An action-packed young adult book
Jessie Archer is a member of the Athena Protocol, a secret all-female organisation that targets dangerous criminals around the world. The organisation is very strict on their methods to make sure that the criminals are imprisoned but never killed. When Jessie takes matters into her own hands and kills a malicious villain, she gets kicked out of the organisation before an important mission to take down a human trafficker in Belgrade. As she goes rogue to prove herself worthy, she’ll need to watch her back from the criminals, her own organisation and from the enigmatic and attractive daughter of the human trafficker…
Ms. Sarif is quite a versatile author, she has written romance, historical fiction and, now with ‘The Athena Protocol’, a young adult action book. She’s also an award-winning filmmaker who has adapted her own books to the big screen. All her works have different audiences and expectations but she doesn’t fail to deliver and this book is no exception. This is an action-packed page-turner, Jessie being like a kind of Jane Bond, together with advanced firearms, sophisticated spy gadgets and fancy vehicles. Like the film franchise, don’t expect this novel to be totally realistic but it surely is entertaining as hell.
Written in first person from the point of view of Jessie, the readers see the world from her teenager eyes that have seen and experienced beyond her age. She’s a great character to hang around with her sarcasm, her sense of duty, her confused feelings for the villain’s daughter, and her conflicted relationships with her mother and colleagues. While there is a love interest, I wouldn’t go as far as to call this a romance. The secondary characters are all well-written and have distinctive personality traits. The end doesn’t leave a cliffhanger but suggests that there might be a sequel coming which I would love to read.
Overall, a very entertaining and action-packed young adult book aimed at a teen audience but that the adults might enjoy. 5 stars.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
One Response
The Athena Protocol is a great read for grown-ups as well! Fun to consider who would play the main characters in film form. In the meantime, this book starts with action, and it keeps going forward. Great personal reflection pieces throughout, and the twists keep coming. Girl power, and so exciting that additional volumes of the series are already in the making! Looking forward to more.