âThe Crueltyâ By Scott Bergstrom | Book Review . âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸ . âA woman who seeks to rise in this world must be crueler than even menâ. . I was at my local library, and found a poster promoting Borrow Box. After perusing through the catalogue, I found this title. I had never heard of this book or series before, but the synopsis completely won me over. Itâs worth noting that I am not the biggest fan of audiobooks - I have trouble recalling previous events in them, and I feel like Iâm not as involved in the story. I did not have that problem listening to this - Therese Plummer is a gem. So, to give you the rundown in a minute or less, Gwen is on her way home after being suspended from school, and is sorting out her fatherâs birthday present. Her father, a U.S. diplomat, is suddenly kidnapped, and the government leaves Gwen no choice but to track him down herself. Suddenly, sheâs trekking through Europe, following every lead, infiltrating the slums of Paris, the nightlife of Berlin, and the biggest criminal family in Prague. Diving into this underworld of espionage and betrayal, Gwen needs to become crueler then the men that sheâs hunting. At first I thought that I was going to have an issue with Gwenâs age - a 17 year old girl lying her way into crime mobs? yeah, right. Then I realised that sheâs not an average 17 year old special snowflake - sheâs already bent, cracked, and jaded. I was very quickly able to draw parallels to other female protagonists that had to grow up too quickly: Aelin, Feyre, and Audrey Rose. The best way to summarise this is Dominika from âRed Sparrowâ meets Carmen from âSpy Kidsâ. From the plots and espionage, to the justice and stained consciousness, the story seems plausible. Ultimately, it was one of the most unexpectedly amazing books that Iâve ever come across - and one of the best espionage thrillers Iâve read. . If you happen to have any espionage recommendations, please be sure to let me know! Iâm going to start book two in this series, and hopefully start the âRed Sparrowâ trilogy after that đĄ . #TheCruelty #ScottBergstrom #BookReview #BookRecommendation #BookCover #BorrowBox #BolindaAudio #Fiction #YoungAdult #YA #Thril