Review: Secrets of a First Daughter by Cassidy Calloway

Secrets of a First Daughter by Cassidy Calloway

Morgan is a National Disaster.

Morgan Abbott couldn’t be happier. Super-cute Max has quit her Secret Service detail to be her (secret) boyfriend, and the annoying Brittany Whittaker has been ousted from class president, leaving the post open for Morgan! Life is pretty sweet.

Now Morgan just has to tackle college applications—but she has so much else to juggle that looking that far ahead seems impossible! Good thing she’s graceful under pressure . . . well, sometimes.

A trip to London should be just the thing to take her mind off all the craziness, but true to form, chaos follows Morgan wherever she goes—and the trip turns into an international disaster. Can she make it right? Or will she cause a royal mess?

Review:

The First Daughter series is one of my favorites for when I'm looking for a light and entertaining read with heart. After devouring Confessions of a First Daughter in one sitting I was anxious for the sequel to be released. I finally got around to reading it all these months later and I can say one thing- I was not disappointed! Cassidy Calloway upped the excitement levels by taking things internationally and the romance was an even more important aspect of this novel. Morgan's character developed a lot more and I was able to finish this one in a couple of hours.

To continue on the subject of Morgan, she is an extremely likable and real character. Considering she is the President's daughter, you may think Morgan Abbott would be living a perfect, organized life. But you would be wrong. Morgan is happy at the moment, even though she has a lot of stress with college applications and the SATs. She is finally with the boy she loves- Max- and her nemesis Brittany has been forced to relinquish her spot as class president. But just before Morgan's mother announces that they are going to be taking a trip to London, everything starts to fall apart. Blackmail, creepy guys, secrets, and more combine to make this an intriguing and exciting read. I was cheering Morgan on from the start and always wanted the best for her. She certainly is someone I would like to befriend in real life.

There is more expansion on a few of the other characters in Secrets of a First Daughter, including the introduction of a few new ones. Brittany, Hannah, Rich, and Max are back and each of them has a key role in this story. Hannah is an excellent best friend for Morgan and I loved reading about their adventures in London and each of their romances. George, Morgan's new (female) Secret Service agent also had a large role in this story. At first I wasn't sure about George, but the more I read about her the more I liked her.

London is one of my favorite cities in the world and I adored seeing all of the sights and destinations through Morgan's eyes. She met some interesting people and had some wild experiences while there. Morgan's antics often bring a smile to my face and her time in London was no exception.

A lot of new plot developments occurred in Secrets of a First Daughter and Morgan had to deal with some difficult things. Luckily, she had Hannah and Max on her side and her mom as well. Max and Morgan's relationship is slow-moving and sweet and it makes it that much more believable.

Secrets of a First Daughter was a fun and engaging sequel to Confessions of a First Daughter and I'm eager to see if Ms. Calloway will write a third novel involving Morgan, Max, and the rest. This is the perfect book for anyone looking for a quick, entertaining read, but I do suggest picking up book one in the series first. All in all, I enjoyed this a lot and felt this was the perfect sequel to Confessions of a First Daughter.

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

September 1, 2010/HarperTeen/208 Pages/Young Adult/Book Two

Source: Purchased

Other books in this series: Confessions of a First Daughter

Confessions of a First Daughter Review

Confessions of a First Daughter by Cassidy Calloway

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release date: September 1, 2009

Source: Bought

Other books in the series: Secrets of a First Daughter

Morgan is so over being first daughter.

Morgan Abbott has no social life and no privacy, and her one major talent is screwing things up. Unfortunately for Morgan, every mistake makes front page headlines—because her mom is the president of the United States. To top it all off, she's been assigned a brainiac secret service agent who's barely older than she is and won't let her out of his sight (never mind that he's kind of cute). Torture!

But when her mom has to slip away on secret business and needs a decoy to cover for her, Morgan is the only one who can help. With a bit of makeup, a little ingenuity, and a lot of family resemblance, Morgan soon has everyone calling her "Madam President." Can she pull it off? Or will she mess everything up . . . again?

Review:

Confessions of a First Daughter was a cute, light read. I finished it the same day I started it, and enjoyed it all the way through. I haven’t read any books about President’s daughters before (I have seen a bunch of movies) so I really liked this one. Morgan was not the stuck up, bratty person you might think the President’s daughter would be like, no that role went to someone else. Brittney was your typical snotty, popular girl who tried to make Morgan’s life miserable, I was really glad karma got her in the end. I think the plot of Confessions of a First Daughter was really unique; the fact that Morgan has to impersonate her mother is a really neat part of the book. In addition, I really liked Hannah (Morgan’s best friend) she was really cool and down to earth. On the other hand I hated Konner, Morgan’s boy friend. It really bothered me how he so obviously was only dating Morgan because she was the President’s daughter, but Morgan was too blind sided by his popularity that she didn’t see the truth.

Morgan’s security guard, Max, was another character I really liked. His mother’s homeless shelter really added a whole new dimension to the novel. Max and Morgan’s relationship was sweet and confusing, but I’m glad how it worked out. The ending was great, but there is going to be a sequel- Secrets of a First Daughter which I’m really eager to read. I hadn’t heard much about Confessions of a First Daughter, but I highly recommend it. A cute, light read that will leave you wanting a sequel, Cassidy Calloway is a great author I’m looking forward to reading more of her books in the future.

If you didn’t notice, the cover is red, white, and blue. The girl’s shoes are red, her dress white, and the title is in blue. I think the cover is adorable and is a great addition to anyone’s collection.

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars