishes on August 5.

When I read The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter, my immediate reaction was that I wanted a book about Zoe’s sister, Alex. And now that book is finally here!

The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold is another fun, over-the-top, action-packed rom com with an enemies to lovers and second chance romance. This book is told through chapters that alternate between the present day and the past, giving us insight into Alex and King’s complicated relationship. It also overlaps with the events of The Blonde Identity to show us what Alex was up to while Zoe and Sawyer were being chased across Europe.

I’m always here for a good second chance love story, and this was super cute and ridiculously fun. Sometimes the back and forth was a little repetitive (just kiss already!), and the flashbacks made it hard to keep track of what was happening when since a lot of it parallels between the past and present day.

But overall, this is another delightful, closed door romance by Ally Carter with banter and shenanigans and a lot of action and tender moments, too. I want more adult books like this series. And I also want another book or at least a novella/short story/something to follow up with that ending. Because seriously, Ally?!

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the early chance to read and review “The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold.”

Unfortunately, not every book is for every reader and this one just wasn’t for me. DNF @ ~50% mark. While I absolutely loved other books I have read by this author, especially “The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year,” I don’t think spy novels or romantic suspense work for me. However, if you do like those elements, this might be a better fit for you.

Just wow.
Wowowowowowowowwww.
I could scream. I could cry. I could jump for joy. I could smile like a lunatic.
HOW?
This book.
So good.
Fantastic.
I love King. (Michael Kingsley III)
I love Alex. (Alexandra Sterling)
Zoe (Sterling) and (Jake) Sawyer!
YALL.
Gasp.
I’m in love with everything about this couple and just want to read more about their happy future 🥰

Dual POV
Enemies/rivals to lovers
Mystery/suspense
Spies
Forced proximity
Second chance
Fast paced
“I will always find you” (in a not creepy way)

As soon as I finished 'The Blonde Identity', I couldn't wait for Alex's story! Alex is the twin sister of Zoe from the first book, and she is a spy. When Alex wakes up in a room, she doesn't know where she is or how she got there. She discovers that she is handcuffed to King, who used to be her partner but now they are enemies.

King and Alex have to work together to figure out why they are trapped together and see who is after them. There is a lot of action and fun! I loved all of the forced proximity, and I'm always a sucker for a second chance romance.

King fell so hard for Alex, and I love how he was so down bad for her. The story is told in a current timeline and through flashbacks, and it was great to see how much King cared for her over the years.

This story is amazing, and I can't wait to reread it. I hope there is another book in the series too.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book with pretty high hopes. I've read and liked Ally Carter in the past and loved the premise here. Unfortunately, it ended up being DNFd at 70% due to some consistent issues I had with the story.

The characters were promising. You have Alex who we were introduced to in the first book of this series. She is a tough no nonsense gal who has just wanted to be a spy her entire life. The MMC is King who comes from a long line of men who engaged in spy craft, unfortunately it seems that does not breed humility in a man.

DNFing so far in a book is unheard of for me but the issues I was having were chronic and I told myself they would be resolved eventually and finally had to admit defeat when that didn't happen. Firstly, the 'enemies' in the 'enemies to lovers' part of this book has no foundation and that drives me NUTS. When an author doesn't respect the reader enough to create actual conflict and instead just introduces a rivalry that gets pretty nasty for no reason- it's a pet peeve of mine. I loved the part where King had his 'who did this to you' moment but even that wasn't enough to make up for the hostility they displayed FOR 70% OF THE BOOK. like, it's a romance, be romantic already.

I started this book in April and kept wondering what was taking so long for me to finish it but I simply had no buy in for it. It did nothing to keep my attention and when I would force myself to sit down and read it, I was annoyed at all of the dialogue and that will really take you out of a romance.

Sorry but between the pacing and the entire lack of chemistry between our main characters, this was just a no from me.

This is Alex’s book of enemies to lovers! Her and King are trying to piece together their time together and apart, while solving Russian, jewelry, and family mystery.

I felt a bit disappointed in this book compared to first one. While I do think the wit, charm, silliness and humor was still there that I loved so much in the first one, and this was a chefs kiss example of enemies to lovers - I felt the structure of this book may have failed it.

This is a dual POV and dual timeline book. It only says when the timeline switches and then would have multiple POV changes without saying which timeline we were on. For me this got really confusing especially when some of the past and present were happening in the same locations (the location changes a lot). I think putting present or year with the POV at each chapter would have helped a lot. I also think because of this i was following characters and lost the plot a bit.

Mercy 😮‍💨

I received an eARC and audiobook from Harper collins.

I binged this book in less than 24 hours IT WAS THAT GOOD. I don’t read a lot of spy romance novels, but I can’t resist a rivals to lovers premise—and this 100% delivered.

