To say I loved this novel would be to sell it short. I would give this 10 stars if I could. I fell into the story from the very beginning, and I stayed lost in it the entire time I was reading. At something like 400 pages, it was nice and meaty, and the plot took its time playing out, which is something I prize in a book (I can’t stand a rushed story). Although details were kind of slowly revealed, the reading experience was basically an adrenaline rush from the get-go. I felt my emotions going up and down right along with Anastasia’s, and at times I felt like *I* was in the middle of a spy thriller, rather than just reading one! I loved Anastasia from the first time we met, and I was with her 100% throughout. There honestly wasn’t a time when I was like, “Seriously? OMG, don’t do *that*!” or “Ugh, I hate it when characters say/do that!” or “No! Don’t kiss him! You *just* met him!” I’m serious, I had her back the entire time!

Now, I have been reading for a very long time - started reading at 2 1/2, and am almost 43 - and I have read a LOT of mysteries/spy thrillers in that time. Normally I can smell the ending from a mile away and have the suspects figured out in the very early chapters, even though I still mostly enjoy the reads. However, to find the rare story where I *didn’t* think I had everything figured out... well, that’s an amazing thing. It makes my enjoyment of the story that much higher, when the author manages to keep everything a mystery and even has me going after a few very well-placed red herrings. Proof of Lies is that book for me. It is really fantastic and such a thrill ride. I am confident that anyone who loves the mystery/thriller genre, especially in YA lit, will love this book as much as I do!

I also want to give a shout-out to Ms. Wallach for the use of actual historical details (which I didn’t know about ahead of time) and actual places (she’s visited every single place that’s featured in the novel). It’s obvious that she took great care to get details right, and I cannot stress how well that goes over with a reader. The details really do matter! Also, writing what you know can have a profound impact on the quality of your writing, and it is much appreciated by the reader. I also want to say, while I know she started writing this book long before the rise of our current leadership, the concept at the heart of the book resonates strongly in today’s political climate. I don’t want to say more than that, for fear of giving something away, which I very much do NOT want to do. Suffice it to say, old tricks can always become new tricks, repackaged by a different administration. Never thought it would be something we’d face in America, but... here we are. (And with that enigmatic ending, I shall leave you... bwahahahahaha!)

Long story short, READ THIS BOOK. I think everyone who reads it will love it, but you absolutely cannot pass it up if you are a fan of YA contemporary mystery/thrillers. It’s at least as good as - quite possibly better than - Julie Cross’ Eleanor Ames series, also released by Entangled Teen, so if you love that, read this! (and vice versa) I tell ya, Entangled Teen has been knocking them out of the park lately for me! Every single one of the last 5 or more I’ve read, I’ve loved.

Thanks so much to YA Reads and Entangled Teen for letting me take part in this blog tour, and to Entangled for letting me read an early copy of the ebook. I am so glad I read this, and I’m already ready for book 2! Bring it on!

Rating: 5 I’d-chase-this-book-around-the-world stars!

Proof of Lies is what’s missing in YA and exactly what I’ve been searching for. An adrenaline rush of mystery and danger, an intriguing and twisty plot, and characters that keep you invested, Proof of Lies is at the top of my 2017 reads.

PROS:

The mystery is epic. It sucks you in and keeps you invested. I was dying to know what happened to Keira. The clues are all there and they’re tricky. Anastasia is basically sifting through trash to find gold and ends up lucking out. She follows the barest of clues and with the help of some tech savvy friends the mystery gets progressively more engaging.

Twists. This story is like a narrow, winding road up Mount Everest. Complete with all the twists, deadly turns, near misses, and heart-pounding risks that are so unexpected. Usually I can guess what’s going to happen in the first few pages, Diana Rodriguez Wallach did a fantastic job at every turn…well except for one that was fairly obvious. I was super impressed.

Anastasia isn’t perfect. She’s delightfully flawed. She realizes that she’s been an ungrateful brat and pretty terrible to her sister and endeavors to change. She recognizes her flaws and actively works to be better. I loved that about her. Plus, she’s trained in self-defense and martial arts, speaks multiple languages, and dives head first into danger. She’s a risk taker and she realizes that the choices she makes are totally stupid and owns up to it. I hate when characters know that they’re making bad decisions and are just like woops, yeah, no. Anastasia has a strong voice, she’s likable and so devoted to her mission that you can’t help but respect her drive.

The romance. The few scenes that took place in high school setting were cute and memorable. Some were laugh out loud, others made me angry. The sheer racist b.s. that some kids go through. Sigh. But Anastasia is a true hero in those moments and Marcus is made of swoon. He’s got a bad boy look but is fiercely loyal, lovable, and complex. He is the arms that Anastasia needs to hold her up and the shoulder she can cry on. What’s best is that he lets her make her own decisions. He doesn’t prevent her from making choices. He knows she’s going to do crazy stuff and he’s like, I’ll back you up. ❤ I mean, who doesn’t adore a guy like that? And those makeout scenes are FIRE.

CONS:

My biggest issue was the mourning section. I was having flashbacks to New Moon when it’s just a page with a month on it and nothing happens. That totally destroyed the pacing, but thankfully, once Anastasia was invested in sleuthing again it picked up quickly.

There were some issues with secondary characters. They played key roles and yet felt like throwaways. I needed more personality, more interaction-just more to actually care about them. The subplot with Julian and Sofia was compelling, but didn’t fit into the story as well as it could have, it felt random, but definitely key. Towards the end, parts with Julian and Charlotte were rushed and more telling than showing. There, but not really. More for function than anything else.

My Rating 4.75 stars

“There are moments in your life when you know everything is about to change. Time isn't whizzing by, your mind isn't in a blur, you're in it, living it, and you know, consciously, that your world will never be the same again. You will never be the same again.”

Anastasia is one of those characters that is very real about her situation and actually acts like a teenager when it comes to dealing with losing her parents and having a sister that is presumed to be dead. She does what most people would do and because of that I loved her as a character. Then we also have her new legal guardian who does everything she can to protect her, all while trying to get her out of her funk and to move on as best as she can.

This all starts to change though when new evidence shows her sister was up to something before she was presumed dead, that leads Anastasia to start an investigation of her own. With the help of her legal guardian a friend and her parents old boss Anastasia starts learning what really happened to her sister, and what exactly her parents were involved in. Anastasia learns that things weren't what she always thought and that in all actuality all of the moves and the secrets her parents kept weren't normal. The jokes her and her sister always said about their parents being spy's might actually be true.

The relationships and friendships the main character makes are so nice to see in a young adult novel, and as for the "love" interest she doesn't let it cloud her judgment most of the time. She puts it to the side, mostly due to interruptions, but even if she wasn't interrupted in these moments. I have no doubt that she wouldn't just put it to the side once again in order to make sure that she finds her sister and doesn't let her down.

Compared to the other YA thriller spy book I read this year The Cruelty this book is far better. Not only does the character actually act her age and struggle with being involved in this new world. She also has people she can actually rely on and listened to her.
I honestly can't wait for the next book in this series to come out to see what happens next to Anastasia and how she continues to deal with her new world!

Review will be posted on March 15th, 2017

An amazing read. So well written. It held my interest the entire time. Top author. I'll be on the look out for her books in the future.

“Proof of Lies” is a unique YA spy novel. Anastasia has been raised by her sister Keira ever since their parents died in a fiery car crash years ago. They had always had an unusual life, moving frequently around the globe for their parents’ jobs with Dresden- a company owned by her mother’s ex and which employs families. Keira had been on track for an MD in Boston but turned to nursing when their parents died. Anastasia feels like Keira resents her for having to take care of her, and they both have been grieving for their lost family and tense relationship. All that changes when Keira goes missing one morning and the bathroom is covered in her blood. The police and authorities insist that Keira would be dead from that blood loss, but Anastasia is unwilling to give up on the only family member she has left.

Soon, clues begin to surface that lead Anastasia on a search for Keira across the globe to Italy, where she learns her parents may not have just been engineers working for Dresden- they may have been spies. Anastasia is accompanied by Marcus, another “Dresden kid” who she is undeniably attracted to, and together they follow the leads to learn what happened to Keira. Anastasia unwittingly becomes a spy herself as she is forced to follow the clues and paths laid out for her- all while questioning the ease/reliability of what she learns.

