Years ago, when I was still into reading vampire everything, I picked up a vampire anthology. Most of the contributions were from popular YA authors. Years ago, when I was still into reading vampire everything, I picked up a vampire anthology. Most of the contributions were from popular YA authors. Many of the stories were punishing in that they brought nothing new to the table, but Holly Black's offering was so good I felt genuine disappointment it wasn't a novel.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is based on that short story.
I wish I had more enthusiasm for CGiC as this is what I wanted, a novelization of the short story, but I can only admit to barely liking it enough to give it three stars. That's not a bad thing, obviously, it's just that I wanted to love it.
The universe in which this story takes place is interesting, though it doesn't totally work for me. Maybe it's the 'coldtown' where the majority of the story takes place, but I never fully bought it. The main character is tolerable enough though the people she's surrounded by are mostly insufferable. Her sister sucks, period.
MC is special because reasons so she becomes a marysue about halfway into the story. The plot is predictable as well.
Not trying to be spoilery, but the ending is somewhat ambiguous and though we know what the character wants I didn't walk away feeling she'd be victorious in her endeavor because she doesn't develop throughout the book.
You know what? Upon further reflection Imma have to downgrade this to a 2-star read. It was only okay. I don't think I'd recommend this book to anyone....more
Ruins is the third and last book to the Partials series. Before I review it I feel I need to sort of sum up the basics of the series in the most non-sRuins is the third and last book to the Partials series. Before I review it I feel I need to sort of sum up the basics of the series in the most non-spoilery way possible.
This series starts in a post-apocalyptic future with a (sort of) dystopian human society. Dystopian in that the existing "government" is controlling women's uteruses (is that a word? or is it uterus'? Uteri?) with something called the Hope Act.
The Hope Act, a law forcing women to be pregnant and basically stay that way from the time they're 18 until they are no longer fertile, was put in place in order to ensure the survival of the species. The problem is none of the babies born in the past 11 years have survived more than three days due to an airborne virus that attacks the respiratory system. This same virus wiped out all but 40,000 human beings on the American continent--all of which were lucky enough to be immune, but it turns out immunity isn't genetic.
So humanity is choking on it's last breath, cranking out babies left and right in order to reach a certain ratio. running tests, collecting data, hoping at least one of the babies will be immune, or that they will somehow find a cure.
But wait, there's more!
Turns out humanity got to this desperate place because 18-20 years or so prior, the American government contracted a genetics company to grow an entire army of genetically perfect soldiers to fight a war for us in China. These soldiers are called Partials and look just like you and me but they're just better, stronger, faster and smarter. At everything. Also, they don't age and always look about 18 years old from the time they're "born".
Anyway, the Partials annihilated the Chinese army and came home victorious and all was well at first. Then people started doing what people always do: classifying, excluding, bullying, killing, etc. Humans decided that Partials aren't human, even though, genetically speaking, they are for the most part. Humans decided that Partials didn't deserve the same rights, didn't deserve to hold property or have any real jobs and locked them up in work camps. Sound familiar?
And that, my dear friends, is when everything went to hell in a handbag (although one could argue that the crap actually hit the fan when humans began growing superhumans to fight a war and I wouldn't disagree). After more than a few years of unfair treatment the Partials revolted, started to demand equal rights, and they had the upper hand because they are genetically modified supersoldiers. In the midst of all the fighting, a mysterious new virus starts wiping out the human race. Of course the blame is placed on the Partial army and what's left of the human race is rounded up by the human army and relocated on Long Island before making one last stand that was ultimately unsuccessful.
Since the end of the Partial war, what's left of the humans and Partials are living in different parts of New York, ignoring each other. Partials just waiting for the humans to die out. Humans fighting their fate with every uterus available.
That's how this entire series starts. We get a good portion of the world building in the first few chapters of the first book of this series, Partials. It has been a while since I've read the first book, but I don't remember it being a massive info dump. I just remember that rather liked how the world building was done.
Anyway, Fragments and Ruins, the second and third books in the Partials sequence, are unlike the first book in that they tell the story from more than one point of view--human and Partial. In the first book we are in the head of Kira Walker, a member of the human colony, the entire time, which was pretty annoying at first because Dan Wells seemed to struggle with writing from a 16-year-old girl's point of view. But eventually Wells found his stride, and Kira becomes relatable for the latter half of the first book on, which is what kept me hooked to the series. Well, that and the story concept.
There is so much positive stuff I could say about this book, but I'm afraid I can't say much without spoiling any of the major plot points of all three books in the series. I will say that I enjoyed how Dan Wells explored the consequences of taking technology too far, not that he's the first person to do so, not by a long shot, but I still like his take on the matter. I also like how he explored human nature, wasn't afraid to keep it real even when it meant taking things to an unimaginable level of horror.
That said, I do want to add that Wells spends a lot of time explaining all sorts of science-y type things a basic way, which sort of irked me because I was reading Jurassic Park when I was 13 years old and I understood all the scientific (real or not) explanations just fine. I would have appreciated more than the "wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" type explanations that this series provided.
Also, the love (triangle?--I only say that because one of the guys really doesn't really "show up" at "the game" past a certain point, but is somehow in the running the entire time) story was drawn out to the last possible moment, literally. There was no need for that. And when the decision was finally made I would have appreciated a little more love story or poetic professions of love, even a little more kissing. Something more than the little we got, especially in this last book, which is a big deal coming from me because I'm not really a romance fan. But I'm still a woman and I don't mind a little (more) fluff to make a post-apocalyptic world seem less dreary.
THAT SAID, I do like that this book wasn't full of LOVE! which dramatically separates it from the pack of other YA post-apocalyptic/dystopian series available. I'm fed up with all the LOVE! stories disguised with paper thin, poorly thought-out dystopian/post-apocalyptic plots.
I really like this book, this entire series, and I highly recommend it to those looking to read story about a well thought out post-apocalyptic future. No, I won't say it's the NEXT Hunger Games, because, let's be honest, nothing is going to take its place. I will say, however, that this series is just as good in that it makes you think about things that don't necessarily have easy answers, or any answers at all. I like a book that challenges me to think for myself without shoving opinions down my throat so as to make me agree with the author. This book accomplishes just that and for that I have to applaud Dan Wells. 4 stars.
I'm not going to lie: I've been avoiding Lauren Oliver since Delirium.
She single-handedly made a mess of many social situations over the past few yeaI'm not going to lie: I've been avoiding Lauren Oliver since Delirium.
She single-handedly made a mess of many social situations over the past few years. Every time a well-meaning friend suggested the Delirium series to me, adding an explanation as to why they think I'd totally love it, I had to pretend everything was still good between me and Ms. Oliver and thank the friend for the recommendation. There were a few times when I couldn't hold my tongue and I'd go off on some crazy rant about how the whole premise of the series was probably the dumbest I've ever heard of. I'd tell them that I already wasted some of my time and money on the first book in the series and I couldn't even force myself to get past the second chapter.
What's worse is I'd silently judge these people, question why I'm even friends with them. I mean, they clearly don't even know me if they think I'd be into a series about a dystopian society that decided 'Love' was the cause of all society's problems. And anyway, why is anyone even attempting to write dystopian? Pretty much every single offering to the YA dystopian genre is so awful I can't even. That's how bad it is.
So, yeah, Ms. Oliver and I haven't been on speaking terms. She started it.
That said, Before I Fall, Ms. Oliver's first published book, was so good I couldn't erase her from my life completely. I love that book so much that I've read it several times.
Anyway, when I saw that she had a new book out, a contemporary YA fiction novel with an intriguing premise, I had to give it a shot.
To be honest, Panic is good. Is it 4-stars good? Not exactly. I mean, yeah, there is much to like in this story but it's not something I 'really like'. That said, I like it well enough to round the the 3.7 stars up to a solid 4.
Lauren Oliver should stick to contemporary lit, she's quite good at it. I cannot wait to see what's up next for Ms. Oliver. ...more
Matthew Quick has earned a place on my favorite authors list. This...I don't even know where to start...nothing I could say would do justice to this bMatthew Quick has earned a place on my favorite authors list. This...I don't even know where to start...nothing I could say would do justice to this book. All I can say is I won't forget Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock any time soon, which is the ideal reading experience as far as I'm concerned.
It has been years since I've had the privilege of such a reading experience.
Forgive me, fellow GoodReaders, I am at a loss for words at this time. I need to sort through my feelings, to contemplate all that Matthew Quick has given me.
I am so glad I gave this series a second look! This series is actually a lot smarter than I remember it being. Although, yeah, it's this book, FragmenI am so glad I gave this series a second look! This series is actually a lot smarter than I remember it being. Although, yeah, it's this book, Fragments, that really brings something new to the Oh-noes-we-can't-make-babiez-cuz-there-is-a-cray-cray-disease-and-now-civilization-rests-on-the-shoulders-of-a-group-of-scrappy-teenagers-with-a-can-do-attitude table.
There are a lot of dystopian books about the subject of forced procreation, and I could never force myself to read any of them. But the premise of Partials, book #1, is just different enough, smart enough, that it caught my attention. I remember that while it wasn't my favorite, not even close, I did seem to like it well enough that I planned on reading the next book in the series.
Fast-forward to this past week: I was in the middle of forcing myself to finish reading Fused (Pure, book #2), thinking that YA dystopia/post-apacalyptic books are probably the soul-sucking worst. I needed something else to read so I switched to reading...another post-apocalyptic book: Fragments. Don't get me wrong, I was mentally kicking myself, thinking Dan Wells probably was going to take the few truly likable and original aspects in the first book and ruin them, because that's what writers of this genre tend to do.
All that said, I have to admit Dan Wells proved me wrong.
Not only did he keep all the good bits from the first book but he somehow improved them.
The characters? I liked them so much more this time around. The premise? So much more believable and interesting. And I absolutely love how Wells poses some very interesting, not necessarily easy to answer questions. I love when authors challenge their readers to think in-depth about important subjects.
And sure, I've got a few issues with Fragments, like the story is suddenly being told by multiple points of view instead of just the one, as it is in the first book. Though, admittedly, all of my gripes are so minor that I really cannot remember any of them now, except for the POV thing and the overuse of the word 'kudzu'.
Overall Fragments is a very satisfying read. Highly recommend. 4-stars. ...more
Cancer books. Man, they are all over the place these days, aren't they. It seems as though you can't peruse any shelf of any book store without findinCancer books. Man, they are all over the place these days, aren't they. It seems as though you can't peruse any shelf of any book store without finding at bunch of cancer books. YA is littered with cancer books. Now don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily mind, it's just that a lot of these books are about the exact same thing: dying kid dealing with Feelings. There are few variations in these stories.
Okay, I'm coming across as insensitive. I'm not trying to, it's just that when you read as much as I do it's difficult to not get bored when fictional characters die of cancer, especially when very few authors try to bring something new to the this particular table. I feel as though many authors who write about this subject are hardly trying anymore. Cancer, death, that's the stuff that rips out your guts and reduces you to a pathetic heap on the floor—who wouldnt cry, amirite? So, yeah, I often avoid these books because I know it's going to be so Tragic, rife with emotional porn, and it's like I've already read each YA cancer book—many a time—I've already cried for each poor kid that didn't get to grow up. So, yeah, even though it's sad it also is boring. And manipulative.
All that said, Somebody Up there Hates You is a breath of fresh air. Sure, Richie, our unfortunate protagonist is dying of cancer, in a hospice no less, but he doesn't spend a lot of time feeling sorry for himself. It seems as though, even though Richie doesn't say as much—quite the opposite actually—that he's at peace with his much-too-early demise. like he's just waiting for his time to come, raising a little hell in the meantime. He plays an inappropriate prank, swears at people, sneaks out of hospice, gets drunk, gets a little high, hooks up, hooks up again (with someone else), gets punched (a lot), and maybe even discovers he has a heart (I'm not telling).
And sure, Richie makes a bunch of mistakes, causes quite a bit of trouble, but you know what else he does? He spends a lot of time worrying about others, not himself. He worries about his mother, about how she's dealing with everything, about her health. He starts to understand how everyone has some sort of tragedy to deal with in their lives—not just kids dying of cancer but everyone. He does a whole lot of growing up during his last few weeks in hospice.
No, this book didn't make me cry, didn't even get teary-eyed, but perhaps that is what I love most about it. This book doesn't force you to that breaking point where all you want to do is donate all your money to Saint Jude's and all your hair to Locks of Love while you bawl your eyes out. Rather, SUTHY paints a picture and invites you to to gaze upon it, to think about it and to come to your own conclusions. And not once have I felt like a soulless baby-eating monster for not crying over this book.
Sure, I've got a few minor bones to pick with SUTHY—it was sort of difficult to get into at first—but I appreciate it nonetheless. 4 stars.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Love this book but not as much as I love Sacrificial Magic, book 4 in the Downside Ghosts series. Great writing. Four stars. Review to come...?
(I'm iLove this book but not as much as I love Sacrificial Magic, book 4 in the Downside Ghosts series. Great writing. Four stars. Review to come...?
(I'm insanely busy these days, and honestly all the haters have pretty much killed any joy I had in reviewing books altogether and, lets face it, I was never consistent in writing reviews, even back in the good old days. So, yeah, screw all you Goodreaders and/or authors who can't accept the fact that not every person is going to love every book. The only reason I will most likely review this book is because Stacia Kane is one of the few authors who defended the Goodreaders/book bloggers who feel that honesty is the best policy when it comes to reviewing books. An author with that opinion deserves to be reviewed.) ...more
Love this book but not as much as I love Daughter of Smoke and Bone. That said it is very well crafted and some of the more 2-dimensional characters fLove this book but not as much as I love Daughter of Smoke and Bone. That said it is very well crafted and some of the more 2-dimensional characters from the previous book were developed within the pages of Days of Blood and Starlight. Not sure if I care any more for the romance than I did before I read this book, but I can assure others that they will--romance really isn't my thing, especially when it comes to this series; there's so much more going on here than a romance that I just don't really care what happens with it. The secondary love story between two of the supporting characters is actually quite adorable and way more enjoyable because there is no angst involved.
I love Laini Taylor, how she writes. If I could, I'd disappear within the pages of her books every single day. I highly recommend Days of Blood and Starlight, the second book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. 4.5 stars. ...more
Two things: 1) this book is a combination of The Demon's Lexicon, Strange Angels and Girl in the Arena--though, I'm willing to admit some of this storTwo things: 1) this book is a combination of The Demon's Lexicon, Strange Angels and Girl in the Arena--though, I'm willing to admit some of this story is uniquely Marr's--and 2) this book ends in what should, in my opinion, be the end of the first or second part of a book--not enough happens to justify ending this story where it ends; I feel as though the third section of this book is missing. Somewhat frustrating.
That said, I do like this book enough to read the next book in the series. Whenever that comes out. 3-stars.
I had a difficult time rating this book. It's good. I like it.
...BUT it's lacking.
What is it lacking? More. It's lacking more. This story could be tI had a difficult time rating this book. It's good. I like it.
...BUT it's lacking.
What is it lacking? More. It's lacking more. This story could be the beginning of an epic sci-fi series--for all I know it actually is--but from what I can gather it is a standalone. A frakking standalone! I find this frustrating because there is so much here, so much meaty goodness. There's enough here for a series and a couple different spinoff series, at least.
I want to know more! I want more!
One thing. I'm a little disappointed in some of the characterization and—okay make that a couple things—some of the convienient events that took place in order for the author to wrap things up sooner rather than later. I was fully expecting for this book to end with some sort of cliffhanger, something to indicate this story would definitely be continuing. But, no, that did not happen.
Also, not that I mind it, this book has no romance of any sort. Again, this doesn't bother me because I'm not a fan of romantic plot lines, especially when a romance overshadows everything else. But I know the lack of romance will cause many a reader to pass up on this little piece of awesomeness.
It's unfortunate because there is an amazing universe laying within the pages of this book. It has a lot going for it. 3 stars.
A e-galley of this book was provided by Netgalley. My views are my own.
Update: since writing this review I have learned from Goodreader, Amanda, that this is the first book in a trilogy. I am so excited to read the next book, Katya's War.
Before I actually review this book, I need to say one thing: frakking love triangles! Bah! I'm so over them. Love triangles are the laziest form of coBefore I actually review this book, I need to say one thing: frakking love triangles! Bah! I'm so over them. Love triangles are the laziest form of conflict in a relationshippy storyline. The main character can either love one guy or love the other. It really is that simple, none of this confusion crap. Unless the main character is not self-aware I'd say it's impossible for them to NOT know which love interest is preferred.
Moving on...
The main character, Celaena, is a trained assassin. That's the cool part. The part that gets to me is we're never really told how she feels about that. We get a brief--very, very brief--description about how she felt after killing her first victim, way back when she was a kid, but never do we get more than that. It's irritating to say he least. I want to know what goes through this girl's head before she murders someone. Does she feel remorse? Anxiety? Sadness? Does she feel anything at all?
I mean, we get way more descriptions of Celaena's stupid gowns than anything she's actually feeling. Though the few times she does go there, actually trying to describe her feelings, all we get is a bunch of similes and metaphors that do not make any sense. Like this: "Celaena's blood turned into shooting stars"
What does that even mean?
Because of this and other ridiculous/nonsensical descriptions of the MC's feelings I can't even begin to relate to her. Let's not even get started on the fact that she comes across as a sociopath, which I'm pretty sure was not the author's intent.
That said, I did like this book well enough to give this book 3 stars out of 5, which means I liked it.
***An e-galley of this book was provided by Netgalley. My views are my own.***
I like this book. Genuinely, I do. It has so much going for it, somany elements I absolutely adore. That said, there is a particular plot hole--severaI like this book. Genuinely, I do. It has so much going for it, somany elements I absolutely adore. That said, there is a particular plot hole--several plot holes, actually--that just, for whatever reason, I could not overlook. Even now, that all is said and done, it still irks me. There are other elements, other storylines that got under my skin, especially since some just petered out, all pointless and useless like.
Right now I'm goIng to have to give this three stars. I wish I could give it more. I tend to think most people will like this book much more than I did, so I will be recommending it to anyone looking for an exciting, original fantasy with a strong female protagonist. ...more
A difficult book for a mother of three little girls to read. Frightening. Devastating. Heartbreaking. I hate this book because it made me feel so muchA difficult book for a mother of three little girls to read. Frightening. Devastating. Heartbreaking. I hate this book because it made me feel so much, too much. Reduced me to genuine sobs, as if I was mourning the passing of a loved one. This story will haunt me forever. I am able appreciate Living Dead Girl for these reasons.
Regardless of the content, the subject matter, Living Dead Girl is well-crafted. Every word has a purpose, every sentence deliberate. The imagery is in-your-face, brazen, yet at the same time it's so subtle. I don't know how Elizabeth Scott managed to do that. How many other authors can do that? Clearly Scott knows what she's doing. She possesses rare gift. Four stars. ...more
Unbreak My Heart. Laaaaame title--I have serious hate for the same-titled Toni Braxton song which, by the way, has absolutely nothing to with this booUnbreak My Heart. Laaaaame title--I have serious hate for the same-titled Toni Braxton song which, by the way, has absolutely nothing to with this book--great story. 3.5 stars. Review to come. ...more
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