The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

  

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-fi
Content: Autopsies performed off page with some description of the results, Talk of people being experimented on, Someone's head is bashed in off page with some description of the result

 

Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island—and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer—and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking. 

 

I loved this author's first book, The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I also love mysteries, and this one seemed very intriguing because no one in the book could remember what happened. This cover is also gorgeous. Because of those things, I had really high hopes that this would be a book that I would love, despite the fact that his previous book, The Devil and the Dark Water ended up being a dud for me. Unfortunately, this ended up being a huge disappointment. It was a painfully slow, needlessly drawn out story, that at times just went in circles. Most of the characters were hard to connect to, and some were downright impossible to like or have any sympathy for, despite their circumstances, which we are never given any real details on. I did like Emory quite a bit, although she and her daughter Clara where the only characters I really liked. For the most part, there was a really dim view of humanity in this book that I didn't like at all.

Emory is tasked with investigating what happened, and from the beginning it was pretty easy to figure out that there was a lot of manipulation going on from a couple of different characters. I don't think it's a spoiler for me to say that because it's so obvious. Most of the time Emory is clueless to things that the reader is in on. She quite often discovers things that we as the readers already know and then no real conclusions or connections are made by her to solve anything. She just picks up clues throughout the book and does nothing very useful with them. Sure she throws out theories on what she thinks happened, but she never really makes any progress on solving anything until the end when suddenly she figures it all out and tells us what happened. The slow pace and the lack of progress was incredibly frustrating. Overall, I figured out most the elements to this book before they were revealed with the exception of how the first death happened, so I guess that was a plus. Only it didn't feel like a plus, it felt anticlimactic. 

Lastly, the whole killer fog thing was ridiculous and not ever explained. I saw the twist coming with that a mile away, but the fog itself just never really made sense. Where did it really come from? How was it created? Climate change is just not a good enough explanation. It had all the elements of something from a cheap sci-fi horror flick. Is this author only going to write books I dislike from now on? I hope not but I'm not sure I want to take a chance on another one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Renounced (Sins of Our Ancestors Book 4) by Bridget E. Baker

  

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, dystopian
Content: Clean

 

When life makes you into the hero you never wanted to be. . .

Now that the cure has been found and distributed, Ruby’s ready to move ahead with the life she always wanted: small town, cute house, quiet job, with her boyfriend Sam by her side, of course. All she needs to do is foist the responsibility of ruling World Peace Now off onto her half-brother, Adam. Surely he’ll rise to the task of caring for the people with whom he grew up.

Sometimes that cape really starts to chafe.

But Ruby’s brother doesn’t want to rule any more than she does, and the people of World Peace Now aren’t too keen on being fobbed off. Ruby could just walk away, and a year ago, she would have. But now that she’s grown an iron backbone, how can she leave the problems of the world to run and hide? When dangers begin to multiply, and Sam’s clearly miserable dealing with them all, Ruby realizes she has a bigger decision to make.

How many times is she really obligated to save the world. . .and what price is she willing to pay in order to do it?  

This was a surprise addition to the series, and being very satisfied with the way the original trilogy ended, I didn't feel like another book was really needed, but I enjoy Bridget's writing so of course I was going to read this. I enjoyed this, but not as much as the others in the series. It felt like the story in this one moved slower than the others, and there was less action, but Bridget's writing pulled me in anyway.

This book deals with things that were just left to the imagination at the end of book three. It delves into a lot of politics and also Ruby's feelings about some things, and how she comes to terms with it all, including her relationship with Sam. There was a lot of inner turmoil going on for both Sam and Ruby. I have to say that I wasn't crazy about the other guy that gets thrown into the mix. In fact, he annoyed the heck out of me, and I'm not sure he was really needed in the story. But I was really happy to get more about Sam and Ruby, and I thought the things they were struggling with were realistic.

May 2018 Book Club: Short Stories: Harrison Bergeron, Fat Farm, Reap the Dark Tide, and ...And Then There Were None

For book club this month we are reading four short stories. I'm not always crazy about short stories, but these for the most part ended up being good. There was only one that I really didn't care for.  These were all thought provoking and sparked my interest in reading more short stories in the future.




Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre:  Dystopia
Content: Clean


It is the year 2081. Because of Amendments 211, 212, and 213 to the Constitution, every American is fully equal, meaning that no one is stupider, uglier, weaker, or slower than anyone else. The Handicapper General and a team of agents ensure that the laws of equality are enforced.

Harrison Bergeron is one of four short stories we are reading for book club this month. I'm not a huge fan of short stories because they usually seem to end right as the story is starting to get good. The reason for this is probably because they are in general snippets of something much larger. Thus they end feeling unfinished. This story actually had an ending that felt finished, but it was a very unsatisfactory ending for me. The solution to the "problem" of Harrison Bergeron was too easily executed[ no pun intended there  (hide spoiler)], and it was over all too soon. It did pack a punch in a 1984 kind of way. This is a world that celebrates mediocrity. The methods that were used to "make everyone equal" were interesting and somewhat silly. Just picturing Harrison in that getup was pretty humorous. The cover image for this story is pretty spot on.

Overall I liked things about this story even though I didn't care for the ending, and the message was a good one. Can people ever truly be completely equal and what does equal really mean?





Fat Farm by Orson Scott Card

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Content: Clean


Fat Farm is a short story that is included in Card's short story collection Maps in a Mirror. It's one of four short stories we are reading for our book club this month. Before I read this I wasn't sure what I would think of this story, but it pretty much grabbed me from the very beginning. It ended up being pretty brilliant and I think this is the first time I've given anything I've read 5 stars this year. I've heard that Card wrote this at a time when he was feeling frustrated about losing weight, not really sure if that's true or not, but I'm sure it packs a punch for anyone who has had that struggle. This is a story that will stay with me forever. It's considered horror so it's dark, but more Twilight Zone type horror than anything else. I don't even want to spoil anything about how this unfolds so I'm ending my review here.





 Reap the Dark Tide by C.M. Kornbluth

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Post Apocalyptic, Fantasy
Content: Clean


For our book club this month we are reading four classic short stories and Reap the Dark Tide is one of them. I found this story at first to be pretty boring, but it did get better as it went on. A whole section of humanity has taken to the seas on a fleet of ships and hasn't seen or set foot on land for many years. It has been rumored that no one is left on land and it is against the laws set up for the ships for them to set foot on land. Parts are scarce, and everything on the ship is recycled, so when these ships break or something is lost there is little that can be done to save them, and the crew and everyone on board is at risk of dying. The ship featured in the story ends up going through a squall and losing it's net. There is no way to replace the net and that means no way to obtain food so the crew decides to break the rule of never setting foot on land.

The story features death worshipers who in some ways reminded me of a mashup of radical Islam, extreme Christianity, a satanic cult, and secular humanism. I know that sounds very contradictory, but there were elements of all those in there. The founder of this religion was anti sex, anti-reproduction, fanatical about population control and pro Planned Parenthood, which he contributed to religiously along with the Hysterectomy Clinic for the purpose of controlling the population.

In general I did not really enjoy this story. I'm not a fan of the dark, dismal view of humanity that it portrayed, and I have a hard time believing that after centuries there would be little change in the structure of society and what was considered important. I do think that the story is probably meant as a warning, in the same vein as Animal Farm and 1984, but I just do not enjoy reading these types of stories.





. . . And Then There Were None by Eric Frank Russell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Space Fantasy 
Content: Clean


A Terran ship, whose crew generally ascribe to social hierarchies and capitalist principles, land on a planet inhabited entirely by matter-of-fact anarchists. In many ways, this can be called a farce and a satire.

...And Then There Were None is one of four short stories I read for our book club this month and I found it to be quite a fun read. A spaceship lands on a planet that has never been visited by one, and to the surprise of the crew the local population couldn't care less and tell them to myob. The crew doesn't know what myob means and that it is a word derived from the acronym for MYOB (mind your own business). The misunderstandings in communication between the ship's crew and the people on the planet reminded me a little of Amelia Bedelia at times and had me laughing out loud.

Now don't get me wrong, this book is funny at times, but it also has a more serious message as well, one that I've pondered before. What would the world be like if everyone just said no, or like in the book "I won't"? How many atrocities could be avoided if we just wouldn't do it? Generals can't command unwilling armies. Imagine if all of Germany had told Hitler no. Just food for thought, and most certainly a fantasy since there will always be those who are evil that will go along with it, people who are just plain too scared to say no, or people who think they are doing the right thing when they are not; but people really do underestimate the power they have as a whole.

The author eventually expanded upon this story in the full length novel The Great Explosion. I'm mildly curious about it, but not sure if I really feel the need to read more, which is odd for me since I usually end up wanting more after reading a short story. This one ended up being long enough that it covered everything that really needed to be covered and the end was perfect.

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia


 
Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water.

Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.


I really liked Not a Drop to Drink. I thought it was different and in a couple of ways that surprised me. The main character is tough because she has to be. She just does what has to be done. I liked that a certain someone got their due and she wasn't afraid to do it. That scene was one of the best in the whole book. There are no foolish lapses of judgment on her part which was refreshing in a YA novel. I enjoyed seeing her grow as a person throughout the book. I liked seeing some of the paranoia that her mother instilled in her abate somewhat. She was a smart, and in the end, caring person. There is one heart wrenching thing that happens near the end of this book that I was just not prepared for. I kept wondering why the author would do such a thing, and in such a horrible way. I will say that it is not the predictable way most YA novels go. I'm crossing my fingers that there will be a sequel to this.

Biome by Ryan Galloway

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre:  Sci-fi, Dystopia
Content: Clean

 
Inside the gleaming domes of Mars Colony One, seventeen-year-old Lizzy Engram and her fellow cadets work to make the Red Planet habitable.

And every Sunday night, the doctors erase their memories.

Week by week the procedure is carried out. Until one morning, Lizzy wakes with all of the missing memories inside her head. And not just her own, but the memories of every cadet on the planet--

The whole time I was reading Biome I thought it was a stand-alone, that is until I got to the giant cliff-hanger of an ending. That probably explains why I didn't see the ending coming. For the most part I enjoyed this, although there were times the main character came across a bit slow to me. There were times she was confused by what another character was saying to her, but I didn't think what he was saying was confusing at all. There were also times when I didn't like her all that much, but I have to say that I was impressed that the author actually wrote a teenage character that eventually sees her own faults and is able to humble herself enough to apologize for her shortcomings and make changes to herself.

I think the biggest flaw in the book is the fact that the main character is able to evade capture so easily when there are cameras almost everywhere. It never really felt like she was in too much danger. There was also some teen romance drama that became mildly annoying, although I liked that this book didn't get too deep into the romance. The best part about the book was probably the ending, although I really would have loved if this had been a stand-alone. Because of that ending, there is no way I will be able to pass up the next book. I really need to know what happens next. In a way this reminded me slightly of The 100. If you enjoy sci-fi dystopian novels give it a try.



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The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Dystopia
Content: Some drug use, sexual predators, a couple of brutal killings


Nemesis is a Diabolic. Created to protect a galactic Senator's daughter, Sidonia. There's no one Nemesis wouldn't kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the galactic court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia.

She must become her.

The Diabolic is a Young Adult fantasy/sci-fi with a dystopian aspect to it as well. This is closer to fantasy to me because the sci-fi is very soft with really no explanation behind how any of it works, because much of it wouldn't work. The book is set sometime in the far future out in space. I will say that I think this is for older teens as there are some themes in the book that are too mature for younger ones. There is some drug use and a couple of sexual predators that are dealt with at one point. There is also some killing and brutality in this book.

For the most part I really liked it though. It was very readable and hard to put down. It was interesting to read from Nemesis's point of view as she learns and grows and realizes that she is more than just a diabolic - which is a genetically engineered person created to protect, like a bodyguard, and not really considered a person by society. I enjoyed reading as Nemesis came to the realization that she was, in fact, a person with her own wants and needs. I also enjoyed the romance between Nemesis and the person she ends up falling in love with (I won't spoil who that is here).

The political machinations in the book were interesting but not too complicated. This is where I would have liked to have gotten more than one point of view. It would have made Tyrus's decisions more interesting if we had witnessed his thought processes instead of being told from Nemesis's point of view, but that's the downside of first person narration.

I had a hard time believing in the religious aspect of the book where learning new technology is outlawed. I could see if it was outlawed for the lower class citizens, but with the elites having access to that knowledge. That would have been more believable. It would have kept the masses in check and under the Emperor's thumb, but for the Emperor and the whole upper class to also not have this knowledge, was silly. How would they expect to be able to maintain what they already had? And yes, I know we are told in the book that they think the bots will maintain it, but even bots break down eventually and someone has to know how to fix them. Surely they would know that and wouldn't want to lose what they already had, especially since they are living out in space and depend on that tech. So this part of the story was completely implausible to me.

There were a couple of other things that slightly annoyed me. First, there were some inconsistencies in the story. One example of this is the fact that Nemesis doesn't have tear ducts but there are parts of the story where her eyes blur when she is upset like they are filling with tears or something, and her eyes are crusted over when she wakes up once. That can't happen without tear ducts. Plus can you imagine what it would be like to not have tear ducts? Your eyes would be extremely dry. The other is a spoiler so I won't talk about it here. 

There were a few twists in the book that didn't surprise me at all. I predicted every one of them, but I didn't mind that because I enjoyed reading the book so much. As I said, this book kept me glued to it. The sci-fi and space fantasy aspect was very appealing to me, as well as the slow burn romance, which I didn't feel was too overdone. I always like a little bit of romance in the books I read. So in spite of the negatives I've pointed out, I would still recommend this, because I liked it anyway.

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Elissa Blue by T.K. Perry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: New Adult, Young Adult, Christian
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Dystopia
Content: Clean


Reading Elissa Blue is like watching The Bachelor, only everyone has wings. Initially I thought this was going to be a book about fairies, but it ended up being about human-butterfly hybrids. It's hard to classify this book. It has a bit of a fantasy feel with some dystopian elements that are not all that fleshed out, but it also is a romance with a definite Christian aspect to it as well. The age of the characters make it fit into the new adult age group, but it's completely clean and reads like a young adult novel. The overall theme of the book is, be wise about who you choose to marry and spend your life with.

What I liked about this book the most was that it somehow kept me glued to it despite the fact that I thought the whole human-butterfly hybrid thing was pretty silly, and the main character drove me crazy at times with her wishy-washy indecisiveness. She went back and forth between three guys so many times.

Now about the guys. I think I met and dated a guy exactly like each of them in college. There is the one that you like and is really nice, but are not attracted enough to. The one who is very attentive and takes care of you and is fun to be around. The one who is attractive but rough around the edges, has a good heart, but maybe isn't all that smart. The one that you know is bad for you, but the attraction is strong. I'm not going to spoil who is who here, or which one Elissa ends up with, but I was happy with who she chose.

Things that I thought could have been improved upon were:
-The story was a little long.
-Too much going around and around in circles with the guys and her feelings about them.
-The days felt super long. Two days felt like two weeks to me.
-Too insta-love like for me. A couple of days isn't enough time to get to know a person.
-The dystopian aspect of the book was underdeveloped.

