Publisher: Soho Teen 
Release Date: October 29, 2013 
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Source: Soho Teen
Genre: YA Dystopian
Review Date: November 16, 2013
Rating: 3 bookmarks

Synopsis:  For fans of Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games: high fantasy and dystopia meet in this high-stakes tale of a civilization built on lies and the girl who single-handedly brings it down.

When Eva’s twin brother, Eamon, falls to his death just a few months before he is due to participate in The Testing, no one expects Eva to take his place. She’s a Maiden, slated for embroidery classes, curtseys, and soon a prestigious marriage befitting the daughter of an Aerie ruler. But Eva insists on honoring her brother by becoming a Testor. After all, she wouldn’t be the first Maiden to Test, just the first in 150 years.

Eva knows the Testing is no dance class. Gallant Testors train for their entire lives to search icy wastelands for Relics: artifacts of the corrupt civilization that existed before The Healing drowned the world. Out in the Boundary Lands, Eva must rely on every moment of the lightning-quick training she received from Lukas—her servant, a Boundary native, and her closest friend now that Eamon is gone.

But there are threats in The Testing beyond what Lukas could have prepared her for. And no one could have imagined the danger Eva unleashes when she discovers a Relic that shakes the Aerie to its core.

Disclaimer: I received this book as a courtesy in exchange for an honest review.

When I was asked if I would like to review this book I jumped at it.  The description and the cover art combined really pulled me in. I must admit, it wasn't a quick read at first. I found myself putting it down over and over again. But when I had a few hours to just sit down and focus on only reading it, I was able to get through it in one sitting.

Things started well enough, but the pace was a little slower than I'd like.  In all seriousness, the last 75 pages or so were the best part of the book. The story didn't really start getting really interesting until then.  I wanted to know what was going to happen to Eva, and what happened to her brother. I wanted to know what she would decide to do once her life changed.  Basically the would as she knew it wasn't really what it was at all.  Eva feels like she's hit with a ton of bricks with the understanding that just been taught a bit fat lie, they all have for 100+ years.  I wanted that turning point to happen earlier in the book some how.  I get the purpose cliff hangers, but we didn't get enough of the "good stuff" in this installment.

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Format: Kindle
Pages: 446
Source: NetGalley, Courtesy of Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA Dystopian, YA Paranormal
Rating: 5 bookmarks


Synopsis: Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

Disclaimer: I received this book as a galley courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

This was a strong second installment to a very promising series. It was entertaining, fast paced, full of emotional highs and lows and certainly didn't disappoint.

The Eternity Cure picks up a few months after the end of The Immortal Rules.  Allie is having nightmares of her sire, Kanin being tortured by Sarrin, a vindictive and crazy vampire who wants to make him pay for his part in the creation of the rabids.  While searching for Kanin, she finds herself in Old DC, where Allie discovers she inadvertently tracked Jackal instead. She reluctantly agrees to work with him to find the cure for the rabids and in return Jackal will help her rescue Kanin.  

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Format: Kindle
Pages: 485
Source: NetGalley, Courtesy of Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA Dystopian, YA Paranormal
Rating: 5 bookmarks


Synopsis: To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred ofthem—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for…again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins

Disclaimer: I received this book as a galley courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

I'm happy to report that I really enjoyed this book. The Immortal Rules is refreshing take on a YA vampire story.  Early on, this book reminded me of that Will Smith movie, I am Legend. It's the movie where he was one of the very few uninfected humans left in New York City after at plague changed people into some kind of creature that lurks in the dark and kills living people. Everything from how the rabids are described to the ruins of the cities and towns, those are the parts that remind me of that movie.   The major difference here is that the infected rabids were vampires, not human.  Beyond the state of the world and the rabids, the similarities end there.

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile/Penguin Audio
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Format: Audio MP3 by Unabridged
Pages: 367 (Hardcover) / Audio Length: Unknown (6+ hours)
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: YA Dystopian
Review Date: December 30, 2012
Rating: 2 bookmarks


Synopsis: In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky — taken by the Society to his certain death — only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake. 

Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander — who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart — change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever

I really wanted to like this book. Really.  I keep reading all the hype about the series and comments that the books improve as you read on, etc...But  in my opinion, this was not the case. This installment actually was worse than the first.  

Overall, the premise of the story was interesting, but the pace was unbelievably slow.  Seriously, I fell asleep too many times to count during this audio.....and that just doesn't happen to me! Thus I was constantly rewinding to re-listen to parts that I fell asleep on.

Publisher: Speak
Release Date: Reprint edition (September 20, 2011)
Format: Audio MP3 by Unabridged Audiobook: Unabridged edition (January 30, 2010) Pages: 400 (Paperback) / Audio Length: Unknown (6+ hours)
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: YA Dystopian
Review Date: December 3, 2012
Rating: 3 bookmarks

Book Synopsis: Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

I finished Match on Friday and it's taken me a few days to figure out what I wanted to say about this book. Let me first say that I expected more. A lot more.  I heard so much about this set of books, that I felt that the first installment fell short.  Possible I set the expectation too high. Maybe it was the narrator who sounded like a child....or maybe it was the story in general or a combo of both.   

