Tuesday, April 21, 2015

The conspiracy of us by Maggie Hall

Avery West is used to a life on the road, never putting down roots or really getting to know people.  The defences she has built make her nomadic life more bearable, but it is a lonely life in many respects - she doesn't leave lifelong friendships in her wake anymore, but she also doesn't really connect to other people either.  Some teens might think it is an exotic and exciting life to follow her mothers work around the States, but for Avery it is more about surviving than enjoying.  At school Avery has some friends, but she still holds herself apart - until she discovers that new boy Jack Bishop has a photograph of her.  At first she doesn't really think anything of it, until she realises that the photograph is not a school photo and that he really shouldn't have it.

When Avery ignores her mothers wishes and goes to the prom, the bottom falls out of her world and she is whisked into a secretive world that would blow the mind of anyone who happened to stumble across it - let alone the mind of someone who has just found out they are part of that world.  Avery is about to discover that the word as we know it is just a facade, that there is a secret society that really controls the world and they don't play the game lightly.  The Circle of Twelve is waiting for a prophecy to be fulfilled, a prophecy about a girl with violet eyes and the One - who will help the families access the power they need to become invincible.  It seems like a dream turned into a nightmare for Avery - who just happens to have violet eyes and a surprising connection to the Circle of Twelve.  Dragged into an ancient war she doesn't understand, Avery is in a race against time to protect herself and the people she loves - a race where she doesn't know all the rules, all the players, or the true cost of the game.

The conspiracy of us was a truly guilty pleasure, a read that shouldn't have worked but really did.  For nearly the entire book one part of my brain was saying "this is rubbish, there is no way this story is believable, I mean did you read what just happened" - while another part of my brain was going "shhh, I'm enjoying this!"  The conspiracy of us is far fetched in the same way that the Alex Rider series is far fetched, you know that it can't be real but the world is so well rendered that after a while you really don't care because you want to see what happens next.  Just like Alex Rider, Avery West is thrust into a world that she is not prepared for and where she is dangerously out of her depths.  In a fast paced read that has a lot in common with a Jason Bourne movie, The conspiracy of us drags the reader on a ride from the United States to Paris, to Istanbul and beyond.  

The world Avery finds herself in is dripping with luxury, famous people, and brand name dropping as the world of opulence and excess is exposed to the reader.  The characters built around Avery are three dimensional with their own secrets, desires, and back stories and it is all too easy to get sucked into the relations and dramas because you feel a real connection to the characters.  One of the few things that really annoys me after reading The conspiracy of us is that this is either the start of a new series (which was not advertised!), or that Maggie Hall has written an ending for a stand alone novel that is designed to drive her readers really nuts!  I sincerely hope there is another book in the series because there are lots of unanswered questions and loose ends here.

A fun and engaging read, but this is one of those books that is not going to appeal to every reader - you are either going to love it or hate it.  Avery is interesting and engaging, and her world is full of secrets an conspiracies, but the name dropping and focus on action will put some readers off.  Here's hoping we don't have to wait too long for a sequel.

If you like this book then try:

Reviewed by Brilla

No comments:

Post a Comment