All Our Yesterdays - Review

All Our Yesterdays (All Our Yesterdays, # 1)

By: Cristin Terrill

Publication: September 3rd 2013 by Disney Hyperion (first published August 1st 2013)

360 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Time Travel

Source: Free Audiobook Sync Download

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Goodreads description--What would you change?

Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend, James, since they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it... at least, not as the girl she once was. Em and Marina are in a race against time that only one of them can win.

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

I feel like I need to start this review off by saying that I’m not sure All Our Yesterdays makes for the best audiobook. All Our Yesterdays jumps back and forth in chronology between the past and present and between two versions of the same character. It took me entirely too long to grasp the difference between “Em” and “Marina.” Em is the current version of Marina. When she goes back in time, her prior self goes by Marina. See it’s confusing just trying to explain that. Without really seeing the breaks and changes in narration that I’m sure are front and center visibly in the print copy, it was more difficult for me to keep up with when the narration swapped between current Em and prior Marina.

On top of the dual narration problems, All Our Yesterdays is a complex book. I highly enjoyed the concept, especially when most time-travelling books just don’t do it for me. I don’t usually buy what they're selling. And so the fact that I enjoyed All Our Yesterdays at all is a feat in and of itself. But audiobooks are something that I prefer not to be too complex. I’m usually multitasking when listening to an audiobook. I’m cleaning. Or working. And well if I have to use my brain to think when I’m working on whatever other task I’m doing while listening to the audiobook, chances are high that I’m going to miss something important. And I think that’s what happened with All Our Yesterdays. It wasn’t that I could pick one place that I missed one specific thing, but it was the little details here and there that all add up to really important stuff. If you’re going to listen to All Our Yesterdays on audio then I suggest paying close attention and only multitasking with mindless other things. If you’re reading this one, then I don’t think you have to worry.

All Our Yesterdays hooked me pretty quickly. I was asking myself questions right off the bat, not “I’m confused” questions, but “I’m intrigued/What’s going to happen” questions. I connected with Em and Finn—both current Finn and prior Finn--pretty quickly. But Marina was harder for me to connect with, as was James.

The events of All Our Yesterdays kind of need to be experienced versus me telling you about them. I did enjoy this book, but I would just recommend reading it over listening to the audiobook. All Our Yesterdays gets 4 stars from me. Have you read All Our Yesterdays? What did you think? Let me know!

Crossed - Review

Crossed (Matched, # 2)

By: Ally Condie

Published: November 1st 2011 by Dutton Children's

367 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction

Source: Borrowed from my local library

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Goodreads description--The Society chooses everything.

The books you read.
The music you listen to.
The person you love.

Yet for Cassia the rules have changed. Ky has been taken and she will sacrifice everything to find him.

And when Cassia discovers Ky has escaped to the wild frontiers beyond the Society there is hope.

But on the edge of society nothing is as it seems...

A rebellion is rising.

And a tangled web of lies and double-crosses could destroy everything.

So I really enjoyed Matched, right? But it was very similar to Delirium which I liked better. I went into Crossed knowing that a lot of people didn’t enjoy it as much as Matched. Having not read any reviews of Crossed before starting it, I didn’t know WHY people weren’t enjoying it as much. I grabbed this from the library on audiobook because I really enjoyed hearing the writing style of Matched spoken out loud. I thought the narrator, Kate Simses, did a really good job. Having said that, audiobooks can be tricky. I find that I can listen to audiobooks and multitask only when whatever else I’m doing doesn’t require much thought from me—housework, imaging (a mindless work task), cleaning the pool, etc. But that wasn’t really the case when I started Crossed. I apparently needed to devote more brainpower to work than I thought and thus I had some issues with Crossed in the beginning. I had to restart it twice because I had no clue what was going on. And when I finally made it to the 50% mark in the book, I forgot to renew it and it was returned to the library only for me to be put on the waiting list to check it back out. *sigh* Oh well. I finally finished it.

I can see why people weren’t as into Crossed as Matched. Although describing why feels more difficult. I guess because in Matched you have the excitement of first love and a slight tinge of danger and rebellion. But Crossed is out and out rebellion against Society and our relationship between the male and female lead is pretty cemented even if they’re currently physically separated. Like many other dystopians before (or at least that I’ve read before: Requiem, Allegiant, Pawn ), the Matched series appears to be falling into the trap where our heroine seeks to fix a broken society. It’s the broken society that we love to read about. While the fixing of what is broken is important and we need to read about overcoming obstacles, I’m just not really a fan of these worlds that I fall in love with in book 1 turning into an all-out political war. It’s one of the biggest downfalls of the dystopian genre—at least when it comes to a series within the genre.

Cassia and Ky both narrate in Crossed and I’m thankful for the dual narrators in the audiobook version as well. While Cassia and Ky are separated, Cassia thinks about Ky way too frequently for my tastes. He completely dominates her thoughts. Seriously every third sentence mentions him. And one of my biggest frustrations was that Cassia and Ky’s chapters mirrored each other. They would often be thinking the same thoughts at seemingly the same time. And while I know some of that is possible and probably true—couples often do this I’m sure—it was a bit overdone for me. I’m really big on couples having a distinct voice if both are going to narrate. And they did have a distinct voice (especially because two different people did the narration for the audio version), but the thoughts were very similar even to the point of dreaming similar dreams at the same time.

The biggest plus for Crossed was Ally Condie's writing style for me. Like Matched, Crossed is very poetic at times. Here are my *favorite quotes:

-I’m only afraid of dying wrong.

-It is looking at something without being watched, without being told what to see. That’s what the picture has given us.

-Because in the end you can’t always choose what to keep. You can only choose how you let it go.

-It was brave of them to love again.

-And then I reach the plain and wish for nothing but what I have.

-”You need to choose. I don’t think you see either of them clearly.”

