Review - "Take The Key And Lock Her Up"

Take the Key and Lock Her Up, Embassy Row #3
by Ally Carter
rating: ☆☆☆
published: 26th January 2017
spoilers? nope

Goodreads

Galley provided by publisher

If I'm honest, I'm a little underwhelmed by this one. I had high hopes, because it's Ally Carter and she always writes good last books, but this one just didn't quite have me as hooked as the others.

It felt like the plot was a little all over the place, much like Grace appeared to be (how she didn't get jetlagged absolutely defeats me). One moment, they're in America, then Paris, then Russia, and all of this happens in the span of a few pages each time. It exhausted me just reading about it.

Perhaps the main problem was that, in this one, unlike the previous books, I found myself having trouble suspending disbelief. I mean, after the second one, I knew Grace was a lost princess, but I didn't have to deal with that beyond the reveal at the end. This one, it got brought up every few pages, and that, combined with the fact this is all taking place in a made-up country, just got to me eventually. I know, I know, it's funny I can suspend disbelief enough for a spy school (and the various, slightly far-fetched shenanigans going on there) and a group of teens committing heists, and yet I get stuck here. Maybe it's just that there were some plot points in this one (like the whole thing with Alexei's mum in that hospital) that really needed some serious disbelief-suspending.

And the whole thing with the prince? It kind of, for a bit at least, looked like it could be heading for a love triangle, which, no thanks. But it thankfully didn't. And I guess you could argue it was necessary in a way, but it also didn't seem that necessary, especially when it came to the fact that it put pressure on Alexei and Grace's relationship. Didn't need that thanks.

I mean, I did overall like the book. I was just somewhat disappointed by it.