dystopia

Review: The Eternity Cure, Julie Kagawa

The Eternity Cure Julie KagawaTitle: The Eternity Cure (Goodreads)
Author: flag_usa Julie Kagawa (website)

Rating: ★★★★☆

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.

Details

Series: Blood of Eden #2
Genre: Young adult Paranormal/Dystopian Science fiction/Horror
Published: Harlequin Teen, 30 April 2013.
Pages: 446
My copy: the publisher via Netgalley

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com Amazon.co.ukBarnes & Noble

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2

Please note, this is my review for the second book in the Blood of Eden series and so contains spoilers for the first book. You may wish to read my review of The Immortal Rules instead!


Review

After the rollercoaster ride that was The Immortal Rules, I was keen to get stuck into The Eternity Cure. I was delighted to discover that, although a little slow at the beginning while things were re-capped, this second instalment gripped me just as much as the first!

Allison Sekemoto has delivered her friends to safety, but as a vampire, she is not welcome with them. She resumes her search for her mentor, Kanin, following her sense of his presence as her sire. She knows he is being held captive and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren, but instead of being led to Kanin, she discovers her sibling, Jackal – the leader of the Raider city her human friends had been held captive in not long ago. It seems he and Allison might be after the same goal in the short term, but is it safe to trust him?

Even though the subject matter in this story is often quite dark and violent, there is just enough light-hearted humour to bring the story out of being a depressing read. The first few chapters contain quite a lot of re-cap from the first book, so it felt a little slow to someone like me who only just read the first book, but once the action got going, it was all go, go, go. The journey into and back out of New Covington was nail-bitingly suspenseful and there were just enough twists to keep me guessing all the way to the end. And wow, what an ending! The third book cannot come fast enough!

When Allie first meets back up with Jackal, I was a bit confused. I didn’t remember him playing a very large role in the first book – apart from being a heartless bastard, that is. In any case, he was an interesting and enigmatic addition to the new storyline, and even by the end we have no idea whether he is trustworthy or not. Such a well-written character, and I enjoyed his snark, even if I wanted to slap him more than a few times! Zeke, also, is quite different in this book – harder and more kick-arse. As the only human through a lot of the story he does a great job at making sure none of the vampires push him around, even if they could rip out his throat at any moment.

The one thing that slightly disappointed me about this book was the romantic aspect. I know, I know, it’s young adult, there has to be some romance, and after the scene at the end (no spoilers) it is necessary to a certain degree (my heart! *clutches*), but hear me out. After Zeke appears back on the scene, he knows that Allie is a vampire and that she is now working with Jackal, but he forgives her way too quickly, in my opinion. The rebuilding of their relationship could have been drawn out until the very end of the book in exquisite agony for each of them, but no. I’m trying not to give too much of anything away here, so I’ll just say that the romantic elements of this particular book didn’t work for me.

The Eternity Cure is a much darker book than The Immortal Rules in a lot of ways, but still brilliantly written and full of edge-of-the-seat suspense all the way through. I would highly recommend this series to any dark urban fantasy enthusiasts.

Warnings: Graphic violence.

Blood of Eden series

immortalrules The Eternity Cure Julie Kagawa

What did others think of The Eternity Cure?

  • “Even better than the first book! Fast pacing and high action combine for a gripping, edge of your seat read!” - Auntie Spinelli Reads
  • “It is Jackal – Allison’s blood brother and old enemy – that truly makes an impression in this instalment. He is cocky, presumptuous, unpredictable, and, more than anything, a brilliant source of dark humour and entertainment.” – Realm of Fiction
  • “…I don’t know that I’ve ever read a vampire story — especially from the point-of-view of the vampire — that I’ve loved more.  And I’ve read a lot of good ones.  Trust me.” – The Starry-Eyed Revue

Review: The Immortal Rules, Julie Kagawa

The Immortal RulesTitle: The Immortal Rules (Goodreads)
Author: flag_usa Julie Kagawa (website)  

Rating: ★★★★★

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for… again.

Details

Series: Blood of Eden #1
Genre: Young adult Paranormal/Dystopian Science fiction/Horror (Vampires and Zombies, oh my!)
Published: Harlequin Teen, April 2012. Paperback March 26, 2013.
Pages: 485
My copy: the publisher via Netgalley

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository 
E-copies: Amazon.com  Amazon.co.uk Barnes & Noble • Bookworld (epub)

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1

Review

I heard so many amazing things about this book around its original publication date in 2012, but avoided it because, well… vampires. I really wish I had picked it up though – I ended up loving it as much as everyone else seemed to!

At some point in the near future, a deadly disease wipes out most of the human population of earth. The vampires were not susceptible to the disease, and barricaded themselves within certain cities, keeping some humans nearby as a food source in exchange for relative safety. In trying to create a cure for the disease, the rabids were created – mindless zombies who roam the world outside the cities, killing any living creature in their path.

Allison (known as Allie) lives in the fringe of the city where everyday survival is a struggle for those who choose to remain unregistered as “blood donors” by the vampires. One fateful night, Allie and her group are attacked and killed by rabids. Allie, however, doesn’t stay dead. She is “rescued” by a vampire – turned into the very thing that she hates.

Allie spends much of the story trying to come to terms with the fact that she is now dead, no longer human, and a blood-craving monster. I really admired her strength, but also her vulnerability as she mourns the life she left behind, even if it wasn’t much of a life. Her journey out of the city and towards the fabled city of Eden is very tense – at any moment she could be discovered or attacked, or get a whiff of blood and lose her self-control. The pacing is just right and I couldn’t put the book down – in fact it kept me reading well into the night with a torch while I was camping over the Easter weekend!

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole business with the religious group at first. I was slightly annoyed that religion had come into it, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense for someone like Jeb to have such a single-minded purpose. I must admit I thought Zeke was a bit too much of a warm fuzzy romantic interest rather than a real leader, but he does improve by the end. I hope Allison manages to run into him again before long.

Vampire society, while briefly introduced to Allie by Kanin during her training, doesn’t play any part in this part of the story. The fact that we see barely any other vampires and that Kanin disappears from the picture so quickly made it painfully obvious that this is just the first part of a much larger story. I’ll be interested to see how he comes back into things.

I would highly recommend The Immortal Rules for anyone who likes the sound of a gritty dystopian, with vampires and zombies who are slightly different from the current norm. The second book in this series, The Eternity Cure, is due for release at the start of May and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into it!

Warnings: Graphic violence including towards children.

Blood of Eden series

The Immortal Rules The Eternity Cure

What did others think of The Immortal Rules?

  • “If you swore never to pick up a vampire book again, this book is worth breaking that promise over.” - Tea, Daydreams & Fairytales
  • “Allison is actually a kick-ass heroine set to rival the likes of Buffy and whilst I didn’t see her as more than a regurgitated Katniss at first, she soon proved to be a hell of a lot more.” – Once Upon A Time
  • “The Immortal Rules is anything but traditional, and most importantly it is GOOD. (And by good I mean awesome to the point where I had trouble doing my job because I kept telling myself to read “just one more page” on my Kindle app.)” – Nina on Goodreads

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: Shudder, Samantha Durante

I’m very pleased today to be able to join in with the cover reveal for the second book in the Stitch trilogy, Shudder by Samantha Durante! Samantha is also hosting a giveaway of an ARC of this book – details are at the bottom of this post.

If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Stitch, you can find my review here. I really enjoyed it and have been looking forward to the next part of the story!

I’d like to present to you: Shudder.

Shudder

Shudder (Stitch Trilogy #2)

Title: Shudder
Author: Samantha Durante

Series: Stitch trilogy #2
Genre: Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic Paranormal Romance
Published: June 15, 2013

Synopsis

It’s only been three days, and already everything is different.

Paragon is behind her, but somehow Alessa’s life may actually have gotten worse. In a wrenching twist of fate, she traded the safety and companionship of her sister for that of her true love, losing a vital partner she’d counted on for the ordeal ahead. Her comfortable university life is but a distant memory, as she faces the prospect of surviving a bleak winter on the meager remains of a ravaged world. And if she’d thought she’d tasted fear upon seeing a ghost, she was wrong; now she’s discovering new depths of terror while being hunted by a deadly virus and a terrifying pack of superhuman creatures thirsting for blood.

And then there are the visions.

The memory-altering “stitch” unlocked something in Alessa’s mind, and now she can’t shake the constant flood of alien feelings ransacking her emotions. Haunting memories of an old flame are driving a deep and painful rift into her once-secure relationship. And a series of staggering revelations about the treacherous Engineers – and the bone-chilling deceit shrouding her world’s sorry history – will soon leave Alessa reeling…

The second installment in the electrifying Stitch Trilogy, Shudder follows Samantha Durante’s shocking and innovative debut with a heart-pounding, paranormal-dusted dystopian adventure sure to keep the pages turning.

 

About the Author

Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. The Stitch Trilogy is her debut series. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.

 

Giveaway

Enter the Giveaway HERE!!!

Review: Through the Ever Night, Veronica Rossi

Through the Ever NightTitle: Through the Ever Night (Goodreads)
Author: flag_usa Veronica Rossi (website) (twitter)

Rating: ★★★★★

It’s been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don’t take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe’s precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

Details

Series: Under the Never Sky #2 of 3
Genre: Young adult post-apocalyptic Sci-fi
Published: Pier 9 in Australia, HarperCollins in USA, January 2013.
Pages: 352
My copy: For review from the publisher via Edelweiss, thanks!

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies:
Amazon.com  Amazon.co.uk  Barnes & Noble • Bookworld (epub)

Please note: This is a review for the second book in the series, and contains spoilers for Under the Never Sky. You may prefer to go and read my review of that book instead!

Roar and LivJust a short note before I begin – late in 2012 Veronica Rossi released an e-novella as part of the UtNS series – Roar and Liv. The story takes place just before the events of the first book, and while you don’t have to have read Under the Never Sky for the events of Roar and Liv to make sense, it does help. It also sheds more light on the relationships between Perry, Roar, Liv, Talon and Vale. I recommend reading it!

Buy Roar and Liv: Amazon.com  Amazon.co.uk  Barnes & Noble • Bookworld (epub)


Review

After I finished Under the Never Sky I was desperate to get stuck into this second book – I really enjoyed the first one and I was hoping Through the Ever Night could live up to the expectations I had. Fortunately, it was very, very difficult to put this second instalment down – something that a lot of middle books struggle with – and I loved it.

Aria has been staying at Delphi with Marron while Perry returns to the Tides to regain his hold as Blood Lord over the tribe. The story picks up as they are reunited after several months apart, during which time Aria’s abilities as an Aud are sharpened. Aria and Perry decide that the best course of action is to return to the Tide encampment and prepare for a journey north to the city of the Horns. Apparently the leader there, Sable, knows about the location of the Still Blue, a mysterious land without the destructive Aether where their people could live in safety. The Tides are naturally wary of Aria and don’t accept her easily. Meanwhile, a consignment of food and helpers arrives from the Horns. Does this mean that Liv has gone through with her part in the bargain and married Sable after all?

Through the Ever Night is a roller-coaster ride of action, emotion, hope and heartbreak. This story is in no way just a romance between Perry and Aria – there are emotional scenes of every shade and each character is driven by their own ambitions or quest. The world they live in is travelled and explored more widely and we learn more about how tribal society works, although still not a lot about Aria’s old life inside Reverie.

The point of view once again switches between chapters between Aria and Perry, and this style works well to keep each thread of the story moving along. Even when the two are together, the pov shift adds dimension to the story to see events from two sides. Perry and Aria’s voices differ enough that they have distinct feelings about the way things happen. Roar plays a large part in this story as well, and as before is a brilliant and lovable character, driven to distraction trying to chase down his love, Liv. I also loved how the citizens of Reverie were brought back into the story – I can’t begin to imagine how they’re all going to deal with what has happened at the end!

I enjoyed every bit of Through the Ever Night. The things that annoyed me in the first book were explained or were missing in this one. The romance was lovely and there were a few “don’t you DARE do that!” moments in it too. I know this whole review has been one long gushy mess but honestly, I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Bring on the final book!

Warnings: Violence, sexual situations (not graphic)

Under the Never Sky

Under the Never Sky throughevernight ?Into the Still Blue(January 2014)

 

What did others think of Through the Ever Night?

  • Through the Ever Night had everything that was missing for me in Under the Never Sky: a gripping plot, characters I cared about, and a story that felt necessary.” – Book Nook
  • “Even if you weren’t impressed with the first book, I highly urge you to change your mind and read this second book. Rossi grew by leaps and bounds, and when that happens with a recently-debuted author, it’s really a joy to watch.” – Birth of a New Witch
  • “Veronica Rossi’s writing continues to be amazing and she really pulls off both Aria’s and Perry’s POV flawlessy by giving them each a unique voice.” – Book-A-Holic

Review: Crewel, Gennifer Albin

Title: Crewel (Goodreads)
Author:  Gennifer Albin (@genniferalbin)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, Adelice is exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Details

Series: Crewel World #1
Genre: YA Dystopian Sci-fi
Published: Faber & Faber, October 2012
Pages: 360
My copy: From the publisher via Netgalley

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com  Amazon.co.uk  Barnes & Noble • Bookworld (epub)

You can read the first five chapters of Crewel for free on Nook!

Review

Adelice lives in Arras, a world woven into the fabric of time and space by the Spinsters. Being chosen as a Spinster would allow her a life of luxury and privilege that would never be within reach with her family in their neighbourhood, but when Adelice is identified as having the weaving ability during testing, her parents instead try to help her escape. The botched escape is a poor introduction for Adelice as she enters this new world and discovers its dark secrets.

Alternate cover for Crewel

I really enjoyed reading this exciting and occasionally heart-wrenching story. The world of Arras and the Spinsters is amazingly detailed and imaginative – in fact the details are often mind-boggling and leave more questions than the explanations provide!

Crewel gives us a glimpse into a world with control taken to the extreme, where every person is kept to their neighbourhoods with their family, girls and boys are kept segregated until marriagable age and men and women keep to their gender-specific jobs and roles. Those who don’t conform or who show behavioural anomalies are taken away to have their thread “cleaned” – to basically be reprogrammed. We’re never shown exactly who is actually in control, either – is it the Guild with their groups of Spinsters? Or the enigmatic Creweler who designs and weaves Arras into existence?

Adelice is brought into this world of intrigue – into the preening and pretend world of the Spinsters. She never really seems to accept it and fights against it at every opportunity, but while that is a very admirable quality in a heroine, in this case it is slightly puzzling. She knows that each time she steps out of line, someone close to her takes punishment for her, and yet she continues to do it. After a while I found her snarky nature a little annoying. Yes, there is a slightly unnecessary love triangle, but the romantic parts are very sweet and move the story along.

I do like the first book in a series to wrap up within itself rather than just end, but sadly, that’s exactly what happens with Crewel. The confrontations at the end build up and build up, and then we’re left hanging off the cliff with plenty of unanswered questions. I guess that’s what sells the next book though, isn’t it? It is a very well-written debut from Gennifer Albin though and I’ll look forward to more of her work!

