Tag: YA book

Reviews

Gemina Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Gemina Review

*No Spoilers*

9781780749815_1This. Was. Amazing.

I am completely enthralled by this series so far! I loved Illuminae so much it was so different to anything I had ever read and the storyline was super entertaining and somehow Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff have been able to step it up another notch with Gemina. I feel like it has catapulted the plot to another level that I wasn’t expecting at all!

We follow two fresh perspectives of Hanna and Vik. Hanna is the daughter of the Heimdall station commander and Vik is the son of a highly known crime family. They meet under nefarious circumstances, as Vik is Hanna’s dealer of recreational drugs that are semi-popular on the station. Hanna’s boyfriend Jackson is one of the workers under her father and he isn’t that fond of Vik and vice-versa. The plot picks up as the Alexander is making its way towards the Heimdall station so they can publicize the attack of the Kerenza camp and BeiTech want to completely destroy all evidence of this. So BeiTech send an “audit team” to Heimdall station to stop this from happening.

I really loved Hanna and Vik as our protagonists in Gemina. Hanna has wanted for nothing in her life, her father has provided for her and taught her how to protect herself and ingrained in her a thorough knowledge of political and military strategies. She has moved around from station to station a lot and is completely capable on her own. Vik has grown up in the criminal world, with street smarts and deep rooted ideals of loyalty and family honor. The contrast of the two makes for an entertaining and fun read.

Again there is soooo much happening is such a short period of time in this book but because I had become accustomed to the style from Gemina I definitely enjoyed the experience a lot more this time around. The plot unfolded super quickly and the stakes just kept getting higher and higher as it progressed. I literally could not put the book down until I finished it. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole story and it kept me guessing right from the start. I had no idea where the story was going to go and what was going to happen next and I loved it! There are so many plot twists and action scenes and high intensity moments that I enjoyed so much.

I know it looks intimidating to start but its actually a very fast paced, action packed, emotionally charged story that you fly through.

⭐️4.5/5 stars I’m picking up Obsidio and starting it ASAP!

Reviews

Cress Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Cress Review

*Spoilers, Spoilers, Spoilers!*

220px-Cress_(Official_Book_Cover)_by_Marissa_MeyerI can definitely see why the majority of the YA community absolutely loves this series! It’s been an absolute roller coaster ride.

Cinder and Thorn are still on the run however they now have Wolf and Scarlett with them after saving them from the thaumaturge in Paris. They are now all together plotting to overthrow Queen Levanna and stop the royal wedding. Their best bet is the hacker who helped Cinder and revealed the Queen’s evil plan. Cress has been imprisoned and isolated on her satellite in orbit for 7 years now with only her netscreens to keep her company and informed. Finally it seems like her luck is changing and she will finally be rescued by Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

The pace of each of the novels in the Lunar Chronicles continues to grow after each installment. Cress was a whirlwind from start to finish. I like how we are starting to get more of a background of Luna and what life is like there and how different it is from Earth. It has again broadened and added a lot more depth to these books and it starting to weave together the storyline. Cress was another great female protagonist in the book. I like that she brought forth more naivety and innocence that Cinder and Scarlett kind of lack. I like that she has such a wild imagination and is able to use it to her advantage in her times of need. The relationship that springs up between her and Thorn kind of felt a little contrived to begin with, but I have been enraptured! Both of them having to rely on each other throughout their ordeal in the desert and watching as their bond grew closer and how they opened up to each other was so genuine and just plain cute. I definitely ship them! My heart broke for Dr. Erland, I kind of didn’t really enjoy him as much as other characters but I definitely felt he was an integral role in the book and he has helped really pull together this ragtag group of rebels and set them on this course that they are now on.

There is just so much action and plotting and planning and revelations and heartbreaks, it’s almost too much but also not enough. There has just been a continual thread of maneuverings and I can feel the subtle build up of anticipation that I know is about to culminate in the last book of this series.

⭐️4/5 stars entertaining, informative, escalating, Winter is going to be crazy!

Reviews

Illuminae Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on Illuminae Review

*Spoiler Free*

Illuminae Ray V6FrontOnlyA2A_V3.inddWow… just wow!

Illuminae follows the story of Kady and Emery who live on a tiny planet made of ice on a colony called Kerenza at the edge of the universe that was being mined by a megacorporation. On the day that Kady and Emery decide to break up the planet is invaded and attacked by a rival megacorporation called BeiTech. Somehow they both make it off the planet on separate spaceships, Kady on a science vessel called the Hypatia and Erza on a battle carrier called the Alexander with one more ship called the Coepernicus. The main ship that BeiTech used in their assault is the Lincoln and it has been chasing the three vessels for the last six months as they try to make it to a far off jump station called the Heimdall.

Ok, I will admit for the first hundred pages or so I was completely lost. There was a lot of information thrown at me in a short period of time and it took me a minute to adjust to the unique structure of Illuminae. I without a doubt have never read anything like this book before and it had me a little frazzled to begin with. However, after the plot really picked up and I had become more accustomed to the storyline I was completely engrossed! The characters are diverse and you really get a feel of everyone through the intimate form of communication that they use. The language throughout the novel jumped a lot from informal to formal and I loved the juxtaposition between the two, it really helped you to relate to a majority of the characters.

