[All Fall Down] 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.

***THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE***

Genre: Suspense, YA, Mystery

Author: Ally Carter

Content: Things get the tiniest bit violent at a few points.

Recommended for: Anyone who wants to have their soul brutally ripped apart, pureed, and then served back to them on a spoon.

Kidding.

(Mostly).

Fans of Ally Carter (le duh), suspense, fast pacing, geeky sidekicks and international intrigue. 

Memory: "I stare back and then something occurs to him. "Oh, you need me to turn around? Here. I'll turn around.""

Rating: Five. Freaking. Stars. 

     Overall:

     I am a big Ally Carter fan. I have been for almost three years now. She's one of those authors that I trust will always give me a good story. I don't have to spend time deciding if I want to buy her book when it comes out or not because it's been preordered since the option was available.

    So, going into this, I knew I would love it. 

    I just didn't know that I would love it this much. 

     Gosh, I don't even know where to start with this. There's so much I love about this book, honestly. I love love love the setting - Embassy Row is so fun to read about. I also love the way that Ally sets up the plot - I won't go into great detail because SPOILERS, but it's...

      Well.

       Remember what I said about plot twists galore? 

       They're in here. Trust me. 

        GAAAH. I really don't even know how to describe this book without spoiling the entire thing or being too vague. D: You know what? I'm going to be lazy and make a list. Because reasons. 

• GRACE. I love Grace. I love how it feels being in the mind of someone who cannot even trust herself - it makes you think twice about everything that you're told. 
• The fact that real-world relations between countries affects relationships between the Embassy Kids (does that sound like a band? I think it sounds like a band.) Particularly the Noah/Iran situation, and the whole relationship between Alexei and Grace. 
• The mystery. It was impossible to follow, but in a good way. The moment I started to feel like I knew where things were going, Ally gave out a new bit of information that completely changed everything I knew. And the end is explosive. Did not see that coming. 

     Speaking of the ending...you wanna know where, exactly, I finished this book?

     In Rooms-To-Go. 

     While one of the employees was helping my mom. 

     Just picture this, okay? I'm sitting on a couch (because why not), reading, blah blah blah...and then I'm maybe five pages from the end. I lower the book in horror. I squeak. I'm pretty sure I grow pale. I pull the book closer and read the last few pages and then just kind of...flop. 

     My grandma asks, "What's wrong? What happened to her?"

     Ally Carter, Grandma. Ally Carter happened. 

Characters:

     Obviously I am a sucker for characters. It's usually my favorite part of a book. 

     This is no exception. 

     And I'm resorting to lists again. Oops?

• Grace. Grace. GRACE. Grace is mean at times, maybe crazy, slow to trust, and a wreck, and she's one of the best protagonists I've ever read. Because on top of all of those other things, she's loyal, and she really does care, and she's heartbreaking. 
• N O AH . Easily one of my favorite parts of the book! Noah is a dork, really. He's part Israeli and part Brazilian, a footballer, and just an all around cool guy. The quote in the Memory section is actually from him - and it was the exact moment I realized he'd become a favorite. 
• Megan: I have mixed feelings about you, Megan. You kick butt. You are pretty darn cool. But I'm also, somehow, not sure you can be trusted? Hmm. 
• Rosie. AKA the most adorable 12-year-old girl to grace (ha. Grace.) YA history. Really, though. The first thing you hear her say is that she was going to be a gymnast but now she's too big, and that she likes to take tours of the Roman tunnels beneath the city. 
• Alexeiiiiiiii. You're a darling. And I eventually am going to need you and Grace together, 'kay? My ship must sail. I think, somehow, we're going to get a lot of his backstory - something probably very sad that will make everyone collectively aaaawwww and D: at the same time - next book. 
• Ms. Chancellor. This lady, okay? Imagine a combination of a female version of Uncle Eddie from Heist Society and Aunt Abby from Gallagher Girls, with a bit of Julie Andrews in The Princess Diaries thrown in. Then you have an almost-complete picture of Ms. Chancellor. Imagine. The. Sheer. Awesome. 

     TL;DR: I love this book. Please go buy a copy and read it and sob and laugh and fall in love with it.

      I need book 2. 

    

[January 2015 Wrap-Up]

     Hey guys!
     So, I've not posted in a couple of weeks, but I have been reading.
     I mean. It's not necessarily what was on my TBR list. But I've been reading. If you look on my Goodreads, you'll be able to see what I've been up to this month, literary-wise.
      And while it isn't the end of the month yet, I'm slowing down on reading (with the exception of two FABULOUS NEW RELEASES COMING OUT THIS WEEK) to make some headway in my writing (you can read about that here). So, here's what I've done this month:

      From My TBR List:
      Guys. This is really pathetic. I finished Maisie Dobbs, The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, and most of Only Yesterday. *blinks* Oops. Try again next month, I guess. xD

       Other:

• All three books in The Raven Cycle by the fabulous Maggie Stiefvater! I read The Scorpio Races right after Christmas and loved it. Also loved these. GANSEY. <3
• Perfect Scoundrels (Ally Carter). (And okay, this was a reread, sssshhh)
• The Impersonator/Silent Murders (Mary Miley). These were so much fun! You can read about her research and writing on her blog. I really enjoyed these two--mysteries set in 1924-1925? Heck yes. Gimme. 
• Don't Touch (Rachel M. Wilson). This was good. Not what I was expecting, but really good. 

