Book Review: Blood Will Tell by Samantha Young

Blood Will Tell (Warriors of Ankh, #1)

by Samantha Young

Genre: Paranormal/Mythology

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: June 29, 2011

Source: Kindle Store

Age Rating: 17+ (for violence)

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Eden is a Soul Eater. While that hasn’t meant much to her in the past, she’s pretty sure any minute now she’s going to go all "Carrie" on her eleventh grade class. Noah is an Ankh. As an immortal Warrior, his purpose in life is to hunt down and kill Soul Eaters.

Eden is Noah’s next assignment. Problem is… this is an assignment with a difference. Eden’s not your average, run of the mill, Soul Eater. Noah’s job? To test Eden for possible redemption. It’s a risky business. Especially if Noah awakens Eden’s inner monster. It would be kind of hard for Eden to listen to the angel on her shoulder when the devil on the other is telling her, her new best friend is a lying, scheming, immortal enemy...

....betrayal is such a bitch. So is Eden when you get on her bad side. 

My Review

I had been trying to find time to read Blood Will Tell for a while, and finally did. This one was SO fast—it was the perfect antidote for having little time to read. It only disappointed a bit, but I found a potentially new great villain character to *cross-fingers* gobble up (pun intended)...

• Plot: Eden is a soul eater, a type of human-like being that has to eat human souls in order to live. But, she hates the idea of having to kill people just to feed herself and resists the urge to cave into her baser instincts, daily. Her best friend Noah doesn't help much since he's so yummy in more ways than one. But, he's on an assignment from the order of the Ankh—immortal warriors who hunt and kill soul eaters. Eden is a special soul eater, and Noah needs to see if she can be saved from the demonic side of herself before she takes her first soul, or it will be too late.
• Characters: Eden is a grumpy teenager with a very dysfunctional family, and not just because they're all soul eaters. Her father, Ryan, is even a deviant amongst his own kind, being a sadistic, perverted killer/rapist along with Eden's cousin, Teagan, who lives with her. The only bright spot at home is her older brother, Stellan, who never kills any of his victims. He's a really sweet character, always protecting her, especially from Teagan, whom she must marry at age eighteen. Oddly, enough I liked Teagan the best. He has a kind of sass I find really fun in villain characters. Ryan, although right on the same level of perversion as Teagan, just has no personality other than being a d-bag. Noah is a nice guy, tall, handsome and caring, but when Eden discovers who he really is, it causes major mistrust issues. I like that he and Eden had already known each other for six months when the story began. No insta-love, since Noah's hardly a real teenager, anyway. As if!
• Writing: It's good, definitely nothing to worry about. I love how it was written in such a way that you could literally read the entire novel in one sitting, although I didn't do that. But, it's a very fast and engaging read. We also get alternating POV's between Eden and Noah, all done in 3^rd person, and not confusing at all.
• Storytelling: I found myself sucked right into this story, even though Eden isn't that likable of a protagonist. She basically pushes everybody away, perhaps in an effort to protect them from herself, since she grows more and more dangerous to the humans around her. I can forgive her for being a teenager and sympathize with her horrible home life. Her dad and Teagan are a couple of sickos. Ryan has a basement in his mansion and brings all his victims there to rape and torture them before eating their souls. It's unnecessary to do any of these things just to eat souls, but he and Teagan relish in being sick freaks. Ryan likes Teagan so much, he promised he could marry Eden (they're first cousins—gag) when she turns eighteen, and Teagan constantly sexually harasses Eden. She completely loathes him. (Although, I like him because he's sassy!) I feel so bad for her life and the pressure she's under to go through with the soul eater ceremony to become one, officially. She doesn't want to, at all. Noah hopes to get her away from her family to join his because she actually does belong with the Ankh, too. It's very interesting how the whole story plays out, and Eden ranges from being an irritable teenager to an overwhelmed girl struggling with unbearable urges to kill innocent people.
• Overall Quality: Really good. I didn't notice any plot holes or world-building problems. Everything seems to make sense within the world created.
• Favorite Scene/Moment: This wasn't a favorite scene, but one that stuck out to me. Eden finally went down into her father's torture basement and found a girl her age chained to a bed. She had a chance to save her, but instead, ran back upstairs and vomited in her toilet. I just thought that was a sad, weak moment for her, although she redeems herself of this cowardice later on. Eden is made out to be a pretty realistic teenager who isn't perfect, but still manages to do the right thing, in time.
  I'll be reading the next book, if anything, because I want to see more of Teagan and how he plays out as a significant villain character....*hee-hee*
• My Score: 4 stars out of 5. (There is some graphic violence, just so you know!)

