This was a wicked cute lower middle grade read that I think young readers will eat up. It is very fast paced taking the reader through the eyes of the young FMC who is the daughter of a spy and a chef. It is reminiscent of John Wick where there is a hotel that is a sanctuary for the spy and general protection needing community combined with Eloise at the Plaza as our FMC and others live at the hotel.

I will say that this book can be a bit chaotic with many, probably too many, sub plots going on. It is definitely a read suited for enjoyment rather than a book used in a classroom for enjoyable learning as it can be hard to figure main ideas and other ELA elements that a teacher would be searching for the student to come up with. This coupled with several plot points that were introduced but never resolved and not in a “waiting for a sequel” type of way.

However, this is a start of a series so those plot points may absolutely be addressed on further books, it’s just that it leaves a bit to be desired in how things were left.

I consumed the Audio Advanced Listening Copy and the narrator Jesse Vilinsky did a fine job with the main character. She was engaging and sounding age appropriate. However, as an adult it was hard to listen to her other voices, particularly male voices. I played sections to readers in the targeted audience and they agreed that it wasn’t something they enjoyed using words like “weird and babyish” and felt like they were being spoken down to.

The good thing? Speeding it up to 1.5x speed and beyond changed the intonation enough to make it listenable. It is recorded on the slower side of average speed so it was very easy to understand whilst being sped up.

This book comes out June 10, 2025

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.


My rating system for Middle Grade and children’s books

⭐️ Significant problems and would never recommend to the audience.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea but may have some appeal.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ an ok book which I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend but it has some value for young readers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! I would recommend for the age or reading level appropriate for the book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Would recommend highly, especially to school programs as a wide spread reading opportunity.