OMG!!!! I LOOOOOVED IT!!!!!!! THAT ENDING!!!! OMG!!! IT WAS PERFECT!!!!!
I absolutely love Ally Carter's books!! And they are so easy to read and so enjoyaOMG!!!! I LOOOOOVED IT!!!!!!! THAT ENDING!!!! OMG!!! IT WAS PERFECT!!!!!
I absolutely love Ally Carter's books!! And they are so easy to read and so enjoyable!!! ❤❤
It's the last book and I don't want to spoil anything so I don't know what else to say except...
This was definitely my favourite book of this trilogy!!!!! 💜💜💜💜💜 ...more
"The Society has operated in secret for a thousand years. Four times longer than this has been a country. Regimes rise. Dictators fall. Wars rage the "The Society has operated in secret for a thousand years. Four times longer than this has been a country. Regimes rise. Dictators fall. Wars rage the world over and we still stand. Do you know why, Ms Blakely?" "Because I wasn't around to ruin everything?"
God, I love Grace's cynicism!!
I love this trilogy because there's mystery, there's danger, there are secrets and buried truths!! Can you trust your judgement? Can you trust Grace's judgement, when she herself isn't so sure about it?
And through everything that happens Grace still has to deal with her grief and her "demons". She blames herself for things she couldn't possibly be responsible of (and I like that, because that's how guilt works despite how groundless it sometimes is...)
"I don't mean to get into trouble. Trouble just sort of finds me." said Grace in the second page of the first book, and I don't know if that was meant as foreshadowing or if Ally Carter thought of this line and then took it as a challenge. Whichever it was, it's a very succinct proclamation!!! What amazes me though is that Grace just can't catch a break!!! Seriously!! Let the girl rest a little!!
I like how the second and third books took an unexpected turn and of course how everything is revealed and resolved!!!
So, in short, I loved Embassy Row and Grace's (and her friends') adventures (even if she didn't ask for them)!!!!
P.S. I know this reads more like a review for the whole trilogy but I really don't want to spoil anything so yeah... that's the result!!!...more
"Hush, little princes, dead and gone No one's gonna know you're coming home Hush, little princes one-two-three No one's gonna know that you are me"
Argh"Hush, little princes, dead and gone No one's gonna know you're coming home Hush, little princes one-two-three No one's gonna know that you are me"
Arghhh!!! Seriously!!! What is it with this trilogy and its cliffhangers????
This book has so many ups and downs, twists and turns that I seriously doubt myself if I trust anyone or anything at this point!!
Grace can't get a break and god knows she desperately needs one after everything that happens in the first book!!! But nooo!! The powers that be (aka Ally Carter) have other plans and so we - along with Grace and her friends - have other mysteries to solve...
So deeper we go into the tunnels, and the lies, and the half-said truths!...more
~Whenever your world starts crashing down, Whenever your world starts crashing down, That's when you'll find me~
Because of course, this song HAD to be~Whenever your world starts crashing down, Whenever your world starts crashing down, That's when you'll find me~
Because of course, this song HAD to be playing on repeat in my head, while I was reading the book!!
And of course I had to finish this book in one sitting because it's Ally Carter, and you never know just what turn her books might take!!
"When I was twelve I broke my leg jumping off the wall between Canada and Germany." I just love this both because it's a great start, and because the whole Embassy Row reality is just so surreal!! Like, the boy next door isn't just 'the boy next door', but also the boy from the next country!!!
~Take a breath, Take a step, Meet me down below~
Also I kept dissecting every little detail and info we were given trying to get to the bottom of what was going on, and for that I blame Mr. Solomon for always nagging Cammie to watch for the details!! (Gallagher Girls reference, please PLEASE read the series if you haven't!)
~Lost till you're found, Swim till you drown, Know that we All Fall Down~
Wow! I did NOT expect that ending, (some of my assumptions were correct though and i feel proud of the fact - thanks again Mr. Solomon!!) and now I'm really glad that I have the rest of the trilogy already in my hands!!
~Love till you hate, Strong till you break, Know that we All Fall Down~...more
Did I read Royals in one sitting?? Yes, yes I did!! And, did I love it?? Of course I did!!!!!
(Also, did I lose sleep just to finish it in one go??? You beDid I read Royals in one sitting?? Yes, yes I did!! And, did I love it?? Of course I did!!!!!
(Also, did I lose sleep just to finish it in one go??? You bet I did!!!)
Update (after a good sleep) with a semi-decent review:
Ok so, this is the first time I've read anything by Rachel Hawkins and I absolutely adored this book!!! (Plus, Hex Hall and Rebel Belle just went up in my tbr list!)
It's contemporary, (duh!) it's got funny banter (I mean like 70% of what comes out of Daisy's mouth is a witty comment and I just loved it) and of course, castles and Scottish landscapes (dreamy, although the weather isn't always helping!) and princes and royalty (though they're not at all what you expect) (or they are, I can't know what everyone else is expecting royals to be like!).
Obviously, I loved the main character Daisy and most of the other characters!! (Of course some people exist just to be unlikable, like a certain prince's aunt nicknamed Argie *great! I find my name in a book for the first time in the history of ever and no one even likes me!!* who makes a brief appearance at some point)...
Ellie, Daisy's older sister, is getting married to Alex, the crown prince of Scotland, which indirectly causes some chain-reaction events and Daisy's summer plans are ruined. Now she has to spend her whole summer in Scotland amongst royalty, which is the last thing Daisy wants...
I like Daisy's relationship with Ellie. Ellie is seven years older and they don't exactly see eye to eye about most things, and that's what I like most about their relationship! There are micro-fights throughout the book (and I can feel that because as much as I love all of my brothers we can't exactly agree about everything) but at the end of the day Daisy loves her sister (defending her behind her back but fighting once they're in the same room, and yup! I'm feeling that a little too much!!).
