Review: Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Glass Sword

Red Queen #2

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Publication Date: February 9, 2016

Publisher: Harper Teen

Genre: YA/Dystopia

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Synopsis:

If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different.

Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.

My Thoughts: First, I want to say that I love this series.  Neither of the books went where I expected them to and this one certainly lived up to the high expectations that the first one set!

We pick up Glass Sword where Red Queen  left off.  Mare and Cal are tired and shattered from the events at the end of Red Queen and are just trying to survive at this point.  Both seem to be looking for a purpose and neither one want to stop and take a breather, or rest.

Mare, I feel, really steps it up in this book.  She really is stuck between a rock and a hard place for most of the tough decisions she has to make.  Unlike Cal, she was never trained to be thrust into a leadership position and this is where she unexpectedly finds herself.  All of her moves, all of her decisions and non-decisions are questioned and scrutinized and I feel that in the middle of the book she just kind of loses herself.  I honestly don't blame her.

Cal feels like a lost floater sometimes.  He always had a clear path of who he was, what he was, what was expected of him and where he was headed.  Now that all of that has been ripped away from him and he is on the run with people he formerly saw as the enemy seems to have caught him up.  Luckily, he doesn't stay that way completely.

I have to say, there is a lot less romance and a lot more action in this book than the previous, which is to be expected.  In the first book, it was all about political intrigue and palace life.  How best to save people and still work within the confines of the castle.  Now, to put it blunt, all hell has broken loose.  Cal and Mare are constantly looking over their shoulders while at the same time trying to save people like Mare, regular Reds and even Silvers.

This book was fast paced and awesome.  The cliffhanger ending (much like the first book) was awe-dropping and not at all what I would have expected.  I am eagerly waiting at the edge of my seat for the next book - it can't come quick enough!

Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Publication Date: February 21st, 2012

Publisher: Simon & Shuster Children's Publishing

Genre: YA/Dystopia/Romance

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Synopsis:

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness. The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

My Thoughts: Although I did enjoy this book, I didn't quite enjoy it as much as I did the first book Wither, you can find my review for that here.

This book had pretty much the same pace and same amount of action and excitement which was good. I really liked the kind of slow but still very intriguing pace of the first book. Normally I would not be one to be a fan of a laid back pace in a book. But this series seems to pull it off really well. It's not action packed and exciting things aren't necessarily happening in every chapter. But there is always great character development and Rhine has an inner dialogue that is never boring and a personality that is entirely admirable.

The story starts off right where Wither left off. Rhine and Gabriel have escaped from the mansion and are heading to what they think will be a much better life. But oh, they were so wrong. Things are not all hunky dory outside those gates. Things are much more terrifying, corrupted, and down right filthy. They are almost immediately taken captive by a rather disgusting group of people and they spend the majority of the book trying to figure out how to escape yet again. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Rhine both are fighting a sickness that is definitely complicating the matter of escaping.

The one thing that made me like this book a little less than the previous one is definitely that it felt rather repetitive throughout the story. Rhine was constantly passing in and out of consciousness for different reasons. But it was always the same effect of her passing out and coming too and thinking about how badly she needs to change the current situation and to get away from her horrible nightmares. Lots of things changed around her during the course of the story, but her own predicament stayed about the same and it got a little monotonous to me.

But it was still a pretty great read and I will definitely continue on to the last book in the trilogy. Especially since things really started to get heated up and exciting towards the very end! Definitely a cliff hanger of an ending and I will be needing to get my hands on the next book in the series,  Sever.

I would still recommend this book and the series, especially to Dystopian fans. It is also a romance novel, but the romance in this book of the series was pretty limited.  I am definitely looking forward to what will happen romance wise in the final book!

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publication Date: February 5th, 2013

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Genre: YA/Romance/ReTelling/Dystopia

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Synopsis:

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

My Thoughts: Marissa Meyer has mastered the ReTelling genre! You will not find any others in the genre  that are nearly as unique, imaginative, adventurous, and creative as The Lunar Chronicles. Meyer has breathed the most fresh breath of air possible into stories that we all know so well. She has all but turned these stories on their heads and emptied their pockets and stripped down to their bare essentials. She then rebuilt them in a way only she can, with every page and character becoming something even better and more astounding than it previously was.

I'm sad that it took me so long to read this. I read Cinder last year and I absolutely loved it. You can read my review for Cindre here. It should not have taken me this long to get my hands on the sequel, and if it weren't for my great friend Jenn here passing me on  her copy I would probably still have it on my to read list. So big thanks to Jenn for being so generous and giving me the encouragement I needed to get this book read!

Scarlet is a female heroine we all can't help but love. She has a  fierce loyalty to her loved ones and a determination that never quits. I fell in love with  her just as easily as I fell for Cinder in the first book. Both are female leads you will be rooting for right from the start.

I was especially happy to find that Cinder was in this book. I had assumed that it would be a brand new re-telling with all new characters. This is because I have a habit of not reading the synopsis to sequel books because I just love being surprised too much and I don't want the slightest surprise to be given away. But yes, you can imagine my delight when Cinder was amongst the pages. This delight only intensified to the max as Cinder's and Scarlet's stories intertwined.

The way Meyer has weaved these two fairy tales together is nothing short of incredible. She obviously has a gift for this genre and I would say her books are the yardstick that all others in the genre are measured against. You don't want to miss out on these books. If you have not looked into the Lunar Chronicles yet you seriously need to hop on that train! Pick up these books and prepare to fall in love with the stories you've always known, only this time around, they are revved up, and totally kick ass!

Review: Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Extras

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publication Date: October 2nd, 2007

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Genre: YA/Dystopia/Romance

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Synopsis:

It's a few years after rebel Tally Youngblood took down the uglies/pretties/specials regime. Without those strict roles and rules, the world is in a complete cultural renaissance. "Tech-heads" flaunt their latest gadgets, "kickers" spread gossip and trends, and "surge monkeys" are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. And it's all monitored on a bazillion different cameras. The world is like a gigantic game of "American Idol." Whoever is getting the most buzz gets the most votes. Popularity rules. As if being fifteen doesn't suck enough, Aya Fuse's rank of 451,369 is so low, she's a total nobody. An extra. But Aya doesn't care; she just wants to lie low with her drone, Moggle. And maybe kick a good story for herself. Then Aya meets a clique of girls who pull crazy tricks, yet are deeply secretive of it. Aya wants desperately to kick their story, to show everyone how intensely cool the Sly Girls are. But doing so would propel her out of extra-land and into the world of fame, celebrity...and extreme danger. A world she's not prepared for.

My Thoughts: So here I am with the fourth book in the Uglies series and I unfortunately have to say that I didn't like this one nearly as much as the others and found it to be a little disappointing. It wasn't a bad read, I did like it but it didn't have that same drive and fight that the other ones had. It was missing the umph I have come to expect from this series.

First of all it wasn't told from Tally's point of view this time. And while that's an understandably OK thing to do in a series, change the POV,  was upset about it. I have my reasons, one of them being that Tally was getting so kick ass and awesome and I was not ready to let her go yet. Not only did we have to leave Tally behind just as she was finally discovering her real self but we got a very mediocre replacement. Aya fuse was a lying, manipulative, petty girl. She would admit to herself that she would say what needed to be said so she could get what she wanted. Not the kind of hero I had grown accustomed to and definitely not making me feel better about losing out on Tally.

We didn't completely lose out on Tally, we do get to see her. But when we do everything about her and the old characters we had grown so attached to everything is so cryptic and a lot is left unknown about their present situations and what they've been up to. And that might be OK as well if I knew there was going to be a sequel for us to catch up with them later. But considering this book was released in 2007 I don't think that is going to  happen.

Which brings me to the next thing that bothered me. If this book is supposed to be the last in the series as it would seem to be, I'm really not positive, it didn't really have a nice final ending. We didn't get any closer or finality that we need to move on to a new series. It's like all those characters are just sitting there waiting behind the curtain for the next show to start and we're all waiting out here in our seats but nothing is happening.

I didn't overly enjoy the new city this story takes place in. A place where the main goal is to be as popular as you can no matter what you gotta do to get there. Not my cup of tea. Although it does give a kind of taste of what our own social media is coming to, I get enough of that in my real world, I don't need to re-experience it in a book.

