ARC Book Review: Fueds by Avery Hastings

Fueds

Avery Hastings

ARC Disclaimer: I was not paid in any way by the publishers to review this book favourably. The review is my own honest opinion (Whether or not it is agreed with).

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Pages: 272

Genre:  Dystopia, Romance, Young Adult

Dress-up turns deadly. . .

For Davis Morrow, perfection is a daily reality. Like all Priors, Davis has spent her whole life primed to be smarter, stronger, and more graceful than the lowly Imperfects, or “Imps.” A fiercely ambitious ballerina, Davis is only a few weeks away from qualifying for the Olympiads and finally living up to her mother’s legacy when she meets Cole, a mysterious boy who leaves her with more questions each time he disappears.

Davis has no idea that Cole has his own agenda, or that he’s a rising star in the FEUDS, an underground fighting ring where Priors gamble on Imps. Cole has every reason to hate Davis—her father’s campaign hinges on the total segregation of the Imps and Priors—but despite his best efforts, Cole finds himself as drawn to Davis as she is to him.

Then Narxis, a deadly virus, takes its hold--and Davis’s friends start dying. When the Priors refuse to acknowledge the epidemic, Davis has no one to turn to but Cole. Falling in love was never part of their plan, but their love may be the only thing that can save her world...in Avery Hastings's Feuds.

There are two types of people living in the futuristic city of Columbus. There are the Priors and there are the Imps. Priors are genetically enhanced, while Imps are "Imperfect" nothing enhanced about them. It doesn't take much to guess which group is in political power and how the group in power treats the other.

As a romance novel, you can see where this is probably going. Davis, our main female character is a Prior and Cole, the male half, is an Imp. This is a plot that has been done since the dawn of storytelling. It could have easily gone to many cliché places and a couple of times it did, but what saves this book is the amount of layering in the world building and the mysterious disease that haunts the pages.

Hastings held my attention with that mystery. It had me biting my nails as I saw the inevitable coming along. I found myself wondering which characters in power knew and which didn't. The world also, though a play on a common theme, is set up nicely and I feel like there is more to explore about it.

There isn't anything extra-ordinary about the characters themselves for me, but they weren't lacking either. The pacing felt slow from time-to-time, but it continued to keep my attention.

The thing the book has going for it the most, however, is that it is strong enough to carry as a series (and from the cliffhanger ended it most certainly will at least have a sequel). Extra layers were added at the end and the world has enough mysteries while still feeling like the exact story of the first book is at a stopping point.

I adore the fact that Davis is apparently only half Prior and this whole mystery of her mother is revealed. This was both surprising and natural in the story. We know Davis has the sickness the moment that she screws up her dance performance (and let me say the fact that Priors insist they're all right to end was terrifying to read in Davis, because as readers we know and we want her to tell people and get help before she dies), but she seemed to be fine for so long after first showing symptoms, so to figure out "why" is next.

It's also a fantastic plot twist in the characterization of her father and mother. I want to know that story now. I want to know what happened, if he knew, what he feels like, if his campaign has anything to do with her, it's all bouncing around my head.

The other thing was that I almost swallowed my heart when Cole decided to fake his death. It reminded me way too much of Romeo and Juliet and I became truly afraid that maybe the book wouldn't have a sequel, that it was going to be a retelling of Romeo and Juliet that ends the traditional way, with both of their deaths because one mistook a fake death for a real one.

I'll definitely be picking up the next book to find out what happens.

I recommend this to people who love star-crossed lovers stories. I doubly recommend it if you also like Dystopias and stories about people versus government corruption. It was a satisfying Young Adult read.

4 Bookmarks

Book Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty

Rosamund Hodge

 Published Date: January 28th 2014

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Pages: 342

Genre:  Fairy tale, Mythology, Fantasy-esqe, Romance, Young Adult

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

I love the setting and world building of this book. Hodge is absolutely brilliant. It’s part fantasy, part historical fiction, part mythological retelling and part fairytale retelling. In the story, Arcadia is an island off of Greece, sharing in their mythology after the mainland had come to influence and conquer, yet also keeping their own hedge gods. It was a prosperous place until something, no one knows exactly what, happened at the castle, the sky went from blue to parchment, demons came to torture the minds of those the caught and the Gentle Lord came to bargain and rule.

