See How They Run by Ally Carter

Title: See How They Run
Author: Ally Carter
Release: December 22, 2015
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 336
Series: Embassy Row
Review: 4 Stars

Synopsis:

Inside every secret, there's a world of trouble. Get ready for the second book in this new series of global proportions--from master of intrigue, New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.

Grace's 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.

The twists get twistier and the turns get even more shocking in the second thrilling installment of Embassy Row.

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First Impressions

See How They Run had a bit of a rough start, but got really good in the middle. I was excited to start, as I had really enjoyed All Fall Down.

Characters

Grace can be kick-butt when she wants, but starts off on the whiny side. She does have some reason to be whiny, but no one wants to hear you go on and on about how everything's your fault. As Grace got thrown back into a mystery, she started to shake off the whininess and embrace the kick-buttness. She isn't always the best character, but she ties all the other character's together.

*sighs* I love Alexei. Sure, he has issues, but I love him nonetheless. Also, he's Russian. Noah is the best friend Grace could have, but she doesn't always realize it. He's supportive but doesn't push too much. Rosie is made of adorable. She yells at people in German as well.

Writing

This isn't Ally Carter's best writing, but it's definitely good. It's a good story that is open to many different options for book three.

World-Building

A lot of world-building was done in the first book, but there was a lot more left for this one. Right off the bat, Grace travels to an island off the coast of Adria. There are tunnels explored, castles entered, and embassies infiltrated. It really adds to the story that it doesn't just take place somewhere, but in the embassies among the political landscape. It adds a layer of intrigue, and the stakes are raised.

Author Bio:

Ally Carter writes books about spies, thieves, and teenagers. She is the New York Times Best-selling author of the Gallagher Girls and Heist Society series. Her books have been published all over the world, in over twenty languages.

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Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic

Release: October 21, 2014

Series: The Raven Boys

Review: 5 Stars

Synopsis:

The third installment in the all-new series from the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.

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Review:

First Impressions

I enjoyed the first two books, and from what I'd heard, Blue Lily is where the action really picks up. This book did not disappoint! While the first two books were majorly focused on character development, Blue Lily cranks out the action. People have disappeared, and the stakes are raised. From the beginning of the novel, I knew this would be the best one yet!

Characters

In the previous two books, I really disliked Adam, but he's finally starting to grow on me. Because of the large amount of characters, there are a million different ships. I've shipped many characters with many other characters, but almost immediately, I shipped Adam and Ronan! From the beginning, I've shipped Gansey and Blue, and this book finally brings that somewhere. As readers know, Blue cannot kiss her true love. The romance in this book is much less than other YA novels, but because it is at a steady state, small things like hand-holding are super romantic and make the reader swoon. Blue is as amazing as always, and I really like seeing her develop. Gansey also really comes into himself in this book. Up to this point, he's been fairly naive, but Gansey starts to see the world.

Writing

The writing in these books are amazing. Maggie Stiefvater has a talent for portraying a story beautifully and weaving words together to create a masterpiece. She manages to suck in the reader with ease, and doesn't let go even after the book has ended. I'm still stuck in that world, and can't wait to read the final book next year!

World-Building

Most of the world-building has been done up to this point. Readers get to see more of the ley line though. A new character is introduced, and in doing so, we see more of their world than we've seen up to this point. I really like the world of this novel and can't wait for more.

Author Bio:

I am Maggie Stiefvater. I write books. Some are about dead Welsh kings. Some are about werewolf nookie. Some are about neither.

I have been a wedding musician, a technical editor, a portrait artist, and, for several fraught weeks, a waitress. I play several musical instruments (most infamously, the bagpipes), I still make art, and I recently acquired and unacquired a race car.

I live in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia with my husband, my two children, some cows, three dogs who fart recreationally, a criminally insane cat, an interminable number of miniature silky fainting goats, and one 1973 Camaro named Loki.

I like things that go.

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Double Review: The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Titles: The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic
Review: Four Stars

I've heard a lot about these books and how amazing they are. So, one day, I decided to pick up the first one and see if it lived up to the hype. It wasn't as good as I'd been told it was, but it was better than I expected. Which is always a good thing. Both book one and book two I had trouble getting in to. They would start off slow, but then about halfway through, they'd pick up and I wouldn't be able to put it down. Skimming became a very close friend of mine, as I struggled through POVs that I didn't enjoy. And yes, there were

multiple POVs.

The main character (more or less) is Blue. She is pretty awesome. She lives with a bajillion aunts and cousins, all female. And of course, her mother. Her house is a crazy, fun, loving environment that any kid would want to grow up in. The thing is, everyone in her family is physic. Except Blue. But what she doesn't have in magical powers, Blue makes up for in complete and utter spunk. She is kick butt with words, and doesn't back down. She the POV I most enjoyed reading from, but the reader got so little of it with the amount of others. Blue also has a secret, all her life, she's been told that if she kisses her true love, he'll die.

