Tuesday, August 27, 2013

A Review of Impostor: think young x-men sponsored by the FBI

Impostor (Variants, #1)Impostor by Susanne Winnacker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Impostor was a decent book. Entertaining, good romance, interesting story, cool powers. But...even though I haven't read this exact storyline before, it just felt sort of formulaic. Girl pines over a boy who can't be with her for some mysterious reason. Girl has some cool ability that forces her to do something super important and dangerous, and boy must protect her. And...yeah. It was fairly predictable, though I'll admit I wasn't entirely sure about the who the killer was. I also was frustrated at the end, because it seemed like a lot of questions I had were just not going to get answered, and I couldn't decide if it was because they'd get answered in a later book, or if it was because the author thought she gave us the answers, and I just didn't find the answers satisfactory.

I did like the main character, Tessa, but you have to be very understanding of the fact that she is a completely normal teenage girl. She has a major crush and doesn't always know the best way to handle it, she sometimes acts rashly, she's highly influenced by emotions, and tends to trust her instinct over anyone else's. There were a few plot holes around her story--why had she trained for two years but still had no fighting skills? Why did Alec (her crush) have to be with Kate (to me, it seemed like part of some kind of secret mission, because I could sense NO attraction there)? Why did Tessa's variation have issues at time? I know it was supposed to be tied to emotions, but she had to have high emotions before, considering her history. Some things just didn't add up. And besides Tessa, most of the other characters were fairly one-dimensional. I did like Devon, the brother of the girl she has to pose as, but I suspect that's because he's going to pop up as a main character and even possibly another love interest in the next book.

Just a lot of speculation, and more unanswered questions then I'd like at the end of a book. It's a fast and fairly good read, as long as you don't feel the need to examine explanations too closely. I probably will read the next books in this series, just because I am curious to find out what happens with this group of characters.

This digital copy of Impostor was given to me by NetGalley & Penguin Young Readers Group in exchange for an honest review



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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Red Rising: One of the Best I've Read this Year

Red RisingRed Rising by Pierce Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book deserves a nice, long narrative as a review. Why? Because I feel like a book that was so awesome for me, I have to be awesome back to. And I had NO idea that I was going to enjoy this one so much. I simply finished the last book I was reading, perused my Kindle shelves, and randomly picked this one up. My initial thought after two pages was that the book reminded me of Dune. Young hero hardened by a hard life, and in a frysuit that reminded me of the stillsuit Paul wore in Dune. I also thought the writing was good and engaging, but in an in-depth way that seems to be lacking in a lot of YA novels. However, I don't want to compare it to Dune (or the later part of the book to The Hunger Games for that matter), because it isn't Dune, and it isn't fair to the author, who came up with a pretty cool concept for Red Rising.

Let me briefly cover what it's about. In this society, people are divided into colors based on their station in life. Reds are at the bottom, Golds at the top. You are born into your color and cannot change to another color (kind of like the caste system), but more interestingly, you really can't because your genetic traits also define your color (all Reds seem to have red hair, for example). Darrow is a Red, skilled at his dangerous job--a job that guarantees him a short life, but is also necessary for future generations to live on Mars, the planet the Reds believe they are colonizing. However, the world as he knows it is soon turned upside down, and he has to move into new circles of society to bring down those he hates. This brings him to a world of pretty smiles and fierce competition, as well as unexpected allies. AND IT'S SUPER AWESOME! I don't mean the world is really cool (though it is), but more that the storyline here is just SO fascinating. Pierce Brown does a good job of exploring different human emotions, and exploring the psyche of why people do things that others might view as atrocities. He is upfront with his characterization, allowing Darrow to be who he needs to be, instead of having him make unlikely decisions just so he can seem the perfect hero. Darrow is flawed, which makes him seem real.

I really can't recommend this book enough. The only, tiny issue I had was that it was a little slow to start off with, but if you're like me, just give it a chapter or so, and it will really start to pick up. I'll also add that I don't know if younger YA readers should read this book quite yet--I suppose it depends on what they've read before this. This just deals with a lot of brutality, as well as a lot of shades of gray in ethical decision making--something important for young adults to understand, but something that can be difficult for them to until they reach a certain maturity. Just be aware that those are a part of this book.

But overall, I am so, so happy that I had a chance to read this! And I recommend that anyone who has a chance to, read it as well!

This digital copy of Red Rising was given to me by NetGalley & Del Rey Spectra in exchange for an honest review.

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Saturday, August 17, 2013

A Review of Spinning Gold, a Rumpelstiltskin story

Spinning GoldSpinning Gold by Vivi Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rumpelstiltskin, gone from ugly, nasty, little old man to tall, strapping, golden-skinned young man? What's not to love? I haven't seen many twists on this fairytale, and this is one I really enjoy. However, I think the novella could've really been extended into a novel to better tell the story. There were some parts that I felt like were rushed through, and I would've liked to see more of. For example, Juliana falling in love with Rumple...I always like to see how to romance develops, and I missed some of that in here. Also, she could've been more involved with the revolutionaries, by that almost seemed to be skipped just so that we could hurry up and get to the ending. But personally, I don't mind taking it slow to get the ending if the in-between is good. Maybe it's just a personal preference, but I definitely would've liked to see more.

I'm also rather curious about Juliana's great-grandmother's story--she seems like a feisty, strong-willed woman, and it'd be kind of neat if there was a novella about her as well.

And that's my main complaint with this book. It certainly was fast-paced, and there was some good romance, but it was too fast, and almost too focused on the romance aspect. A good read, but not great (technically, I think I'd give it around 3.5 stars).

This digital copy of Spinning Gold was given to me by NetGalley & Vivi Andrews in exchange for an honest review.

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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

A Review of the Enchanter Heir

The Enchanter Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #4)The Enchanter Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was really excited about reading this, as I'd thought there wouldn't be anymore books in the Heir Chronicles. But..by the end I was so frustrated with this book! It wasn't that it was terribly written or anything like that. In fact, I thought it was well written, with a good pace, and I liked one of the main characters, Jonah. I wasn't such a fan of Emma--her characterization just seemed sloppy. With the other books in this series, the main characters are typically male with the occasional female viewpoint thrown in, so I don't know if that had something to do with it. I just felt like Emma at the beginning of the book was totally different from Emma at the end. She does go through a lot of stuff, but still. She goes from wild-spirit roamer to someone just looking for a home to desperately cling to.

Maybe we'll see more of the roaming spirit when the next book comes out, which brings me back to my main point of frustration. HORRIBLE ENDING! Cliffhangers are for chapter endings, not book endings!! This is seriously the worst cliffhanger ending I've ever read, and that's including the endings between the Lord of the Rings books. I felt like I was in the middle of the climax, and the author just forgot to put the last two or three chapters in. Makes me so mad! This book also reminded me of something else I've come to dislike about the series. The author always brings back some previous characters into the current books, and I've never really liked that. Mainly because I grew to love those characters, and then when they reappear they seem very flat. It's as if the author can only focus on rounding out a few characters at a time.

I suppose I should actually talk about the plot, now that I've mentioned the beginning and the end already. It was really interesting, throwing in a grittier angle to all the magic. I love the inclusion of magical mutants, though I wouldn't mind more questions answered about them before the book finished. The reader will also have to pay careful attention to pick up on some of the new lingo. Some main things to know: savant/labrat=someone poisoned at Thorn hill, mainline guild=non-poisoned members of the magical guilds, shades=spirit-type things of savants that appear after they die, and appear to want to take over human bodies. Also, savants seem to be able to attain new abilities outside of their normal base powers (sorcerer, enchanter, etc.), though they might complement what was already there. There are a couple different theories on what happened at Thorn Hill, depending on if you're asking wizards or savants. Also, savants appear to have weirstones that are slightly different from those who belong to mainline guilds.

It was generally a good book, I just really, really hope the next book continues to focus on Jonah instead of moving on to a new character.

This digital copy of The Enchanter Heir was given to me by NetGalley & Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.

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Sunday, August 4, 2013

Zombies!

Mortality (The Hitchhiker Strain, #1)Mortality by Kellie Sheridan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For a zombie book, this honestly surprised me. I've come to be very picky about the zombie books I read, simply since the YA and sci-fi markets are flooded with them right now. The more there are, the more you have to wade through to find the good quality books. This book has an interesting structure, starting with two viewpoints--Savannah and Sarah. Zarah's viewpoint starts as the virus is spreading, Savannah's is mostly the after. So it's interesting to get the beginning of the story from another character, but nice not to have to skip that part for once. So many books go straight to the "surviving with zombies" part that I always wish I could see how it actually happened.

Savannah is definitely the more intriguing of the two characters, but that's ok, since we spend the most time with her. I like the fact that she seems like a very normal teenager as well--making rash decisions, having a crush on a guy that not only doesn't return it, but may not be as great as she thinks, and then trying to do her best to change the world. And I also enjoy the romance storylines in here. It's not all about the romance, but it's enough to give me character relationships to care about.

I'd definitely recommend this for teens who like zombies, but especially for those who maybe don't want their stories to be all action and gore, but like a little character development time as well. It's also a fairly fast-paced read, I think I read it in a couple sittings.

This digital copy of Mortality was given to me by NetGalley & Patchwork Press in exchange for an honest review.

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