-Is this what Ky feels? Like no one wants the whole? That his truth is too heavy to carry?

I had some frustrations with Crossed, and I can definitely understand why people may have enjoyed it less than Matched but it was still a pretty good read listen. Crossed gets 3.5 stars from me. Have you read Crossed? What did you think? Let me know!

*It's extremely difficult to quote from an audiobook. I do my best to get punctuation and all of the words correct. Any mistakes are my fault. If you see any mistakes, please let me know in the comments and I'll update. It's near impossible to get it all right when I can't see it in print.

Shatter Me - Review

Shatter Me (Shatter Me, # 1)

By: Tahereh Mafi

Published: November 15th 2011 by Harper (first published January 1st 2011)

338 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Personal Kindle Library (Christmas present, thank you Kay!)

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Goodreads description--Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Shatter Me is a book that I've seen tons of press about. I haven't read any reviews for Shatter Me (even as I'm writing my own review now), but I've seen it make Top Ten lists and Best Ofs all over the place. So I decided that Shatter Me was a book that I wanted to get my hands on. Truthfully, I'd never even read the book description until preparing to write my review. BUT through the top ten and best of lists that I've seen I've seen little snippets that left an impression on me and colored a bit of how I experienced Shatter Me. Dern those snippets.

Before I go into any more detail, can I just say that Tahereh Mafi's writing is stunning. I found myself highlighting entire paragraphs because of their beauty and poetry. I've come to find that I really enjoy and appreciate this type of writing style. It reminds me of Lauren Oliver, Maggie Stiefvater, and Michelle Hodkin. And well add Tahereh Mafi into that list because I'll be on the lookout for more of her work from now on. I've also never seen anyone use the strikeout method in their writing like she has and I LOVED it (which also makes the cover make more sense). This added a whole new depth and meaning to Juliette's narrative. I'll include some of my favorite quotes toward the end of this review.

Juliette is a character that I latched onto pretty quickly. She's basically been imprisoned in an asylum for close to a year and we slowly learn the why and the how of it all. Have any of you heard of Jenny Pox? Well Shatter Me is what Jenny Pox should have been. It's just the same basic concept of not being able to touch anyone because skin to skin contact has the potential to kill the other person. So I really felt for Juliette. How lonely she's been, how sad to be deprived of all human contact. And even more than that, Juliette hasn't even spoken to anyone in the same amount of time. She's desperately lonely. And then one day, this boy she's not even sure she remembers is thrown into her cell and everything changes.

Adam. Now remember those snippets I told you about before. Well those snippets don't involve Adam himself but they kept me from fully attaching to Adam like I'm sure I would have under other circumstances. Adam was a character that I should have fallen hard for. You're not sure if he remembers Juliette just as Juliette isn't even sure she remembers him. But the more time goes on the more that is revealed and everything falls into a beautiful place.

Of course, we must have a villain. And not only does The Reestablishment take that place, but the face of The Reestablishment as far as we've seen up until this point is Warren. He's a character that I know more will be coming from and one that I need to know more about. But I fear things are not always as they appear. Warren definitely seems to be a capable villain and one that many fear. He pushes Juliette, wants to use her as a weapon, but he also wants her to stand by his side willingly. I need to know more, but at this point I'm being reminded of The Darkling from The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo. I guess time will tell.

The dystopian or post-apocalyptic world (I'm not 100% sure which because I don't have all of the details of this world yet) that Tahereh Mafi has created is definitely one that has me intrigued. I need to know how the world got this way, and I need to know if there's a way of getting it back. Either way, I just can't wait to dive into the next installment.

My favorite quotes:

-It's like someone is emptying their pockets over the earth and doesn't seem to care where the contents fall, doesn't seem to care that the raindrops burst when they hit the ground, that they shatter when they fall to the floor, that people curse the days the drops dare to tap on their doors. I am a raindrop.

-I catch the rose petals as they fall from my cheeks, as they float around the frame of my body, as they cover me in something that feels like the absence of courage.

-He's too close too close too close. No one is ever close enough.

-The sun is an arrogant thing, always leaving the world behind when it tires of us.

-Truth is a jealous, vicious mistress that never ever sleeps, is what I don't tell him. I'll never be okay.

-I've been murdering minutes for hours and no one seems to mind.

"You think that because I am unwanted, because I am neglected and--and discarded--" my voice inches higher with every word, the unrestrained emotions suddenly screaming through my lungs. "You think I don't have a heart? You think I don't feel? You think that because I can inflict pain, that I should? You're just like everyone else. You think I'm a monster just like everyone else. You don't understand me at all--"

Shatter Me is a read that will pull you in quickly. Tahereh Mafi's writing style is both lyrical and different and I loved every sentence of it. I had no real moments of frustration like I sometimes find in books, and well Shatter Me deserves nothing less than 4.5 Stars. Have you read Shatter Me? What did you think? Let me know!

Revived - Review

Revived

By: Cat Patrick

Published: May 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

352 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction

Source: Won in an Armchair BEA giveaway hosted by Andi's ABCs

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Goodreads description--It started with a bus crash.

Daisy Appleby was a little girl when it happened, and she barely remembers the accident or being brought back to life. At that moment, though, she became one of the first subjects in a covert government program that tests a drug called Revive.

Now fifteen, Daisy has died and been Revived five times. Each death means a new name, a new city, a new identity. The only constant in Daisy's life is constant change.

Then Daisy meets Matt and Audrey McKean, charismatic siblings who quickly become her first real friends. But if she's ever to have a normal life, Daisy must escape from an experiment that's much larger--and more sinister--than she ever imagined.

From its striking first chapter to its emotionally charged ending, Cat Patrick's Revived is a riveting story about what happens when life and death collide.