This book is a perfect example of why when I pick up a new series or book recommendation I have to keep remind myself, don't believe the hype and go into it with no expectation at all. Maybe that way I won't be so disappointed.   I may have liked this more if I hadn't heard so many accolades about it.

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; Har/Pstr C edition (October 30, 2012)
Release Date:  Originally released May 1, 2012
Format: Hardcover, Collectors Edition
Pages: 592
Source: Purchased
Genre: YA Dystopian
Review Date: November 26, 2012
Rating: 5 bookmarks

Book synopsis: One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.


Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Since I had just finished Divergent recently, I decided to go ahead and wait for the Collector's Edition. I wanted to read the Chapter from Four's point of view and since it was included for the same price, score! Plus there is some decent bonus material. And some swag-ish things that I will never use, nor remove from the book.

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: Reprint edition (February 28, 2012)  
Format: Paperback
Pages: 576
Source: Purchase
Genre: YA Dystopian, Book to Movie Adaptation
Review Date: September 17, 2012
Rating: 5 bookmarks 

Book Synopsis: In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Divergent was a really good read.  This story takes place in post-apocalyptic Chicago.  The world building was pretty spot on. I felt that the details were consistent and I felt as though I could "see" the surroundings.  The city has been structured into five “factions,” intended to cure civilization’s failures.  Each faction has a specific set of traits and has their own purpose in society.  The one thing I felt was missing, is, what is going on outside of Chicago? Has every major city setup in factions? Not sure what made me wonder that, but I did. I wish it were addressed, even for a sentence or two.  Maybe we'll get more history in Insurgent.

In this world at 16 you're an adult. You choose your faction and how you want to live.  This is a big ordeal for a young person still growing and learning themselves.  That age is a bit young do be forced into making such a life changing decision,but  then again, it's part of the story. It's part of what makes this kind of story so appealing.

In honor of The Hunger Games Movie opening tonight, I'm posting my review of The Hunger Games from August of last year. I really enjoyed this book an I'm really excited for the movie! Some members of my bookclub and myself will be checking this movie out tomorrow night.  Are you excited? Will you be seeing The Hunger Games this weekend?

Publisher: Scholastic Inc
Release Date: October 31, 2008
Format: Kindle
Pages: 368
Source: Download Destination
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Review Date: August 22, 2011
Rating: 5 bookmarks

Wow. This book was crazy, but in a good way. Before I started this book I read some of the older reviews, and they made me really nervous to read this. I could see that people in general, either loved it or hated it. It seems like the majority loves it, but there is a very loud group that hate it. Personally, I really enjoyed it. The book was a quick read and was pretty entertaining. It was like an action packed adventure, only in the most horrible circumstances. I can understand why a movie studio would snatch this up. It would make a good movie if done right.

The Hunger Games came about as a way that the Capitol (aka the government) maintained control over the Twelve districts left in what used to be called North America. In The Hunger Games, the players are drawn in each of the twelve districts, both a boy and a girl are drawn.

I really liked the strong female protagonist, Katniss. She's brave, she's smart, she's about taking care of business and most importantly, she's about wining the Hunger Games. She and her counterpart from District 12 (Peeta) were fun to read about. I liked the growing friendship between them. It was cute how Peeta had puppy love for Katniss since he first saw her. It's taking Katniss a while to catch up to that, she had some type of friendly feelings toward him, but not at that level. They were thrown together in a situation that would bond two people, which obviously made her feelings for Peeta grow, I can understand how Katniss would be confused by her feeling for him, coupled with unsure feelings about her longtime friend and hunting partner Gale, who was back home.

The fact that these games are live on television takes the cake. The things the players do to get face time on air so that they are able to get gifts from the sponsors is a bit surreal. How Katniss and Peeta are instructed by their games "mentor" to play up to the audience and make it seem like they are in love, its a bit comical, but it gets the job done. :-) A kiss here, a longing stare there and poof, you get a gift floating down from the sky from your mentor (whom is working to get sponsors on your behalf). Now, these gifts are necessary, they need them to survive out in the wilderness. The gifts could be anything; water, food, medicine, whatever they may need at a particular time.

I can see how some readers could have a negative reaction to some of the things going on in the book. But looking at it from a very simplistic, in an "it is what it is" kind of way, this book was good. Very good. It may have some things that rub people the wrong way, but it's a fictional story and I personally will not nitpick it to death citing what's wrong with society as a whole, what's wrong with the government, etc...I read for fun and this book is fiction, end of story.

Bottom line, this book is great. I can't wait to start on the next installment of this trilogy.