Til the World Ends by Julie Kagawa

Goodreads
368 pages, YA dystopian
Blood of Eden # 0.5
My rating: 4 stars


This books includes 3 short novellas, all with a dystopian theme.  The first one, Dawn of Eden is a prequel to the Blood of Eden series.

Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis

Before The Immortal Rules, there was the Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden-as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What's worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems.... 

My 2 cents

I love the Blood of Eden series!  The Immortal Rules was on of my favorite book of 2012!  So I was really looking forward to reading this prequel.  It was good, and I enjoyed it, but as far as I can tell, it only included one of the characters from the book, one of the vampires.  And his was actually a small part.  But I did enjoy getting to know Kylie and Ben!  The most important part of this story was how we learned how the rabids were created.  This was a gripping, chilling story, just like the book!


Thorn & Thistle by Ann Aguirre

Synopsis

After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside-in the Red Zone-is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they'll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside...for good. 

My 2 cents

This was my favorite of the three stories.  I really connected with Mari and Thorne, and their plight.  It felt like a really honest story between two people who are trying to survive any way they can in a hopeless situation.  I loved the characters so much!  There was still a lot of story left by the end, I am hoping she turns this one into a series!


Sun Storm by Karen Duvall

Synopsis

Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms-in the cosmos and beyond. And she's not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She'll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.

My 2 cents

This was my least favorite of the three stories.  I liked the concept, and I really liked Ian, but it felt like it would have been better as a full length novel.  There is too much that happens in 120 pages, so if felt very rushed.  I would love this one as a book or series instead!  

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Goodreads
424 pages, YA Paranormal (Angels)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1
My rating: 5 stars

Synopsis

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My 2 cents

Oh my gosh, I LOVED this book!  I'm so glad I finally had a chance to read it!  The writing was beautiful, and the words just came alive on the page!  I also loved the setting of Prague.  It made me really want to go visit!

I've read loads of angel books--fallen angels, good angels, bad angels, but this book took it to a whole other level!  And normally, in an Angel war, there are demons.  Well, this book had demons, but not any demons that I've ever read about.  Its funny, because at some point, one of Karou's friends says something along the lines of, "This isn't Narnia!"  But it really felt like it at times.  It was a whole other world nestled in our own, and it was done so well!

I loved Karou.  She is one of the most interesting kick butt characters I have read about!  And it was kind of crazy how much I liked Brimstone.  I got the feeling early on that he had to be a bad guy, but he really felt almost like a Dumbledore type figure to me.  I hope we learn more about him later in the series.  I must admit, I wasn't very fond of Akiva.  I realize that he and Karou were in love, but he seemed like such a jerk!

And when we finally learn who and what Karou is...it was just devastating to me!  Suddenly the whole novel made perfect sense, but I bet we have even more to learn in future books! I can't wait to read Days of Blood and Starlight, I'm going to have to go pick it up soon!

Hooked by Liz Fichera

Goodreads
368 pages, YA Contemporary Romance
Hooked #1
My rating: 4 stars

Synopsis

When Native American Fredricka ‘Fred’ Oday is invited to become the only girl on the school’s golf team, she can’t say no. This is an opportunity to shine, win a scholarship and go to university, something no one in her family has done. 

But Fred’s presence on the team isn’t exactly welcome — especially not to rich golden boy Ryan Berenger, whose best friend was kicked off the team to make a spot for Fred.

But there’s no denying that things are happening between the girl with the killer swing and the boy with the killer smile...

GET HOOKED ON A GIRL NAMED FRED.

My 2 cents

This book was very different from most contemporaries I've read, just because most of the story centered around golf.  I'm not a huge golf fan, but I do know how to play a little, and all the terminology  so it was kind of fun!   If you don't know any of the golf lingo, there is a "Golf Tips" section in the back of the book.  The story is told from a dual POV, between Fred and Ryan.

So Fred lives a fairly horrible life.  She lives on the reservation, and like most families, they don't have much money. She plays with a horrible old red plaid bag, and doesn't have the proper golf shoes.  Her mother is an alcoholic, and makes home in their double wide trailer very stressful.  Her older brother is awesome, but he isn't home much, and her father is clearly the best person in her life.  But he is worn down my long working hours and life, although he does everything he can for his daughter.

Ryan seems to have a perfect life.  His family is rich and he's pretty spoiled.  He has lots of friends and a very cute popular girlfriend named Gwyneth.  But his home life isn't any better than Fred's.  His dad cheats, and his mom puts up with it and is almost never home.  His girlfriend is a horrible snob, and his best friend, Seth, is one of the biggest jerks I've met in book world!

Seth is actually the one who wants revenge on Fred for taking his spot.  At first, all of the other boys on the team, including Ryan, make things pretty hard for her.  Then she starts to help them actually win their tournaments, and Ryan's attitude starts to change.  Unfortunately for him, everyone else things he should stay away from the "Indian girl."

There are a lot of racist comments in this book.  Obviously the rich white kids don't understand the dozen or so Rez kids that attend their school.  Ryan is one of the few who doesn't say any comments, but at the same time, he doesn't try real hard to get others to stop, either.  Seth is definitely the worst, and I couldn't understand why Ryan put up with him for so long.  I really though Ryan was an arse for a lot of the book.  He would try to play nice with Fred, and then get sucked right back into his white world.  He was not good against peer pressure.

I really loved Fred.   Her chapters were definitely the most fun to read.  The story mostly felt like it was her journey.  I think the author did the dual POV just so we could see Ryan's side, and not hate him too much.  The story felt very real to me, and I enjoyed the romance.  The golf tournaments were the best scenes in the book.  That's were Ryan and Fred were truly themselves.   This was a fresh new contemporary read!

Breaking Point Book Tralier

Breaking Point has a book trailer out!

Breaking Point releases Feb. 12th! I can't wait!

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Goodreads
362 pages, YA Dystopian
Article 5 #1
My Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

My 2 cents

I fell in love with this book.  It surprised me, because I didn't expect to like it this much!  It was , at times, very horrific.  Bad and violent things were happening to innocent people.  The story was so compelling!

Ember's mom is arrested and Ember is sent off to a rehabilitation center.   The kind with a tyrannical matronly woman in charge with lots of soldiers to back her up.  The ideas this society presented were just awful.  Basically, it sets feminism back in time about 100 years!  Woman are expected to be sub servant  obedient, and chaise.  And men were allowed to use physical force if necessary.  It was just sick!  

Poor, poor Ember.  She's never had a man long term in her life, other than her best friend turned boyfriend, Chase.  But Chase has been gone in the army awhile now, and Ember doesn't even recognize him anymore.  Ember doesn't take well to the new attitudes her government is expecting her to be, so she gets punished a lot.  Then the unexpected happens--Chase breaks her out of there and goes AWOL, as a favor to Ember's mother.

This is where the story really took off.  It become a lot more about Ember and Chase's relationship, and less about the tyrannical society.  Of course, they are on the run and there is danger everywhere, so there is still plenty of action!  Lots of love angst and action make me happy!

Like typical love struck teenagers, Ember and Chase were just so STUPID with each other!   Sometimes I just wanted to knock their heads together!  I understood both of their point of views, though.  Ember goes from a semi-normal life to a world where she cant trust ANYONE.  So its really hard for her to trust Chase, especially when his soldier training kicks in.  And I figured he's been through a lot, considering how this government treated its citizens.  

The ending almost seemed a little too easy to me.  I'm guessing the next book will start off with a bang!  The sequel, Breaking Point, releases Feb. 12th, and I will be buying and devouring it!

What Are You Reading Monday #15

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Book Journey, where us bloggers highlight our book reading week. 

What I Read this week

My Review of Ten

My Review of If I Stay

My Review of A Million Suns

My Review of Shades of Earth

My Review of Pushing the Limits

My Review of The Raven Boys

My Reading List for next week

Blog Schedule

Monday--What Are You Reading Monday

Review of Article 5

Review of Crown of Embers

Tuesday--Review of Clarity

Review of The Diviners

Wednesday--Wishlist Wednesday

Review of Breathe

Thursday--Any other reviews to catch up on

Friday--Feed My Reader Friday

Fire Country Book Blitz

Saturday--IMM

Any reviews to catch up on

Cocoa and Hype Make Every Book Nice Read A Thon Wrap Up

My Reading List:

Gates of Pardise by Melissa De La Cruz--Finished! My Review
What's Left Of Me by Kat Zhang--Finished! My Review
The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark--on page 80--I don't think I'll finish this one.
Ten by Gretchen McNeil--Finished! My Review
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry--Finished! My Review
Notes From Ghost Town by Kate Ellison--Finished!  My Review
The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater--Finished! My Review
Clairty by Kim Harrington--Finished! Review Coming Soon
If I Stay by Gayle Forman--Finished!  My Review
Breathe by Sarah Crossan--Finished! Review Coming Soon
The Diviners by Libby Bray--Finished! Review Coming soon
A Million Suns by Beth Revis--Finished!  My Review
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis--Finished! My Review

So, I was able to finish all the books on my list but one, which I abandoned!  It was a very productive week, and I had lots of fun doing this read a thon!