Gabe Cole Novoa
So the whole premise of Forbidden is pretty different from anything I've ever read before—the idea of a world with only fear as an emotion is a pretty bleak one and it brings about some interesting complications.
I can't speak for Lee's other books as I haven't read any, but compared to other Dekker novels, Forbidden starts off a little slower—it takes some time to build up Rom's world and get you fully immersed. There are a lot of questions that need answering right away (Why doesn't anyone have emotions other than fear? What is this world like? What is the Order?), so although Rom's journey starts right away, many of the first chapters at first are primarily focused on world building. It's certainly not a bad thing, but it didn't grip me as quickly as some of Dekker's previous novels have.
Once you get into the meat of the story, however, things start to get interesting. Between a wicked antagonist, a throne up for grabs, murder in a world where killing is unheard of, dungeons and experiments gone wrong, Forbidden certainly has plenty to keep you interested throughout the book.
Unsurprisingly, Forbidden has many fantasy-like archetypes—a prophecy and an arcane group of “keepers” in charge of certain secrets, among others—as well as a few pretty transparent spiritual themes which, although they didn't bother me, were noticed. To me, some of the prose read a little over-the-top emotionally, but as the characters are feeling the full spectrum of emotion for the first time in their lives, it was understandable and it didn't detract from the overall story.
In short: Forbidden was an enjoyable read that I would recommend to those who like fantasy (as although it does have a dystopian background, it read more like a fantasy novel to me). Although it's not my favorite Ted Dekker book to date, I'm still looking forward to the sequel Mortal, which is expected to be published next June.
THIS WAS SO CUTE. Gah. ADORABLE. Loved it!
EDIT: Okay, actual review time:
If I had to describe The Sound of Us in one word, it'd be ADORABLE. Gah. This book was so freaking cute, I don't even know where to begin.
I picked up this book because I was promised some laughs and a light-hearted, fun read, and that's exactly what I got. Junie is a delightful protagonist with major snark and some really funny thoughts and Roman is sexy and entertaining and their romance is so swoon worthy and fun and I just loved it.
A lot of NA books have some pretty heavy themes (hell, a lot of what I read in general has some pretty heavy or dark themes), so The Sound of Us was a wonderful breath of sweet, fresh air. Also, I'm not a huge music buff, but if you are, you'll love this book. For real. So if you're looking for something fun and downright cute and have an interest in music (or even if you don't!), definitely give this one a try.
I'm so psyched to be able to publicly review one of my CP's books! Yay!
CATCH ME WHEN I FALL is a really fun urban fantasy with a unique premise—invisible dreamcatchers protecting their charges from monster-like creatures that are the actual source of nightmares. I love Vicki's take on nightmares and supernatural protectors and the unique mythology that she creates to piece together the world of Protectors of the Night.
While I felt the romance was slightly insta-loveish and the ending felt a tad bit rushed, the action, swoons, snark and fabulous mythology more than make up for it. Fans of Cassandra Clare's THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS will especially enjoy the paranormal world Vicki created, as will anyone else looking for a fun urban fantasy read. Oh, and did I mention the action and fabulous fight scenes and epic monster battles?
I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!
So I know I've used the word “adorable” to describe a lot of NA reads as of late (especially the Contemporary Romances), but, well...I'm going to do it again. Because Make It Count by Megan Erickson is just that—super ridiculously adorable. And it was so very fun to read.
Alec may actually be one of my favorite NA love interests ever—I mean, hot, nerdy beta male? SO much yes, please.
What's great about Make It Count is not only is it a really fun, cute, light-hearted NA read, but Erickson also tackles a subject that really doesn't get enough representation—learning disabilities. Not only that, but Erickson handles it really well—we see how a learning disability affects one of the characters (I won't say who, but you can probably guess), as well as what stigmas are attached to it, which is something, I'll admit, I hadn't really thought much about before.
Also! I haven't seen a whole lot of third person in NA, but if you like third person I so very highly recommend you pick up some of Erickson's books—she has such a great (and super-NA appropriate and fun) third person voice that's just as entertaining and real as any NA first person voice I've read and enjoyed.
My one peeve is I found Kat's crippling lack of self-confidence a teensie bit annoying to read at times—however! That was a deliberate character development choice, and by no means ruined the reading for me in any way, and I would still (and do) recommend this one for anyone looking for a light, fun NA read, especially in third person.
So if you like Contemporary Romance and you haven't yet checked out Make It Count, I recommend you do! And you may also want to check out Make It Right, which is now out, and I really need to get.
