Hellooo Readers!

What’s shaking? Any great new books I should know about? My life is a little boring right now with tons of grad school coursework, but I go on a writer’s retreat next Tuesday, so I’ll have a lot of time to decompress and focus on writing and leisurely reading. Anywho, back to the post at hand. It’s time for another book review!

The Substitute (Replica #13) by Marilyn Kaye.

I recently dove back into this series and really loved book twelve, so my hopes were high for this one too. Did it shock and amaze like the last one did? Let’s find out!

Series Review Links

Book Review: Amy, Number Seven (Replica #1)

Book Review: Pursuing Amy (Replica #2)

Book Review: Another Amy (Replica #3)

Book Review: Perfect Girls (Replica #4)

Book Review: Secret Clique (Replica #5)

Book Review: And the Two Shall Meet (Replica #6)

Book Review: The Best of the Best (Replica #7)

Book Review: Mystery Mother (Replica #8)

Book Review: The Fever (Replica #9)

Book Review: Ice Cold (Replica #10)

Book Review: Lucky Thirteen (Replica #11)

Book Review: In Search of Andy (Replica #12)

Blurb

Amy never knew whom Mr. Devon worked for–the organization that’s after her, or some other secret government agency. All she knew was that he seemed to be her ally. He always appeared just when she needed help or vital information. But ever since Mr. Devon’s death, Amy has relied on her own smarts to survive. And she’ll need them more than ever now that a new substitute teacher at school has it in for her.
Ms. Heartshorn has a reputation for being demanding. She doesn’t tolerate fools or careless work. And her feedback can be . . . well, a little harsh. Amy hates her. But when she learns why Ms. Heartshorn is really at school, Amy totally flips out.

GoodReads

Amazon

***Brief disclosure***

I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post at no cost to you. It’s a great way to help me keep things running on my blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

The Review

I wanted to love this book, but in the end it missed some marks for me.

Alright, so this time around Amy is dealing with fallout from Eric after she gets back from France and admits that Andy was there. To make matters worse, Amy has a new substitute teacher that seems fixated on humiliating and punishing her. But when Amy starts to connect some dots pertaining to her former teacher’s sudden disappearance, she and her friends do some detective work to figure out what the substitute’s true intentions are.

This book had the elements of a good story, but there wasn’t enough meat to it to really compare to some of the more epic adventures Amy has had thus far. The plot overall felt like filler to me. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of decent things here. There’s a real sense of mystery towards Mr. Devon’s demise and some real twists and turns along the way. It just didn’t take things to that next level for me.

Amy actually regressed a bit in this novel, which I understand to a certain extent due to her relationship issues with Eric and his jealousy. It was just a little underwhelming to see her forget how she’s supposed to act around other people. I would’ve preferred to see her hold herself together more since she’s already established herself as a strong, rational young woman. I think this book did her a small disservice in that way.

The writing, flow, and pacing was all great. I just wanted a bigger adventure out of this one. Hopefully the next one won’t disappoint!

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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