Nyx is around because of one of those bargains, and her fate is sealed because of it as well. She must go off to the castle and marry the Gentle Lord, the one in charge of the demons. She is sent so that her sister can live happily and coddled and so that she can attempt to bring back the blue skies by defeating the house or the Gentle Lord himself.

As a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, it is certainly one of the best and is my favourite. I like it for many of the same reasons why I like The Lunar Chronicles, it’s not a straightforward retelling and instead is very imaginative and clever.

The fairy tale and amazing world aside, however, it’s our main characters, Nyx and Ignifex, the Gentle Lord, who are really the stars of the show. There is a realness and complexity to these characters. They are far from perfect, they are even downright nasty sometimes, but they are learning to accept that in themselves and in each other. They were a joy to read in their growth as separate characters and as a couple.

I adore the idea that the entirety of Arcadia is inside the room, inside the mansion and that they all are in Pandora’s Box. In general the way all of the mythology and hedge god-ness was incorporated in the story was natural and intriguing. We are left hundreds of clues and themes dealing with the idea of Pandora’s Box and the truth.

Such as Nyx being too curious and determined to open the box and Ignifex trying so hard not to learn any more truth since he fears it.

I also really enjoyed the way that Nyx and her sister changed when reality was distorted. The way Nyx was a little less edgy and her sister was more clever and even slightly darker. Things felt more balanced.

If you like Beauty and the Beast, read this book, but even if you’re not into fairytales, if you enjoy fantasy mixed with mythology, or just great characters and a great couple, I highly recommend this book. It’s world is amazing and unique and it’s characters layered and real.

4.5 Bookmarks

Book Review: Taken by David Massey

Taken

David Massey

ARC Disclaimer: I was not paid in any way by the publishers to review this book favourably. The review is my own honest opinion (Whether or not it is agreed with).

Publisher: Chicken House

Published Date: March 6th 2014

Genre:  Adventure, Suspense

A young crew of five are toughing it out together, sailing around the world on a gruelling charity challenge. They are used to being pushed to the limit, but nothing could have prepared them for being kidnapped.

When they are taken hostage by a notorious warlord and his band of child soldiers, the trip of a lifetime turns into a one-way journey into the heart of the African jungle.

When hope is all you have, survival is all you can fight for...

Taken is most certainly a plot driven book. A group of young ex-soldiers whose service was cut short by debilitating injuries decide to show their new disabilities do not hinder them by taking a sailing trip around the world for charity. Rio, our main character, is hired as support crew as she is a sailing champion and they are required to have a certain number of able bodied members aboard or no sponsors.

As that stands there is of course a little tension as Rio is an outsider to this close knit group. Of course, when a group of child soldiers led by a terrorist attacks their ship and takes them captive every thing soon changes.

Taken is a pretty unique book among New Adult. I feel as if most NA and YA books are heavily character (or romance) driven as opposed to plot. Of course, due to the focus the main group of characters feels underdeveloped compared to what I am used to. Many of them are a bit one note, which didn't ring well with me. The most developed and layered character however, is the Empty Child. She soon becomes the mystery that I am most interested in and her story does not disappoint.

Along those lines for much of the book I was confused as to the age of our main characters. Rio seems to be sixteen or seventeen, but the others were all in military and trained. I don't know the age for military service in Great Britain and the book didn’t specifically say what their ages were. This may not bother most people, but I spent half the book wondering about it.

On the plus side, the environment and situations in this book is very well done. A couple of scenes had my heart dropping. Others filled me with grisly anticipation.

There also was an obvious amount of research done which I appreciated as a reader. I loved the inclusion of the runner blades for Ash as those are one of the cooler innovations I’ve come across. And all of their issues were different as was how they dealt with them. On top of that we have the horrifying description of child soldiers, fear and brainwashing and the wild animals the group comes across.

The scenes that hit me the most are definitely the ones with the hippo and the gorilla. Hippos are incredibly dangerous creatures so when one appeared I was loving the acknowledgement of this fact, but then when I realized the reason the hippo was attacking was because of the baby I died a little bit on the inside.

The gorilla as well, the way they hunted it down just to prove how amazing they were was sickening, though if they hadn’t our characters wouldn’t have been able to be found.

I loved the empty child’s revelation as well. I kind of guessed some parts, like that she was the daughter, but I didn’t realize that she was supposed to be Kony’s bride as well or the rest of her story. I loved her finding Ash and Rio at the end. I hope she goes with them to travel.

I think if you enjoy survival and adventure stories you will enjoy Taken. If you find plot more important to you than character development than I also recommend this book to you.

3.5 Bookmarks

Update: I'm back~!

I have officially climbed Mount Fuji as of now and can get back to my regularly scheduled book reviewing updates!


If anyone's wondering about the climb, I did it all in one go with a friend. We started the hike at ~8:15 and ended at 7:15, so all together it took around 11 hours. 

One of the coolest moments of my life.

I already want to do it again.

I'm also done moving (though I am living a no-fridge life at the moment). And have a temporary internet set up, so my updating schedule should return to normal.

Blog Tour & Giveaway(INT): Fractured by Erin Hayes

Fractured

Erin Hayes

Goodreads | Amazon | Tour 

Publication Date: July 8th 2014

Genre:  Horror, Adult

Blinded by a mysterious seizure when she was three years old, Bash Martin has managed to carve out a normal life for herself as an adult. Yet she still yearns for a deeper connection with her twin sister Lily, who has always been jealous of the attention their parents bestowed upon Bash due to her disability.

A dream vacation seems like the perfect chance to heal their relationship, but Bash soon realizes there is something terribly wrong with Lily and that her sister is hiding a dark secret. And when a supernatural fire engulfs their hotel and corpses come back to life, the sisters are plunged into a nightmarish world that threatens not only their lives, but their very souls.

The best way I can describe Fractured by Erin Hayes is as a Horror Movie in print.

We follow several characters, focusing in on a pair of twins and the man that both of them love. Of course, something has been "haunting" the twins for a while and that something is absolutely terrifying and dangerous.

The twins are set up well as characters. They have two very distinct personalities and we can see how they both got to that point. I found myself easily being able to compare them to people I knew in real life.

The darkness of the book is set up well as well. Things are littered throughout the beginning that become important later. We are given enough things, that if we're paying close enough attention, we can guess and figure things out.

The fact that this is pretty much a Horror Movie in print is a double edged sword. On one hand everything is very visual in the book. I can see everything playing out in my mind perfectly. I can even imagine up the music playing in the background at certain moments and the fear in the characters voices. The imagery is very, very scary.

On the other hand it would have come across much scarier as a movie due to the fact that in a book you can't just introduce characters for a second and expect them to make impacts on us. Fractured has three sets of characters. The three main ones, the secondary characters (their group of friends) and the background characters. I feel like if this last group had been set up far in advanced, things later would have had a greater impact on us readers.

That aside, however, I greatly enjoyed the mythology and main characters that the book did present.

Just to reiterate what I mentioned above. All the deaths that happened quickly weren't that scary. Even what happened to the secondary characters only bordered on it. While when it came down to our main characters, I was gripping the book, terrified. As much as I loved the set up for the main characters, if we had just met many of the other characters, even in passing and got a feel for their personalities even just a little bit, the book would have raised a notch. I pretty much ignored all the background characters since they were all introduced and named too quickly to keep track who was who.

I loved the layers to Seth that were revealed. I also loved the imagery of the final scene (Hayes really is masterful when it comes to that). Though I do wish that Lily could have been given a longer time to dish out revenge on the demon. It all happened really fast.

The way it ended was slightly too convenient and easy, but on the other hand I adore the idea of the two of them merging into one to escape the claws of the demon. I also love how you could see both of their personalities in the epilogue-like scene where they meet Seth again.

If you like Horror Movies, you will like Fractured. It's not quite at Stephen King level, but the imagery is top-notch and it is quite scary.

4 Bookmarks

||*|| Giveaway ||*||

Blog Tour & Giveaway(INT): The Lost Kingdom by Stephanie Beerden

The Lost Kingdom (The Elements #1)

Stephanie Beerden

Goodreads | Amazon | Tour 

Publication Date: April 28th 2014

Genre:  Fantasy

A Prophecy made long ago, announced the arrival of the new Ladies of Elements.