So this was the kind of book that I enjoyed, but it wasn't 100% for me.
If you're looking for a sexy action-packed NA zombie thriller, I definitely recommend you pick this up. The World Without a Future is overflowing with excellent action scenes, plenty of zombie awesomeness and twists that'll have you turning the pages very quickly.
There were three elements that didn't really sit well with me, though:
1) The kink club scenes were a bit much for me. This is not at all a fault of the writing, it's just not my cup of tea. I know others will think differently. :)
2) I wasn't a huge fan of Finn's POV. It fit him perfectly, so again, not a fault of the writing, but I found that I actually liked him less after spending some time in his head. So.
3) I didn't find the ending all that satisfying. I don't know if there's a sequel planned, but the ending was rather cliffhanger-y, and while that's fine if there is a sequel planned, I tend to like books with more closure, even if there are other books on the way.
Overall, I think The World Without a Future is a great read for anyone who wouldn't mind the aforementioned elements. I still found it enjoyable and read it quickly, but I'm definitely not the perfect intended audience for this one.
I don't usually read a whole lot of contemporary romance, but it didn't matter, because Only The Good Die Young kept my interest from first page to last.
Basically, this book was adorable.
Milcah's voice is fantastic. It's absolutely perfect for NA—full of snark that made me snicker on more than one occasion, and yet completely honest and real. Her thoughts and attitudes aren't always pretty, and she isn't even always a perfectly likable character (in fact, she was kind of infuriating several times), but I honestly didn't mind because her worldview was so interesting and her voice made everything super fun to read.
Then there's Callum.
Callum has jumped onto my list of favorite book boyfriends. He's sexy as hell (I mean, hello gorgeous tattoo artist), and also adorable, and also thoughtful and basically I loved him from the start and didn't stop loving him ever.
Overall, Only The Good Die Young is a fantastic example of NA fiction and one that I'll be recommending basically forever to anyone curious about the category. So go read it.
I'd been looking forward to reading The Wicked We Have Done since I first heard of this epic-sounding NA novel, and now, having read it, I can say it definitely lived up to my expectations and more.
What immediately caught my interest about Wicked was that it's not a typical Contemporary Romance New Adult novel—not to speak badly of Contemporary Romance NA, (I've read some excellent CR NA such as this one and this one) but I, for one, get very excited when I see some variation in the NA market.
Being that I love edge-of-your-seat-type novels, I was pretty psyched about this one—and it definitely didn't disappoint.
What I loved about Wicked was how it kept me guessing—every page had me wondering what would happen next, and how Evalyn would survive, or if she even would. Not only that, but I found myself sympathizing with some truly dark characters, and even growing attached to them—something that I adore, because it's a sign of really fantastic character development and building.
What's even more exciting about this already thrilling book is that it really fits the New Adult category. Evalyn isn't a typical college student—she's practically on death row—but she still deals with many of the same struggles, fears and insecurities as other NA-aged characters. Her voice fits the category beautifully, and to me, Wicked serves as unequivocal proof that NA Speculative Fiction can definitely be successful.
I'm giving The Wicked We Have Done 5/5 stars and recommend it to anyone interested in trying out a different side of New Adult, who also loves thrilling, edge-of-your-seat novels.
This was so fun! Review to come. :)
REVIEW:
I've mentioned before and will probably mention again, Beth Revis is one of my all-time favorite YA Sci-Fi authors. I very much credit Across the Universe for showing me I actually really like YA Sci-Fi and dual POV. Anything she writes is basically an instal-buy for me, but you can imagine how excited I was when I won a signed, limited print edition (aka: VERY excited).
While I did find the opening to be a little on the slow side, the rest of the plot more than made up for it. I generally expect action, explosions, swoons and lots of twists from Revis, and in those respects, The Body Electric did not disappoint. I was expecting some sort of Inception-type elements, which were definitely present, but the twists in the book went so beyond what I was expecting and I really enjoyed the direction the book went in.
The Body Electric is very Sci-Fi with a fascinating futuristic world set in Malta (which was totally fun to read about) with ties to the Across the Universe series that were really fun to come across. Between cyborgs, androids, nanobots and more, I was totally immersed in The Body Electric's otherworldy-yet-not-unrealistic setting. As a bonus, the protagonist is a PoC and there are several PoC secondary characters, which was really nice to see.
I did notice that there were quite a few filter phrases throughout the work (which, to be honest, is more of a peeve I only notice because I'm a writer), and I did feel that the villain near the end bordered on a little too unequivocally evil—I tend to prefer my villains to be more nuanced and, at best, even somewhat sympathetic. But those flaws in no way ruined my enjoyment of the novel. I'm giving The Body Electric 4/5 stars, and I recommend it to those who like YA Sci-Fi rife with plot twists.
I can't wait to see what Revis comes up with next!
2.5/5 stars. This was okay. Interesting characters and questions about the intersection of identity and religion. First 75% felt pretty plotless, though.
Fun read with a fascinating magic system—I mean, magic tattoos? AWESOME. It didn't grip me quite as much as some fantasies I've read, and I thought the villains at the end were a little overly evil for my tastes (I tend to prefer more sympathetic, nuanced antagonists), but overall this was enjoyable and interesting.
While the pacing was a little slower than I tend to like, I really appreciated the respectful representation of mental illness and disability in this romance. Bonus points for positive representation of therapy, too.
3.5/5
What a fun read! I'll admit it took some time for me to get used to the present day/flashback format, but once I did I found that I really enjoyed Lisa's rendition of the Djinn. Without giving anything away, there were several twists throughout the story, the characters were fully realized, and I particularly loved one of the Djinn (spoiler: it was Taj) who, for once, was totally awesome without being a love triangle interest—yay! I haven't read any genie or Djinn stories before this, but I'm glad I won a copy of this one!
This was a tough read, as any book with similar heavy content is. Macy's story is heartbreaking and raw, and I really felt for her as her secrets became clearer. This isn't a book you'll easily forget.
This was so fun! Action-y and exciting, I really enjoyed reading about a kickass girl spy who reminded me of Black Widow in her own story. If you like adventure and Mission Impossible/Bourne-type flicks, you'll want to pick this up. :)
So if you thought Catch Me When I Fall was an exciting read, wait until you get your hands on Find Me If You Dare. This sequel is packed full of action, twists and feels, and I especially liked seeing how much Kayla grew from the first book to the end of the second. While I felt some of the bad guy moments were a tad corny, this was a fun read overall. Chock full of Urban Fantasy awesomeness, Find Me If You Dare will make very happy readers out of fans of Supernatural and The Mortal Instruments. I look forward to reading the final book in the trilogy!
Whoa.
This was soooo different from what I was expecting, but so good. Twisted, complicated, unsettling and unique. Reminded me a little of CHARM & STRANGE in tone. Thumbs up for sure.
3.5/5 stars. Took me longer to get into it than THE FALSE PRINCE, for some reason, but it was still definitely an enjoyable read.
draws heart eyes all over the book
(Full review to come.)
FULL REVIEW:
Ho-lee shit. This book. Where do I even start with how incredibly, mind-blowing-ly amazing Gemina was?
Much of [b:Illuminae|23395680|Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)|Amie Kaufman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443433956s/23395680.jpg|26653661] was about trying to survive so that the passengers could make it to the space station/wormhole guardian Heimdall. Gemina picks up where Illuminae left off—except from the perspective of some of the people at Heimdall. Our main protagonists are Hanna and Nik; Hanna is the rich daughter of Heimdall's commander and Nik is part of a gang known as the House of Knives. Two very different people with very different social circles, though that doesn't stop Nik from flirting mercilessly with Hanna, and neither does the fact she has a boyfriend.
Of course, those everyday details become pretty irrelevant when everything goes to hell.
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Gemina when I picked it up—mostly because I pre-ordered it after reading Illuminae and didn't read anything about what it was about (since, you know, I knew I was reading it no matter what). What I did expect was what I'd gotten from Illuminae: loads of action and twists, a very high body count, and edge-of-your-seat type pacing. Also probably something about Heimdall.
Gemina is all of that and more.
There are very few books that make me exclaim out loud, and Gemina can take the crown on “book I swore out loud the most while reading.” It's hard for me to say too much without spoiling, so what I'll say is this: I ripped through the pages like nothing else (except Illuminae), the sequel absolutely lived up to the incredible first book, and I need the final book of the trilogy yesterday. Basically, I intend to continue to tell people to read it or else.
Diversity note: Of the main cast of characters there isn't a ton—both Hanna and Nik (our protagonists) are white, cishet, able-bodied, etc. One of the major non-protagonist characters, however is disabled (uses a wheelchair and needs an oxygen mask 24/7), which was good to see. If there's anything I have to request out of book three it's that we see more diversity rep with the protagonists, please!