And that's all I read this month. :3 However. There are two more books I can guarantee I'll read before January's up, and they are (you guessed it) All Fall Down and Fairest! I am so excited for these, guys. I might just explode.
     Till next book,

[Maisie Dobbs] Jacqueline Winspear

Finally catching up on my January reads! I'm closer to finishing Only Yesterday and half-way through The Girls at Kingfisher Club. Also, my Goodreads challenge isn't telling me I'm behind anymore. That was kind of annoying.

Maisie Dobbs (#1)

Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

Author: Jacqueline Winspear 

Content: Description of battle wounds, etc, in the trenches of WW1. A girl sneaks out of school to attend parties. "The Retreat" is slightly disturbing. Probably would be a mild PG13 if it were a movie.

Memory: Billy Beale being adorable. Simon Lynch and Maisie Dobbs saving lives in the middle of a war. "Assume nothing, Maisie."

Rating: 4 Stars.

Overall: 

     This book was a lot of fun. It took some getting into (I picked it up three or four times before sitting down and telling myself I was finishing it no matter what), but I really did like it. 

     Normally I'm not a fan of a few of the author's techniques--namely, the huge break from the current plot to give backstory--but I felt like it was done well. I think the story would've lost something if you didn't know Maisie's past.

     That being said, I adored the WW1 setting. I really don't read enough hisfic set during that era--I mean, my favorite season of Downton Abbey is season 2 for goodness' sake! I need to read more of this stuff!

     Maisie as a nurse was interesting. It brought out a side of her we hadn't got to see before. Although I will say, it was not fun meeting characters, falling in love with characters, and finding out BAD THINGS happen to them afterword. D:
     Also, the plot. I did not see the ending coming. At all. My idea for what the retreat was was way off. (That seems to be the case with me lately. D: Darn it. I'm not secretly Sherlock Holmes as I thought.)

     There were some things that were not-so-good, but they were small. Mostly character problems (which I'll discuss below). 

Mariesa screenshotted me finishing Maisie Dobbs. I may or may not have been squeaking angrily.
(This is what I get for videochatting while reading).

Characters:

     Ooooh boy. Here we go. I really did like this book.

My relationship with Simon Lynch,

But. 

     There were maybe three characters I really cared for the entire story. 

     I mean, I liked everyone okay (except Maisie's dad....he annoyed me), but they were just...there. I loved Maisie, even if she was a bit flat at times, and I adored Billy Beale (can there please be more of him in the next book??) And of course I LOVE Simon. 

But other than that, I can't really name a character that I was really rooting for on the sidelines, besides maybe Maurice Blanche. He was pretty cool.
Buy It?
     Maybe. If I found it at Chamblin's for a really good price.

     There are 12 books, I think, in this series.  Hopefully I'll get around to reading the rest of them soon? As always, if you've read this, feel free to talk about it in the comments!

[Jackaby] William Ritter and [Black Duck] Janet Taylor Lisle

Okay. These two books though. It's going to be hard to write normally while writing this.

I'm about 99% sure that I looked like this upon finishing both. :P

But really though. I just. 

They're both so good. 

And, oddly enough, both are historical fiction. Well, actually, Jackaby might not be historical...but it's still amazing. 

Anyways. Without further ado....

Jackaby

Genre: Supernatural, historical(ish).

Author: William Ritter (his name seems like one you'd come across in the book, actually.)

Content: Um...none, really, that I remember. I mean, there's the violence that comes with this being a murder-y thing and [SPOILER] the whole Red Cap thing. *shudder* But other than that...there wasn't really anything in it!

Memory: Jackaby, Abigail, and Charlie being awesome investigator buddies. And Mona yelling at them. "We have cake." Douglas the duck. 

Rating: 5 stars. 

I really, really liked this book. A lot. It's just the coolest idea. Like, in the synopsis, there was this line that started with "Doctor Who meets Sherlock". SO. COOL.

And the charactersssssssssss. They're precious. <3

I'm kinda thinking it's a series? Or at least hoping?

Because I need more of Jackaby and Abigail and Jenny the ghost. And supernatural occurrences that crop up in New Fiddleham. <3

Black Duck.

Genre: Historical, suspense, could be mystery? 

Author: Janet Taylor Lisle

Content: Again, this one didn't have anything in it, really. I mean, there was the whole illegal transport of alcohol thing, and it got kinda violent at times, but other than that...

Memory: Tom Morrison's shack by the beach, Marina's clam chowder, and a rolled up fifty-dollar bill stuck inside a pouch and shoved beneath a mattress.

Rating: 5 stars!

This book. I cannot get over this book. It was jarring finishing it and being yanked out of New England in 1929, away from Ruben and Jeddy and Marina and Tom Morrison, and a speedboat called the Black Duck.

Also, can we just TALK about that ENDING?

I think I should have seen it coming? I read the book super fast, so I don't really remember if Ruben ever came out and said what happened in the beginning, but...still? Ow? I was hurt by that? But the bits after were amazing. The whole book was. 

I just really appreciated Black Duck because it's one of the only YA '20s books I've found that doesn't focus on flappers and parties and either Chicago or New York (yesIknowmybookisinNYCbutITSDIFFERENT).
Like, I get all of that was a big part of the 20s, but there's so much more! There's people like Ruben and Jeddy, people like Mr. Riley and the small sleepy New England towns, ships like the Black 

Duck. There's more.

//end rant. 

But yes. Black Duck is amazing and you should read it. So is Jackaby.
The two couldn't be more different, but they're both great. <3