Tag: Dystopian (Page 15 of 31)

BLOG TOUR + BOOK REVIEW + GIVEAWAY – The Ruins (The Union #2) by T.H. Hernandez

June 18, 2015 / Jen / 4 Comments

I am so excited to be a stop on this blog tour! That’s because this dystopian was EVERYTHING I was hoping it would be and then some. Below you can find out what this story entails, read my 4.5 Star review and enter an amazing giveaway (in case you missed it on release day). Enjoy!

BLOG TOUR + BOOK REVIEW + GIVEAWAY – The Ruins (The Union #2) by T.H. Hernandez

The Ruins (The Union #2)
by T.H. Hernandez
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Heartbroken, grief-stricken, and wracked with guilt, seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor returned to the Union, leaving behind the boy she loved.

Now, she and her friends must find a way to do the impossible – warn the citizens of the Union about an impending rebel attack without alerting the government and risking retaliation against her friends in the Ruins.

When every move Evan makes is thwarted, it soon becomes clear she's being watched. Faced with a daily fight to stay one step ahead of her pursuers, she returns to the Ruins. But life in the Ruins has its own dangers, and soon she’s fighting a different battle – to stay alive long enough to discover the truth.

Review:

*Spoilers for The Union #1*

The Ruins had me run the gamut of emotions. I laughed, I cried, I squealed and I yelled horrible, horrible words to my poor kindle (thank you Bryce!)! You see, this was everything I was hoping the second book would be, and then some. Not only were there the characters and relationships that I fell madly in love with in the first book, The Union, but this time around I found the peril I was desperately seeking. I love getting sent into freak out mode where I can’t breathe and my hands are sweaty. Where I’m terrified about what is going to happen next. So of course I had a blast reading The Ruins, but now I have to wait for that third book, ack! I must know what happens next!!

I absolutely love when a second book contains my favorite elements from the first! Evan still has a ton of fire in her, even though her heart is in pieces. The last she saw Cyrus, he was escaping with his family and she has no clue where he is going, how she’ll ever contact him, and if she’ll ever see him again. So Evan puts all of her energy into trying her hardest to find a way to help the citizens of both The Ruins and The Union. Because she has an impossible task in front of of her. With the help of her friends (love, love, love Colin!), they are to somehow warn The Union citizens about an attack from the uprising, while keeping the innocents out in The Ruins safe. They come up against so many unknowns, and in the midst of trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, they end up placing themselves in grave danger. Their lives have been marked, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Another thing that I absolutely loved was the relationships and friendships that Evan surrounded herself with. They felt so real. As though they could easily exist and play out in the real world with you and me. A dominating part of this story was the characters and their interactions, so it’s intricate to enjoy and become immersed in their everyday lives and interactions. I truly became obsessed with all of them! Well…..technically not all of them lol. So there’s a character in this story that I love to hate and his name is Bryce. He is the undercover detective that ultimately led Evan to be kidnapped in the first book, because of her association with him. She liked him, he still likes her, and now they are stuck spending a lot of time together. And I didn’t want Evan spending her time with him. I know, I’m being so petty. But that’s because I became loyal to Cyrus…..ohhh butterfly inducing, made me smile and swoon Cyrus! He was utter perfection and Bryce just isn’t. So I literally kept yelling at my kindle for Evan not to be nice to him. I don’t fault Evan in the least, because this is his area of expertise but ahem, I know it’s probably horrible to say but can he just die already? It could be doing something heroic? I know, I’m so bad at loving to hate characters. Bad Jen bad!

But what I want to talk about the most, I can’t. You see the story starts off with a few bumps here and there for Evan, but then things start to pick up and spiral into intense situations that had me glued to the pages. The scenes that Evan’s finds herself in become more dire and even at times horrifying. I loved every moment of what I can’t talk about! The situations, the decisions, the people, the places, oh it was SO good!

It was so much fun being back in a story where I adore the characters and felt invested in what was going on. Having the banter, friendships and commodore made me feel all warm and cozy being back in this familiar world. I loved trying to put the clues together and I’m extremely proud that I figured one out before it happened. By the way, best part ever!!!!! But I felt a little confused at the end of the book. I did not grasp a characters “interactions”, but since Hernandez does an excellent job of plotting out the reasoning behind why characters do what they do, I’m almost positive that my questions will be answered in the third book. And speaking of that third book, I can’t wait to read it! You’re not left in a perilous ending, but with so many things up in the air I’m excited to see what is going to come crashing down!

***ARC was kindly provided in exchange for an honest review***

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), & Book Depository (click on book #)
The Union #1 Reviews: Jen	The Ruins #2 Reviews: Jen	The Uprising #3 Reviews: Jen
The Invasion #4 Reviews: Jen

T.H. Hernandez Bio:
When not visiting the imaginary worlds inside my head, I live in San Diego, California, with one husband, three children, two cats, and one dog. In addition to my day job as a technical writer and editor, I write young adult fiction. I love the intensity of teen emotions and the way they’re still figuring out life. When I’m not writing, you can find me with my nose in a book, hanging out with family and friends, hiking, or knitting. I’m obsessed with Facebook, young adult novels, bad lip reading videos, pumpkin spice lattes, microbrewed beers, and the San Diego Chargers. Links: Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

Giveaway:

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BOOK REVIEW – Until the Beginning (After the End #2) by Amy Plum

May 20, 2015 / Anna

Until the Beginning (After the End #2)
by Amy Plum
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
When Juneau's clan disappeared, she lost so much more than her friends and family. She soon discovered everything she thought she knew about her life was a lie. Her people's gifts were actually secret abilities that others wanted, desperately enough to kidnap an entire village.

Juneau and her new companion Miles's cross-country journey to find her clan has led them to a game preserve in New Mexico. Now Juneau's people are finally within reach, and she will stop at nothing to save them. But she has a target on her back too, because unbeknownst to her she is the key to unlocking everything. To rescue her people - and herself - Juneau must discover what she, and her abilities, are truly capable of.

▨ Take away the banter

Where is the chemistry between Miles and Juneau? Their hilarious dialogues? The slow growth of their affection? If I’m being fair, I could have seen it coming at the end of book 1. Because what did I love so much in Miles and Juneau’s relationship at first?

Their differences. Their banter. The hilarious complete inability for Miles to stand wildlife.

Now, I’m not saying that he morphed into some super country man, but he evolved for sure and – oh god, I can’t believe what I’m going to say but – he was funnier when he was clueless. I know, I suck. Sue me. But take away the banter, and there’s not quite enough sparks between them to make me interested in their relationship. Contrary to After the End where I was delighted by their interactions, I couldn’t help but notice the fact that they felt forced here. In my opinion, anyway.

Moreover, as I said, it can sound weird that I complain about Miles’s changes, because usually I’m all for character development but in my opinion he lost too much of his own identity, too much of what made me love him in the first place. Although some of his thoughts made me smile still, it occurred way more rarely than before. So, yes. Okay. He grew up. I’m not saying he’s bad, because he’s not. Yet I lost any connection I could have in After the End. I don’t care anymore, and I’m the first to be sad about it, trust me.

Finally, talk about one of the most anticlimactic sex scene I ever read (for a couple I ship, let’s say) : I just didn’t care, like, at all, as it appeared from nowhere. Of course it’s YA so everything fades into black and I’m completely okay with that but still, I’m usually more invested, while here, it didn’t even make me smile. If anything, it annoyed me, because of course no protection for Juneau. Okay, they’re “one with the Yara” and so can’t get any disease, there’s that. Anyway, what about kids? That’s not like the girl could have been on the pill, living recluse the way she did and all. But OF COURSE THAT’S FANTASTIC, because everybody knows that it’s always the case on the first time. Oh, wait – that’s because of the Yara. Silly me.

▨ Please don’t change anything, you might interest me

If the story is still fast-paced, almost nothing happens until the end, and even then I wasn’t enthralled nor captivated by the story.

Basically, Juneau wants to save her clan. Miles is trailing along with her. Whit is not to be trusted. Powerful dudes try to kidnap her, because she’s SO important.

Ring a bell? Oh, YES. It was the plot of After the End. Well, now, you’ve got the same here, without the shocking beginning and the hilarious conversations. Yikes.

To be clear, I felt like we ran round in circles, and the last development about the abilities of Juneau and her clan didn’t satisfy me as I wasn’t a big fan of the so-special status of Juneau it implies. In a word, if the Yara didn’t convince me in the first book, my interest didn’t increase here, but I sure rolled my eyes pretty often, I have to admit.