I’d recommend Crewel to fans of Dystopian sci-fi with a romantic twist. I just hope the next book is due soon because wow, this book sure does hang off the proverbial cliff.

Warnings: Sexual references, but quite clean.

 

What did others think of Crewel?

  • “It’s engaging, falls on the thought-provoking side, and a touch magical.” – 3.5 stars – Paranormal Indulgence
  • “Crewel is original and unique – keeping me on the edge of my seat.” – 4 stars – Claire Reads
  • “Yes, it’s another dystopian work in a very dystopian saturated YA market, but I love the blending of dystopic, fantasy and science fiction genres and I really love the weaving/ world creating aspect of the story too.” – 4 stars – Flyleaf Review

Tour: Review: Stitch, Samantha Durante

Welcome to The Oaken Bookcase’s stop on the huge Stitch Blog Tour! You can find links to more reviews and other goodies by clicking the banner above (after you’ve read my review, of course).


Title: Stitch (Goodreads)
Author:  Samantha Durante 

Rating: ★★★★☆

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees – and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell – Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn’t figured out yet is that she’s not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university’s idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface…

Details

Series: Stitch Trilogy #1 of 3
Genre: YA Science fiction
Published: Indie, August 2012
Pages: 314
My copy: From the author as part of the blog tour, thanks!

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk 
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble • Smashwords

Review

Alessa has recently started at a new and unfamiliar college. Depressed and withdrawn after the accidental death of her parents, she starts seeing a ghost of a young man in her house. Drawn to the ghost by a strange attraction, she tries to discover who he might have been. Her world is turned upside down once more when she discovers what is really going on at her college, and that nothing in her world is as it seems.

This book was an odd one to read – here I was, settling into a slightly bland college ghost story, getting the feeling that the tension was gradually building to some unspecified event when half-way through the book, BAM. Complete plot twist and non-stop action until the end. I’m not sure what else to say without give anything away, but I will say that I completely did not see that coming, despite the clues.

The characters are quite likeable and even though we haven’t seen a lot of Isaac yet, it sounds like his relationship with Alessa is going to be very sweet and profound in the next book. Alessa herself, along with the other female characters, seem very strong and capable.

The tension is built up so well once the truth is revealed that at some points I was holding my breath, waiting to see what would happen. It does get a little wordy – especially early on in the story. We could do with hearing less about college life and get into the Isaac-related action a little more quickly – I wonder if less patient readers might put the book down during the first half before the action gets going. That said, Stitch is a very well-written debut from Samantha Durante and I’ll be looking forward to reading what happens to Alessa and Isaac in future stories.

If you like a little bit of paranormal romance or you’re a fan of Dystopia, then make sure to add Stitch to your list!

Warnings: References to torture. That’s about it, it’s quite clean.

Review: Defiance, C.J. Redwine

Title: Defiance (Goodreads)

Author:  C.J. Redwine (@cjredwine)

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

Details

Series: The Courier’s Daughter #1
Genre: YA Dystopian Romance
Published: Balzer & Bray, August 28 2012
Pages: 403
My copy: The publisher via Edelweiss

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.ukBook Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble

Review

A while ago, the Cursed Ones rose up from deep within the earth and destroyed all the cities. The survivors banded together, forming safe city-states led by those who were able to protect their flocks from the dragon-esque Cursed Ones.

Rachel Adams is sure her father, Jared, is alive. He’s been declared dead by the leader of the city-state of Baalboden, Commander Chase, but Rachel refuses to believe it, and immediately starts plotting to take off out of the city to find him. Jared’s apprentice Logan is appointed Rachel’s new Protector, and the young inventor also suspects something is going on with Jared and the final mission he went on, but the two of them underestimate the lengths that Commander Chase will go to to have them perform his wishes and bring Jared’s mysterious package back to Baalboden.

Defiance is a rollercoaster ride of a book, extremely fast paced with plenty of action. It has an interesting structure in that it is split up into seventy-one short chapters, alternating between the point of view of Logan or Rachel, the two main characters. These short chapters help to drive the story along and kept me hooked, especially when the two characters are split up and I had to keep reading to find out what happens next.

I quite enjoyed reading Defiance, but for me there was an overarching feeling that there was too much discussion of feelings at the expense of actual story. There are a lot of horrible things that happen to Rachel and Logan throughout the story and we get to hear about how Rachel is dealing with then in intricate detail. I much preferred reading about Logan with his inventions and best/worst case scenarios.

The Commander was a nasty piece of work, but he just seemed to be a big evil baddy – I’m sure there should be some more depth to his character somewhere but we don’t get to see it. He kept reminding me of the Colonel guy from Avatar, who also played the community leader in that Terra Nova TV series, although he is a much harsher character than either of those two roles.

The community of Baalboden seemed a little weird to me. They have this strange misogynistic “Protector” system where women aren’t allowed out without their Protector, and girls are “Claimed” once they reach sixteen. If I’m reading the timeline correctly, they haven’t been living there for all that long together and surely some of them remember what life was like before the Cursed Ones came? Why would all the women just agree to a life like that, especially if it involved being punished so severely if you were caught breaking the rules?

I also found the romance a little over the top. I mean, Rachel started out hating Logan, but came around surprisingly fast. Logan seemed to suddenly realise that he actually did like her quite a lot after all, then it was on for young and old. I really think this style of romance would appeal to the teen market, but I think I prefer a bit more subtlety.

Overall, while I enjoyed reading about Rachel’s and Logan’s misadventures, there were parts of the story that didn’t really work for me. I will keep my eye out for the next in the series though, as Defiance was a promising debut from C.J. Redwine.

Warnings: Physical abuse, torture.

 

What did others think of Defiance?

  • “It can be difficult to find a new, interesting concept these days, but C.J. Redwine has thought of a great concept and executed it well.” – 4.5/5 – Stephanie of Stepping Out of the Page
  • “Although definitely not a favorite, I enjoyed myself immensely. And isn’t that the whole point of reading?” – Ash of Paranormal Indulgence
  • “Overall, I recommend this book because I loved the first part of it,  and it’s nice seeing a female character who is more into saving others than being saved.” – 3.5/5 – Ezzy of Parafantasy

 

Review: Glitch, Heather Anastasiu

Title: Glitch (Goodreads)

Author:  Heather Anastasiu (@h_anastasiu)

Rating: ★★★★☆

In the Community, there is no more pain or war. Implanted computer chips have wiped humanity clean of destructive emotions, and thoughts are replaced by a feed from the Link network.

When Zoe starts to malfunction (or “glitch”), she suddenly begins having her own thoughts, feelings, and identity. Any anomalies must be immediately reported and repaired, but Zoe has a secret so dark it will mean certain deactivation if she is caught: her glitches have given her uncontrollable telekinetic powers.

Details

Series: Glitch #1 of 3
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Published: St Martin’s Press, August 7, 2012
Pages (paperback): 371
My copy: From Netgalley

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.ukBook Depository
E-copies: (Not available for Kindle at this time) • Barnes & Noble

Review

The Community lives underground. Each person is implanted with a V-chip in their brain to control their thoughts and keep the Community the haven of Peace and Harmony, but the chips also prevent subjects from feeling emotions and seeing beauty or horror in their world.

Some young people’s brains have started rejecting the V-chip and its information-feeding Link – the glitchers. Zoel has just started glitching and is terrified to experience emotions for the first time. When she is taken in for diagnostics for her anomalous behaviour, a strange boy, Adrien, busts her out and they escape to the surface of the Earth. There Zoel (now called Zoe) learns about the Resistance and the way the subjects of the Community are controlled.

There are a lot of negative reviews for Glitch around the place at the moment, but I have to say that I really quite enjoyed it. Sure, it’s got insta-love, it’s got slighty wince-worthy invented swear words and I didn’t really enjoy the “back to square one” approach after Zoe’s trip to the surface, but at its heart is a very enjoyable debut.

Zoe is described in quite a few reviews as a “Mary-Sue” – that is, a character without any flaws, who is inherently boring and unrealistic. I’m not sure I agree in this case. When she starts glitching, Zoe experiences a lot of emotions for the first time, and that is sure to be confusing and scary. After she decides not to report herself to the Regulators, she spends a lot of time hiding and generally whining about the state of things. Considering she also has to deal with the advances of Max, who is also glitching and experiencing the overwhelming feelings of a teenage boy for the first time, she did pretty well not to turn into a screaming mess more often. Not every character has to be a strong kick-arse female lead! In fact, I felt that towards the end of the book she was starting to take charge of situations and I hope the next book will see quite a different Zoe.

I thought the society of the Community was described quite well by the end, but we are still left with little information about the way the rest of the world’s society works in this future world. The “Resistance” is hardly mentioned at all and the “Uppers” and others in charge of the Community remain shadowy figures. Where are the rest of the world’s population? I’m hoping the above-ground world will be more fully explored in the future books.

The made-up swear words made me cringe a little – it seems like the author wanted to make Adrien a little more edgy by making him swear, which is fine, but without using our modern swear words to make the book more appealing to young people. I don’t see the point – surely if our current batch of swear words have been around for hundreds of years, why shouldn’t they survive to this future time? I just thought it was a little unnecessary.

The insta-love was disappointing. Adrien basically says, “I just met you, and this is crazy…” and then goes in for the kiss, and Zoe is okay with it. It’s true that at that point she doesn’t really know what kissing or love is, and Adrien has been falling in love with her in his visions for a while already, but it’s all a little too fast. I did think, however, that the discovery of emotions by both Zoe and Max was really well described and occasionally funny. Poor Max! With all those teenage emotions suddenly flowing, it’s a shame that he ended up being the abusive and jealous type of guy. Zoe has no idea how to deal with him, and ends up feeling confused and guilty. I just wanted to give her a hug in a few points, and a slap in a few others.

The action scenes are very exciting and I wished there were more of them rather than so many secretive character-relationship scenes, but the story moved along fast enough to keep me reading way past my bedtime.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Glitch and will be looking out for the next in the series, Override. If you loved other sci-fi romances such as Across the Universe then give Glitch a try.

Warnings: Violence, sexual references

What did others think of Glitch?

  • “Although the concepts were fascinating enough, it was difficult to give this story the interest it needed. ” – 2/5 – Sam of Realm of Fiction
  • Glitch had a few glitches of its own, but it does make for an interesting tale with an interesting take on the world when technology decides to really take over our lives.” – Courtney of Rondo of a Possible World
  • “This series has so much more potential with Zoe’s growing powers. I can’t wait for the next book! ” – 3.5/5 – Reading by Kindle Fire

 

Review: Wither, Lauren DeStefano

Title: Wither (Goodreads)

Author: Lauren DeStefano (@LaurenDeStefano)

Rating: ★★★☆☆

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years–leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek 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 sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet 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 has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

Details

Series: The Chemical Garden #1 of 3
Genre: Young adult sci-fi, Dystopia
Published: Harper Voyager, May 2011
Pages: 368

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble 

Review

Wither can best be described as a beautifully crafted nightmare. The reader is thrust into Rhine’s kidnapping right from the first page, but it takes a little while to gradually learn about the world she lives in – the countries of the world are all but destroyed, and the human race is failing. Men die at the age of 25 and women only make it to 20 before a terrible virus strikes them down. Desperate orphaned children steal what they can to survive. The whole concept is quite horrible, but a fascinating setting for a book.

