Review: See How They Run

* Book 2 in Embassy Row *

Grace's brother came to Embassy Row for a visiting, bringing along a school friend. Things get out of hand that night at a party when Spence kisses Grace.

Her brother's best friend and a boy Grace has grown close to, Alexei takes offense. Spence and Alexei get into a fight. Grace and Jamie break up the fight and head home. The next morning, Grace meets Alexei.

They come across a scene in the street, where a man washed up dead onto the shore. When they identify the body as Spence, Alexei becomes the main suspect.

Grace is sure he had nothing to do with it and vows to protect him. But there are bigger secrets here on Embassy Row - secrets someone wants to keep buried.

My Thoughts: I Loved this book - I tore through it, loving the twists and turns. I loved meeting Jamie and understanding more about his relationship with Grace. I felt bad about Spence, but I felt worse about Alexei and the treatment from his father. 

I liked learning more about the island's history and the caves. There was a National Treasure moment in there, which I loved. 

I love how Grace can count on her friends, even if they think she's making a terrible decision. She always has their support. 

I can't wait for the next book to see how this turns out! This is what the puppy and I thought of that cliff hanger ending - and we NEED the next book ASAP!

The puppy and I can't believe that's how SEE HOW THEY RUN ends!!!! #embassyrow #allyambassador

A photo posted by Jennifer Rummel (@yabooknerdlibrarian) on Jan 24, 2016 at 7:51am PST

Cover Thoughts: Love the city in the background
Source: My Library

Final Thoughts: Run and grab this book, it's amazingly good. 

Review: All Fall Down

Grace returns to the embassy of Adria where her grandfather is the ambassador and the ghost of her mother lingers around every corner.

Grace isn't happy to be here, but she's on a mission.  She watched her mother die and Grace was positive that she was murdered. No matter how many times she is told that her mother's death was an accident,  Grace knows the truth and she's determined to prove it.

When she spies the man responsible for her mother's death, she vows to get her revenge.

My Thoughts: A great start to a new series with everything you'd expect in an Ally Carter book: danger, action, friendship, loyalty, the truth, a little romance, and of course intrigue. 

I loved Grace - she's not always reliable but I would trust her. I love her determination and her drive. She's not about to let her mother's death go unpunished - not matter how many times people tell her it's an accident or how many times she has a panic attack over the situation. I love that she's strong enough to pull it together and make a stand.

Lots of Great secondary characters that kept me guessing about their true intentions throughout the book. I loved learning about Embassy Row and meeting Noah, Rosie, and Megan. I liked Grace's interactions with Lila - they added humor to the book. I liked the Grace and Alexei moments together. I even warmed to Ms. Chancellor - sort of.

I loved the layout of the city - the row of Embassies, but more importantly the tunnels beneath the city where there was the potential for danger around every corner. 

I loved the ending and can't wait to read more about Grace.


Cover Thoughts: Great
Source: ARC sent for Review

Final Overall Thought: Another brilliant heart pounding read from Ally Carter - add this one to you TBR pile immediately! 

Mini Review: Take the Key and Lock Her Up

 * Book 3 in the Embassy Row trilogy *

Secrets have a way of coming out. Now that Grace knows the truth about her lineage, she's on the run. She's worried about her injured brother. She's worried about her friends. Most of all, she's worried about her future.

And when she's worried, she comes up with a terrible idea for a plan...

Things I enjoyed:
All the plot twists and turns
Danger
Action
Secrets
Royalty
Friendship
Romance
Betrayal
Loyalty
Bravery
Determination

There's so much going on in this last book of the trilogy. I really did like Grace. She was determined to find the answers. Sure she made some bad choices (who doesn't). But she's strong and she's a survivor.

I can't wait to see what Ally Carter writes next!

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommend this series for all YA departments.

Top Ten Tuesday: Winter TBR pile

This week's topic is our top books in our Winter TBR pile. I'm stating winter as December -February. Here are my picks.

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

Teen:

Adult:

What are you hoping to read this winter?

Books I'm Dying to Read: December Edition

By now, the weather starts getting colder. The pellet stove comes on and I just want to read in front of it all winter. It's so warm. Plus I'm waiting for the first flakes of the year.  I'm also in the process of crafting a bunch for Christmas, so I don't get to read too much in December. But here's what I'm looking forward to reading.

Kids:

Showing Off: Book 3 in the Upside Down Magic series that's super cute!
Secret Life of Squirrels: The first book was tons of fun, can't wait to read this love story

YA:

Secret of a Heart Note: Matchmaking and love potions gone wrong
Take the Key and Lock Her Up: After the bombshell at the end of the last book, I"m anxious to read the end of the trilogy.
Everyday Magic: Curious about this sophomore book about Hollywood, fashion, and romance
Lock and Mori: After the ending of the first book, I'm so curious to see where this book leads and how the characters react.
Ever Hunted: This start if a fantasy sounds a little like Throne of Glass

Adult:

 
Dead Cold Brew: 16th book in this coffeehouse series has good news and of course - murder
Iced Under: A cold winter in Maine and a mysterious package procduing a long lost diamond necklace is the backdrop for the 5th book in this series.
Lady Claire is All That: The third book in the Canvendish series where the American attempt to fit in and for Claire, it's not that easy with her intelligence.

What books are you dying to read?

Top Ten Tuesday: Fall TBR List

This week's topic is one of my favorite - Biggest books in your TBR pile. And the season is fall. Fall for me is September thru November, but in the publishing world, they include December. So I will too. And there's no way I can limit myself to just 10. Also as usual, I'll separate them out by ages. And of course I'll be stalking everyone's lists, because one can never have too many books they want to read, right?

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish 

Kids:

Middle Grade:

Teen:

Adult: