Review | Jodi Lynn Anderson – Midnight at the Electric.

Title: Midnight at the Electric.
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson.
Pages: 272.
Publication: June 13th 2017 by HarperTeen – I got an eARC from the publisher through Edelweiss. Thanks!

Divided by time. Ignited by a spark.
Kansas, 2065. Adri has secured a slot as a Colonist—one of the lucky few handpicked to live on Mars. But weeks before launch, she discovers the journal of a girl who lived in her house over a hundred years ago, and is immediately drawn into the mystery surrounding her fate. While Adri knows she must focus on the mission ahead, she becomes captivated by a life that’s been lost in time…and how it might be inextricably tied to her own.
Oklahoma, 1934. Amidst the fear and uncertainty of the Dust Bowl, Catherine fantasizes about her family’s farmhand, and longs for the immortality promised by a professor at a traveling show called the Electric. But as her family’s situation becomes more dire—and the suffocating dust threatens her sister’s life—Catherine must find the courage to sacrifice everything she loves in order to save the one person she loves most.
England, 1919. In the recovery following the First World War, Lenore struggles with her grief for her brother, a fallen British soldier, and plans to sail to America in pursuit of a childhood friend. But even if she makes it that far, will her friend be the person she remembers, and the one who can bring her back to herself?
While their stories spans thousands of miles and multiple generations, Lenore, Catherine, and Adri’s fates are entwined.(

RATING:

If you are looking for a science-fiction book, this is not the one.
If you are looking for an intricate contemporary book, this is the one for you.

The story starts out in Kansas, 2065. Adri is going to be one of the first people to live on Mars. Weeks before the launch she goes to live with Lily, her old demented cousin. She discovers handwritten letters of the people who lived on the farm before Lily. She becomes intrigued by the story between Catherine's mother Beth and Lenore.

Catherine lives in the fear and uncertainty of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma, 1934. The dust is threatening her sister's life, Beezie. She first saves up to visit the Midnight Electric, but when that doesn't have any effect on Beezie's health, Catherine decides she must take a bigger step. Beth is blind for the dangers and can think of one thing: maintaining the farm.

Then we follow the life of Lenore in England, 1919, during the recovery after the First World War. Her family deals with the grief after her brother passed away in the war. Her letters to Beth stay unanswered, but she has set her mind on visiting Beth anyway. The last two stories slowly entwine the close we get to the big answer: what happened with all of them in the end? Did Lenore and Beth ever meet? Did Catherine and Beezie survive the dust? We follow Adri on her small quest to find answers, while she is preparing for her mission to Mars.

I hate to say this, but I really disliked Adri.. There was something so distant and unkind about her and she was quite the opposite of the sweet and talkative Lily. The story of Lenore was the most interesting to me. The writing-style is gorgeous, like I am used to from Anderson, but the story itself failed to impress me. In a way, I think it's because I didn't warm up to Adri, and in another way it is because most of the story is told through letters. It's a different way to experience a story and I found it harder to connect with the characters and their lives.

Not bad, but so far, her books haven't lived up to the amazing, mind-blowing and heart-wrenching Tiger Lily.

“I wonder if sometimes you can miss something so much it breaks you, and still be happy you left.”

Let it go | Collection of books.

Patrick Ness- Release. 
RATING: 2/5.
Patrick Ness' books always make me feel stupid. It's like I'm not clever enough to truly grasp his intentions, because I can't figure out how the two stories combine. It felt like I was reading two books at the same time and they didn't mesh together in my head.

The first story is about Adam and how he deals with his homosexuality and his family, who are very religious and believe it is something he can be cured of. They try to avoid the topic, but whenever they can they make it clear they aren't willing to accept him. No matter what he does, it is always wrong. The moment his father tells him that is is hard to love him, but that the tries, my heart completely shattered for Adam. The fact that there are people in the world who think like that is just unbelievable to me. Love = love, no matter what, as long as it makes you happy.

Adam's romantic moments with his boyfriend made me melt and it was good to see he was so supported by him. The sex scenes were nicely done. Also his friendship with Angela! That was one amazing girl.

The other story is about a Queen and a Faun. She is possessed with the spirit of a girl that was strangled to death and she is now on the hunt to get justice. The Faun is hopping along to sort of protect her? The story was really poetic, but I struggled with it. I didn't understand what this story had to do with Adam.. and why it was there in the first place. I just don't see what it adds to the overall story.

So yeah. I'm starting to believe Ness' work is just not for me?

Review 258. Kaufman & Kristoff – Illuminae.

Title: Illuminae.
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff.
Pages:  599.
Published: October 20th 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Sort: Part one of The Illuminae files.

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Rating:

It took me a long time to read this book. I love the unique formatting and how this book is like anything I've ever read before, but at the same time it made this the type of story I could not read in one sitting. It was a book that made me want to read a couple of pages, before moving on to something else. That does not mean it was bad, not at all. I was hooked to the story, especially towards the ending where everything seems to be doomed, but it took me on a longer journey than other books.

This interesting way of telling a story was brilliant. Big credits to the overall design and how it eventually came together as a story. In the beginning I felt like I was floating around; all kinds of stories, different pieces of information and nothing seemed to be connected, until it all came together. I really started to enjoy it the moment it started to make more sense.

I LOVED the virus (surprise) and the tension it added. The people with the Phobos virus were terrifying and I never thought there would be so many tense and scary situations, especially when Kady tries to save the day. This girl was so brave and intelligent, I really admired her strength. The downside was my disconnection from her. Despite liking her, I never felt I truly got to know her because of this formatting. I also wasn't a fan of her chat conversations with Ezra. They both had a funny voice, but there is just something about chats that doesn't work for me. This also gave me a certain don't-care attitude towards their romance, I didn't ship them that much.

The ending was a bit disappointing. I first thought the authors were brave by the twist they pulled, but then they decided to go with the oh-so-cliched untwist and mweh, I wish they had stayed true to the story; bleak, dark and many deaths. I am curious about the sequel and I can't wait to see how the story continues, but I don't think I'm as much in love with this book as everyone else. It was good, but it did not reach the FANGIRL status for me.

Let it go | The books that disappointed me.

Andy Weir – The Martian.
Rating: 3 out of 5. 
I think everyone is familiar with this concept by now. This book is recently adapted as movie with Matt Damon. The story is about Marc and how he strands on Mars after a failed mission. His crew believes he is dead and manage to go on their way back to Earth, but Marc is not dead at all. It is up to his intelligence and education to survive long enough, so that they can save him. That means he has to find a way to grow enough food, which is right up his sleeve as biologist, and he has to find a way to communicate with Earth.

This book has a lot of glowing reviews and I have seen many blogging friends rave about the story. Normally I would not have picked this up, but I went in and came out disappointed. This book is definitely well-researched, there is no denying that. It is obvious that Weir knows what he is talking about and I was blown away by Marc's intelligence and humor under his difficult circumstances. The thing is, I don't care about math and if I read a book, I don't want to have a feeling I'm reading a manual. This felt more like a 'how to survive on Mars' guide then a fictional story. I was bored and really struggled at times, but in the end I was satisfied that I've finished it.

I also watched the movie and I think the concept worked better on the screen. They skipped all the explanations, which made the story much faster.

Jamie Cassidy – Hawthorne.
Rating: 2 out of 5.
I went into this book with different expectations. For some reason I was under the impression this book was going to be a retelling and while there are fairytale elements, it was written as horror. There were definitely a few creepy moments, but I didn't care enough for any of the characters, so they didn't make a lasting impression on me. Heather wasn't interesting and I also disliked the regular POV switches. The story behind her family and why all the things happened was okay, but I will not read the sequel.