Another character I really enjoy is Gansey. He character is Blue's true love, but she's in denial about it. She doesn't want to like him. Instead, she wants to like Gansey's friend, Adam. Which might have had me screaming at the book. Seriously, we'd be in the middle of lunch at school, and I'd just burst out "Die Adam, die! You can just, spontaneously combust or something!" I'm pretty sure I said those exact words. There's also Ronan, another one of the gang. I don't mind his character, but I didn't need so much of his POV either. We also get a lot of time with a man known as The Gray Man in book two. His POVs is where I had to do the most skimming. I simply did not find him interesting and could not sympathize with his problems. Also, I really don't want to see into Blue's mother's love life.

That right there is my review of book one via text to a friend. Not much more than that is needed. The book was well written. It had way too much description, but the writing itself was well done. Not every aspect made sense, though that might be partially because of my skimming. I have to say, after the end of book two, I NEED book three! I looked it up, and how does it not have a release date yet? It comes out next year! I want the date, cover, and synopsis now! I'm really hoping the tension between Blue and Gansey will rise in the next book. The one relationship that I really want that probably won't happen? Ronan and Gansey. Why? Read book two and you'll see. The books overall were really interesting. I give them four stars! *sits back and stalks computer for updates on book three*

Series Sunday: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Titles: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games
Publisher: Scholastic
Review: Three Stars

It has been brought to my attention that I have not reviewed The Hunger Games. I plan to remedy that now. I first discovered the books at my birthday party a few years ago. My friend had brought over the first book, so I 'stole' it since it looked good. Before that, I had never heard of the series. So, that night, I read a good chunk of book one. I flew through the rest of the books afterwards. At the time, I was in love. Now? Not so much. Looking back, I see

many faults with the Hunger Games that I missed before.

Everyone pretty much knows who Katniss, Peeta, and Gale are. No explanation needed. But here's the thing, at first glance, Katniss is depicted as a survivor, a warrior, a revolutionary. And while she is those things, she's also unbearably weak. Katniss complains and complains and complains. I don't mind a little whining from characters, that's natural, but it doesn't cease. Katniss, despite being awesome at archery, can't see what's right in front of her. Katniss mopes. Her character, while better than Twilight's Bella, has more similarities to her than I care for.

Peeta is pathetic. There's no other way to put it. He can paint, that's wonderful.

Peeta should not have survived. As a character, I don't mind him, but he's weak and could not truly survive in a world such as the Hunger Games. He's been living the good life all his life. Someone cannot simply take that and suddenly become a survivor. At least Katniss has true experience to draw from. Lastly, Gale. In short, I despise him. He's annoying and distracts Katniss from what she needs to do. Gale is infuriating. He actually should be dead as well, though for the opposite reason as Peeta. Gale is too outspoken. The guards (can't remember what they're called) should have killed him. Between the three of them, Katniss is the most equipped for that world. She is able to fight for what she believes in, but she does it quietly. The only two characters I really liked were Rue and Prim. Rue was sweet and nice and did what needed to be done. SPOILERS Did she have to die? And Prim was always there, she always knew just what to do. Why did she have to explode? Why Suzanne? Why?

My biggest problem with the books is the writing. Suzanne Collins is a children's author and it shows. It's like she's trying to write horror stories for ten-year-olds. The book is written for children. But the content is not. All the action scenes are blown out of proportion. Mutant dogs with the eyes of fallen contestants? Cannibalistic monkeys? Mutant alligators? Really? And the end Mockingjay. I still don't get what happened, after reading it multiple times. SPOILER The ground split open then everything exploded and Prim died. What the what? And how did Katniss figure out that Coin was bad? Events don't match up. END SPOILER The story, while fun, was not what I'd call an amazing read. I love how it took problems we have today and amplified them times a million. That was cool. I can find the origins of all their issues. But maybe she amplified them a little too much. Overall, these books get three stars.

P.S. I think I have an allergy to the super popular series. I dislike Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games.

Caught by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Yes, I know this book is aimed at a younger audience. But I love Margaret Peterson Haddix. I've read a ton of her books, including all the former books in this series. And I started reading this series when I was younger and now need to know how it ends. All of her books are interesting and well-written. This one definitely does not disappoint.

The main character is a boy named Jonah. He grew up thinking he was a normal kid. One day, he finds out that he's a missing child from history. Not just any child though, a famous one. So far, he doesn't know which child he is. My guess is that it's the thing the series is majorly building to that will be revealed in the last book. Anyways, he's a well depicted character. I very much can get into his head and understand him. He's a strong character. He has morals about right and wrong and stand by them. He's not done until the right things have happened and people generally end up happy.

The book is very well-written and has an amazing plot. All the characters are strong. This book has major revelations that are sure to be important for the rest of the series. I like that the author isn't just saving all the revelations for the last book and is instead slowly dispersing throughout the series. I love the book and I love the author. I give the book five stars.