Things I liked were:
-The funny last names based on types of butterflies. Mr. Sootywing and Mr. Hairstreak, :) :).
I actually looked up these butterflies to see what they looked like.
-The fact that the book kept me glued to it.
-Mit and Holis :)
-The choice she makes about who she will marry.
- The overall theme of the book.

Thanks to the author for giving me a copy of this book for review.





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August 2017 Book Club: Ready Player One

For our book club night this week we decided it would be fun to dress 80s since the book was Ready Player One. From Top Gun to Madonna to Mullets to 80s preppy to Ghost Busters to striped tube socks, the 80s were well represented. We all had a great time!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Dystopia, Fantasy
Content: Strong language (I did not finish this so there could be more).


So I've been reading this book, or supposed to be for three weeks now and I still have not finished it, and I have zero desire to get back to reading it. Let me tell you why...

The plot is not all that compelling to me. It's Willy Wonka in a virtual reality loving, dystopian future. That really doesn't appeal to me. I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion because just about every one of my friends seemed to absolutely love this book, but sorry, I just don't.

If you are in love with 80s pop culture then you might love this book. I was a teen in the 80s, it was ok, but nothing to worship. And this kid clearly worships at the altar of 80s pop culture. For me it started to feel like the author was just name dropping 80s thing after 80s thing to prove that the main character here was really into the 80s. The list went on and on and on. It got old. How in the world has he had time to play every one of those games, watch every one of those TV shows and movies, etc.? It would take a person years. More years than this kid has been alive.

The virtual reality world in the book was interesting, but not enough for me to want to keep reading. So I'm dumping this book for now. I don't really foresee a time that I will actually want to pick it up and finish it, but who knows, maybe something crazy will happen and I will one day. Honestly though, I just don't think it's for me.

In the After by Demitria Lunetta

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Sci-fi, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian
Content: Clean


They hear the most silent of footsteps.
They are faster than anything you've ever seen.
And They won't stop chasing you...until you are dead.

I was really glued to In the After during the first part of the book when it was sort of like reading a mash up of I am Legend and Falling Skies. Amy is left on her own after everyone around her has been killed by "Them". The news has reported that they are aliens who have landed to take over the earth. Soon there is no more news and as far as Amy can tell no other people. She observes how the aliens behave and figure out how to hide from them and get around them. I thought it was different that they were day time creatures instead of night time creatures and I liked that about the story.

One day while scavenging for food in a grocery store Amy finds a 3 or 4 year old child who she names Baby. There is never an explanation as to how Baby got there in the first place, although we learn some other important things about her later. I kind of thought this was a hole in the story. I loved Amy and Baby and I think their relationship is one thing that made the book work so well. However, in part two the post-apocalyptic survival story turned into a dystopian society story. From then on I thought it lacked something. The interaction between Amy and Baby became sparse and we are introduced to a lot of other characters that I really didn't care about.

Amy was mostly pretty smart while she was living on her own, but after she was brought to New Hope I thought she kind of stopped being smart and started doing some really stupid things. Knowing that the doctor didn't trust her and had his eye on her, you would think she would have been quieter about her suspicions and rebel in a more covert manner. Unfortunately she makes stupid mistake after stupid mistake for the whole rest of the book.

While I liked this book ok, I wish it had ended with this one instead of being a duology. At this time I feel like one book is enough so I'm not planning on reading the next one.



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Unwind by Neal Shusterman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia
Content: Clean


Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

Unwind is one of those rather disturbing stories that stick with you for a while. The part where one of the characters is unwound is pretty disturbing. Shusterman is an excellent writer and his stories really make you think.

My main reason for only giving this three stars is simply because I find the whole premise of the book highly unbelievable. One of those reasons being that I can't see either side of the reproduction rights argument ok with it as a solution to anything. Pro-lifers would never be ok with killing their teens. The whole idea of being pro-life is being against killing children even before they are born. Why would they be ok with it afterwards? Pro-choicers wouldn't be ok with it either. I don't think the pro-choicers would want to go through the pregnancy, give birth and half raise the child. The whole pro-choice stance is that it's not a person yet and a woman shouldn't have to give birth to a baby she doesn't want. So why would they be ok with this as a solution? Maybe I could see the government deciding this was the way things should be and imposing it on people's lives, but I don't see most parents volunteering to do this to their kids.

Despite the implausibility of the story I still really enjoyed this book. I appreciated the fact that the author didn't take a stance on either side in this book, but rather just wrote a "what if things ended up this way" story and let the reader think for themselves. I like Shusterman as a writer and I loved his Everlost trilogy. I highly recommend reading that one and I don't not recommend this one. If you like dystopias you should try it. It does successfully do what a dystopian novel is supposed to do; make you think and make you appreciate your freedoms.



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Cadáin's Watch by Daniella Bova

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Christian
Genre: Dystopia
Content: Strong Language


Michelle and Jason escaped the wreckage of their beloved hometown and are determined to live free. Though they are hunted by the totalitarian bureaucracy, they vow to resist oppression no matter the cost.

Cadain's Watch is a Christian dystopia set in our world. I must admit that I don't read a lot of dystopian novels so I'm probably not the best audience for this book, but I did end up enjoying parts of it. This is also the third book in a trilogy and though I wasn't lost at all story-wise, I did feel a certain disconnect from the characters that I don't think would have been the case had I read the first two books.

There is a pretty large cast of characters here, but the story line mainly revolves around Michelle and Jason who are in hiding, with Michelle's brother Brad being a very close second. While the story revolves around both Jason and Michelle I felt like Michelle didn't really get enough page time. I really would have liked it better if she and a couple of the other women in the book had been more actively involved in things instead of being sort of background characters for most of the book, but this is the third book in the series and that may have happened in the previous two.

The story got a bit wordy and slightly repetitive at times. I also personally would have preferred less cursing, name calling, and smoking in the book as those things don't appeal to me, but for the most part the writing was pretty solid, and the characters were interesting. There are a lot of nostalgic type things from the 70s and 80s in this book, from cars to music to cologne. GTOs, Firebirds, Led Zepplin, Springsteen, Drakkar Noir (sorry but that cologne reminds me of a jerk I dated once. I never want to smell it again! Haha.) And a few that are older than that, like Elvis. I enjoyed this stuff to a point. I felt like it would have been nice to include some more modern things in the mix as well since we are talking about the not so distant future from where we are now, but I did think the author included most of these things in the story in a way that felt right. She was good at writing the male characters and the things they liked and were interested in; better I think than she was at writing the female ones at times

This being a Christian novel, it involves a lot of prayer and church, and even an angel. I liked the addition of the angel, Cadain to the story, but I would have liked it even better if he had taken a more active part in the events that were going on instead of mostly giving warnings. I think I was expecting something more like Castiel from Supernatural, without Castiel's flaws of course. But that's just a personal preference, probably stemming from my love of urban fantasy. There was one part however, where Cadain did get more involved and it was pretty darn good. That was one of my favorite parts of the book.

I tend to stay away from dystopian novels because they can be dark and depressing, but that is also the thing that worked in this book's favor. I think the author did a great job of conveying that feel in this story. For the most part this is a tense story with everyone wondering if they will be caught and how they are going to survive what the world has turned into. Jason is just a regular person trying to do what is right amidst the chaos that the world has become. Sometimes what is right isn't always clear in the situations he and his friends and family find themselves in. While I didn't always like the way they handled things I could understand what they were going through, and I would never want to have to be in their shoes. 

Some of the things that happen in this book are truly terrifying and I wouldn't want to live in that world. The bad guys-and girls-in this book were very evil and a few of them were even demon possessed. There is a certain one in this book that for some reason I kept picturing as a cross between Ursula the sea witch and a certain politician that will go unnamed here. I have to giggle to myself a little every time I think of that.