▨ Add some cartoonish villains

Indeed the villain(s)’s (lack of) characterization makes him (them) so superficial that if his (their) behavior is (are) truly awful and disrespectful (and fucking crazy), I didn’t feel anything toward him (them) : while my brain was able to see how bad he is (they are), yet I never felt anything. No fear, let alone fury. My heartbeat never grew wild. Not for a second. Truth be told, their portrayal are cartoonish, as they offer no nuances. Not nearly enough anyway.

I like nuances. I’m in love with nuances. Please give me nuances.

▨ To sum up, Until the Beginning wasn’t terrible, and Amy Plum knows how to write for sure, but it lost me along the way – ~~so much that I’m not even sure that I’ll read the last book, because sadly, I’m not sure I’ll feel the need to~~. There will be no book 3, apparently.

BOOK REVIEW: End of Days (Penryn and the End of Days #3) by Susan Ee

May 13, 2015 / Chelsea / 2 Comments

End of Days by Susan Ee
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

“It’ll be tough for them to take any action while I’m pummeling their faces. Disrespect will not be tolerated.” I half smile at him. “Because you’re all about respect.” He sighs as if a little disgusted with himself. “Lately, I seem to be all about you.”

Beautiful, mesmerizing, addicting….perfect. It’s no secret to anyone that knows me that this is my second favorite series of all time-not even close. I have fangirled about this series to friends and enemies alike, if only to spread a little more of the Raffe love-oh yeah, did I mention he’s my number one book guy?? EVER? Yeah, well, most people know that as well. But what most people don’t know, seeing as it’s my darkest secret, is that I was so terrified I’d hate this book that I almost wasn’t excited about it’s upcoming release. Yeah. Shocking. But as I picked this story up and began zooming through the story, pages of the book simply evaporated into thin air as if they were never there in the first place-I was a torrential reading storm. It was as if I had never left this world…and maybe I never truly have.

Sometimes, I wish I could take a vacation from myself.

What began as a story about an archangel losing his most coveted possession, his snowy white wings, and a girl taking him ‘hostage’ to get her sister back became an all out war between the two races. It’s almost as if Penryn was meant to run across the de-winging of my beloved Raffe all those days and nights ago. Humans are scared of angels. Angels believe man to be inferior and not worth questioning when told to slaughter them all. That is, until a certain cocky angel gets taken in by a stubborn and determined girl and they are forced to travel together for what they both want most. But what happens when what they want most becomes the one thing they were taught to despise: Each other.

He looks down at me with sincere eyes. “If I were human, I would have been the first in line for you…”

I’d have to say that, even through all the searching and war and battles, this has to be my favorite forbidden love story. And no, there’s so much more to this series than an angel bereft of his wings who has ‘secretly’ fallen for a daughter of man. I realize this. I’ve processed that. And my conclusion is this: While the story is amazing, unforgettable, and utterly epic, it wouldn’t mean half of what it did to me without Penryn and Raffe’s unattainable love for one another. They are by far the cutest, sweetest, fiercest enemies I’ve ever stumbled across, and I highly doubt I’ll cross paths with a couple that will ever mean more to me than them….and that’s a bold statement on my part: I’m the whore of ships.

He’s still scrutinizing my outfit. “Are you wearing men’s shorts?” “I guess so. But they fit.” “Whose are they?” “Nobody’s. I found them in a drawer.” He reaches over and pulls a thread off the frayed leg. It unravels, slowly winding it’s way around my thigh and incrementally shortening the already short shorts. “What would you do if you had to make a run for it?” His voice is husky as he stares, mesmerized, at the unraveling thread. “I’d grab my shoes and run.” “Dressed like this? In front of lawless men?” His eyes drift up to my midriff.

Every character was beyond wonderful in this story (main characters, let’s not be hasty). We got more Paige, some of Penryn’s crazy mom (Whom I absolutely adored in this installment), and some wonderful new Watchers. Each character added an intricate layer to the story that made it impossible not to fall harder and, in the end, they even added to Raffryn’s (YES, I WENT THERE-WHAT OF IT?) relationship. An amazing love scene is one thing, but added laughter, friendship, awkward instances, family love moments…that all makes it even better. One minute I’m swooning, then two seconds later I’m giggling and squeeing all at once (Keaton avoided me at all costs during this voyage through my beloved Raffe land-I was not to be trifled with as I fangirled openly) and unable to control the RIDICULOUS smile on my face.

The sun is beginning to set, adding a golden glow to the water. Wisps of mist begin creeping over the bay. It should be a peaceful scene, only my blood feels like it’s freezing by the second.

I can’t sign off of this series without saying something that is very important: Susan Ee is the Queen. Elaborate? Of course, my mistake. She’s the Queen of: Writing, characterization, gore, disturbing images, forbidden love, epic battle scenes, epic tormented love…. Need I really go on? This woman is my hero, from her creepy locust thingies that tore my heart out in book one to the creepy monster we see in the finale, no one has ever made me love evil (and now sometimes lovable, thanks to a certain sister) beings more than this author. She made me smile maliciously so many times I swear you could have caught me twirling my metaphorical mustache more than once in each installment. Breathless, heart-pounding, soul-crushing moments are her specialty, and I am in first in line when she serves them up…and no one is likely to take that accomplishment from her in my mind anytime soon (Kagawa is the only one likely on the same playing field, but I refuse to give either of them a step above the other-they’re both wonderful, sick, evil beings). Anyone over my fangirling yet? Too bad.

You don’t have to keep reading lol, but this is my final Raffe review and I will not stop before it’s all out.

Without his feathered wings, the angels won’t accept him. And regardless of what kind of wings he has, humans won’t accept him either. Uriel or someone in his crew once said that angels were made to be part of a pack, but no matter where Raffe goes, he always seems to be the outsider.

The way Raffe protects, takes care of, treats, saves, lives for Penryn shattered my heart into a million tiny pieces. The love he tries to hide so he can save his brethren throughout the series crushed my soul (in the best possible way). And the way he longs for Pen…..it made me so beyond happy I could barely breathe. Nothing compares to his jealousies, his devastation that he can’t be with her because it could never be in the world they live in. This installment capitalized on all those wonderful feelings we got from book one and multiplied them into this tragic and epic betrayal of what they both want more than their next breath-I teared up so many times it bordered on crazy. Even after they repeatedly say goodbye, is there a way to make it work?

I could not have loved this more. I don’t care about literally any of the flaws, any world-building faux pas my lovely and aggravating friends found to be incriminating, or any of the beyond disturbing and nightmare inducing images. Any flaw is minuscule to the immense enjoyment I found while reading this wonderful, addicting, and, again, UNFORGETTABLE series about a beautiful, tormented, and lonely angel who feels the only person he can trust in the world is the daughter of man who once took him hostage. Nothing compares to the feelings I got while reading this and I will perpetually re-read this series until I know it word for word and scene by scene. I would say, ‘Hey, you HAVE to read this,’ but everyone and their brother has read it. Dude, my GRANDMOTHER has read this and began this final installment yesterday, like me. What kind of person hasn’t? Do you live under a rock?? Bro, step it up! And seriously, Raffe, enough about the farming lol. That won’t win Penryn-we don’t live in 1950 (or whenever-psh).

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OMG SO PRETTEH!!!!!! AGHHHHHH!!!!!

RAFFEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! I NEED YOU, LIKE, YESTERDAY ♥

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Angelfall #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea Laura Anna	World After #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	End of Days #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea

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BOOK REVIEW: Ashfall (Ashfall #1) by Mike Mullin

May 8, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Ashfall (Ashfall #1)
by Mike Mullin
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to search for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.

For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn’t taken our humanity. No, we’d given that up on our own.

Oh my gosh, guys…this book was SO good!!! I think I’m only shocked because, well, I kept putting it off and putting it off and then my wonderful Jen bought this for me for Christmas. Turns out??? I am a total MORON for not reading this before now!!!! I could smack myself for not reading this sooner-SERIOUSLY.

Hunger of choice is a painful luxury; hunger of necessity is terrifying torture.

What is so amazing about this book, among many things, is that it reads as a day-to-day survival story. I was so happy when I began to realize that we were going to get to see Alex struggling (I mean it…he literally struggled not to die all the time lol) every single day and that it wasn’t, oh, I don’t know…forced?? He literally broke down everything he did. It almost almost reminded of a Hunger Games type of style, though I don’t know why. If this isn’t what you like, then this story is not for you. Every day is a new hurdle, because even if you survive the night, you have to get up and face the elements the next day-whether snow, the falling ash you can’t breathe in lest you die, rain, or a mixture of the ash and snow or rain, he had to face it every day with no food, water, and no shelter. He was scavenging every moment just to get by-one day he ate skittles from an abandoned gas station. Skittles. Can you imagine? You are dehydrated, exhausted, starving, fighting to keep going and then you find a gas station….but all you find are skittles. Again-SKITTLES.

