Hello there guys!
Another working weekend for me but I hope you guys have some nice plans for this Saturday! Mine aside from work will probably be either reading on catching up on some shows.
For this week's Saturday Page entry I have another ARC from NetGalley, because I'm being really bad and I keep requesting books once I get close to 80% and then I get approved and I celebrate but realize I'm screwing my ratio again! Anyways, thank you so much for the approval Hachette Books!
As an ARC it's going to be part of my 105 Challenge in my review catergory, that I think I'm doing rather well!
All Fall Down by Ally Carter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I had never read an Ally Carter before but I had heard some really good things about this book, so I requested it on NG and dived straight into it when I got approved (thank you, Hachette Books!).
The pacing of the book and the writing made reading this book extremely easy, because I wanted to know what was gonna happen, the tension was kept right and the writing was flowing easily and was very addicting. It was full of intrigued, plot twists that were not easy to see coming and making you suspect everyone and anyone in turn!
My main problem with this book was Grace, our main character. I couldn't relate to her in any way, as much as I tried to understand her fears and her anger about her mother's death and how unsettling it must be to not be sure about your own sanity. But she came across as annoying and her unwillingness to accept help and to think before throwing herself at things AND people... it simply got to be too much for me!
There was some progression in her character and by the end of the book I could feel more for her because the whole plot in unravelling and it manages to make us wonder if she's right or if she's just insane, and you can see how what happened must have affected her. But pushing people and hurting them to stay away and throwing herself into danger, over and over again... It got old soon for me. *sigh*
Thankfully I was more keen on the secondary characters, even if some like the Prime Minister and Grace's grandfather seemed a bit two-dimensional, but others like Melanie and Alexei and Noah and Rosie managed to get me to like them and enjoy their antics. And of course, given my soft spot for Russians name Alexei, that was a given in his case (I've had a soft spot since the first time I read The Eight!).
There really isn't a lot of romance per se, even if you might be wondering about the two guys, Noah the guy that starts as a friend and Alexei, the older brother's friend. I was rooting for Alexei because he was an Alexei from the very start and because I sort of ship Noah and Mel more, but nothing much is explored or resolved, give the huge issues that Grace is dealing in this book in her own mind.
I'm a bit torn about how to rate this book and if I will be reading the sequel or not. The main plot of the book was resolved and we get some answers, so there's not an awful cliffhanger in the end which is good. There's enough left unresolved to make sure you'll be curious to read the next book, and I hope that Grace will be more WAY less annoying in that one, because otherwise... I'm out!
I'm giving it 3 stars, for the plot and the pacing it'd get 3.5 to 4 for sure, but when the main character annoys as much as Grace annoyed me... nope, 3 stars it is!
View all my reviews
Another working weekend for me but I hope you guys have some nice plans for this Saturday! Mine aside from work will probably be either reading on catching up on some shows.
For this week's Saturday Page entry I have another ARC from NetGalley, because I'm being really bad and I keep requesting books once I get close to 80% and then I get approved and I celebrate but realize I'm screwing my ratio again! Anyways, thank you so much for the approval Hachette Books!
As an ARC it's going to be part of my 105 Challenge in my review catergory, that I think I'm doing rather well!
All Fall Down by Ally CarterMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I had never read an Ally Carter before but I had heard some really good things about this book, so I requested it on NG and dived straight into it when I got approved (thank you, Hachette Books!).
The pacing of the book and the writing made reading this book extremely easy, because I wanted to know what was gonna happen, the tension was kept right and the writing was flowing easily and was very addicting. It was full of intrigued, plot twists that were not easy to see coming and making you suspect everyone and anyone in turn!
My main problem with this book was Grace, our main character. I couldn't relate to her in any way, as much as I tried to understand her fears and her anger about her mother's death and how unsettling it must be to not be sure about your own sanity. But she came across as annoying and her unwillingness to accept help and to think before throwing herself at things AND people... it simply got to be too much for me!
There was some progression in her character and by the end of the book I could feel more for her because the whole plot in unravelling and it manages to make us wonder if she's right or if she's just insane, and you can see how what happened must have affected her. But pushing people and hurting them to stay away and throwing herself into danger, over and over again... It got old soon for me. *sigh*
Thankfully I was more keen on the secondary characters, even if some like the Prime Minister and Grace's grandfather seemed a bit two-dimensional, but others like Melanie and Alexei and Noah and Rosie managed to get me to like them and enjoy their antics. And of course, given my soft spot for Russians name Alexei, that was a given in his case (I've had a soft spot since the first time I read The Eight!).