Kady is just fantastic; I absolutely loved her tenacity and determination and the staunchness that she radiates as she faces repeated horrors and grief. Ezra was such a relatable character. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he has such great relationships with those around him. I love the camaraderie he shares with his fellow pilots and the emotions he displays over the course of the novel was touching to read. Aidan was a little bit of an enigma for me. I don’t really want to get too into details and spoil the storyline but I really didn’t trust or believe anything he said after the Copernicus. I thought Kady was a little naïve for believing him at first but as the story progressed you really get a sense of the depth of the character and it explored a whole different avenue that I really wasn’t expecting.

This kind of composition is really engaging and it keeps you highly entertained. The plot is so fast paced and with the stakes being so high you are on the edge of your seat throughout the whole storyline. I loved it, it was honestly a breathe of fresh air and I cannot wait to jump into Gemina and Obsidio in the very near future!

⭐️4/5 stars didn’t know what to expect but loved it!

Reviews

Magic Study Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Magic Study Review

*Beware of Spoilers*

grfsbhfdasI am so pleased!

I had pretty high expectations for Magic Study after I finished Poison Study early last month and this book just completely surpassed them! Action, plots, love triangles, magic development, world broadening, background into Yelena’s life, everything was so well done!

Magic Study continues straight on in the storyline with Irys leading Yelena back to her family compound in Ixia to reunite with her parents. Unbeknownst to Yelena she is first introduced to an older brother Leif she didn’t know she had and he’s quick to dismiss her as a Sitian spy.

I just love Yelena as a character. She’s resilient, strong and empathetic and passionate. She puts others before herself and she will really stop at nothing to accomplish an impossible task. I liked the introduction of Cahil I found him to be quite likeable and sympathetic at the start of the story, being the lost prince of Ixia with no real title or power in the council, struggling to gain support to take back his homeland that was stripped from him for all of his life. Then to have him completely switch at the end and turn into a petulant, arrogant, jealous man hell-bent on destroying Yelena and Valek’s life was really entertaining to read. I liked the relationship Yelena shares with Irys and how that developed and deepened throughout the storyline as well. Irys is like a second mother to Yelena and her guidance and no-nonsense attitude really compliments Yelena’s flighty, spur of the moment approach well. I also loved the Moon-man and the Sandseed tribe as a whole; I thought they brought a very different and mystical side of the clans that we have not yet seen. They introduced a lot of the lore that surrounds Ixia and really expanded on the magical elements. I am so glad that Valek makes a brief appearance at the end right before the climax of the novel and how he aids Yelena and lends her his strength. Their reunion was just what I needed at that stage of the plot!

The storyline was fantastic. Very fast paced and engaging I found myself engrossed in the book from the start. I like the way Maria handled the topic of sexual violence as well. It wasn’t shrugged off without a discussion or repercussions made surrounding the incident.

⭐️4.5 stars captivating, character driven and super entertaining, can’t wait to continue on with Fire Study and see what else Maria V Snyder has up her sleeve!

Book Lists

My lowest rated book of 2018 so far

by amyleighreads1 Comment on My lowest rated book of 2018 so far

I double checked all the books I’ve read this year and the lowest rating I gave was a 3/5 stars which is kind of like an ok rating for me. There are actually quite a lot that I gave a 3/5 to but I’ll mostly be bringing up those I haven’t yet spoke about on my blog and I’ll give you like a brief overview of why I didn’t particularly like these books. I didn’t hate any of them at all, there could be varying factors about why I gave them a 3 star rating but I will get into all that below.

$_57__78189.1510015120The first 3/5 star rating was the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series by Rick Riordan. I felt that Magnus was a little bit too juvenile for me at the start of this series; I didn’t quite gel with him as a character in the first book and most of the second. I took me like 2 weeks to finish the Sword of Summer as I couldn’t get into the plot and Magnus just felt like a second rate version of Percy to me. That being said he did redeem himself in the Hammer of Thor and the plot definitely picked up and was more action packed and that was more entertaining as the series continued.

32320661The next book I gave a 3/5 rating was Everless by Sarah Holland. There wasn’t anything inherently bad about this book. I thought the premise was definitely interesting; the thought of time being a currency that you could trade and ingest was highly original. It had a lot of twists and turns and the magic system was nicely detailed and described. It really only got a 3/5 from me because I wasn’t blown away at the end of the book.

220px-TheNightCircusThe 3rd book on my list is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. The Night Circus was just kind of ok for me. The plot wasn’t action packed enough, it was very slow paced. The setting was beautiful and the prose was lyrical and detailed, it wasn’t capturing my attention whilst I was reading it. The ending as well was a bit underwhelming for me and that really influenced my decision to give it a 3/5 stars.

29283884The next book on my list is The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. The plot was entertaining and fast paced and it was a quick easy read, the only reason I gave it a 3/5 was because I thought Monty to be a bit pretentious. I found him to not be too likeable for me, however, I thought Felicity was quite quirky and enjoyable, Percy also didn’t really leave an impression on me. Although I did enjoy the representation of diversity of characters.

remnant-chronicles-collageThe last series I will be speaking about on my list that I gave all books a 3/5 stars was The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E Pearson. This series includes The Kiss of Deception, The Heart of Betrayal and The Beauty of Darkness. I think at the time I read these books I wasn’t in the mood to read them. I’m the kind of reader where if I start a series and I have all the books in the series in my possession I like to marathon them and get through it as soon as I can. I don’t like to leave them too long because I either end up forgetting half the series or I never get around to finishing. I started the Kiss of Deception and I was like alright not too bad and I pushed through and read the next two books and at the end of them I just didn’t really have any overwhelming feelings. I didn’t really love them, I didn’t really hate them so I averaged my rating out and gave them all a 3/5.