“Well, I couldn’t.” I raised my voice a bit and shot clipped words at her. “And I’m not an idiot. And this is getting old. I know you’ve probably got ash in your panties, but do you have to take it out on me?”
She pushed herself out from under the hood. “Huh? What did you-”
“Ash in your-well, you seem so irritated at me all the time.”
“Ash in my-” She laughed. “Yeah, I do. And it is irritating. And what are you doing thinking about my panties, anyway?”

Sigh. I’d have been dead. But, even with all his various brushes with death (I mean, there were a multitude of them), he manages to find the one thing that will give him his extra edge-Darla. Now, I’m not sure how people feel about love in a dystopian world (Um, I’m all for it, clearly) but this wasn’t really what I was expecting when I started this book. Darla wasn’t your average girl. She was self-sufficient, strong, intelligent, flawed, and loyal. Are you thinking she’s the damsel in distress?? Hmm. Lol. Why don’t you switch those roles around and you’ll be closer to what it’s really like…and I loved every minute of it.

My knees and arms hung over the edge of the couch. The room was bright-we’d built the fire up before we turned in. I stared into the flames for a while.
“You awake?” I asked, my voice pitched low.
“Yeah.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“You just did.”
“What?”
“Obviously, you can ask me something. You just did. You asked if you could ask me something.”
“Do you know you’re annoying?” I punctuated this comment by elbowing her in the side.

Darla was so rude to Alex from day one. It’s not unheard of that we meet an abrasive female lead who doesn’t take to the hero right away, but she really doesn’t hold anything back, which I found to be utterly refreshing. More than once something serious would be going on and out of nowhere she’d be shouting obscenities at him and I would immediately bust out laughing. In a dark, cold world where there is little chance of survival, it’s nice to see that asshole-ness doesn’t just wither away and die with humanity.

Darla grabbed the woman’s coat and got right in her face. “We might die because of all the stuff my stupid, softhearted boyfriend is leaving you. So don’t you die, too. You take this stuff, and you keep yourself and your kids alive. You hear?”
“I hear.”
I didn’t care much for being called stupid and softhearted. The boyfriend bit I could live with.

And that’s not even mentioning Alex’s snark. The inner workings of his mind are much like how I’d imagine mine would be if I were in book form-short, to the point, sporadic, snarky, and not without humorous thoughts that should NEVER be said aloud. From the minute I picked up this story, I knew that Alex was a character I was really going to enjoy. Privileged and a bit naive, I knew he was in for a world of awakening, because nothing would ever be the same again. He was a character I loved and rooted for, and he never ceased to make me laugh. And once he met Darla, he became a boy that was so sweet and so smitten that I couldn’t help but to be enthralled by their mismatched romance.

Ask someone to lock you in a box with no light, nobody to talk to, and then have them beat on it with a tree limb to make a hideous booming sound. Do that for hours, and if you’re still not bat-shit crazy, you’ll know how we felt.

This book isn’t without it’s triggers. It was so realistic. I immediately was googling ‘Yellowstone National Park Super Volcano’ the minute bad things began to happen. And OMG has this book alarmed me. I don’t think I have ever googled about events in a book I’m reading…ever. So this was new for me. There were dark moments where blood and pain were all Alex knew. Loneliness suffocated him as he searched for his family. Companionship was indirectly found when he met this girl who was unwilling to help a stranger out but did anyway, and even then she sometimes didn’t act like she cared about him. Rape, gangs, violence, and, obviously the big one, a realistic natural disaster that will make you think twice about where you live. These are all things that you need to know about, and I’m probably forgetting some-OH, HOW COULD I FORGET. Bunnies. If you love bunnies….I dunno if you’d like this book lol. Or any animal, really. This book is about survival and mean people-take out of that what you will.

So, saying all that, I adored this book. Even amidst all the people you can’t trust and the horrible world they now live in, there were some very sweet and deep moments. This book wasn’t without it’s innocence and young love…in fact, those are my favorite types of romances, and they are rarely done correctly-So, of course I was obsessed with this one. I am so so happy I finally gave this one a chance…It would likely still be on my TBR if my lovely Jen hadn’t taken the initiative to gift me this, so I have her to thank, in a sense. Thanks, Lovely, for knowing me better than I know myself. *Muah*

BOOK REVIEW – After the End (After the End #1) by Amy Plum

May 8, 2015 / Anna

After the End (After the End #1)
by Amy Plum
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future.

