Book: See How They Run (EmbassyRow #2) by Ally Carter

★★★½/★★★★★

“Just a few weeks ago I was obsessed with the Scarred Man and justice and proving to the world that I’m not crazy. I was wrong, of course, about so many things. And I may be wrong about this. But if there’s something worse than knowing an awful thing, it’s knowing nothing at all.”

Okay. So, the second book in the Embassy series, I can say, was more intense than the first. Not action-packed intense but crazy-Grace intense! Well, Gracie wasn’t really crazy but she just happened to remember that she actually killed her mother. And as if that wasn’t enough to make her crazy! I remember having mixed feelings with the first book and I’m not really sure what I feel about this one. It was gripping and entertaining but somehow Gracie became more and more paranoid. But then again, she had a reason to be!

The story picks up when Grace finally remembers what happened that day when her mother died. After years and years of accusing the Scarred Man, Dominic, of killing her mother, she realizes that she was actually the one who killed her mother. Now Grace tries to live with that fact that she killed her mother and even though no one really blamed her, it still hurts to know the truth. The story continues as Jamie and his West Point friend, Spence, visit Adria. And when Spence is found dead one day after a party, tension mounts in Embassy Row and next thing they know, one of Grace's friends is accused of being a murderer.

 I enjoyed this book better than the first because here we see more action from Grace and her friends. They did a lot of spy things and it was actually exciting how they explored tunnels and caves and secret doors! But more importantly, we got to know more of Adria's history that might've gotten Grace's mom in danger in the first place. I also liked the idea of the secret society and I think I might've an idea why they were so eager to take in Grace.

But though there were interesting things going on, I can't say that I liked Grace that much in this book. Mostly she irritated me. I don't blame her but it was annoying how she kept blaming herself and thinking she was crazy and that she made all the bad choices in the world! I mean, she can be crazy at times but being crazy over and over again was frustrating. As for her friends, I've grown to like them more and more! Noah, I liked him ever since the first book and I don't know *shrug* but I'm somehow hoping for him to have "something" with Grace. Lol.

“Noah shakes his head and backs away. I know he wants to fix this — fix me. He doesn’t yet know that his best friend was broken long before he met her — that I’ll never really be okay again.”

Megan and Rosie were still adorable and Lila, well, I'm not sure about her but she can't be that bad. And Alexei, oh Alexei, there were times I was so sure about him but there were also times when I felt nervous of who he might really be. But of course he can't be the bad guy!

“I laugh because, for once, Alexei chose to run away with me.”

We also got to finally meet Jamie, the big brother. He wanted to be there for Grace, to protect and make sure she was fine. He came to make sure that his little sister didn't blame herself for what happened to their mother. He was also Alexei's bestfriend but with all the allegations after what happened to Spence, they drifted apart.

 Alexei’s mask is gone, forgotten. And Jamie looks up at his oldest friend and says, “I’m okay …”
“Shut up,” Alexei snaps. “Save your strength.”
“I’m fine.” Jamie struggles to pull his arm from around Alexei’s shoulders, but when he does he stumbles, and Alexei catches him.
“I’ve got you,” Alexei says.
“I know,” Jamie replies.
This is how boys make up, I decide. Some bloodshed, a mob, and a few terse words, not a single one of which is sorry.

The last part of the book was my favorite part, with the celebration and Jamie and Gracie in the middle of it and everything else happening around them. It all happened so fast but I loved how Grace finally figured things out and how Alexei just showed up when he needed to and Princess Ann helping them and Dominic saving them and Ms. Chancellor explaining Grace everything. It was so intense I was actually on the edge of my seat the whole time!

Overall, it was fast-paced, gripping and a little frustrating if you hate repetitive scenes and cliffhanger. And with the revelation at the end of the book, I know it's gonna be a long wait until the third book! But I'll patiently wait for it because I'm interested to know how it would all end.

Book: Poison Study (Study #1) by Maria V. Snyder

★★★ ½/★★★★★

“Trusting is hard. Knowing who to trust, even harder.”

 Study series is included on my 5 Series I'll Finally Read in 2016 so I'm trying to get around it now while I have the time. The first in the series, Poison Study, was promising and I was actually excited when I picked it up because I always enjoy books with assassins and it had female protagonist but there were things in the book that didn't quite satisfy me. 

Plot summary:

The book follows Yelena's life when she becomes the Commander's food taster. She was actually a +convicted murderer but was given a life-changing offer to become the next food taster. The job isn't really that easy and safe, tasting the Commander's food for poison, but Yelena knew it was better than facing the noose so she accepted it. She then trains under Valek, Commander's right hand and an assassin, and to make sure Yelena wouldn't try to escape, Valek feeds her a poison called Butterfly Dust. Now Yelena has to come to him every morning to drink an antidote that only he has or else she'll die.

The story picks up when the father of the man Yelena murdered, Brazell, finds out that she wasn't hanged and sends men to kill her instead. Valek, worrying he would have to train a new food taster when Yelena dies, protects Yelena from Brazell's men and lets her stay with him in his suite. Yelena also decided to learn how to fight with the help of Ari, Janco and Maren, so she can protect herself. 

 There's also magic involved in the book and Yelena herself is developing magical abilities which are illegal in Ixia. Magicians were long killed or they fled to Sitia when the Commander took over Ixia. So in order to keep herself alive, Yelena didn't tell anyone about her magic except to Irys who tries to kill her in the Fire festival and who is also a magician like her. Irys tells Yelena to come with her to Sitia so they can train her how to use her growing magic but Yelena knew she couldn't because she needs to get the antidote to Valek everyday in order to live. Instead, she asks Irys to give her a year so she can somehow think of a way how to secretly get a recipe of the antidote from Valek.

The story then heats up when the Commander announces that he picked a new successor. Valek suspects that something is not right and it makes him moody which Yelena doesn't like. They then start to investigate and find out that Brazell and his right hand, Mogkan who is also a magician, have something to do with it.

Thoughts:

Though I had a hard time connecting with Yelena at first, I loved that she was a strong and smart protagonist. The other characters were also engaging especially Ari and Janco and I loved that they were loyal to Yelena and treated her like a sister. I had some issues with Valek like how I would always remind myself that he's a 30+ something man because there were times that he failed to act like his age. Or maybe it's just me! But I loved him nonetheless. He was a bad-ass assassin and who doesn't love a bad-ass assassin anyway? For the world-building, there wasn't much in it but I guess it was enough to guide the readers. 

Another thing that failed to impress me was the way it was written. Don't get me wrong, the plot was good and everything else was fine but the dialogues sometimes threw me off. Like sometimes they conversed with modern language and it didn't quite fit with the time they live in. But then again, maybe it's just me! I was also waiting for the romance to happen but it didn't until the latter part of the book. Yelena and Valek's romantic connection was expected to happen and when it finally did - BAM! They really made a great pair because they were both smart and strong and loyal. But I was hoping for more romantic interactions! Tsk. Anyway, the ending was sweet and it was the reason for the added ½ star! 

“What have I earned form you, Valek? Loyalty? Respect? Trust?”

“You have my attention. But give me what I want, and you can have everything.”

So, while I enjoyed some parts of the book, there were times I got bored, too. I think I wasn't just emotionally attached to it like I wanted to and it failed to live up my expectations.