I won Revived as part of a giveaway last year. The giveaway was the option of two “packages.” Each package offered two books. And well, I wanted one of the books and Revived just happened to be the additional book in the package. I’d never heard of it before that, but having read the description I liked the concept. However, since I’d never heard of it before and didn’t know anyone else who’d read it or heard of it, Revived wasn’t making a high priority on my TBR list. It just so happened that I came across the audiobook version in my local library during a time when I needed an audiobook to listen to immediately and most of the ones on my radar had a waiting list. So I picked up Revived.

Revived is one of those books that I feel like the concept was better than the execution. I liked the idea of a drug that can bring people back to life. Revived bordered on the younger spectrum of YA which isn’t my favorite. And so overall the book just left me feeling “meh.”

Daisy, as the description says, has been revived five times. There’s the initial bus crash that landed her in the program to begin with, but then there are been other instances as well. Choking on a grape, being stung by bees—which she’s allergic to. Each time Daisy dies she has to be relocated because the rest of the world can’t know she’s been revived. Everyone from where she was before thinks she died. Daisy relocates with her handlers Mason and Cassie who play the role of her parents even though they’re not. Mason and Daisy have a fairly close relationship. He’s essentially been her father since she was five, but Cassie’s involvement never really made sense to me. She’s described as being a robot and I’m not sure if that’s accurate as in she’s truly a robot or as in she’s emotionally robotic. Cassie’s entire person, background, etc was a bit “muddy.”

Also as the description says, Daisy actually makes some legitimate friends outside of the program in her newest relocation. Audrey quickly becomes her best friend, and Matt slowly becomes her boyfriend. Daisy has to wonder how much of a true friend she can be to both Audrey and Matt when there’s so much about herself that she’s not supposed to share with them. Can you really be close to people you have to lie to? But Matt and Audrey have a secret too. Audrey’s sick and Daisy is in possession of a miracle drug that saves lives. Unfortunately, Revive won’t work on Audrey. Daisy, who has never really been faced with the finality of death since she’s been revived five times has to realize that not everyone gets to come back from the dead.

A peeve of mine concerning Revived was that the members of the revive program call the founder and creator of the program “God.” I get the idea behind that being because he essentially controls who lives and who dies and how everything works. He has everyone in the program’s lives in his hands. But I felt like this was disrespectful. In Revived, “God” isn’t good. His ways are not just. And he can’t be trusted. So to read about this character and give him the name “God” felt all kinds of wrong to me and left a bad taste in my mouth.

Revived was also the first book I’ve read that included a transgender character. That’s all I’ll say about that.

Overall Revived fell a little flat for me. The conflict felt rushed and unrealistic. The backstory of all the characters didn’t feel completely flushed out. It just ended up being an “okay” book. Give me a year or so and I’m not sure how much I’ll even remember about Revived. It wasn’t a “bad” book by any means, but there wasn’t anything overly “good” about it either. Revived gets 2.5 Stars from me. Have you read Revived? What did you think? Let me know!

The Immortal Crown - Review

The Immortal Rules (Age of X, # 2)

By: Richelle Mead

Published: May 29th 2014 by Dutton Adult

432 pages

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Paranormal

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Vampire Academy and Bloodline series returns with the second installment in her acclaimed Age of X series.

Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion.

Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity.

Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.

I didn’t love Gameboard of the Gods. It wasn’t bad. There was just a lot to learn about the world, and overall the book felt very slow to me. That being said, I requested The Immortal Crown because I had faith that Richelle Mead would pick things up and once the story got moving then I’d be hooked. However, that didn’t mean I was dying to pick up The Immortal Crown immediately when I got it.

The Immortal Crown was STILL really slow for me. It wasn’t until the 50% mark that I started really getting interested in what was going on, and truly not until the 60% mark when I actually felt hooked. This is so odd to me because I’m usually sucked into Richelle Mead’s books fairly quickly. Maybe it was because work has been really stressful lately, but I literally found myself dozing off every single time I picked up this book until I hit 50%. It took me 9 days to finish The Immortal Crown and while the book itself isn’t exactly small, I also can’t really remember the last time it took me 9 days to finish a fiction book (aside from one of the A Song of Ice and Fire books). Despite the slow beginning, The Immortal Crown packed a lot of action in the last 40%.

Richelle Mead writes from multiple POVs in this series, but it often feels like none of the characters are actually narrating. Sometimes, I feel like some ambiguous third party is the one describing the events. Maybe that’s because the POV wasn’t always clear as it was supposed to be. The Immortal Crown isn’t a first person narrative even when the focus is on a particular character. Maybe this is what keeps me from connecting as much to this series. I'm just not sure.

The characters really grew on me from how I felt about them after reading Gameboard of the Gods. Justin started out in a place where I wasn’t loving his character. He reminds me of Sherlock Holmes. While being utterly brilliant and a master at deduction and manipulation, he also relies on vices to get him through the day to day. Justin grew on me in The Immortal Crown. I couldn’t agree with all of his decisions, but he had Mae’s back explicitly. He jumped in and protected her when she needed it.

Mae has always been likable to me. She fits the strong female leads that Richelle Mead is known for. She’s smart and strong. She’s capable of taking care of herself and others. She’s a protector at heart. And she’s even a warrior. I was happy that Mae was able to evaluate that if Justin can misinterpret her at times then it’s possible that she’s misinterpreted him in the past as well. I was afraid she’d be angry and bitter toward him for too long, but that wasn’t the case. Mae learns that she can trust Justin to have her back when she needs it the most. And yet everything isn’t quite the way she’d like with him either. They make a good team, but in the end Mae might be a little hasty in jumping in out to protect Justin. I’m a little fearful of where things left off with Mae. While she might be smart, she doesn’t have the knowledge that Justin has about the different gods and the mythology surrounding them.

