Review: Model Undercover: Paris by Carina Axelsson

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Nancy Drew meets The Devil Wears Prada in the debut of this action-packed mystery series
Axelle Andersen wants nothing more than to be a teen-sleuth despite the influence of her pushy fashionista aunt,Venetia. So when top fashion designer Belle La Lune goes missing, and Aunt Venetia becomes a prime suspect, Axelle must go undercover as a model during Paris Fashion Week to uncover the truth behind Belle's disappearance and clear her aunt's name. She's thrust into a frenetic world of castings, photo shoots, and sequins, while struggling to fit in and track down clues. Can Axelle solve a kidnapping and survive the world of fashion?

MY TAKE:
I was only semi-sold at the start of the book, but I'm glad I finished the entire thing.

In Model Undercover: Paris, Axelle wants more than anything to be a detective. However, after getting too nosy and embarrassing her mother, her parents decide to send her to Paris to shadow her famous magazine editor aunt. Before long, she is thrust into the fashion world wherein she finds that things aren't always what they seem.

Even though I'm not really a fashionable person, I like watching shows like America's Next Top Model. Mostly it's for the pictures, but I enjoy seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff too. This book was sort of like that, but you learn a bit more, especially about what exactly it is that makes models say that their job isn't all that easy.

The mystery itself was interesting. There were plenty of red herrings along the way, and I was on the right path with some of the clues, though I only got the correct conclusion around the time that Axelle did.

This book would make a very good television series. Since the book is quite long, in order to fit all the important scenes, they may have to make one book into several episodes. I'm thinking it could either be a series on the younger Axelle, to be shown on the Disney Channel, or a slightly older Axelle and they could put it on CW.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky for the e-ARC. Publication date of Model Undercover: Paris is on July 1, 2014.

THE GOOD:

1. It's a fun read.
2. The mystery isn't so easy to solve.
3. You learn a lot about modeling.

THE BAD:

1. The book starts off a little weak. 

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

It was served with rice and vegetables, and for dessert, she'd made me my favorite - ile flottante: mountains of fluffy, sweetened egg whites floating in a bowl full of the palest, creamiest vanilla sauce. 

READ IT IF:

1. You like fashion.
2. You like mysteries.
3. You like Paris. 

RATING:


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