Licia Troisi – Nihal of the land of the wind.
Rating: 2 out of 5. 
I really liked the cover and the blurb sounded interesting enough, so I went into this book expecting an interesting story. Instead, I was rewarded with a cliche tale about a girl that annoyed me often. Nihal had all the potential to blow my mind. At times she is strong, I admired her strength to go after her dream and she could be brave. That is unfortunately snowed under her constant whining and naive choices. I liked that the author tried to show that crying doesn't mean you are weak, but the endless crying sessions of Nihal started to get on my nerves. The cliche elements made it hard to feel anything for the story.

Nihal is the last of her species, sporting violet eyes and blue hair.
Nihal is the first female to enter the Academy to become a Dragon knight.
Nihal turns out to be the best fighter of everyone.
Country is in war against one big enemy, called the Tyrant.

I liked that there is no romance, only friendship between her and her once-enemy-wizard-friend and her relationship with her father and later on aunt was nicely portrayed, but there was nothing that made this book stand out between other fantasies. I will not continue this series (and the sequels are not translated yet anyway). Shame.

Review 251. Heidi Heilig - The girl from everywhere.

Title: The girl from everywhere.
Author: Heidi Heilig.
Pages:  464.
Published: February 16th 2016 by Greenwillow Books.
Sort: Part 1 of The girl from everywhere.
Source: I received a copy from the publisher on Edelweiss.

Sixteen-year-old Nix Song is a time-traveller. She, her father and their crew of time refugees travel the world aboard The Temptation, a glorious pirate ship stuffed with treasures both typical and mythical. Old maps allow Nix and her father to navigate not just to distant lands, but distant times - although a map will only take you somewhere once. And Nix's father is only interested in one time, and one place: Honolulu 1868. A time before Nix was born, and her mother was alive. Something that puts Nix's existence rather dangerously in question...  Nix has grown used to her father's obsession, but only because she's convinced it can't work. But then a map falls into her father's lap that changes everything. And when Nix refuses to help, her father threatens to maroon Kashmir, her only friend (and perhaps, only love) in a time where Nix will never be able to find him. And if Nix has learned one thing, it's that losing the person you love is a torment that no one can withstand. Nix must work out what she wants, who she is, and where she really belongs before time runs out on her forever.

Rating:

This book got a lot of buzz around the time I read it and I must say that it is worth the hype. I thought it was a really clever, well-written story with interesting characters. This was one of the books I read during the 24 hours read-a-thon with my book club and it was not hard to read it in one sitting.

Nix sails together with her father on their ship, The Temptation, to any place in any time with the help of maps. I loved this concept, although I wish there were more explanations around the maps. They must be new (no one must have used them to travel before) and I still don't really understand why. If some of them are so rare, why not copy them before use? Anyway, they are looking for a very special map: one where Nix's mother is still alive. This is a difficult matter for Nix, because her mother died in childbirth, and Nix has no idea what would happen if she travels to that time. It could erase her entirely, but the complex relationship with her father makes her motivated to help him with his quest.

And boy, did I love their dynamic. It is clear that her father is a troubled man who can think of only one thing: finding the love of his life and getting her back. It is also obvious he loves Nix in his own way and it was great to have a book where a father/daughter relationship is the center where everything evolves around. His passionate search for this map makes sure that the plot takes us all to different places in the world in different time periods.

Another thing I really appreciated was the diversity in this book. The crew showcases many different people from other cultures and sexuality. Take Kash, a Persian thief who is Nix's best friend. I am someone who does not need much romance in a book and I loved how Heidi handled this. Nix and Kash first start out as really good friends and not too much happens, but that is what made me ship them so hard. Plus, sass and banter!

I think this book was a great start of a series and I very much look forward to the sequel.

 
“Sometimes a person has to let go of something to take hold of something else.”

Review 234. Megan Shepherd – The cage.

Title: The cage.
Author: Megan Shepherd.
Pages: 400.
Published: May 26th 2015 by Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
Sort: The cage #1.

