The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold by Ally Carter Series: The Blonde Identity #2
Published by Avon on August 5, 2025
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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Ten years ago, they joined the CIA.
Six years ago, he left the game.
Five years ago, they fell in love.
One year ago, she ran out into the cold with absolutely no intention of ever coming back.
And two minutes ago, they woke up, bloody and bruised and handcuffed together in the dark.
They don’t know where they are. They don’t know how they got there. And they have absolutely no idea who is after them or what this nameless, faceless villain wants.
The only thing that’s clear is that, after ten years of covers and chemistry, secrets and lies, these two rival spies have been sucked into their greatest mission yet, and now they’re going to have to team up to stay alive. (If they don’t kill each other first.)
Read if you like:
- Rivals to lovers
- Witty banter
- Dual POV
- Intrigue
- Forced proximity
My thoughts:
The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold, the second book in the Blonde Identity series, is pure fun from Ally Carter. Readers who read and loved her YA series, the Gallagher Girls, will eat this up. It’s a more mature version of that series but with the same sense of romance, intrigue, and mischief.
While this is book two in the series, it can be read as a standalone. I would recommend picking up book one, The Blonde Identity, as it’s also a very enjoyable, quick read. These are little mentions throughout that sum up book one quite well especially if, like me, you don’t remember the minutiae of books you read over a year ago.
The main characters, Alex Sterling and Michael Kingsley, were wonderfully well-matched in wit, tenacity, smarts, and stubbornness. The rivals to lovers dynamic between the two of them was utter perfection. Alex was a force to be reckoned with in everything she did. When she set her mind to something, there was no stopping her. (Something King learned the hard way.) She was fiercely independent but watching her learn to trust and rely on King was so very rewarding. King was the kind of man who wanted more than anything to just be needed by Alex. He had goals and dreams of his own but he never let those get in the way when it came to Alex. Even when he ‘hated’ her, he’d drop everything to be what she needed.
The secondary characters were not quite as fleshed out as Alex and King but I have to mention Merritt. Anytime she was mentioned, I just pictured Julie Andrews (Princess Diaries style) as she had this poise and calm about her at all times. I adored her and her machinations regarding King and Alex’s relationship.
The story is dual point-of-view and told in a mix of past and present chapters. My only real complaint with this one is that it got confusing at times when switching between POVs as well as timelines. There were a few points where I had to doublecheck when and where Alex and King were supposed to be in a certain chapter. It didn’t help that a lot of the time they were in the same place, just at a different time.
The story itself is very fast-paced and full of mystery. There are so many twists that, right when you think you’ve got it figured out, you’ll be thrown for a total loop. As with any good spy novel, you’ll never quite know who to trust.
Overall, The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold is an entertaining read filled with badass characters, hilarious banter, and a heartwarming romance. I hope Ally Carter plans to continue this series because I feel like there are many more potential stories in this world and with these characters.
TL;DR
Ally Carter has taken the best parts from her young adult Gallagher Girls series and crafted the perfect spy romance series for her adult readers. The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold is pure fun with a lot of heart. Mischief, intrigue, and romance abound in this unputdownable second book in the Blonde Identity series.
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