Overall, it was an interesting read- the beginning and end of the book were absolutely fantastic! They are fast-paced and intriguing. The middle of the book got a little dull as they slowly uncover clues (some pretty coincidental/lucky) and learn little tidbits about Anastasia’s family’s past. There are quite a few side characters that serve to facilitate a piece of the story. The romance was OK, but broke the tension of spy thriller/chase in the book (could help younger readers, but I found it a little distracting). I am really curious to see how this story will evolve with the upcoming sequels.

It’s a strong read and we witness the evolution of a normal citizen into a spy, which is really fun! Of note, Anastasia is an unsupervised minor (at 17 years old) exploring some dangerous situations around the globe, but her involvement is generally kept pretty surface-level as far as thrillers go, so it seems pretty non-threatening- however, I am somewhat surprised the authorities aren’t trying to lock her down with her guardians/more concerned about these trips (but I guess they probably have bigger fish to fry). It’s quite an adventure overall and a really fun read! Please note that I received an ARC from the publishers through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I do not know why but I found that this one would be interesting and I was completely right. Anastasia is in the center of it all who will take you on this adventure. She could be called a survivor being at a young age when things happen not all can take it. When one event after another happens to her you are right there with her with she is a bit encouraging with her tensity. Keira's is the one that really drives it with one you will find a bit odd to help her -Marcus. I thought her sister a bit of a mess but ah family. This is a very good one that has mysteries that are thrilling with being the reason to read such a one as this. I was into this one until the last when I was a bit sad it was done enjoyed the reading of this one alot.

Rating: 1.5 Stars.

Maybe I'm not impressed with spy YA novels but boy, I really didn't like this book. I like murder mysteries so for the first few pages, I was liking what I was reading. But as the MC got more into her feelings and the plot got more convoluted, I was forcing myself to pick up this book.

The basic premise of Proof of Lies is that the main character', Anastasia's, sister was believed to have been murdered because of the amount of blood found in their bathroom. But since a body was never found, Anastasia believes she's still alive. As she starts to look into her sister's activities in the last month before her disappearance, Anastasia realizes that her dead parents might be the reason behind all of this.

I think the main reason I didn't like this book was the lack of connection I had to Anastasia. As the story went on and Anastasia got more and more upset, I just got more annoyed. I also hated reading Anastasia's romance with the guy from Madrid. It was quite unhealthy and seemed to scream instalove.

I also didn't find the plot to be very believable. Things were going fine until Anastasia got to Italy. I don't know how this girl even got to Italy; I'd like to think the police working on Anastasia's sister's case wouldn't have let her fly because she might have a possible suspect? (I know that was a plot point, but logically speaking...)

If you love murder mystery, spy thriller, YA books set partially in Italy, you might want to give his a try. If you aren't a fan of dramatics and really far fetched plots, I wouldn't go for this book.

I have to admit that I was pretty shocked with this story when I started reading it. It starts out full of adventure and I fell in love with Anastasia from the very beginning. Diana Rodriguez Wallah is definitely going to be one to look out for with this series!

Anastasia is a young lady that has always felt like she is an outcast since her family has been moving all over the place all the time. Her parent's are scientist and move quiet often which means Anastasia and her sister move as well. Anastasia is giving her parents a hard time because she doesn't want to move again, but little does Anastasia realize that this is going to be the last time she sees her parents. There was a terrible accident and her parents are no longer with them. Now Anastasia has to move in with her sister, Kiera.

Kiera is having a party one night and when Anastasia gets up the next morning, she thinks that her sister is still in with someone she meet at the party so she doesn't want to disturb her. Anastasia goes about her way only to come home and find a bathroom covered in blood and her sister missing. It seems to Anastasia that she is the only one that believe her sister is still alive. Anastasia is determined to find Kiera if it is the last thing she does.

Anastasia takes out to look for Kiera and Marcus follows her. The adventure that Anastasia goes on will keep you on the edge of your seat and wondering what is going to happen. Things don't add up for Anastasia so she knows that there is something going on and that someone has her sister. Will she find Kiera though? You have to read to find out. I can't wait to see where Diana Rodriguez Wallach takes us with this series!

