All Fall Down (Embassy Row #1)

Rating: 3 Stars
Published: January 2015
Genre: Young Adult
Favorite Quote:

“In other words, I should save myself.  It’s the smart thing to do.  But the downside of spending most of your life having people tell you you’re acting stupid means that, eventually, you stop trying to do what is smart.”

Grace Blakely knows three things for certain. 1)She’s not crazy, 2)Her mother was murdered, and 3) She will find out who did this and make them pay.  When Grace has to move back to the U.S. Embassy of Adria to live with her grandfather, Grace is less than thrilled. Though, it’s better than being in an Insane Asylum.

I wasn’t going to buy this new Ally Carter novel.  I really wasn’t.  But then I was at Target and I saw one lone copy sitting on the shelf. Signed.  I couldn’t walk away, it somehow just ended up in my cart. Oops.

I read this in two days and I was captivated. I loved the mystery, Grace’s unreliable mind, her friends, the concept of Embassy Row, the tunnels, and the (emotional) pain.  It was a good read, for sure.

Ally knows how to write a compelling story.  One thing that bugs me a little bit about Ally’s romances is that nothing happens with them. Even for a YA novel, they’re awful tame and therefore slightly unbelievable.  And while I understand that her books are about so much more than the romance, if there’s going to be one at all, at least make it a little worth it.  I’d be perfected happy her books were just about awesome teenage girls, but they’re not since there’s characters like Zach, Hale, and now Alexei. I digress.

I loved that Noah wanted to be her best friend and that such a major character wasn’t her love interest. That made me really happy.  It’s nice to see an actual friendship between a boy and a girl and not one that would eventually turn into something more.  It was refreshing.

I can’t decide if I like the ending or not.  It’s certainly not what I was expecting but I really hated the cliffhanger– only because I was starting to lose a little interest and of course, that captivated me again.

One thing that kind of bugs me is the cover image.  She looks like a Barbie doll. That’s not how I pictured Grace at all.

I’m looking forward to the next novel, currently Untitled, arriving possibly in 2016. But I think I liked Heist Society better.  I know a lot of people like it better than her other novels but for me, it was just missing something.  Don’t let that deter you, it was still worth the read!