Book Review: Story’s End by Marissa Burt

Please note: This is the second book in the Storybound series and does contain spoilers from the first book.

For my review of the first book Storybound, click here.

With the enemy returning at the hands of an unknowing Una Fairchild, the fate of Story is in peril.

Whispers of the true king of Story waft from character to character. Yet, can it be believed?

As the Red Enchantress blankets most of the Story with lies, can a proper ending be written?

With Una’s new knowledge of who she is exposed, can Story forgive her for what she has done?

What will become of Story? What ending is it destined to have?

Burt is truly a gifted middle grade writer. I absolutely adored Storybound, and I wasn’t disappointed with Story’s End. I do think the second book is bit more mature than the first, but it’s an exciting end for such a fantastical world.

All loose ends are tied up and I really enjoyed how Una is not a traditional character. To avoid spoilers, it’s understood when the book is read.

Story’s End will challenge middle grade readers and expose them to battles against good versus evil. What is happening to the characters isn’t immediately understood, making them perfect for parent assisted or reading groups.

For all the parents, there is a happy ending. For a two book series it’s beautifully written with care for it’s age range, and brings to life stories in a way that hasn’t been done in many a year. Even adults can find the fun and thrill. Well done Burt! I am so happy to recommend such amazing work!

Book Review: The Breeders by Katie French

Jul2

This is a world where girls are used to breed for the greater good of the remaining population. That is, except for sixteen –year-old Riley Meemick. Capable of being disguised as a ‘Bender’, or mutation of neither boy nor girl, she lives in constant fear of being taken by the Breeders.

When her Mama is taken to Breed, it’s up to Riley to hide her identity from the handsome Clay and get her back with her younger brother Ethan.

The trouble is, who can one trust? When supplies run low or someone gets sick, how can help be found?

I don’t want to give too much away for this book; it truly is an interesting read.

Must get the nitty-gritty out of the way, this book would be fabulous except for the overwriting. Less is more love, and the execution of the story needs a bit of tweaking.

However, overall, despite the flaws (there were also a few misspelling and improper uses of grammar), I felt that this was a great dystopian story and a fantastic premise. With some work this story could go places.

You feel the despair of the characters, their hunger, their thirst and fear of the unknown.

Then the information on how the Breeders work – truly terrifying.

One of my main downsides to the story is that even when girls are highly sought after – they’re still not treated equally or with respect. It’s frustrating that as the creators of life, the human race still treats them as a commodity even though survival is based on their welfare.

I’m not a fan of the romance bit as it’s too forced and obvious, but I enjoyed reading about how far gone the world has become, it’s dystopian done well. If you are looking for a story to make you feel better about your life, The Breeders will help put things in perspective.

Book Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Jun25

Angels. They’re supposed to be something believed in, heavenly creatures that act as guardians. What about those who fall?

Nora Grey is your average sixteen-year-old. With her best friend Vee, they go through the motions of high school. That is, until chemistry class takes a realistic turn when the handsome but mysterious Patch shows up and is paired as Nora’s partner. He’s smoking hot and irritating in all the wrong ways. As Nora tries to push him away he only succeeds in getting closer to her heart.

Then Nora runs into many just of luck chances. She has feelings of being followed and hears voices in her head. Others begin to warn her of Patch, but yet, she can’t stay away. As the danger lurks closer, Nora is going to have to make a choice to trust the voices of others or go with her heart. In the end it’s not just her life that will be on the line.

I’m such a huge fan of the covers. Terrible I know, but I am quite the sucker for a well-marketed book.

For the romance/series readers, this first book won’t disappoint. There’s thrill, sizzling, romance tension and lots of mystery. Nothing is really answered in this book, and as there are three more I’m happy with that. I was engaged and intrigued through every chapter, which is a rarity for me with romance.

I really liked Nora Grey as a character. I mean she’s got a great name. Due to family reasons’ dating wasn’t on her table until other characters come into play. I feel she’s relatively normal and relatable. She’s not blonde with blue eyes but has unruly curly hair and doesn’t wear makeup. I’m so curious to know more. There are nearly 400 pages and still I can’t wait to learn more in the next book!

Even the romance bit didn’t make me gag, which again is hard to do. I’m pleased with the beginning of the series, not overly sucked in, but pleased and happy to continue.

Book Review: The Island by Jen Minkman

Jun22

Leia and her twin brother Luc have been living on the compound for six years after leaving home at the age of the ten. They must fend for themselves under the harsh ruling of Sol. Yet there are secrets that Sol is hiding from the group and unrest continues to build.

