Book Seventeen.

 Well, I completed the mini-challenge... Three and a half books read this half term so far, and I still have today and tomorrow to read another one to make it four and a half.

Title: Skeleton Key
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Summary: Sharks. Assassins. Nuclear bombs. Alex Rider's in deep water. Reluctant teenage superspy Alex Rider faces his most dangerous challenge yet. On a private island near Cuba, the insane Russian General Sarov is hatching
explosive plans to rewrite history. Alone, and equipped only with a handful of ingenious gadgets, Alex must outwit him, as the seconds tick away towards the end of the world ...
Genre: Adventure/Action
Time Started: 14th April, 10:30pm
Time Ended: 17th April, 12:05am
Page Count: 325
Age Rating: 11+
Warning: Violence
Appeal Rating: 9/10

This book was amazing. I really enjoyed reading it. Poor Alex can never get a break - even when MI6 doesn't send him looking for trouble, trouble finds him. But then again, he found Sabina, too, so I doubt he's complaining. Speaking of Sabina - when she kissed him, I died a little inside. Not of jealousy or anything ... nooo, that'd be stupid. They turned me into mushy fangirl-ness. It was adorable. And I don't care if I'm spoiling it by telling you about it; I can't keep it back.

The door opened. Somebody had come into his room. It was Sabina. She was leaning over him. He felt her hair fall against his cheek and smelled her faint perfume; flowers and white musk. Her lips brushed gently against his.

"You're much cuter than James Bond," she said.

And then she was gone. The door closed behind her.

You had to read the part before to understand it, but cliffnotes version, Sabina wanted to know what he was hiding, he said he was a spy - like a teenage James Bond, but Sabina didn't believe him. Aw, they're so cute together. And so, naturally, I enjoyed the ending, when they found each other again. I thought it was very, very cute. 

It was a really amazing plot in this book; the thought that went into it is fantastic. Alex was going all around the globe and so much happened in each place. It's just unbelievable that such an extensive plot can fit into such few pages. The characters were, as per usual, really well-written ... Conrad scared the crap out of me. Not in a "AHHHHH!" way, but in a "Oh my god, freak!" way. He's really ... *shudders*. I didn't like him. But he's an amazing character. 

Sarov broke my heart. Even though he's the villain, and he planned to destroy half the world ... the way he treated Alex just made me melt. And the last time we see him in this book is definitely the part that brought me close to tears. I can't imagine being Alex, he must feel so guilty. Sarov has a heart, which you don't see a lot in villains, and all he wanted was Vladimir. Awh. Like I said ... he made my heart melt. I don't want to spoil it for you, but it's really hard not to ... I'm trying to keep quiet. 

Moving on ...

Really amazing book. Recommended? Of course.