Book Review - Embassy Row series by Ally Carter
Ally Carter has been one of my favorite authors ever since I picked up the Gallagher Girls series in middle school. She has such a way with writing YA spy fiction thrillers that I swear she's a genius. The Embassy Row series is her newest full-on series that's come out, and I think it's my favorite one to date.
The third and final book came out back at the very end of 2016, and even though I've been dying to read it, I just got my copy like three weeks ago. I love hardcovers versus trade paperbacks, but they're so expensive! So, I almost always wait to get them until a year or more later when the hardbacks start popping up at used bookstores or stores on Abebooks.com (the best used book website ever!!!). I got my copy for like... $3.50, and that included the shipping. So, Abebooks it is.
This trilogy is about a girl named Grace who has a bit of a troubled background, and because of it, she's just moved back to Adria, where her grandfather is an ambassador. I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say trouble seems to follow Grace wherever she goes - or perhaps, she makes trouble everywhere she goes. She makes some new friends, there's the cute Russian boy next door, and so much fun with secrets being revealed.
The best part about these books is definitely the pacing. Some series you read feel like one book isn't a complete story and you almost feel cheated. That's not the case with Embassy Row at all. Each book has it's connecting plots, of course, but there is also an individual chapter with each one too. That way - even though there's cliffhanger endings - the book still feels complete. The main plot still feels resolved. You finish reading wanting to read the next one, but also not feeling cheated or ripped off.
Take the Key and Lock Her Up picked up right where See How They Run left off. I was right back with Grace who had just discovered the truth the books had been alluding to up to that point. And it took off from there like crazy. I had trouble putting it down honestly. I'd was taking a 15 minute break from my own writing to read a chapter, and then 30-45 minutes went by because I was sooooo invested in finding out what happened! Then I realized I was halfway done with the book, so I went to a comfy spot and finished it.
Worth it.
I don't want to say too much to spoil the series, but it was so good. Grace is a character that I feel a lot of people can relate to. Most of us aren't living in foreign countries after our mother's murder, but we all have that little bit of darkness and angst that really was brought to life with this series.
I loved this series. I can't wait to pick up Ally's newest standalone novel Not if I Save You First. I hope I don't end up waiting almost two years to pick it up, but we'll see! Overall, this book and this series was incredible. Read it!!
And until you do, write on!
Amy
P.S. My current NaNoWriMo word count is 8,916 words. Progress!
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