Hi guys! Happy Monday! Today I’m reposting a blog from last summer to finish off the Embassy Row trilogy: Take the Key and Lock Her Up by Ally Carter.

March 8, 2015

Hello, I’m here with another book from my Goodreads challenge. This time it’s a trilogy. I didn’t realize this was a series until I started reading it, ha! I don’t know if I’ll continue reading it, I didn’t find it that great. Everything about it was boring. I probably will read whatever is to come next to find out what happens and review either the greatness (which I doubt) or the horribleness that is to come.

April 3, 2017
I really need to find a better way to upload trilogies/series. WordPress just doesn’t have any options that I like, I’m super picky, so re-uploading posts is how I’m doing it for now.

All Fall Down by: Ally Carter: The first novel in the Embassy Row series. We meet our main character Grace; she’s new to embassy row. She also gets herself into a lot of trouble. Her mother died three years ago and it’s the Scarred Man who killed her. She spends most of the novel trying to avenge her mother’s death by trying to get him; only this isn’t the first man with a scar that she’s gone after. The ending is a little shocking, but since the plot isn’t the best it doesn’t come as a surprise that there is this plot twist. The characters have been made to have details and feel rounded, but it’s too forced and so they’ve ended up being two-dimensional because the author tried too hard. The novel also just ends with the reader expecting more to come. Obviously there will be another novel, but the end just feels like it’s the end of a chapter, not a book. Overall, it’s a little dry, and lacking in original plot.

See How They Run by: Ally Carter: The second novel in the Embassy Row trilogy. Grace has been through a lot, and it shows in the way she acts, and the way people treat her. When her brother’s friend is murdered it becomes a hunt to figure out who did it, and why. This novel was set up well, but each chapter almost ended in a cliff hanger, which left the reader on this rollercoaster of a read. It wasn’t the best because it got boring quickly, and every time Carter introduced a new character it would be at the end of a chapter to make it feel like a surprise, which it didn’t need to be. Her characters were flat, there was nothing really memorable about them other than Grace loosing her mind. What the novel did well was with pacing; the chapters were set up short, but it worked because the plot just moved. Plots were filled with adventure, and that was enjoyable to read, even if some plots were predictable. This novel wasn’t a total bust, it had its good moments, as well as its bad.

Take The Key and Lock Her Up by: Ally Carter: Grace knows the truth about herself, and her family, now she must protect her family and friends by becoming the person she was meant to be all along. The last heir to Amelia lived and Grace knows who it is. With this power she can get what she wants to get, her life back. This novel was fast-paced and there was definitely a lot of action, but the writing felt light and fluffy, even though the subject matter was anything but. This novel felt weightless, like it was easy to read, but the mind wandered while reading; there was nothing to really hold the reader down. Sure it had action and a side of romance, but this novel just didn’t do enough. So many things were happening, and the author was trying to close up all her loose ties, but it just felt like too much had to be wrapped up. The novel had a good plot, it’s too bad that it wasn’t executed better. Characters were all right, there was nothing special about them; old characters didn’t really feel like they developed and new ones just felt generic and flat. This novel fell short in ending in a good way for this trilogy.