Unlike Mae, Tessa is a character that I’ve struggled with for a bit. For her to be so bright, even at times being referred to as a mini-Justin, she sure seemed to miss the obvious to me in this installment. How she couldn’t see from early on that Daphne wouldn’t be any friend to her or would have ulterior motives is beyond me. Any reader would be able to spot that within seconds. Tessa’s sections weren’t as interesting to me, and when the narration would swap to her I always found myself sighing a bit. I knew Richelle Mead would weave Tessa’s storyline into the overall plot, but it just wasn’t as interesting to me. Overall, by the end of the book I found myself thinking that her part was a lot of work for a small—at least at this point—piece of the puzzle.

As the description says, the elect have really stepped up their game. For the longest time, I was wondering where this big war was going to come in, but then it seemed like four others were revealed within the last 40% or so of the book. I’d love to tell you who they are, but that’s part of the process and you just have to read the book to find out for yourselves.

I feel like I really haven’t even touched on the events of the book itself, but the description really does do a good job of telling you what you need to know there. All in all, I ended up enjoying The Immortal Crown even though it took me a really long time to get hooked into the story. The characters and plot are set up just perfectly for the next (and last????) book in the series. I can see Richelle Mead putting the pieces of the puzzle in their proper places and even though I wasn’t hooked early on like I would like to be, Richelle Mead is the master at setting up and executing a series. The Immortal Crown gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read The Immortal Crown? What did you think? Let me know!

Uninvited - Review

Uninvited (Uninvited, # 1)

By: Sophie Jordan

Published: January 28th 2014 by HarperTeen

384 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!!)

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Goodreads description--The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report in bestselling author Sophie Jordan's chilling new novel about a teenage girl who is ostracized when her genetic test proves she's destined to become a murderer.

When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone.

Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

The first in a two-book series, Uninvited tackles intriguing questions about free will, identity, and human nature. Steeped in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's trademark mix of gripping action and breathless romance, this suspenseful tale is perfect for fans of James Patterson, Michelle Hodkin, and Lisa McMann.

I really got hooked into Sophie Jordan’s writing style with her Firelight series. So that had me extremely interested in checking out this book. The description of “The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report” had me intrigued. I’ve said this a dozen times, but I always feel like I need to say it again whenever the description spells out too much. I read the description of books when I add them to my TBR list or when I decide to pick them up/check them out. However, a varying amount of time goes by between when I read the description and when I pick up any particular book. That being said, this is another book where the description spells out some things for sure that I predicted while reading and I would have known them to be fact had I re-read the description before actually picking it up. But, this is the way that I like it. I don’t enjoy knowing too much information before starting a book.

The description above does state that Davy’s boyfriend Zac ditches her. And well I’ve kind of come to expect that from any book where the main character has an existing relationship at the start of the book. Truthfully, I think I’ve only read a handful of books that start like this, but still. Whenever I don’t have the opportunity to witness the buildup and establishment of a romantic relationship in a book, I’m not as emotionally attached to that relationship. And that’s essentially the case here.

It took me a good 20-30% of Uninvited to feel invested in what was going on. I’m not quite sure if that’s the books fault or because I’ve been trying to take things easier the last couple of weeks. Either way, I can see some readers abandoning this one before they have an opportunity to get hooked. Regardless, I did end up getting hooked, and read the majority of the book in one day.

Davy is a character designed to stir up sympathy within your heart. She’s got a bright future ahead of her. Her parents live in the good neighborhood. She goes to a private school. She’s musically gifted in just about every area possible. She’s already been accepted to Julliard. She’s dating the guy that every other female wants. She’s the good child between her and her brother. But then she finds out the results of her DNA test. She’s positive for the “kill gene.” And despite what the past 17 years of her life shows, everyone around her is now wary of her. They’re afraid that she’ll flip at any moment.

I liked the concept of how even though your actions should be the determining factor when it comes to your character—who you are—people labeled you what they project onto you. It happens all the time. And sometimes there’s just nothing we can do to change the minds of others. I also liked showing how drastically people will respond out of fear. While some of Uninvited is probably extreme to the point of unrealistic, people are definitely afraid of what they can’t see and understand. And fear motivates people to behave inhumanely all the time. And normally, I really don’t like books that have some sort of political undertone or message, I did enjoy the show of how ridiculous the government can be.

Uninvited has wide variety of male depictions in comparison to female ones. We’ve got Davy’s brother, Mitchell, who is a perpetual screw up. Everyone probably should have been more wary of him based off his actions than Davy. But I love the relationship he has with her. Mitchell isn’t perfect, but he’s got Davy’s back despite the recently revelation of her “kill gene.” Davy’s dad is furious at the news of his daughter’s DNA and the treatment of her by those around her. Yet his own behavior is confusing. Zac is Davy’s boyfriend at the start of the book. We all know that he abandons her, but all of that doesn’t go down as quickly as one might expect. He does some really crappy things, but at the same time, you can tell that he still cares for Davy even though he allows himself to be influenced by those around him. We’ve got the perverted teacher who takes advantage of his position as well as the fact that his word is better than that of someone with the “kill gene.” There are no shortage of sociopaths either.

Overall Uninvited turned out to be an average book for me. I enjoyed reading it once I got hooked, but now that a couple of days have passed since I finished it, well I’m just not that stoked about it. Honestly, I was debating on not continuing with the series until I saw that this is only planned to be a two book series. I think I can handle one more. Uninvited gets 3 stars for me. Have you read Uninvited? What did you think? Let me know!

Into the Still Blue - Review

Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky, # 3)

By: Veronica Rossi

Expected Publication: January 28th 2014 by HarperCollins

400 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopian

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Goodreads description--The earth-shattering conclusion to Veronica Rossi's "masterpiece" Under the Never Sky trilogy and sequel to the New York Times bestselling Through the Ever Night (Examiner.com).

