Tag Archives: YA Dystopia

Book Review: Rebelwing by Andrea Tang

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Book: Rebelwing by Andrea Tang

Published February 2020 by Razorbill|355 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Rebelwing #1

Genre: YA Sci-fi/Dystopia

Business is booming for Prudence Wu.

A black-market-media smuggler and scholarship student at the prestigious New Columbia Preparatory Academy, Pru is lucky to live in the Barricade Coalition where she is free to study, read, watch, and listen to whatever she wants. But between essays and exams, she chooses to spend her breaks sweet-talking border patrol with her best friend, Anabel, in order to sell banned media to the less fortunate citizens of the United Continental Confederacy, Inc.

When a drop-off goes awry, Pru narrowly escapes UCC enforcers to find that her rescuer is, of all things, a sentient cybernetic dragon. On the one hand, Pru is lucky not to be in prison, or worse. On the other, the dragon seems to have imprinted on her permanently, which means she has no choice but to be its pilot.

Drawn into a revolution she has no real interest in leading, Pru, Anabel, and friends Alex and Cat become key players in a brewing conflict with the UCC as the corporate government develops advanced weaponry more terrifying and grotesque than Pru could have ever imagined.

I wasn’t sure about this book at first!  It took me a while to get into, and at one point, I was pretty close to not finishing it at all.  But I’m glad I kept reading and I ended up really liking it!

This is a future I can easily imagine- the U.S. is split up into different territories, and not everyone can access banned media.  It’s a scary future, and the world was frighteningly familiar.  Mechanical wyverns and dragons are pretty cool, I have to admit, and the weaponry is pretty horrifying.  Pru, of course, gets drawn into this revolution that she had no idea was even happening, and with how the book ended, she has a lot to deal with.  I’m curious to see how things go, and how she’ll deal with a corporate government and the terrifying things they can come up with.

I’m not sure how I feel about Pru.  Or anyone else that we see.  I get why Anabel kept things from Pru, but I also get why Pru didn’t take it well.  They work through it, of course, and they’re really going to need each other.  Especially with everything that Pru went through in this book…particularly towards the end.  I feel like Alex gets it, since he went through the same thing she did.  I know they’ll be fine, but it will be hard, especially for Alex.  With what he learned about his family…I can’t imagine learning that.  I felt for both of them, because no one should have to go through what they did.  In all honesty, there’s not a lot I remember about them, other than the basics.

There’s a lot of action, adventure and politics, and the further I got into the book, the more I wanted to know what would happen next.  I was interested to see what was really going on in this world, and how we even got to this point.  Pru’s pretty lucky, but still trying to figure out her place in the world.  And of course, she’s doing it while bonding to a mechanical dragon she has to pilot because it imprinted on her, instead of Alex, the person it was supposed to bond with.  I am pretty interested to see how she changes in the next book and to see her really decide what she wants in life.

Rebelwing gets 4 stars- I really liked this one.  It took me some time to get into the book, but I’m glad I kept reading and didn’t give up on it.

Book Review: Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi

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Book: Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi

Published March 2020 by HarperCollins|464 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: Shatter Me #6

Genre: YA Dystopia

The explosive finale to the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Shatter Me series.

Juliette Ferrars.

Ella Sommers.

Which is the truth and which is the lie?

Now that Ella knows who Juliette is and what she was created for, things have only become more complicated. As she struggles to understand the past that haunts her and looks to a future more uncertain than ever, the lines between right and wrong—between Ella and Juliette—blur. And with old enemies looming, her destiny may not be her own to control.

The day of reckoning for the Reestablishment is coming. But she may not get to choose what side she fights on.

I loved Imagine Me!  I am really sad this series is over, because I’ve liked the series from the very beginning.  I’ve loved Juliette’s story, and I’m glad she’s okay.

Imagine Me is narrated by Juliette and Kenji, and I very much preferred Juliette’s story.  I liked Kenji’s story as well, and it’s clear that Juliette is very important to him.  Not only that, but with Kenji narrating half the book, we do get a much-needed perspective on what else is going on in this world.  Still, it would have been nice to see what Warner was thinking and to get more chapters narrated from him.  We only get the epilogue, which was great but having at least one or two chapters from his perspective would have been nice.

