Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

That's technically a 3.5 out of 5!!!

I am going to have to give Dystopia a break. I've been saying they're getting same-y for a while now, but it's getting worse. I think this would have been a pretty decent read if I haven't gotten to the point where I can sniff out plot points a mile off. In a time when Dyostopia is the new 'big thing' if you can't make a story original, you have to do something else to make your story stand out. There was just about enough of that in this one for me.

Good points were the characters. The heroin started out a bit naive and irritating but luckily grew out of that pretty quickly and the male lead had just the right mix of gruffness and sensitivity to make him likeable. The problem was that you knew they were going to end up together. Which just takes all the fun out of it and is a real flaw in these teen novels, the romance very often becomes the main story. I like a bit of romance, but I want it to be an added bonus not the entire plot!!

The story was ok, but not overly adventurous. There's the people living in relative safety and comfort on the inside, in Pods and the 'savages' that inhabit the wild of the outside. Girl from inside meets boy from the outside and inevitably sparks fly as they try to right wrongs and overthrow evil. I enjoyed a couple of the details, though I won't go into them for risk of giving away spoilers.

I'm sure there were a couple of bad points but unfortunately I have forgotten as this one has already joined the large collective of dystopian fiction that is swilling around in my head. After a while they just start to become the same book. I think the bad bits were only me being fussy anyway.

Suffice it to say there was enough to keep my interest and the author writes with a fair amount of skill, but it follows the same patterns as pretty much of the future set novels that have come before it. I blame the vast amount of Dystopian fiction for this not getting 4 out of 5.

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Starters by Lissa Price

Starters by Lissa Price
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was was a bit of an up and down read for me. The story was really quite interesting, so I didn't have any real problems there, it was just the writing. I have an issue with authors who gunk up their novels with useless and flowery prose describing stuff that I really don't care about and usually ignore, and this book wasn't like that at all, which was great. In fact it was almost at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. The narrative was a bit on the sparse side, and rather than describing events, at points the author was just making lists, like 'we went here, I did this. This happened, then someone chased me, then I found this...' It felt a little clinical, which made it difficult to engage with the characters.

Luckily though, by the end the narrative picked up and the story got really interesting so I will almost certainly be continuing with the series. Although, there was a couple of bits right towards the end that I found rather frustrating. It was like the author wasn't sure whether she's done enough to convince her readers to read the next one when it comes out, so she went and threw in a couple of things that left me thinking...'what?!!! Why?!!' and 'what does that mean?'...so that was a tad annoying, but otherwise this was an original and engaging read!!

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Book Cover Reviews Part 1/ Always Judge A Book by It's Cover #2


So this is me pulling practically every book off my shelf and saying 'ooh look, isn't it pretty.'  Seriously I think I say pretty a gazillion times!!! Which isn't irriating at all and doesn't make me sound like a moron with the vocabulary of a squirrel...



Part 2 in my Book Cover Adenture (me trying to make it sound more interesting...and failing!!) will be up shortly!!

S'laters

March Book Haul/TBR


So here's my first book haul thing. It seems to be leaning heavily to the Dystopian genre, which actually unintentional, but pretty awesome, as I like Dypsopia...would suck if I didn't though.  But I do.  Which is good.  Anyhoo, with any luck by the end of March I'll be able to do a wrap up video and do bitesize reviews of all the titles featured...Ha whatever, I know me too well. If it's up by June, that'll be a miracle!!

It's in video form, so please enjoy.



And now for the books featured...

(I've technically read the first two already from the date of penning this post, but...I may have forgotten to upload it to the blog...oops)
Title- Legend
Author - Marie Lu
Genre - Dystopia
Age - YA+

Title - Article 5
Author - Kristen Simmons
Genre - Dystopia
Age - YA+

Title - Starters
Author - Lissa Price
Genre - Dystopia/thriller (not really sure as I haven't read it yet)
Age YA+
Release Date - 29/3/12

Title - Under The Never Sky
Author - Veronica Rossi
Genre -Dystopia
Age - YA+

Let me know if you've read any...I would love to hear your thoughts!!!

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For some reason it seems like ages since I've read a good book, which isn't true at all, but still, Article 5 was a fantastic read and pretty much ticked all the boxes for me. There was an engaging and brilliantly delivered plot, world building that made you feel all the desperation, injustice and fear of the system the characters were up against. And speaking of characters, they were believable, perfectly flawed (that makes sense right?! >.<) and just looking to escape the corrupt and savage world they had been forced to endure.

The tumultuous and fragile relationship between Ember and Chase felt real and natural. Nothing seemed forced and all the emotions that riddled them through the course of the book were well portrayed and relatable. Whenever they came upon a new obstacle, whether it was physical or emotional, you could understand their actions, even if you didn't agree with them, all because the author was able to skilfully capture the mood of the moment.