Proof of Lies is the fantastic first installment in a new young adult mystery series that fans of the genre are sure to love. The story follows Anastasia - a teen whose parents died a few years earlier and who's sister has been injured and kidnapped from their home. After desperately trying to find her sister, Anastasia stumbles onto the fact that Keira (her sister) had been looking into their parents' past before she went missing - and that it all seems to be connected. Anastasia won't give up on finding her sister - and the truth - no matter where it takes her or what she learns about the people she thought she knew. I really enjoyed the plot of the book. I thought it was fascinating and loved following Anastasia on her quest for the truth. It takes her across the globe and deep into the past - all of which I loved. The author wrote a tight mystery with lots of intrigue and twists that keep the reader guessing at what the truth is for the majority of the book. That's a huge plus for me, as most mysteries can't keep me as engaged anymore. There were times, however, that seemed to drag on a little bit - but that wasn't a big detriment for me as a reader.



I liked getting to know Anastasia and watching her grow as a person throughout the story. She's down to earth, smart, resourceful, determined, and fiercely loyal to the people she loves. She endures a lot throughout the novel, and she goes through many different emotional stages as well. Her character is definitely complex and unique, which is a nice change from most stereotypical teen characters. Another huge plus for me was the author's choice of writing style. The book is told from the first person point of view - from Anastasia's perspective. I'm a huge fan of this style and I'm so happy that the author chose to tell the story this way. It wouldn't have had such a good impact on me as a reader if it had been done in a different manner. Since Anastasia tells the story, we get to know her on a deeply personal level - which allows us to connect and identify with her early on and throughout the book. I'm so happy that this is the start to a new series! I'm eager to see where the author will take Anastasia next. I definitely recommend this book to fans of mysteries, thrillers, suspense, contemporary, action and adventure, and even romance.

In an Oyster Shell – A thrilling mystery that will keep you turning pages to find out what’s going to happen.

The Pearls – It’s hard to nail this books concept into a cohesive paragraph. So much is going on but it’s all conducive. Anastasia’s sister goes missing presumed dead in that they find a lot of blood that would indicate she didn’t make it. Somehow Anastasia does not believe that she’s dead. Somehow she thinks it a hoax and she acts on her hunch. What she discovers is unbelievable and unexpected.

The settings in this book are fantastic from Boston to Europe you get an extensive look at these locations through the narrative. I felt like the author did each setting justice which added to the ambiance of the book.

The characters of this book were distinguished. It took a few characters to make this story go. One of my favorite characters is Anastasia’s roommate. She is a hacker extraordinaire who is by Anastasia’s side all the way. Anastasia was an amazing heroine who had great tenacity that pushed her through the mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Teen for a copy of this eARC in exchange for a fair review.


Anastasia has had a rough few years, after having a fight with her parents they were killed in a car crash, and now unhappy with the way her sister acts and the men she chooses. Anastasia walks out of their apartment and to the coffee shop. When she returns her sister is gone, and all that is left is a tub full of blood.


At that point, Anastasia shuts down for months, until Charlotte her sister's friend brings her the information that a video of Kiera has been found, and suddenly Anastasia knows that her sister is alive and she will do whatever it takes to find her. When her clues lead her to Italy, she knows it is time to leave the country and find her sister whatever it takes.


But all the lies she has been finding out make it difficult to figure out who and why Kiera was taken. When she goes to her parents old boss for money and he suggests Marcus join her, Anastasia knows things are going to get serious.



Will they be able to stay alive? Can they figure out all the lies? Will they be able to find Kiera?



I couldn't stop reading this, I admit that parts of it seemed more than a little far-fetched, but I for one adored this book. I can't wait to read book 2, and wow the twists and turns. Definitely an interesting espionage thriller! Plus Marcus and Anastasia, swoon although I do hope there is a little more romance development in the next book.



I really enjoyed all of the characters that were introduced and I hope to see more of them especially Allen Cross, Marcus, Charlotte, Kiera and Anastasia. It will be interesting to see how all of the mysteries are unraveled.

Okay, this book was awesome for a number of reasons.

1. It’s a girl spy book. HELL TO THE YES AMIRIGHT. There are far too many spy books out there, and not enough girl spy books and the fact that this was the case with Proof of Lies made me very happy.

2. Travel: I don’t know about you but I don’t have the cash to travel to Italy. But here I was, sitting in my dreary tan cubicle at lunch time, and I was transported away to the beautiful country of Italy. The imagery was fantastic and the author painted such an excellent picture, I felt like I was there with the main character.

3. Voice: The author has a fantastic voice. I loved the main character and she was believable. I cared for her right off the bat and I wanted things to work out for her! It wasn’t as easy as me caring to fix her problems unfortunately but I loved that I cared, oh goodness how I cared!!!!

