Blood Red Road by Moira Young - spoilers

Published: 2011
Publisher: Marion Lloyd Books
Pages: 417
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5

Summary from Goodreads:

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That’s fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba’s world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she’s a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.

Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.

Review

First of all, I just want to say that I was a little put off at first by the writing style of this book. It is written the way Saba and the other characters are supposed to speak, and as a result a lot of words are misspelled on purpose, such as ‘afeared’ meaning afraid. Also when characters talk, there are no speech marks for when they start speaking so it takes a little bit of getting used to.

At first, I found myself adjusting my reading style to the style of the book and after about fifty pages I hardly noticed the no speech marks as I was so engrossed in the story by that point. I really liked that the story was a dystopian tale that took place in the middle of a desert in the beginning; this gave the reader a chance to form their own imagining of where Saba lived, and you never knew what she’d encounter in the desert.

After reading The Scorch Trials by James Dashner, which also largely takes place in a desert I was a little apprehensive as to where Blood Red Road would go with the story, since I was a little bit disappointed with The Scorch Trials, but thankfully, Moira Young plunges straight into the story straight away as we follow Saba on her quest to find and retrieve her brother, Lugh.

I really loved the characters of Jack and Emmi the most, especially as Saba is quite mean to her little sister in the beginning but gradually begins to appreciate her and care for her properly. As for Jack, I loved the way he and Saba spoke to each other; he was a great bad-boy character and even though it took a while for her to admit her feelings, it was well worth the wait as they finally reconcile. He is definitely one of the best book boyfriends I’ve ever encountered.

Finally, I loved the way the plot just took you in so many different twists and directions, and how you never know what trials and dangers Saba and the other characters will meet on their journey (especially when some of them were truly evil people who deserved what was coming to them), but overall, along with the good characters, they made the story worthwhile, especially when the majority of the book takes place in a desert.

I loved this book and can’t wait to get my hands on Rebel Heart. A fully deserved 5/5/ stars.

2013 New Releases

I've recently realized that I've forgotten to make a post all about the new year releases I am looking forward to and am dying to get my hands on. So in no particular order!

1. Level 2 - Lenore Appelhans
I haven't heard that much about this book: only that its a dystopian and that cover is just beyond awesome. Plus, I haven't read a lot of books that have limbo/purgatory etc as the main theme so I'm definitely excited to see what the story has in store.

 

2. The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) - Julie Kagawa
I am sooo excited for this book, especially since I loved the author's first book. I just loved the blend of dystopia and vampires, they are like two of my favourite genres so I loved the story. Allie is a great kick-ass heroine, just what the YA genre needs. Cannot wait.

3. Spintered - A. G. Howard
I'm really excited for this book as the concept sounds really unique. To be honest after having read the first Alice in Wonderland book I can't say that I loved it, but I'm interested in this one because the story sounds really cool and imaginative. Plus, it has pretty purple designs on each chapter header and the cover is just stunning.

6. Fractured (Slated #2) - Teri Terry
I can't wait to read this book because I loved the first book Slated. It was full of twists and turns and just leaves you wanting to uncover the mystery. Also, you don't find that many dystopian books that aren't set in the USA, so its always refreshing to read some set in places like the UK, like this one is.

7. The Madman's Daughter - Megan Shepherd
I haven't heard that much about this book, only that its a retelling of a H. G. Wells story and that its sort of gruesome, which is always exciting to read about. I really love the USA cover, much more than the UK edition so I'm definitely looking forward to checking it out.

8. Dance of Shadows (Dance of Shadows #1) - Yelena Black
I'm really looking forward to this one, firstly because I've read the first three chapters and they were pretty gripping and exciting so I'm definitely excited to see where the story leads to. The other reason is that it seems to be marketed as a Black Swan type of story; I really loved that movie so I'm definitely interested in reading more books set in the ballet world. And that cover just blows me away!

Review - Pantomime by Laura Lam

Title: Pantomime Length: 320 pages Format: ebook Publisher: Strange Chemistry Rating: 4/5 stars Review: I was really happy when I got accepted for this from NetGalley; it was my first time I’d requested something and the story sounded pretty awesome so I was excited to read it. First off, I really loved that it was set in a circus; I’ve never read anything that’s been set in a circus before so it was really fun imagining the magical world of the circus of magic. I especially loved reading the beginning when Micah is at the circus, just going from place to place and everywhere is described; it really sets the atmosphere and makes you feel like you’re really in the circus yourself. I also liked the characters of Gene and Micah, and was quite confused at the beginning, but as you read on, you gradually realise why the author has written the alternating chapters that way (no spoilers ;). I also really enjoyed reading about Gene’s past life, and connected with her as a character as she struggles to grow up in her privileged world. Finally, I really loved the romance between Micah and one of the other aerialist’s at the circus; she was a really fun character to read about and was probably my favourite character in the book. Overall, this was a magical, atmospheric adventure and I will definitely read any sequels that Laura Lam writes that are set in this world. 4/5 stars

Cover Reveal - The Holders by Julianna Scott

I have just had an email from Strange Chemistry publishing alerting people that the cover for The Holders by Julianna Scott has been released. It sounds like a great paranormal read and I think the cover is pretty too :)

Be sure to check out the book's description on Goodreads - here's a link to it: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13579352-the-holders

Die For Me by Amy Plum - review

Title: Die For Me (Revenants #1)
Publisher: Atom Books
Pages: 341
Format: paperback
Rating: 3/5

I had mixed feelings about Die For Me, which was unfortunately a disappointing read. Not because of what the story was about, because I know lots of people can easily read similar stories with similar plots, characters et cetera and not have it bother them too much. I guess I'm sort of the same; some paranormal romance books I've really enjoyed and not had a problem with, some like Die For Me have just got on my nerves. 

What I liked:
-The fact it was set in Paris - although I've been there once before it was not on an official visit, I was just passing through. That being said, I would love to go on a proper visit there someday and could quite easily imagine the places that Ms. Plum described. I could just easily have fallen through the pages to the places that Kate, the main character visited.
-Georgia, Papy and Mamie - I really liked these characters. I couldn't help but swoon over her grandparents (Mamie and Papy) acted so in love after they'd been married for years, even though they were at least in their seventies or eighties. I also liked Georgia, Kate's sister a lot. She definitely somewhat brightened the book up with her fun, sassy attitude. 

What I didn't like:
Unfortunately the plot was too similar to Twilight for me to fully enjoy it. I'm saying this as someone who used to like Twilight but hasn't for ages. Charlotte strongly reminded me of Alice, Jeanne of Esme, and so on. It was seriously like Twilight set in Paris but with zombies/revenants instead of vampires. I have to say that I liked Vincent and Kate more than Bella and Edward.

However, saying all this, I DID really like the fact that it was set in Paris, I really loved the cover, and as I said before I liked Georgia and her Mamie and Papy. And it has definitely made me want to go on a proper outing to Paris. 

Mini Book Haul

Okay so I haven't done a book haul for quite a while, and although I'm supposed to be on a book buying ban I naughtily bought not one, but three books in the past week. I also borrowed two books from the library, which technically doesn't count as buying books so I think I can excuse myself. I also swapped a book with someone earlier in the month though, but I couldn't resist as the book turned out to be pretty great. Firstly, I bought:
The Maze Runner;
The Scorch Trials and
The Death Cure, all by James Dashner as they were on offer in The Works and I couldn't resist! I can't wait to start the first one :)
Angel by L.A. Weatherly (got from a swap, thank you again Lisa)

And finally, from the library I borrowed:
The Secret Hour (Midnighters #1) by Scott Westerfeld
Crashed (Skinned #2) by Robin Wasserman

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa Review - Spoilers

Book Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher:Mira Ink
Format: E-book
Published:2012

Summary: In a future world vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity. She must decide what - and who - are worth dying for.


My vampire creator told me this: "Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. The question is not if it will happen, but when. Do you understand?" 


I didn't then, not really. I do now

Review:
This was the first Julie Kagawa book that I've read; I own the first book of her other series, The Iron King but haven't got around to reading it yet. However, I'm so glad that I bought The Immortal Rules as I really enjoyed it. In fact, I think I managed to read it in less than five days as it was so addictive and gripping. I just had to know what happened next.

First; the characters. Allison, or Allie was a great protagonist. After now having finished Legend by Marie Lu, she seems to be a mix of Katniss from The Hunger Games and June from Legend. With YA dystopian novels, you tend to find lots of kick ass female characters and Allie was no exception. She wasn't afraid of traveling to the deserted ruins at the beginning of the book to search for food. I especially enjoyed that she tried to suppress her feeding urges when she became a vampire, and tried to avoid feeding off humans. Overall, I really enjoyed reading about her character and look forward to reading more in the sequel.

The love interest, Zeke was also a great character. He always tries to see the best in Allie, even when many others around him try to doubt and question her motives and character. The romance that developed between them was very sweet, especially as Allie tried to keep away from him in the beginning, in order to try and protect him and to avoid accidentally harming him.

I also enjoyed the character of Kanin, Allie's vampire creator. I really hope we see more of him in the sequel as in my opinion he left the book far too early, although I think I can understand why the author wanted him to leave the story like that.

I also enjoyed reading about the world that the book was set in. At the beginning of the book, it reminded me strongly of The Hunger Games, due to Allie noting that she and her friends live in a poor sector of the city  called the Fringe, and have to scavenge and hunt for food on a daily basis. Also the fact that it is set in a far-off future, reminded me of other dystopian novels that I have read, but after the first few chapters, The Immortal Rules really creates a world of its own.

Overall, I really enjoyed the characters, the world that Allie lives and survives in, and the nonstop action that kept me reading the book and hardly putting it down. I look forward to the sequel next year.

Rating:4/5