The author's storytelling abilities also deserve a mention. She was able to create a compelling narrative without being either to clinical and literal or too over-sentimental and flowery. Every part of her story was perfectly balanced.

I am eagerly (and impatiently) awaiting the next instalment.






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Legend by Marie Lu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this more, as everyone else seems to, but I just can't give it more than three stars. It just didn't grip me as much as other dystopia set titles have, which is always going to be a problem when jumping on a bandwagon. And this is a category with a lot of awesomeness in it.

It's hard to pin point exactly what didn't quite click with me. There was no racing pulse or eagerness to read the next page or the next chapter. I also found the characters a little lacking. A bit too perfect in June's case, or maybe it wasn't that. Ah I don't know, for me it was difficult to empathise with her, or even really like her. The romance that blooms also felt a little forced, like it didn't quite come naturally. It could also get a bit cringe worthy at times, with all the talk of 'her lovely face', or his 'beautiful eyes'. Even the bad guy referred to the male lead as 'her beautiful boy'. It was like, ok, we get it, they're both stunningly, stupidly good looking, enough already.

That aside, there was a decent story in there, and it has piqued my interest enough that I will probably read the next one, whenever that decides to appear. There are some big changes in the future that Marie Lu has created and I would very much like to find out what happened. And who doesn't love cheering for the underdog?!!

So final thoughts. If you've not read many future-set YA novels, then I can almost guarantee that there'll be something in this that you'll love. For a seasoned vet like me though (wow, pretentious much?!!) I was looking for a bit more, excitement, emotion...? Can't say exactly what, which is frustrating, but there was just something missing for me.

There is nothing more annoying than not being able to describe why a book didn't really do anything for me. It feels plain wrong.

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The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those unassuming books that sneaks up on you and without realising it you've got only 4 chapters left.

After reading the premise I wasn't sure what to expect. My first thought was 'disaster movie'. The big action, bigger explosions race against time to save the world type bonanza. What I got however, was something rather different. The focus of the story it not the disaster itself. It's about the people that are living through it, one family in particular.

What really struck me was that, once the 'invisible catastrophe' had stuck, people just carried on. People went to work, kids went to school. The world didn't descend into chaos. I am an avid reader of dystopian fiction where, after some sort of devastating event, the world collapses, democracy fails, people panic, viruses spread. Yet here, there's an almost calm. Yes there's panic with each new and disturbing effect of 'the slowing', but there is still a sense of normalcy. As if, if we stopped doing all the things we usually do, that's when the world falls apart. And this is what is so brilliant about this book, what the author has done so well. Regardless of your opinions of human beings as a species, and though there is nothing out there really to compare us to, you cannot deny we have an amazing ability to adapt and to develop and to survive. That's what the author captures so well in her book. That no matter how many minutes the days are growing by, no matter how 'the slowing' is dividing a population, killing crops etc, people keep going.

In Julia, we have woman retelling her story of what it was like in those first few months when the world was beginning to change. She is going through 'the age of miracles', that time in a kids life when they start changing, start noticing things and thinking differently. So not only is she in a tumultuous time in her young life, worrying about the weird things happening to her body, her friends, boys, she has do it all with the uncertainty of whether or not she, or the rest of humanity, is going to get a future. There are a lot of dramas that unfold. Occurrences that happen in normal every day life, yet throughout Julia keeps asking herself, 'would these things be happening if the world were not changing'. How different would her life be if there wasn't this huge, looming shadow hanging over them all? You find yourself being drawn into Julia's life, captivating in it's seeming mundanity, yet as always the threat of the unknown hovering like a bad smell. The mixture of the ordinary and the extraordinary makes for an intriguing and compelling mix. It lulls you to the extent that if it wasn't for the reminders of how the world was changing, you would forget that anything momentous and potentially disastrous was happening. And that's what was so good. The author didn't make the disaster the star of the show, rather it took on a more supporting role. Though that being said, at the same time during the narrative, we would be following Julia as she drifted through another day of school, an awkward girl shy and unsure, when we would get a sudden and shocking reminder of the state of the planet. Yet it never felt messy, two different styles at war with each other. The author pulled them together beautifully, the stark reality all the more powerful when settled amongst the living of every days lives.

This truly is a marvel of a novel. It's not brash or loud. It doesn't try to shock you in ways that are over the top and flashy. What it does is show you a normal family living through unimaginable circumstances, and that all the preparation in the world can't prepare you for everything.

What is really the most remarkable thing of all though is that not only did I read it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as usually I avoid disaster stories like the plague, as in the majority of cases they scare me shitless, because these things could actually frickin' happen people!!!!

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