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Book Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1)

by Lauren DeStefano 

Genre: Dystopia/Sci-Fi

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: March 22, 2011

Source: local library

Age Rating: 16+

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

 

My Review

This is an old review I wrote (edited a bit) before I started my book blog, so, obviously I couldn't use my newer review format for this one. I apologize for the lack of my current style....

*****

Wither is a really well written YA dystopian and I loved most everything about it. Great story, very interesting premise and great characters. You feel like you're right there with Rhine every step of the way, immersed in her new horrible situation. She's a sixteen-year-old bride forced into a marriage with a total stranger who marries two other girls along with her, so you can feel how piteous this situation is. All of the wives are as different as can be, and it is interesting to see how the youngest (at age 13) loves her new life, while Rhine hates it, and the oldest wife just waits around to die.

Despite all that works so well, there are some very serious world-building problems. It made it difficult for me to completely "suspend disbelief." As you read this review, you're going to think I mostly hated this book, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Still, I felt the need to address the issues that bothered me when I read it.

In this alternate United States, there is a nationwide genetic problem that causes young people, both male and female, to die in their twenties—or, is it a virus? Both are mentioned as the cause of the shortened lifespans, but they are two completely different things. Which is it? Other things that bothered me were how some of the girls that had been "gathered" (abducted for forced marriages) and not purchased as brides, were shot. Why? The Gatherers shoot them, even though they could sell them alive later on to turn a profit. It's just senseless murder.

On to those pesky starving orphans... They are either so troublesome they require Rhine and her brother Rowan to sleep in shifts every night just to fend them off (before Rhine's abduction), but it's okay for Rhine and bro to both leave home at the same time to go to work. Hard to buy that logic. And, they both go fishing for fish they know they can't eat? Why bother? Why leave the precious basement of your home exposed to those little unarmed orphan pests if they really are such a problem? See, weird logic. How are starving little orphans kids so dangerous, anyway? More weirdness.

There are quite a few things like this that got on my nerves. But, I otherwise really liked this novel and look forward to the rest of the trilogy. I just hope the world-building problems get straightened out. It is as if the author didn't think she needed to invest more time in developing her fictional world completely, thinking everything out so it would make sense.

I have given it a lesser rating as a result. Otherwise, I really thought this book rocked. Make no mistake—this book is very good and worth reading. The writing and story are superb, the characters are interesting, and there is tons of mystery, even the good kind (not just the kind caused by the shoddy world-building). These are just my personal grievances. You may feel differently, so read this one for yourself and see what you think.

Still, I gave it...

My score: 4 stars out of 5.

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Book Review: Borrowing Abby Grace by Kelly Green

The Shadow (Borrowing Abby Grace, #1)

by Kelly Green 

Genre: Mystery/Paranormal

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: October 16, 2011

Source: Kindle Store

Age Rating: 12+

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When Abby Grace wakes up in the back of a van, she has no idea who she is, how she got there, or why anyone would want to kidnap her. After escaping her masked captors, she hurries home, only to discover that she unknowingly left her younger brother behind in the van. Unable to answer the police’s questions with her memories gone, she retreats to the safety of her bedroom where she tries to reconstruct her life. Just as she is settling into the belief that things will one day return to normal, she looks in the mirror—and sees a stranger’s face.

As Abby learns next, she has become a Shadow, sent to inhabit the lives of strangers in trouble. With nothing to go on except the vague hints of her cute but maddening Guardian, a 19th century ghostly teenager named Will, Abby sets out to rescue the missing brother. But she will need all of her intelligence, fearlessness, and wit, because if she fails to find him in time, she will remain trapped in this unfamiliar body forever. 

My Review

Borrowing Abby Grace is a little book I'd been meaning to read for a while and finally did. It's a very short and cheap ebook-only story, so it was a no-brainer for me to give it a try...

• Plot: Abby Grace is a Shadow, a mystical being, formerly human, who inhabits the bodies of living people who need her to solve their problems. But, her problem is that she has amnesia upon first inhabiting her new body and doesn't remember anything about herself. She is in the process of being kidnapped when she first comes to, in the beginning, and manages to get away. Then, discovering who she is and who she's pretending to be takes her on a wild Nancy Drew-like mystery solving journey. The main objective of this episode is for Abby to find the kidnapped younger brother of Brooke, the girl whose body she's inhabiting.
• 
  Characters: Abby is a funny girl, apparently a teenager herself, though she has no body. We never find out why she is a Shadow, or rather, she never finds out how the whole “shadowing” process works and why she's a part of it. The other presence in the story is a boy her age named Will, who is like a ghost, and he's there to help her out. He can't tell her how to solve her mysteries, or anything about who she's supposed to be helping, but he can tell her some things about what is expected of her, how much time she has to complete her mission, and the consequences if she doesn't complete it on time. Clearly, he has an important function, but I can't form an opinion of Will because he simply isn't in the story enough.
• Technical Writing: It's good and written in a believable YA voice. Abby has probably been leaping around from body to body (kind of like Quantum Leap) recently, since she's aware of modern technology and knows how to use it, even with amnesia.
• Storytelling: It's supposed to be an homage to the Nancy Drew mysteries of yesteryear, but I can't even draw that comparison because I never read any Nancy Drew. My older sisters loved those books, but they're ten years older than me, and I just had no interest. I thought the books were outdated, but, that was how I felt as a kid. (Don't kill me!) Still, I thought the mystery was done really well insofar as mysteries are concerned, and I never saw the climax coming. It wasn't predictable, and Abby did her job, even helping to repair a broken family at the end. It was very sweet.
• Overall Quality: Great. I wasn't sure what to think when I first started reading, but it quickly became a fast, fun, engaging story as Abby tried to figure out so many different unknowns all at once. I'm surprised it could be done within such a short space (40 pages).
• Favorite Scene/Moment: Easy. The scene where Abby sings a solo as Brooke (who has a killer voice) in the choir concert. She didn't know the words to “Danny Boy,” so she started making up stuff around the middle of the song—stuff about Danny losing his teddy bear and eating a hamburger. Then, in the middle of her solo, she takes off, chasing after a kid she believes is connected to the little brother's kidnapping, leaving the entire audience completely O__O. I laughed out loud at the pure Randomy McRandom-ness of it all!
• My Score: 4 stars out of 5.

Buy this ebook from | Amazon | for $2.51. 
 

Book Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1)

by Robin LaFevers 

Genre: Historical/Fantasy

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: April 3, 2012

Source: NetGalley (ARC)

Age Rating: 15+

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Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart? 

 

My Review

This is my last ARC/RC review out of the old piled up copies I've been reading lately. Finished at last!

