Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Scholastic
Date of publication: March 2018
Maddie thought she and Logan would be friends forever. But when your dad is a Secret Service agent and your best friend is the president's son, sometimes life has other plans. Before she knows it, Maddie's dad is dragging her to a cabin in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness.
No phone. No Internet. And not a single word from Logan.
Maddie tells herself it's okay. After all, she's the most popular girl for twenty miles in any direction. (She’s also the only girl for twenty miles in any direction.) She has wood to cut and weapons to bedazzle. Her life is full. Until Logan shows up six years later . . .
And Maddie wants to kill him.
Not If I Save You First is the latest YA stand alone from Ally Carter. I really appreciated the fact that this book is a stand alone. Sometimes it's nice to read a YA that will not continue on. I was satisfied with the ending and the direction the characters were headed. I don't need to see them anymore. In this story, Maddie used to be best friends with the President's son Logan. When a crisis at the White House goes horribly wrong, her father, a secret service agent, takes her to the middle of nowhere Alaska.
I really enjoyed this book. It was faced paced and really had me on the edge of my seat. The characters were interesting and I found myself invested in seeing if they would survive. Maddie was a great character. She had spent six years learning how to survive in the wilds of Alaska. Let's just say that if I ever found myself in Logan's situation, I would want Maddie next to me in the wild. Logan was not a wimpy guy by any stretch of the imagination, but he was really out of his element. It was kind of refreshing to see a guy have to rely on the girl for a change. I also loved reading about characters who aren't looking at their phones, laptops or talking about social media all the time. It was a welcome change of pace.
There are a couple of surprises thrown into the adventure. One of them, I didn't see coming. I'll let you discover them for yourself. I definitely recommend this YA. It's pretty clean so I would say it's safe for the younger YA crowd. I look forward to seeing what she comes out with next.
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher:Scholastic Press
Date of publication: December 2016
The princess is dead. Long live the princess.
Centuries ago, the royal family of Adria was killed…or so everyone thought.
Now Grace Blakely knows the truth: There was one survivor, and that survivor’s blood runs through her veins. This simple fact could cause a revolution—which is why some people will stop at nothing to keep it from coming to light.
There is only one way for Grace to save herself, save her family, and save the boy she loves. She must outmaneuver her foes, cut through the web of lies that has surrounded her for years, and go back to the source of all her troubles, despite the risk.
If she wins, she will inherit a throne.
And if she loses, she will inherit the fate of all the dead princesses who came before her
I was really looking forward to Take the Key and Lock Her Up, the final installment of the Embassy Row trilogy. I have to say, I was really disappointed in this one. It was just OK for me and not a great way to end the trilogy. I was surprised at who was behind it all and I liked the little mystery of the lost royal family. I also loved the little bit of justice that happens towards the finale.
In the end, I was really let down. There were a few reasons for this. First, not much happens in the book until the last third. The first two thirds of the book dragged. Second, Grace whined and was such a "gloomy Gus" throughout this entire book. Honestly, I was tired of her making herself into a martyr. I felt like she just kind of gave up and lost her backbone. She just wasn't the same character I had come to like from the previous books. Finally, I'm not sure I really got why the society made the decisions that it did. Honestly, it kind of didn't make much sense to me.
The ending left me wanting more of an ending. I mean some things were wrapped up nicely. At the same time, I kind of felt like I was left hanging a little. As a whole, I will recommend this series. But just don't expect an amazing ending.
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Date of publication: January 2015
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.
In All Fall Down, Grace has returned to Embassy Row to live with her grandfather while her father is deployed. He is an ambassador which means she will be living in the American Embassy. For Grace, the return is bitter sweet as it holds constant reminders of her late mother. She is convinced her mother was murdered by a scarred man and that it wasn't an accident. When she sees him at an embassy ball, she decides to try to figure out what really happened.
I was surprised at how much I enjoy All Fall Down. I thought it was a really good mystery that totally kept me guessing. In fact, I will admit to thinking that Grace really was crazy a time or two during during the story. I totally didn't call the end. Which was a kind of cliffhanger, by the way and one that is making me want the next book, like now!
While I liked Grace's character, she could be a little angsty at times. Besides Grace, there are some other great characters in the book. Noah was adorably nerdy. Megan was kind of scary in a kick-ass secret spy kind of way. And Alexi looked to be a possible love interest in the future. This is definitely a series that I will continue with and one I would recommend to anyone over the age of 13.
