Assault by Brian Falkner

Name: Assault (Recon Team Angel #1) by Brian Falkner.
Pages: Unknown.
Publication: 1st November 2011/Walker Books Australia.
Rating: ✮✮✮✩✩
Pre-Order It: Amazon


"It is 2030, and the world is at war with an alien race. The Bzadians. The battleground: Earth. Recon Team Angel, made up of teenagers from around the world, has been training for years. They have learned Bzadian languages. Learned how to operate their weapons. How to work, eat, and think like them. Now it is time to act. Recon Team Angel must slip behind enemy lines, work their way into the top-secret alien facility under Uluru, and uncover the truth. But what they discover will shock not just them, but all of humanity."

Review.

Set in 2030, the story follow a group of six military teenagers who have been specifically trained for this mission: to infiltrate the base of the alien race, the Bzadians, who have taken over most of the world. However, the mission becomes a lot more dangerous once the team leader learns that there is a traitor within the group. Now, he must get his team through this mission all while trying to find out who between is the traitor to the human race.

All the characters are interesting. Many of the team members are quickly likable with their exchanges of witty banter. 

You will spend much of your time while reading the book trying to figure out which of the team members is the traitor. I guessed it pretty early on but that does not mean my thoughts did not flutter over some of the other characters being the traitor.

The Assault has quick paced and quick witted dialogue. Do not worry if you do not understand some of the abbreviations and jargon because the book contains a glossary! 

Final Thought.

Give it a go. A unique military novel full of science fiction, action, thrills and adventures, Assault appeals not only to boys but to anyone who wants a fast paced adventure.

The Dragon's Eye by Corey Guerra

Name: The Dragon's Eye by Corey Guerra.
Pages: 232.
Publication: Unknown.
Rating: ✮✮✮½✩✩
Buy It: Amazon


"Dive into the ancient world of Fael-wen; a land where humans, dragons, elves and other creatures roam. Meet Makayla, a druid in training who is plagued by dreams about a treasure from long ago. As she struggles to balance her training and the dreams, she'll find that there is more to her than she ever knew. Along the way Makayla's dedication and loyalty will be tested and she will find help where she least expects it. In the end Makayla will discover that in order to succeed, she will first have to believe in herself."

Review.

"The story takes place in the land of Fael-wen, a land with humans, elves, magic, and of course, dragons.  Hundreds of years ago, during The Great War, The Dragon's Eye was used to help rid the land of evil.  Believed to be lost, The Dragon's Eye has since become legend." - Author Corey Guerra.

The Dragon's Eye revolves around Kedo-in-training Makayla, who is haunted by a recurring dream. A dream that is putting more and more stress on her and her training. Makayla and her mentor set off on a journey to the Giadi council to see how Makayla and her dreams are attached to the Dragon's Eye.

The story follows Makayla and four other characters: Alis, her red-headed mentor training her to become a Giadi and Almar, a burly soldier of the Llorenarr kingdom who accompanies Alis and Makayla on their journey. Makayla is a strong female lead. She handles things well even if she does have her moments like we all do. 

We also have Corrin and Kay, two outlaws with good hearts and who are my two favourite characters. I enjoyed their interactions with each other as well with Makayla, Alis and Almar. Kay is the comic relief of book full of witty one-liners and retorts. Corrin has to be favourite, however. There is something so genuine about him and I liked how we were given a bit of his back-story. I hope Guerra writes a sequel so I can read more about Corrin and his history. I also found his friendship with Makayla really sweet. I might even ship them a little!

At the beginning of the story I was little lost as to what was going on. I did not understand what a Kedo or Giadi was etc. but, do not fear readers, all is explained in the first half of the book and everything clicks together very well.

The language in The Dragon's Eye is quite formal. All the character's speak well as if they are all educated which at times creates a stiffness for the characters, but hey, I would rather have a formal writing than bad writing and The Dragon's Eye is very well written.

Guerra has created a wonderfully vivid world where all the popular creatures of folklore exist. Not only has he created a interesting world that captivates the reader, he has also made a logical world. From reading The Dragon's Eye, I can tell Guerra put a lot of work into writing a world that had depth which permeates throughout the story when you are given snippets of the Fael-wen world's history.

Final Thought.

Give it a read. Guerra has created an really interesting set in a world of magic and myth. I do hope a sequel is written to follow Makayla on her journey.

Eden by Keary Taylor.

Name: Eden by Keary Taylor.
Pages: 408.
Publication: 6th June 2011.
Rating: ✮✮✮½✩✩
Buy It: Amazon | The Book Depository

"Eve knew the stories of the Fall, of a time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. She's seen the aftermath of the technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter, able to grow new organs and limbs, how it evolved out of control. The machine took over and the soul vanished. A world quickly losing its humanity isn't just a story to her though. At eighteen, this world is Eve's reality. 


In their Fallen world, love feels like a selfish luxury, but not understanding what it is makes it difficult to choose between West, who makes her feel alive but keeps too many secrets, and Avian, who has always been there for her, but is seven years her senior. 