Lauren DeStefano is a gifted writer and there are gorgeous descriptive moments in this book. The whole story is an emotional roller-coaster ride and quite compelling, but I still found it one of the most depressing stories I’ve read in a while. There’s so much death, grief and desperation in this world that the happy and beautiful moments don’t quite make up for it.

Rhine spends her days mooning over the life she lost when she was kidnapped. This annoyed me – I appreciate the fact that she was bitter about losing her freedom, but the position she finds herself in isn’t so bad – a life of luxury and privilege as a First Wife, with a young husband who cares for her. Linden doesn’t even try to consummate their marriage despite getting her thirteen year old sister wife pregnant (don’t even get me started on how wrong that is). I just didn’t really understand her desperation for escape, considering what life on the outside of the estate is like.

If you’re an expecting mother or a new mum you might want to avoid Wither for now… the parts with Cecily distressed me and it’s been almost eighteen months since my little one was born.

I felt the ending was quite uneventful, despite the entire book building up to that point, but I might read the next in the series just to see what happens.

Fans of dystopian stories will enjoy this book, but make sure you have something light-hearted to turn to afterwards.

Warnings: Implied sexual activity and pedophilia (no actual sex scenes).

What did others think of Wither?

  • “Lauren DeStefano did a fantastic job creating an imaginable and cruel world with Wither and I especially loved how easy it was to slip into the story. ” – 4/5 – Book Passion for Life
  • “Lauren DeStefano created a dystopian nightmare, in the form of a beautifully written novel. ” – 5/5 – Bookish Brunette
  • “This isn’t the best book I’ve ever read. But it’s definitely gripping, and by the end of the book, you really want to read on.” – 4/5 – Death Books and Tea

Review: Kingdom, Anderson O’Donnell

Welcome to The Oaken Bookcase’s stop on the Kingdom Blog Tour! You can see all the other stops at Once Upon A Time. Don’t forget, you can still enter the giveaway for a Kindle Fire until July 3rd!

Title: Kingdom (Goodreads)

Author:  Anderson O’Donnell (@TiberCityNoir)

Rating: ★★★★☆

In a secret laboratory hidden under the desert, a covert bioengineering project—codename “Exodus”—has discovered the gene responsible for the human soul.

Somewhere in the neon sprawl outside the nation’s collapsing economic core, a group of renegade monks are on the verge of uncovering a secret that has eluded mankind for centuries.

Details

Series: Tiber City #1
Genre: Adult Science Fiction/Dystopia
Published: Tiber City Press (Indie), May 2012
My Copy: From Author for blog tour

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk

Review

Late in the twentieth century, a biotechonology company in the Chihuahuan Desert has been secretly carrying out genetic experimentation on local illegal immigrants and other vulnerable members of society. When Campbell, one of the geneticists working on the Exodus project, discovers just horrors his partner has been working on in the dungeons of the desert complex, he flees into the night. He is rescued and finds absolution with a sect of monks studying the human soul. Curiously, the two research projects are linked and opposed.

Fast forward to a near dystopian future, and Dylan is haunted by horrifying nightmares of his father’s suicide. There’s something very wrong with the candidate Biotech company are backing for the Senate – why does he have Dylan’s father’s eyes?

Kingdom is certainly not for the faint-hearted. This dark and gritty story is full of the angst of human existence.

O’Donnell brings Tiber City to life in glorious, and sometimes horrible, detail. I really loved the richness of the world and the lyrical writing style, but sometimes it was quite overwhelming in its bleakness and despair. But underneath all the suffering is a search for the Omega gene – a natural part of the human genome which allows a link to the divine. I found this aspect of the story fascinating – that there’s a genetic part of us that determines our ability to feel extreme emotion, whether religious or otherwise.

Kingdom is the first in a planned trilogy. If you like reading gritty dystopian stories, this book is for you. I found it amazing, but boy, did I need something a bit lighter to read afterwards!

Warnings: Explicit sex and drug use, plenty of swearing and graphic violence.

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