Mini-Reviews: Invasion of the Sequels

Love Match (The Academy #2), by Monica Seles
Publication: February 25, 2014, by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 224
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Rating: 

Getting into The Academy is the easy part. Staying there takes more than just talent. After being betrayed by her rival and her boyfriend, Maya knows she needs to shrug off the drama and focus on her game. And after a strong showing in the semi-finals at a tennis competition, Maya seems pretty focused. Until that competition brings a new round of gossip, a modeling gig, and renewed feelings for . . . her ex?
And Maya’s not the only one with drama. Cleo just won her first big golf tournament, but the blogs are bashing her alternative style. Renee is smitten with the school’s newest soccer star, Diego. And the Reed brothers are being pitted against each other by their father, their love for Maya, and the press.

My Thoughts:

I guess that this is the perfect chick-lit, full-of-endless-drama for the past twelve-year-old me. I know it would have been. Don't get me wrong, this was a good book, it's just not everything I was looking for. After reading, Love Match seemed to be a book that I just read because A. I had to and B. It was for pleasure and I read the first book in The Academy series. Seles is an okay author who would've done better if she focused on more sports, less publicity and drama for the characters in the school.

This is like the most cliché sequel you can possibly think about. So from what I can remember from reading the first book a few years ago after it was released, it ended with something that broke the hearts of little girls, which I promise I won’t spoil. It’s kind of a book that you’ll spend wishing to be mended and to be perfect by the end. You want that closed ending from the duo logy (which I’m pretty sure this is). I hated the way it ended and it didn’t actually satisfy me as that perfect contemporary romance. It was all catty and bratty in a way. *sighs*

“So many sense memories filled her from their brief relationship, it was like they were transported back in time. They weren’t in the press box of a football stadium. They were on the couch in his place, the first time they’d kissed.” (145)

You see that cheesy romance stuff? Don’t we all want depth and real love? This seems like a Bachelor romance that’ll end in a few months, max. I always love relationships in books where I imagine the characters in love forever, you know?

It’s a book that you just want to scream “meh” at. Maya’s character was okay and still the same as I expected her to be. At least, she had a cute posse of friends who were always by her side.

Monica Seles has granted readers something that's no, not brilliantly written or unique in its own way. It's something that very few people will see perfection in, but it wasn't horrible for me to put it down or anything like that. It's more like one of those books you'll start before bed and finish before your eyes begin to sag. That's just my view on it.

                                

Battle Angel (Immortal City #3), by Scott Speer

Publication: August 28, 2014, by Razorbill

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Angels

Pages: 314

Format: Paperback

Source: Borrowed

Rating: 

/DNF

With Maddy torn between two loves, Guardian Jackson and heroic pilot Tom, and Angels and humans on the brink of an epic war, the Immortal City is more vulnerable than ever. And when demons descend upon Angel City with the intent to destroy, the humans don't stand a fighting chance without the Angels on their side. 
Will Jacks find the strength and forgiveness to enter the fray and fight the demons as a stronger-than-ever Battle Angel? Or has the damage been so great that the Guardians will set off for the next place, abandoning Angel City in its darkest hour?
It all comes down to love-wrecked half-Angel Maddy and the strength of her bond with Jackson in this game-changing, thrice-as-sultry series finale that blends beautiful themes of redemption and renewal with heart-pounding action scenes and jaw-dropping twists.

My Thoughts:

 DNF @ 100 pages

Hell no. I just can’t read this book. It’s most likely because my taste in books have changed and I’m so against paranormal-romances. There are only the few books that feature angels which I’m able to read, but I won’t take anything that doesn’t look very appeasing to me. Battle Angel was horrible. 

I just can’t take books that deal with those cheesy stories of the apocalypse and our “kick-butt” main character fighting the stupid demons that are coming out of the sewers. This is just a continuation of the trilogy that seriously isn’t needed, by the way. I just kept getting bored and it’s not that kind of read for me. And here I am, being the black sheep again where everyone is enjoying it excluding me. But I don’t care, because I knew that I wouldn’t enjoy it anyways. I actually was just curious to see how the series would end, because I liked it in the start, way back then.

Brace yourself for: awkward moments, slow pacing, boring stuff, unexplainable careless deaths for the characters, a not-so kick-ass main character, and a stuck-up angel who thinks he’s so hot. It’s a worse repetition of the first two novels bonded together. Definitely not for me. I want to seriously forget about it, hah.

I can’t even bear to write this review because I feel like throwing my library copy of this out of the window. It’s a boring, weird book that’s just not for me. At the moment, I don’t even care what the ending was. I’ll just find some spoiler review and read about it, but I’m already pretty sure that it’s super predictable, just like I expected it to be. Go for this at your own risk, but I bet that it won’t be for everyone. 

JOKES.

Do you find yourself getting second-book syndrome quite often? What series has given you that?

Stacking the Shelves #49: August 30

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we share our newest hauls!

This Week's Headlines:

HEY Y'ALL! I'm back from Florida! If you saw my post, I guess you'll be able to tell that I had a fantastic time. Everything went smoothly, and although I had to go on a mini-hiatus, I'm back and ready to start obsessing over new reads again! I did read a lot though over there and I'm super excited to show you all my new haul below!

School starts in a little over a week, and I'm a little overwhelmed but happy as well. I miss my friends and actual learning, if that sounds weird. I'm about to start reading Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and am SO happy for that, hah.

How are you people? How was your week? What are you reading? What are your newest reads?

My Book Haul:

So this is a mix of books I received for review, from Canada and from THE BARNES AND NOBLE in Florida. 

Instructions for the End of the World by Jamie Kain: Thanks a million to St. Martin's Press for this beauty! It looks fabulous and I'm really anticipating some wilderness gorgeous concept like this!

The Escape by Hannah Jayne: So I received an eARC of this but it looked so good that I decided I needed it so bad in physical!

The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski: Romance? Hurricane destruction? I love these wonderful things that interest me!

Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton: FINALLY, IT'S MINE! I HAVE WANTED THIS BALLET-DRAMA READ FOREVER AND I HAVE A COPY! *cries*

The Cellar by Natasha Preston: I really enjoyed Preston's Awake, and this book sounds like it has a great concept again!

Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes: Mmmmm! I don't even have to say anything! YESSSS!

Posts You May Have Missed:  

• The Heiresses by Sara Shephard // Completely Fabulous With That Extra Dose of Mystery
• Something True by Kieran Scott // A Captivating Finale to Scott's Mythologic Trilogy
• Waiting on Wednesday #11: What's Broken Between Us by Alexis Bass
• All Fall Down by Ally Carter // Not My Type of Read
• Mini-Review: The Secrets of Attraction by Robin Constantine

How was your week? Any new additions?

The Heiresses by Sara Shepard // Completely Fabulous With That Extra Dose of Mystery

The Heiresses, by Sara Shepard
Publication: May 20, 2014, by Harper
Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Source: Gifted
Rating: 

You know the Saybrooks. Everyone does. Perhaps you’ve read a profile of them in People or have seen their pictures in the society pages of Vogue. Perhaps while walking along that choice block on Fifth Avenue, you’ve been tempted to enter the ornate limestone building with their family name etched into the pediment above the door.
The only thing more flawless than a Saybrook’s diamond solitaire is the family behind the jewelry empire. Beauties, entrepreneurs, debutantes, and style mavens, they are the epitome of New York City’s high society. But being a Saybrook comes at a price—they are heirs not only to a dizzying fortune but also to a decades-old family curse.
Tragedy strikes the prominent family yet again when thirty-four-year-old Poppy, the most exquisite Saybrook of them all, flings herself from the window of her TriBeCa office. Everyone is shocked that a woman who had it all would end her own life. Then her cousins receive an ominous threat: one heiress down, four to go.
Was it suicide... or murder? In the aftermath of the tragedy, the remaining heiresses—Corinne, the perfectionist; Rowan, the workaholic; Aster, the hedonist; and Natasha, the enigma—wrestle with feelings of sadness, guilt, and, most of all, fear. Now they must uncover the truth about their family before they lose the only thing money can’t buy: their lives.
The Heiresses is a whip-smart mystery that simmers with the wicked sense of humor and intrigue that made Sara Shepard’s number one New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series a must-read, must-watch phenomenon.

My Thoughts:

The most obvious thing we see from Sara Shepard’s writing is that she’s obsessed with using a mystery concept to change the lives of young women. And here, in her—third?—adult novel, she enlightens her over-used plot and concept with a bunch of heiresses. At least, that’s what it seemed to be like even before I picked this book up. Seeing the catastrophic reviews kind of left me afraid, to be quite honest.