4. Pacing: I love fast paced reads and this is one of them! There doesn’t seem to be an extraneous, time wasting detail in this entire book. Everything was perfectly written and planned to move the plot forward and I found myself almost unwilling to function in a normal life until I could see how this entire thing played out! I loved the pacing. Fast. Furious. Wonderful.

5. Courage: I think that all too often society links courage with men. And it was so wonderful to have this heroine, determined to save her sister, with such a crazy amount of courage that there’s no doubt that Anastasia is a Gryffindor. She will do ANYTHING to get to the bottom of the mystery. ANYTHING. And that takes a great amount of bravery and courage to put yourself at risk to save someone you love. And Anastasia did it again and again.

6. Kissing: Self-explanatory and I don’t want to ruin it so read this book.

If you like mysteries, thriller, fiery heroines, well-written words, or adventure, you will LOVE this book.

You’re welcome in advance.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Proof of Lies by Diana Rodriguez Wallach. Anastasia lives with her sister Keira in their family home after their parents died in an accident a few years earlier. Keira gave up medical school and works as a nurse to take care of her younger sister. The morning after a party, Keira disappears, leaving behind a bathroom full of blood and no sign of a body. A distraught and depressed Anastasia knows Keira is alive and needs help. Their mutual best friend Charlotte is amazing with technology and she's helping with Keira's case. Charlotte's parents are Anastasia's legal guardians now. As Charlotte and Anastasia hunt for clues, the mystery deepens and more people become a part of the mystery, either as suspects or helpers or both. I love this book and it made me realize how much I enjoy mysteries. Proof of Lies became unputdownable and I was pulled into Anastasia's life and her searches across the globe. The author's writing is flamboyant, smooth and believable. The clever writing and word play are entertaining, such as, "It felt like I was one giant headache lately - eat, sleep, breathe, Tylenol." Great humor! I appreciate the facts at the end of the story and the excerpt of book two of the Anastasia Phoenix series, Lies That Bind. Clean read worth 5 stars!

WOW!! This book took me by surprise. James Bond, Jason Bourne and Spy Kids all rolled into one action-packed, suspenseful, mystery book. WOW!!

Where to start this?? Action - LOTS!! Suspense - edge of my seat when things really started rolling!! Mystery - I was going WTF a lot and trying to figure out how everything and everyone tied together, if they even did. I was just along for the ride with Anastasia.

I won't bore you with what you know - Anastasia parents are dead. Her sister is not missing and presumed dead. And she's now on this crazy-ass, hair-brained goose hunt looking for her sister after falling upon some new information that the police had yet to discover (you need to read to figure out how that happens, I am not telling you).

Quick run down of the main characters:

Anastasia - lost parents and sister - trying to find out what really happen to her sister
Charlotte - best of friend Kiera (Anastasia's sister) and also hacker extraordinaire,
Marcus - fellow Dresden kid and new bad boy to the area with hot Spanish accent

There are few others in this book that are very important to the whole plot but I will let you learn about them as they are introduced in this crazy yet interesting plot.

I found myself getting completely sucked into this whole book and needing to know what Anastasia, Charlotte and Marcus would come across next. It was hard to keep forgetting that Marcus and Anastasia are teenagers and Charlotte is a new adult. But the shit they go through, just blows my mind. But it's also how they handle things and just go balls to the walls on figuring stuff out that reminds you of their age. So while I found myself being conflicted with their ages and how they, without any thought, jumped into things, it's also their reactions to things that allows their age to shine through still. (i.e. - no sane adult would just jump on a lead without digging for more information first, yet here these 3 go chasing down ideas that could get them killed).

Diana really wrote an intense and fast paced young adult mystery/suspense book. There isn't one time where the action or mystery slows down. There is a lot of minute details that add to the picture and I loved trying to piece everything together. I almost put together my own little timeline, suspect list and tried to figure it out on my own because I was that into this book.

If you love a great action-packed and suspenseful mystery book (YA or not), you will really enjoy this book. I truly highly recommend it.

I am anxiously awaiting the next book because yes, shit is just getting started in this book. Just when you think everything was coming together, that only unraveled another piece to the even larger puzzle.

