spottyg's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
little_miss_darkness's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Who is the mysterious NRR, and what is their ultimate purpose?
Russia. A country steeped in rich, bloody history, and one of the strongholds of the Lucian branch. Amy and Dan have left their au pair in Egypt to rush here against the clock in order to find the clue belonging to the Lucians, all the while trying to evade their agents hunting them.
They form a temporary alliance with the Holts because they know they won't be able to get to the clue on time on their own. Kabras have decided to trail the Holts, while Irina Spasky is hot on Amy and Dan's trail.
They have to unravel the history of what happened to the Romanovs, the last imperial Russian family that perished during the time of revolt and hatred against the imperial fist over the peoples of Russia. Could a Romanov child have survived? Was it Alexei or Anastasia? And are they actually a part of the Cahill family? Seem to be Lucians stronghold, after all.
Love how we all expect NRR to be a man. Have to admit, I shared Dan's surprise at the end. But it was a good surprise. But why would Nataliya be helping them? After all, she is pretty high up in the Lucian hierarchy. I hope we find out by the end.
Russia. A country steeped in rich, bloody history, and one of the strongholds of the Lucian branch. Amy and Dan have left their au pair in Egypt to rush here against the clock in order to find the clue belonging to the Lucians, all the while trying to evade their agents hunting them.
They form a temporary alliance with the Holts because they know they won't be able to get to the clue on time on their own. Kabras have decided to trail the Holts, while Irina Spasky is hot on Amy and Dan's trail.
They have to unravel the history of what happened to the Romanovs, the last imperial Russian family that perished during the time of revolt and hatred against the imperial fist over the peoples of Russia. Could a Romanov child have survived? Was it Alexei or Anastasia? And are they actually a part of the Cahill family? Seem to be Lucians stronghold, after all.
Love how we all expect NRR to be a man. Have to admit, I shared Dan's surprise at the end. But it was a good surprise. But why would Nataliya be helping them? After all, she is pretty high up in the Lucian hierarchy. I hope we find out by the end.
ryanjamesburt's review against another edition
4.0
You know these aren't the best books but I find them pretty entertaining. Seaching for 39 clues. I have no idea how many clues they have found so I am really not following it too deeply. But nice entertaining read.
oudayyehya's review against another edition
5.0
Fast. Thrilling. Mysterious. Funny. Scary. Adventurous. Everything I asked for!
theverbalthing's review against another edition
3.0
This book had a lot more humor than the previous ones in the series. I thought it worked well with the overall situation and it was interesting to see Amy and Dan completely on their own, especially after being so closely tied to Nellie in the fourth book. Still wondering about the Madrigals, but very pleased with how the story is developing so far. For a series written by so many different authors, the consistency and character growth are remarkable to behold.
queenofthesouthernsun's review against another edition
4.0
This book definitely wasn't my least favourite of the series so far - that one would have to be The Sword Thief - but it wasn't great either. I didn't like how Amy and Dan were so completely on their own on this one, especially since they were being trailed by three other teams, and I would have liked it if Nellie had come along (at this point Saladin seems pretty useless to the plot). The reveal of NRR was far too quick and the last two or three chapters probably could have been stretched out a bit more.
I did like how more and more hints towards Irina's backstory are being revealed, however the broken English she has seems kind of cheesy, especially since she was a KGB agent. Ian and Natalie were superfluous in this book and could have been kept entirely off-screen (do we honestly to keep re-hashing the sort-of romance between Amy and Ian two books ago?), and Natalie's fuss about her clothes was too childish for her.
Amy and Dan teaming up with Hamilton was a plot twist I didn't see coming, and I like the way the entire Holt family was humanized more. They're still over-competitive and a bit violent, but they're getting deeper as characters and I enjoyed it. I do think there was a bit more potential for the whole Road of Bones scene, especially since not a lot of people know about that part of Russia's history and it is very entertaining.
In the end, this book was fairly interesting and the writing wasn't terrible, however there were issues with characters, inconsequential plot points, and unrealistic storylines. (Do you have to make everyone other than Amy and Dan super-geniuses? Can't you just have Amy and Dan screw up once in a while instead of everyone else having unbelievably good tech or equipment?)
I did like how more and more hints towards Irina's backstory are being revealed, however the broken English she has seems kind of cheesy, especially since she was a KGB agent. Ian and Natalie were superfluous in this book and could have been kept entirely off-screen (do we honestly to keep re-hashing the sort-of romance between Amy and Ian two books ago?), and Natalie's fuss about her clothes was too childish for her.
Amy and Dan teaming up with Hamilton was a plot twist I didn't see coming, and I like the way the entire Holt family was humanized more. They're still over-competitive and a bit violent, but they're getting deeper as characters and I enjoyed it. I do think there was a bit more potential for the whole Road of Bones scene, especially since not a lot of people know about that part of Russia's history and it is very entertaining.
In the end, this book was fairly interesting and the writing wasn't terrible, however there were issues with characters, inconsequential plot points, and unrealistic storylines. (Do you have to make everyone other than Amy and Dan super-geniuses? Can't you just have Amy and Dan screw up once in a while instead of everyone else having unbelievably good tech or equipment?)
gotsome_bookmuscle's review against another edition
5.0
4,5 ⭐️ but bumping it up to 5 this has been the most interesting plot in the series for me i just wish they all work together to finish the whole thing :((( also i feel like this whole thing is leading up to the reveal that dan and amy are madrigals
bookreader230's review against another edition
4.0
This was an excellent book, and I loved the mystery of NRR. And Irina Spasky finally seems human.
Spoiler
The Natalyia Romanov at the ending was completely unexpected.imzadirose's review against another edition
3.0
One of the more enjoyable plots/stories for this one. Traveling around Russia. Enjoyable short read.