The technology wants to spread and it won't stop until there is no new flesh to assimilate. With only two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction. While fighting to keep Eden alive, Eve will discover that being human is about what you will do for those you love, not what your insides may be made of. And even if it gets you killed, love is always what separates them from the Fallen."

Review.

Warning, this is a terrible review. Eden tells the story of seventeen, nearly eighteen year old Eve who lives in a world where only few humans exist due to the downfall of Cybernetic technology turning human into pretty much killer cyborgs. Eve is one of a few humans who have banded together to create Eden who are always on the lookout for Hunters. 

Although, Eve remembers nothing from before the Fall happened, she is far from helpless, she hunts game for the Eden residents, goes on raids to the dangerous cities and keeps look-out for the group. Enter three new residents, one, a boy around Eve's age that for unknown reason seems familiar. Enter jealous doctor and Eden resident and queue the love triangle. Her thoughts were repetitive and the romance in the book becomes unbearable due to her chopping and changing between the two love interests. Thankfully, by the end, she actually chose one.

Character wise, I felt it very hard to connect with Eve, maybe because she seemed to be having quite the identity crisis. She often did things that annoyed me yet they annoyed her too because she would say how she was beginning to hate herself so then I felt a bit better about disliking her actions.

I thought Eden would be more of a actiony dystopian novel about survival but after reading it, it really is just romance novel with a sub-plot of survival. 

Taylor's world she created was impressive. It was interesting and intriguing and it was explained well enough so everything made sense, which is always good. However, that being said, Taylor's writing did let her down on more than occasion throughout the book. The book was too long with too many unneeded scenes and even some unneeded characters.

Final Thought.

A book that graces a beautiful cover, a great concept yet ends up falling flat due to weak writing and characterization.

Forbidden Mind (Forbidden #1) by Kimberly Kinrade

Name: Forbidden Mind by Kimberly Kinrade.

Pages: 134 pages

Publication: 

6th 

September 2011/Evolved Publishing

Rating: 2/5.

Buy It (or not): Amazon | Goodreads

"She reads minds. 
He controls minds.
Together, they might get out alive. 
Sam thinks she's months away from freedom. After spending her life in a secret school, rented out to the rich and powerful as a paranormal spy, she is ready to head to college like any normal eighteen-year-old. 
Only Sam isn't normal. She reads minds. And just before her big going-away party, she links to the mind of a young man who changes everything. 
Drake wasn't raised as a 'Rent-A-Kid.' He was kidnapped and taken there by force. But his exceptional physical strength and powers of mind control make him very dangerous, especially to Sam. 
When they meet, Sam is forced to face the truth of her situation, and to acknowledge that not all is as it seems in her picture-perfect world. For what awaits her on her eighteenth birthday isn't a trip to college, but an unexpected nightmare from which she may not be able to escape. 
To survive, they must work together. 

But will their powers be enough to save them before it's too late?"

Mini Review. 

I am so surprised by the praise this book has received in the reviews. Forbidden Minds was not a good book. Despite its fast pace, it was still boring. It doesn't captivate the reader's, well my, attention. 

Firstly, at only over a hundred pages, the story moved at lightning pace. One minute Sam and Drake are getting to know each other and the next they are seemingly in love. She gives no real timeline so for all I know this could have happened between a matter or days or weeks.

This leads to that because the book was short, there was little detail or filler to create a real story. I read it in about an hour or less. Are you afraid of using paper, Kinrade? You're a writer, use paper. 

The story itself had great potential but then she throws in a very strange plot twister and then the story seems to go downhill.

Which brings me to point three, the story is not well written. The writing is bland and unexciting and reminds me of an English Essay for school.

Final Thoughts.
I would say don't bother buying or reading Forbidden Mind.

Amplified by Tara Kelly

Name: Amplified by Tara Kelly.

Pages: 304.

Publication: October 25th 2011/Henry Holt and Co.

Buy It: | Amazon | Kennys | The Book Depository 

Rating: 5/5

"When privileged 17-year-old Jasmine gets kicked out of her house, she takes what is left of her savings and flees to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it."

Review.

I will come straight out with it, I LOVED Amplified. Loved it! I read it one sitting, I actually didn't want to put it down!

Amplified is the second music-based Young Adult novel I've read and reviewed in the past two days, the other being Struts & Frets which you can read here. I loved both. There is something about Amplified that just stands out for me. I think it the authenticity in Jasmine's voice.

There is a realism in the book about how dreams rarely live up to expectations in reality. Sure, Jasmine has music to play but can she overcome her lack of stage presence?

I really connected with Jasmine. She is one tough cookie with great retorts. She is not afraid to speak her mind. Jasmine does not let people in yet under her icy exterior there is a vulnerability. This vulnerability is caused by feeling abandonment as well as the fear of failure and having to show her father that she was wrong. This, to me, was realistic because I know first-hand that teenagers hate being wrong!

I must say, I have a soft spot for Sean and by soft spot, I mean, I think I kinda love him. He's just my type of guy. Got to love a guy in a fedora. ;) Snarky yet caring at the right times. The electric chemistry between Sean and Jasmine really gave the book an even more addictive quality. I liked the fact the relationship between them is not pushed, it's just natural and steady! 