When Cora Mason wakes in a desert, she doesn't know where she is or who put her there. As she explores, she finds an impossible mix of environments—tundra next to desert, farm next to jungle, and a strangely empty town cobbled together from different cultures—all watched over by eerie black windows. And she isn't alone. Four other teenagers have also been taken: a beautiful model, a tattooed smuggler, a secretive genius, and an army brat who seems to know too much about Cora's past. None of them have a clue as to what happened, and all of them have secrets. As the unlikely group struggles for leadership, they slowly start to trust each other. But when their mysterious jailer—a handsome young guard called Cassian—appears, they realize that their captivity is more terrifying than they could ever imagine: Their captors aren't from Earth. And they have taken the five teenagers for an otherworldly zoo—where the exhibits are humans. As a forbidden attraction develops between Cora and Cassian, she realizes that her best chance of escape might be in the arms of her own jailer—though that would mean leaving the others behind. Can Cora manage to save herself and her companions? And if so . . . what world lies beyond the walls of their cage?

Rating:

Shepherd’s previous series, The madman’s daughter, had its up and downs. I loved her writing, so I had hope for this book. It started as a promising story, but it went downhill and ended up being nothing special.

Review 224. Maria Headley - Magonia.

Title: Magonia.
Author: Maria Dahvana Headley.
Pages: 320.
Published: April 28th 2015 by HarperCollins.
Sort: Stand-alone.
Source: Edelweiss; publisher, thanks!

Aza Ray is drowning in thin air. Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn’t think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name. Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia. Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

Rating:

Wow. This book is a delicious combination of weird, unique and utter strangeness. I gave it 4 stars, because the writing-style didn’t work for me. There was something about it that didn’t click with me, but towards the middle of the story I warmed up for it and the interesting promise kept me engaged.  There was a moment in the beginning where I thought about quitting, but I’m happy I pushed through it.

Review 302. Kasie West – Pivot Point series.

Title: Pivot point.
Author: Kasie West.
Pages: 384.
Published: December 31st 2013 by HarperTeen.
Sort: Pivot point #1.
Source: Debby gave me her ARC copy.

Addison Coleman's life is one big "What if?" As a Searcher, a special type of clairvoyant, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she is able to look into the future and see both outcomes. So when her parents tell her they are getting a divorce and she has to pick who she wants to live with, a Search has never been more important. In one future Addie is living with her mom in the life she's always known and is being pursued by the most popular guy in school. In the other she is the new girl in school, where she falls for a cute, quiet artist. Then Addie finds herself drawn into a murder investigation, and her fate takes a darker turn. With so much to lose in either future, Addie must decide which reality she's willing to live through . . . and who she's willing to live without.

Rating:

My first experience with Kasie West was her contemporary On the fence (which was adorable) Right away I knew I had to read more from her, so when Debby offered her copy I decided to go for it – and I’m so happy I did. This book blew me away and after finishing it in one sitting, I immediately ordered the second copy. You can read both reviews, they are spoiler-free.

Review 301. Claudia Gray – A thousand pieces of you.

Title: A thousand pieces of you.
Author: Claudia Gray.
Pages: 368.
Published: November 4th 2014 by Harper Teen.
Sort: Firebird #1.
Source: Edelweiss & Publisher.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him. Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

This was a hard review to write, because I don’t have much to say about A thousand pieces of you. This is a typical 3-star book for me. It was good, but nothing spectacular and I think I will forget about this soon. But for now, let us stare for a while at the beautiful cover *stares*

Review 287. Kat Zhang – Echoes of us.

Title: Echoes of us.
Author: Kat Zhang.
Pages: 638.
Expected publication: September 16th 2014 by HarperCollins.
Sort: (Conclusion) Hybrid Chronicles #3.
Review #1. What’s left of me.
Review #2. Once we were.
Source: ARC from HarperCollins international.

To change the world, I may lose everything
All Eva ever wanted was the chance to be herself. But in the Americas, to be hybrid—to share your body with a second soul—is not tolerated past childhood. Now Eva and Addie, her sister soul, are constantly on the move, hiding from the officials who seek to capture them. But the tide is changing. A revolution is brewing, and people are starting to question the hybrids' mistreatment. Then Marion, an ambitious reporter, offers Eva and Addie a daring proposal: If they go undercover and film the wretched conditions of a hybrid institution, she will not only rescue them, she'll find a way to free Jackson, the boy Addie loves. It's risky, and Eva will have to leave Ryan and her friends behind, but if she succeeds, it could also tip the scales forever and lead to hybrid freedom. As Eva and Addie walk into danger, they cling to each other and the hope of a better future. But the price they might pay is higher than they ever could have imagined.

Rating:

A good conclusion to a solid Dystopian series. It’s not the most memorable story ever, but if you want an interesting story that delivers constant quality, you might want to give this series a shot. There are no hard spoilers for any of the books.

Review 264. Lindsay Cummings – The Murder complex.

Title: The murder complex.
Author: Lindsay Cummings.
Pages: 400.
Published: June 10th by Greenwillow books.
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher.
Sort: The murder complex #1.

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna. Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision. The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Rating:

I hate to say this, because I follow the author on Instagram and she seems sweet, but I disliked this book. The writing-style, romance, plot and characters didn’t work for me, at all.. The only reason this book has 2 stars is, because it was enjoyable. This book has that ‘I don’t like it, but I still can’t stop reading’ factor, so that does count for something. Plus, the blurb didn’t lie when it said action-packed and blood-soaked. It only forgot to include that the overall story is boring.

Review 260. Amy Tintera – Rebel.

Title: Rebel.
Author: Amy Tintera.
Pages: 352.
Expected publication: May 13th 2014 by HarperTeen
Sort: Reboot #2.
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher.

After coming back from death as Reboots and being trained by HARC as soldiers, Wren and Callum have finally escaped north, where they hope to find a life of freedom. But when they arrive at the Reboot Reservation, it isn't what they expected. Under the rule of a bloodthirsty leader, Micah, the Reboots are about to wage an all-out war on the humans. Although Wren's instincts are telling her to set off into the wilderness on their own and leave the battle far behind, Callum is unwilling to let his human family be murdered. When Micah commits the ultimate betrayal, the choice is made for them. But Micah has also made a fatal mistake… he's underestimated Wren and Callum.

Rating:

Fantastic ending to a good duology. The story has been told and it has a satisfying conclusion. This is the reason some trilogies should be duologies. The romance between Wren and Callum was adorable, but not overwhelming. There is a lot of action. The only thing I wanted was a little more world-building, but it wasn’t necessarily to enjoy the story.

Review 259. Amy Plum – After the end.

Title: After the end.
Author: Amy Plum.
Pages: 352.
Published: May 6th 2014 by HarperTeen.
Sort: After the end #1.
Source: ARC from the publisher for an honest review.

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 Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie. Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

Rating:

I am left frustrated and confused by this book. I liked the idea of a community in Alaska after World War III; the only thing is, Juneau finds out this never happened. I thought it would give some interesting situations, with Juneau trying to blend into the modern world and her mission to save her clan. Instead, I was bored and it seemed to take me a lot of time to finish it. The slow pacing doesn’t work here. I am familiar with her other series so I know she likes her cliff-hangers, but this ending felt too abrupt.

Review 253. Kimberly Derting – The taking.

Title: The taking
Author: Kimberly Derting.
Pages: 368
Expected publication date: April 29th 2014 by HarperTeen.
Sort: The taking #1.
Source: Edelweiss & Publisher.

A flash of white light.. and then.. nothing. When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day. Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken… and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

Rating:

I’m not a huge fan of Aliens, but I always like to try new things and this sounded interesting. I really want to read the sequel to this book, because Derting managed to end it exactly how I like it: most of the story from this book is wrapped up and there is a big revealing that makes me anxious for more. That being said, this book wasn’t without flaws.

Review 242. Gabel & Klam – Elusion.

Title: Elusion.
Author: Claudia Gabel & Cheryl Klam.
Pages:  400.
Published: March 18th 2014 by Katherine Tegen Books.
Sort: I think Unnamed #1.
Source: I received an ARC copy from the publisher for an honest review.
Link: Goodreads.

