All Things Halloween Review - The Last Star

The Last Star (The 5th Wave, # 3)

By: Rick Yancey

Published: May 24th 2016 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

338 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

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

Goodreads description--The enemy is Other. The enemy is us.

They’re down here, they’re up there, they’re nowhere. They want the Earth, they want us to have it. They came to wipe us out, they came to save us.

But beneath these riddles lies one truth: Cassie has been betrayed. So has Ringer. Zombie. Nugget. And all 7.5 billion people who used to live on our planet. Betrayed first by the Others, and now by ourselves.

In these last days, Earth’s remaining survivors will need to decide what’s more important: saving themselves…or saving what makes us human.

I've had The Last Star in my possession for about two years. Well...a year and a half at least. Regardless. I've put off reading it until just now because I'd seen ratings start to come in shortly after release date that were only mediocre. And this was so disheartening for me. I loved The 5th Wave and while The Infinite Sea had a slow start for me, I still really enjoyed it. Often when I see a book have mediocre ratings it lowers my expectations and then I end up enjoying it more than I expected to, but that's not always how things happen. Of course, sometimes the mediocre ratings lower my expectations and I only end up agreeing with everyone else. And unfortunately that's what happened with The Last Star for me.

A large part of my frustration with this book is my own fault. Due to the amount of time between when I read The Infinite Sea and when I read The Last Star, I'd forgotten so much of what happened that I felt utterly lost when I started this book. Unfortunately I never ended up feeling like I fully knew what was going on. I mean obviously by the end I knew but there were things that characters did or said where it was as if the reader should just know what they were talking about and I couldn't figure out if this was because I'd forgotten so much information from the previous book or if it was due to the author just not doing the best job fleshing everything out in a way that made the most sense.

I'd say the overall theme of The Last Star was self-sacrifice. I was initially hesitant to bring this up because I didn't want anyone to feel like I was ruining the ending of the book, but truly this theme runs from action to action throughout the entire book. While I love my happily-ever-afters, I don't immediately hate a book when a character goes self-sacrifice as long as it is legitimate and not self-sabotage. I mean I didn't rage against Allegiant because Tris died in the end. I hated that it had to happen, but to me, it actually made sense. And that's essentially how I felt with all of the self-sacrificing acts throughout The Last Star.

I didn't love how Cassie suddenly seemed to question Evan and his feelings for her despite everything that he's done for her in the past. Yet I almost feel like this was needed for all of those readers who were completely grossed out by the idea of Cassie and Evan considering he's an alien at all. And how that played out ended up feeling predictable to me.

I struggled a bit with Ringer and her story line as some things were just hard for me to comprehend. Sam got on my nerves. Probably mostly because I understand a 9 year old boy who has been through this level of trauma about as much I understand quantum physics. Ben was likable, but for some reason I felt a distance with him compared to how I've felt in the previous two books.

I'm not exactly sure what I would have wanted Rick Yancey to do differently in ending this story, but overall it just felt a bit anti-climatic to me. I'd read some sections quickly and be anxious to get back to them when I had to put them down and other sections felt as if they dragged on and had me trudging through.

In the end, I guess that's how I'd sum up The Last Star...anti-climatic. Again, I'm not sure if this was more my fault for forgetting so much of the previous story or because things felt too predictable to me. The characters felt a bit more flat than they have in the past, and even though I typically appreciate stories that delve into true self-sacrifice, I guess I wasn't connected enough to anyone or the story to care adequately about their sacrifices. The Last Star was a bit disappointing to me, and for that reason it gets 3 Stars. Have you read The Last Star? What did you think? Let me know!

This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.

Waiting on The Last Star

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

The Last Star (The 5th Wave, # 3)

By: Rick Yancey

Expected Publication: May 24th 2016 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Genre:

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

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

Goodreads description--We’re here, then we’re gone, and that was true before they came. That’s always been true. The Others didn’t invent death; they just perfected it. Gave death a face to put back in our face, because they knew that was the only way to crush us. It won’t end on any continent or ocean, no mountain or plain, jungle or desert. It will end where it began, where it had been from the beginning, on the battlefield of the last beating human heart.

