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A review by mehsi
All Fall Down by Ally Carter
4.0
Received this book from Netgalley/publisher in exchange for an honest review!
3.5 stars. Sorry but various factors + cliffhanger ending makes me give this book not a 5 star but a 3.5.
Let's start with the characters. We got a whole bunch, but our main character is Grace/Gracie. She is coming back to live in Embassy Row in Adria. Her dad and brother are both in military so they can't really take care of her. Her mom died due to an event happening many years back. An event that clearly took its toll on Grace. Grace is wild, a bit crazy and mostly trying to be a good girl, but for some reason she does things that no one else would do. My favourite one would be her diving off cliffs to get to a certain place. I mean, what person would just suddenly dive of a cliff. Sure she had a reason, but I am sure there are better ways then to just jump of a high cliff.
At the start of the book I was a bit hesitant about Grace, her attitude and how she spoke to people, I just didn't like her. However, quite soon (when we find out more about her and her past), I started liking her. And that stayed throughout most of the book, up until certain revelations, and then I started to doubt things. Especially considering how many false baits and hints we get. Is what is revealed real or not? Is this truly what Grace did, or is it another delusion/false bait. I guess we will have to wait until the next book to find out though.
But all in all, I can say I really liked Grace, and I was rooting for her. Hoping she would find out the truth, find the guy who did it. And I also was hoping she could feel home with her granddad again, hoping she would make friends again with people (and also with people she knew from her childhood).
For the other characters. I can say I didn't like Alexei is mostly a dick and I hated his attitude. I know he probably meant it all like niceness and protectiveness and a sense of duty, but sorry, he annoyed me. He kept pestering our main character, using her nickname that she clearly didn't want him to use. He stalks her and he is just bleh. I do hope they don't get in a relationship in the next book or how many other sequels come out.
Then we have Noah, Rosie, Megan, Grandpa and Ms. Chancellor. They were all pretty good characters, though my dislike/like for them swayed with each revelation. Rosie was just pure awesomeness though. A 12-year old girl just born to be either a ninja or a spy. I loved how during one scene she helped out Noah and Grace. They didn't even know they were followed. :)
The story was pretty good, but also highly confusing. One reason why I didn't give a full 5 stars. I won't spoil, but I will say this: Don't trust anything, don't take anything for granted and nothing is what it seems. You will be in a rollercoaster that is, in the beginning at least, light and clear, but as you get further and further on the track it will ride into a tunnel and everything will get dark, with only occasional light spots. And believe me you won't get off the rollercoaster with the ending. The ending is pretty open. There are revelations and then it ends.
There are quite a few sentences and scenes that had me laughing out loud.
All in all it was a good mystery book, however with all the twists and turns and false baits I just got annoyed and it took away a bit of my liking for the book.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
3.5 stars. Sorry but various factors + cliffhanger ending makes me give this book not a 5 star but a 3.5.
Let's start with the characters. We got a whole bunch, but our main character is Grace/Gracie. She is coming back to live in Embassy Row in Adria. Her dad and brother are both in military so they can't really take care of her. Her mom died due to an event happening many years back. An event that clearly took its toll on Grace. Grace is wild, a bit crazy and mostly trying to be a good girl, but for some reason she does things that no one else would do. My favourite one would be her diving off cliffs to get to a certain place. I mean, what person would just suddenly dive of a cliff. Sure she had a reason, but I am sure there are better ways then to just jump of a high cliff.
At the start of the book I was a bit hesitant about Grace, her attitude and how she spoke to people, I just didn't like her. However, quite soon (when we find out more about her and her past), I started liking her. And that stayed throughout most of the book, up until certain revelations, and then I started to doubt things. Especially considering how many false baits and hints we get. Is what is revealed real or not? Is this truly what Grace did, or is it another delusion/false bait. I guess we will have to wait until the next book to find out though.
But all in all, I can say I really liked Grace, and I was rooting for her. Hoping she would find out the truth, find the guy who did it. And I also was hoping she could feel home with her granddad again, hoping she would make friends again with people (and also with people she knew from her childhood).
For the other characters. I can say I didn't like Alexei is mostly a dick and I hated his attitude. I know he probably meant it all like niceness and protectiveness and a sense of duty, but sorry, he annoyed me. He kept pestering our main character, using her nickname that she clearly didn't want him to use. He stalks her and he is just bleh. I do hope they don't get in a relationship in the next book or how many other sequels come out.
Then we have Noah, Rosie, Megan, Grandpa and Ms. Chancellor. They were all pretty good characters, though my dislike/like for them swayed with each revelation. Rosie was just pure awesomeness though. A 12-year old girl just born to be either a ninja or a spy. I loved how during one scene she helped out Noah and Grace. They didn't even know they were followed. :)
The story was pretty good, but also highly confusing. One reason why I didn't give a full 5 stars. I won't spoil, but I will say this: Don't trust anything, don't take anything for granted and nothing is what it seems. You will be in a rollercoaster that is, in the beginning at least, light and clear, but as you get further and further on the track it will ride into a tunnel and everything will get dark, with only occasional light spots. And believe me you won't get off the rollercoaster with the ending. The ending is pretty open. There are revelations and then it ends.
There are quite a few sentences and scenes that had me laughing out loud.
All in all it was a good mystery book, however with all the twists and turns and false baits I just got annoyed and it took away a bit of my liking for the book.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/