Proof of Lies by Diana Rodriguez Wallace is a completely awesome, exciting book. I received a free copy from Entangled Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Proof of Lies fits right in with one of my favorite topics to read about, in fiction and non-fiction, espionage and spies! Anastasia and her sister Keira are both in a "funk" even years after losing their parents to a car crash. Move after move. They move to new locations all over the world following their parents' work as engineers at Dresden. It has taken its toll on Anastasia. Each time she's been told this was home for a while so she has made friends and become involved in activities at her school in Boston. Then suddenly they are gone. She is left with Keira, who is just the age of adulthood herself, to finish raising her. Anastasia is trying to keep herself going and Keira appears to be going off the rails with partying, drinking and bad boyfriend after boyfriend.

Keira disappears and Anastasia is devastated by the way she disappeared and by yet another loss of a loved one. Their roommate Charlotte is there for Anastasia and she is doing what she can for Anastasia. But, things have changed. Anastasia is lost this time and Charlotte is doing what she can to help her find her way back even if it means to find out what really happened to Keira. Anastasia is convinced that Keira is not dead and is doing what she can to find her. Charlotte is a computer genius that is with her every step of the way and the search takes them across the world and they have no idea who they can trust because no one is who they seem, including Keira’s last boyfriend.

Proof of Lies is one of those books that resonates with the reader if they have a sibling, even if they are the older sibling who has been made responsible for a younger sibling even for five minutes. The resentment, arguing and sometimes ill-treatment of that sibling. Parents do not mean to have a hand in that relationship, but, sometimes they do because they cannot help but treat the children different. Maybe it is not because they like one better than the other, but, because the children are different with different needs and personalities. The parents also have personalities that just seem to mesh better with one child, not because they like the other one less, but, because they have things in common. Sometimes, just the age difference is enough for the siblings to not have as close of a relationship as they could. Keira and Anastasia seem to have a pretty close relationship but that is put to the test with the loss of their parents. Keira’s disappearance makes Anastasia realize her part in how their relationship has turned. But, what is one of the best parts of this story is that Anastasia knows her limitations and despite all of them she uses the people and tools she must search for her sister. But, in the middle of understanding more about her relationship with Keira, she learns more about herself and her parents. Proof of Lies is the great start to an action-packed thriller with a great mystery and I look forward to the next book! Review can also be seen at LadyTechie’s Book Musings http://LadyTechiesBookMusings.blogspot.com.

The last thing Anastasia said to her parents was that she hated them. That same night they died in a car accident. Now three years later, she and her older sister/guardian Kiera have been attempting to move on, Anastasia with not letting people get close to her, Kiera with random hookups and alcohol. But after one night of partying, Anastasia only finds a bathtub full of her sister's blood. With all signs pointing to her murder, Anastasia refuses to give up.With the help of her and her sister's mutual friend Charlotte and the cute Marcus, Anastasia is on a mission to find her sister, regardless of everyone thinking she is dead.

I did not know a lot about this book when I first started reading, but what I discovered was so much better than what I could have hoped for. I guess this could be called a teen mystery full of action, with adventure, suspicion, conspiracy, danger, world travel and a dash of romance. The story was so fast paced and engaging, with twists that caught me off guard and a questionable resolution.

As a side note, at times reality needed to be suspended when it came to the things a 17 year old girl could take on, such as trained assassins, figuring out things the police can’t and other such obstacles. The author did a great job of creating a back story as to why she can fight, why she knows languages, her random connections to all these odd people, her financial backing. I liked the concept of Anastasia, even if it is not the most realistic of books- it’s called fiction though, so it totally works.​

The author created so many possible suspects, twists and potential motivations that I was kept on my toes the entire time (and the book really played on my emotions too!). Honestly, at one point or another, everyone was a suspect in my book. I wanted to stay positive like Anastasia that Kiera was alive, but all the signs pointed to the opposite, and I had no idea what Anastasia would find at the end of her journey.

I had no idea that this was ​the first in a series until I got to the end of the book. It makes perfect sense though, with all the twists and turns and huge bombs dropped that I need to know more about. I am exited to get my hands on the next book and to experience the action, mystery and danger right along with Anastasia.

I received this title in return for my honest review.
For more reviews visit my blog at http://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

"How far would you go to save the only person you have left?"

