Tag Archive | 2012

Book Review: The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti

What would you do if you believed that love was a weakness?

Frenenqer Paje was created by her father. Everything she does and who she must become is destined by his vision of her.

Yet, she feels the beat of wings under her shoulder blades, aching to burst free from her cage whilst flying away to worlds unknown.

One day when at the markets of the Middle East, Freneqer rescues a cat near death.

This cat is not an ordinary cat at all.

Together, Freneqer and Sangris – a Free Person, a shapeshifter, a boy, journey around the world and inside themselves.

When one has their life cast for them, is it possible to break free?

I really enjoyed this story. It’s definitely off the beaten path and there needs to be more YA like this. Exploring other cultures and creating stories about growing up that teens of all races can relate too.

What a refreshing read with a main character that isn’t Caucasian! Finally a setting where English isn’t the main language! It’s written beautifully and true of the surrounding cultures. At times it can be harsh but this is not America and it’s brilliant to read about how other families function.

It’s such a touching love story, and doesn’t relate at all to traditional YA. The emotions are real and genuine. You feel the characters learning from one another. Not lusting after each other, but developing feelings based on similarities and longing for a true place to call home. As it’s also a standalone and quite short, it’ll make you thirsty and feeling the pulsing sun through your modest clothing.

Book Review: Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

Aug13

Please note: This is the fourth book in the Hush, Hush series and does contain spoilers.

Check out my review for Hush, Hush (1), Crescendo (2) and Silence (3).

Nora Grey is not your average seventeen year old. In the past six months she’s had her life threatened, almost died multiple times and fallen in and out and back in love with her destined to be fallen angel Patch.

Now Nora is the leader of the Nephilim army, but there are darker sources at work. The battle is coming to a head and Nora’s wish for peace is a million miles away. To claim her destiny, her life and her love, she’s going to have to fight for a side. But when Patch is on the opposite end, is choosing a side truly the answer?

UGH………..WHAT A LETDOWN………..GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

I am obviously not a fan of this book. TERRIBLE. HORRIBLE. Make it stop it hurts my eyes!

I really, really, really hated the ending. One of the worst endings I have read in a long time. A waste of my time and for a series that had a promising beginning, I had no idea it would go so far astray. I’m sure romance lovers will love this finale, but for me I hated it because it was only about the superficial love aspect.

The plot that had so many different directions got lost, into the ether. The romance took dominance and everything else just closed into an easy box. Nora dissolves into a whiny little brat that can’t, and won’t do anything without her man. This is not ok! As a leader of an army, Nora needs courage and bravery, but instead she became a hunk of mouldy cheese.

It’s such a shame, the marketing team truly have done a fantastic job on the series book cover and I just the writing matched.

Book review: Scorch by Gina Damico

Aug10

Due to the first book being a mystery-thriller, I don’t want to spoil the ‘who dunnit’ at the end of Croak. There will be no summary, only my response to the book.

For information on the first book in this series: CLICK HERE.

My thoughts:

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love!!!!!!

You know that feeling when you’re reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins? Well, that is exactly how I felt when reading this action packed, high speed sequel!

Damico doesn’t hold back and there are brilliant new settings and shocking events that will make you wonder if you just read that chapter right. I poured over this book in two days and I can’t wait for the third and final book to come out next month! I’m dying (!!!) to know what happens next!

Picking up where she left off, Damico does an amazing job of continuing this amazing story and keeping her readers on their toes. I’ve fallen in love with this series and I hope my expectations of the last book aren’t to high, but I’m pretty confident that Damico can finish her series in style!

If you haven’t read either book, go do so (RIGHT NOW!)! We’ll have long chats over tea until the third book, Rogue comes out September 10th!

Book Review: Croak by Gina Damico

Jul13

Lex (short for Lexington) Bartleby is one troubled teenage girl. Her twin sister Cordy (short for Concord) is sweet as sugar and works hard at her part time job. When Lex puts another fellow student in hospital, the girl’s parents ship her off to her forgotten Uncle Mort’s farm in upstate New York.

Stuck in the middle of nowhere, Lex attempts to prepare for one long summer of suck. Instead her scarred Uncle on a motorcycle picks her up, with no farms in sight. He’s also the Mayor of Croak, a town full of Grim Reapers. Lex is also a Grim Reaper; gifted with talents of guiding souls to the afterlife. Her summer makes a complete 180.

That is until uncharted deaths start happening around the US. Lex finds herself public enemy number one for reasons she doesn’t understand. As she begins to lose what little comfort fitting in a society of her own kind, she’ll have to make a choice of either joining this masked Killer or ending him or her, herself.

This book is seriously amazing. So worth the wait. (It hasn’t been published in the UK yet.) Finally a YA seriously where the focus isn’t on falling in love, with some real bite to it! Croak is fabulous at dealing with the moral obligations of life and death. Everyone who lives must also die and I love how Damico uses this sad life event to bring comfort to readers, as well as cover the natural order.

When that balance is disrupted all hell breaks loose in the book and you’ll turn every page wondering who’s around the corner! The language of the story is also fantastic. Riddled with new age teenage slang. You’ll be laughing and crying through this brilliant 300 page ride. Talk about using the post-apocalyptic theme in a modern way, Croak is absolutely worth reading. As long as you’re not uberally disturbed by death, I highly suggest checking out this beginning of the Croak series as soon as possible!

The finale book in this series will be published in September, and this review is kicking off to the release date. Next month I’ll include my review on the sequel, Scorch.

Book Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Jun18

Please note this is the second book in the Delirium Series.

Find my review for the first Delirium.

THEN: Lena has escaped her life. Over the fence she has crawled, leaving Alex behind to trek through the Wilds into the unknown. Now Lena has been born anew. As apart of a group of those that wander the Wilds fighting for survival, Lena tries to move forward, grieving for Alex. The ways of her old life are long forgotten. Her body and mind shift to withstand the harsh reality of living beyond the wall.

NOW: Together with her group Lena tries to gather more information as she lives undetected within society. When she gets caught up in the kidnapping of Julian Fineman, the son of the Mayor and symbol of a Deliria Free America. She’s going to have to use everything she learned out in the Wilds to insure their existence.

Throughout everything, the struggle, tears death and hunger, Lena pushes more. Alex died to give her a real chance at life. But in a world where feeling love is outlawed, what’s the point in living when that love is gone?

I really liked the format of this book. Switching between THEN and NOW, as readers we learn how Lena has evolved as a character and she does not disappoint! Multi layered and tough, I have loved to see how Lena has grown into a strong female character. Her heartbreak is also all too real and relatable. The grief within this book is harsh but realistic. I praise Oliver for taking her world to the limits and not backing down from anything uncomfortable.

I was also pleased to read how much more complex this world became. There are more adult themes present. The more I think about it, it’s a standout sequel that does a 180 from its debut. Lena has woken up from the false reality that her government has been controlling and as it’s weaknesses become more apparent the future for everyone looks bleak. It’s a terrifying reality.

Yet throughout Lena never losses hope nor determination. It made me feel as if this world environment was the starting catalyst for The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Humans always want power and control, but a small group will never win over the population thus chaos is inevitable. This is book has hints on that power and it was a pleasure to read something that speaks lightly about the world around us now. Gritty and well paced this second book is a great revelation.

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.