If you like Christian fiction that features the Catholic religion and dystopian fiction you might like this one. The biggest downside of the book for me was that it was very message heavy and I tend to like a more subtle hand with that sort of thing.

Thanks to the author Daniella Bova for giving me a copy of this book to review.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia
Content: Clean


The world in this book consists of two types of people, red bloods and silver bloods. The red bloods are the commoners and serfs who are looked down upon by the silver bloods. The silver bloods have special powers. Mare Barrow is a 17 year old red blood who steals from other people to help her poor family out. Her family doesn't approve of what she does and she feels like she has let them down because she has no talents or skills with which to earn money. Her younger sister is the one in the family who they have their hopes pinned on. She is apprenticed to a seamstress and has the potential to one day do well for herself and her family.

All reds get conscripted into the war unless they have a job and those are hard to come by unless you have a marketable skill and someone to train you. Unless a person is well trained they usually die in the war, and her friend has been a fisherman's apprentice until that fisherman dies unexpectedly. Mare sets out to help him before he is conscripted. What happens after this is what sets the whole story moving in a different direction, one that leads to Mare finding out something about herself that could possibly save her people.

My friends have given Red Queen mixed reviews. Some have really loved it, others not so much. I ended up liking it but not loving it. Despite certain flaws that I found in the story I found it extremely hard to put down. I typically don't care for dystopias that much, but this one read like a fantasy. I initially thought it was going to be an old world type fantasy so I was surprised at the mention of electricity and vehicles and air ships. It was like reading a fantasy with modern elements to it, which doesn't always work for me, but here it did.

There were lots of betrayals in this book and a twist that I saw coming from pretty much the beginning, but there was a time while reading that I questioned whether or not I was right about it. There were a couple of times I thought Mare should have trusted and listened to Julian more. And she should have been given more information about certain people earlier on. This was one aspect of the story that annoyed me.

Also, there were a couple of things the Red Guard did that didn't make a lot of sense to me. If they were going to sneak into the palace and assassinate people, why not just kill the royal family? I also thought it was really far-fetched that they would trust a certain person that they trusted because of who that person is.

This was a nice escape for me, but in the end I've decided not to continue on with the series. There just isn't enough about it to distinguish it from many other stories I've read.



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Winterkill by Kate A. Boorman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia, Mystery



Emmeline knows she’s not supposed to explore the woods outside her settlement. The enemy that wiped out half her people lurks there, attacking at night and keeping them isolated in an unfamiliar land with merciless winters.

That part of the book description is what really made me want to read Winterkill. What was it that was lurking out there in the forbidden woods? The answer wasn't really all that surprising.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I got annoyed with Emmeline a few times because I thought she made some stupid choices and couldn't see who she should obviously have been able to trust and who she obviously should not have been able to trust. Also the romance was a bit too insta-love for me because there wasn't enough build up to it. And while I thought the characters were ok, none of them really stood out in any special way to me.

This book also reminded me a lot of another book series, The Frost Chronicles by Kate Avery Ellison. That one, while not perfect either, surprised me more and had a creepier feel to it so I liked it better over-all.

When I chose to read this for some reason I thought it was a stand-alone, but it is the first book in a trilogy. There were no cliff-hangers, and the main mystery is wrapped up. It looks like the next book explores new territory and while it advances the plot-line of what Emmeline found out in the woods, I'm happy to leave it where it is and consider it a stand-alone. If I had loved it more I would continue, but there was just something missing for me.






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Lunar Chronicles: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Winter, Stars Above

A friend of mine has been reading the Lunar Chronicles so I decided to post my reviews for that series today. Overall I found it to be a lot of fun and Marissa Meyer has become one of my favorite YA authors.


Cinder by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Content: Clean


Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder is the second fairytale re-imagining with a futuristic/sci-fi twist that I've read this year and really loved, the other being A Long, Long Sleep. I ended up loving both of them.

