Book Review: Blonde Ops by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

Blonde Ops was a fun read. It’s ridiculous and romantic.

4/5 stars!

Genre: YA contemporary romance, I guess

 

Amazon description:

Expelled from yet another boarding school for hacking, sixteen-year-old Rebecca “Bec” Jackson is shipped off to Rome to intern for Parker Phillips, the editor-in-chief of one of the world’s top fashion magazines. But when a mysterious accident lands Parker in a coma, former supermodel and notorious drama queen Candace Worthington takes the reins of the magazine. The First Lady is in Rome for a cover shoot, and all hands are on deck to make sure her visit goes smoothly.

Bec quickly realizes that Parker’s “accident” may not have been quite so accidental, and when the First Lady’s life is threatened, Bec is determined to uncover the truth. On top of that, Bec must contend with bitchy models, her new boss, Candace, who is just as difficult as the tabloids say, and two guys, a hunky Italian bike messenger with a thousand-watt smile and a fashion blogger with a razor-sharp wit, who are both vying for her heart.

Can Bec catch the person who’s after the First Lady, solve the mystery of Parker’s accident, and juggle two cute boys at the same time?

I read the book quickly, in the drive up to San Diego, with breaks for activities and recovering from car sickness (I know I shouldn’t read in the car, but the book was so good).

Everything, from the plot to the characters, are ridiculous. This book is definitely not for the people who get mad at movies when a gun never runs out of ammo or a random passerby becomes an MI-5 agent (I’m looking at you Hulu). If you can get past that–which I can–the story is great.

The characters are lovable. There’s no deep characterization to speak of, but it works with the light-hearted tone of the book. The romance is sweet, complicated without being bogged down in drama.

All throughout the novel, the identity of who is behind the car crash and possibly after the First Lady remains a mystery. I wasn’t trying particularly hard to figure out who it was (not like I would with an Agatha Christie, per se), but there were enough characters and enough intrigue to keep the plot going and the ending murky.

I’m excited for the sequel, though I don’t think there is a release date or title posted yet.

A word on the title: The main character has pink hair until the end of the novel. It just bugs me that the title implies she’s blonde.