The Heiresses was a great read. I REALLY ENJOYED IT, YOU HATERS! Despite its awful, slow-paced start, Shepard has enlightened me with her brilliant writing, as always. Screw the fact that this is an adult novel, because it works for my liking, and my opinion’s very happy with the impact the whole novel has given me. And plus, it has such a gorgeous cover that I can’t get my eyes off of. I’m very glad to have my own copy in my shelves.

“And be careful what you wish for, because if you were a Saybrook, you’d be haunted by secrets as deep as a mine and plagued by a streak of luck just as dark. You’d have to go to a hell of a lot of funerals too. Larger-than-life though the family might be, they also have to contend with a lot of death.” (1)

Hell yes you do. This a mix between contemporary (well it certainly is) and mystery, where a family curse is basically hitting the Saybrooks, the richest and most well-known family in New York. There are five heiresses who the title speaks of: Poppy, Natasha, Corrine, Aster and Rowan. They’re all cousins and related to each other somehow with the same well-known last name. When tragedy strikes and Poppy ‘jumps out of the window’ of her office building, the news channels state that it’s a suicide, but the four remaining heiresses know that it’s too good to be true, and a note is then left afterwards: One heiress down, four to go. 

That’s what happens. Before reading, I never really had a broad understanding of what Shepard was planning of this new adult novel to be. I was initially hoping that it wouldn’t be a series like Pretty Little Liars, which it definitely isn’t. It’s full of suspense and a mystery that of course, affects the fate of people who haven’t done anything wrong and are continuously being envied of. 

As authors must do when writing a novel, they have to create characters who are wide open and ready to solve their own issues. The four remaining girls did do this. Once Poppy was killed in some kind of murder, they knew that they had to protect themselves from the killer who’s out there, watching them, and solve this mystery once and for all. Rowan, Aster, Corrine and Natasha were all kick-ass, giving a bright light to readers as great characters. I mean, they all weren’t fantastic, but my favourites were Aster and Rowan. They had more of an interesting life, filled with an endless amount of drama that the news channels would go nuts over, really.

It’s not like Shepard intended to create characters who firmly believed that they were the next Nancy Drew. She didn’t. Yeah, she did create tons and tons of characters which I first had an issue with, trying to remember who was who and what role they played in the mystery. In the first part of the book alone, everyone was introduced and I was going nuts, trying to figure out who’s perspective it was. But that’s nothing new with Shepard’s writing. Every novel/series she writes, the more characters are introduced and I feel like dunking my head in a huge pool of confusion.

“It felt as if anyone could be after them. Anyone could be watching. Any one of them could be next.” (223)

When I first started reading, I was sure that I would DNF this book. It started off horribly. I kept thinking about my personal rating in my head, thinking that I’d drop the book at 150 pages. But slowly and gradually, Shepard began to impress me and more of the story began to include better, interesting details of the girls’ lives. The mystery unfolded and things got pretty crazy. I ended up adoring it, woo. Thank goodness I didn't DNF it. I would've missed out on so much awesomeness, especially towards the end! The book gods allowed me to keep seeing and enjoying it!

Around the last fifty pages, hell broke loose, literally. The ending came to a close and we discovered the motive and truth behind the whole case. Envy’s such a disgusting thing is my only hint for you. Everybody in this world just wants to get more and more rich is what the four heiresses seriously picked up after some life-shattering moments, I’ll tell you that. Shepard then helps readers get in the spirit of the ending, a year later when yet another catastrophe occurs, and I sat there with a shocked expression. That tells you to pay attention to the appearances of characters. *smirks*

All in all, The Heiresses left me quite impressed. I normally don’t read adult books, but when I do, I’m either impressed or disappointed, nothing in-between. I’m so glad to have continued to give this one a chance because I adored it afterwards. And you’ll learn some things about the Saybrooks as well: You know them, you may know some family, but you can’t ever know them too well, that’s for sure. Take the chance to get to know this book and keep your patience, because it all turns out nasty (in a good way) and fabulous by the end. Paris Hilton would approve of this.

Are you a fan of chick-lit mixed with mystery? Girls who party and then lead themselves into a horrible situation? (If you are, then this is for you.)

Something True by Kieran Scott // A Captivating Finale to Scott's Mythologic Trilogy

Something True (True Love #3), by Kieran Scott
Publication: February 3, 2015, by Simon and Schuster BFYR
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Mythology, Fantasy
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Rating: ½

Will the love of her life distract True from reuniting with…the love of her life? Find out in the third book in Kieran Scott’s delightful series that blends ancient mythology with contemporary romance.
True Olympia is in the home stretch. After being banished to Earth without her powers as punishment for falling in love with a mortal, True was tasked with matching three couples before she could return home. Now, with two couples fully in love, she is ready for her time in New Jersey to come to an end.
But as easy as it should be to match one more couple, things are complicated by her immortal love Orion (who also appeared on Earth, just without the memory of their love). He’s dating another girl, but can’t seem to avoid spending time with True. Something about her finally seems familiar to him. But if True wants to get back with Orion for real, she needs to focus. Just one more couple, one more couple... 

My Thoughts:

Finales in a trilogy or series are always difficult to handle for me. THEY’RE SAD, OKAY? I’ve been anticipating Kieran Scott’s finale to her True Love trilogy since the start and I’ve totally been wanting to discover what will happen to True and if her relationship with Orion would be revived to what it once was. Thankfully, this was a great ending and I’m so glad that it ended the way it was. Now my collection is complete and I’m done with yet another series that made me smile. I love Greek mythology now! 

Now that we’re all done here, I’d definitely love to talk about what my overall thoughts of the series was. I guess that it all went from best to worst, not that this book is horrible or anything close to that. It started off with a five star rating, being beautiful and unique, but the series had gotten a little less awesome. But whatever, it was totally enjoyable throughout! Scott’s writing is as riveting as I always found it to be, from the start of the series to the end, or through any of her other books. I just can’t wait to see what else she has in store for readers in the future!

“Tears sprang to my eyes. Tears of relief, of joy, of sheer ecstasy. I clung to him and kissed him back with everything I had. I’d waited for this moment for what felt like an eternity. Ever since I’d been torn away from him back at the palace, and even more since the day he’d been sent to Earth and hadn’t known me.” (156)

Awh. So we all know that True had to bring three couples together in order to have her mission succeeded, basically. As she had completed two in the past novels, she has one more left, and that can definitely be her and Orion, right? Now her enemy’s in town and things are getting weird, but she still has Orion to wish about… that their relationship can go back to the neutral position.

I guess that the question that everyone is asking us is: Will they get back together and can True get back to Mount Olympus before time runs out? I obviously won’t spoil that for you (it spoils the whole series, gods), but I love the concept. Scott’s take on Greek mythology is wonderful, just wonderful. It seems like she has put so much research on her hands to make it perfect and unique, just to the right point. I kept second guessing everything and the captivation was real. Suspense is the author’s middle name.

“Just knowing my bow was with me was a tremendous boost. Holding it had made me feel myself again. And when I was Eros, Goddess of Love, nothing could stop me.” (214)

Kieran is a remarkable writer. Her books always go into some kind of depth and are paced perfectly. They’re rarely lacking something major, and I just want a huge collection of her works to indulge in and fall in love with. She’s the master of romance. The kissing scenes are always something that make my heart skip a few beats, just saying. *winks*

Something minor that was missing for me was a nice continuation of Orion’s character. I would’ve liked to find out more about him. He spent most of his time not remembering anything and just playing the role of a normal teenage boy, which he certainly wasn’t. I wish that we could’ve heard some of his background history and about some of the things that he and True had done together on Mount Olympus. Hmmph. But they had a cute romance and I shipped them together.

Kieran added some depth into some other characters who we only knew a little about, like Darla and Wallace. And guess what? They fell in love with each other as well. *rolls eyes* The take on popularity and the issues of high school was not-so-perfect and I had a few issues with it but it didn’t impact my rating too, too much anyway. 

I'm obsessed with this trilogy. I guess that it's even got me to believe in love at first sight and true love as well. You'll be superbly impressed from the start and see how intriguing the writing is. It's fluffy, cute and full of names that you probably won't be able to pronounce until after some practice but hey... it all works out fabulously because you like it no matter what. At least, that's how I feel with everything by the author. It's surely one of the most memorable series-finishers, that's for sure. Everyone can fall in love!

Do you, wonderful reader, think that you are able to make people fall in love? Or people who are in 'different social circles?'

The Very Important Life Recap Post #1: My Two-Week Forsaken Blog

Hey, y’all! Now take a look at who’s back in the blogosphere! Yes, it’s me. You must be crying because now my blabbermouth self will be here for ages and ages to come. Yeah, I thought so. *winks*

You may be asking: Where the heck have you been, missy? Why haven’t you been commenting on any blogs? Why haven’t you been discussing anything, posting your haul or Waiting on Wednesday? I have a straight, full in-depth answer for your endless amount of annoying questions that surround your head. It’s only one sentence, four words. You ready to hear it? I was on vacation. Yep. 

And this particular Florida-bound trip did eventually lead me to a blogging hiatus, including social media. I hadn’t seen it coming, but it sure did step in after a few days. I’m pretty sure I only wrote one review while I was in South Florida, relaxing in the bright, steaming sun (literally I figured that I’d come back to Canada as a lobster), and that was kind of overwhelming. I barely touched my Twitter and Instagram, just briefly checking a few things but that’s pretty much it. Meh.

I apologize. I find myself apologizing a ton for things I’m not able to accomplish on this blog for time’s sake, but I sincerely mean it, always. Hah. I spent a little over two weeks there, rummaging back and forth between beaches, theme parks and shopping malls. And of course, THE BARNES AND NOBLE. I’m sorry Americans, I get a little too excited when I get to see your famous bookstore in reality.

So you may be wondering if I headed over to THE Walt Disney World. I did, on one occasion. From where my family and I stayed, Orlando was about 3 hours away, so we only went once, because y’know, it’s a 6 hour trip back and forth all together. And we went to Downtown Disney, the awesome shopping area with all things Disney, as well as Cirque du Soleil, specifically the show they have there, La Nouba! It was fantastic, too bad we’re not allowed to take photos or videos! 

The day we went was MY FIFTEENTH BIRTHDAY. I’m so old, I know. I honestly am beginning to feel like a blogging veteran. It was August 14th, in case any of you were wondering. It was a fabulous day.

Want some photos of the beach? It’s seriously stunning, I know. It’s Marco Island, in southwestern FL. My favourite place to be in the whole world. 

OOO and don’t y’all want to hear about the wonderful books I read on my trip? I didn’t finish everything I brought with me, but here are the ones I did read with the rating I gave them:

-In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware (ARC) 5 stars

-The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle (ARC) 4.5 stars

-Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson 5 stars

-Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple 3.5 stars

-Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid 3.5 stars

-Perfect Couple by Jennifer Echols 4.5 stars

-Finding Paris by Joy Preble 4 stars

-Shut Out by Kody Keplinger 5 stars

-Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes 3.5 stars

-Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot 5 stars

-The Bees by Laline Paull 3 stars

-Reaching Through Time: Three Novellas by Lurlene McDaniel 3.5 stars

-Sway by Kat Spears 4 stars

-Free to Fall by Lauren Miller 4 stars

That’s a whopping 14 books, basically one for everyday!

Want to see some photos of my trip? Look right here, below!

Virginia, as we drove 22 hours to FL!

I was literally in tears when I saw this sign, it's so difficult to catch a photo!

Oreo Dream and Original Cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory!

I still feel like a kid every time I see this sign!

I'm off to school again in two weeks! How is everyone's summer if you're still stuck at home or on vacation? For those who go to school, when are you going?

Waiting on Wednesday #11: What's Broken Between Us by Alexis Bass

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine about books
highly anticipated for a reader.

What's Broken Between Us, by Alexis Bass
Publication: December 29, 2015, by HarperCollins
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 241
Format: Hardcover

Alexis Bass’s heartbreakingly beautiful second novel is a tale of love, loss, and learning to forgive.
Look to the left, look to the right. We’re all going to die. But someone has to do it first. So who’s it going to be?
Tragedy struck Amanda Tart’s town a year and a half ago when a sophomore girl was killed in a car accident on graduation night.Amanda’s brother, Jonathan, was behind the wheel and too drunk to drive. He’s spent the past year in prison and has cut off all ties. But now Jonathan is coming home. Just as Amanda’s trying to figure out what that means for her family and herself, she’s paired up for a school project with Henry Crane—a former crush, and brother of Jonathan’s ex-girlfriend, who survived the crash with horrible injuries.
Everyone is still incredibly damaged by the events of that night. Can Amanda and Henry finally begin to heal what’s broken and find some peace?

I really, really, really enjoyed Alexis Bass' first contemporary novel and I'm sure that this will be my one and only true love in December. I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY LIKE YOU, WBBU!

What are you anticipating the most this week? 