• Plot: Ismae is sold into a marriage with an abusive husband by her equally abusive stepfather at the age of fourteen, only to find herself suddenly whisked away to a convent on a small island off the coast of Brittany (modern day northern France). She was sired by Mortain, the god of death, one of the original nine gods of the pagan Bretons before the region became Catholic. The convent is devoted to carrying out Mortain's will, raising up his human offspring to carry out his assassinations of those who would betray Brittany. Ismae is trained for three years, then assigned to play the part of a courtier's mistress, the courtier being a young, handsome man named Duval. Someone is trying to hand Brittany and its duchess over to France and she must discover who this traitor in their midst is, and end him or her. The plot, like a murder mystery, goes around all over the place trying to discover who the traitor at court is with nearly everyone being a suspect, including Duval.
• Characters: Ismae grows and changes a lot from beginning to end. She first feels empowered when the convent abbess takes her in and trains her in all the many ways to kill men. She was treated so poorly by men all her life, so she thoroughly despises them and only ever expects to serve the convent and Mortain's will. She is shaken down to her foundation when she meets Duval and begins to fall for him, since he is the first man to treat her with actual respect. They butt heads a lot in the beginning because he knows she's an assassin and fears she'll try to kill him at some point. And, Ismae just fears men, period. Duval is a great male lead, very serious about accomplishing the task of protecting the young Duchess from being married off to the horrible old lech, Count D'Albret, even though their union would protect Brittany from being invaded by France.
• Technical Writing: I completely adore the writing style. It's written in first-person present tense, which is odd, considering it's a historical novel, but I never felt it was awkward at all. Ismae speaks simply, but in a bit of an old-fashioned English way, saying “mayhap” instead of “perhaps” or “maybe,” and things like that. It's never hard to follow for a second, though.
• Storytelling: I'm amazed at how capable the author is of weaving all these different plot threads together into a perfect tapestry. It's a complicated plot with a ton of stuff going on, but not too hard to follow, and really keeps the reader engaged at all times. I never got bored reading it, but I'm one who likes political intrigue. If you don't like plots that dive heavily into politics, this one may not be for you. But, it's a better woven story than most I usually read.
• Overall Quality: Really high. Everything about it is high quality, even down to the world-building, the fantasy aspect behind it. The fantasy aspect compels Ismae to carry out her assassinations and guides all her actions. And, when something important is about to happen, the story sets itself up properly, so when you get to that part, you believe it. Nothing happens randomly, nothing is pointless, and every loose thread gets tied in well.
• Favorite Moment/Scene: I have so many it's hard to narrow it down, but I love when Ismae saves the Duchess of Brittany, a cute little twelve-year-old girl, from being raped by Count D'Albret. He is a huge, disgusting lecherous man, and one of her suitors, but the girl hates him more than anything in the world. His attempt to rape her was meant to sully her maidenhead so she would have no choice but to marry him, after all. Ismae pulls out her weapons and scares him off before he can do anything more than just grope the little girl. Poor thing. But, I love how triumphant that scene was for the both Ismae and the Duchess.
• My Score: 4.5 stars out of 5.

*I received an advanced review copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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Book Review: Feyland: The Dark Realm by Anthea Sharp

Feyland: The Dark Realm (Feyland #1)

by Anthea Sharp 

Genre: Sci-fi/Fantasy/Fae

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: December 4, 2011

Source: the author (ebook)

Age Rating: 13+

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Feyland is the most immersive computer game ever designed, and Jennet Carter is the first to play the prototype. But, she doesn't suspect the virtual world is close enough to touch—or that she'll be battling for her life against the Dark Queen of the faeries.

Tam Linn is the perfect hero—in-game. Too bad the rest of his life is seriously flawed. The last thing he needs is rich girl Jennet prying into his secrets, insisting he's the only one who can help her.

Together, Jennet and Tam enter the Dark Realm of Feyland only to discover that the entire human world is in danger. Pushed to the limit of their abilities, they must defeat the Dark Queen... before it's too late.

