The Vindico by Wesley King

Name: The Vindico by Wesley King.
Pages: 272.
Publication: 14th June 2012/Putnam Juvenile.
Rating: ✮✮½✩✩✩
Buy It: Amazon

"The Vindico are a group of supervillains who have been fighting the League of Heroes for as long as anyone can remember. Realizing they’re not as young as they used to be, they devise a plan to kidnap a group of teenagers to take over for them when they retire—after all, how hard can it be to teach a bunch of angsty teens to be evil?

Held captive in a remote mansion, five teens train with their mentors and receive superpowers beyond their wildest dreams. Struggling to uncover the motives of the Vindico, the teens have to trust each other to plot their escape. But they quickly learn that the differences between good and evil are not as black and white as they seem, and they are left wondering whose side they should be fighting on after all . . ."

Review.

Five teenagers are kidnapped and become protegees to super-villains. They learn how to use powers and some get capes. However, when the line between good and bad blurs, these teens may just have to choose a side.

The Vindico possesses a very simple writing style that is better aimed towards a younger age group. It is stuck between trying to make the content more mature yet the writing lets it down.

King also got caught in the ever dangerous story no-no: introducing too many characters at one time. You meet the five protegees chapter after chapter so when you get to chapter Six you do not actually remember the first character you read about. Add five more characters, the super villains as well as the super heroes and that is just too many characters for 272 pages. The characters in turn are not well developed and all the protegees seem to take the whole situation in their strode.

The book has insta-love in it also, which is BAD on this blog. Thankfully, it does not play a huge part in the book so it was easy to skip past.

The book relies heavily on the concept of death but it is talked about in an uncomfortable way. I know super-villains do not really have much care for causing someone death but these super-villains talk about death in a strange way where they convey no emotion; no pride or regret. It was just strange to read for me. As writing, it did not read well at all.

Final Thought.

Despite the interesting concept of "X-Men meets Breakfast Club", King fails to execute a story that would connect with anyone.

August Releases: Part 3

Click the cover to be sent to the book's Goodreads page.

August Releases: Part 1

Destiny's Fire by Trisha Wolfe

Name: Destiny's Fire by Trisha Wolfe.
Pages: 224.
Publication: 10th January 2012/Omnific Publishing.
Rating: 4/5.
Buy It: Amazon | The Book Depository |


"It’s the year 2040, and sixteen-year-old Dez Harkly is one of the last of her kind—part of a nearly extinct race of shape-shifters descended from guardians to the Egyptian pharaohs. Her home and her secret are threatened when the Council lowers the barrier, allowing the enemy race to enter the Shythe haven. 

As the Narcolym airships approach, Dez and her friends rebel against their Council and secretly train for battle. Not only is Dez wary of war and her growing affection for her best friend Jace, but she fears the change her birthday will bring. When Dez’s newfound power rockets out of control, it’s a Narcolym who could change her fate… if she can trust him. 

Dez’s guarded world crumbles when she discovers why the Narcos have really come to Haven Falls, and she's forced to choose between the race who raised her and the enemy she's feared her whole life."

Review.

What attracted me to Destiny's Fire was the fact it was a dystopian as well as a steampunk novel. That and the awesomeness of both the Shythe and Narcolym.

From the first page you are into the action. We meet Dez and her closest friends that are the Tuner triplets, Jace, Lana and Nick.  They are training, especially with the Narco's coming into their territory, they must be on guard, despite the fact the Narco's are moving due to a Peace Treaty. All four are on the brink of their transition to their full powers, except it's not that easy for Dez.

I liked Dez. She is a realistic seventeen year old girl, except she is a little more bad-ass in my opinion. She is brave and head strong but is in no way arrogant. She is smart, she thinks about the consequences of her actions. She is also content in herself and does not see how special she is to other people, she's a little dense that way. ;) Her family and friends are her life and she would give up hers for them in an instant. Dez is also kind and hates to hurt people's feelings which does create a  situation that involves a bit of a love triangle.

All the secondary character in Destiny's Fire were interesting and they definitely added to the atmosphere of the book. There is Lana, Dez's BFF, who loves dressing up and going. That said, Lana can definitely hold her own and is no pushover. She is definitely level-headed triplet. You have Nick who is in the book but does not do too much. He is, however, the comic relief in his own special way which makes him the funny triplet.

Then you have Jace. Dez's best friend. The serious and irrational triplet, who missed out on the level-headedness and the humour. That said, Jace is nothing short of sweet. He just has his own of showing it since he is not great with feelings. Straight into the book, you can see he has a very soft spot for Dez. He is protective of her and his siblings but he means it the good way. Reece, is very similar to Jace, in that he is hot-headed and defensive but he is also quite sweet. There is similar personalities clearly shows Dez's preference of guys. To me, Dez would have made the right decision with either guy as you can see they both truly care for her. However, I felt Dez's and Reece's relationship moved a little too fast. At times the love triangle takes away from the main plot and since it is the sub-plot, it makes sense. All I have to say, Dez is one lucky girl!

Wolfe's writing is Destiny's Fire is so vivid. She had created this amazing world that feels completely real especially the Cog and the falls as well as the power system. It was great to be immersed completely into Haven Falls.

The book's ending makes me feel like there will be a second one. I really hope so anyway! 

Final thoughts.Destiny's Fire is a unique and fresh take on steampunk fiction. It is also addicting! I did not want to stop reading! There is no book I can think of to compare it too. For people who haven't read steampunk before but would like too, this is the book for you.

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.

February Releases.

Here are five of some of the YA releases out this February:

The Rivals (The Mockingbirds #2) by Daisy Whitney.
Sequel to The Mockingbirds.
Publication: 6th February 2012.

Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan.
Publication: 8th February 2012.

Pure by Julianna Baggott.
Publication: 8th February 2012.
Find my review of Pure here.

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley.
Publication: 14th February 2012.
First Publication: 1st August 2010.
Find my review of Graffiti Moon here.

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen.
Publication: 14th February 2012.

February Releases: Part 2

The Disenchantments by Nina LeCour.
Publication: 16th February 2012.


Fever (The Chemical Garden #2) by Lauren DeStefano.
Sequel to Wither.
Publication: 21st February 2012.

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg.
Publication: 21st February 2012.

Oppression by Jessica Therrien.
Publication: 28th February 2012.

Partials by John Wells.

Publication: 28th February 2012.

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:

Pure by Julianna Baggott

Pure by Julianna Baggott.


Information.
Pages: 448
Publication: February 8th 2012/Grand Central Publishing 
Pre-Order it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kennys (Free WW shipping)
ARC supplied: Publishers at NetGalley. 


"We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . . 
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again."

Review.
When I first began reading my ARC of Pure, I will be honest, I wasn't really feeling it. I found it difficult to connect with anything that was going on. I was also a little bit confused because I felt as if I was just thrown into this devastated world in the Prologue but once I was a few chapters in, everything fell into place for me.


Pressia is in her own right the heroine of the book. She has just turned sixteen, something that I failed to remember because she speaks so maturely. She has seen more than enough of sadness for only being sixteen years. That said, Pressia is courageous and she is a fighter. She does not let anyone take advantage of her yet, she is also kind and helpful and willing to give up her life for the ones she loves. She stands up Bradwell, the third main character who begrudgingly helps to Partridge's mother for as he puts it "his own selfish reasons". So, to me, Pressia is a heroine.


Partridge, however, has only seen what happens in the Dome. He has read about the Outside and although he has not lived through what Pressia has, he has had his own battles to fight. With his mother presumably dead, a brother who has committed suicide and an absentee father, Partridge is lonely. I liked Partridge. Even if he was a little naive, he was smart enough to know that he would not survive on the Outside by himself. I enjoyed reading Pressia's and Partridge's interactions, as if they understood each other on another level.


