Review: PERFECT SCOUNDRELS by Ally Carter

Title: Perfect Scoundrels

Author: Ally Carter

Publication date: February 5, 2013

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it's that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting--or stealing--whatever they want. No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale's family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother's billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there's no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won't let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother's will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company's fortune. So instead of being the heir--this time, Hale might be the mark. Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she's willing to save her boyfriend's company if it means losing the boy.

Review:

That's right, folks. The third book in Heist Society is out and I got it the day before the publication date thanks to the joys of preordering and my sister gifting it to me for Christmas. Who cares if it's a Christmas present a little over a month after December 25th, it's ALLY CARTER, GUYS! 

The story starts out with the gang in the middle of a con. Hale uses the g-word (girlfriend) and Kat is taken aback by it. She likes Hale, but the world girlfriend is foreign to her. However, we don't get far until Hale receives news of some kind and leaves in the middle of a con. Big no-no. We find out though that poor Hale's beloved grandmother just died. During all of this, we get flashbacks to when Kat and Hale first meet. Hale has always felt like the black, unwanted and uncared for sheep of the family. The only exception is Hazel Hale, his grandmother. While Hale was born into the family, Hazel married into. Despite those two differences, they always had a connection of feeling lonely in their tycoon family. 

Being an Ally Carter fanatic, who likes to shove her books into friends' faces and has to restrain herself from tackling anyone who hasn't read the books, it's hard to look at this book objectively. So I'll try to be more organized with my thoughts. 

The characters. Oh, what a lovely bunch of characters. I want to be part of the Bishop family and have such lovable friends. 

-Kat. The MC, the leader of the con, the talented thief. Once again, I love Kat. She has a big heart and while things conflict her, she tries to do the right thing for everybody. Yes, she made me get tense when she decided to not share a few things with a certain person in the beginning, but that soon was resolved. And yes, she started to flow to the MC whining territory. However, unlike other MCs, she checked herself and Ally Carter was going to address it unlike other authors who think it's perfectly acceptable for MCs to have a blow-out, pity party. 

Her father was right, and Kat knew it. But she was also a little mad that he'd broken off a perfectly good pity party with logic. 

-Hale. Kat will always be the MC, but Hale started to get more of a spotlight on him in Perfect Scoundrels. Unfortunately, it was because he was the target. Someone conned him. Through it all, like any normal person, Hale would start to become not like the good Hale we knew. In grief, he does stupid things like break into an office on a whim or get drunk. With anyone else, I might squint critically at his actions. But with Hale? He was so vulnerable and confused, I wanted to give him a hug. 

It might be incredibly biased and too sentimental on my part, but I also think it's sweet how close Hale and Kat are. Besides his grandmother, he hasn't had a real family. Marcus is definitely loyal and you see a closer bond as the story progresses between the two, but you can see how different Hale's relationship with Kat is from the other people in his life.

And even though Hale has some moments that make us fear Hale and Kat's relationship, there are smoochy scenes that will leave you smiling from the cuteness. 

May I also add, what's with him being called Scooter? I don't remember an explanation on this, but I'm determined to find out. Hopefully I'll snag an interview with Ally Carter and ask, if not, somebody please find out.

So she rose and walked around the table, brought her hand to his face, and kissed him. 

"Why shouldn't she choose you?" Kat forced a smile. "I did." 

-Gabrielle. I seriously love this girl. I wasn't sure of her in the first one, grew to like her even more in the second book, but this one? She blew me away! She gave Kat reality checks, told it how it was, and while gentle when it was necessary, she was tough. I cheered for her when she went up against the heartsick Kat and was thrilled every time I saw her name on the page. She was definitely one of my favorite characters. 

"What I mean, dear cousin, is that maybe you want Hale to get out of his family's business because that is the only way to keep him in yours."

-The Bagshaws and Simon. Hamish, Angus, and Simon are also such lovable characters. The Bagshaws are the kind of characters you want to cheekily grin with and squeeze them in your arms. They're the dorky, lovable guys that make you remember why secondary characters are so important. Same goes for Simon. 

"Don't worry, Kat," Hamish said. "You're about to feel much, much worse."

-Marcus. Okay, you know how I said the Bagshaws and Simon are the reminders for how secondary characters are such an important factor? Well, Marcus is definitely another reminder. Once again, he's another character I want to hug, even though he doesn't seem like the huggable type. He reminds me of Joe from the movie The Princess Diaries. He's so sweet and loyal, but you know there's determined toughness underneath. 

I just really like this scene.

"I don't care if we lose the company, miss. But I would care a great deal if we lost the boy."

-Eddie, Bobby, and the rest of the the Bishop family. Like I said in the beginning of all this, I would love to be a part of the Bishop clan! Eddie is strong and the head of the family while Bobby's protective father shines through which I adored. Who doesn't love protective male family members? But I especially loved how different members of Kat's family came to help with the con and help Hale. There was a specific moment near the end with her family that made me want to shout, "BOO YAH!" 

The insult slid off Bobby like water. "So, you know, kid, according to thief culture, if you're going to court Kat, you now owe me two dozen goats."

-Garrett. I can't say much for him without spoiling too much, but you must know that I despise him. 

"The maid," Garrett cut her off. "I know. I know. You're...noble." 

"Yeah. You should try it sometime," Kat said.

The plot was amazing, as usual. Such impossibilites happening and twists and turns. They run all these different cons and then you feel doom seeping in at one (or several) point. I was sucked in and wishing that everything would turn out alright. And the twists and turns are fantastic, trust me. The only negative that creeps up is how it might be anti-climactic. I was too entertained and enthralled in the story to actually care, but it might disappoint others. Oh, and something else that I can't mention that made me groan with frustration.

The writing was wonderful and so different from how she writes the Gallagher Girls, but I adore it just the same. I love the way it's like episodes and I love how Ally Carter narrates. It's simply beautiful. 

Verdict: Another score for Ally Carter!

Have you read any Ally Carter? Have you read Perfect Scoundrels yet? If so, what did YOU think?