A wall to keep out the Fools, people that know nothing and are dangerous, surrounds the island. As Leia tries to escape the compound with the scared book of her people she accidently runs into a Fool! Suddenly everything Leia believes in comes into questions as she sorts through her world’s true history.

I have to say that I completely disliked the whole novella until I got to the ending.

Honestly, I feel that this piece should have been included in a short story collection. There isn’t enough for it to be a stand-alone book.

The author does have the disclaimer that there are Star Wars influences in the book, and I know what you’re thinking; I felt the same way after the first couple of chapters. It didn’t work for me; I felt it was lazy and that without the references the novella would have been stronger.

That is until I got to the ending. In a matter of pages everything made sense and it all came to together in a cute way. Overall it works, just not on it’s own. I mean there was so much potential that was lost by using material that’s already been crafted.

I think Star Wars fans will find the tale entertaining. (I’m a huge fan of the movies myself.) It is labelled as ‘dystopian’, but it’s not your typical type within the genre. Remember, it’s only 80 pages.

Overall I was annoyed whilst reading the book, but truly the ending saved it.

Netgalley provided this novella in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher Patchwork Press and to the author Jen Minkman.

The Island is available now! Give it a shot and tell me what you think, but only if you’re up for it!

Book Review: Glitch by Heather Anastasiu

Jun11

Zoel’s world is run by her constant adherence to the Link, a controlling system that creates all peace within The Community. Connected by her implanted V-chip, Zoel feels nothing but a grey haze of indifference. That is until she starts ‘glitching’. For the first time Zoel can hear her own thoughts. Now calling herself Zoe, she must fight to hide her malfunctions or risk being terminated.

That is until she meets Adrian, who is able to explain emotions and share what the real world truly is. As Zoe meets others like her that glitch, she struggles with not being able to understand how to feel around them. The Community can’t discover their anomalies. Under any circumstances, they must keep their disconnection from the Link unknown. There’s also the issue that the glitchers are developing supernatural powers, and there are others than The Community that would do anything to convince these fragile minds to join their side. But which side is truly worth fighting for?

Sigh. I wanted to like this book, really I did. I got through the first ten pages and thought, hmmmm, kind of like The Giver, but dystopian, decent beginning, maybe if I kept reading it will get better.

I made little notes. There were a lot of repetitive words. Also some overwriting. However, I was still holding out that the story would get better, but it didn’t. BOOM came in the ‘love triangle’ of characters that have known each other for five seconds. Big disappointment. (Especially as this book isn’t directly marketed as romance in my eyes) Halfway through the book I was constantly distracted by the fact that timelines were all over the place. Those chapters seriously needed some editing.

My biggest issue is that one of characters attempts to sexually assault the main character and she sympathises and thinks it’s her fault that he is acting that way. Zoe is a lump of chewed up oatmeal that doesn’t have any redeeming qualities about her. Sure, chalk it up to the fact that in this world the characters don’t feel emotions and this would cause Zoe to be without a personality. However, she makes the choice to change her name, therefore she has the potential to discover herself whenever she was alone, but instead she stands as weak and uninspiring.

I was greatly disappointed with this first book and I won’t be continuing with the series. (The sequel Override, sounds like a X-men rip-off) If anyone else has read this book, I’d love to hear thoughts about this story that could have gone places but seems to be lacking structure and direction.

Book Review: Storybound by Marissa Burt

Jun8

A lonely foster child, full of wonder about who and where she came from; Una Fairchild is shocked as she’s transported to the land of Story when browsing her school library.

Now she’s a part of a magical land she never imaged could exist. Story, a world filled with characters one grows up with. Talking animals, princes in training and a school where all the students learn to be either a Hero or a Villain.

Yet not all is well in the land of Story, and twelve-year-old Una is about to discover that she wasn’t brought there by accident. There are secrets waiting in the dark and an evil just bidding time to be restored to Story. With her new friend Peter, it’s going to be up to Una to set a prophecy in motion.

What a fantastic middle grade series! I absolutely loved it! Can you tell? The setting, the characters, the breath of fresh air that brings humour and fun to the fairytale world where there’s more than meets the eye! Not to mention the fact that there is plenty of challenges for all ranges of middle grade readers.

Plus the ending is so AMAZING! I don’t know how else to praise Burt for creating such an intriguing series. Not only are the characters easy to relate to, but the whole creation of Story is an awesome way to get kids to think outside of the book. This is length done right with loads of new characters, places and motives. As the knowledge within Story is challenged, the information is at a perfect rate to keep kids turning those pages!

I’m looking forward to delving back into Story with Burt’s sequel, Story’s End.