Master storyteller Rick Yancey invokes triumph, loss, and unrelenting action as the fate of the planet is decided in the conclusion to this epic series.

I've so enjoyed this series, and I can't wait to see how it wraps up. What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Also, have you guys seen the trailer for The 5th Wave movie? Here it is:

All Things Halloween Review - The Infinite Sea

The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave, # 2)

By: Rick Yancey

Published: September 16th 2014 by Putnam Juvenile

480 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic

Source: Personal Library

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

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

Goodreads description--The riveting follow-up to the New York Times bestselling The 5th Wave, hailed by Justin Cronin as “wildly entertaining.”

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

*Deep sigh*. Oh my. That was a roller coaster. The Infinite Sea felt like a George R R Martin novel because absolutely nothing good happens to these characters. That’s not me spoiling this book. That’s me trying to prepare you for this ride because just when things are looking up…….WHAM! Not so much. Even though The Infinite Sea was an exhausting book, it still was a great second installment to The 5th Wave series.

We pick up The Infinite Sea a little while after The 5th Wave ended. I don’t remember how much time actually passed, maybe two weeks, but regardless, I didn’t feel out of the loop or like too much happened between the end of the first book and the beginning of this one. Like The 5th Wave, Rick Yancey writes from multiple POVs. The largest portions were Cassie, Ringer, Evan, Ben/Zombie, and then Poundcake had a few short sections similar to the sections Sam had in the first installment. I really enjoyed Ringer’s sections even though I wasn’t excited about reading from her POV at first. And even Poundcake’s short little sections added to the depth of the entire story.

When we start The Infinite Sea, Ringer has been tasked with the job of scouting ahead. The group has plans to travel to a more permanent hiding place for the winter because the hotel they’re staying now just isn’t far enough from Camp Haven where everything went down at the end of The 5th Wave. The hotel was supposed to be Evan and Cassie’s rendezvous location, but Evan has yet to show up. Zombie/Ben is ready to move on assuming that Evan is dead, but Cassie isn’t ready to give up yet. Thus Ringer has been sent out to scout out these caves as a potential winter shelter. Without giving too much away, Ringer finds herself back in the hands of the enemy, and eventually Evan finds his way to Cassie. But life isn’t blue skies and rainbows for any of these characters. More terrible things continue to happen as the enemy closes in around them.

Anyone who wasn’t digging the Cassie/Evan relationship from The 5th Wave can relax because their relationship is not the focus of this book. But don’t relax too much because there still is a relationship to be had. I personally love Cassie and Evan. I see no difference between them and Wanderer and what’s-his-face from The Host. And they’re probably less creepy than Katie and Daemon from The Lux series. At least Evan’s DNA is human. Anyway…loved them as individual characters and loved them together. Cassie surprises me sometimes with her temper. She isn’t as timid as you might think. And that spark inside her is what drew Evan to her to begin with. When everyone else would have hid, Cassie stood up to fight. Evan’s fighting his nature at every step. Or maybe he’s actually following his nature, depending on how you look at it. But it’s a battle nonetheless, and one he doesn’t always understand. He has Cassie set at # 1 for every single turn. Everything, for him, always comes back to her. And I love that.

I was hoping for a Zombie/Ringer hook up, but that didn’t really happen since Ringer is not even with the group through 99% of the book. Remember from The 5th Wave that Ringer shot Ben so he’s injured now. That being the case, he is not at the top of his game throughout The Infinite Sea, but even still, Zombie is not a character to mess with. Speaking of Ringer, as what typically happens with me…now that I was allowed a glimpse inside her head she became a much more likeable character. She, like the others, is just trying to cope in a very broken world, and she’s trying to survive. She easily has the toughest road out of all the characters in this book, and I liked her more and more the further along things went.

Enter a new character…everyone say hi to Razor. *Waves* I wasn’t sure, at all, what to think about him. He’s charged to essentially take care of Ringer while she’s in the enemy’s clutches and you can see him transform from stoic soldier, to confused pawn, to potential help, to more, and back again. It’s a process that truly kept me guessing. And I should have seen some events surrounding him coming but I just didn’t. He surprised me through and through.