The book is told in an omnipresent manner but from different characters points of view. This is included El Capitan, a soldier whose brother is fused to his back and who seems to be fighting his inner demons. There is also Lydia, a potential ally/love interest who is in the Dome. I liked reading about where Lydia was in the Dome. I thought she was a loyal and brave friend to Partridge. 


Baggott is very good at one thing and that is tying up plots at the end. The book ended neatly, with many of the subplots intertwining with the main plot. If you read the book closely, they are clues to the surprises that emerge throughout the book. This, in my opinion, is a sign of truly good writing, to be able intermingle plots in a way that does not seem out of the blue for the reader.  

Although the concept of Domes in dystopian fiction isn't anything new, it is the world that she creates outside the Dome that is so engrossing. Baggott has created a sinister and cruel place  even border-lining on creepy where everyone carries a scar from the detonations. People are fused with each other as well as solid objects. I think it is the descriptions that Baggott writes about these people is what up the creepy factor of the book. Sometimes I had trouble imagining the creatures which is new for me, so I would love to see Pure turned into a movie or a graphic novel to see how other people imagined the Outside world.


Pure is a book of survival and hope set in a haunting world which will have you captivated page after page.


Rating: 4/5.

Scored by Lauren McLaughlin.

Scored by Lauren McLaughlin.

Information.
Pages: 240.
Publication: October 25th 2011/Random House Books for Young Readers.


"Set in the future when teenagers are monitored via camera and their recorded actions and confessions plugged into a computer program that determines their ability to succeed. All kids given a "score" that determines their future potential. This score has the ability to get kids into colleges, grant scholarships, or destroy all hope for the above.Scored's reluctant heroine is Imani, a girl whose high score is brought down when her best friend's score plummets. Where do you draw the line between doing what feels morally right and what can mean your future? Friendship, romance, loyalty, family, human connection and human value: all are questioned in this fresh and compelling dystopian novel set in the scarily forseeable future."


Review.
Scored. Wow, Scored is one of those Young Adult books, I believe should be put on Required Readings list in school. Not because it was well written (it was really well written by the way) or anything like that, but because it shows morality and ethics in show an interesting light. Will we take technology too far? 


Scored is set in Somerton, a poor town with very little employment. The town is now a trial city for the Score Corporation. That means, nearly everywhere you go, they are small black balls hanging everywhere, calculating your every movement, words and decisions. Scores are based on five things known as 'fitness':
Peer Group - who you associate with matters - the safest bet - hang with similar scores. Impulse Control - what you say and do is important - rationalize first as well as Congruity, Diligence and Rapport.
For people with a high score, they have a future; a chance at college and a career. Low scores and the unscored are lucky if they get a menial jobs.


Imani LeMonde is scored in the 90's and her best friend, Cady, is in 70's but a pact in middle school is what keeps their friendship alive. However when Cady does something, her score plummets and she brings Imani's score with her. Now in the 60's, Imani dreams of college seem long over unless she can win an essay competition open to everyone, scored or unscored, for a scholarship of $40,000. 


Enter Diego Landis, an unscored who is equally intelligent as Imani and also vying to win the essay. Now Imani has to make sure she wins the competition, not get caught as she is creates a new career for herself as a spy, all while losing her best friend - what more could happen? As Imani fight with inner struggles, betrayal and feelings she shouldn't have, Scored is anything but boring. 


When I began Scored first, Imani bothered me and I just didn't know why but once I finished the book I knew why. At the start, Imani's thought were not her own, they were practically implanted in her so that she kept her score. However, as the book goes on, we see Imani growing into her own thoughts and how she begins to understand both the positives and negative of Scores. By the end of the book, I really liked Imani.
Diego Landis is a great character. I loved him. He was interesting and intelligent but his troubles lie in his problem with authority. 
Iamni and Diego make a great pair as they bounce of each other with interesting debates and witty retorts.


Although Scored holds no major plot other than Imani debating whether Score is right or wrong nor does it have a true turning point, it is still a fantastic book. I still have some questions I want answered about Imani as well. It's short and I read it in three hours, mainly because I couldn't put it down. A must read for everyone!


Rating: 4.5/5.

Fated by Sarah Alderson

Fated by Sarah Alderson.


Information.
Pages: 320.
Publication: January 5th 2012/Simon & Schuster UK.

"What happens when you discover you aren't who you thought you were? And that the person you love is the person who will betray you? If your fate is already determined, can you fight it? 

When Evie Tremain discovers that she’s the last in a long line of Demon slayers and that she’s being hunted by an elite band of assassins –Shapeshifters, Vampires and Mixen demons amongst them – she knows she can’t run. They’ll find her wherever she goes. Instead she must learn to stand and fight. 

But when the half-human, half-Shadow Warrior Lucas Gray - is sent to spy on Evie and then ordered to kill her before she can fulfil a dangerous prophecy, their fates become inextricably linked. The war that has raged for one thousand years between humans and demons is about to reach a devastating and inevitable conclusion. Either one or both of them will die before this war ends. 
If your life becomes bound to another’s, what will it take to sever it?"


Review.
I first read Sarah Alderson's Hunting Lila (Find review here) and I really enjoyed it, so when I saw that Fated was coming out in January I knew I had to read it. Fated has Alderson's writing feel, which is the only thing similar between to the stories. I enjoyed the story within Fated more than Hunting Lila.

One aspect of Fated that I thought was great was the world or should I say, worlds that Alderson has created. Different realms harboring different species or Unhumans, as they are known, from Scorpio Demons to Mixens to Vampires and Shapeshifters. All of the creatures, which make up the brotherhood had me engrossed especially with the personalities of these creatures in the Brotherhood.


Our heroine, or more of an anti-heroine, is Evie. Little do she know, that she has Hunter blood. A strong will and intelligent seventeen year old whose only dream is to get out of her small and gossipy home town, and if that means working two jobs, she will. However, the Brotherhood have other plans. Half Shadow Warrior, half human, the only thing Lucas wants is revenge. And his target? Evie.
I really liked Evie. She's realistic as well as being easy to relate to. She is strong and what I loved is that she isn't whiny or feels the need to keep saying that all this paranormal stuff can't be happening for half of the book.

Fated is written in dual narrative and, Lucas, as a second main character was also enjoyable. He was not overbearing which I find can happen with second, especially male, lead characters. I really enjoyed finding out what Lucas was thinking while trying and failing to assassinate Evie as he begins to feel protective and even begins to care for Evie. Lucas, throughout the book, grow into an admirable character. 

All the other secondary characters were also satisfying. Victor, Jocelyn, Earl and Risper were all different and complemented in each other as Hunters.

The only thing lowered the book rating for me was the speed and rush of the romance. Fast paced romance never do anything for me and although, with only three hundred pages to work with training Evie and a lot of secondary characters, I suppose a rushed romance was bound to happen. However, that said, I did like Evie's and Luca's chemistry. It had this Romeo and Juliet, doomed feel and I love a bit of doom!

A fast-paced novel set in an intriguing world, full of entertaining characters, Fated is definitely one to read, and when you do, you will be hooked and begging for the sequel!

Rating: 4/5.

Imperial Trilogy.

I wanted to let you all know about a trilogy I read last week called the 'Imperial Trilogy' written by Mark Robson.





Book 1 of the series is called Imperial Spy and revolves around Femke, a kick-ass female spy who is entrusted with a foreign mission by the new Emperor Surabar. However, things take a turn when she framed for two murders in the foreign land. The only people to help her are, Reynik, a young soldier and anyone else he can rope in to help.


Book 2 of the trilogy is called Imperial Assassin and follows Reynik on his mission to help the Emperor take down the Guild of Assassins. With the help of Femke, he has three weeks to train before infiltrating the Guild, which over centuries no-one has found.


