“With her harrowing tale of espionage and near death experiences finally out in the open, Anastasia Phoenix thought things would be better. That she and her friends had outsmarted Department D, the criminal empire her parents helped create. She thought wrong. Former friends have turned to enemies, causing more innocent lives to get swept up into the dangerous world her parents created. Now it’s up to Anastasia to stop the damage before anyone else gets hurt—or worse. She embarks on a treacherous trail from Poland to Prague, and old rivals emerge at every turn. But when the final confrontation occurs, will she be too late to protect the ones she loves… or even herself?”
End of the Lie is the third book in Diana Rodriguez Wallach’s Anastasia Phoenix Series. As usual, I loved the cover! The style is just gorgeous. Anastasia and Keira are holed up in Julian’s compound, searching for clues to the whereabouts of the Phoenixes, the Reys, and Urban. Keira is giving interviews, and taking a great deal of social media trolling, which is wearing her health down. Wallach did well, in my opinion, with the psychological ramifications of all these events. Especially with Regina, who went through a radical change thanks to the death of her boyfriend.
Julian has become my favourite character. He has steel inside when necessary, but overall he’s very easy-going. I pictured him as a younger Benedict Cumberbatch. Haha. Marcus I was iffy towards. He’s a teenage boy coping with some pretty powerful stuff. His family loyalty was constantly in conflict with his love for Anastasia. This caused a serious rift towards the end. Family is a big theme in the overall story. Besides Marcus, Anastasia has lots of family drama, what with Urban seeking her out, and her parents running rampant. What would you do for family? What would you sacrifice?
I found the ending so sad! No spoilers, but I did have a few tears. I wish it had resolved differently. I liked that ending left the possibility for further adventures, but it could also be taken as a clean, closed ending. If you enjoy YA spy thrillers, be sure to check it out!
***Many thanks to Netgalley & Entangled Publishing for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for Chapter by Chapter Tours.