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

In this final book in her stunning Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi raises the stakes to their absolute limit and brings her epic love story to an unforgettable close

Oh *sigh*! The close of another series that I’ve really enjoyed. You guys I LOVED Under the Never Sky. Through the Ever Night was somewhat more of a struggle as book 2 in a series can be. But I would say that Through the Ever Night was better than many other book 2s that I’ve read. And lately I’ve been disappointed with several series enders so I was somewhat nervous about Into the Still Blue. But Veronica Rossi did me right.

Aria is one of my favorite female leads of recent books. She’s strong and opinionated. But she’s got a good head on her shoulders. She knows instinctively how to lead. And she learns from her mistakes. Yet she’s still vulnerable and just the right amount emotional. Perry has also learned from his mistakes. He’s a do-what-needs-to-be-done kind of guy. But Perry isn’t afraid of showing how much he cares—for Aria, for the Tides, for Roar. Whoever, whatever that has captured his heart is fair game. He does struggle with the line of trying to be in control of himself because of his emotions, but that just makes him all the more attractive to me.

As with the other books in this series, the secondary characters have such standout personalities and behaviors. I was attached to almost all of them. Soren and the other dwellers make progress in mixing with the Tides. Talon, Cinder, Willow, Flea…love those kids. Even Brooke. I loved the addition of Loran. He was one of my favorite characters in this book. Sable makes a perfect villain—someone you love to hate.

I really get wrapped up in Veronica Rossi’s writing. A few (HA!) of my favorite quotes:

Even the way he stood, weight to one side, like his entire life was out of balance.

He looked back, still walking, and pressed a hand to his heart.

In all her life, her heart had never hurt like this. Never

He'd said when. Even in his beaten condition, he believed in whens and not ifs. She never should have doubted his strength.

"Tell me," he said. "How is it that you've come to trust the Outsiders, and they you?" Aria shrugged. "I started with the right one."

They had practiced handing their worries back and forth.

"I could kill you silently if I wanted to."

The moment of absolute silence felt familiar, reminding Perry of when he'd slain Vale. Power felt tangible. Its shift unmistakeable. Something had just ended, and something had just begun, and every person there sense it: a change as startling and inevitable as the first drops of rain.

"You misunderstood. I'm not questioning him. I've always known who he is. What I'm questioning, thanks to a girl with a tooth-rattling kick, is who I am."

There were a few moments where the characters made some choices that had me frustrated. Roar, in particular, acting from a place of grief puts everyone around him in danger. But overall I was insanely proud of these characters ability to work with what they’re given. To make better choices when given a second opportunity. To continue to strive toward the goal of a new life away from the dangers of the aether. In the end, I think everything happened in Into the Still Blue exactly the way it needed to.

While I think Into the Still Blue was one of the better series enders I’ve read recently, I still have to say that I don’t know that it lived up to the essence of book 1. Under the Never Sky blew me away. I loved everything about it. And while I did enjoy Into the Still Blue, I do know that I enjoyed Under the Never Sky more. Into the Still Blue gets 4 stars from me still. Have you read Into the Still Blue?

Origin - Review

Origin (Lux, # 4)

By: Jennifer L Armentrout

Published: August 27th 2013 by Entangled Publishing

366 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Science Fiction

Source: Borrowed from my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love

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Goodreads description--Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on?

And will they even be together?

Opal (book 3) ends with a "cliffhanger." Daemon, Katy, and crew broke into the military facility that was holding Beth and broke her out. For this point, they were successful. However, Katy gets captured in the meantime. It didn't really feel like a cliffhanger to me in that I expected something like that to go down. The whole book was building up to something going wrong, and everything was working out too smoothly up until that point. And so that's where we pick up with Origin. Katy's been captured and separated from Daemon. This means that while I wanted to know how it all played out, I also knew there would be trudging through some down time with Katy and Daemon separated that I would have to get through before I could get to "the good stuff" in Origin. And that's essentially how it plays out. The beginning of Origin was pretty slow for me. I was 30% in before I started getting invested again.

Katy goes through a lot in the time that she's separated from Daemon at the hands of Daedalus, but honestly, not really as much as I expected with the way Dawson and Bethany talked. I expected Katy to be going out of her head during the process. Daemon makes some pretty rash decisions that actually pay off for him--as things tend to do for Daemon. I have a feeling that there might be some criticism over one decision that Katy and Daemon make, but I loved it. Although a couple of words and phrases strategically placed have me cringing for the future.

Katy's a fairly strong character though. She doesn't have these mental breakdowns that a lot of characters do. I mean obviously she has moments where she breaks down and cries, but she doesn't really have moments where you wonder if she's going to be able to get up and brush herself off again. She's a strong female lead.

Daemon is still Daemon. He's snarky and sarcastic. He's got such a smart, witty mouth. I love it. He's fiercely protective of Katy in just the way you want a manly man (or er...manly alien) to be, but not to the point where he's too much. I still love how he calls her Kitten. It can be endearing, provocative and sarcastic all at the same time. It's the perfect nickname from Daemon to Katy.

I enjoyed the addition of Archer into the cast of characters--though I haven't fully figured him out yet. We find out more about Luc, who I had completely forgotten existed between the time I read Opal and the time I read Origin. I like what may be developing between Archer and Dee. Dawson and Bethany are kind of equalizing and re-acclimating to life outside Daeladus. But their "twist" was visible from a mile away.

The ending leaves things a bit open. I wouldn't say that it had a cliffhanger ending--definitely not like Opal's ending was supposed to be--but there are questions that I feel a burning desire to have answered sooner rather than later.

Origin gets 4 Stars from me. Have you read Origin? What did you think? Let me know!

