Inside the Wall by A. Lotus# Review

Title: Inside The Wall

Author: A. lotus

Series:The war in the wall #1

Publisher:Lotus Books

Source: Supplied by Netgalley

Release Date: July 28th 2015

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What if everyone just stopped caring? What sort of world would we create for future generations?

Letha and Nathan were best friends just as were their mothers before them. Soon, however, two dictators overthrow the city, take the children captive, kill the opposing parents and then brainwash, train, and sculpt these children into soldiers. At first, Letha rejects the new life she leads, staying strong only to protect those younger than her. She is then given the ultimate task: kill Nathan; If she does not, everyone, including herself, will die.

In a world where no one cares, Letha struggles against herself to do the right thing. Ultimately, she has to make a choice, save herself or drown in the codependency of one young boy who has become brainwashed and hardened into the dictator’s web. No matter what choice she makes, she will have to lose someone that she loves.

 

My Thoughts

 

 

Letha and Nathan were best friends when a war broke out, and they find themselves on opposing teams.

I found this book confusing and disappointing I love the Idea of what happens when people stop caring, but I did not find this really incorporated through the novella.

I would have loved more details on why the war happened and why they are using children as soldiers. and what is over the wall?

These questions may be answered in further novellas in the series which would be interesting to see if the books can be improved upon, which I do realise it is hard in novella form.

I found myself drifting more often than not when reading this book, I usually love dystopia novels and especially where there is a new theme such as lack of empathy and emotions.

I would probably read the next in the series but if it doesn’t improve I will probably shelve this series.

 

 

 

Fury by Charlotte McConaghy #Review

Title: Fury

Author: Charlotte McConaghy

Series: The Cure

Publisher: Momentum Books

Source: with thanks from Publisher and Netgalley for Honest Review

Release Date:  March 2014

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The Synopsis

When emotions are erased from the world, creating a civilization of mindless drones, only those with fury can survive.

On the same day each year Josephine Luquet wakes naked, shivering and covered in blood that is not her own. Under the cold gaze of the blood moon she is someone else entirely, but when dawn breaks her memories flee and she is left with only an icy horror, a burning fury. Amid a sea of drones, she alone hasn’t been cured. 
It will be the same each year: atrocities forgotten, truths hidden and pieces of herself left to die.
Until Luke. 
He isn’t like the other drones. With secrets whispering behind his eyes and a hunger for all things Josephine, he is the only one determined to help her discover the truth before the next blood moon rises. 
But time is running out. Is Luke willing to risk his life to be near her? Does he truly understand what violence she is capable of? 

Raw and full of passion, Fury is a story of love in a dystopian world, and how much we are willing to forgive in the struggle to remember our humanity.

My Thoughts

 

 

 

Fury is a good page turner we meet Josephine in an Asylum, she is uncured, I have read books before that people have had emotions removed, which seems like a good Idea, What would the world be like if we had no anger? No war, no violence. ect. But like all dreams they come with a cost, Josephine not being cured in a world full of cured people i.e. No Anger.  Josephine feels out-of-place and constantly having to hide her feelings to the world so that no one finds out that she is uncured.

Luke is what Josephine calls a drone, he has been cured, but he is the only person that is willing to stick his neck out for Josephine to help her.

The Characters are great in the story, although we skip between stories, Josephine in the present and Josephine telling the therapist about her previous life, It doesn’t become confusing or annoying like some novels that employ this method do.

I think it is a great Young Adult novel, with intrigue, romance and the fight to fit in, would be very easy to relate to the younger generation, but for me I found a few plot flaws that kept annoying me, such as Josephine having to act emotionless, As far as I could tell only Anger has been removed not all emotions.  Another part I did not like was how people would stand by and watch while others were attacked and do nothing to help them, If just having your anger turned off , why would people feel the need to abuse someone? Is it just our inbuilt nature to be evil?  as well as the people standing by If you removed anger, surely you would still have compassion and empathy?

All up I liked Fury for an intriguing novel, as long as you don’t delve to deeply into the plot, and skip over the confusing, is it just Anger removed or all emotions? I have rated it 3 hearts.

All our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill #Review

Title: All Our Yesterdays

Author: Cristin Terrill 

Series: All our Yesterdays #1

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Source: with thanks from Publisher for Honest Review

Release Date:  August 2013

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The Synopsis

A brilliantly brain-warping thriller and a love story that leaps back and forth in time – All Our Yesterdays is an amazing first novel, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games.

