Hey Friends!

I have a mini review for you today!  A mini review is my short and sweet analysis of a book.  You'll know in 350 words or less if this is a book I recommend.

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Release Date: August 20, 2013
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 466
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: YA Dystopian, YA Fantasy
Review Date: April 28, 2014
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.

But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.

Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

Pros: I liked the premise of this story; a dystopian world combined with fantasy. It intrigued me. The story takes place in 2059, in a London society where being clairvoyant is against the law, yet clairvoyants aren't all that rare.  I can a appreciate Samantha Shannon's imagination. To be able to construct an entirely new world is no small task.  Everything was different, the currency, the government, the country’s history, the various levels of clairvoyant abilities, and more. In regards to the technical part of her writing, I had no problems there.

Cons: My main issue was the slow pacing. I also felt that at times the story was a bit wordy. Some of the history was either repetitively explained or gave too much information. When the story took deviation to focus on world building, those passages seem to slow down the story even more. I think that's due to the information being told in a let me teach you a new history sort of way, instead of describing things passively behind the plot of the story.

Unfortunately I didn't connect with any of the characters, which is never a good thing.  Even the implied romantic interest between Warden and Paige was weak at best and didn't interest me very much. While it's clear that Paige is a strong heroine, her personality didn't do anything for me.  In addition, I was annoyed that we never found out exactly what the Rephaites (Warden’s people) are! We know they're not vampires. We know they're not human.  We've been lead to believe they may be some sort of alien being, but not exactly. We know that they connect to a place described as a dreams-cape in one’s mind. We know that they feed on human essence, but it wasn't explained how or why. Who knows?  It’s possible that it was explained and I fell asleep on that part.

Final Thoughts: While the book didn't rate highly with me, some may enjoy it. If you curious about The Bone Season check it out. If you've already read it, please share what you thought!


Happy Reading,
~Tamara

Hey friends!
I have a mini review for you today!  A mini review is my short and sweet analysis of a book.  You'll know in 350 words or less if this is a book I recommend.

Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: February 3, 2011 
Format: Audio MP3 (Brilliance Audio, Released January 24, 2011 )
Pages: 441 (Paperback) / Audio Length: Approx 12 hours
Narrator: Sarah Drew
Source: Library Borrow via Overdrive
Genre: YA Dystopian
Review Date: April 16, 2014
Rating: 3 bookmarks 

Synopsis: 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.

Pros:  The best thing about our main characters, Lena, Hana, and Alex, is their character growth. They are not the same people at the end as they are in the beginning.  Our heroine, Lena isn't so much of a true heroine. Not at the beginning anyways. She's has a hard time seeing what's right in front of her, she pretty much flat out refuses to see the obvious for most of the book.  She lives with a cured Aunt and Uncle and a few cousins.  Hana is obviously the odd man out in that house, so I can see her need to be like everyone else.

I liked Lena’s best friend, Hana. She's strong and out spoken.  At first she is more aware, but in the end she accepts that she will have the life expected of her.   I'm not sure what to make of Alex. He's got all the typical YA love interest components, but I feel that there could be something more there. I'm curious to see what becomes of him in the next book.

I listened to this on audio, so I’ll address the narrator.  The narrator can either add to or take away from the experience.  It took me a minute to get used to her young sounding voice, but it grew on me, then it was fine.  She did a good job and I have no complaints.

Cons:  The pacing of Delirium was overall slow.  There was so much being explained (sometimes repetitively) about the society that the meat of the story didn't show up until it was half over. The story was entertaining enough, but I kept waiting for things to really start moving.  I hope this pace won’t repeat in the next books.  Hopefully Pandemonium will start off where this book finished, in a dead run. 

Final Thoughts:  I liked it overall. I'll continue the series. When? Who knows, it's not high on my list. If I have a lull where I can't get a book I want, then I’ll continue with this series.  The dystopia genre is still pretty hot right now in the YA world, so if you're into it, this could be right up your alley.  

Happy Reading, 
~Tamara

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: October 22, 2013
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 526 (Hardcover)
Source: Amazon
Genre: YA Dystopian
Review Date: Recorded December 27, 2013
Rating: 3 bookmarks

Synopsis: The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. 

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love. 

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: September 1, 2009
Format: Kindle
Pages: 391
Source: Purchase
Genre: YA Dystopian
Original Review Date: September 6, 2011
Rating: 4 bookmarks 

Synopsis:Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn.

** spoiler alert ** This book was a easy read and the drama continues…a very good follow up to The Hunger Games. I jumped right into reading this book following The Hunger Games. 

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.