I've never been a huge fan of the Disney version of Cinderella, and this version of Cinderella pretty much turns the Disney version on its head. Cinder is in many ways, the anti-Cinderella. She doesn’t wait around for other people to rescue her. She is smart and industrious, and she was such a fun and interesting character. The fact that she was a cyborg made the story so much more interesting.

My favorite scene is when she is driving to the ball. Some people might consider the following minor spoilers, so even though I don't I'm giving a warning anyway:

I just loved that she drives the old beat up car with the busted headlights, cracked windshield, and missing back window to the ball. I also love that the car is orange like a pumpkin. She crashes the car into a tree right as she gets to the palace, steps out into the pouring rain and says hello to the greeter at the door in her wet hair, and stained and wrinkled dress. I loved how everyone at the ball stares at her not because she is beautiful, but because she looks like such a mess. And the part where she leaves not just her shoe behind but her foot as well is great.

This is a very inventive story and I’m looking forward to reading the sequels.




Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Content: Clean


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. 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. 

Scarlet is a great follow up to Cinder. I liked the way the wolves were woven into the story. Not sure exactly why they are needed if the Lunars have mind control, but lets not over analyze it.

Scarlet is a great heroine and I loved her backstory with her grandmother. I loved her grandmother's story as well and the way it was intertwined with Cinder's. Wolf was also easy to like and I felt really bad for him and the things that he went through.

I'm still loving this series and will continue on to the next book.




Cress by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Content: Clean


In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

So far none of the books in this series have disappointed. I loved Cress and I loved the way Rapunzel gets a makeover with ratty, tangled hair. Cress's naivety was charming, and I loved her interactions with Captain Thorne. Who by the way, with his smiling, winking, flirting with anything that walks, self-assured arrogance reminds me a lot of Captain Jack from Doctor Who.

There were a lot of important developments to the plot of the series in this book. I was very pleased at where it ended and that Kai and Cinder are reunited. Oh and Iko gets something really cool. I just loved Iko in this book.

I will definitely be reading the last book in the series when it's released.




Winter by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Dystopia
Content: Clean


Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mark her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend--the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.

Winter is the fourth and final book in the Lunar Chronicles series. Just like the other books in the series it is based on a fairy tale. In this case the fairy tale is Snow White. And yet again I really enjoyed the way the author incorporated the fairy tale into the futurist sci-fi type story. Over-all this was an excellent ending to the series. By this point there are a lot of characters to keep up with, but the author pulled this off amazingly well with plenty of time spent on each of them.

This is one of the only YA series that I can say never got old. Each book is a good read and the quality of the series never fades. Another reviewer said that this series is like anime in book form, and I like that description. It didn't surprise me at all when I found out that Marissa Meyer had once written Sailor Moon fan fiction.

I think the only drawbacks to this book was that the end battle dragged out a little long for me, and there could have been more thought put into strategy and planning before they all headed into battle. I wasn't quite satisfied with the way the book ended either as it left a couple of things unresolved. The best thing about this book was the theme of loving and accepting ourselves and others the way they are. I also think that it's great that Marissa Meyer doesn't shy away from letting some horrible things happen to her characters.




Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi
Content: Clean


Stars Above is a collection of novellas set in the Lunar Chronicles universe. It features the characters from the series and expands on their stories. I had already read Glitches and The Queen's Army, but not any of the other stories. I think they were all very good and in my opinion essential reading for anyone who has read The Lunar Chronicles. Anyone who doesn't read this will miss out on the back stories of all the important characters from the books and a very important wedding. I do wish that the last story could have been integrated into Winter. It would have made a much better ending for the book than the one we got. I also wish that I had been able to read the novella The Princess and the Guard before I read Winter because it helped me to know those characters better and get a real sense of the bond they shared, which I felt was kind of missing in Winter.



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