Blog Tour Stop: Spy Island Review and Giveaway

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: CreateSpace
Source: Author
StandAlone
An adventurous girl in the West Indies risks her life to save a German U-boat deserter and stumbles into a nest of German spies hell-bent on taking over her tranquil island.
In 1916, Abigail Maduro plunges headfirst into the dangerous world of espionage when she travels to the West Indies to live with her Aunt Esther and witnesses a brutal murder at the hands of a notorious German spy. Vowing revenge, Abby embarks on a career as a spy hunter, not realizing that St. Thomas is a hotbed for German spies and saboteurs who use their Hamburg-America steamers to run clandestine missions against the Allies. But Abigail has more pressing problems of her own. She's forced to work as a seamstress, and is on the constant receiving end of her aunt's vicious tirades. Her only salvation are the two aging servants, Nana Jane, the daughter of an African slave with a taste for gossip, and Cooky Betty, the rotund, back-talking cook who samples most of what she makes.
A chance encounter with a mysterious stranger hurls Abby to the center of the conflict. Erich Seibold claims to be a stranded sailor in desperate need of shelter. Despite the danger, Abby hides Erich in the basement of her house and friendship blossoms between the two outsiders, even after Abby learns that he is a deserter from a German U-boat. The local German Consul, Lothar Langsdorff, also discovers Erich's true identity and blackmails him into committing sabotage and murder. When Erich is arrested, Abigail attempts a daring breakout to free him. But with Langsdorff still on the loose, Abigail relies on wits, bravery and a little island magic to save her island from a dangerous German spy.

Review
I honestly didn't think I was going to like this one. The first half was slow and it was difficult to push through. But, once I got to the second half, I really enjoyed the story. I thought it had a great concept and wonderful characters.

This one tells the story of Abbie Maduro. Her life suddenly takes a turn for the worse, and she's forced to live with an ancient relative. She had quite the adventure not only on the island but getting there as well.

I really loved Abbie. I thought she was a great, well done character. I liked how strong she was. I liked how adventurous she was. She was just a genuine good person. I absolutely adored her aunts household staff. Cooky Betty and Nana Jane made a great addition to the story. I think the story really came to life when Erich came in. He made the book for me. His life story was so interesting and I loved the relationship between him and Abbie.

So the synopsis for this didn't give much to go off. I had no idea what to expect. I thought the main premise of the story was spies. But, it didn't really seem like it was. It was more about the war going on and Abbie's story. There was quite a few Germans but it wasn't classified if they were spies or not. I think that was a little misleading. I did think the concept was unique and pretty fast paced. There was a fair share of action and suspense. The characters were all well done. Overall I do think this was a great read. The first half wasn't very good but the second made up for it!

Author Bio:
Sophie Schiller grew up in the West Indies amid aging pirates and retired German spies. She was educated at American University, Washington, D.C. and now lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Sophie Schiller FB page: https://www.facebook.com/SchillerSophie

Sophie Schiller Blog: http://sophieschiller.blogspot.com/

Book Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Spy-Island-Sophie-Schiller/dp/1481181718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361725381&sr=8-1&keywords=spy+island

Giveaway!
We have one ecopy of Spy Island to givraway! This one is US and INT.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/29e2b512/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway