Book Shelf: Take the Key and Lock Her Up (Embassy Row #3) by Ally Carter

The princess is dead. Long live the princess.

Centuries ago, the royal family of Adria was killed…or so everyone thought.

Now Grace Blakely knows the truth: There was one survivor, and that survivor’s blood runs through her veins. This simple fact could cause a revolution—which is why some people will stop at nothing to keep it from coming to light.

There is only one way for Grace to save herself, save her family, and save the boy she loves. She must outmaneuver her foes, cut through the web of lies that has surrounded her for years, and go back to the source of all her troubles, despite the risk.

If she wins, she will inherit a throne.

And if she loses, she will inherit the fate of all the dead princesses who came before her.

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Review:

Take the Key and Lock Her Up is the third and final novel in Ally Carter's Embassy Row trilogy and brings the series to a close with Grace facing her final confrontation against those who will stop at nothing to keep the truth about Adria's history a secret.

Grace Blakely knows the truth. Centuries ago the royal family of Adria was killed in a coup, but unbeknownst to most, a single family member managed to survive. And two hundred years later, the blood of that lost princess runs through Grace's veins. Though she wants nothing to do with it, Grace is the rightful heir to the Adrian throne and it's a secret people will kill to protect. Everything Grace has been through has been leading up to this discovery and as Grace faces the source of all her pain and troubles, will she be able to save herself, or will Grace be destined to end up a tradgedy.

Bringing to a close the Embassy Row trilogy, Take the Key and Lock Her Up will finally answer many of the questions readers will have about who has been behind so much of Grace's loss and difficulties. Admittedly, I was a little underwhelmed with Take the Key and Lock Her Up and really the series as a whole if I'm being honest. I don't think Embassy Row was a bad series. I just feel like the first novel had such potential, but the series never seemed to reach a really big climax. There was plenty of danger and excitement and surprising moments, but at the same time I feel like part of the spark was missing from this final book I enjoyed with the first.

Ally Carter has woven plenty of mystery and intrigue into this series, and in the tradition of Anastasia, throws a lost princess and a royal coup into the plotline. It's impossible not to draw comparisons between Amelia and Adria with the infamous missing princess Anastasia and the Russian mystery and I do wonder whether this was intentional by Carter or not.

Brimming with ultimatums and with sacrifices needing to be made, Take the Key and Lock Her Up ends the series in a good place. Easy enough reading and decent enough to entertain, I don't regret reading this trilogy and will most likely read more by Ally Carter in the future.
 
Rating:
Source: Sent for review by publisher (Thank you guys!)
Publisher: Scholastic Australia
Format: Hardback
Australian RRP: $19.99
Release Date: February 2017
Purchase: Bookworld | Booktopia | The Book Depository | Amazon
Final Thoughts: A decent ending to a series that has been easy to read. It didn't blow me away but it left me satisfied.