Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

Divergent # 1

Young Adult

This was one of the most anticipated (and maybe hyped) YA books of the year, and usually when I hear all that I get scared that the book won't actually live up to my very high expectations. I don't really know what I was expecting before I started reading, but it was definetely NOT what I got... and that's really a good thing.

This book surprised me, in regards to world building, plotting and storyline. It was a little slow but interesting nonetheless. It's a very unique tale of a dystopian Chicago where people have actually been divided into factions.

There are five factions:

* Abnegation (selflessness): you are not allowed to entertain any thoughts about your own well being, you shouldn't show love, you shouldn't care about your personal appearance and in fact they all dress in clothing that won't show their bodies. They should live to serve others.
* Amity (peace): maybe the least developed one in my opinion, but the name says it all.
* Candor (truth): it is said that people from Candor CAN'T lie.
* Dauntless (bravery): show no fear, be brave and willing to do anything and risk anything!
* Erudite (knowledge): know-it-alls!

So we meet Beatrice, she's 16 and at this point in her life she has to go through an aptitude test to determine which faction she should go into. She was born into Abnegation but she's never fit in. Except when she takes that test, her result comes back as Divergent. Divergents are dangerous, they can manipulate the tests and excel at many things, but they are also persecuted and the government or higher-ups want them all dead. So Beatrice has to hide who she really is from EVERYONE, including her family, and make a decision on which faction to take.

But she choses Dauntless. Of course, it's not a simple matter of chosing, the Dauntless have to chose her as well, and all "transfers" from other factions have to undergo a training and testing period to qualify and become Dauntless, the ones who don't make the cut, will end up without a faction. If you don't have a faction you live in the poor outskirts of town, your life would be ruined!

Beatrice grows out of her shell slowly in the book, even though at times it seems she's a little psychotic. But with the help of a few key players she actually uncovers and helps prevent the overthrowing of the current government, as well as protect herself from anyone noticing she's Divergent.

Along the way she gets a few tattoes, changes her appearance, meets some good friends, betrays those friends, makes peace with them, and of course, meets a hot and sexy guy, Four. Yes, his name is Four (or that's what they call him to be exact) but I won't tell you why, you have to read it to find out. She has a constant internal struggle with what she should do, should she help this person or would that be showing Abnegation, should she climb higher to show she's dauntless. I have to say I'm not a fan of Beatrice, even though she's ok. But she does need to grow up more. But I am excited to see where this world will go next and I'm looking forward to the next book.

Purchase from Amazon

Review: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

 

 

Bloodlines

by Richelle Mead

Young Adult

Sydney Sage makes her debut with the new Richelle Mead series, Bloodlines. Ever since Blood Promise, I was intrigued by the Alchemists and Sydney but it wasn’t until Last Sacrifice that I really wondered what was behind Sydney Sage.

Bloodlines is still set in the Vampire Academy world, but now we’re following the Alchemist, Sydney. Our girl has a lot of work cut out for her. Her task is to protect Jill, the princess and sister of the queen, Vasilisa Dragomir with the help of the Moroi and dhampirs. To keep Jill safe, Sydney, Jill and Eddie enroll in a human boarding school in Palm Springs and play the part of siblings. Along with some high school politics, there are more serious problems that Sydney encounters.

While this book still has the core elements of the Vampire Academy world, such as the Moroi, Strigoi, and dhampirs races, what really set this book apart from other series is the fact that Mead plays up the chemistry aspect of the Alchemists. I loved the tattoo storyline. It was right up Sydney’s alley. It was perfect for her.

In this book, we do find out what went on behind the scenes when Sydney made a deal with Abe, making her in his debt that resulted in her helping Rose out in the Vampire Academy books. And let me just say, it wasn’t what I was expecting....

This is always the case whenever I read a Richelle Mead book! I always have my own expectations about certain plot lines and characters, but Mead always seems to be able to surprise me in the best of ways.

With Sydney as the new narrator of the series, I found that I liked her controlled nature. She’s a far cry from the impulsive girl that was Rose Hathaway, but I thought the change was refreshing. From the get-go, Mead goes straight into Sage’s backstory, showing how the young Alchemist was brought up. Under the scrutiny of her father and Alchemist’s eye, Sydney must also put her best foot forward as she tries to live up to their expectations of her. At first, I saw Sydney as someone who allowed others to walk all over her, but I was wrong.

There are countless times when she stands up for herself in this book and I was surprised to see this, but also glad. One thing I didn’t realize about her was the fact that Sydney has more control than anyone else in this series. While Rose would have yelled and punch someone if they insulted her, Sydney would rather bite her tongue. It takes a whole lot of control to do something like that and I respect her a lot. I’m definitely looking forward in following the series through her eyes.

One of the characters I was most excited to read about was Adrian. As I said before, I’M IN LOVE. He is funny, just adorable. We also see a different side of him in this book. After what happened in Last Sacrifice, I was hoping that Adrian would get his HEA. And while he hasn’t found that yet, I’m sure that Mead has it in the works. There’s already sparks flying and I can’t wait to see more of it. Not to mention that Adrian also has some of the best lines in book!

Then there’s Eddie Castile whom I just adore. I wished there was more of him! I know, I’m selfish. But Eddie’s the man and he just needs his own chance to shine. I love the romantic story Mead has made for him. He’s such an honourable guy! He deserves the best!

Jill has been having a bit of a rollercoaster ride. So many things happen to her that I wonder how the poor girl can deal with it all. One big shocker is revealed about her and another important character in this series so I am so excited to see how that works out! But could she have acted a little more childish? She was my least favourite of this book. She came across like a brat sometimes but then sometimes she was a bad ass.

There are new characters such as Keith, who is basically SCUM!!!!!! I didn’t expect his actions of the past.
And of course there are familiar faces! Rose is there and also ABE! OMG I LOVE ABE!!! Yes Rose’s father makes a cameo appearance and as before I just think he’s great! He brings entertainment, spark and just a touch of danger. And if you were still scratching your head trying to figure out what he has on Sydney that she would do anything he wanted, then you're in for a surprise at the end if this book. Watch out, that Sydney is craaaaazy!!!! LOL

While I thought the beginning of the book was a little slow, the book does increase in pace, especially towards the end. Mead loves hitting you with all she’s got at the end of her books, revealing secrets that will blow your mind. But it’s the very last sentence of this book that made me groan out loud and say, “OH COME ON, MEAD!” Needless to say, I’m ready for The Golden Lily. 

 

 

Purchase links: Amazon

Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1)

by Patrick Ness

Young Adult

Meet Todd Hewitt, the last boy in Prentisstown, maybe the last boy in New World, it is only 30 days until he becomes a man. But a lot can happen in 30 days and in a world where no man's thoughts are private, where it all spills outs until it is just Noise, where lies and the truth are all muddled up Todd manages to find quiet, and the quiet reveals a massive secret, a secret the blows Todd's world apart and starts him on a journey with what he thought was an impossible companion into a world he didn't know existed.

Oh. My. Goodness. What a fantastic book! I had trouble putting this book down, it manages to draw you in and before you realize it 100 pages have gone by. One of the ways I was drawn in was through the unusual writing style, it is written in first person from Todd's POV but it was slightly different it was like Todd was speaking directly to you, it was really good, it had the spelling mistakes of a boy (although not so much the you couldn't read it of course) and the grammer and structure supported this, for example, if Todd got scared or annoyed or excited you could have a whole paragraph with no punctuation showing like someone is talking at you with no pause for breath. I really liked this as it got e very involved in the book and with Todd and his canine companion Manchee.

I also have to mention the story line and world the Patrick Ness has created. This was also something I enjoyed, the people in it are settlers from another world, which makes it seem like a sci fi but it really isn't, it is about the journey of a boy trying to become a man in a fairly primitive environment. Now, Noise, I loved this idea, all men have Noise, everyone can hear what they are thinking and they can hear what everyone else is thinking, so much so that with all the Noise from people's thoughts it all eventually become's meaningless...noise! It is hard to tell lies from the truth as men can lie to themselves and cover their lies with more Noise, it is such a great idea and I loved reading how Noise was used and explained in this book.

But this book was sad! I highly recommend carrying Kleenex round with you as at one point this book had me bawling my eyes out! I found this book interesting and entertaining a little bit thought provoking and sad and well worth the read. I can not wait to read teh second book and see what it going to happen next. It does not end well!

Favourite Quote

As long as I hold it as long as I use it, the knife lives, lives in order to take life, but it has to be commanded, it has to have me to tell it to kill, and it wants to, it wants to plunge and thrust and cut and stab and gouge, but I have to want it to as well, my will has to join with its will.

I'm the one who allows it and I'm the one responsible.

Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Steel Corset (The Steampunk Chronicles #1)

By Kady Cross

Steampunk/Young Adult

Find it on Goodreads!

I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did, I am not a fan of Young Adult books. At all. They usually consist of teenage girls whinging about how they are different and don't fit in and blah blah blah, if I wanted to listen about that, I wold just speak to my little sister! But what creeps me out most about YA? The 200 year old vampire getting together with a 16 year old girl, it is like a dirty old man's wet dream! Annnnnnyway moving on to The Girl in the Steel Corset I did like it, it had none of the usual elements (as listed above!) that inspire me to throw the book across the room, jump up and down on it and then toast marshmallows over it.

If you have read The Strange Case of Finley Jayne then you will be familiar with Finley Jayne, and recognise Griffin King, Duke of Greythorn, the main characters in this book. Griffin taks Finley in when she is fleeing (quite literally) from another job and almost runs her over. She soon discovers that Griff leads a band of Misfits each with their own extraordinairy powers, Sam with his amazing strength and healling abilities, Emily a genuis with machines, Jasper the quickest man in the West, and then Grfiin himself who has power over the Aether. Is this a place where Finley can fit in, she also has strange and frightening powers and bad case of split personality disorder! But they have bigger threats to face when the discover that a mad man named The Machinist is plotting against the Queen and they may be the only people able to stop him.

I really liked the world the Kady Cross has created, steampunk is such a fascinating genre and can incorporate many strange and wonderful things, and this book was full of strange and wonderful things. Like the steel corset in the title, although it wasn't in it that often it was a great invention, a bullet proof corset, and of course it made a very eye catching title.

Although this book was mostly staged around Griff and Finley, what was great about this book was that the other characters in the grop weren't just ignored or just given token appearences, Sam, Emily and Jasper, were all given time and had their own insecurities and strengths; you got to know them well. I think the whole group had a great dynamic which I hope she improves on in the next book. There was also a little romance in this book, or atleast some potential romance, but in the form of not one but two emerging love triangles! Sam-Emily-Jasper and Griff-Finley-Jack Dandy, I am not a massive fan of love triangles so I am hoping that it won't be dragged out too long, although it probably will!

The only thing that I thought was weak was that The Machinist plot, I knew exactly who he was and what he was plannning early on in the book and couldn't understand why they didn't catch on as well. It was still fun to read along as there were soem good action scenes but it was frustrating when it was so damn obvious!

This was a good fun read, it was entertaining and I enjoyed the steampunk aspects of the book as well as the characters, I will definately be reading the next one when it comes out!

Favourite Quotes

...Griffin King could hurt her, as well, and he hadn't. Instead of using force or violence against her, he used patience and understanding. She had no defense against that.

~

For a moment she thought to remind him that showing off his naked skin to a young woman was highly improper, but then another part of her told her to keep her mouth shut and enjoy the view, so that was what she did.

Review: The Stange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (The Steampunk Chronicles #0.5)

By Kady Cross

Steampunk & Young Adult

Find it on Goodreads!

I haven't read that many steampunk books but I have read a few, and this is definately my favourite one of the (rather small) pile. Steampunk isn't a widely known genre, so to help along here is the wikipedia, oh great holder of all knowledge's, definition:

"...steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them; in other words, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc. This technology may include such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne or real technologies like the computer but developed earlier in an alternate history."

So basically it is corsets meets cogs, with has some surprisingly good fashion results! After finishing it I immdiatley went on the net and started looking for corsets, shitkickers and stripy stockings!

Anyways, I think I am going off on a slight tangent there! So lets talk about the book. It is about the 16 year old Finley Jayne, she isn't quite like other girls, it is like she has two people inside her, the good Finley and the bad Finley. The bad Finley has almost superhuman strength, senses and reflexes and often takes over when Finley is threatened or afraid, which unfortunately for her has led to her being sacked twice. But she has just had a very strange and too good to be true job offer, which she takes as she has little choice, and like all thinsg that are too good to be true...it is.

This was a great short story that paves the way for the next book The Girl in the Steel Corset, it introduces us to the steampun London that Kady Cross has created and to the main character of Finley Jayne. I really liked Finley, both halfs of her, she was smart and I imagine plenty of teenagers would identify with her and her struggle with her own body and mind.

The mystery was also good, gruesome and gothic exactly like something I imagine you would find in a Victorian gothic novel!

This was a great short read and has left me really wanting to get started on The Girl in the Steel Corset!

Review: Die For Me by Amy Plum

Die For Me
by Amy Plum
(Revenants # 1)
Young Adult
Find it on GoodReads!



I LOVED THIS BOOK! Wonderful debut by Amy Plum and the Revanants series. I felt completely transported into an elegant european world, filled with art, corner cafes where to read and enjoy a cappuccino and a croissant, while mixing in a very interesting group of undead characters!

Kate and her sister Georgia have to move from Brooklyn to Paris with their grandparents after the deaths of both their parents. Kate is only sixteen and finds the only way to cope with the tragedy and the move is to frequent the places she grew loving and visiting in their summer trips. Cafes where she can lose herself in a good book, art museums and galleries where she can get lost in a painting. And it's precisely at one of those places she meets a boy that takes her breath away. Vincent, dark, gorgeous, 19 year old. Or is he?

I think Kate is a wonderful character. She's a typical teenager dealing with all the normal issues. Then she meets Vincent and her whole world is turned upside down as she is dragged into a world she had no idea existed.

The Revenants are, in a way, undead or zombies?, but not really. They were humans who died in place of someone else, and from then, they have been dying to save others. I loved that concept! And when finding all this out I actually liked the fact that Kate doesn't throw caution to the wind right away to be with him. She wants to have a normal life.

Of course there's always a battle between good and evil which was pretty interesting. Even though the bad guy at the end was almost predictable, I still found the whole thing interesting and the twists we find out of what Vincent and Kate CAN be together are nice. And speaking of nice, what he did for her birthday.... SWOON.

The supporting characters are all endearing as well. Jules, Charlotte and Ambrose in particular. I actually liked her sister Georgia as well. You could tell she loved her sister even though she was dealing with their problems in a non-conventional way.

And now the few things I didn't totally love, just to keep it fair. I thought the grandparents had no control over what these two girls were doing. How can that be possible? You have 2 teenagers coming and going whenever they please, and doing as they like. Not good. And as I've seen a reference before to a similarity to Twilight, I will address that as well. The ONLY similarity this story can have with Twilight is that maybe the structure of the Revenants was a bit like the Cullen family. There's the elder that rules the crazy "teenagers", the lonely soul girl "Charlotte" which could be like Alice; the big, tough, flirty one "Ambrose" who could be an Emmett; Vincent obviously being Edward; I can't put my finger on Jules though, LOL. But that's as far as it goes. This book really is nothing like Twilight. So there, I just wanted to clarify.

And now... do I really have to wait until next year to read the next one???

And now.... the Die For Me theme songKiss Me Slowly (Parachute w/Lady Antebellum)

Review: Cryptic Cravings by Ellen Schreiber

Cryptic Cravings (Vampire Kisses # 8)

by Ellen Schreiber

Young Adult

Find it on Goodreads!

It has been a year since I read the last book in the series, and I was thinking "How am I going to remember who everyone is and what happened?" since I'm not that attached to this series. But as soon as this book started, it all came back to me. This pretty much picks up where Love Bites left off.

Jagger, Luna, Sebastian, Onyx and Scarlett were supposed to have left town after Sebastian bit Luna in front of all of Dullsville teenagers. But they're still in town, and hiding from Alexander. Why? Jagger has big plans for Dullsville. He wants to open a club, like the Coffin Club, for humans AND vampires. The human club "The Crypt" and the vampire underground club "The Covenant".

While they're planning to remodel the old mill in town, Alexander and Raven find out about their plans, and even though Raven can't believe her luck about having a club where she can go dance, she doesn't want "neferious" vampires to come to Dullsville.

At the same time Raven is dealing with her feelings on how she would deal if she finally became a vampire to be with Alexander for eternity, Alexander gets his first taste of Raven's blood (and no, it's YA, so it's nothing kinky), Onyx is apparently in love with Jagger, Scarlett wants Trevor, and Luna is still hanging on Sebastian's arm. I can't stand her.

But, what I liked the best about this book might be something nobody else wants to see... don't know. I want some Trevor/Raven action!!! I mean, seriously, she is just now realizing that he kid has a crush on her? And she can't admit to herself that she likes him too?? Why else would they be constantly going after each other? So, Trevor makes just a few small moves, like a nice birthday gift for her, and then the only thing he wants in return for helping promote the club is one dance with Raven at opening night!

As usual this is a fluffy read, plenty of goth teen angst, but entertaining.  Sometimes you're in the mood for that, and I was!!!

Review: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

I’ve loved this series ever since City of Bones came out. So it’s been awhile since I’ve read something new in The Mortal Instruments world! When I heard that Clare was extending her TMI series, I was thrilled, but what I didn’t expect was for the plots to intermingle with her Infernal Devices series and previous three books in the Mortal Instruments series. So if you haven’t read Clockwork Angel, DO IT BEFORE you read this one. You may miss a very important fact concerning Alec and Magnus.

I LOVE the characters in this entire series, even the bad ones! But I found that there was more of a focus on relationships in this book than the other books before.

Jace and Clary are FINALLY together in this one, but that doesn’t mean that everything is happy-happy. Jace finds himself having dreams of hurting Clary physically, sometimes going as far as holding a blade to her. Therefore, when they try to be intimate, Jace always pulls away in an effort to keep Clary safe. Meanwhile, he thinks he’s going crazy because of all his sadistic thoughts and tries to keep himself distanced. I missed Jace’s sarcastic personality, but there are glimpses of it when he reaches the end of his temper.

Then there’s Simon - the loser turned hottie – who has TWO hot chicks on each of his arms. Unfortunately, Maia and Isabella have no idea that Simon is seeing both of them at the same time. Simon plays a much larger role in this book and I love reading about him!

There is also a new(ish) character who is introduced and HE IS MY NEW FAVOURITE! Kyle tries out for Simon’s band, hoping to be the new leader singer for the group. But there’s more to him than meets the eye. I have to give Clare a lot of props for plotting this! Very smart!

Then there’s Magnus and Alec who are off in Vienna on a little vacation at the beginning of the book. But when they are called back for an emergency, they’re relationship hits some rocks. If you’ve read Clockwork Angel then you are familiar with Camille Bellecourt and her past with Magnus. Let’s just say Alec gets green with envy and his love for Magnus is tested.

And finally, one of my favourite characters from City of Glass shows up, not quite the same. But it still gets me super excited!

I know most of my friends don’t read YA, but TRY THIS ONE! It’s one of my two favourites from this genre and I swear you won’t be disappointed!!!

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Wow, this book earned every one of the 5 feathers I have given it. It simply was one of the best books I have read this year, infact one of the best books I have read in a long time.

This book is set in the future where a series of natural disasters have reduced the world to a small population living in South America. They are set up in Districts which all answer to the Capitol. The Hunger Games are the ultimately twisted Big Brother, with viewers watching as children between the ages of 12-18 years of age, a male and female chosen from each District (but not the Capitol) try to kill each other, the winner being the last one standing. And it really is as barbaric as it sounds. This is all orchestrated by the Capitol to demonstrate its power over the other Districts and as a warning for a past rebellion from the now decimated and destroyed District 13.

The heroine of this story is Katniss from the impoverished District 12, she volunteers for the games to protect someone she loves, and is thrown into the games with Peeta the baker’s son with whom she has a silent connection with from an act of kindness from the past.

This book is told from 1st person POV and in present tense, something that normally I dislike, but in this case just adds to the tension and emotion in the books as you see everything as soon as it happens through Katniss’ eyes. You feel everything she feels, and at times this book can be gruesome, heartbreaking and tender, it really takes you through a whirl of emotions. Katniss is a wonderful character, she is a strong heroine, and although she is young you can feel all the hardship she has been through and when she makes hard decisions (a lot involving Peeta) you are with her all the away because as well as the book just telling you her reasons behind it, you could also feel it too. As for Peeta, although he doesn’t have quite the presence in the book that Katniss does I also found myself rooting for him, I didn’t want him to die as much as I didn’t want Katniss to die. He reflects perhaps the more normal teenager as he isn’t a survivor like Katniss and has had an easier upbringing, as much as someone can living in District 12.

As well as being alive with emotions, the underlying idea behind the Hunger Games was so completely bone chilling. But what made this worse was the way that other reacted to it, for most the Hunger Games weren’t something to dread, but rather a holiday. They enjoyed watching them, watching these young children trying their best to kill each other and survive the harsh environment that the games were staged in. Very few seemed to see how very wrong it was, which for me just made it more horrific.

There are so many good bits in this book, so many poignant moments as well nail biting action, that I just can’t recommend it enough. But the ending, oh my god the ending, it has ensured me going out tomorrow to get the next book, Suzanne Collins has totally sucked me in.

Would recommend for EVERYONE no matter what you like this book is worth at least a try and I defy anyone not to love it!