Book 3, the final book of Robson's series is called Imperial Traitor and starts where Imperial Assassin leaves off. Reynik and Femke must come up with the a plan to take out the Guild once and for all. I'd advise not to go to the Goodreads page and read the blurb until you have read the first and second book.


I loved this series and would advise you all to read them!

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1) by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1) by Veronica Rossi


Information.
Pages: 384.
Publication: January 3rd/February 7th 2012/ATOM.
"Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim. 

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive. 

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers." - Goodreads.


Review.
When I first heard about Under the Never Sky, I knew I was going to have to read it. Why? Well, for my selfish addiction to dystopian fiction, of course and since I hadn't read a bad review of Rossi's debut novel.


The concept of Under the never Sky is popular and in some cases overdone. Books similar include Enclave, which I loved, Blood Red Road and Birthmarked are two others. That said, Rossi has put an interesting twist on her version. She has created a world in the Pods, that are deemed safe and have highly technological advances. Then she has created the outside, the real world, where food is hunted and traded, where people live in tribes and some are gifted with better senses, and the aether lurks in the sky. 

The story I enjoyed. It possessed all the attributes wanted in a good novel: adventure and action, as well as romance and when Roar is around, humour. 

The negative aspect of Under the Never Sky for me was the lead characters. Aria and Perry are interesting characters. Two different people from very different worlds come together for, at the beginning, their own reasons, yet find solace and peace in each other. I, however, didn't connect either character which is always disappointing when reading a book. I did not find Aria or Perry particularly unique or engaging characters. 
Aria actually got on my nerves quite a lot at the beginning of the story but as the book goes on and she grows and understands the outside world so does her personality and towards the end of the story, she is quite a admirable character.
The minor characters such as Roar and Cinder intrigued me more than the lead characters. Questions arose about the characters, regarding Roar and Perry's sister Liz, and what is with Cinder and his special "power"?


I am undecided on whether to give Under the Never Sky a rating of three or four. At the end, I have decided on  three and half. :P I liked Under the Never Sky but I didn't really really like it because I didn't connect with it, like I had hoped. However, with that said, it is a readable and enjoyable book that I would encourage anyone who likes dystopian fiction to read.


Rating: 3.5/5.

Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey


Information.
Pages: 336.
Publication: December 8th 2011/Philomel/Penguin


"Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon." - Goodreads.


Review. 
Shattered Souls instantly grabs attention with it's cover and blurb about ghosts and a good looking guy. However, the story itself, didn't hold my attention as much as I thought it would.
The book's concept was solid and when I began reading, it was a straight into the action with Lenzi, the protagonist, unsure of whether she's going crazy or not. Throw in what seems like a loving boyfriend and some creepy voices and I was good to go. However, this faded pretty fast and the book turned into a petty turned obsession romance and a very predictable ending.


There is a lot going on in Shattered Souls, plot wise, and Lindsey tries to fit everything in. It falls quite flat in certain areas because of this.


I really liked the sound of Lenzi and she seems like a really interesting to read about. She had not only personal fears like the voices she could hear but generic teenager fears also. She had her boyfriend, Zac, to comfort and care for her which was different because in most YA books, if there is a boyfriend at the beginning of the book, he more than likely going to turn into a huge douche and this paves the way for a new male lead. The difference with Zac is, he truly cared about Lenzi. He didn't judge her for her issues but he couldn't express it properly due to his issues with alcohol and pills but deep down all Zac wants to do is be there for Lenzi.


Queue: most beautiful boy girl has ever seen, Lenzi's protector, Alden. A, by the books kind of guy, Alden, for me was a neither love nor hate character for me. He did absolutely nothing for me. He didn't excite me because he rarely did anything interesting. He was just there either talking about ghosts or saying how Lenzi and his relationship has boundaries. 


