So I did already do a review of the digital version of this book, but I requested this because I'm trying to branch out into audiobooks. I specifically chose this one because I already read it and knew I loved the book. Based on that, I'm going to review the audiobook as a medium rather than reviewing the plot of the book again.

So this is the first audiobook I've ever listened to and I played around with the speed. This one is perfect on the 2x speed, but I found that if it was any higher I couldn't understand what was happening and I was missing out on the action.

This one is told with dual narrators, Andrew Eiden and Emily Ellet, which is always nice. I found that I really liked when the narrators voiced other characters from the perspective of the King and Alex. It was funny listening to the FMC narrator voice her interpretation of King and other side characters. When King's narrator started portraying Alex it was exactly how I imagined a man would talk if he was trying to mimic a woman. The narrators knocked it out of the park with that. The narrators did a stellar job at nailing inflection changes. I did find that I kind of zoned out on the parts where the narrators were focused on the inner monologue of the characters. For me, the tone was kind of flat and I wanted a bit more enthusiasm. At around the 70% mark I did grab my digital copy so that I could do a tandem read and found this to be much more enjoyable and I was able to maintain my focus the entire time.

I will say that one of the things that I struggled with when I read the digital copy was the dual timeline jumps. I didn't really have that same issue here. Maybe I subconsciously was skipping the "past" and "present" notations when I was reading? The experience with the action-packed scenes was also different. It kind of felt more immersive and like I was watching a movie with the audiobook. I was able to just relax and enjoy the pictures that the narrators were painting for me.

If you're strictly an audiobook person I will say that this is an excellent spy book. It's thrilling with sizzling moments between King and Alex. It's action-packed and will make you wish that you were a spy.

I’ve been eagerly waiting for this follow-up in the series, and it did not disappoint! This time we meet Alex—the twin sister and actual secret agent that Zoe was mistaken for in The Blonde Identity. While you technically don’t have to read the first book, I definitely recommend it just to enjoy the fun contrast between the sisters.

Alex crosses paths with Michael Kingsley (aka “King”) the night before she’s supposed to head off to spy school, and let’s just say… sparks do not fly. He warns her off, she’s not having it, and their competitive, love-to-hate dynamic begins. Over the years (and several missions later), that rivalry slowly shifts into something deeper and more complicated.

Now, after a year apart following a major falling out, they’re suddenly thrown back together—literally locked up and on the run—trying to figure out who’s after them and why.

This one has all the banter, chemistry, and action I love in a rom-com/spy mashup. Fast-paced, flirty, and just plain fun. I listened to it while doing chores and honestly, it made my day fly by.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the free ARC—this review is my own voluntarily.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. I have never read a spy themed book before. The author did great job of helping you get to know the characters. I’m not generally a fan of when books go back-and-forth in time, but I understand why it was necessary in this book. As a person who did not read the first, book, it really helped to connect a lot of the dots. I was looking enough to listen to this on audio, and I really enjoyed the narrators.

The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold is Alex’s story and picks up a little after The Blonde Identity. In this story, Alex and King wake up not knowing where they are and don’t remember the past few days. The story is told from both Alex and King’s POVs and includes flashbacks starting 10 years ago. I loved the banter between the two main characters. And while the flashbacks to different points in time were confusing at some points (I needed to restart chapters to see when the story was taking place), I still enjoyed this book a lot.
The “enemies-to-lovers situation” was such a fun and fast-paced read. Emily Ellet and Andrew Eiden were wonderful narrators and definitely added to the listening experience.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

As I’ve come to expect from Ally Carter, I had so much fun reading this!! The perfect read for anyone looking for lots of shenanigans, some spy action, and a little romance.

What readers can look forward to:
- Good banter and humorous situations.
- Shifting timelines to help bring to life their current predicament while also giving depth to their relationship as there are flashbacks to how their lives have intertwined over the last 10years.
- Lovable characters! Alex kicks a** (an amazing spy, fearless, strong, quick to go off script). King is more serious but so full of heart he tries to keep hidden.

Side note - I liked the tie in to The Blonde Identity, it was nice to bring the stories to a close together. That said, you don’t need to have read The Blonde Identity to enjoy this book.

Second side note - I’m not so secretly hoping the series doesn’t actually come to a close because it’s so much fun!

I also got an advanced listener copy from NetGalley (thanks to both NetGalley and HarperAudio!). It was so well done. I loved both narrators - their delivery, their own form of comedic timing delivery, and their voices for other people were especially delightful. Generally I think it can be challenging RJ track timing in books like this when you jump back and forth, but it’s still easy enough to listen, understand, and enjoy the story.