My Review

• Plot: Jennet's father is the head of a computer game development company and Jennet gets to play the beta version of a new extremely immersive game called Feyland. Only thing is, Feyland is a gateway into the realm of the Fae, so what happens in Feyland does NOT stay in Feyland. She loses to the final boss, the Dark Queen, and the old crow takes some of her essence. Jennet needs another gamer in the real world who can defeat her to get it back, or Jennet will die. So, Jennet recruits a kid named Tam from her new school to help her since he's an excellent gamer. But, the game proves dangerous to anyone who dares to play it.
• Characters: Jennet is a reformed mean-spirited rich girl, but you wouldn't know it. She's very sweet and accepting in the story, even though Tam is wary of her. Tam is a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, although a responsible one. He's dirt poor, so he's very weirded out by Jennet wanting to have anything to do with him, but they find mutual ground to stand on when it comes to gaming because they are both excellent at it. I'm happy a YA story has the geeky kid as the hero/love interest, and he doesn't even have to transform into a jock/emo vampire to be complete, at least not in his real life.
• Writing: I didn't feel the prologue was well-written, thus it made me think the rest would be just as poor, but it evened out once I started the first chapter. The writing is perfectly fine once you get past the prologue.
• Storytelling: Now, here's something interesting: this story is an incredibly unique retelling of an old Scottish ballad called Tam Lin, which is where the characters' names come from. All of this is explained in the story, so you don't need to be familiar with this ballad beforehand. But, it's so clever how the author weaves that story into her own. It's a good little story about gaming, but there is some jargon that non-gamers will find baffling, and it's never clarified. You must already know what NPC's are and some other basic gaming terms like that.
• Overall Quality: Decent quality, above average. This is a self-published title and one that doesn't really need much fixing up, I'm happy to report (except for the prologue).
• Favorite Moment/Scene: When Tam first enters the game (Feyland) and how amazed he is at its realism. He had never played a game so immersive before and his personal experience is described so well, it felt like I was seeing and experiencing the entire thing through his eyes, even though the book is written in 3^rd person POV. It's great when this POV reads like 1^st person.
• My Score: 3.5 stars out of 5.

*I received this title from the author in exchange for my honest review.

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Book Review: Cicada by Belle Whittington

Cicada (Cicada #1)

by Belle Whittington 

Genre: Paranormal/Sci-fi

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: July 14, 2011

Source: BookRooster.com (ebook)

Age Rating: 14+

| Amazon |

For 17-year-old Blair Reynolds and her friends, being the bearer of secrets is getting really old. But it's something she learns to deal with, because there's no other option. If the people in her small town ever found out what she and her friends discovered in the woods and hid in the storage room, the whole town would be up in arms;literally. You see, folks here don't believe in aliens from outer space. Besides, if they ever found out what two of those aliens did to one of their own, well, let's just say what would follow would be all out war.

As the months unfold, their summer becomes consumed with secrets, puzzle pieces that don't quite fit together, and a fight for their lives that leaves one of them at death's door.

 

My Review

• Plot: Things definitely happen, although, perhaps timed a little off what they should be. Blair is a high school girl whose friends have all just graduated from high school, except she still has another year left. Everyone else is going through major life changes, especially when they all encounter a creature that appears to not be of this world. Her old friend Everett ends up being the most affected by this creature, and thus changes the most, and also makes some drastic changes to his future post-high school plans.
• Characters: Blair is a cute country girl from an inconsequential town in east Texas. Her brother, her grandfather, and her other male friends are so convincingly southern men—it's a hoot! I like Everett the best because he is different from everybody else, a nerd-boy who loves bugs and running into daunting situations head first without fear. He is super cute and I like that he gets to play the main hero character—not some popular jock boy. Although, he ends up going through some serious changes that left me, like Blair, a bit uncomfortable because I really liked Everett as the goofy, clumsy, silly guy.
• Writing: It's simple and effective. Nothing artful, but definitely decent. The southern YA voice was also really well done.
• Storytelling: I think the story could have benefited from starting a bit sooner. There is some back-story for a little while before anything important happens to start the plot. But, it does the job of helping us to get to know the characters. I really like the ambiance of the slow, hot, humid summer on an east Texas ranch, with cicadas whining and fireflies floating around under a blanket of twinkling stars. Very relaxing. It was easy to hear the characters speaking with their southern drawls. I love Blair's mother's rhymes as she spoke in rhymes all the time. It was quaint and sweet. “My Blair with the dark brown hair,” things like that. It seems accurate as to what I know of real people from that region, particularly mothers.
• Overall Quality: Pretty decent and very compelling in parts. I would have liked more information on the inhuman element in the story and why it was around them, why it had been hiding for several years, where it came from, who were its enemies, and how all of that tied into the death of Blair's father and brother (which had already happened prior to the story). I like when I'm more in-the-know than not, but it doesn't mean it's a flaw, as it's so common in literature these days to keep things uber mysterious. Everett was such a neat character, in my personal estimation, he made me want to keep on reading, especially to see where his relationship with Blair would go.
• Favorite Moment/Scene: When the non-human life form Blair and her friends had discovered started to emerge from its pod. I thought Everett's reaction upon seeing it was very interesting and memorable. (He kind of freaked out!) What the life form resembled was also pretty shocking.
• My Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars. 
  
  
  
  
  

*I received this title as a complementary copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Book Review: Bittersweet by Marcia Colette

Bittersweet (Bittersweet #1)

by Marcia Colette 

Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: March 2, 2011

Source: BookRooster.com (ebook)

Age Rating: 14+

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Five years have passed since Phaedra has seen her older, estranged brother. She’s hesitant about his return and even more so when he comes bearing a cure for their mother. However, this so-called antidote, having sex with an incubus, comes with a catch that's larger than the statutory rape implications. The incubus who's willing to help the Thornes has unwittingly been followed by beings who call themselves hags. They want to drain the demon dry of his power and don’t care if they threaten Phaedra's desire to have a normal family. She’ll do whatever it takes to protect her loved ones, even if that means trusting her uncontrollable powers won’t kill everyone in the process...including a Child Welfare official who'll decide in thirty days if the Thorne household is safe enough to raise children. 

 

My Review

• Plot: The plot is a bit sparse and a lot of the story is caught up with many mundane details that probably don't need to be included. The real story doesn't even begin until around 2/3rds of the way into the book. Phaedra, the main character, has a crazy mother with psychokinetic powers and must live in the attic so she doesn't hurt her children, Phaedra and Nadia, the 6-year-old kid sister. Because these powers are hereditary, Phaedra and her older brother Kurt have them, too, and he returns after 5 years with an incubus, who can curb their out-of-control powers and keep their mother sane. The catch is that Mr. Incubus has to seduce them in order for his powers to work.
• Characters: Phaedra is a pretty cool teenager to follow around, but she's so feisty that it gets a bit bothersome. Of course, there's nothing wrong with a flawed character. She has such a hard life taking care of her little sister and fending off attacks by her mother when she's insane. Her mother is only sane for three hours at a time because of a very expensive herb called Bittersweet that wears off after a few hours. The expense means it can't be used often. It's interesting to see the extremes in the mother from homicidal maniac to perfectly normal, concerned mother.
• Writing: The writing is decent but nothing amazing. It could have used more editing and proofreading, since there were quite a few errors. Does have a good YA voice, though.
• Storytelling: Again, the story starts in the wrong place, although we get a lot of important information in the first 2/3rds of the story. But, not much happens to drive the plot forward until you've read most of the novel. A hag ends up as the main villain character and this is the person causing all the problems, but we know nothing about her until late in the story. What happens a lot that I don't think works is that new elements and characters suddenly pop up long after the novel begins, which feels random and overly-contrived. We are never told why Phaedra's family has their shared ability, so I feel lost. I also am not fond of the ending, as we don't get to see things wrap up, but are told what had happened through a random diary entry. Another writerly device that should have been introduced into the story earlier because it seems too convenient.
• Overall Quality: It's a pretty good story that has potential, but it lacks good editing to make it high quality. Still, it has some good things going for it, and I generally liked reading it. Phaedra has a convincing YA voice—that being one of the story's strong suits.
• Favorite Moment/Scene: When Phaedra unwittingly touches the incubus (who looks like a regular man) when he wasn't curbing his powers, and he accidentally seduces her. (How does that happen? I know, right?) It is a pretty intense, although, brief moment.
• My Score: 3 out of 5 stars. 
  
  
  
   

*I received this title as a complementary copy in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: A Million Suns by Beth Revis

A Million Suns (Across the Universe, #2)

by Beth Revis 

Genre: Science Fiction

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: January 10, 2012

Source: purchased hardcover

Age Rating: 14+

| Amazon |

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies. But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

 

My Review

• Plot: This installment is another murder mystery with an added scavenger hunt, which is really exciting and one of the best parts about it. Amy and Elder run around all over the ship trying to solve clue after clue, so if you love stories like that, you'll love this one. There are plenty of twists and turns that completely surprised me. Very unpredictable, especially the big reveal.
• Characters: Amy has to deal with severe discrimination and flat-out threats to her well-being, as she is considered a freak on the ship. Her life has become all about hiding her hair and interacting with only the few people she feels somewhat safe with. She hates living within the walls surrounding her, and I feel for her because I know how much I'd hate it too, being stuck on a ship like that with all those ignorant people. Elder has a hard time dealing with the rebellious masses who are no longer drugged up, and you feel his frustration over the chaotic hungry people on the verge of mutiny. Naturally, Amy's and Elder's romantic life takes a huge hit, so don't expect much of that. These are hard times.
• Writing: Of course, the writing is beautiful and perfect for this type of story. The alternating POVs between Amy and Elder never get confusing, and the present tense works for a story set in the distance future.
• Storytelling: This is another high quality aspect. It's suspenseful, heart-pounding, pulse-racing, and heart-breaking in parts. There's a murderer on the loose that has to be caught and you never know who he/she will get next. And, a lot of characters die tragically. Half way through it, a plot twist is revealed which I never saw coming, and it floored me. Suddenly, the story became crazy-good.
• Overall Quality: Very high quality, just like the first book. I may have liked the first book just a bit more, but this one is such an excellent follow-up. I am truly excited for the last book. Can't wait to read it!
• Favorite Moment/Scene: When Elder goes outside the ship to look at it from the outside. I like it partly for how amazed he is about seeing so much space and stars for the first time, which is ironic considering he's been on a spaceship his entire life. But, I mostly like it for the shocking thing he discovers while out there. It's a huge plot twist. Frexing huge.
• My Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1)

by Beth Revis 

Genre: Science Fiction

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: January 11, 2011

Source: purchased paperback

Age Rating: 14+

| Amazon |

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed. She expects to awaken on a new planet, 300 years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, Amy's cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed. 

 

Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant teenage heir. Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she? All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again. 

 

My Review

• Plot: This one has a mystery “whodunnit” plot which keeps you guessing from beginning to end, so it never slows down nor drags in parts. Amy is a frozen passenger on board Godspeed and is awoken before its scheduled landing on a new planet. The other frozen passengers on board the Godspeed spaceship are being killed seemingly at random, and its up to Amy and Elder to try and figure out who's behind the killings and stop them. Amy's parents are at risk because they are part of the frozen crew. When the killer is finally revealed, it's surprising for sure. I definitely didn't suspect the guilty party.
• Characters: Amy is just a normal teenager who couldn't bare to be left behind on Earth while both her parents were recruited for a mission to colonize another Earth-like planet with their special skills. She is extremely brave for deciding to go with them, leaving behind her boyfriend and totally normal life. Elder is one of my favorite YA heroes because he actually has a good reason for being so fascinated by Amy. Most boys have seen millions of pretty girls before, but, not Elder. He's been trapped on Godspeed all his life, and has never before seen a person with her coloring (red hair/green eyes), so she looks like an angel to him.
• Writing: Fabulous writing—composed of short, quick sentences which make you feel like your flying through the story. That's my preference and it works for this type of story.
• Storytelling: Top-notch. There are so many layers to what's going on, and who's behind those actions, and why they're doing what they're doing. It opens with an unforgettable scene, and closes with a ton of shocking reveals that will leave you riveted.
• Overall Quality: Very high quality. It's a NY Times best-seller for a reason. Don't worry about not being a fan of sci-fi, if you are not. That won't factor in at all. It's just a great story set on a spaceship—that's all there is to it.
• Favorite Moment/Scene: When Elder first sees Amy frozen in her pod. He's so mesmerized by her red hair which looks like a flaming burst of color all around her head. He's never seen anyone like her before, and his feelings are portrayed so convincingly.
• My Score: 5 out of 5 stars. (I love it. One of my favorite books.)