Some of the formatting in Juliette’s chapters reminded me of when we first met her in Shatter Me.  I can’t remember the last time I read the first three books, and as I write this, I’m currently re-reading Shatter Me.  Juliette was so broken and her thinking was so chaotic and fractured, but in Imagine Me, she is so much stronger.  I loved seeing how much she has changed, and there is a huge difference from what I’m seeing in Shatter Me and what we saw in Imagine Me.

Juliette’s chapters were heartbreaking but so beautifully written.  There were so many times when I just stopped reading to take it in.  Juliette has gone through so much, and all I want is for her to be okay.  I feel like she is going to get that, and hopefully, it will stay that way.  Juliette really deserves it.

I liked seeing how Warner dealt with Juliette being gone.  Obviously, he doesn’t know what was going on with her while she was in Oceania, but we see how much her not being there affects him.  It’s obvious that he really cares for her, and he’s a very different person when she isn’t there.  He’s kind of like the Warner we see at the beginning of the series, but hopefully, he’ll be the Warner who’s not a terrible person now that Juliette is back.

This book was a really good ending to the series.  It felt pretty open-ended, and things were not really wrapped up the way I thought it would be.  There’s a lot of loose ends that weren’t wrapped up, but I actually don’t mind it.

Would it have been nice to know for sure what their world was like once everything was over?

Of course.  We don’t see any aftermath, and we have no idea what happens between the last chapter and the epilogue.  More of what happened in between would have been nice, and seeing some things wrapped up more completely would have been nice.  It didn’t stop me from loving this book, though.

Restore Me, Defy Me, and Imagine Me were unexpected, because I really thought this series had ended with Ignite Me.  I feel like there is more story that could be written, so I’m wondering if that’s why things felt a little bit unfinished.  As far as I know, this series is definitely over, so we are all left wondering what happened in between the last chapter and the epilogue.

5 stars.  I loved Imagine Me, and Juliette’s chapters were so beautifully written.  Things felt a little unfinished but I still thought it was a great ending.

Book Review: Shatter City by Scott Westerfeld

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Book: Shatter City by Scott Westerfeld

Published September 2019 by Scholastic Press|416 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Impostors #2

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Dystopia

When the world sees Frey, they think they see her twin sister Rafi. Frey was raised to be Rafi’s double, and now she’s taken on the role…without anyone else knowing.

Her goal? To destroy the forces that created her.

But with the world watching and a rebellion rising, Frey is forced into a detour. Suddenly she is stranded on her own in Paz, a city where many of the citizens attempt to regulate their emotions through an interface on their arms. Paz is an easy place to get lost…and also an easy place to lose yourself.

As the city comes under a catastrophic attack, Frey must leave the shadows and enter the chaos of warfare – because there is no other way for her to find her missing sister and have her revenge against her murderous father. 

 

I really liked Shatter City! It was an interesting read, and I was curious to see how things would work out after the way Impostors ended. It didn’t disappoint, and I definitely want to know what happens next.

It was interesting to follow both Frey and Rafi. It was pretty interesting to see how they did the good old twins pretending to be each other thing. Even though this series follows Frey, there is part of me that wonders what things are really like for Rafi, and I’d love to see a chapter or two from her perspective. I don’t think I need a whole book from her perspective, or even a good chunk of any book following her, but a chapter or two could be interesting.

We see more of the world that Frey lives in, which was really nice. It makes me wonder how much more of the world we’ll see in the rest of the series, and I can’t wait to see if we’ll stay pretty close to where we’ve been, or if there will be a lot more traveling involved. If she’s going to go after her father, she can’t go far, but she’ll also need allies, so I’m curious to see if anyone will help her, or if they’ll just go along with it.

It also makes me wonder about the geography of the world she lives in versus where the original Uglies trilogy took place. Is it close to where Tally’s from, or in a completely different area? I’d kill for a map of Frey’s world just so I know where things are in relation to each other.

I feel like Rafi and Frey really come into their own in this book. There’s definitely room for growth and change, of course, but Rafi does some things I would not have expected. And Frey…I felt for her. She has a lot to deal with, especially with the revelations about her brother.

I did not see that coming, and I so want more about him and how he got to that point. That’s a story I really want to know, even though I know we’d only get bits and pieces. And that’s assuming we get anything else during the rest of the series.

I really hope we see them in a world where they don’t have to deal with their father. It makes me wonder who they’ll become and how they’ll change if he’s someone they don’t have to deal with or worry about. I’m pretty sure we won’t see that but I can’t help but wonder what their world would be like if he wasn’t a factor.

I’m also curious to see if we’ll see Tally. She’s definitely mentioned, and her story was definitely finished. But part of me wonders how she is, what she’s up to and if she wants to help get rid of Frey’s dad. I want Frey and Rafi to deal with this on their own, but part of me does want Tally to randomly show up and help out.

4 stars. I really liked Shatter City, and I really liked seeing how big this world is.

Book Review: Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi

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Book Review: Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Published April 2019 by HarperTeen|368 Pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: Shatter Me #5

Genre: YA Dystopia

 

The gripping fifth installment in the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shatter Me series. Will Juliette’s broken heart make her vulnerable to the strengthening darkness within her?

Juliette’s short tenure as the supreme commander of North America has been an utter disaster. When the children of the other world leaders show up on her doorstep, she wants nothing more than to turn to Warner for support and guidance. But he shatters her heart when he reveals that he’s been keeping secrets about her family and her identity from her—secrets that change everything.

Juliette is devastated, and the darkness that’s always dwelled within her threatens to consume her. An explosive encounter with unexpected visitors might be enough to push her over the edge. 

I loved Defy Me!  It’s a great book, and a great addition to this series.  We learn so much about Juliette’s world and I can’t wait to see how everything ends.

I really loved what we learned about Juliette’s world and how the Reestablishment took over.  I really never thought about it before, but it was nice to actually get that information.  They’re really not the people we thought they were.  It has been awhile since I’ve read the other books in the series, because when do I ever re-read a series every time a new book comes out?  I remembered enough to know what was going on and not re-reading the series didn’t get in the way of me loving this book.  There’s a lot we- and the characters- didn’t know about this world until we got to this book.

One interesting thing was that we see how moments where Juliette’s thinking becomes fractured again.  There was a lot of interesting formatting at the beginning of the series, and as Juliette changed, we saw this change as well.  It is interesting how it comes up when Juliette’s going through a lot.

And Juliette has been through a lot.  or the longest time, it just seemed to be how it was for her, but when you find out why she was where she was and what really happened to her…I really felt for Juliette.

We see a lot of memories in this book, particularly from Warner.  At least, they felt like memories to me, but maybe they’re dreams.  It was a little hard to get through Juliette and Warner’s chapters because of everything they go through in this book, and Kenji’s is probably the most coherent and put together.  Maybe that will change for the next book.

Surprisingly, the book didn’t end on a cliffhanger.  It ended on a really happy note, which was nice.  But it’s making me really suspicious, because there’s a lot that’s going to happen in the last book.  In a way, it’s the calm before the storm, and I feel like it’s going to get worse before it will get better.  Either way, I’m along for the ride, and I’m definitely sticking with this series until the very end.

5 stars.  I loved Defy Me, and it’s a great addition to this series!  It adds a lot to Juliette’s world, for both the readers and characters.  I can’t wait to see how it all comes together!

Book Review: The Fever King by Victoria Lee

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Book Review: The Fever King by Victoria Lee

Published March 2019 by Skyscape|375 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Feverwake #1

Genre: YA Sci Fi/Dystopia

In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.

The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.

Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

The Fever King is an interesting one!  I’m really glad I read it, and I ended up really liking it!

The setting was really interesting.  It’s a futuristic America that’s been torn apart by a magical virus, and there’s elements of fantasy and sci-fi.  It seems like there’s a lot to explore in Noam’s world, especially since America isn’t the America we know.  At least in terms of geography.  In terms of refuges and immigrants, the world Noam lives in is all too familiar, and very, very real.

I really liked Noam, and he’s such a different character than Dara.  To a certain extent, he’s more trusting of others than Dara.  That surprised me, considering how Noam grew up, but I also don’t blame him.  I feel like I might have done the same thing if I were him.  I do get his decision to stay behind, though.  I mean, no one would ever suspect him, and he definitely seems like the sort of guy who is underestimated.  I can’t wait to read the next book to see how things turn out for him.