Fragments - Review

Fragments (Partials, # 2)

By: Dan Wells

Published: February 26th 2013 by Balzer + Bray

564 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Personal Kindle Library

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Goodreads description--Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is only just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues as to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence—it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that Kira knows she is a part of, a plan that could save both races. Her allies are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what’s left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira’s journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and they will both discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn’t even know existed.

I feel like I've accomplished something after finishing Fragments. Fragments isn't the longest book I've ever read and it's not even the longest book that I'll read this year, but it was lengthy. It also felt a little slow to me. Don't get me wrong, the length and the pacing don't really affect the quality of this book--it's still pretty fantastic--but it did affect my overall experience with the book.

Fragments is actually told from multiple POVs. It's been over a year since I've read Partials, but I don't remember it being told from multiple POVs--I could totally be wrong about that. Kira and Marcus are the two main narrators of Fragments but we also have a couple of short narrations from Samm and even including sections from Ariel and Haru. Sometimes I find myself frustrated with multiple POVs where the narrators are in completely different parts of the world and experiencing vastly different circumstances, but Marcus's sections were usually fairly short so I knew we would be coming back to Kira soon which helped me to not feel so abandoned and bounced around.

Marcus's sections were essential to carrying on the story, furthering the plot, and uncovering information that Kira couldn't possibly have uncovered under the same circumstances. Marcus comes into his own in Fragments and really steps up into a necessary role. He fights, he does his medic things, he even serves as diplomat and mediator--all while being extremely afraid, but determined to push through his fear. As with Partials, Marcus brings the comedy with his one-liners here and there. I love the addition that he brings to this story.

I can't discuss Marcus without discussing his relationship with Kira. They haven't seen each other since the end of Partials, but they try to maintain communication via radio whenever possible. In my review of Partials, I discussed how I wasn't attached to Marcus and Kira's relationship. They're boyfriend/girlfriend, but there seems to be a missing spark. I always had thoughts about how this would play out and how Kira really feels, but I've really enjoyed seeing my predictions worked into Fragments. But don't be fooled, the romance plays second fiddle to the main plot about saving their broken world.

Fragments is packed full of information that Kira uncovers about this wonderful world that Dan Wells has created. She learns who the Trust is (at least most of the members). She learns what their plan was for the partials, for RM, for the partial expiration date. She learns about herself and the world beyond New York. The information trickles in over the course of the book but the last 20% or so really produces the most information and ties everything we've learned together proving that Dan Wells is indeed brilliant.

The secondary characters shine and I loved the addition of Afa. I had trouble understanding his character in the beginning, but as time went by, I almost felt like I was just as protective of him as Kira becomes. Dan Wells handles him in a way that I don't even know how to describe. That one part where Mr. Wells just puts it out there point-blank well...that part hurt. I can't go into detail...spoilers you know. Heron was just as annoying in Fragments as in Partials. At times I wanted to like her and she wasn't one of those characters that I cringed reading about, but she definitely brought frustration with her. So many other characters that we meet--some completely new, some we've heard about but never met.

Samm is one of my favorite characters in the cast. He's so different from what you typically expect from a leading male because he just doesn't have any clue how to express himself. He's a Partial. He's not human. While we learn just how deeply Partials can experience human emotion--Kira being a prime example--it was interesting to watch how he struggles with showing his emotions. His trust in Kira is unflinching and unwavering to the point of following her across a wasteland on a mission that doesn't have any guarantee of the answers they're looking for. Samm gives us a look into the Partials that we don't get anywhere else. While Kira and Heron are both Partials, they're both different models from Samm and the majority of the Partials still alive.

I loved the decisions that Dan Wells made throughout this book. Kira doesn't follow the pattern of the self-sacrificing leading ladies that so much of YA literature does while still being self-sacrificing. She makes some really hard--impossible really--decisions along the way. These decisions even result in the deaths of others. And while it hurts her to make them, she knows that she's going to make a difference, redeem herself, and make those deaths mean something by completing her mission. Mr. Wells throws some impossible situations, complex questions, and ethical impossibilities in the mix of this broken and struggling world.

Fragments, though a slow read for me, still packs a powerful punch. The characters and the plot make up for any negatives that the pacing causes. Fragments gets 4 stars from me, and I can't wait to get started reading Ruins whenever it releases. Have you read Fragments? What did you think? Let me know!

Pawn - Review

Pawn (The Blackcoat Rebellion, # 1)

By: Aimee Carter

Published: November 26th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

304 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!!)

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Goodreads description--YOU CAN BE A VII. IF YOU GIVE UP EVERYTHING.

For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.

If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.

There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed …and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.

Previously titled Masked

Pawn starts out similar to books like The Hunger Games and Divergent where you’re introduced to this completely different world order and social hierarchy. It was really fascinating to see how Aimee Carter designed her world. Each person when they turn 17 takes this test. The results of the test place you within a category from I to VII. All of the questions and criteria that the test looks at wasn’t spelled out in detail within Pawn, but it appears that intelligence and reading comprehension play a part. Similar to an IQ test maybe? At least that's the feel you get from it. Ranks I through III are really considered lower class. IV is considered average or middle class. And V or VI is considered higher class. VII is unattainable—only the ruling family of the nation has this rank and it’s given to them by birth, not earned. What rank you get determines what kind of job you have. What kind of job you have really determines how well fed and taken care of you are. It seems like a complicated but simple system all at the same time. The thought process behind this testing is to get the right people in the right jobs so that everyone is contributing as effectively as possible to society, to the economy, and to the government. Unlike Divergent or The Hunger Games where it takes until the end of the first book or even the second book entirely, Pawn turns political rather quickly. I mean the series is titled The Blackcoat Rebellion afterall--of course the focus is going to be on the uprising and overthrowing of a corrupt and flawed government system.