As with The 5th Wave, I just really enjoyed Rick Yancey’s writing. He’s smooth, free-flowing, and poetic. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

-Five men and two women, strangers to one another on the eve of that final growing season, now bound by the unspoken promise that the least of them was greater than the sum of all of them.

-He was squeezed between what the world had been and what the world had become, who he was before and who he was now, and the cost of all the unspoken promises weighing on his heart.

-Promises are the only currency left. They must be spent wisely.

-“What’s the first priority?”
”No bad thoughts,” she answers dutifully.
”Because bad thoughts do what?”
”Make us soft.”
”And what happens if we go soft?”
”We die.”
”And do we want to die?”
She shakes her head. “Not yet.”

-“One day, Private Ringer, you’re going to smile at something I say and the world will break in half.”
”I’m not prepared to take on that responsibility.”

-When you look death in the eye and death blinks first, nothing seems impossible.

-Promises are priceless, and a kiss is a kind of promise, too.

-I’ll find you, Cassie. Don’t I always find you?

-You never know when the truth will come home. You can’t choose the time. The time chooses you.

-“Who is Cassiopea?” … “The one who stood up when anyone else would have stayed down”…

-He’s violated more than my memories. He’s molesting my soul.

-My reaction is months in the making. And instantaneous.

-Lies within lies within lies. Feints and counterfeints. Like a desert mirage, no matter how hard you ran toward it, it stayed forever in the distance. Finding the truth was like chasing the horizon.

The Infinite Sea was a great second book in The 5th Wave series. It was packed. It was emotional. It was exhausting. It was great. The Infinite Sea gets 4 Stars from me. Have you read The Infinite Sea? What did you think? Let me know!

This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.

Waiting on The Infinite Sea

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

The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave, # 2)

By: Rick Yancey

Expected Publication: September 16th 2014 by Putnam Juvenile

480 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction

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

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

Goodreads description--The riveting follow-up to the New York Times bestselling The 5th Wave, hailed by Justin Cronin as “wildly entertaining.”

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

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

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2013

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2013.

You guys, I read SO MANY good books this year. And many of those books were by authors I haven't read before. It's no secret that I have a hard time keeping to ten choices on these posts, but this one might have been excessive. I just couldn't stop! I wanted to give credit to all of the new (to me) authors that have blown me away this year!

1) Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor & Park)

2) RL LaFevers (Grave Mercy)

3) Anne Eliot (Almost)

4) Jay Crownover (Rule, Jet, & Rome)

5) Brent Crawford (Carter Finally Gets It)

6) JA Redmerski (The Edge of Never, The Edge of Always)

7) KA Tucker (Ten Tiny Breaths, One Tiny Lie)

8) John & Stasi Eldredge (Captivating)

9) Kasie West (The Distance Between Us)

10) Gayle Forman (If I Stay, Where She Went)

11) Lauren Oliver (Delirium, Pandemonium)

12) Michelle Hodkin (The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer)

13) Courtney Summers (This is Not a Test)

14) Leigh Bardugo (Shadow & Bone, Siege & Storm)

15) Rick Yancey (The 5th Wave)

16) Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky, Through the Ever Night, & Into the Still Blue)

17) Marissa Meyer (Cinder, Scarlet)

18) John Green (The Fault in Our Stars)

What authors have blown you away this year? Let me know!

The 5th Wave - Review

The 5th Wave

By: Rick Yancey

Published: May 7th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile

480 pages

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Post Apocalyptic

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.

Goodreads description--The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

First off, I totally missed the fact that this is the first book in a series--how do I keep doing that? I thought it was a standalone. So now you know it's a series.

