The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall

I might be a little behind here, but wow is this book amazing.  I know it came out over a year ago now, and I’ve had it on my to be read list since it came out, and I finally got the chance to read it, and let me just say…What took me so long?!  This book is just flat out fantastic.  It has so many interesting elements that worked together to make this a great book – historical aspects, a mystery, romance, and a roller-coaster style thriller that makes the book a total page turner.

Avery West often feels lost, because she moves around a lot due to her mom’s job, so she’s never really able to make friends or find a good place for herself.  At this point, they move so often that Avery and her mom don’t even bother to unpack all of their stuff anymore.  Avery doesn’t know her father, and it’s just been her and her mom for a long time now.  She hates moving around all the time, but understands the necessity of it, so she doesn’t complain.  However, when a really great looking guy asks her to prom, Avery goes against her mother’s wishes and heads out to prom anyway, and this is where everything changes.

Jack, the guy who invited Avery to prom, isn’t who Avery thought he was.  Turns out that he, along with Stellan, who is a strange guy she’s been seeing and doesn’t know, are both here for her…their families believe that she is a distant relative of one of the families of The Twelve – a very important group of families who essentially control everything that goes on in the world.  When Jack finds out that Avery’s eyes are really purple, as opposed to the brown contacts that she wears, his suspicions that she belongs to one of the families is confirmed.  So while Avery is confused, she goes with Stellan back to Paris, where everything gets even more confusing for her.  Why is she here?  How can they be as powerful as Stellan has told her?  And after all this time, does she really have family, aside from her mother?

Avery’s questions get answered, along with some things that she didn’t expect – like the fact that her father might be part of one of these powerful families, and that she is wrapped up in a powerful prophecy, which has to do with the union of the girl with the purple eyes and the One.  While they can only assume that the girl with the purple eyes is Avery, they still do not know who the One is, and are trying to figure it out, as well as save an old friend and tutor from their enemies, the Order.  With multiple attempts on Avery’s life in the mix, she spends her time with Jack, who is trying to figure out all the pieces as he keeps Avery safe.

However, Avery is starting to fall for Jack.  And it is forbidden for Jack (who works for one of the powerful families) to fall in love with a family member, which Avery is.

I don’t even know where to start with how great this book is.  The characters are mysterious and fun, and some of them are even dangerous and it makes the book incredibly exciting.  The relationship between Avery and Jack is sweet, and it’s so obvious that he will do anything to protect her.

“‘I can’t betray the Saxons and the Circle,’ he murmured into the top of my head.  ‘But I can’t – I won’t – betray you, either.  I promise.'”

At the same time, Avery keeps pointing out how attractive Stellan is, too…so I’m not sure if this is leading toward some crazy love triangle thing (I hope not), but she seems to really care about Jack, so I’m hoping it stays that way.

It’s interesting to see how everything ties together here…so much thought and care have been put into writing this book.  While I can’t say I ever got into The Da Vinci Code (the book or the movie…I just didn’t care for either), this book (which has been compared to it, only for teenagers) is such a delight to read.  The Conspiracy of Us is thrilling, gripping, and pure excitement from the first page to the very last.

This book ends on quite the cliffhanger…and I cannot wait for the next book.  I need a time machine so I can read it right now!

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.