All Fall Down by Ally Carter // Not My Type of Read

All Fall Down (Embassy Row #1), by Ally Carter
Publication: January 20, 2015, by Scholastic Press
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

A new series of global proportions -- from master of intrigue, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter.
Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:
1. She is not crazy.2. Her mother was murdered.3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.
As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her -- so there's no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keeping his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.
Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can't control Grace -- no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do. Her past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn't stop it, Grace isn't the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.

My Thoughts:

Ally Carter's novels have been in my life since the start of my bookish obsession. I adored the start of her Gallagher Girls series, but then never ended up finishing it after getting bored in the fourth book. Meh. All Fall Down is a read that everyone seems to be chatting about and the buzz is real. How could I not want to be part of this hype? 

I expected a spy book. It was part-mystery (ish), part-contemporary with a girl who has gone through so many traumas and catastrophes in her life that she's completely depressed. Her mother's death hits her so hard, as it definitely would, and she can't let go of the fact that she's gone. The Embassy Row is in power and she's part of it. It's not like she fights crime and kicks butt as we all expected from Ally Carter's other novels from the past. This is more of a novel about finding yourself and what life has to give to you—what's your role. That kind of thing. It's definitely nothing close to being a favourite for me, that's for sure.

"I stand there for a long time, looking at the empty alley, and thinking about that little girl who was certain she had seen her mother come this way. Not for the first time I have to wonder where my mother went and why I couldn't follow." 

So, I wouldn't pick this book up if it wasn't for the hype. But then again, there are so many Ally Carter fans out there who can't stop wishing for another Gallagher Girls book, so I guess that kind of played into this? And now I discovered that it's going to be a series and I definitely threw my hands in the air and pushed the futuristic book out of my hands. No way am I going to read that or anything by this author again. It's just not for me. Maybe it's for you, spy lover extraordinaire. I'm just not a big fan of itsy-bity teeny weeny teenagers trying to be cool and rule the world like the FBI. Nah, not for my liking.

The prime advantage and positive point which Carter handed me, specifically me as a reader, was Grace's character. I did like her, and maybe it's because of her and the fact that this isn't a long read are the reasons why I never ended up putting it down. Grace is cool, badass and always is right when she states something. She knows what she's doing and how to go with the flow at the worst times. She did have a traumatic memory of that past, but that didn't stop her from fighting for her mom and showing all the losers in the Embassy Row who is right. Young Adult Fiction needs more characters like her, that's for sure.

I was exhausted when I finished reading, and possibly scarred for life. I still have the scar on my brain, y'know. It was plain boring and just out of interest for me. But the cool concept was THE EMBASSY ROW, you know the streets of embassies of different countries? Grace compares the Row to be like a domino effect and walking into different countries, which is super interesting. I do like the way that was written but it didn't play a huge effect onto the book except for the fact that it was the setting. Grace met tons and tons of people of different cultures, (which added lots of diversity of course) and it all played a role into how strong she became by the end. AND THEN WE HAVE NOAH, WHO IS A BABE.

What if some hot guy came up to you and told you he's your best friend? I'd love that. 

And then they become friends right away (which is unique in a novel) and I grin like a maniac. Thankfully, no one was watching me while I was reading or I'd be classified as a fool. But sadly that wasn't the romance which Carter had readied up for readers. It was supposed to be between Grace and Alexei, which I found strange. I mean, Alexei was so stalker-ish and I DIDN'T like his character, which kind of toughened things up. I wonder if something will increase in the following sequel, which won't be coming onto my TBR list, that's for sure. Their relationship did have some pluses, which I didn't catch to share.

Meh. Things didn't go as well as I hoped, but I guess that reading this book is all about what you're usually into. I'm not a fan of those different-contemporary worlds where something that's impossible is possible fit into modern society. No, this surely wasn't dystopian fiction, but it wasn't as contemporary as you'd expect it to be because of the evolution of technology shown. Carter's awesome at world-building, but sometimes it just doesn't fit into the book and doesn't go. It's like trying to solve a puzzle when you're missing a piece—that's my experience of reading this book. All Fall Down has a hideous character, a love interest that's supposed to go the other way around, an awesome protagonist and a trihard-unique plot when it sounds the same like her past works. That's all. 

What is a genre that no matter how hard you try to enjoy just doesn't work out for you? That used to be high fantasy for me, (which I adore now) but government-spy stuff is mine now.