The Sun Dwellers--3rd book in the Dwellers series by David Estes

Goodreads
370 pages, YA Dystopian
The Dwellers #3
My Rating: 5 stars

This book had my heart racing the entire last half of the story.  I have never read the end of a book as fast as I did as the Sun Dwellers!  I just had to find out what was going to happen!  Check out my review below!


Fun fact:  Tristan and Roc get the pleasure of playing fashion designer and dressing Trevor while he's unconscious! 


Synopsis

With those she's closest to dying around her, Adele embarks on a secret mission to the Sun Realm to assassinate the President. Along the way she'll uncover secrets about her relationship with Tristan that she might not be ready to face. 

Tristan has a secret, too, one that's been eating him up inside ever since he met Adele. Will he reveal all, and risk the loss of friendship and love at a time when he needs it the most?

At the same time, Adele's mother, General Rose, must lead her soldiers into battle to face the sun dweller army in the hopes of holding them off until Adele can complete her mission. Can she outlast the strength of President Nailin's elite fighting force?

There's only one truth in their world: someone must die.

My 2 cents

The Sun Dwellers is a major roller coaster ride of shivers, tears, and emotions!  I was so ready for this ride, even though I had no idea where it would take me!  It took me up, down, and even upside down sometimes, making my stomach drop.  And after it was all over, I wanted to ride it all over again!  Good news for me, there are more books!

This book is the final efforts of Adele, Tristan, and their friends to assassinate the President.  They know this won't be easy, and they may die in the attempt. But they also know it must be done for any chance of peace to exist in the Realms.  

Helping them on this final journey is Roc, Tristan's best friend; Tawni, Adele's best friend; and Trevor, who is part of the rebel army, and a good friend of Adele's mom.  They all have something to lose.  For Adele, its her only chance for freedom, for herself, her mother and her sister. The theme of family lives on in this book!  Tristan also wants to be free from his father's sadistic ways and help his fellow citizens.  Roc is mainly there for Tristan, but he also has something to prove--exacting revenge for his mother.  Tawni has lost just about everything dear to her, and also wants her freedom.  Trevor is all about equality, and maybe seeing the President's head on a stick.

So we go on another journey, this time into the lion's den.   Even though there is almost constant action going on, we still get lots of little moments between characters, which is what really makes the story for me.  Adele is very conflicted through the first half of the book, which brings us back to the beginning--why are Adele and Tristan so drawn to each other?  

In the previous books, we got a little comic relief from Roc and Tristan's friendship.  In this story, though, Roc and Adele bond a little bit, and Trevor kind of takes over on the comic front.  This one doesn't have as many laughs--these kids are in a dire situation, after all!  

The ending was the most gripping and nail-biting part of this ride.  There were some very scary moments, and of course, lots of dark moments.  But in the end, I was more than satisfied with the conclusion to this trilogy. 

To wrap it all up, this book is crazy good!  The characters, the setting, the plot, and all the details were excellent!  Everything made complete sense to me, and left me wanting more!  So, its on to the next book for this girl!

The Star Dwellers--Book 2 in the Dwellers series by David Estes

Goodreads
YA Dystopian
The Dwellers #2
My rating: 5 stars

I normally have a hang up on the "middle" book in a series, but not so with this one!  This book was twice as good as the first, and I loved it so much!  Check out my review below!

Fun Fact:  Adele and Tawni catch a virus called "bat flu" while on the run.  Its as gruesome as it sounds!

Synopsis

After rescuing her father and younger sister, Adele is forced to leave her family and Tristan behind to find her mother in the cruel and dangerous realm of the star dwellers. 

Amidst blossoming feelings for Adele, Tristan must cast his feelings aside and let her find her own way amongst the star dwellers, while he accompanies Adele's father to meet with the leaders of the moon dwellers and decide the fate of the Tri-Realms.

Will Adele be able to rescue her mother and make it back to the Moon Realm before the President and the sun dweller soldiers destroy her family?

Can Tristan convince the moon dweller puppets of the error of their ways?

Was Adele's lost kiss with Tristan her one and only chance at love?

In her world there's only one rule: Someone must die.

My 2 cents

I'm a huge David Estes fan, so this may be biased...but I LOVED this book! This is the second book in the Dwellers series, a dystopian series where humanity has retreated underground for survival. We left off in Moon Dwellers with the Star Dwellers invading and bombing the Moon Dwellers, Adele heading off to try and rescue her mom, and Tristan teaming up with Adele's dad, Ben, to try and unite the Moon and Star Dwellers against their common enemy, Tristan's dad.