World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When we’ve been waiting for months to read a book, we can’t help but be afraid to feel disappointed in the end. Let’s get this straight : You can stop holding your breath, because it wasn’t the case here. Indeed while After the end is by no means a flawless book, it delivered almost exactly what I expected : adventure, strong and funny characters, coherent world-building, pretty good writing, and no insta-love. However it lacked something to become a favorite of mine, and I’ll explain why ~~I’ll try, anyway~~.

▒ Let’s take a look at this graph, shall we? ▒

As you can see, I can’t say that the plot was always fast-paced, because my interest in the story fluctuated. Indeed, if I wasn’t bored in the beginning, I wasn’t enthralled either, mostly because I didn’t quite understand what the situation was. Now, perhaps it’s my fault because… I didn’t reread the blurb. Imagine my surprise to switch between Juneau’s POV in a post-WW3 world where the world is destructed and the regular teenage life of Miles in high school! See? I was kind of lost there, and I can slap myself for it. Wait – no, actually, no. Because if I got the choice now, I wouldn’t change my decision to not reread the blurb or any review before reading it, as the surprise effect was incredible to enjoy. So, people, I won’t say too much about the plot either. Just know that Juneau lives in a little community and is able to use Nature’s powers in order to get information from her environment. Yes. Magic. As for Miles, well… He is our regular rich teenager who lives in a big city ~~and I’m not saying anything else about him for now, otherwise I’ll spend my review rambling about him.~~

Then they meet, and … Nope, no insta-love, no insta-lust either, only a girl who thinks this city guy is a complete moron and a boy who finds the wild girl batshit crazy. Let’s take a moment to savor this.

“I turn to him. “Actually, I don’t trust you. Frankie told me not to, but he also said I had to be honest with you.”
“Who the hell is Frankie?” A note of hysteria creeps into Miles’s voice.
“Frankie is the guy who sits and drinks beer on the corner of Pike and Pine. People call him Crazy Frankie.”
“You take advice from an insane alcoholic?” (…)
“He was my oracle,” I respond.”

I absolutely adored their banter, their misunderstandings, and MILES – OMG. Miles was such a drama queen – fucking HILARIOUS, for real. He’s lost, he spends his time freaking out about everything Juneau says or does and doesn’t trust her guts one second. But then, how could he react differently? I mean, I did used to camp so the wilderness doesn’t scare me but Juneau – Juneau is talking to the fire for fuck sake! And the raven. Oh god, the raven. Let’s talk about a weird pet. Therefore as you can guess, the middle part was my favorite by far : I laughed, swooned, was hooked.

“I’m lying here in a tent, pretending to be asleep but actually fearing for my life as I watch a bunny murderer have a conversation with our campfire.”

However, despite the fact that their relationship grows rather slowly – trust issues, guys – I didn’t quite felt their physical attraction until the very end. Banter? Yes. Friendship? Yes. Let’s kiss? Nope. Not really, and thus I didn’t find this particular evolution completely credible – Not at that moment at least. ~~I ship them so hard now~~.

“Well, normally I would say that Whit wouldn’t hurt a flea. But from what Poe here told me –
“Poe?” Miles interrupts.
“The raven,” I say.
“You named the bird?” Miles asks, his voice tinged with a note of hysteria.”

I didn’t reviewed the whole graph, but that’s pretty clear, right? Please say yes.

▒ Now, let’s talk about my loves and peeves, okay? ▒

+++ The characters, especially Miles : as I said earlier, in my opinion what makes this book its strength is clearly the way the characters act around each other (except that kiss, okay, I won’t go over that again). Between the sarcastic and down-to-earth Miles and the strong-minded and nature connected Juneau, everything leads to fireworks and damn, I loved that something fierce. Moreover, to my delight, both evolve throughout the story.

++ The trusts issues were particularly well-handled, as they can’t never really know who and what they can believe and trust – and follow their own agenda.

As Serj Tankian would say ~~sing~~,

♬ ♪ Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie ♬ ♪

► You get the general idea.

+ I wasn’t convinced by the Yara magic, from which I got too many deus ex-machina vibes : even if her powers don’t always work, it was frankly way to convenient sometimes, for real.

In a nutshell, why should you read it?
✔ Because Miles will make you laugh for sure
✔ Because Juneau isn’t whiny and fights for what she wants
✔ Because the twists toward the end captivated me
✔ Because… What? Isn’t it enough?

Tag: Dystopian (Page 15 of 31)