All I seem to have done here is talk about why I didn't like this book. But it wasn't all bad, I did have an alright time reading it, I just felt it to be a poor addition to the series and not the best book for the ending of a series either. But it wasn't slow or boring, it had good surprising plot twists, and some decent suspense. But I guess this one just wasn't for me. I wish the series could have stopped off on a better note.

Review: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

The Testing
(The Testing #1)

Author: Joelle Charbonneau

Publication Date: June 4, 2013

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Genre: Dystopia

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Synopsis:

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same?

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one.

But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.

My Thoughts: So I had heard a lot of good things about The Testing. A lot of people say that if you like The Hunger Games, to definitely give this one a try. Well am I ever glad I did! I loved The Testing even more than THG. Now I know dystopians are getting old (they really are getting a bit overdone, even for me, the person who read a million of them last year) BUT The Testing was just so good!

Cia is a a great character who is obviously smart, since she's been picked to compete in the Testing for one of the 20 available University spots for the year. Cia is extremely excited because all she's ever wanted was a chance to attend the University. However, after her father, who was also in the Testing, tells her that he has no memories of his time in the Testing, just nightmares, she begins to worry. When she arrives for the Testing and her roommate commits suicide shortly after because of the stress, Cia wonders if maybe her father's mind created the nightmares to replace memories of students crumbling under the pressure. Soon enough, she learns the difference. Maybe the Testing is more dangerous than she thought.

While Cia is smart, she definitely has her faults, one being that she trusts too easily! She's in a competition here and really shouldn't be trusting anyone, but she does anyways, and more than once she almost comes to regret it. She has a bit of romance with a fellow competitor from her home, Tomas, which might possibly blind her to him. He seems okay for the most part, but I just couldn't trust him.

The Testing was a book that I had a hard time putting down. I can't wait for the next book to be released in the series. It's going to be a long wait. I really enjoyed Joelle Charbonneau's writing style, although at times the world building could have been improved a bit, I wasn't sure what had happened to the world for awhile. But, she made up for it with action and a story that kept me sucked in. Overall, it's a great read that I will for sure be recommending, especially if you're a fan of The Hunger Games.

*A Copy was provided for review from the publisher via NetGalley*

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Publication Date: March 22, 2011

Publisher: Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: YA/Dystopia/Romance

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Synopsis:

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

My Thoughts: This book sat on my shelf for far far too long! I think it was one of the first books I ever won in a blog hop and I have always wanted to read it, but I'm sure you understand how so many other books get in the way. But now that I have finally picked it up and given it a read I am so mad at myself for putting it off for so long. This book surprised me, in the greatest way a book can. I did not expect to love it as much as I did, and I love when a book unexpectedly yanks you right in.

As far as Dystopians go I tend to be quite a fan. This one is definitely keeping to that routine. I went into this book with no idea whatsoever what it was about. I like doing that every now and then. If you pick up a book that you have heard of but don't really know the synopsis of, do something fun and don't read the synopsis, it's fun! So that made the book even more interesting and fun for me because I had no idea what to expect and this book constantly surprised me and kept me on the edge of me seat.

Rhine is a young lady who was kidnapped and forced to be one of three brides to a rich young man named Linden. In this world Women only live until they are 20 and men live until they are 25. So men usually have many brides so they can reproduce lots while trying to work on a cure for this infection that is killing everyone off at such a young age. But being a bride and a baby maker to a cruel, kidnapping, controlling man is the very last thing Rhine wants to do. Luckily Rhine does make friends with the other two wives, each one of them completely different and unique in their own ways and individual back stories.

Even though Rhine is given a life of luxury and protection  to enjoy for the rest of her few years, it is not what she wanted. She is prepared to do what needs to be done to find a way out. The longer she is there the more dark and terrifying things she discovers. She thought things were already pretty darn terrible and devastating, but under the surface is much more darkness than she anticipated.

Will Rhine be able to find a way out? Or will she be forced to perpetuate the cure that Linden's family is looking for so desperately. With only a few short years left and some incredibly tough decisions ahead she has to move quickly. I adored Rhine's character. She was incredibly selfless and could see the good things in even the worst of people and always found a silver lining for the most terrible situations and that is definitely something to be admired.

I really enjoyed this book, I read through it fairly quickly and I immediately went online to order the next in the series :). I would absolutely recommend it to others, especially any dystopian fans !

Review: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

Gameboard of the Gods
(Age of X #1)

Author: Richelle Mead

Publication Date: June 4, 2013

Publisher: Dutton Adult

Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia/Adult

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Synopsis:

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills. When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

My Thoughts: So I pretty much had to read this book because it's Richelle Mead. After reading her VA series, how could I not. But I will let you know that this isn't a YA book, it's very adult. There is sex and a lot of sexual scenes and references throughout the book, so it's not appropriate for a younger teen. So why am I reviewing it here when we normally stick to YA? Well, like I said, it's Richelle Mead.

This book is told from a couple different PoV's. Justin, who's a servitor, meaning he investigates religions and makes sure they aren't becoming too powerful. But he's been exiled and we don't know why. What we do know is that he hears voices in his head. Which really confused me for the longest time because the voices were only ever referred to as the ravens and their names, Horatio and Magnus. So for the longest time I was wondering if he just had two giant ravens that followed him around and talked to him telepathically. Regardless, the RUNA needs Justins help, so his exile ends, for the time being.

Then there is Mae, a praetorian, basically a super soldier. She gets in a fight at a funeral and beats someone up, which gets her punished and landed with Justin as his bodyguard. There is some serious sexual tension between the two of them. Tons! Sometimes it was a bit funny to see them struggle not to rip off each others clothes. Other times I was mad at Richelle for stopping things!

Lastly is Tessa, who is a provincial girl. She's a teenager who was born outside of the RUNA, who justin brings back with him on a student visa. She has a lot of adjusting to do since life is very different between the two. But she is a very likeable character with her naivety.

There is a lot going on in this book. Justin and Mae have to solve a bunch of murders that have been happening. All of the signs point to a religious cult doing the murders. But they have to figure out which cult is doing it. Not so easy when just about every god has a following and there are hundreds of gods. So they have to find a pattern before it's too late. They only have a month.

Overall this is a really good read. It was a bit slow at times for me though. I think it was because I had a lot preventing me from reading it when I first started it, but it took me about a week longer than it should have to get through it. Like I said, it is an adult novel, so it's quite a bit longer than your average YA. Plus it's almost 470 pages, so no short adult novel either. Regardless of the length, it is good. Richelle Mead does a great job with her world building and give enough of a background that you know how things came to be the way they are. It could have possibly used a bit more of a history though. I loved that the capital was in Vancouver and all of Canada seemed to be included in the RUNA. You would think that in a dystopian, the government would be bad, but they weren't all bad and I agreed with a lot of their rules. Basically there were extreme gun laws and you had to register your religion. So it was a very peaceful place to live.

Would I recommend this read? Yes, I would. Just not to younger teens ;) Richelle Mead has another series for me to follow now! I'm not sure how she can write this much, but it's a good thing!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy!

Review: Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Specials

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publication Date: May 3rd, 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Genre: YA/Dystopia

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Synopsis:

"Special Circumstances": The words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor -- frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary. And now she's been turned into one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid. The strength, the speed, and the clarity and focus of her thinking feel better than anything Tally can remember. Most of the time. One tiny corner of her heart still remembers something more. Still, it's easy to tune that out -- until Tally's offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat, or carry out the mission she's programmed to complete. Either way, Tally's world will never be the same.

My Thoughts: The ending to the previous book, Pretties, left us with a mega cliff hanger. You can find my review for it here. Luckily, Specials picks up very shortly after where Pretties left off!

As per usual, Tally's world is in a spin of madness and constant change. She presently finds herself exactly where she has never wanted to be. She is now a member of the Specials. Which are like the rest of the pretties, only cruel and hard, and made to be used as weapons. Her and her, now friend again, Shay are members of a special division and are made as a pet project by the ever evil and maniacal Dr. Cable.

So once again, Tally is brainwashed into believing that this is exactly where she wants to be. But she is fortunate enough to have people who are willing to fight to get the real Tally back. Although this time it definitely proves to be the biggest and hardest fight yet. There was a lot of loss and sadness and violence in this book compared to the others. I found it to be darker and more matured and even more harsh than the previous two.

Not much time is spent in Tally's city this time. We spend most of in outside and far away from the borders. Everything is changing, and rapidly thanks to a city that chooses not to uphold the same laws of division and beauty as Tally's. As a member of the specials it is Tally's duty to take out this new threat. And she sets out to do just that, but everything changes once you are out in the wild. Tally encounters many people and events that change her outlook and have her questioning her orders and her choices. But even with these developments it is increasingly hard to get by what she has been programmed to believe.

Things seem to be heading in the direction I was ultimately cheering for, but I am sad about what had to happen for it to go that way. I was surprised by so many things throughout the course of the story. And I have to say that that is one thing I do really love about this series. Is you can never ever predict what is going to happen next. There are so many twists and turns and surprise developments, it keeps you on your toes and keeps the pages turning.

I would recommend this series for sure. Especially to any Dystopia fans, I think you would definitely enjoy it!

Review: Icons by Margaret Stohl

Icons

Author: Margaret Stohl

Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia

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Synopsis:

Your heart beats only with their permission.

Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting.

Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid.

She's different. She survived. Why?

When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador's privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn't a coincidence. It's a conspiracy.

Within the Icon's reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions -- which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses -- may actually be their greatest strengths.

My Thoughts: I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book, it sounded really good and I wasn't disappointed. I've had a bit of a thing for dystopia for the past year. Add in science fiction and I'm going to probably read the book. I've also read and enjoyed Beautiful Creatures, so to read something by just Margaret was nice.

The main protagonist is Dol, she was only a baby on The Day, she knows she's different from others, but doesn't know why. She's captured by the Embassy and they study her and the other three teens that are known as Icon Children. All four have strange abilities, but no one will tell them anything. Their world has basically been taken over by a race of aliens that they have never seen. The aliens are very deadly though, as they showed on The Day. Giving a demonstration of their power, instantly killing everyone in an area. The only hope against them might be the teens and their abilities.

Icons is a very amusing read, there were a few places where the story got a bit slow, but I still really enjoyed it. It just took a bit longer to get past those parts. I liked Dol and Ro, how they wanted to help free everyone, even at the cost of their own lives. Tima was a great character, very brave and would do anything for Lucas. Lucas was kind of a jerk though, he was the only one with any sort of privileges. But the characters were likable. The world was easy to imagine, which was good, it helped me get sucked into the story even more.The writing was good, there only being the few slower parts. Overall,  I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

*A copy was provided by the publisher for review.*

Review: Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publication Date: May 3rd, 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Genre: YA/Dystopia

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Synopsis:

Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted. But beneath all the fun -- the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom -- is a nagging sense that something's wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally's ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what's wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold. Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life -- because the authorities don't intend to let anyone with this information survive.

My Thoughts: I know I'm writing a review here for the second book in the series, without having written one for the first. I am honestly not even sure how that happened. But I forgot to write up a review for it so it didn't get put into my schedule and now it seems like too late to go back. I like the book to be pretty fresh in my mind when I write up my reviews. So anyway, I'm going to start here on book #2 in the Uglies Series.

I definitely enjoyed this book. I liked it even more than the one before it. And that is something that I love in a series, and doesn't come along too often. When each installment exceeds it's previous one. This is a very good thing! It is a little bit odd though, because this book didn't really have as much action, or the same fast pace. It wasn't as active or emotional either. But I did feel that we got to learn a lot more about Tally. And that is another thing I adore in a series or any book. Character growth and progression. I love to watch characters change, grow and adapt. And Tally is definitely doing a lot of all three of those things.

So Tally is right where she originally always wanted to be. All everything seems just ducky and perfect until a very surprising visit from an old friend. That's when memories start to return to Tally, and she is fighting her hardest to find out what she really wants. To fight against what she has been conditioned to want and how she's essentially been brainwashed to behave. And that is even harder than it sounds!

We are introduced to a brand new love interest for Tally. And I still find myself quite conflicted with this new development. I really loved David, and he seemed like such a fantastic match for Tally. He was the one who changed everything for her, who opened her eyes and mind to the world around her. But once she was taken away from The Smoke and made into a pretty, she lost her memories of David and she found Zane. She definitely has good reasons for liking Zane as well and they did go through a lot together. Not that anything seems set in stone, I will keep cheering for David ;).

And that's the way it is with this book. Nothing is for certain. Things are constantly changing. Environments, people, lifestyles, and most definitely thought processes. It makes for a pretty great read. It's fun to keep up with and keeps the reader very well engaged.  I would definitely recommend this series, and I am already looking forward to reading #3.  The ending left me in a very shocked and scared place so I definitely need to find out what comes next for Tally. The plot never stops surprising me.

Hopefully I will remember to write my review for #3,  and please forgive me for jumping ahead in the series haha ;).

Review: The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

The Eternity Cure

Author: AJulie Kagawa

Publication Date: April 30, 2013

Publisher: HarlequinTeen

Genre: Paranormal / Dystopia

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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.

My Thoughts: Once again Julie has done it. I loved The Eternity Cure. I honestly don't think it's possible fore her to write something I'll dislike. I have enjoyed everything that I've read by her so far, which is everything she has out, I think. If I've missed something, I'm pretty sure I'll have to read it soon! All I can say is I did see what happens at the end coming, well not all of it but one thing! I'm pretty sure I need the next book like yesterday.

I liked Allie's character again. She is pretty kick butt and has a lot of self control. She is still trying to avoid being a monster and wants to make Kanin proud of her. She has a lot of loyalty for her maker. She is still in love with Zeke, even after she's left him behind at Eden. She is a decent vampire, only goes for "bad" guys. She doesn't like to hurt people if she can help it, but occasionally the monster will poke it's head out (which totally just made me think of A Game of Thrones and Dany's physcotic brother telling her not to wake the dragon). Regardless, I think she is an awesome character.

We get to see Jackal again. And he's not a complete jerk all the time! Only most of the time. Stick is back too, he's a complete jerk and I didn't like him at all. Even someone you won't expect shows up. Oh and let's not forget Sarren. He is still a creepy and crazy vampire.

The Eternity Cure is a great read overall. I absolutely loved everything about it. The story line flows pretty quickly for the most part. There are some slow bits but they didn't really bother me at all. Julie Kagawa just has this writing style that I can't seem to get enough of. I love this series and can't wait to see what happens next!

Review: The Office of Mercy: A Novel by Ariel Djanikian

The Office of Mercy: A Novel

Author: Ariel Djanikian

Publication Date: February 21st 2013

Publisher: Viking Adult

Genre: Dystopia / Science Fiction

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Synopsis:

Twenty-four-year-old Natasha Wiley lives in America-Five—a high-tech, underground, utopian settlement where hunger and money do not exist, everyone has a job, and all basic needs are met. But when her mentor and colleague, Jeffrey, selects her to join a special team to venture Outside for the first time, Natasha’s allegiances to home, society, and above all to Jeffrey are tested. She is forced to make a choice that may put the people she loves most in grave danger and change the world as she knows it.

My Thoughts: Sometimes when I read a book I'm left wondering the whole time, who can the MC trust? Especially in dystopians, although normally it's made fairy obvious eventually. I'm still not sure in this case though. Office of Mercy leaves you guessing and trying to figure out who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Is it the citizens? Who keep sweeping the tribes, or is it the tribes who are slowly dwindling. Ariel Djanikian does a fairly good job at keeping you guessing. She's also done a great job at the world building, an essential in a dystopia, and I found it very easy to see how the characters lived and what the world had become.

When the book starts out I was confused, since it starts with a tribe that has been swept, but once I figured out what sweeping was, not only was I horrified, but I was angry at the people who did it. In case you're wondering, a sweep is when the citizens end the pain and suffering of a tribe by thoroughly eradicating them. They try to do it in the most humane way possible, and for the most part, the tribes never see it coming and it's pretty instantaneous. There are some cases where this isn't true, but they do their best. I know what you're thinking, they are mass murdering innocent people? I know. I was shocked too at how they would do this. Apparently the citizens (mostly the Alphas/leaders) feel it's for the best though and nothing will change their minds.

Our protagonist in Office of Mercy is Natasha. She is an Epsilon, the youngest group of the citizens, who works in the Office of Mercy, which is the office that tracks and preforms the sweeps. She has only been working for a few years and has not preformed a sweep of her own yet. She feels bad for the tribes that they sweep, wondering if it's right to end their lives like that. She isn't supposed to feel this way, the tribes are wild and suffering, they need to be put out of their misery. But Natasha still has these thoughts.

I like Natasha as a character. She didn't always make the right choices and was easy to trust others, both things that she shouldn't have done, but it made her seem more real. She has flaws and isn't perfect, which makes it easier to relate and connect with her. She dreams of going to the Outside. America-Five is essentially (as I see it) a giant underground complex with a dome coming out of the ground in the center and some metal structure with a few rooms to the sides. Most of the complex is underground though.

Overall, it is quite a good read, a very interesting future to think about. It's a bit slow to start out, but picks up quickly. After Natasha gets her wish to go Outside, things pick up and it gets hard to put down. I'm not really sure if it's completely YA, I think it might be more moving toward NA as there is a mention of sex, but not really any descriptions. It's only mentioned the one time. The whole book I was trying to guess who the "bad people" were. I was really surprised with the ending as it didn't end at all like I thought it would. Reminds me of a few older dystopias that I've read. But that's a good thing, when an author can throw you off like that, sometimes it's nice to break away from the cookie cutters and make something new! I will definitely be recommending this one!

*A review copy was provided from the publisher*

Review: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Article 5
(Article 5 #1)

Author: Kristen Simmons

Publication Date: January 31st 2012

Publisher: Tor Teen

Genre: Dystopia

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Synopsis:

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

My Thoughts: Okay, I know. I really should be giving this one a 5 owl rating but I just can't. Why? there was one thing that really irritated me, it was in the back of my mind from the time that Ember's mom got arrested, right up to the end of the book. Before I go into that though, this was a really great book and I can't wait to jump into Breaking Point, which will be soon since I'm in the blog tour for it :) Kristen Simmons is really great at creating a world that is easily imaginable and believable. I was getting chills at some of the things that happened, and it's not like a dystopian that the characters have been living like this their whole lives. The wars only ended a short while ago (3 years I think it was). Things have only been hard the past 8 years for the characters, so they know what a happy life was like.

Which brings me to the thing that I didn't like. Ember's mom is arrested for violating Article 5, which basically means she had a child out of wedlock and is a single mother. Right, but Ember is 17, which means they are arresting her for something that wasn't illegal at the time that it happened. It does eventually make sense, but I'm not going to go into that since it would be spoilery. But it bothered me the whole time, especially when you find out what her punishment was. Rediculous. But, that's what a dystopian society is all about I guess. Retroactive laws are a bit much though. Not that she really followed the laws, since she was used to a life that you could pretty much do what you want, read what you want, etc. But yeah, that's the only thing that bothered me about the story, but yeah, it was mean!

Alright, the rest of the story though, I loved. Ember really grows as a character, she goes from being obedient of the law to rebellious as she realizes just how stupid all of the laws are. So we see her come out of her shell and become stronger. she begins to stick up for herself and others, and does the right thing, even if she shouldn't. Then there is Chase, her first love. The one who drove the van arresting her mom. She can't bring herself to trust him since he's changed so much, but she has to once her life is in his hands. He's the enemy to her. He made her mom a promise though. I really like these two, but they have a lot to talk about still.

Overall, Article 5 is an amazing book. It leaves you wanting more at the end. Luckily for you, if you haven't read it yet, Breaking Point is coming out later this month, so it's not a long wait. If you have read it, well, it's coming out soon, so your wait is almost over! It really stands out in the dystopian genre. It's well written and you can really connect with the characters. It's a definite must read if you are a fan of dystopia. It's a great place to start if you haven't tried them yet. For sure one that I recommend and would get 4.5 owls if I did half ratings. It's a really great read that will keep you up until you finish it!