Things pick up right where we left off, with everyone still running and trying to survive. Now everyone has a purpose, which makes things all the more fun! The world building continues to amaze me. Everything is so descriptive. Its almost like watching a movie in my head!

I never knew what was going to happen next. Between things like "Bat Flu" (Yuck!)and trains running behind hidden caves, there was always something new coming at us. There were also a couple of surprising twists that I didn't see coming, and it makes me wonder what else the author has in store for us later!

The highlight of the book for me was Tristan and Roc's "Bromance." I just love the banter between these two, and it really helps lighten things up sometimes. I got to know Roc a lot better in this story, and I can't wait to see him become more of a hero. Adele and Tristan also had some more time together towards the end, which was great. I love the two of them together!

Adele also learns a lot about her own family, and their part in the Resistance. Her dad, Ben, is just an amazing man. He and Tristan spend a lot of time together in the beginning of the story, and Tristan sees in him the father he never had. Its amazing how much the theme of family is carried throughout the book, and I loved it!

You might be tired of hearing me say that, but I honestly can't think of anything in this story I didn't like. This is an amazing thing, because usually the second books in a series are my least favorite of the series. This girl can't wait to see what happens next in Sun Dwellers!

The Moon Dwellers--The Dwellers #1 by David Estes

Goodreads
369 pages, YA Dystopian
The Dwellers #1
My rating: 4.5 stars

This is the first book in the Dwellers series, and the first David Estes book I read.  I read this as a Read & Review for David, and I was so happy that I just loved it!  David really has a knack for writing dystopians, and this book was a great start to a series!  My review is below!


Fun Fact:  Adele is named after David's wife and love of his life, Adele!  


Synopsis

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms. 

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.

My 2 cents

YA Dystopians have become my favorite genre over the past year.  There really aren't too many I haven't read yet, although there are a few.  I'm not sure why I didn't read this one sooner, I am kind of kicking myself right now!  This was a thrilling, couldn't-put-it-down kind of read!

The story is a dual POV between Adele and Tristan.   Adele is in prison through no crimes of her own.  The society is set up like a caste system, and Adele's class, The Moon Dwellers,  is  considered middle class. Although now she has no rights at all, and is in prison for life. Tristan is royalty, and at the other end of the spectrum.   He belongs to the Sun Dwellers, the richest souls in their society.  The Sun Dwellers control everything, and take away more and more from the Moon Dwellers and the Star Dwellers (lowest class) every year.  The castes are even separated geographically.  Everything is underground, after a global destructive event up above the earth.

The story starts off where Tristan is in a parade of some sorts in the Moon Dwellers districts.  Adele sees him from the prison yard, and he, her.  The both experience an extreme sort of head pain when they lock eyes.  Tristan decides he must go back and find out about this girl.  He basically runs away to go find her, against his father's wishes.  So he sets off with his best friend and servant, Roc.

Adele, meanwhile, has befriended 2 prisoners by the names of Cole and Tawni, and they make a prison break.  At the same time they are escaping, the Star Dwellers, who are upset with their lot in life, has declared war on the Moon Dwellers, and is bombing the heck out of their districts.    Its utter chaos as Adele runs to try to rescue the rest of her family, and Tristan is chasing after her.

Adele is an awesome, kick butt kind of girl, and I absolutely adored her!  Tristan was no weakling, either, as he was trained in sword fighting since he was little.  He and Roc have an interesting time of things, though, as they don't have much common sense in the Moon Dwellers districts! They get themselves in more trouble than Adele does!  I loved the friendship and brotherhood of Roc and Tristan, and I thought their moments were some of the brightest and funniest!

The bulk of the story was really about these specific groups of people, but towards the end we start to see the bigger picture of this dystopian society, and its impending doom. The ending set things up nicely for the next book, The Star Dwellers!  

September Author of the Month--David Estes

Welcome David Estes, the September author of the month!   

I've got a full month of things planned for this blog!  There will be lots of things going on at my other social sites--Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!  My links are all on the left sidebar, so make sure you follow me everywhere to keep up with everything!

Along with reading all of David's books (that I haven't already read) and posting reviews, I have an author interview, an author guest post, and David has some sneak peek readings from some of his books!  There will also be some fun surprises, and contributions from some of David's biggest fans!  And, of course, there has to be a GIVEAWAY!

So, let's get started for an amazing month!  