There really isn't a lot of romance per se, even if you might be wondering about the two guys, Noah the guy that starts as a friend and Alexei, the older brother's friend. I was rooting for Alexei because he was an Alexei from the very start and because I sort of ship Noah and Mel more, but nothing much is explored or resolved, give the huge issues that Grace is dealing in this book in her own mind.
I'm a bit torn about how to rate this book and if I will be reading the sequel or not. The main plot of the book was resolved and we get some answers, so there's not an awful cliffhanger in the end which is good. There's enough left unresolved to make sure you'll be curious to read the next book, and I hope that Grace will be more WAY less annoying in that one, because otherwise... I'm out!
I'm giving it 3 stars, for the plot and the pacing it'd get 3.5 to 4 for sure, but when the main character annoys as much as Grace annoyed me... nope, 3 stars it is!
View all my reviews
I completely agree with you Pili! I found Grace to be the problem and issue I had with the book. She felt way to dramatic but for me the plotline and pace of the novel really drove me to my rating as I was tied between 3-4. I can't believe you haven't read any of her other books though, you should definitely try her Gallagher series. Lovely review, Pili!
ReplyDeleteI guess I must remedy that to see if with a different character I can enjoy plot and pacing more!
DeleteThank you Emma!
I've been hearing similar things on the MC being annoying and overly dramatic... but I'm really excited about this one! It looks like so much fun, though I'll definitely keep in mind to not expect too much from the characters.
ReplyDeleteLovely review, Pili <33
I do hope you'll enjoy it loads, Mel! The pacing and the mystery was very well done!
DeleteHrm--sort of happy I didn't request this one. Not being able to relate to the MC makes it very difficult to really connect to the book. Bummer. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kristen! I'm not sure if I'll be reading the sequel...
DeleteHa ha! You do much better with annoying MCs than I do. I don't give them a second chance. I feel your pain about Netgalley. What I do is look for Read Now, quick read, children's picture books and read and feedback them. Lol. It gets your percentages back up quickly!
ReplyDeleteI am trying to limit myself to books I think I'm gonna love or I'm really excited for, but they're all coming up at once! At least I'm still over 70%!
DeleteWow, I would feel pretty pissed about the repetition as well! I hate it when the same shit gets done over and over with no end in sight, and with little redemption in the end. :( I never bothered to request it because I just couldn't feel it, and looks like I made the right choice! I think I would find it hard to relate to her, either.
ReplyDeleteWow, I would feel pretty pissed about the repetition as well! I hate it when the same shit gets done over and over with no end in sight, and with little redemption in the end. :( I never bothered to request it because I just couldn't feel it, and looks like I made the right choice! I think I would find it hard to relate to her, either.
Faye at The Social Potato
Yeah, it was annoying but I kept on reading because I was hooked on the mystery!
DeleteThank you Faye!
I'm interested the mystery part of this story, Pili! But I'm not sure if I'll be able to enjoy it. The way you described Grace--ack. I'm annoyed at her and I haven't even read the book yet! x_x I'm glad that this one isn't too huge on the romance, though. MAYBE I'll give this a try.
ReplyDeleteAwesome review, Pili!
Give it a try and see if you do better with Grace than I did, Aimee, because the rest of the book is very cool!
DeleteMeh. Doesn't sound like a very good book :\ And sounds like a love triangle too. Hmph. Seems annoying, lol :) Thank you for sharing your thoughts sweetie. <3 I'm glad you enjoyed this book Pili, despite having some issues with it :)
ReplyDeleteAhhh. Hmm. I'll be skipping this one. Definitely not a huge fan of these types. I'd want more romance, probably. Excellent review, Pili!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa @ The Eater of Books!
I wouldn't recommend it for you at all, Alyssa!
DeleteI haven't actually read any Ally Carter books myself, but I own the first book in her series I'd Tell You I'd Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You, so I intend to read that one first! But it sounds like this one is good as well. It's a shame the main character was unlikeable, but at least there were secondary ones to make up for it!
ReplyDeleteGrace wasn't so much unlikeable, which I usually don't mind either, as I wasn't able to relate to her at all!
Delete