Ally’s writing is snappy and fast-paced, which felt perfect for the plot. The chapters were short and constantly switched between the two main timelines which kept me on the edge of my seat. Overall it felt like the perfect amount of mystery/intrigue to keep things interesting, but also didn’t require me to use my brain too much to follow complicated plot lines. And I didn’t guess the twist at the end!!

I was blown away by the intensity of the romance. King was so down bad for Alex, and his ways of showing it were totally swoony. I loved their entire dynamic—A+ banter, insane chemistry, and quiet affection.

4.5 stars rounded up. LOVED!

What would you do if you wake up in an unknown location, tied up to your former enemy, also former love of your life, now turned enemy again? Personally, I would be so angry I would sit there and fume and not try to find a way out of the situation, but also, I am not a trained spy so there's that LOL.

This installation had a lot of flashbacks and changes of setting. While I still enjoyed it, and the romance was sweet, the timeline changes and setting hopping gave me whiplash at times. Since I mostly listened to this book on audio, that threw me off and out of the storyline a few times. When I was physically reading, I didn't have that issue as much but the feeling was still there. I was hoping for more appearances with Sawyer since he was Alex's partner for so long. The tie in to Sawyer felt like an afterthought on how to tie in the plot and felt very different from the relationship they supposedly shared and was alluded to in book 1.

Overall an enjoyable read, just not a seamless continuation of the first book. I do hope we get more books like this or more books in the series because I do enjoy the characters a lot.

Such a fun read! This was my first Ally Carter book, and while I’ve heard it’s ideal to start with her earlier release, I dove into this one completely blind—and still had a great time. The banter is elite, with sharp, witty dialogue that had me smiling throughout. I loved the blend of humor and spy school antics, which gave the story a unique and playful edge.

That said, some of the plot threads did get a bit tangled—especially after stepping away from the book for a few days—but overall, it’s a light, entertaining read perfect for fans of clever capers and fast-paced fun.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own!

I had so much fun reading this book! This was my first Ally Carter. I loves the mix of spies, romance, and action. I also really enjoyed the chemistry and tension between Alex and King. I couldn't put the book down.

That said, I did get a little confused at times. The story jumps back and forth a lot between time periods, and while I appreciated getting the full picture, it occasionally felt a bit repetitive and confusing. I also felt the roles of a few supporting characters weren’t always clear, which made certain plot points a little confusing.

Still, that didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed the book. I keep thinking about it. This book had everything: spies, romance, banter, danger, and two stubborn characters trying not to fall back in love while running for their lives. It is definitely worth reading and won't be my last Ally Carter.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book!

I have been waiting for this one ever since Carter dropped The Blonde Identity. I will read any spy book Carter writes but this is the best of her work. I loved a rivals to lovers story and this has all the hallmarks. The tie in of characters we already know and love just seals the deal. He falls first and harder. She doesn’t humble herself to get the man. Cozy castles, spy gadgets, ballgowns at the opera, blowing up ships, this book has it all. Easily one of my favorite reads of the year and I keep coming back to it!

I love a good mystery that you can follow along with and try and figure out what’s really going on. This book had a great mystery and laid enough bread crumbs that it felt like the answer was attainable, but not obvious. The time jumps got a little confusing for me, but overall I really liked this book!

A forced proximity, enemies to lovers spy romance! Need I say more?

I really liked this book a lot! It made me feel like I was watching a spy movie & it had the perfect mix of action & romance. I loved the banter between Alex & King. My only complaint is that the jumping back & forth to different time lines was a little confusing at times but I was still able to keep up with the story. I would definitely recommend this if you like classic spy movies with a little bit of romance thrown in.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC.

I reread The Blonde Identity in anticipation of this sequel and I had so much fun re-entering this spy world with Alex and learning more about King!

Some of my initial thoughts on the original read through of The Blonde Identity was how much I needed Alex's story and I hadn't remembered exactly how much of Alex & King's romance and past was hinted at and laid down in anticipation! I really enjoyed seeing more of Alex and her reasoning and inner thoughts about her relationship with Zoe (FMC from Blonde Identity). Alex became a much more complex character in this story and I really enjoyed it! Most of Alex & King's relationship is happening at the same time and immediately after the plot of The Blonde Identity which meant that a reread was definitely needed and appreciated before reading this but again, it really helped round out both characters from the first book and our main characters here.

I did personally struggle a lot with the way Ally chose to handle the flashbacks here. There is a lot of back and forth which is laying down the complex and long history between King & Alex but there are some plot points that are happening in the past to then affect the present and it was ultimately confusing as to what was really going to be plot important in the present and what was not. Ultimately it wasn't my favorite presentation of a past/present timeline but it just made it harder to follow along with the actual Spy parts.