The Author:

David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife and soul mate, Adele, who he’s now been happily married to for more than two years.
A reader all his life, David began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and has completed 14 novels, 12 of which have been published. In June of 2012, David became a fulltime writer and is now travelling the world with Adele while he writes books, and she writes and takes photographs.
David gleans inspiration from all sorts of crazy places, like watching random people do entertaining things, dreams (which he jots copious notes about immediately after waking up), and even from thin air sometimes!
David’s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, an obsessive Goodreads group member, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table. He loves responding to e-mails, Facebook messages, Tweets, blog comments, and Goodreads comments from his readers, all of whom he considers to be his friends.
​
Learn more about the author at: ​http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com​

My Goodreads Fan Group: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/70863-david-estes-fans-and-ya-book-lovers-unite?clear_facebook_session=true

My Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Estes/130852990343920

My Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/davidestesbooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davidestesbooks

September Index of Posts

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The Moon Dwellers--My Review
Pinterest--Author of the Month Board
Instagram--Fire Country on my Nook
The Star Dwellers---My Review
The Sun Dwellers--My Review
The Earth Dwellers Book Blast and GIVEAWAY
The Earth Dwellers--Facebook Page
Ice Country--My Review
The Moon Dwellers Reading by David Estes
Fire Country--My Review
Fire Country Reading by David Estes
My Fire Country Playlist

Now its time for the GIVEAWAY!  One winner will get a choice of one of David's ebooks!  Enter on the rafflecopter below, and GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

City of Bones---Movie Review!

I finally went and saw City of Bones!  Here are my thoughts!

City of Bones--Quotes I hope to see in the movie!

So, tomorrow I am going to go and see City of Bones!  I'm very excited!  I don't have my hopes set too high (I hope!) but one of the things I love about TMI is some of the great dialogue and quotes.  

So here are the quotes I am hoping made it into the movie!

“Don't touch any of my weapons without my permission."
"Well, there goes my plan for selling them all on eBay," Clary muttered.
"Selling them on what?"
Clary smiled blandly at him. "A mythical place of great magical power.” 

“Do you remember back at the hotel when you promised that if we lived, you’d get dressed up in a nurse’s outfit and give me a sponge bath?" asked Jace.
"It was Simon who promised you the sponge bath."
"As soon as I’m back on my feet, handsome," said Simon.
"I knew we should have left you a rat.” 

“The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he'd learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed.” 

“Don't order any of the faerie food," said Jace, looking at her over the top of his menu. "It tends to make humans a little crazy. One minute you're munching a faerie plum, the next minute you're running naked down Madison Avenue with antlers on your head. Not," he added hastily, "that this has ever happened to me.” 

“Investigation?" Isabelle laughed. "Now we're detectives? Maybe we should all have code names."
"Good idea," said Jace. "I shall be Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein.”

“Don't stop there. I suppose there are also, what, vampires and werewolves and zombies?"
"Of course there are. Although you mostly find zombies farther south, where the voudun priests are."
"What about mummies? Do they only hang around Egypt?"
"Don't be ridiculous. No one believes in mummies.”

“What's this?" he demanded, looking from Clary to his companions, as if they might know what she was doing there.
"It's a girl," Jace said,recovering his composure. "Surely you've seen girls before, Alec. Your sister Isabelle is one.”

“Don't tell me," Jace said, "Simon's turned himself into an ocelot and you want me to do something about it before Isabelle makes him into a stole. Well, you'll have have to wait till tomorrow. I'm out of commission." He pointed at himself - he was wearing blue pajamas with a hole in the sleeve. "Look. Jammies."
"Jace," Clary said, "this is important."
"Don't tell me," he said. "You've got a drawing emergency. You need a nude model. Well, I'm not in the mood. You could always ask Hodge," he said as an afterthought. "I hear he'll do anything for a -"
"JACE!" she interrupted him, her voice rising to a scream. "JUST SHUT UP FOR A SECOND AND LISTEN, WILL YOU?”

Of course, I don't really except all of these to make the cut, but I am hoping to see a few!  Fingers crossed!

Bout of Book 8.0 Road Trip Challenge

Hey everyone and welcome to my stop for the Bout of Books Road Trip Challenge!! I hope you all are enjoying your read-a-thon week and are getting closer to your goals! I love going on road trips or any kind of trip for that matter and I always bring a TON of books with me. For this challenge, I'd like for you to come up with a list of the top 5-10 states/places you'd love to visit and find a book (you either read or want to read) that takes place in that state/place or a book by an author who lives or is from there. :]

To do this fun challenge, you must sign up for the read-a-thon.  You can do the challenge HERE

                                       Here is my road trip!

Washington--The Art of Racing in the Rain
Oregon--If I Stay
Wyoming--Unearthly
Colorado--A Beautiful Dark
Georgia--Hex Hall
South Carolina--Beautiful Creatures
North Carolina--The Truth About Forever
Virginia--The Raven Boys
New York--The City of Bones
Maine--Delirium