Take the Key and Lock Her Up by Ally Carter

The final book in the Embassy Row trilogy by Ally Carter, what an ending to a really interesting series! I’m not going to lie, Ally Carter’s books are 100% my guilty pleasures. I’m not into contemporary fiction and tend to veer away from that section with a vengeance, but for some reason, Carter’s books are just brilliant to me. They are incredibly quick reads (in the best way, i.e. I get super sucked in!) and so entertaining, and although there is the girly aspect within all her books, they also have action and intense scenes where ruin, injury and death are all real possibilities.

This series is focused on a girl named Grace, and how her life has changed after her mother dies in a horrible accident and she moves to the American embassy where her Grandfather lives in the fictional European micro-state of Adria. If you haven’t started the series yet and don’t want to be majorly spoiled then don’t read any further than this paragraph. I should have reviews up for the first two books in this series relatively soon, but you definitely don’t want to spoil the action for yourself!

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Okay, now for those who have read the first two books in this series (or who just really don’t care about spoilers!). Grace has just found out that she is, through many previous generations, the lost princess of Adria and her brother is the lost prince and rightful heir to the throne. This precarious position puts their lives in danger and results in them ending up on the run with Jamie still attempting to recover from the stab wounds he received in the midsts of a large crowd. Thankfully they have Alexi and Dominic (the scarred man) to help them stay hidden and stay safe whilst they work out how to proceed. Things speed up as Grace decides to take action in order to allow her brother the time he needs to rest and recuperate, and that is also when things start to go wrong.

This is such a fun, gripping and interesting read which despite looking very girly should still appeal to those who normally avoid that type of literature (like me!). I’ll definitely continue to read more of Ally Carter’s work and hope it stays at the same high standard!

Three Days Dead, The Damned vol. 1

I’ve been reading a lot of comics so far this year! This is yet another graphic novel that I enjoyed and want to continue with the series. We follow a gun-for-hire who keeps coming back from the dead, as long as someone touches him after he dies, and a bunch of daemons having a gang war in the city. Yeah… it’s an interesting concept! It’s a classic noir comic with a twist of horror and a big dollop of death, a main character who you want to keep following and an art design that very much fits the genre with its sharp, angular preferences.

This is a new release of a previously published comic, and the major addition seems to be that this is now in colour. Although a black-and-white theme would suit this style of comic, the addition of colour really brings the world to life and adds a whole new dimension. I don’t want to say much more to let you discover what this graphic novel has to offer on your own. Definitely one to pick up if you like action, crime and a little bit of horror (I hate horror books or films but comics I can deal with for some odd reason) with some daemons thrown in for good measure.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free eCopy of this graphic novel in return for an unbiased review.