Waiting on Wednesday: Morning Star by Pierce Brown

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick for this week is Morning Star by Pierce Brown.

So for the book I have chosen this week I cannot really give you the synopsis, because well, for one, it is the third book in a series so I don't want to ruin the series for you, and, secondly, I couldn't ruin it for you even if I wanted to because there is no synopsis on Goodreads yet. That's probably because the second book has just been released and this does not come out until 2016....TWENTY SIXTEEN!!! But I want it NOW! Yup, I know I cheated, it's technically meant to be soon-to-be-released books but I want it right now so that counts right?

Okay, okay, I know, I admit it, I am 100% obsessed with this series. I never really considered myself a fan girl...UNTIL NOW. This series has everything I look for in a book: non-stop action, complex world building, unique and dynamic characters, clever battle strategies AND a romance that is very believable and very background to the story (okay, mostly non-existent, but that's how I like it).

Below you will find a synopsis for the first book in the series Red Rising and you can read my spoiler-free review here. If you have not heard about the pure awesomeness of this book, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Trust me, you need to check this one out.

   

     Title: Red Rising

     Author: Pierce Brown

     Publisher: Del Ray (Random House)

     Published: January 28th 2014

     Pages: 380

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.

Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. 

Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

Anyone else totally obsessed with this series? What book are you most anticipating? If you have participated in this meme, leave a link below and I will be sure to check it out.

Book Review and Discussion: Red Rising by Pierce Brown *Spoiler-Free*

   

     Title: Red Rising

     Author: Pierce Brown

     Publisher: Del Ray (Random House)

     Published: January 28th 2014

     Pages: 380

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.

Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. 

Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

How can one possibly describe in words the absolute genius of this book? No matter how hard I try I know this review will not do this book justice. I finished this book several days ago now and I still cannot stop thinking about it. I think this pretty much sums up my feelings about this book:

If I had to describe this book in one word it would be clever. This book is just so darn clever, I think Brown might actually be a genius. I have only ever really thought that about one other author, and that was Brandon Sanderson. If you know me, you know I love Sanderson but now I have found someone to rival him and that is Pierce Brown, a debut author no less. 

So, you are probably wondering what I thought was clever about this book. I am going to start with the world-building because well, it was out of this world (wow, I am so punny!). The world-building in this story is so original, exciting, vivid and also highly complex. At the beginning I felt a little too stupid to read this book because the world was so complex and there were a lot of words like terraforming and several other space-related activities and words that went right over my head. This had me mega confused for a while, I won't lie, but I soon got into it and started to understand the world a whole lot better. I wouldn't change this in the book as I really enjoy complex and well thought out worlds. This book is based in outer space but it is not like any other sci-fi book I have read. The explanation and reasoning behind every aspect of the world is quite clear and it doesn't take hundreds of pages to set up the world, like many high fantasy novel. Even though the world is technically not realistic, I couldn't help but feel that it could be. See what I mean by clever yet?

My favourite aspect about this book was the wonderful characters throughout the entire novel. The amount of unique, multi-dimensional and dynamic characters in this book is fantastic. The connection I felt with the characters surpass any that I have ever read before. A character who I may have only met for a couple of pages had me bawling like a baby and they were only a minor character...that really says it all. This story had a considerable amount of characters that all played an important role in the story. Brown's ability to create round, dynamic characters far surpasses any author that I have ever read. There was no character in this story that I met (and you meet a lot of characters in this story) that was stereotypical or flat, they all added something different to the plot line and I found myself rooting for so many of them. I was way too attached to a copious amount of these characters which had me on the edge of my seat for the whole book as I didn't know if any of them would live or die. I could not predict the plot twists which had me totally on edge, which is exactly what I look for in a book.