Proof of Lies is the first installment in author Diana Rodriguez Wallach's Anastasia Phoenix series. 17-year old Anastasia Phoenix lost her parents to an apparent car crash 3 years ago. At the time, they both worked for the Dresden Chemical Corporation and were preparing for yet another move; a move that caused some major animosity and hurt words by Anastasia. The reason for the animosity lies in the fact that her family has been to 9 different cities, 5 different countries, and 4 different continents.

The only plus side is that she can speak 4 different languages. After losing their parents, Keira gave up her own future as a Doctor in order to protect and take care of her sister. You could say that there was a bit of resentment on Keira's part for having to give up her life & to take care of her younger sister, and on Anastasia's part after Keira threw herself into reckless parties, and meaningless sex. Then, yet another tragedy strikes the Phoenix household which now includes their friend and roommate Charlotte.

After Anastasia returns from the store to find that her sister is missing, all signs indicate that she may have met with a bad ending. Anastasia loses herself to major depression, and heart break, until she learns of a video showing Keira and a beau has been discovered. A beau who she last seen the night Keira went missing. A video that may prove that Keira is still alive. Anastasia receives yet another shock when family friend Randolph Urban, CEO of Dresden, makes a claim that her parents were under investigation by the FBI, and they may not be who she thought they were.

With financial support from Urban, and new friend Marcus Rey, another Dresden kid, alongside, Anastasia travels to Italy in hopes of learning more about what really happened to Keira, and why she was really taken. What she discovers there, will have major repercussions for the rest of the series.
One of my favorite characters in this story besides Anastasia, is Charlotte. Her support, her computer prowess, her unwillingness to let Anastasia run into trouble alone, and her courage to stand by Anastasia when she checked out for several months, made her someone to love and keep an eye out throughout this series.

From beginning to end, Anastasia goes through some major growing. She has to in order to discover things about her sister, her parents, and even herself that would have remained secret otherwise. Oh sure, she may have had Marcus alongside for the ride, and oh sure, Marcus own issues may be just important as hers, but Anastasia is someone who can take care of herself. She's got a black belt for a reason folks, and yes, she knows how to use it in order to get what she wants from those who hold deep, dark, dangerous secrets. There are a whole lot of twists in this book. Twists that left me wondering what will happened next.

**I received an ARC of this book from Entangled Teen via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

This book had a lot of mystery, which I really enjoyed. I'm not going to talk about it too much just because I feel like there is too much going on for me to be able to talk about it without accidentally giving something away. It was a fun read, though, and Anastasia is a really good character. Marcus is also very interesting, and I can't wait to read more about those two. However, I felt like I couldn't really connect with any of the characters, even though their situations were definitely relatable. And though the book was enjoyable, parts of it seemed too "out there" for me to view it as believable. It's a book so it's not like I expect everything to be incredibly mundane, but considering how the book started out, I feel like it took a bit of a turn into fantasy, which I wasn't expecting. All in all though, this book was pretty good, and I definitely recommend it to those who like YA and/or mystery.

Once I started reading this book I was unable to put it down. The many twist and turns it took.

Anastasia Phoenix has always felt on the outs wherever she’s been since her scientists parents have moved the family all around the world over the years. When they say there is going to be yet another move Anastasia is of course upset and refuses to speak to them as they leave on yet another trip but little did she know that would be the last time she would see them when a horrible accident happens.

Time passes with Anastasia living with her older sister, Keira, after their parents accident until one night Keira decides to throw a party. The next morning Anastasia believes Keira has male company so she leaves only to return to find a bathroom full of blood and her sister missing. Already having lost her parents Anastasia is determined to find her sister when it seems no one else even believes Keira is even still alive.

Proof of Lies is the first book in the new Anastasia Phoenix series by Diana Rodriguez Wallach. The series is a fast paced young adult contemporary mystery. The story takes readers on an action packed adventure as Anastasia tries to follow any leads she finds to try and locate her missing sister with the help of Marcus, a mysterious bad boy that vows to help Anastasia on her quest.

For the most part this was an enjoyable, fast paced young adult adventure although I will say there were a few times it had me thinking it goes a bit far to be completely believable. Even still with the globetrotting young lead off to save her family it’s still a fun read with the pacing and story even with my thoughts of it veering a bit from reality.

Overall, an interesting start to this series that left me wondering what the author will have in store next.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.