So, Daisy arrives in Scotland and meets prince Sebastian (Alex's younger brother) and the rest of his royal friends, known by the press collectively as The Royal Wreckers. What she has to do is stay out of the spotlight, and well... the universe kind of disagrees! Also, she finds a very unwilling guide in Miles (Seb's best friend) who dislikes her from the get go, and of course the feeling is mutual!!
The rest of the summer is quite scandalous by royal standards, thanks to the paparazzi who twist everything that happens into what will sell best and who just won't leave Daisy alone! (I seriously hate these guys!!)
This got so long but I promise I'm almost done!!
Some things I really enjoyed throughout the book include:
1. At some points Daisy would compare what was happening to her with a movie, for example: "Oh my god, makeover montage." "What?" "Makeover montage, right? This is the part where you give me a bunch of conservative clothes, maybe fix my hair, some upbeat song plays, and at the end, I'm gonna look myself in this mirror and say something like, 'Is that... me' And then everyone claps and tells me I look great, and I do look great, but deep inside I'm afraid something within me has irrevocably changed".
I loved that (also I got Princess Diaries feels!) and after some time I started doing it too!! There would be an important moment happening in the book and I would be like "suddenly the music gets slower, and the camera does a closeup on x's face etc."
2. I already mentioned how much I loved the witty banter in the book!! Miles sometimes surprises Daisy with a witty comment, and Daisy has inherited that trait from her dad so most of their conversations are pure gold!! But I absolutely adored Daisy's reflex like responses!! "What did you think of Seb's club Daisy?" "Disappointing, hardly any naked ladies, and only one chimpanzee." And a little while later... "Chimpanzee?" "I panicked."
3. Ellie and Alex's relationship (I just had to mention it!!).
4. Isabel, Daisy's best friend, is a character I especially enjoyed and I wish she had more screen time (or page time whatever) (and again, I just had to mention it!!)...
All in all, Royals is a really enjoyable summer read and I flew through it!! (in February... right... what is wrong with me? oh, that's right I'm the definition of a mood reader...)
Also, I can't wait for the companion sequel featuring Sebastian's twin sister Flora in her new (?) school and her new roommate Millie (the protagonist)!!
Oh my god!! Where did this essay come from?? I'm sorry, and thanks to anyone who suffered through all that!!...more
I cannot describe how much I loved this book!! Yes I read it in one sitting!! And I'm close to tears because I finished it!! I have All The Feels!!!! It I cannot describe how much I loved this book!! Yes I read it in one sitting!! And I'm close to tears because I finished it!! I have All The Feels!!!! It was so good guys!!! Like really really good!! I loved the story!! I loved the characters!!! And Eliza was so relatable!!!! I'm not a content creator in any way, but still I felt her anxiety and her doubts!! And even if I ignore the art part, I still felt I could relate with her every day struggles!!
And the story!!!! There's fandom and fanfic writers and fan art creators!! (and if you're a part in any fandom you know how everything can spiral out of control...)
High school is a stressful enough when you're shy or an introvert, and having a hidden identity like Eliza does? It astounds me how she managed!!
Eliza has created a very vast world in her comic and I was captivated by the glimpses we see in the drawings and descriptions throughout the book!! If there was to be a book, I imagine it would be massive!!! (Seriously though, how did the author come up with this world??)
What amazed me the most though, is the author's writing style!! The descriptions came to life and I was able to feel what Eliza was feeling!! (which is honestly quite stressful when you read the book in one go...)
(Sorry if this review is incoherent but I just finished the book and I'm sleep deprived at the moment!! ...more
3.5 stars (Stars! Ha! Book reference! Ok, I'll show myself out...)
I rather enjoyed reading this!!
I was slightly surprised that it was first published i3.5 stars (Stars! Ha! Book reference! Ok, I'll show myself out...)
I rather enjoyed reading this!!
I was slightly surprised that it was first published in 1994, which I realised because of a piece of dialogue in the book. (view spoiler)[Sex in the nineties. It makes for strange bedfellows. (hide spoiler)] Up until then, in my mind, it was written around early to mid-2000 (for reasons no one can explain...)
I'll admit the beginning was pretty rocky for me and I was about to give up at around 11% (view spoiler)[the sex fantasy scene between Dan and his ex wife, where until almost the end of the scene the description was that of the fantasy (underage/adult sex for lack of a better expression) (hide spoiler)] because of the description, although it made sense later on, it still felt icky to read.
Overall, I liked the plot and how the story progressed! Obviously I loved the hate-to-love relationship of the protagonists!! Dan and Phoebe, while both have their problems, fit quite well together!! (After resolving all their misconceptions and miscommunications of course!!) Some of the descriptions irked me at times though... (like the overused: bimbo. Please stop!)
I really enjoyed the snarky dialogues and funny situations!!! An example:
"I must have your promise, Coach, that you won't hurt her." "I promise." "You spoke a bit too quickly for my taste. I don't quite believe you." "I'm a man of my word, and I promise that I won't hurt her. When I murder her, I'll do it real quick, so she won't feel a thing." "That's exactly what I was afraid of."
And another: "Miz Somerville, we haven't met, but—I need you to slap my butt."
As a side note, this exchange has not aged well: "She has wonderful connections, you know, and I don't inquire too closely into how she's made them. One day she's on the phone with Trump. The next day with Disney."
Another thing I liked was almost at the end (view spoiler)[after Phoebe has been kidnapped, that she actually managed to escape herself and she didn't wait for the others to find her. I think it fit with her character, and of course - after Reed's revelation - she had all the more reason not to lose her team. (hide spoiler)]
Lastly, Phoebe's relationship with her sister deserves its own shout out!!! So YAY for that!!!...more
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