 Not only was there a wide range of characters in, but the character development of each one was incredible. The most obvious is, of course, the protaganist, Darrow, who goes from zero to hero. But what I really enjoyed about Darrow's character is that while he does become a "hero", he is not your typical hero. There are plenty of times in the book where I wanted to hit him, make him do more. He is far from perfect and that is the whole point. He is an impulsive and incredibly clever character, but he is also very real. Too often books involve heroes who would leap through fire and battle hundreds of soldiers alone to save people they don't even know, but is this realistic? Of course it is not. Darrow, a great deal of the time, is not the real hero type, he would have been happy out slaving away as a Red only that his wife wanted more. Darrow doesn't have the ambition that Eo had but throughout the novel Darrow's character grows, where he once simply followed others orders he now commands them. Darrow becomes a hero to some, but he is far from perfect.

 It is not only Darrow who grows throughout the novel but several more minor characters as well. I hated Tactus at first, he is a pretty despicable character, but I found myself having a respect for his talent and abilities, even though he is not the most pleasant of people. The closer Darrow came to these people the more I, as a reader, came to understand them. My favourite character by far though was Sevro. Maybe it was his connection with the wolves or perhaps his humour, Sevro could do no wrong in my eyes. Sevro is one of those characters that at the beginning you think you will never like, but he continued to surprise me throughout the book and I came to love him more and more as the story went on. I, also really enjoyed Pax. Pax was the comedy character but even in playing such a seemingly one-dimensional, supporting role, he was much more than that. I could talk forever about each character and their growth throughout the novel but I think you may already get the gist. The characters and the character development was spot on, with one exception: the female characters.

 The female characters really let this book down big time. I did not feel the same connection with the female characters as I did with the male characters. The only exception of this is Eo. Eo is the beginning, middle and end for Darrow. She is the reason he grows from a man willing to slave under others to a man who fights for freedom. Eo is strong and brave where Darrow is weak and unambitious. She is by far my favourite female character in the book and I just wish there were more like her.

 While I feel like Brown gave me so many male characters to love (even ones that I probably shouldn't love), he really let me down when it came to the female characters. I found that the majority of them fit into two main categories: strong, evil bitches OR weak, pathetic girls, with a few exceptions.

 Gold's in Red Rising are the best of the best, the cream of the crop, and the ones that have gotten passed the passage are pretty much at the apex of these extraordinary beings. This would make you think that there were a hell of a lot of bad ass women to root for in this story...there wasn't. There, in fact, were very, very few. Antonia, Cassandra, Mustang, Lilath and the Howlers Thistle and Pebble are the only ones I can really think of. That sounds like a substantial amount of bad-ass female characters in one 380 page book, however, for every one of these characters there was another five who were weak and, often times, soft. This didn't make sense to me as these were meant to be fierce competitors but throughout the story Brown details women being conquered by men. One such example is the rapings. If these were incredibly strong women, why could they not defend themselves? Another example is during a duel where Roque feels the need to take Lea and Quinn away as they are openly upset. Am...sorry, but how are you going to be a Peerless Scarred if you are that soft and emotional? Then there are the women who are actually quite capable fighters. These women are in complete contrast to Lea, Quinn and the others; they are shown to be cold-hearted and down right evil. This in a way is what Darrow and other revolutionaries think Golds to be, but while the male Gold's who are quite horrible are given a more human face, the women are not. I did quite like the Howlers, but more so as a group rather than individually. 

 I did  feel a really strong connection with a great deal of the male characters like Sevro, Pax, Roque, even Cassius and Tactus (is that weird that I cared about them?), but I just did not have that same connection with the female characters. Mustang, was a far more dimensional female character, but even then I wasn't particularly fond of her character.If there was one thing I wish Brown had done differently it would be his female characters, and in fact, it was the only problem I really had with this story.

When I say a book gave me all the feels, I usually just mean that the book made me cry. This book though, IT GAVE ME ALL THE FEELS. Like, all of them. I was crying, I was laughing, I was cheering, I was cursing...I was all over the place. Not even joking, I put this book down so many times to just bask in the awesomeness of the story.

I understand how this story is compared to the likes of the Hunger Games, there was one point in the story that I really saw some similarities between the two. I would argue, however, that Red Rising is a far superior book and that is coming from a huge Hunger Games fan. I also really enjoyed the allusion to Greek mythology as I find this to be a fascinating subject.

This book took me quite a long time read even though it was only 380 pages long. Now I did happen to be on holiday in Edinburgh for a time while reading this and that seriously cut down my reading time. However, the main reason it took so long was due to the intensity of the book. This book is INTENSE. Oh and quite violent. If you don't like intense, complex books which are filled with action-packed, graphic violence then....WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? - okay, I kid (kind of), but you will more then likely really not like this book. However, if you are all about non-stop action, mind -blowing plot twists, clever battle strategies, unique, complex world-building and incredible multi-dimensional and dynamic characters then READ THIS BOOK NOW.

Wow. I raved quite a bit there didn't I?...Sorry about that.

Unsurprisingly, I give this book:

Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Pandemonium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: Febuary 28th 2012
Pages: 384

Goodreads Synopsis:

I’m pushing aside
the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana
and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

If you have not read Delirium, this review will contain spoilers on the outcome of that book, so please bear that in mind.

I will speak a little about Delirium in this review and give a brief overview of the story in Delirium. These books are set in a dystopian world where love is considered a disease. At the age of 18, everyone receives  the "cure" - an operation that makes people immune to love. Prior to the age of 18, boys and girls are kept completely separated; only the cureds are allowed to intermingle. After the cure men and women are matched and expected to marry and pro-create. In Delirium, Lena cannot wait to receive the cure, she too sees love as a disease and at the beginning of the novel is completely brainwashed. In this first book in the series, I found Lena to be a hard character to connect with. She appears, at the beginning, to be a character who cannot think for herself, judgmental and completely closed-minded. However, as the story progresses Lena's character grows, in particular, due to her blossoming relationship with Alex. Although Lena opens her mind to ideas outside of what society has thought her, she still remains a rather weak and whiny character throughout Delirium. DO NOT READ ON IF YOU HAVE NOT YET READ DELIRIUM AND PLAN TO. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. At the end of Delirium Lena escapes over the fence into the wilds, forced to leave Alex on the other side of the fence to face the authorities, it is not known whether he lives or dies.

Ugh, the end of the story killed me. I loved Alex as a character and now I was facing reading a story with the one thing I loved most about it missing. Did I hate Pandemonium because of this? The answer to that is a definite no, I, in fact, loved this book for several reasons.

What I will speak about first is Lena's incredible growth as a character. During the flashbacks Lena, at the beginning, is her usual pathetic, whiny self. She seems completely incapable of functioning without Alex - often hinting that she wouldn't care if she died. She appears weak at the beginning, weaker even then the character we saw in Delirium. Her time lost, alone in the wilds has mentally and physically drained her. This side to Lens does not last long and finally we have a strong female lead emerge in this series.

She is by far my favourite character in Pandemonium, in fact, the only character that I really enjoyed.  There were several characters Lena came across in the wilds, many of them simply padding characters, while there were other more important characters such as Raven and Tack who were not likable characters. They had tough outer shells, with bare glimpses of their feelings and neither character was wholly trustworthy. The character of Julian was also a character I found impossible to like. Delirium gave me the character of Alex but then unceremoniously took this character from me.  I found it very difficult to like Julian, not only because of the fact that he is not Alex, but also because he is not LIKE Alex. He is, in fact, the complete opposite. While Alex was strong and passionate, Julian is weak and misguided. Similar to Lena in Delirium Julian  is judgmental, closed minded and, worst of all, a really pathetic person. He is ignorant in the ways of the world just as Lena was, and, just as Alex helped Lena learn the truth, so too does Lena help Julian. Julian plays the role of the "damsel-in-distress" while Lena plays the hero role. I loved the role reversal here. Lena was previously the damsel-in-distress but has grown such much as a person that she is strong enough to be the hero or the knight in shining armour. Just like I didn't like Lena in Delirium I really didn't like Julian in Pandemonium.

The romance in the story, thankfully did not overwhelm the plot of the book. It was quite a believable romance, it was not overbearing and overtly emotional. This wasn't a story about insta-love and Lena's love of Alex is not completely forgotten.

Another aspect to the story that I enjoyed, was the flashbacks that I mentioned earlier. This way of telling the story - mixing the then of Lena's first appearance in the wilds and the now of around six months later - made me not want to put the book down. At the end of every chapter  you were left wanting to find out more. The plot was fast paced and action packed throughout. The writing style was also enjoyable, simple to read with some beautiful metaphors woven in here and there to spice up the narrative.

While I loved the characters in Delirium, like Alex and Hana, I loved the setting in Pandemonium, in particular, the wilds. The image that Oliver creates of the wilds was so vivid. While the wilds was a place of complete destruction, a place where towns were bombed and hundreds/thousands of people killed, it is still an area of beauty. The shells and foundations of old buildings remain with nature growing over and through them to create a peaceful, beautiful and quiet setting.

Another aspect I really loved about this book was its thought-provoking moments. Yes, you heard me right, A YA dystopian story which makes you think. I loved how contemporary issues such as the treatment of homosexuals and people with disabilities was incorporated into the story. There was a particular quote in Pandemonium that stood out for me: "For a society to be healthy, not a single one of its members may be sick". This quote reminded me of a Nazi society, an overbearing, government controlled society where there is no love. The sick people in this series are not just those with Deliria but also those with disablities and those who are homosexual. In Pandemonium's society people who are gay are referred to as "Unnaturals" and being gay is actual illegal, while people with disabilities are hidden from society or killed. Oliver clearly abhors this treatment and I enjoyed the fact that she tackled this issue and even featured a gay relationship with Hunter and Bram. Stories incorporating homosexual relationships are incredibly rare and even though the issue is merely touched on in Pandemonium, I am glad that it has a part to play in the story.

The plot twist, while totally predictable, was incredibly enjoyable. While I knew it would happen, I didn't know how. The last page of the book left me screaming at the book with excitement. I really like where the story went, well I would have much preferred if Julian was replaced with Alex,  but it made the plot more exciting and I now can't wait to read the next book and find out how it all turns out.

I really loved Delirium, probably only due to Alex while I loved Pandemonium because of the setting, the flashbacks, the plot and the strong female lead character. I gave Delirium 4 stars for Alex, I give Pandemonium 4 stars for a well-written, exciting story.

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper
Published: January 1st 2011
Pages: 338

Goodreads Synopsis: Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi has been all over the blogsphere. It is a favourite of so many of my favourite booktubers and bloggers, so of course I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I was so excited for this series that I bought the second book, Unravel Me,  before I had ever read Shatter Me.

The minute this book came through the letterbox I was all over it. I firstly have to comment on the cover of the book, and there is only word that springs to mind: WOW. The covers, of both Shatter Me and Unravel Me, are easily my favourite book covers of all time. I love the colours, the image of the eye with trees as eyelashes and the waterfall as tears; too beautiful for words.

So, after staring at the amazing cover for an age, I flipped open the book, incredibly excited for what was to come. This book tells the story of Juliette, a girl with the power to drain a person's lifeforce when she touches them. She has never been loved by anyone, not even her parents and she has been treated like a freak by all her peers. When the book opens Juliette tells us she has been in the insane asylum for 264 days where she has not seen or spoke to anyone. That's all about to change when Juliette gets a new cellmate, Adam.

After reading the first couple of pages I realised how different Mafi's style of writing is. Mafi uses a great deal of strikethrough text. At first I didn't mind this, but as the story progressed there was just far too much of this style of text and it significantly slowed down my reading. There is, also, a great deal of metaphorical writing throughout the story, in fact, far too much. Some of the metaphors were beautiful and would have been a great addition to the book if there just hadn't been so many - in fact the entire book was a string of metaphors. Another aspect to the writing style that slowed my reading progress was the abundance of short sentences and repetitions -

 "I thought my hands were helping

I thought my heart was helping

I thought so many things

I never

never

never

never

never thought".

Although this did slow down my reading, I didn't find it all that annoying. This form of writing made me feel as though I was really listening to Juliette's jumbled thoughts.

I really enjoyed the first couple of chapters with Juliette and Adam in the asylum. However, as the story progressed I felt that it was lacking some well-needed action; I was halfway through the book and felt that very little had actually happened. I felt that the sole focus of the story was on the romance and as a result the other aspects to the book suffered. One such aspect is the world-building. There was little to no world-building in the story apart from being told that birds don't fly, people were dying at an enormous rate and that the Reestablishment held society on a tight rein; a typical dystopian setting. The characters and setting all seemed to be a carbon copy of x-men, lacking any originality. Juliette's power is identical to Rogue's and the institution at the end of the story very similar to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

The one setting, however, that I did thoroughly enjoy was the asylum. This setting was by far my favourite part of the world Mafi created. It was an incredibly dark and disturbing place. I found it interesting how completely isolated Juliette was from the other inmates (until Adam's arrival). For 164 days Juliette was holed up in a cell with no one to talk to. She never met a single sole in their until Adam. I loved the scene where Juliette and Adam make their way to the shower room. The door to their room suddenly open into a pitch black corridor where they must blindly find the shower room, strip and wash themselves in two minutes. They are completely alone. 

Before I go on to speak about the romance in the story I must put in a disclaimer. I am biased when it comes to romance in stories. Please remember when reading this that I am not a huge fan of romantic stories. I don't mind a side story romance. What I don't like is insta-love and a romance that overpowers the plot, and unfortunately this is one such story. I won't talk about this too much but Adam and Juliette almost instantly fall in love with each other and the story basically closely follows their blossoming romance, and as a result the plot of the story suffers.

I have quite mixed feelings about the characters in this story. I didn't by any means hate the characters in Shatter Me - with the exception of Warner who is the antagonist of the story and so that is the whole point of his character. As Shatter Me isn't a new book, I know so many people are team Warner and I am just here like: OMG what happens in Unravel Me to make people like him? In this book Warner is a despicable person. He also appears to be a total creep with a weird obsession with Juliette that I don't understand (I am assuming Unravel Me will explain this).

Juliette was more of a contradictory character in my opinion. At first I found her to be strong-willed  and a really positive role model. She didn't care about the fancy clothes hanging in the wardrobe unlike other female protagonists (Caelena from Throne of Glass and Alina from Shadow and Bone). While she appeared strong-willed she was not wholly so, and her weaknesses showed through, something which was to be expected from a person in her position. However, as the story progressed I came to like her a lot less. I found her to be far too melodramatic for my tastes: "I whisper, broken, dying in his arms". She becomes persistently more whiny as the story continues. Also, while at the beginning I believed her to not be shallow, this soon changes with her constant descriptions of how beautiful both Warner and Adam are. It makes me question whether Juliette actually loves Adam or simply lusts after him.

I liked the character of Adam well enough, however, I found his character to be lacking in substance. All I really know about Adam after finishing the book is that he is incredibly beautiful with a great body. The purpose of Adam seems more to be seen rather than be heard.

As I went into this book with incredibly high expectations this book was a big disappointment for me. I couldn't get passed the complicated writing style with the strike through text and abundance of metaphors. The romance was far too overpowering and the characters lacked a great deal of substance. While this book wasn't for me, people who are interested in romance stories might enjoy this.

RATING:

If you have read this book let me know what you thought about it in the comments below.

The Best Young Adult Books of 2013

As it is the last day of 2013 I decided today would be the perfect time to give a run down of the best young adult books I read in the year.

This list was going to be in order, then I realised I loved all these books so much that I couldn't possibly choose my favourite. So, let's begin.

BOOK ONE:

The first book on my list is the final book of the Infernal Devices Trilogy. I loved the story, loved the outcome and really enjoyed the series as a whole.

Title: Clockwork Princess
Author: Cassandra Clare
Published: March 19th 2013
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 570
Goodreads Synopsis: A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.
BOOK TWO:

The next favourite read of 2013 was not one that expected to be on this list. I absolutely devoured this book. Loved the characters and the story line and Holly Black's twist on vampires.

Title: Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Author: Holly Black
Published: September 3rd 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 419
Goodreads Synopsis: Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

BOOK THREE:

This next book I actually only read recently even though it has been released since 2012. I was afraid to pick this book up as I am not a big fan of insta-love and everything about this book pointed to that. However, I did really enjoy this book. There were times when the love story was a bit overpowering for me but I enjoyed the story and loved the male protagonist Alex.

Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Published: February 7th 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 441
Goodreads Synopsis: Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't.

BOOK FOUR:

This was another book that I could not put down. I read this in nearly one sitting if I remember correctly. I love dystopian novels with kick-ass protagonists and this book is one such novel. I loved the character of Day, while not a huge fan of June. It was a fast paced novel full of twist and turns and plenty of drama, with a love story that didn't overshadow the plot.

Title: Legend
Author: Marie Lu
Published: November 29th 2011
Publisher: Putnum Juvenille
Pages: 320
Goodreads Synopsis: What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets. 

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills. 

BOOK FIVE:

When I first picked up this next book I was unsure about how I would feel about it. From reading the blurb I knew the book was narrated by death. At first I found it slightly confusing but as I read on I loved the narration style as it was so different from all the other books I have read. I am not an overly emotional person but this book had me sobbing. It was a beautiful and heart wrenching story that I recommend everyone to read.

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusack
Published: March 14th 2006
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 552
Goodreads Synopsis: It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. 

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

BOOK SIX:

This next book is another dystopian novel, with great characters and an excellent plot line. I have an in-depth review of the book which you can find here: http://theirishbookworm.blogspot.ie/



Title: Slated
Author: Teri Terry
Published: May 3rd 2012
Publisher: Orchard Books
Pages: 448
Goodreads Synopsis: Kyla’s memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.

She’s been Slated.

The government claims she was a terrorist and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?


BOOK SEVEN:

The last but by no means least is The Darkest Minds. This was another book I devoured in about two sittings. It was action packed from the very beginning and the characters were realistic (ok, not the powers part, but in their actions). While this book had a little bit of a love story which is ok in my books, it wasn't the be all and end all. I really dislike books whose story line is the love story leaving no plot line and thankfully this was not one of those stories.

Title: The Darkest Minds
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Published: December 18th 2012
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 488
Goodreads Synopsis: When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.


Those were my seven favourite reads of 2013. What were your favourite books this year?

A Review of Slated by Teri Terry

Today I am here with a review of Slated by Teri Terry - spoiler free.

Title: Slated
Author: Teri Terry
Publisher: Orchard Books
Published: 2012
Pages: 439


Book blurb:

"Kyla's memory has been erased, her personality wiped blank, her memories lost forever.

She's been slated.

The Government claims she was a terrorist, and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla's mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?"



Review:

This is a dystopian novel set in 2054. The novel takes place mainly in the countryside outside of London. Kyla, the protagonist of the story has been slated; her memories and personality have all been wiped clean. Those who have been slated are believed to be criminals and terrorists, and all are under the age of sixteen. Lorders rule with an iron fist while the terrorists aim to gain control with violence. As the story progresses, Kyla begins to slowly understand that things are not what they seem and that she happens to be different to other slaters.

I found the characters in the story extremely interesting. At the beginning of the novel the characters appeared to be simple and two dimensional - those that were kind to Kyla and those who were not. However, as the novel progress the characters became far more complex and I realised, along with Kyla, that everyone was not who they first appeared to be. 

My one problem with this book, and it is a small problem, was the insta-love between Ben and Kyla. In 439 pages only an extremely small amount of time passes, around a month. From the moment he sees her Ben appears to be drawn towards Kyla and of course Kyla too begins to fall for Ben. Although this instant chemistry is highly unlikely (call me cynical) it did not over power the story as many young adult romances do. The focus of the story was not totally on the romance between the main characters but more so Kyla's discoveries. Kyla does not become a "Bella" (think New Moon and Bella pinning over Edward - pathetic). Her relationship with Ben does not cloud her judgement and have her running wholly into danger (well, not all the time anyway). 

Kyla is likable because she is realistic; she does not jump into danger head first to become the hero which I find to be far more realistic. She is also not completely pathetic; she is able to protect herself in the face of danger, and others, including men. Finally, a female character who is not, either, a damsel-in-distress or the perfect warrior woman who runs head first into danger because of a man (and yes I am talking about Caelena from The Throne of Glass). 

The ending of the novel was fantastic and came as a complete shock to me. I will most definitely be picking up Fractured, the second book in the series. 

Rating: 5 stars

Book Haul - December 2013

Here are some of the books I have bought so far in December....

All of these books were bought in Chapters in Dublin, except for Graceling which was gifted to me by sister.

During my trip to Dublin I had to make a pit stop (or two) in Chapters bookstore. I had read reviews online about the store and just had to see it for myself. As someone who lives in a town with one teeny bookstore I was in heaven when I walked through the doors. The downstairs comprises of new books (lots and lots of new books), while upstairs contains a fairly large volume of secondhand books. My first stop was the secondhand books. I went straight to the young adult section where I managed to find a copy of Slated by Teri Terry in perfect condition for only 3.99:

This book tells the story of Kyla whose memory and personality has been wiped. Children under sixteen years of age who have been violent or involved in terrorist activities are sent to the hospital where their memories are wiped clean in order to give them a second chance to be a better citizen. However, everything is not what it seems and echoes of Kyla's past haunt her. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12743472-slated

The YA second hand section was not very large and this was the only book on my TBR that I found, and so, I retreated downstairs. Even though I bought the rest of the books in the "general", new book section I got all these books, except for The Final Empire, for discounted prices due to a sale that was on at the time. The best bargain I found in the YA section was this hardcover copy of The Diviners by Libba Bray for 4.99:

This book has been all over booktube and so I just had to pick it up. I am not too sure what the story details however I do know it is set in the 1920s in New York during the time of the speakeasies and so I just had to have it. You can find a description of the book and several reviews here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7728889-the-diviners?from_search=true

The next book I picked up was Forsaken by Jana Oliver (The first book in The Demon Trappers series). When I saw this for only 3.99 I had to get it of course. This was another book that was on my TBR list, mainly because the Goodreads book description reminded me of The Mortal Instruments series. 

This book is about Demons and of course "demon trappers". One such demon trapper being the protagonist 17 year old Riley. By the sounds of it (correct me if I am wrong) women are not usually allowed become demon trappers, however, due to the increasing numbers of demons in Riley's city she is welcomed into the guild. Find more info about this book here:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8534899-forsaken?from_search=true

One of my favourite purchases of this book haul was The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson:

Regan from Peruse Project (find her videos here http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6Qlkv2hif7KPtmMmNUGUw) raved about this book and mentioned it recently in one of her book hauls. It is the first book in the Mistborn series. This book basically follows the story of what happens when evil triumphs good. The immortal Lord Ruler has oppressively ruled over the land for the past thousand years...and so the story begins. Find a far better overview of this book here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68428.Mistborn?from_search=true

Can I first just say how ugly this cover is? Never judge a book by the cover they say but with a name like "Dark Lover" and a review from "Vampire Genre" saying "these vampires are hot"....it was very difficult for me to buy this book. However, it was in my TBR and happened to be 4.99 so here it is:

All I know about this book is that it is about vampires and that it has a really high rating on Goodreads (4.24) hence why I bought it! Find a detailed synopsis here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42899.Dark_Lover?from_search=true

This next book is either loved or hated in the booktube community. The premise of the book sounded interesting and so for 4.99 I said why not pick it up:

In this world, at the age of sixteen everyone has an operation that turns you from an "ugly" into a "pretty" and from there on out the only job you have is to look pretty. Sounds good right? Well not for everyone. The protagonist's friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. Shay would rather live life on the outside and remain an "ugly". The protagonist learns about the harsh realities of the "pretty" world when Shay runs away, and the authorities tell her: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Read the reviews here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24770.Uglies?from_search=true

This is another book I picked up after watching one of Regan's hauls:

I know very little about this book except that it is set in Russia (awesome) and involves magic (again, awesome). Find a far more detailed synopsis here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10194157-shadow-and-bone?from_search=true

Please excuse the following photo, for some reason this photo just would not upload correctly. This book was in my Goodreads TBR-but not right away list. However, I picked it up anyway as it was only 3.99 - How could I say no?

I know next to nothing about this book so here is Goodreads description: "While the other girls in the walled city-state of Baalboden learn to sew and dance, Rachel Adams learns to track and hunt. While they bend like reeds to the will of their male Protectors, she uses hers for sparring practice. When Rachel's father fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the city's brutal Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector: her father's apprentice, Logan—the boy she declared her love to and who turned her down two years before. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making. (qtd. by Goodreads.com)"

This last book I received as a gift for my birthday from my little sister (again, this was on my TBR):

In this world there are Gracelings who have special skills. The protagonist Katsa, is a Graceling whose special skill is her ability to kill with her bare hands....and that's about all I know about this one. As always here is the link to the book's Goodreads profile:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3236307-graceling?from_search=true

They are all my books that I have gotten so far this month. I just recently placed an order with the Book Depository (find them here http://www.bookdepository.com/). I don't expect to receive these until after Christmas so I should have another haul up around then.

Nollaig shona duit (Happy Christmas)

November Wrap-Up 2013

Hey guys. This is going to be a really quick overview of the books I read this month. I will be reviewing a few of the books in further detail. This month was a good reading month for me. I read a total of ten books. 

The first book I read was Divergent by Veronica Roth. 

Pros: Quick and easy read with plenty of drama. 

Cons: Irritating female protagonist, run of the mill young adult romance. 

Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars

Recommend: Yes.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13335037-divergent?from_search=true

The next book I read was the Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

Pros: The female protagonist's humor, Christian

Cons: The love stories between the main characters, and some very irritating characters, namely Dimitri and  Lissa

Overall Rating: 3.5

Recommend: Yes. Mainly because I heard the second book is better, and the film will be released soon.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/345627.Vampire_Academy?from_search=true




Next book: Insurgent by Veronica Roth, the sequel to Divergent.

Pros: Again a quick read, mildly interesting, more world building

Cons: The "heroine" spends the entirety of the novel worrying about a boy and their relationship....

Overall: 3.5 stars

Recommend: Honestly, no. Especially when I know how terrible the third book in the series is.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11735983-insurgent?ac=1

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusack

Pros: The relationships between the characters, the story, EVERYTHING
Cons: Honestly, I loved this book so much I can not pick one.
Overall Rating: 5 stars
Recommend: 100 times YES!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19063.The_Book_Thief?ac=1




Prodigy by Marie Lu

Pros: The male protagonist, such an entertaining story
Cons: The Female protagonist
Overall Rating: 5 stars.
Recommend: Yes. This is the second book in the legend triology and each book is just as entertaining as the next.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13414446-prodigy?from_search=true




Wither by Lauren Destefano

Pros: Interesting dystopian story, female protaganist
Cons: The relationship between Rhine and Linden
Overall Rating: 4 stars
Recommend: Yes. I didn't rush out to buy the two other books in the trilogy but all in all it was an interesting read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8525590-wither?from_search=true




The Selection by Kiera Cass

Pros: Aspen
Cons: Pathetic female protagonist, relationship between female protagonist and Prince Maxon, fluffy, girly, ridiculous
Overall Rating: 2 stars.
Recommend: No. Unless you enjoy girly books with little story and annoying, bratty girls who get what they want.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10507293-the-selection?from_search=true



A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers

Pros: None.
Cons: The characters, the lack of story, everything.
Overall Rating: 2 stars.
Recommend: No.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17786125-a-little-too-far?from_search=true





The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Pros: Everything. This was one of my favourite reads this month. I invested a great deal in the characters, vying for them from the off. The romance wasn't overbearing and the story was fast paced and interesting throughout the whole book.
Cons: None.
Overall Rating: 5 stars.
Recommend: Yes. I will be picking up the second book in the trilogy, Never Fade.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10576365-the-darkest-minds?from_search=true

My favourite book of the month was: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Pros: My favourite aspect to this book was the female character Tana. She was extremely badass without being unrealistically so. The romance in the story again was not over powering and there were many different characters and relationships including gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender which is thoroughly refreshing in a book.

Cons: That it is a stand-alone book.

Overall Rating: 5 stars.

Recommend: Yes.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12813630-the-coldest-girl-in-coldtown?from_search=true