I’m not sure how I feel about Dara.  I did feel for him, and it sounds like things weren’t easy for him.  I do get why he acted the way he did, and I did like him a little more by the end of the book than I did when we first met him.

I don’t have anything else to say about The Fever King.  The world is pretty interesting, and I’d love to see more of it.  I really liked how magic was used in this book and I feel like there’s more to it than what we see.  Especially with how everything came about.  I’d love more backstory on that, but I don’t have a lot of hope we’ll see it.  Either way, I hope we get at least a little more with the magic.

4 stars.  I really liked The Fever King, but I didn’t love it.

ARC Book Review: Dealing In Dreams by Lilliam Rivera

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Book: Dealing In Dreams by Lilliam Rivera

Expected Publication Is 3/05/2019 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers|Expected Number Of Pages: 352

Where I Got It: I received an e-ARC from netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review

Series: None

Genre: YA Dystopia

At night, Las Mal Criadas own these streets.

Sixteen-year-old Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City. That role brings with it violent throwdowns and access to the hottest boydega clubs, but Nalah quickly grows weary of her questionable lifestyle. Her dream is to get off the streets and make a home in the exclusive Mega Towers, in which only a chosen few get to live. To make it to the Mega Towers, Nalah must prove her loyalty to the city’s benevolent founder and cross the border in a search of the mysterious gang the Ashé Riders. Led by a reluctant guide, Nalah battles crews and her own doubts but the closer she gets to her goal the more she loses sight of everything—and everyone—she cares about.

Nalah must choose whether or not she’s willing to do the unspeakable to get what she wants. Can she discover that home is not where you live but whom you chose to protect before she loses the family she’s created for good?

I liked this one!  I really liked The Education Of Margot Sanchez when I read it a couple of years ago, and I was looking forward to reading this one.

I wish I liked it more than I did, but it’s definitely an interesting read.  I thought the world was really different- it’s ruled by women, and girl gangs are in charge in Mega City and the world beyond it.  This is a world where winning fights means you move up the ranks,  I don’t think I remember seeing many, if any men in this book.  They are very much in the background, and low on the totem pole.  It’s an interesting role reversal- the women are violent and powerful, and I think it could have been easy to have it be the complete opposite.

I had a hard time with the world.  We’re thrown into Nalah’s world and I wanted to know more about how the world came to be.  Why were the women ruling things?  What happened that Mega City seemed to be closed off and dealing dreams?  I had so many questions about the world, and they weren’t answered.  Everything was just there, and not really explained.  I wanted to know why things were the way they were, and I really felt like the sueño tabs weren’t used as much as they could have been.  It helps people sleep, but they end up being really addicted to it.  Since Nalah’s group didn’t use it, we only got glimpses of what it did.

I did have trouble keeping the different gangs apart, especially at first.  It was the same for the characters.  While I was able to keep up by the end of the book, it did take a while.

Dealing In Dreams is also in first-person, which didn’t work for this particular book.  At least for me.  I don’t mind it but I think we were in Nalah’s head a little too much.  I don’t know that multiple narrators would have fit with this story but it could have been interesting to get another perspective on things.  The writing didn’t work for me- it seemed a little stilted but maybe it’s because it’s first-person?  Maybe I’ll have to try it on audio, because it seems like it would work really well as an audio book.

I know it seems like I didn’t like Dealing In Dreams, but I did!  Thinking about it now, I think my issues with the book was a combination of not completely paying attention to the book, wanting a little more from the world-building and characters, and thinking it’s better suited to audio.  But I liked seeing what was going on in this world.  I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like this book, and I do mean that in a good way.

I think the one thing I truly disliked was the ending.  It just sort of ended, and I was confused because it seemed like there should have been more resolution.  I was even more surprised that this book seems to be a stand-alone.  I assumed that it was the first in a series- which would explain the ending and the fact that I didn’t get the details I wanted.  There’s not a lot of room for explaining every single thing in a stand-alone.  There’s definitely room for another book set in this world.

3 stars.  I did like Dealing In Dreams, and I loved the role reversal in the book.  I really liked the world, but I did finish the book wanting more.  Maybe we’ll get lucky, and see another book set in this world.