Thank you to Ally Carter and Avon for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Tropey spy rom-com with the energy of Miss Congeniality. Works just fine as a standalone if you wanna skip the first book.

The audiobook is very well done!

Pre-reading:
The first book was such a dud. I really hope this sequel is better because I loved The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
T Swift sin so early in this one lol

Take a shot every time this book says chicken fingers. (Blackout, baby.)

I-I am weak.
Immediately yes.

No, because the feminism fled my body, and I said that one, give me that one. GOD.

It’s kind of giving Reckless and Run, Run Rabbit, and I will be very upset if that doesn’t hold true for the rest of the book, but right now I’m having a grand old time. (There’s whiffs.)

Does this count as a cowboy romance, lol?

You know we were doing so well, and I was so on board, and then he said I’m the ghost of Christmas future. Girl. Nearly any other dialogue, and I would still be into this.

Like I’m still in. This is way better than the first one already. It’s much closer to Crime of the Year’s energy.

I hope that’s not his real name because that’s lame.

This one is SO much better.

It’s kinda giving Legally Blonde with the lady prof. There’s another show or movie that this reminds me of that I’m blanking on right now, but I’ll think of it and come back. But it’s the same rapid-fire, chipper questioning responded to with a flat no that makes somebody snap Zootopia? Kingsmen? (Killing Eve)

King is a horrible name. All I can picture is short king summer, or like hey king, you dropped this.

No, because I’m grinning.

She feels like a very different character from book one, but I’m OK with it because I like this character much more!

Also, nothing in this book right now is saying that you need to read book one first, so I’m almost like just skip book one and jump directly into this one.

Kind of lame that both their boyfriends are legacies.

Oh please, Miss Congeniality gym scene.

Live laugh loving EATING THIS UP.

Again, I was eating it up until we used that dialogue. Not the ‘you’re too beautiful to do what you want.’ Fuck thattttt

As in, they finally shenanigan and he was so good she said mercy! Please, stop making me come!? THE FADE TO BLACK IS RUDE, CARTER. (Not what happened. Should’ve been what happened.)

Make the movie now. Banter is bantering. Loving 90% of this.

Can’t read uncut gems in anything but Julia Fox’s voice.

Merrit’s got that Kindle Unlimited subscription too.

I really hope Merritt isn’t evil, but she does seem to be very easily positioned to be the villain.

ALLY CARTER, I’M BLUSHING.

UH LIKE JUST CURIOUS, WHAT MANS IS READING THIS AUDIOBOOK? YOU KNOW, NO PARTICULAR REASON.

Christ, my cheeks are hot.

Don’t love that it’s kinda the same as the first book, though.

Miss Congeniality candy bar-you think I’m goooorgeous.

Banter is bantering.

This is such a rewrite of the first book, and IT’S SO MUCH BETTER.

Derringer

Do they kill Merrit and Alex wants revenge to take him down, but he wants to be out of the game, so she leaves him? (TBH better plot.)

It’s Killing Eve. That's the energy of this. (But like YA sanitized.)

I did get confused for a second there, thinking they mislabeled the chapters. I don't think island to island was the smartest intro for a chapter to help the audience keep the timelines separate.

Oh, it IS the same island. I'm an idiot. (But I don’t quite rescind my qualm. I think there was a better way to word this.)

It’s giving the Incredible’s villain island.

ALLY CARTER SEX ISLAND WAS NOT ON MY BINGO BOARD BUT I AM DOWN. (Down bad, crying at the gym, full teenage petulance because it goes NOWHERE.)

I love only one bed!

Finally some gadgets!

The middle has slowed a lot. I’m like go back to the tropes and the banter. I don’t care about the plot. (The plot of this book needs an overhaul, but she did pigeon hole herself a bit having to work around the first book’s shitty setup.)

I take it back. I’m kicking my little feet again. I love a bathtub scene.

Ugh, I KNEW she was the villain.

This is like a 3.5, but I might round up and be generous depending on the ending.

I’m assuming the ring does the nuke somehow.

That’s what you get for waking up in Vegas 🎶

The finances of this book don’t make any sense, and like the villains are always really weak, and we do kind of just get tropes for the vibes and then never go all the way with them. Like what’s the point of Sex Island and sex island twice, no less, but they never fuck. (We needed some like tantric massage interruption of like okay, they’re gone. Let’s go. I’ll follow you in a minute. What? No, we have to go right now! In a minute. Why-Oh. And then both be blushy-faced adults over his James Bond.)

OK, I’m glad the old lady isn’t actually evil, but that villain did come from literally nowhere.

This ending is rushed.

That’s not even a fair play mystery because how am I supposed to know you can put a camera in an old timey ring. I don’t history.

Is that even information that could be used to blackmail Michael? Why does he give a shit what his dead grandma did?

Pretty rushed and lackluster ending. 4 star beginning, 3-2 back half.

Post-reading:
The first half of this book is tropey rom-com perfection. There’s banter. There’s chemistry. There’s yearning. And then the book sorta stalls out in the middle and nosedives into the ending. It’s way too fast. Carter forgets to linger.

You don’t need to read the first book to read this one. I think the first book is genuinely so bad that you should skip it. A bit of reworking callbacks in this sequel, and it would function better as a standalone.

Alex’s character feels like it got a complete overhaul from the first book. They do not read like the same person. That’s not a bad thing though, because I like this version of her so much more. Carter writes her best banter when she has a playful flirt and a disgruntled, serious, contributing member of society^TM. The book, in general, does just read like a rewrite of the first one. Again, also not a bad thing, but just worth recognizing that it feels less like a progressive sequel and more like a better rehashing of the same themes.

The first half of this has the immaculate rivalry vibes of Miss Congeniality and Killing Eve. I was sat. It was working. Every now and then, she would throw in dialogue that was cringe, but it was forgivable. I think Michael Kingsley as a character name was a choice. I don’t think the name King functions well in a contemporary with all the current memes about men. It’s an easy swap to make or ignore, but just something that might take you out of the book.

The most successful scene in this entire story was them at the jewelry store. Dear god, give me an entire book of THAT, and you’d be reading a very different review. My cheeks got hot reading that.

But for the most part, we get introduced to classic rom-com tropes and don’t do anything with them. Carter teased a couple’s sex retreat, not once but twice, and let it go nowhere. The plot of this novel isn’t developed enough. It’s not a fair play mystery. The villain comes out of nowhere, so it doesn’t feel like a satisfying solution.

Even still, I think it’s such an improvement from the first book. It’s not life-changing, I’m not frothing at the mouth for the couple, but if you want a silly, goofy time that feels like watching a B-movie rom-com, this is worth picking up.

Who should read this:
Tropey Rom com fans
Miss Congeniality fans
Ali Hazelwood fans

Ideal reading time:
Winter

Do I want to reread this:
No, I think I’ll just remember it.

Would I buy this:
I would, but I don’t like having incomplete series on my shelf, and I do NOT want that first book.

Similar books:
* You Can Run by Rebecca Zanetti-generic crime thriller romance
* The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter-holiday mystery rom-com
* Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver-dark rom rom-com
* The Frame-Up by Gwenda Bond-cozy thriller, urban fantasy
* Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris-historical, urban fantasy, mystery, sapphic romance
* Reckless by Elsie Silver-like it’s not, but the couple has similar energy, smalltown, cowboy romance, accidental pregnancy trope

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to get an advanced copy of this book because I LOVED the first one! This one did not disappoint. I loved the characters and their banter, and following the story from the past to the present. I hope this isn't the end of this series!

I thought the first book in the Blonde Identity series was decently fun time, so I was excited to give the second installment a go!

This was like a forced proximity, second chance, romcom meets a little bit of a mystery. It was a quick and fun read but it was a three star aka through no fault of its own I will definitely forget everything I’ve read by tonight (sorry!).

The audio narrators were absolute perfection and I was honestly convinced that the female narrator’s male voice was an actual male reading the dialogue, so well done there! I did find it trickier to track where we were on the back-and-forth timeline on the audio than the ebook but perhaps that is a me think. I went back and forth between the two because I really was enjoying the read!

It ends on a cliffhanger but I don’t know that I’ll be compelled to read the next one - would absolutely watch this as a movie though! I think if you’ve read and enjoyed the first one you will also like this one.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review!

"The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold" is the second book in the Blonde Identity series. Once again, Ally Carter has delivered a fun, fast-paced, and hilarious rom-com/spy novel. I am obsessed with this series! This book has it all. Forced proximity! Enemies to lovers! Fake marriage! Second chance romance! Spies! (Sorry for all the exclamation points!)

In the first book, we met Zoe Sterling, who woke up in Paris with amnesia and discovered she was the identical twin sister of a spy, Alex. This second installment features Zoe's twin sister, Alex. We learn about her journey as a CIA agent and more about the backstory of how Zoe ended up in Paris in the first book. The story spans ten years as Alex and Michael "King" Kingsley meet at "spy school" and end up in an "enemies-to-lovers situation."

This was such an addictive, action-packed, and absorbing book. I had so much fun reading it, and I was absolutely cracking up. Alex Sterling is my nosy, chicken-tender-loving soul sister. While I was disappointed we didn't get more of Zoe in this book, I was happy to get to know more about Alex. Such a fun series, and I definitely think a third book is coming!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Emily Ellet and Andrew Eiden. They both did a great job and enhanced my listening experience. I enjoyed the banter and their comedic timing. The time jumps did get a little confusing while listening to the audiobook, so I mostly read the eARC. But this was still a great audiobook!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this story. Blonde identity had be cracking up and I knew this one would be just as good if not better. The sass, the banter, the action filled story I’m obsessed with it all. The narration? Had me laughing out loud, it made the story come to life even more and I loved every second and can’t wait to have a physical copy

To me, this was perfect. Alex and King were exactly what I wanted in a book. A lot of adventure, tension you can cut with a knife and so much pining you can feel it your bones. King and Alex met 10 years ago when they started spy school. Immediately, the tension was palpable. She was off limits to him but as soon as he saw her he knew she would be his downfall. He tried so hard to push her away, but what is meant to be will be. eventually.
Their road was long, messy and full of longing. There were parts I was laughing and parts I got teary eyed, all while living an epic adventure through them and trying to figure out what was going on. I honestly had no idea and I love when I can't guess the outcome. I am so happy we got to see Sawyer and Zoey in this book and check in on them.
I really hope that we get more.. ahem.. because that ending had me screaming. 10 stars and this will be one of my top books this year. The narration was phenomenal.
Thank you to Hachette, Netgalley and Ally Carter for an early copy.

Update:
So I had the opportunity to grab the audiobook so I read this yet again so I could review it. Maybe times I end up enjoying a book more when I re-read it but this time it took away from the book.
It was narrated by Emily Ellet and Andrew Eiden (aka Teddy Hamilton) so I was excited when I immediately recognized his voice when I hit play. I found his kryptonite, female voices! But in context. Mr Eiden definitely has a vast tool box of vocal techniques as his narration for the romance and fantasy for which he is mostly known for is very different than his other works. And while I have enjoyed him in the past doing female vocals, it doesn’t completely work in this book for some reason. Part of it is the book is recorded very slow so when I speed up the rate it distorts things a bit but only when he has the occasional female quote.

That being said, his male performance is A+ as always. Ms Ellet did a good job as well but similarly struggles with the male voice of which she had to do a lot more than he did for the female so it had a bigger impact. The other issue is there are several corrections/ re-records which were spliced in. Typically you don’t hear these at all, but the sound quality is very difference. The sound settings were completely different or it was done in a different studio. Regardless of what it what, they take you out of the story as it’s an interruption.

That being said, the story was still a fun and whimsical look into the “spy” world. I will say that listening gave me a different feel to it and I realized just how cheesy trope heavy it is. But it’s still enjoyable.

Initially I gave this book 4.5⭐️ and rounded it up to 5 but after a re-read plus the audiobook, I give it a more realistic and solid 4⭐️

Thank you to Harper Audio for the complimentary audio ALC so I could review it ahead of publication on August 5th


Original review:
Ally Carter doesn’t disappoint. When I saw this up on NetGalley I applied so fast as I have loved her YA works. I was going to wait until closer until it gets published but I couldn’t hold off getting immersed in the spy universe once again.

While this isn’t part of her YA series, Carter brings that fun whimsy to the world of spies. From the jump you get entrenched into duel timeline world of when the FMC was at “spy school” and the aftermath as she has a second chance romance.

I can’t say enough good things about Carter writing that keeps the reader completely engaged and flipping the pages.
Is it a hardcore spy thriller? No! And it’s not meant to be. The relaxed prose of a romcom makes this perfect for readers of multiple genres.

It comes out August 5th 2025 and I can’t wait to add a copy to my home library.


I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary eARC from Avon-Harperthrough NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

⭐⭐⭐½

The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold by Ally Carter
A cheeky blend of spies, sass, and second chances — shaken, not stirred.

Imagine being a former teen spy trying to adult — not easy, especially when your past comes crashing (and I mean crashing) into your present. The story follows a high-stakes mission tangled in personal baggage, old alliances, and one heck of a complicated not-quite-ex.

Emily Ellet and Andrew Eiden delivered snappy banter and tension with just the right bite of flair and vulnerability. Their chemistry brought the dual POVs to life, making the action and emotional beats hit harder.