Kitty is our leading female, and well she didn’t score as well as she hoped on the test which starts off a whole mess of desperation and thoughtless acts. While I found it really hard to wrap my head around the course of action that Kitty chose to take as a result of her new ranking, I guess it was the catalyst needed for the actions to follow. I didn’t feel like Kitty’s situation was as desperate as her actions called for, but I wasn’t writing her off at that point either. Despite her initial flawed thought process and a couple of hiccups throughout the book, Kitty was a fairly likable main character for me. One characteristic that stuck out to me about her that I just loved was how Kitty refused to let assumptions get the better of her when it comes to other people and their motives toward her. I could just see a dozen other YA female leads throwing a variety of tantrums had they been faced with the same information that Kitty was faced with, yet she kept her cool. Applause to her and kudos to Aimee Carter for that.

Similar to Partials by Dan Wells, Pawn starts out with an existing romantic relationship between Kitty and her longtime boyfriend, Benjy. In Partials, I never really felt the connection between Kira and Marcus and it was therefore pretty easy for me to let go of the idea of them as a couple. However, Aimee Carter did a decent job establishing a connection between Kitty and Benjy in the very beginning and I was sure I would continue to root for them as a couple throughout the book. Unfortunately, I’ve found that while I appreciate the uniqueness of an already established relationship in a world of books surrounding the process of falling in love, I’m not always as set on the relationship surviving because I didn’t witness it’s establishment and am not as emotionally connected to the relationship myself as I would be if I had read about how the two came together. For Pawn, I thought I would be able to hold on to hope for Kitty and Benjy, but when a potential third party entered the picture I began to feel confused. It felt obvious who Aimee Carter was trying to point me, as the reader, towards, but I wasn’t sure I was buying it (which reminded me of Sophie Jordan’s Firelight series). And in the end, I really just wasn’t sure who I was rooting for.

Pawn had some aspects that stretched my imagination just a bit too far. The concept of being Masked is neat, but seems impossible, even with copious amounts of money and technology that we just don’t have today. I tried not to let this keep me from enjoying the book, but it was definitely noted, and I can see where other readers might have a hard time getting past such things.

Pawn was a good first installment to a new series, but I wasn’t blown away. There were some twists, but I found them mostly predictable. Sci-fi and Dystopian fans would probably be the ideal fan of Pawn, but I wouldn’t expect them to be sold completely based off the first book. I do plan to continue reading the series at this point, but whether I finish it or not will definitely depend on how well book 2 survives the typical book 2 curse. Pawn gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read Pawn? What did you think? Let me know!

Waiting on Panic

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Panic

By: Lauren Oliver

Expected Publication: March 4th 2014 by HarperCollins

416 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian

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Goodreads description--Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Though I haven't read Requiem yet, I've been loving Lauren Oliver's Delirium series. I can't wait to get my hands on this one. What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Waiting on Ruins

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Ruins (Partials, # 3)

By: Dan Wells

Expected Publication: March 11th 2014 by Balzer + Bray

352 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian

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Goodreads description--Kira, Samm, and Marcus fight to prevent a final war between Partials and humans in the gripping final installment of the blockbuster Partials Sequence.

Our time is almost up.

As the clock ticks closer and closer to the final Partial expiration date, humans and Partials stand on the brink of war. Caught in the middle, thousands of miles apart, are Samm and Kira: Samm, who is trapped on the far side of the continent beyond the vast toxic wasteland of the American Midwest; and Kira, now in the hands of Dr. Morgan, who is hell-bent on saving what's left of the Partials, even if she has to destroy Kira to do it.

The only hope lies in the hands of the scattered people of both races who seek a way to prevent the rapidly escalating conflict. But in their midst appears a mysterious figure, neither human nor Partial, with solemn warnings of the new apocalypse-one that none of them may be able to avert.

The last book in the Partials Sequence is a thrill ride of epic proportions, as the last remnants of life on our planet fight to determine its final fate.

What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Waiting on Into the Still Blue

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky, # 3)

By: Veronica Rossi

Expected Publication: January 28th 2014 by HarperCollins

400 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopian

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Goodreads description--The earth-shattering conclusion to Veronica Rossi's "masterpiece" Under the Never Sky trilogy and sequel to the New York Times bestselling Through the Ever Night (Examiner.com).

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

In this final book in her stunning Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi raises the stakes to their absolute limit and brings her epic love story to an unforgettable close

Oh yeah!!!! Can't wait for this one! What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Delirium - Review

Delirium (Delirium, # 1)

By: Lauren Oliver

Published: August 2nd 2011 by HarperTeen (first published February 1st 2011)

441 pages

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopian

Source: Borrowed from my local library

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Goodreads description--Ninety-five days, and then I’ll be safe.

I wonder whether the procedure will hurt.

I want to get it over with.

It’s hard to be patient.

It’s hard not to be afraid while I’m still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn’t touched me yet.

Still, I worry.

They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness.

The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t.

Oh boy guys...what to say about Delirium other than "read this book!"???

The concept of love being considered a disease by an entire society was such a unique concept that I was pretty much captivated from the first page. Of course, because this concept is so "out there" I was being a little over analytic with the logistics of it all. But eventually, I was able to just shut that part of my brain off and dive into this interesting and truly sad concept of a world that Lauren Oliver created. A world without love....can anyone truly imagine it?

Lena starts out as a strict rules-follower type of person. She's had too many experiences in the past that haunt her concerning those who try to break the rules--those who fought for love. And after seeing what those people have gone through, the very idea of the "disease"--the deliria--terrifies Lena. She absolutely cannot wait until she turns eighteen so that she can receive the cure. But genius is not needed to know that Lena has quite a wild ride ahead of her.

Initially, I was almost more intrigued by Hana's character than by Lena. Hana is always pushing the edge of what's been deemed appropriate by the government and what her heart calls out to her. Hana and Lena go through a lot throughout the entire story unfolding in Delirium, and I loved how they could be at odds with each other and return back to a place of love and devotion to each other as true friendship allows.

Alex confused me at first because he wasn't really what I was expecting. In the end he lived up to be everything I hoped for. He is the catalyst for so much change within Lena and I don't think we've even seen how far the reach of the ripples that he's caused for Lena and even other secondary characters as a result. I can't wait to find out more.

After reading a couple of books where I felt like the writing was immature (that's the best word I can think of right now), but having a hard time explaining what I meant by that, Delirium was so easy to pick out as being excellent writing--lyrical and poetic. Beautiful. I actually listened to the audio version of this book, read by Sarah Drew. She did an excellent job. She was dramatic and intense and I felt my heart pounding my chest during certain parts of the book. The intensity that she put behind her narration was just what this book called for. Though sometimes Sarah Drew's narration for Alex was slightly off-putting, the rest of the story and the performance was spot on.

Some of my favorite quotes (*note because I listened to this book in audiobook version, it's almost impossible for me to quote directly, specifically punctuation, etc. I did the best I could. And I definitely can't site the location.):

"You can't really be happy unless you're unhappy sometimes." - Hana

"The secret to talking to boys--you have to be angry all the time." - Lena

"Is it possible to flirt without knowing you're flirting?" - Lena --YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"And then my eye went full flutter." -Lena - Ok this one you have to know the context, but trust me...it's hilarious, especially if you've ever had an eye twitch due to stress.

"Apparently the disease turns you into a world class liar." - Lena

"Without love there could be no hate. Without hate, no violence." - Lena followed up by "Hate isn't the most dangerous thing. ...Indifference is." - Alex

"You have to understand. I am no one special. I am just a single girl. Five feet two inches tall. And I am in between in every way. But I have a secret. You can build walls all the way to the sky and I will find a way to fly above them. You can try to pin me down with a hundred thousand arms, but I will find a way to resist. And there are many of us out there. More than you think. People who refuse to stop believing. People who refuse to come to Earth. People who love in a world without walls. People who love into hate and refusal, against hope, and without fear. I love you. Remember. They cannot take it." - Lena

Delirium is a must read in my opinion. Full of beautiful prose, intense pacing, and original in concept. I'm giving Delirium 4.5 Stars. Have you read Delirium? If so, what did you think? Let me know!

Waiting on Cress

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Cress (Lunar Chronicles, # 3)

By: Marissa Meyer

Expected Publication: February 4th 2014 by Feiwel and Friends

560 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopian

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Goodreads description--Rapunzel's tower is a satellite. She can't let down her hair - or her guard.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker – unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

Oh yeah...can't wait to get back into this series. What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

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Waiting on Origin

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Origin (Lux, # 4)

By: Jennifer L Armentrout

Expected Publication: August 27th 2013 by Entangled Publishing

400 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Paranormal

( Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and The Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on?

And will they even be together?

EEEE!!!!! So yeah, that's what I'm waiting on this week! What's your WOW pick? Let me know!

Through the Ever Night - Review

Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky, # 2)

By: Veronica Rossi

Published: January 8th 2013 by HarperCollins

352 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian

Source: Borrowed from my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love

( Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, The Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both. Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder,Can their love survive through the ever night? In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

I finished Under the Never Sky and needed to get my hands on Through the Ever Night as soon as possible. But responsibility came first. I needed to read a couple of review books first. So I finally got around to reading Through the Ever Night and now I can't get it out of my head. I immediately moved into another book after finishing Through the Ever Night, but I couldn't concentrate on it. When does Into the Still Blue come out? Friggin' next year! Argh! (January 28, 2014 is the estimated publication date for Into the Still Blue.)

When we left Under the Never Sky, Aria and Perry had been separated. Aria had just found out that her mother was dead and Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides. I was totally prepared because of the Goodreads blurb for Aria and Perry to be separated for most of the beginning of the book. And was pleasantly surprised when they quickly had a reunion that I didn't have to stumble through 60% of the book to get to. However, there does come a time when separate paths must be taken for a bit so I wasn't too far off with my expectations.

Through the Ever Night really showed the struggles of being a leader. Perry tries to make the very best decisions he can for his tribe, but he's constantly being questioned and undermined. I'm sure every leader faces this, but it was hard to live this with Perry. I sympathized with him for the weight of everything he has to carry, but Perry presses on. He continues to make the hard decisions--even if they're not very popular. Sometimes I wanted to yell at his tribe to just sit down, shut up, and keep their opinions to themselves. Over time Perry earns his respect and his spot at Blood Lord and I think he needed to earn it just as much as his people needed to see him earn it.

Also when we left Under the Never Sky, Aria and Perry's relationship was unresolved. We know they were getting closer. Perry has rendered to her. But Perry's told Aria that he needs to marry someone who has the same Mark as he does. He's a Scire and a Seer, but Aria's an Aud. So they don't match. But we're not sure if that is going to stop them or not. Through the Ever Night doesn't really give them much opportunity to talk and flesh this stuff out so Aria and Perry as a couple feel unstable throughout the majority of the book.

The secondary characters get more of a chance to shine in Through the Ever Night than they did in Under the Never Sky. Roar and Aria are essentially best friends after spending the last few months together. We finally get to meet Liv that Roar has been pining over all of Under the Never Sky. Cinder gets fleshed out some more. And we extend the cast of secondary characters to more of the Tides and even introducing Sable and Kirra of the Horns--can I just say that I HATED Kirra. Not to mention that some of the Dwellers from Aria's past make a few more appearances.

Through the Ever Night has stuck with me even after finishing it. I read it in a hurried, almost frantic way. And I can't wait to get my hands on book 3, Into the Still Blue. Through the Ever Night gets 4 Stars from me. Have you read Through the Ever Night? What did you think? Let me know!