Book Review: Two Lies and a Spy

TITLE: Two Lies and a Spy
Book 1 in the new Two Lies and a Spy series
AUTHOR: Kat Carlton
PUBLISHED: September 2013
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Mystery
PREMISE: A girl's parents go missing and it's up to her and her friends to find them. Only they are spies who according to their government are traitors.
MY REVIEW: I'm a little conflicted about this one to be honest. I really like the IDEA of it. I get the feeling the author was going for a Gallagher Girls vibe and was hoping to snag those of us who were missing the series already (Bex! Macy! Come back to me!). However...it doesn't have the wonderful effortless feel that series does.
Sometimes there are these series that just feel like the author is trying too hard to be cool and edgy and that's what I get from this. Only instead of actually being cool and edgy, the book came off like a immature teenager trying too hard to fit in. There was much name dropping, there was teen-speak, etc. While there are some funny moments in it, the characters/dialogue aren't nearly as engaging as some other books (like say Percy Jackson for example).
I liked the concept. There is enough there with the parents where I may be reading the next one. But...it's a bit amateurish.
WHO SHOULD READ: Gallagher Girls fans (who don't mind a slightly lower quality book)
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five teen spies