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ambeesbookishpages 's review for:
Velvet Undercover
by Teri Brown
The full review can be found at The Book Bratz
Believe it or not I am not a big historical fiction fan, I've always refused to read it. Lately though I been coming around to the genre more and beginning to like it. Despite the genre, Velvet Undercover is something I been looking forward to since the first time I saw its cover.
When Samantha is bribed into becoming a La Dame Blanche (LDB) in return for news of her father's disappearance a few months ago she can't get out of this. The need to know if her father is still alive is too great. Samantha formerly a girl guide and messenger for the intelligence organization MI5 she has a knack for mathematics and codes. Making her perfect for what they need her for. An operative by the code name "Velvet" was sent to Berlin to gain knowledge on a new German weapon. But her handler is killed, and LDB needs to get her out of there before she is next. It is up to Samantha to do this. Taking on the identity of Sophia (The dutchess of Berlin's younger cousin) she infiltrates the palace, in search of Velvet. Only Velvet isn't who she seems, and neither or the people who Samantha has grown to trust.
Samantha's character took a little while to grow on me. In the first chapter she is in a competition, where she silently mocks her competitors. This was on the first page too. So, I got the idea that she was going to be one of those characters. Thankfully, Samantha grows so much through the novel. She learns who to trust, and what to do and not everything you hear is necessarily the truth. I especially enjoyed how she wasn't perfect, she had her flaws and made mistakes. She even owned up to those mistakes. It is hard to talk about other characters with out involving spoilers, but don't trust anyone that you meet in this book. You never know which one of them is going to turn around and stab you in the back.
As much as I was hoping there would be romance in this book there wasn't. Maxwell and Samantha flirt a couple of times and he says some pretty swoon worthy things there isn't really much in the romance. Which just proved that books don't need to have a love interest in order to be good!
I found the story to be a little predictable at times, I totally guessed who Velvet was (and I was right! You probably won't expect it. I guessed literally two pages before it is revealed) and I had a feeling about who was going to betray who. Besides being predictable the world is amazingly built. I was able to recall some things I learned in history class my sophomore year to help me understand what was going on. I LOVED the ending to this book! The last two pages wrap everything up so nicely and left me with a big grin on my face!
Overall, I liked Velvet Undercover. The newbie Historical Fiction reader in me enjoyed a plot where I actually understood what was going on in that time period instead of being helplessly loss like I have been in other books.
Believe it or not I am not a big historical fiction fan, I've always refused to read it. Lately though I been coming around to the genre more and beginning to like it. Despite the genre, Velvet Undercover is something I been looking forward to since the first time I saw its cover.
When Samantha is bribed into becoming a La Dame Blanche (LDB) in return for news of her father's disappearance a few months ago she can't get out of this. The need to know if her father is still alive is too great. Samantha formerly a girl guide and messenger for the intelligence organization MI5 she has a knack for mathematics and codes. Making her perfect for what they need her for. An operative by the code name "Velvet" was sent to Berlin to gain knowledge on a new German weapon. But her handler is killed, and LDB needs to get her out of there before she is next. It is up to Samantha to do this. Taking on the identity of Sophia (The dutchess of Berlin's younger cousin) she infiltrates the palace, in search of Velvet. Only Velvet isn't who she seems, and neither or the people who Samantha has grown to trust.
Samantha's character took a little while to grow on me. In the first chapter she is in a competition, where she silently mocks her competitors. This was on the first page too. So, I got the idea that she was going to be one of those characters. Thankfully, Samantha grows so much through the novel. She learns who to trust, and what to do and not everything you hear is necessarily the truth. I especially enjoyed how she wasn't perfect, she had her flaws and made mistakes. She even owned up to those mistakes. It is hard to talk about other characters with out involving spoilers, but don't trust anyone that you meet in this book. You never know which one of them is going to turn around and stab you in the back.
As much as I was hoping there would be romance in this book there wasn't. Maxwell and Samantha flirt a couple of times and he says some pretty swoon worthy things there isn't really much in the romance. Which just proved that books don't need to have a love interest in order to be good!
I found the story to be a little predictable at times, I totally guessed who Velvet was (and I was right! You probably won't expect it. I guessed literally two pages before it is revealed) and I had a feeling about who was going to betray who. Besides being predictable the world is amazingly built. I was able to recall some things I learned in history class my sophomore year to help me understand what was going on. I LOVED the ending to this book! The last two pages wrap everything up so nicely and left me with a big grin on my face!
Overall, I liked Velvet Undercover. The newbie Historical Fiction reader in me enjoyed a plot where I actually understood what was going on in that time period instead of being helplessly loss like I have been in other books.