The 5th Wave is told from 4 different view points. Two of which only have small sections. Cassie and "Zombie" have the largest sections. Which is ironic considering that Zombie isn't even mentioned in the description above. The narration shifts always occur at the start of a new chapter, but usually at the start of a new section and sometimes I'd find myself a couple of pages in before I even realized that a different person was narrating. At one point I literally said out loud to Husband, "I don't think this is the same person." He, of course, had no idea what I was talking about. Some readers may take issue with this, but I found it added to the overall feeling of the book and kept me guessing about not only what was going to happen, but who I was reading about. It helped to maintain some of the mystery.

This entire book kept me guessing. I never felt like I could trust my instincts on what I thought was happening. Every time I thought I had it figured out something would happen that would at least make me question what I thought I knew. And ultimately that's kind of how it was for the characters who are living through these events. Even when I ended up being right in my guesses, the way Rick Yancey brings about the information occurs in such a way that makes reading The 5th Wave something that MUST be experienced.

I read Sci-fi occasionally, but The 5th Wave proves what I discussed in my Armchair BEA post about general fiction--it doesn't matter the genre as long as there are some real, raw, human emotions behind the story. Obviously, if a huge spaceship shows up hovering above the earth, I think there would be plenty of fear to go around. Especially once billions of humans start dying off. You've got those who will do anything to survive and those who will do anything to escape life. You have people who fight for their families and people who forge new ones. There is love and loss and heartache. And betrayal and lies go deep.

The 5th Wave is one of those books that I needed in kindle version so that I could highlight/underline to my hearts content. *Sigh* Alas, when you borrow someone else's book, it's probably best that you don't start marking it up. (I will be getting my own copy of this book, that's for sure.) The 5th Wave was another book that I should have taken notes while reading, but I couldn't stop reading long enough to pick up a pen and write anything down. I couldn't tear myself away from the story even that long. But The 5th Wave is also one of those books that demands a 2nd read. There is so much that happens, so much information, and so much that is happening that you don't even know about because the character narrating doesn't know at the time. I'd love to go back and re-read it just to see how it all fits together now that I know how it ends--and I will do that, eventually.

The 5th Wave ended up being exactly the type of book that I love to read. Excellent writing. Compelling, fast-paced story that kept me tearing through the pages. Likable characters just trying to survive the alien apocalypse with a whole heap of emotion packed into each section and every page. Yancey doesn't dumb it down for his audience and I appreciate that even more.

The 5th Wave gets 5 Stars from me. Have you read The 5th Wave? What did you think? Let me know!

Sunday Post - 46 & Stacking the Shelves - 19

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

This was kind of a long week. But I'm so thankful for the long weekend. Hope everyone has a Happy Memorial Day! Also, next week starts BEA & Armchair BEA. I'm stoked to be participating in Armchair BEA again this year, and specifically I'm participating as an Armchair BEA Cheerleader.

THIS PAST WEEK:

Monday: Review of Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, # 3) by Cassandra Clare (4 Stars)

Tuesday: Top 10 Favorite Covers of Books That I've Read

Wednesday: Waiting on The Forever of Ella and Micha

Thursday: Review of The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen (4 Stars)

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: Review of Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, # 2) by Katie McGarry

Tuesday: Top 10 Favorite Worlds; Armchair BEA Introductions & Classics

Wednesday: Waiting on Wednesday; Armchair BEA Blogger Development and Genre Fiction

Thursday: Review of Belonging (Temptation, # 2) by Karen Ann Hopkins; Armchair BEA Giveaways & Literature

Friday: Armchair BEA Keeping It Real & Children's/ Young Adult Literature

Saturday: Armchair BEA Wrap-Up

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

The 5th Wave

By: Rick Yancey

Published: May 7th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile

480 pages

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Post Apocalyptic

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

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

Goodreads description--The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Rose Under Fire

By: Elizabeth Wein

Expected Publication: September 10th 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

368 pages

Genre: YA, Historical Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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

Goodreads description--While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?

Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival.

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!

Waiting on The 5th Wave

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

The 5th Wave

By: Rick Yancey

Expected Publication: May 7th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile

480 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian

( Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository )

Goodreads description--The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Sounds good to me. Dystopian. Possibly a relationship? The debate on whether to let someone else in and risk death or remain alone and alive but with what quality of life? What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!