GoodRead - All Fall Down

My first review of February! A month has gone in 2015 and WHERE THE HECK HAS IT GONE?! Do you think we can have it back as... well... I want to reset my 2015...

Anyway, All Fall Down.  Let's get back on track. All Fall Down is the first book in the new Ally Carter series, Embassy Row. Grace has come to live with her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. He thinks, as does everyone, that Grace is better. That's she's no longer "crazy".That she's no longer saying that her mother's death three years ago was murder. That the Scarred Man shot her mother in the chest.

But just because Grace isn't saying it, doesn't mean Grace no longer believes it. Coping with her grief, Grace doesn't want to be the good girl, the former army brat where she has to smile and wear dresses and be perfect. Her mother's murderer is out there, and she will stop at nothing to find him.

And because on Embassy Row, where ambassadors of countries live side by side, one wrong move will being the countries down like dominoes and war could easily begin, and with Grace's past coming back to haunt her, Grace might not be the only one who gets hurt...

I have read Ally Carter before. I read Heist Society and Double Crossed, so I knew that I was going to dive into a book where I would speed through and enjoy myself. It was going to be a fun read and, I felt like I needed to read a light, almost beach read as I feel like I have read (or tried to read) quite heavy books.

And this was a light, fun read. I whizzed through it within four/five days. Much shorter than I thought I was going to. It was fun and I enjoyed myself. I lost track of time while reading this and that's always a plus. I had fun.

But - yes, there is a but - I did have problems. My main problem (and there for the root of all my other smaller problems) was Grace. I sometimes had trouble clicking with her. Yes, I got why she was the way she was but after a while, I felt like I was hitting a wall with her. She was hard to like at the start of the book, then she became unreliable as a narrator, she then treats her friends badly and then she started acting in ways that I felt was highly unlikely in that situation. I mean, really? The granddaughter of one of the most powerful ambassadors in this small European country and yet, she can leave the building any time she wants without security?

Speaking of friends, I do like the supporting cast. And I do think as the series goes on, these characters will grow and support Grace who will grow into a more likely and interesting character. My fave character is Ms Chancellor as she was a complex character and she can take the series in an very interesting direction.

While this book wasn't perfect, I am intrigued to see where this series could go. But I think I prefer Heist Society and might go back and see if I can read book 2 and 3 of that series before book 2 of Embassy Row comes out...