Book Review: Impostors by Scott Westerfeld

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Book: Impostors by Scott Westerfeld

Published September 2018 by Scholastic Press|407 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Uglies #5

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Dystopia

Frey and Rafi are inseparable . . . but very few people have ever seen them together. This is because Frey is Rafi’s double, raised in the shadows of their rich father’s fortress. While Rafi has been taught to charm, Frey has been taught to kill. Frey only exists to protect her sister. There is no other part of her life. Frey has never been out in the world on her own – until her father sends her in Rafi’s place to act as collateral for a dangerous deal. Everyone thinks she’s her sister – but Col, the son of a rival leader, is starting to get close enough to tell the difference. As the stakes grow higher and higher, Frey must decide whether she can trust him – or anyone in her life.

I’ll admit, I was both really nervous and really excited about this book.  Excited, because we get to revisit the world of the Uglies, and way after the end of Specials.  But I was also nervous, because I wasn’t too enthused with Extras, which felt tacked on when I originally read.  I was nervous it would be the same with Impostors.

I’m glad I read it, though, because I ended up being nervous for no reason.  One thing I really appreciated is the fact that you don’t need to read the first 4 books in order to know what’s going on with this one.  Even though it’s the 5th book in the Uglies series, it also felt like a sequel or spin-off series.  You get an idea of what happened before, and it was worked into the book really well but it’s also a completely different story, and you can follow what’s going on pretty well.  I’d still recommend the previous books because they are really good, and the 4th might feel like less of an afterthought now that the series is continuing.

I really liked the characters, and part of me wishes we saw more of Rafi.  We get a good sense of who she is, especially by the end of the book, but I have the feeling there’s more going on with her than what we get in the book.

I liked Frey too, and I liked that she wasn’t always sure what to do, or how to act.  It’s understandable, considering she didn’t get the education Rafi did.  That was something that took me out of it a little, though.  I mean, I know she’s a body double and all, she’s just a stand-in for when they need to make an appearance in front of a crowd, but what if something were to happen to Rafi?  Eventually, it might become obvious that there’s something going on, and I feel like she should have had the same education Rafi did for it to really work.  It seemed like Frey really needed but her father obviously had other plans.

There is a lot of action, and it does move pretty fast, which is good.  There’s also a lot of twists and turns, and it was fun to go along for the ride.

4 stars.  I didn’t love it, and Frey not having the complete education Rafi did took me out of the story a little bit.  Still, it’s worth reading, especially if you liked the original series.

Book Review: Renegades by Marissa Meyer, Narrated by Rebecca Soler And Dan Bittner

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Book: Renegades by Marissa Meyer, Narrated by Rebecca Soler and Dan Bittner

Published November 2017 by MacMillan Audio|Length 16 hours, 58 minutes

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Renegades #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

From #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer, comes a high-stakes world of adventure, passion, danger, and betrayal.

Secret Identities.
Extraordinary Powers.
She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

I really liked Renegades.  It’s odd, because it’s a mix of dystopia and fantasy, but I thought I worked really well.

I really liked Nova and I felt really bad for her.  The book is narrated by both Nova and Adrian, and I found I cared for Nova’s story more than Adrian’s.  Since I listened to it on audio, there was no skimming over Adrian’s sections, and I did notice that it wasn’t the typical alternating chapters- it was sections.  They each got a few chapters where one would narrate, and than it would switch to the other one.

I was more bored with Adrian’s, like I mentioned, and I think it’s because he’s one of the “good guys.”  By the end of the book, I thought the Renegades were a lot worse than the villains.  There’s one moment in particular that made me hate them, and I hate both what they were doing, and how they went about it.  And people think they’re the good guys?  Never have I so badly wanted them to be taken down, and I need Nova to be the one to do it.

I think part of why the Renegades seemed horrible was perspective.  Especially when Nova was narrating.  She has every reason to hate them, and with everything she’s learning about them, it’s hard to like them.  You do see that at least some of them have the best of intentions, and maybe that was the Renegades at the very beginning, when they first came into power.  But as they are in the book?  They are not the good guys they think they are.

One thing I thought was frustrating was the secret identity thing.  I thought it should have been a lot more obvious to the characters, but maybe that’s because I knew things the characters didn’t.  That was something that kept me from loving it, and I kept waiting for them to figure it out.  Maybe in the next one?