Soon, Elusion® will change the world and life as we know it.
A new technology called Elusion is sweeping the country. An app, visor and wristband will virtually transport you to an exotic destination where adventure can be pursued without the complications—or consequences—of real life. Regan is an Elusion insider. Or at least she used to be. Her father invented the program, and her best friend, Patrick, heir to the tech giant Orexis, is about to release it nationwide. But ever since her father’s unexpected death, Regan can’t bear to Escape, especially since waking up from the dream means crashing back to her grim reality. Still, when there are rumors of trouble in Elusion—accusations that it’s addictive and dangerous— Regan is determined to defend it. But the critics of Elusion come from surprising sources, including Josh, the handsome skeptic with his own personal stakes. As Regan investigates the claims, she discovers a disturbing web of secrets. She will soon have to choose between love and loyalty…a decision that will affect the lives of millions.

Rating:

I think I enjoyed this book more because of the negative buzz. After seeing ratings varying from 1 to 2 stars, my expectations went down very quickly. I’m glad that I was able to enjoy it a little more. I was thinking about 2.5 flowers, but in the end I still settled down with 3 flowers despite the flaws.

Review 240. Dan Wells – Ruins.

Title: Ruins.
Author: Dan Wells.
Pages: 464.
Published: March 11th 2014 by Balzer + Bray
Sort: Partials sequence #3.
Part 1: Partials.
Part 2: Fragments.
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher.
Link: Goodreads.

Kira, Samm, and Marcus fight to prevent a final war between Partials and humans in the gripping final instalment in the Partials Sequence, a series that combines the thrilling action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Blade Runner and The Stand. There is no avoiding it—the war to decide the fate of both humans and Partials is at hand. Both sides hold in their possession a weapon that could destroy the other, and Kira Walker has precious little time to prevent that from happening. She has one chance to save both species and the world with them, but it will only come at great personal cost.

Rating:

*Applauds* Well done, Dan Wells, you did it. This book makes up for the disappointing Fragments. The world-building is better, the characters more developed and the story is exciting. There aren't many books out there with such a solid biological aspect and that was by far my favorite part of this series.

”Love is when you find something so great, so.. necessary, that it becomes more important to you than your own goals, than your own life – not because your life has no meaning without it, but because it gives your life a meaning it never had before.”

Small spoilers if you haven't read the previous books and you don't want to know a thing. Otherwise, you're good to go, I don't tell many details.

Review 233. Amalie Howard – The almost girl.

Title: The almost girl.
Author: Amalie Howard.
Pages: 416.
Published: January 7th 2014 by Strange Chemistry.
Sort: Stand-alone.
Source: Netgalley & Publisher.

Seventeen-year-old Riven is as tough as they come. Coming from a world ravaged by a devastating android war, she has to be. There’s no room for softness, no room for emotion, no room for mistakes. A Legion General, she is the right hand of the young Prince of Neospes, a parallel universe to Earth. In Neospes, she has everything: rank, responsibility and respect. But when Prince Cale sends her away to find his long-lost brother, Caden, who has been spirited back to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in uncharted territory. Will Riven be able to find the strength to defy her very nature? Or will she become the monstrous soldier she was designed to be?

Rating:

If you read the blurb, you've practically read everything that was interesting about this book, so I made it shorter. The only reason I finished it was because it’s an eARC and I was far enough to feel like ending it. I don’t recommend trying to do the same. I was bored and annoyed at the same time.

Review 232. Rick Yancey – The 5th wave.

Title: The 5th wave.
Author: Rick Yancey.
Pages: 457.
Published: May 7th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile
Sort: Part one of ‘The fifth wave’

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Rating:

This book failed to impress me. Whether it were my high expectations, the hype surrounding it or just this story, I had a hard time reading it.  It’s a shame that I wasn’t able to connect with the characters, because I still think it’s an unique setting and promise. I like the story that is created, but the plot  could have used some interesting twists.