Shelley Loved: See How They Run by Ally Carter

Series: Embassy Row 2
Format: E-Galley | 336 pages
Release Date: December 22, 2015
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Genre: Young Adult | Thriller

For the past three years, Grace Blakely has been desperate to find out the truth about her mother’s murder. She thought it would bring her peace. She thought it would lead her to answers. She thought she could put the past to rest.

But the truth has only made her a target.

And the past?

The only way to put the past to rest is for Grace to kill it once and for all.

On Embassy Row, power can make you a victor or a victim; love can turn you into a fool or a fugitive; and family can lead you forward or bury you deep. Trust is a luxury. Death is a very real threat. And a girl like Grace must be very careful about which secrets she brings to light.

SEE HOW THEY RUN is the second installment in Ally Carter's Embassy Row series. Picking up where All Fall Down left off, 16-year old Grace Blakely's past has finally come back to haunt her. So much so that her mind is drifting between here and there, and she's not certain events that happened in the previous installment really happened. This is the book that readers who read All Fall Down will want to pick up as soon as it is released. This is a book that is as mysterious as it is heart breaking. It is also revealing, action packed, and a stunning ending that will leave you reaching for someone to hold. 

Grace is fully aware of what happened to her mother Caroline on the night that she died 3 years ago. A night that was shoved back into the darkest parts of her mind to protect her. A night that nearly crushed her. She has since been sent to live in Adria with her Grandfather who is also Ambassador to Adria. Embassy Row is a dangerous place to be. You never know when one small spark with light an major explosion that will impact the entire world. But, it is the one place where Grace may get all the answers she needs. For Grace, there are still a whole lot of other questions that surround Caroline's death and what she was searching for.

What was so important that the Prime Minister of Adria wanted her dead? What was the mysterious treasure that she was searching for? Who is Eleanor Chancellor really, and why does it seem as though she knows more than she is saying? Grace does have a few solid allies to help her in Rose, Noah, and Megan. She's even come to terms with the man that she calls "The Scarred Man" since he saved her life. 

Grace's journey in SEE HOW THEY RUN really gets pushed full throttle when her older Brother Jamie arrives in Adria with his fellow West Point Cadet John Spencer, and she becomes aware of a group called "The Society" which is for women only, and goes back a thousand years. Grace also gets an unexpected visit from Alexei, who if you read the first book, you know that he is supposed to be back in Russia. There is no such thing as a coincidence. Please feel free to repeat this mantra when reading this book. Grace uncovers yet another unsettling conspiracy that puts her brother and her friends in the cross hairs. But, why? Why is someone going to such lengths? 

I continue to hear that Grace is not Cammie Morgan and that is perfectly acceptable to me. Grace needs to be who she is. She needs to sort out her actions, forgive herself, and move on before she ends up deep in kimchee. She needs to be able to sift through the politics and secret societies and a long missing "treasure" in order to save herself, and her family. Carter makes you curious about who Grace can trust. Can she really trust Ms. Chancellor, or Princess Ann, or even her Grandfather? Can she trust her heart to Alexei when he becomes the center of a major incident? I am happy that we finally got an appearance from Jamie. I think he means well, and hopefully he really does end up forgiving her for her actions. 

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