And the ending!  I’m curious to see how things go in the next one with how things ended.  I’m not going to say what happened, but because I was listening to it in my car, I was yelling at the audio book.  It’s not bad, but…it’s a cliffhanger?  Which I kind of expected, but not like that.  It really took me off guard, but in a good way so I’m anxiously awaiting the next one to see what happens next.

Since I mentioned I listened to it on audio, I should probably talk about the narration!  I really liked Nova, and I liked Rebecca Soler as her narrator.  I thought Dan Bittner did a great job narrated Adrian, but I did like Soler’s narration more.  I don’t think I’m completely used to male narrators, and it’s pretty rare that I’ll listen to a book narrated by a guy.  Still, he did do a great job as Adrian, and I could picture both of them as the characters.  I’m also glad they went with two different narrators, because it really helped distinguish between the two characters and what was going on, especially when they were in the same scenes, and you;d switch from Nova to Adrian, or Adrian to Nova.

It’s also pretty long, so it took me a while to get through it.  I definitely had to take a break and listen to the radio every once in a while.  Not being it was boring, because it wasn’t!  I just need to have something fade in the background every once in a while.

4 stars,  I really liked Renegades, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Book Review: Restore Me By Tahereh Mafi

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Book: Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

Published March 2018 by HarperCollins|448 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Shatter Me #4

Genre: YA Dystopia

Juliette Ferrars thought she’d won. She took over Sector 45, was named the new Supreme Commander, and now has Warner by her side. But she’s still the girl with the ability to kill with a single touch—and now she’s got the whole world in the palm of her hand. When tragedy hits, who will she become? Will she be able to control the power she wields and use it for good?

When I heard that there was going to be another book in the series, I was excited.  Nervous, but excited.  I mean, I really like the series, and I’m glad that we’re getting more books.  But I was also unsure, because where was this new set of books headed?  Would they add to Juliette’s story and world, or would they take away from it?

I am glad to say that this book has added to the series and to Juliette’s world.  I do wish I had re-read the first three books, because it’s been several years since I read the series, and I was a little bit fuzzy on what happened.  Restore Me does reference the previous books, of course, but it took me some time to get back into this world and get to know the characters again.

I liked seeing what happened after the events of Ignite Me, and there is so much more to this world than I thought. Restore Me makes me want to re-read the series just to see if I can figure certain things out.  We get so many different revelations in this book, and part of me wants to see if they’re hinted at in the previous books.

I also liked the excerpts from Juliette’s journals from when she was in the asylum.  For me, they were reminders of what she’s been through, and how much she’s changed.  By the end of the book, she’s such a different character than she is at the beginning.  Plus, we do get some very interesting placements of words and sentences and I liked it.  It made me think of the previous books, though not to the degree we saw before.

I went through this book so fast, because I just needed to know what happened.  Especially with how the book ended.  I have so many questions about Juliette’s family and I especially want to know more about what Castle knew. Something about him seemed so strange and off, and it makes me wonder what he’s really up to.  There are some things that are not adding up- with both Castle, and Warner (plus a few of the other characters), and I’m hoping we get some answers.  I’m not convinced everything will be answered to my satisfaction, but I’m hoping some of my questions will be answered somehow.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but it feels like a lot more books have had multiple narrators.  It worked really well in this book, because there is such a difference between Juliette and Warner.  We see what’s going on with both of them, and we’re getting two very different stories with both Juliette and Warner.  It’s something you’ll have to read, because I don’t want to give anything away.  Restore Me definitely adds to the series, and I can’t wait to read what happens next.

4 stars.  I didn’t love Restore Me, but I can’t wait to read what happens next.

Book Review: Mystic City by Theo Lawrence and Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike

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Book: Mystic City by Theo Lawrence

Published October 2012 by Delacorte Books For Young Readers|397 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Mystic City #1

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

For fans of  Matched, The Hunger Games, X-Men, and Blade Runner comes a tale of a magical city divided, a political rebellion ignited, and a love that was meant to last forever. Book One of the Mystic City Novels.

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City’s two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents’ sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud – and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths.

But Aria doesn’t remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can’t conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place.

Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection – and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city – including herself.