Em is locked in a bare, cold cell with no comforts. Finn is in the cell next door. The Doctor is keeping them there until they tell him what he wants to know. Trouble is, what he wants to know hasn’t happened yet. 

Em and Finn have a shared past, but no future unless they can find a way out. The present is torture – being kept apart, overhearing each other’s anguish as the Doctor relentlessly seeks answers. There’s no way back from here, to what they used to be, the world they used to know. Then Em finds a note in her cell which changes everything. It’s from her future self and contains some simple but very clear instructions. Em must travel back in time to avert a tragedy that’s about to unfold. Worse, she has to pursue and kill the boy she loves to change the future . . .

My Thoughts

 

 

 

Well to be honest the Cover won me over, I didn’t read the Synopsis, As you all know I am a newbie at Sci-Fi Novels, but I love them so I thought I would test the waters and find out how I liked a Time Travel Y.A novel.  All our Yesterdays is told from the point of view of Em and Marina, Marina has everything , money, popularity and a brilliant best friend who she has fallen in love with, Unfortunately he comes with his other best friend Finn who Marina Can’t stand.

Em is from the future she has been locked in a cell with her boyfriend next door repeatedly exposed to horrible torture by “The Doctor” ,  Marina finds a piece of paper hidden in a drain which has 13 different lives on it, Because this is Em’s 14th and final time to set the future right, she can’t remember the times she has gone back in time to try to change the future but she has recorded all the attempts that Finn and herself have attempted.

Marina will do anything to protect her brilliant best friend James, with someone trying to kill him, the trio try to uncover who is trying to kill him and why.

All our yesterdays had so many twists and turns that it was hard to put down, although the story alternates between Em and Marina, both stories eventually come together and It just blows your mind.  It really makes you think how far would you go to save the world?

I really enjoyed my first step into Time Travel Sci-fi, All our yesterdays was a great stepping stone in which to start, the Time travel and science was not over done, and the rest of the story held, romance, mystery and lots of action.

It was great to see the Character growth between Em and Marina, with Marina becoming less selfish and more loyal and brave and Em hard as nails tortured but not broken, Is ready to do the unspeakable to save the world, but not without doubts and stumbles.

I highly recommend All Our Yesterdays, A wonderful, Time travel romance that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa #Review

Title: The Forever Song

Author: Julie Kagawa

Series: Blood of Eden #3

Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Australia

Source: With Thanks from Publisher

Release Date:  May 1st 2014

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The Synopsis

Vengeance will be hers.

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

Monster.

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions – her creator Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost – the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie. 

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, her triumph will be short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

THE FINAL HUNT IS ON.

My Thoughts

I cried, I yelled, I laughed and I could not put it down.

Lately there has been a lot of bad reviews for the ending of trilogy, It must be the hardest job in the world to finish a series, and keep everyone happy.  In my personal opinion Ms Kagawa nailed it.  Not once while reading The forever song did I stop and think why the hell is this happening? The whole series is UnFreakin Believable! Although I am sad to finish the series and it took me a while to actually read it because I didn’t want it to end, It could not have ended better.

The story line follows on as Jackel, Kanin and Allie, are on the road trying to beat Sarren to Eden to save the humans, from his evilness.  Kanin as always is the quiet father figure more so in this story because Allie and Jackel act like naughty kids sometimes.  Jackel is his usual boisterous, cocky self that made me laugh on many occasions.  And of course Allie who is not only struggling with the death of
Zeke she is also still trying to fight the demon inside her to keep her humanity at many points in the novel she is torn between what Kanin wants from her, which is to be more human than demon and Jackel who wants his little sister to be more demon than human.

During the first part of the novel Allison turns a bit twisted with what happened to Zeke in Eternity Cure, I honestly loved this struggle with Allie as it led to some Brother/Sister bonding and some mighty gory scenes.

“Open your eyes, Kanin. Your favorite hellspawn is a demon, just like the rest of us. Only now, she’s finally realized it.” 
― Julie Kagawa, The Forever Song

I actually loved this bit about Allie we have seen her strive so hard to keep her humanity in check and make Kanin proud of her, It was great to see Allie let loose and explore her demon side, as well as making Jackel proud of her, It made a great edge of your seat reading.

Jackel also had a lot of character development in this story, Evolving from the Badass Clown, he has been although he still has some memorable funny lines and still loves to goad Allison and Kanin he also showed at times his softer side and his willingness to be part of something bigger, fighting beside Kanin and Allison he put himself out there for them time and time again, for someone who likes to prove he is a disappointment to his family, he sure takes a lot of risks to himself to save humanity and his family.

Kanin of course is still one of my favorites, although he is quiet and a huge Influence on how Allison and Jackel act, he is always there for them whether he approves of  what they are doing or not.  I also love how he loses his composure a few times at Jackel and Allisons constant bickering, having a boy and a girl myself I know how bad it can get travelling, which is amazing for Kanin because it takes so much to break his composure.

“I am proud of you, Allison Sekemoto,” he whispered as he drew back. “Whatever you decide, whatever path you choose to take, I hope that you will remain the same girl I met that night in the rain. The one decision for which I have no regrets.” 
― Julie Kagawa, The Forever Song

 

I highly Recommend this book If you get to read only one Trilogy this year make it the Blood of Eden, You won’t regret it.

 

Now I only have to Wait for Talon.

Burn Out by Kristi Helvig #Review

Title: Burn Out

Author: Kristi Helvig

Series: Burn Out #1

Publisher: Egemont USA

Source: Netgalley for honest review

Release Date:  April 8th 2014

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The Synopsis

“A scorching series opener not to be missed.” – Kirkus 

A futuristic blend of Beth Revis’s Across the Universe and Lenore Appelhans’s Level 2, Burn Out will satisfy the growing desire for science fiction with a thrilling story of survival, intrigue, and adventure. 

Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds just wants to get the hell off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth’s final years, Tora yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become after the sun turns “red giant,” but discovers her fellow survivors are even deadlier than the hostile environment.


Holed up in an underground shelter, Tora is alone–her brilliant scientist father murdered, her mother and sister burned to death. She dreams of living on a planet with oceans, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, the oceans dried out ages ago, the only plants are giant cacti with deadly spines, and her pet, Trigger, is a gun–one of the bio-energetic weapons her father created for the government before his conscience kicked in.

When family friend, Markus, arrives with mercenaries to take the weapons by force, Tora’s fury turns to fear when government ships descend in an attempt to kill them all. She forges an unlikely alliance with Markus and his rag-tag group of raiders, including a smart but quiet soldier named James. Tora must quickly figure out who she can trust, as she must choose between saving herself by giving up the guns or honoring her father’s request to save humanity from the most lethal weapons in existence.

My Thoughts

My God this book was Amazing!!!

Tora is left alone in an underground shelter after the Sun Burnt out the world, becoming so hot the oceans dried up and the plants and animal life burnt, the only way to survive was in government made pods, the rest of the world was left to die.  Tora’s family was lucky enough to belong to a pod, her father was a genius developing weapons to be used to help keep people safe when a new planet was found, until Tora’s father learned that they wanted to use the weapons for bad not good, he took his family and the guns and ran.

Tora is the only survivor of her family, her father was murdered by the government and her mother and little sister burned to death in mysterious circumstances after they did not return to the shelter.  Tora is the last person left, until Marcus a guy that her father trusted returns and tries to get Tora to give up the weapons, when she refuses her returns with mercenaries to force her to give them up, Tora needs to decide weather to die protecting the weapons from the world or saving herself and sacrificing the weapons.

Written from Tora’s point of view, you really get invested in her character, she is a tough cookie that is torn between living and dying and protecting the world from the weapons her father created.  There is some romance between Tora and James one of the mercenaries, but if any relationship is to be listed as complicated this is it.  Between strong sexual tension, Tora’s refusal to trust and James’s confusing mixed signals, you really can’t decide weather James is a bad guy or good guy, I love it, It has the excitement of Instant love but mixed with the fact he keeps trying to kill her.

Burn out kept me on the edge of my seat in excitement, when it ended I still didn’t know who the good guys and the bad guys are, unfortunately I thought I had only read 50% when the book ended which was disappointing because I really want to know what happens next.

I highly recommend this book for anyone that loves Beth Revis, and Sci-fi dystopians.

I am hanging out for the next installment.

Expiration Day by William Campbell Powell #Review

Title: Expiration Day

Author: William Campbell Powell

Publisher: Tor Teen

Source: Netgalley for honest review

Release Date:  April 22nd 2014

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The Synopsis

 

What happens when you turn eighteen and there are no more tomorrows?
It is the year 2049, and humanity is on the brink of extinction….

Tania Deeley has always been told that she’s a rarity: a human child in a world where most children are sophisticated androids manufactured by Oxted Corporation. When a decline in global fertility ensued, it was the creation of these near-perfect human copies called teknoids that helped to prevent the utter collapse of society.

Though she has always been aware of the existence of teknoids, it is not until her first day at The Lady Maud High School for Girls that Tania realizes that her best friend, Siân, may be one. Returning home from the summer holiday, she is shocked by how much Siân has changed. Is it possible that these changes were engineered by Oxted? And if Siân could be a teknoid, how many others in Tania’s life are not real?

Driven by the need to understand what sets teknoids apart from their human counterparts, Tania begins to seek answers. But time is running out. For everyone knows that on their eighteenth “birthdays,” teknoids must be returned to Oxted—never to be heard from again.

My Thoughts

Expiration Day is a different Y.A to your usual, written in Diary Format, we meet Tania who is a normal young girl, until and accident reveals that she is actually a Teknoid.  In a world plagued with infertility a Company called Oxted Corporation designed Andrioids that can take the place of children, Tania is unaware of the fact that she is an android, she believes that she is one of the few human children left, It is nearly impossible to tell the difference between an Android and Human.

Through Tania’s diaries we see a girl coming of age, and trying to find herself which a lot of teenage girls could relate too except instead of finding who she is as a human she had to understand who she is as a computer or a human, she has feelings, thoughts and actions just as any teenager or child would, which really makes you examine the morality of messing with robots.

I loved the diary entries, usually I don’t like them because of the way they slowly unravel the plot points, I did have a problem however was the inbetween diary entries there were entries from someone else which  became a bit sketchy, although the twist at the end brings these together perfectly.

Overall Expiration Day is a good sci-fi read.

 

Carrier Review by Vanessa Garden

Dystopia

Title: Carrier

Author: Vanessa Garden

Series: ?

Publisher: Escape Publishing

Source: Netgalley for honest review

Release Date:  March 1 2014

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The Synopsis

For fans of The Walking Dead and The Hunger Games comes a YA novel about freedom, choice and family — and the terrifying disease that makes them mutually exclusive. 

From the day she was born, Lena has viewed the world through the jagged window of a razor-wired fence. The hundred-acre property she shares with her mother in the Australian outback may keep her safe from the Y-Carrier disease, but it is no longer enough to hold Lena’s interest, and her mother’s increasingly tight grip on her free will is stifling.

Just as her curiosity blooms and her courage rises, she meets a boy through the fence — the first boy she has ever laid eyes on. His name is Patrick and he comes with a dangerous yet irresistible invitation of adventure beyond the fence, an invitation to which Lena cannot say no.

But Lena’s newfound freedom is short-lived and she soon discovers that the Y-Carrier disease is not the only enemy she faces on the outside. Her new enemies want something Lena has, and they are willing to do anything to get it..

My Thoughts

A great new twist to the Zombie Novel, Instead of Zombies the world was over run with a disease that made males a carrier and women would get infected and die horribly, It is an extremely dangerous time for women with not many left in the world.  Lena lives in outback  Australia with her mother, Her house is a Jail with her Mother the warden.  Lena is not allowed to leave their yard after her older cousin Alice tried to run away one night and was brutally murdered by a group of men.

Lena’s mother is a kick arse woman but becomes horribly overbearing and protective of Lena which would be understandable considering that most of the male population is out to get them.

Lena feels trapped and wants to leave and have more freedom and she gets her chance when a boy her own age shows up one night while her mother is out hunting searching for his lost father.

Patrick is left to fend for himself and his little brothers after his father vanishes, he can’t hunt very well because he has poor eyesight but he is instantly attracted to Lena mostly for the fact she is the only girl he has seen since the outbreak.

Lena decides to leave with him and have an adventure to meet his younger brothers, on the way they are attacked and sent to a community of survivors.

I loved how this book is set in Outback Australia, you ask most people around here where would you go when the shit hits the fan and most will say go bush.  The Outback is so huge, although it would be hard to survive out there on your own it is vast enough to vanish and not be bothered by others.

The alive diseased was a nice break from the dead zombies, it gave them more of a human quality instead of being dead mindless Zombies they were alive and thinking just they carried a disease that when they come in contact with females the female would die a horrible death.

There are also Science fiction elements in the story but not to overshadow too much I really enjoyed the mix of genres apocalyptic, Dystopia , Sci fi and Romance.  It is a story about survival and family in the worst times and I could not say a bad thing about it except that I want more.

 

Other Reviews by Vanessa Garden

Allegiant by Veronica Roth Review

 

 

 

Allegiant review

Author:  Veronica Roth

Published: October 2013

Length: 526 Pages

Publisher: Harper Collins

Source: Brought

Genre: Dystopian

The Synopsis:

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Wow what a great end to the divergent series, although unexpected I still thoroughly enjoyed the journey of Tris and four and I am sad to see the series end, even though it is it’s time, some books I read the last book and I wish so bad that it did not end, I beleive that divergent had to end here, I really odn’t think much more can be done for this series.

 

What I did find unexpected and a little weird was the escape from one dystopian world into another, very big brotherish and I still don’t know what I think of this development.  

I loved Divergent because of the simplicity of the storyline, strong but oppressed teen Tris wants more than what her family and faction can give her, so she transfers to the most dangerous faction. The storyline was excellent following Tris though her induction into Dauntless and her struggles to find herself, Divergent was full of Action difficult choices and a hint of romance.

Insurgent was a bit different all about the uprising of the factions and Rebellion Tris and her friends are in hiding and all their secrets come out under truth serum, full of action, betrayal and romance Insurgent did not disappoint me at all It kept me hanging, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Which brings me to Allegaint which is basically a whole new story, Tris and the gang escape because there is still a war brewing, people are still not happy, some like the reliability and security of the factions and some do not want to conform to any type of authority other than their own.

Allegiant was a bit slow for me starting, and the 2 pov was a bit confusing to work out who was who, but my biggest gripe is that Four disappeared, Where is my big strong fearless leader gone and why has he been replaced with a sooky crying baby? My god I understand that maybe Veronica was trying to make Tobias look more human, but jeez do not completely change his character, I found Tobias to be annoying and whiney.

Surprising though is the fact that the ending did not faze me at all, It was sad, heartbreaking and stupid, but I was definitely unsurprised by it.

The divergent trilogy will always have a place in my heart, and even though I found Alligiant disappointing, they will never be able to end a series without making everyone happy. I am giving Alligiant four hearts because I still loved it, I loved the ending if only Veronica had not messed with Fours Character.

 

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Book Discussions – Child Soldiers

Child Soldiers

While reading The 5th wave I became very uncomfortable reading, because of the subject of child soldiers.  Children as young as five were being trained to fight in a war which to me was horrifying particularly because my youngest daughter has just turned five.  It might just be the mother in me but there is a character called nugget, he is just an innocent five years old when the shit hits the fan.  Nugget is separated by his family and put into a military training camp for kids, they are treated just like adults are in the army, break their souls so they can become killing machines.  This has bothered me so much that I have moments when I think I should just put the book aside.

When you think about it most dystopias have child soldiers in them, Maybe not as young as five but most of these stories the children choose to fight, they are guerrilla soldiers not military soldiers.  This is what bothers me so much that Adults and the Government who are supposed to protect children at all costs, see them as disposable, They are given orders to fight or die for their people, country etc.  guerrilla Child soldiers might decide to die or fight for their country but they are not trained for it, and they don’t have Adults/military/governments telling them to fight and die. They do it for the love of their people or their families.

It is funny how books make you feel like you can’t trust the government. that even though all types of child soldiers in literature are fighting for the same cause, freedom, life etc. the added factor of the military training them and supplying guns to them which in reality would give them a better chance for survival, makes your stomach turn. Then when we read about guerilla Soldiers fighting for freedom without training or proper weaponry. we cheer them on.

What are your thoughts? I am really interested to see what others think on this subject.

 

 

 

Book Discussions – Cover Trends

Cover Trends

I have noticed that like genres book covers also go through trends, first I noticed Y.A books having beautiful ball gowns on the covers and now I am noticing on Erotic novels a piece of jewelry is a major theme. Lets take a look

Ball gowns for Y.A

The Piece of jewelry

 

 

And for the Final Trend the open Road in dystopias

 

I am not saying that trends are bad, I love the covers with the ball gowns.  What other Trends have you noticed in book covers lately? feel free to share