Sass, Snark & Secrets

Espionage with attitude: Yes, please.

Second chance romance, spy-style: The tension was chef’s kiss.

Action-packed but self-aware: Think "Mission: Impossible" meets witty rom-com.

A little over-the-top? Sure. But also a fun ride.


I wasn’t entirely blown away by the plot (some twists I saw coming a mile off), but the charm, character banter, and classic Carter sass pulled me in. It’s fast-paced, stylish, and doesn’t take itself too seriously — exactly what I needed for a palate-cleansing listen.

3.5 stars — not quite explosive, but definitely cool enough to make me smile

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for my ALC! All opinions are my own.

Audiobook is a 4⭐️
Overall story is a 3.5⭐️

This was fun just like The Blonde Identity. This one did have a stronger mystery compared to the first book in the series, which I liked. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Alex and Michael. The flashbacks were slightly confusing. Maybe...too many flashbacks? I don't know. I had to go back a few times to understand what was going on.

I recieved a digital arc before I was given an ALC. I switched over from ebook to audio about 50% of the book. I really recommend listening to the audiobook. It’s the same narrators as The Blonde Identity and I love them. I love it when narrators act as they are reading. It's much more impactful that way and they nailed it.

Overall it was a good YA. It was predictable in some parts but I did enjoy the story.

This was ABSOLUTELY ELECTRIC.

I loved loved loved "The Blonde Identity" and am SOOO happy that Alex got her own love story 🩷. We get so much more espionage in this book and the romance was so much more than I could have imagined!

I love a spy book but this one missed the mark a bit for me.

I liked the flashbacks of spy school/early missions and found their connection to be interesting to present day events in the story. However, because they were so closely connected, I found myself getting confused as to which timeline we were in. This was particularly a struggle when the romance started and we were jumping locations/timelines. Perhaps this was an audiobook issue?

Our FMC also harbours a lot of emotions/history with her twin sister Zoe. However, I felt like there was not enough information given about Zoe to make me as the reader care about her. I wish we had more so that I could latch on and relate to the emotional destruction our FMC was clearly going through whenever thinking about her sister.

There were some fun events and exciting missions in this book as well but ultimately I couldn't relate to the story with the jumps.

As a long time Ally Carter reader and fan (Gallagher Girls Forever 🩷), the queen of the sassy spy novel can do no wrong. This second spy novel for adults does in fact read as a standalone, but it definitely offers new insight in to the events of Blonde Identity. Sassy, swoons, fun. The narration is fantastic, though the jumping timelines might be easier to keep track of in print.

So we get spies Alex Sterling and Michael King in an enemies to lovers romance/ second chance romance. I liked that we got both their POVs and the narrators did a great job telling the story. This book is full of adventure, danger, suspense and of course humor. What more could you ask for?

I loved The Blonde Identity—it was a solid 5/5 stars for me—so I was genuinely excited to get an early listen to this follow-up. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite live up to the hype I built up in my head.

For starters, it had been a hot minute since I’d listened to book one, and I spent the first few chapters confused about who I was supposed to be following—even after reading the Goodreads blurb. A quick reminder that this was about the twin of the main character from book one would’ve gone a long way.

Narration-wise, Eiden and Ellet do a good job, but the spark between the leads just wasn’t sparking. The chemistry was meh, the timeline jumping felt more jumbled than clever, and the espionage-y plotlines didn’t hold my interest like the first book did.

I didn’t hate it—but I didn’t love it. A middle-of-the-road 3 stars. Liked it. Didn’t love it. Hoping book three brings the fun back.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and HarperAudio Adult for both the ARC and the ALC

I think I loved this even more than The Blonde Identity. I went right into reading this after finishing the first book and I’m so glad I didn’t have to wait. As soon as I saw THE Logan Echols quote I knew exactly the type of relationship I was in for and Ally Carter delivered. Alex Sterling and Michael King had a great enemies to lovers arc, their chemistry and snarky banter, while still being one of the only people the other trusts, was so well done. Alex is snarky, sassy and gives off the ‘I don’t need anyone’ attitude, yet feels she’s too much, too loud, but inside she’s a marshmallow. King is broody, and dealing with trauma, yet is protective and has the ‘burn the world down for her’ yearning. I’m not ready to leave this world Ally Carter created, and I’ll be back in a heartbeat if she ever goes back.

I was lucky enough to get both the ARC and the ALC, and being able to go back and listen to the audio after reading it just made me love it even more. Andrew Eiden, and Emily Ellet were perfect as Michael and Alex, they brought them and this world to life.