It’s taken me a while to actually review this book, so I’m a little bit fuzzy on what actually happened, and what I thought about the book.  The last months have been…rough…to say this least, but I’ll at least try to review the book.

So, it’s compared to quite a few things.  I didn’t really get why it was compared to The Hunger Games, and I don’t completely get why it was compared to Matched either.  X-Men is a pretty good comparison, though it’s not the best comparison.  And I’ve never seen Blade Runner (nor do I know what it’s about) so I don’t know how that holds up.

The world was…different, I supposed.  It makes me wonder what happened to the rest of the world, but you could probably say that about any other sci-fi/dystopia/post-apocalyptic book out there.  I wish we got a little more of the world than what we got, but this is the first book in a series, so there is probably more about this world in the books to come.

*I feel like I say that about a lot of series, and it almost never goes the way I want it to, information wise, so who knows if that is actually the case in this book.

It does seem very convenient that Aria and Thomas are getting married just when their families need to get along and unite against a rival politician who will ruin everything.  (I’m being slightly sarcastic here, but things do seem very convenient).  It’s also convenient that she loses her memories and that they don’t come back.  I can’t remember if they ever come back. which obviously isn’t helpful, and I know I wasn’t into the book enough to re-read it.  Or continue onto the next book.  Maybe I’ve just read too many dystopias and post-apocalyptic novels to be completely in love with the book.

Maybe I would have liked it a lot more had I read it when it came out.  As is stands, it sounds like a cool idea, but I thought it was okay.  Keeping in mind I have only a vague memory of this book, of course.  Maybe if you haven’t read a lot of YA dystopias, you’d like it.

My Rating: 2 stars.  While I did like the premise of the novel, it wasn’t enough to warrant more interest in the book or continuing the series.

Book: Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike

Published April 2014 by HarperTeen|352 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Charlotte Westing Chronicles #1

Genre: YA Paranormal

The blockbuster film Inception meets Lisa McMann’s Wake trilogy in this dark paranormal thriller from #1 New York Timesbestselling author Aprilynne Pike. This supernatural young adult novel is perfect for fans of Kelley Armstrong, Alyson Noël, Richelle Mead, and Kimberly Derting.

Charlotte Westing has a gift. She is an Oracle and has the ability to tell the future. But it doesn’t do her much good. Instead of using their miraculous power, modern day Oracles are told to fight their visions––to refrain from interfering. And Charlotte knows the price of breaking the rules. She sees it every day in her wheelchair-bound mother and the absence of her father. But when a premonition of a classmate’s death is too strong for her to ignore, Charlotte is forced to make an impossible decision: continue following the rules or risk everything—even her sanity—to stop the serial killer who is stalking her town.

I’ve really liked Aprilynne Pike’s books, so I knew I had to read this one.  It’s not my favorite of hers, but it was still interesting and different.  I’m curious about their visions, and Charlotte really was determined to put a stop to the serial killer in her town, even if it meant going against everything her aunt taught her to do.

I feel like a lot of what happens in the book could have been avoided had her aunt just been honest with her.  Then again, if she had been honest, this would have been a very different book.

The concept of Oracles is pretty cool, and I did like that there were consequences to changing things.  It could have easily been very different, but there is something very refreshing about there being actually consequences to changing things.

Charlotte puts her trust in some very questionable people, and why she didn’t go to her aunt is beyond me.  We do see the consequences of that, of course, but still.  If only her aunt actually talked to Charlotte, or if Charlotte went to her aunt for help, things would have been very different.  We can do the what if game all we want, and things went how they went, but I couldn’t help but think how they could have gone differently.

This book is strange too, because it had an open-ending.  I mean, things were pretty resolved, and it did seem like a stand-alone, and yet, there is a sequel…

…that I don’t think I’ll read.  I love her books, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t really have an interest in picking up a sequel.  I feel like I probably wouldn’t like it, and this isn’t my favorite book by her.  There was a lot that didn’t make sense, and I don’t know that reading the sequel would help or add to the world.  Part of me is hoping I’m wrong, but there’s no way of knowing for sure.  Not only that, but I didn’t really like this book enough to even want to pick up any other books in the series.

My Rating: 2 stars.  This was an odd one, and it was just okay.  Certain things were frustrating and confusing, and while I wanted to like it more, I couldn’t.