And now almost a millennia later, it finally came true …

All her life Arima thought she knew who and what she was. That is until the day of her sixteenth birthday came and her world is turned upside down, when she’s told she’s not a White Witch but Lady Spirit. And that she is the one that has been foretold, will unite the Five Ladies of Elements once again and save Ilendia and the Other Lands from Ahriman, the Demon King.

At first Arima refuses to accept her new fate, but when Shanums come and destroy her village and kill her loved ones, she has no choice but to flee and fall right into the destiny she never wanted.

As she grudgingly starts her journey into the unknown, she is accompanied by her unicorn familiar Sirrim, Blythe, a Vampire with a dark past and Myrddin, a mysterious Ljosalfar.

And the longer her journey lasts, the more Arima begins to realise that she can’t escape her own destiny and she must learn to control her powers and learn to be a Lady for the sake of the Sisters she doesn’t know and the people of Ilendia and the Other Lands.

However, things get more complicated when Arima comes into the possession of a key. Her instincts compel her to go towards danger when she discovers that the key she holds, can unlock the legendary kingdom of Eléssima, the home of the Ladies of Elements.

She will have to make the choice to follow her instincts …

…or stay on the path that has been laid out for her.

DREAM CAST

The Lost Kingdom has so many characters that are only around for a short time, so I tried to focus on the characters that are a constant throughout the book, sans Ahriman (only because I keep imagining him as a living suit of armor for some reason... no idea why).

ARIMA - DAKOTA FANNING
While reading the book, I kept thinking of the Fanning sisters when I read Arima, personality-wise, Dakota fits better, however. Of course the last film I saw with Fanning was a while ago and she played a young girl with attitude and rebelliousness which I feel fits Arima well. Also, I feel like Arima's eyes are an interesting part of her looks, so Fanning's huge and gorgeous eyes would be a great way to highlight that feature.

BLYTHE - IAIN GLEN
As for Blythe, in my brain I both as both rugged in a "I've been through a lot" kind of way and dashing. I also wanted to pick someone who looking exasperated constantly would sit well on.

BRYEIA - EMMA THOMPSON
I had a hard time with Bryeia. I didn't want to find a stereotypical older woman actress. She is introduced to us as being pretty crotchety and then we are shown the other side with Arima. Thompson's pretty versatile in that way.


Also she always looks so fantastic aged up.

I'm not 100% on this though, as I said I had a hard time, but since she's important, I wanted to cast her.

CRIMSON - EVA GREEN
Crimson was first character that I casted almost immediately while reading. For some reason I kept seeing her as Eva Green in Dark Shadows (except with red hair) and that terrifying smile end up sticking in my head every time she popped into the story.

ECHANTRE - MICHELLE PFEIFFER
Beautiful, Enchanting and fantastic at going from sweet to vengeful and cruel at the turn of a dime

||*|| Giveaway & Excerpt ||*||

Update: Mt. Fuji Hiatus for a few days and then back to Normal

Okay, maybe my full hiatus isn't going to be truly long enough to garner anyone's attention, but it's so I can go climb Mt. Fuji and I'm so excited about that I have to share it EVERYWHERE.


In other new however, I also have borrowed the internet (mobile internet for the win) from a friend until I'm able to get some installed in my new place (or buy a mobile internet for my own, haven't decided yet, need to price quote it). This means that as soon as I get back from Fuji (on Thursday), I will be 100% back to my normal posting schedule.

So excited~~!

Feature & Follow: Closest City

Question of the Week: What is the biggest city you live near (or interesting landmark)? Show us a postcard picture.

Since I'm on half-hiatus, I wasn't going to be participating in any weekly posts until I get my normal computer up and running, but how can I resist this week's theme?

The biggest city I live near is the one that I'm officially in... Osaka, Japan.

Yep, I live in good old Osaka, one of the most colorful cities in Japan, where the people challenge Japanese stereotypes an all the greatest comedians hail and greatest food hails from.

We got Osaka Castle Park, which is a huge park in the middle of the city (and of course home to Osaka Castle).

And we have one of the bigger shopping/touristy areas, the street Dotonbori (in Namba/Shinsaibashi area).