Yes, onto the relationship aspect of Shattered Souls. This is what irritated me the most. Alden: "No, we cannot be together even though it's all I ever wanted". Kisses Lenzi. "No, we've only known each other a few days." Kisses Lenzi. you get the point! Anyway, Lenzi is just as bad using her I am the speaker and this is what I want line. I began to dislike Lenzi when this started to happen because she decided not to sort her issues with Zac out, thus making her a cheater and yet still being able to play the victim. Alden's and Lenzi's relationship, for me, was formed too fast and seems a little too needy. 


As Shattered Souls reached it's climax, well, actually their was no climax. I felt like I was reading an episode of Scooby-Doo with the bad guy being a terribly written ghost. Enter secondary climax, which also was a failure, containing Alden breaking the rules and us finally getting to see what the IC actually do. The ending wrapped up a little to nicely for me and the last two lines of the book, well, annoyed me a lot. I don't want to spoil it for anyone but you read it, you'll probably get what I mean.

Overall, Lindsey is a good writer and she has some well written scenes, especially the one regarding Lenzi's therapeutic origami. The only badly written area of the Shattered Souls was Smith, the antagonist. It's not a bad book by any means, it is just a book that has too many easily spotted flaws.

Rating: 3/5.

Young Love Murder (Young Assassins) by April Brookshire

Young Love Murder (Young Assassins) by April Brookshire.


Information.
Pages: 500.
Published: August 24th 2011/CreateSpace.
This isn’t a love story, it’s a love adventure. First love’s a killer, but so is seventeen-year-old Annabelle Blanc. She was raised to be an assassin and taught to never fall in love. She’s at the top of her game until she meets Gabriel Sanchez. Totally devoted to her profession, she’s never been naive. Except for when it comes to love. Wealthy, spoiled and self-indulgent, Gabriel Sanchez doesn’t think past his next conquest. Until he sets his sights on Annabelle. Expecting the mysterious Anna to be like every other girl, Gabriel finds himself drawn into a world of deception and murder. As two worlds collide, will Annabelle and Gabriel be able to overcome betrayal, revenge and heartbreak to find love? - Goodreads.

Review.

Annabelle is no normal teenager, she's an assassin. She is in her own right, the anti-heroine. I love anti-heroine. The fact she is a bad-ass killing machine is super cool. However, she chooses to only take out the worst of the  worst in the Criminal world which gives the book a layer or morality. It makes one think about the ethics of murder and if someone deserves to die for their misdeeds.

When I started Young Love Murder, I was pretty into it, it seemed like my kinda book which kick-ass lead with a kick-ass (literally) job, a witty brother and good looking male lead. What's not to like? Well, a hasty love plot that takes over the book is what's not to like.

The target: Xavier Sanchez. The mission: Use Xavier Sanchez son, Gabriel, or nephew, Max, as a way to infiltrate Xavier's home and life. Take out target. 

The outcome of this mission: Love. Irritating, sickly sweet love between Gabriel and Annabelle.

Throughout the course of the book, which is set over the course of a few years, fighting, angry sex and some fighting become a large part of Gabriel's and Annabelle's relationship. Since the book is spanned over a few years, you would expect some good character development, right? Wrong. Gabriel's personality turns from cool ladies man to overly obsessed stalker. I just wanted Gabriel to go away. Calling someone who says you have broken up still your girlfriend is just plain weird and deserves a restraining order, not a second chance, like he asks for. Overall, the characters do not develop. They go no where in terms of evolving which is disappointing in a five hundred page book.

Throughout the book how Brookshire writes, changes with twists and turns in the book and it just lacked fluidity and good structure. The writing in Brookshire's debut novel left a lot to be desired. Although, I will give it to Brookshire, she does have some funny lines throughout. 

The majority of the reviews for Young Love Murder hold ratings between four and five and for the first few chapters of the books, it is worth a four star rating. The general plot was so promising, it could have been amazing but for me, it just fell. Young Love Murder is being so well received, I feel like I must have been reading a different book to everyone else, but to each their own, I suppose. 

Rating: 2/5.