All the other secondary characters such as Veta, Bryn, Felix and Jason had something endearing about them as well that made you keep reading. I liked how all the C-Side member bounced off each other personality wise yet musically made the perfect match! I would love to have heard more from Jason.

What also made Amplified feel natural for me is the fact that Jasmine and her Dad did not work things out and hugged it all out in the end like in most books. He did not come to the gig and say 'I see it now. This is what you are meant to do for the rest your life' and I am glad that because I was getting sick of those endings!

Amplified will be a stand out novel for me in 2012 (despite being published in 2011 but shhhh) with well-written rock n' roll scenes, a lot of comebacks and insults, a bit of romance and a lot more music.

Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron

Information.
Name: Struts & Frets - Jon Skovron.
Pages: 304.
Publication: September 1st 2011/Amulet Books.
Buy It: | Amazon | Kennys |


"Told in a voice that’s honest, urgent, and hilarious, Struts & Frets will resonate not only with teenage musicians but with anyone who ever sat up all night listening to a favorite album, wondering if they’d ever find their place in the world.

Music is in Sammy’s blood. His grandfather was a jazz musician, and Sammy’s indie rock band could be huge one day—if they don’t self-destruct first. Winning the upcoming Battle of the Bands would justify all the band’s compromises and reassure Sammy that his life’s dream could become a reality. But practices are hard to schedule when Sammy’s grandfather is sick and getting worse, his mother is too busy to help either of them, and his best friend may want to be his girlfriend.
When everything in Sammy’s life seems to be headed for major catastrophe, will his music be enough to keep him together?"


Review.
The first thing to be said about Struts & Frets is that the cover and inside are AMAZING. It looks so cool outside and inside!


Sammy, seventeen, wants to be a musician. Not a rock star, even though some times, he lets the daydreams excel that far. No, he wants to be a musician, to play music because he enjoys not for super fame and fortune. Yet, he also has to worry about family and daily life due to uncooperative band mates, his friends and as well as girl problems with his friends and of course, family, where his mother believes music, will be a good hobby for him while in college studying math or science.


The reason I enjoyed Struts & Frets so much is because it is a completely authentic story. While reading it, I was reminded how alike my friends and I were to Sammy and his friends when we were seventeen. My friends lived and breathed music especially one of them who, if I showed him this book, would recognize each of the jazz musicians brought up! So, naturally, a lot of the music choices in the book were familiar to me as well as being enjoyable to me, especially The Pixies.


Struts & Frets shows the dilemma that can happen between very close male and female friends. You know when someone tells you that someone else really likes you and then you get really awkward and do not know how to act around that said person. It happens a lot! Skovron creatively and beautifully writes about figuring out your feelings and worries about first likes and loves. 


Skovron writes about how passion can drive your life. How, even though it will not be easy, to not give up on friends or family or dreams and how, to always do what makes you happy. The book conveys a great message of hope, friendship, family and the willingness not give up on your dreams.

Rating: 4/5.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 


Information.
Pages: 266.
Publication: December 6th 2011/Entangled Publishing.
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository |


"Starting over sucks. 

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up. 

And then he opened his mouth. 

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens. 

The hot alien living next door marks me. 

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 

If I don’t kill him first, that is."


Review.
If you've been on my blog before you all know, I love Jennifer L. Armentrout's YA series, Covenant (find my Half-Blood review here) and now she has grabbed my attention once again with her Lux series. Seriously though, Armentrout is taking the paranormal genre by storm in the last few months!


In Obsidian, we meet Katy. An average seventeen year old girl who has just moved to a small boring town in West Virginia from Flordia. Now moving and knowing no-one is hard and what  makes it harder is finding out your new next door neighbor is a huge douche yet is ridiculously good looking. And what makes it even harder is when your douchey, good looking neighbor does not want you to be friends with his sister, despite her enthusiasm to be friends.


The story is told from Katy's point of view. Katy is a timid girl who enjoys spending her time, like me, reading and blogging and sometimes, doing fits of gardening, which is not like me at all. What makes Obsidian so credible is the fact that Katy is relatable. She has lost father to illness three years previous, which has created a strain on Katy and on Katy's mom, who works two jobs, so parents are barely heard about throughout the story. Not only is Katy relatable but she is brave, loyal, independent and stands up for herself. She also has some very good comebacks for her neighbor, Daemon. 

Katy is quite introverted and when she meets Dee who is very excitable and bubbly yet tinged with loneliness due to Daemon over-protectiveness, Katy finds a new friend and confidant. Dee is a sweet character and her infectious personality permeates through book and into your soul!


And what about Daemon you ask? Well, Daemon is my favorite character. I LOVE sarcastic, witty, knowingly arrogant characters yet you cannot not love them characters. Put him with his 'kitten', Katy and you have some brilliantly written matches of insults and retorts. The chemistry between these two is electrifying. 


Obsidian is a fast paced, funny and action filled exciting debut to the Lux series that has me and will all of you waiting for the second book, Onyx. 


Rating: 5/5.


Here is the cover for the second novel in the series, Onyx, out in May 2012: