Review: An Ember in the Ashes

An Ember in the Ashes
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Publication Date: June 4th 2015
Publisher: Harper Voyager
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.

What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution?

For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she’s never had much of a choice.

For Elias it’s the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire’s elite soldiers. With the Masks’ help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands, all in the name of power.

When Laia’s brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy. Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.

But once Laia and Elias meet, they will find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

In the ashes of a broken world one person can make a difference. One voice in the dark can be heard. The price of freedom is always high and this time that price might demand everything, even life itself

If you've already read An Ember in the Ashes you'll know three things. If you haven't read An Ember in the Ashes, you should know these three things.

It really is brutal.

It's without a doubt cruel and immoral.

Its empowering. 

Stacking the Shelves (#53) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So, how was everybody's week? It's been a slow-ish week here, everyone in the UK, enjoying the heat? I hate the sun. And the heat. I'm a total winter person, because I'm pale and I burn. Learnt something this week. I sound like an idiot on the phone, but I have an interview, so you know, I'm okay with that. Also, I'm not alone!

 

Now, onto the books...

 Had a few awesome surprises in the mail, one I'm freaking out about, even though I did get approved for the ebook last week, it just showed up in the mail this week. I didn't think I'd get one since Abrams and Chronicle brought a lot of proofs to YALC last week. But Tina (@TinaMories) at A&C is awesome.
 

 

Review: (Don't You) Forget About Me

(Don't You) Forget About Me
Author: Kate Karyus Quinn

Publication Date:  June 10th 2014      
Publisher: HarperTeen
~An advance readers copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~



 

 

 

 

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Welcome to Gardnerville.
A place where no one gets sick. And no one ever dies.

Except...
There’s a price to pay for paradise. Every fourth year, the strange power that fuels the town exacts its payment by infecting teens with deadly urges. In a normal year in Gardnerville, teens might stop talking to their best friends. In a fourth year, they’d kill them.

Four years ago, Skylar’s sister, Piper, was locked away after leading sixteen of her classmates to a watery grave. Since then, Skylar has lived in a numb haze, struggling to forget her past and dull the pain of losing her sister. But the secrets and memories Piper left behind keep taunting Skylar—whispering that the only way to get her sister back is to stop Gardnerville’s murderous cycle once and for all.

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I know I've said it before, but this has to be one of the hardest books to review because the slightest thing could really turn the way you think about it and ruin the whole build-up to the reveal. I'll start by telling you about the town, Gardnerville.  It's a coincidence that I was watching Haven while reading this, and in a way Gardnerville is a lot like Haven.  Weird, complicated,  something lurking behind what we see and what we don't see. And just like Haven, Gardnerville is a special place with a rather destructive founding, and with a little similarity to some "special" people, that's where the familiarity ends, but I'll get to the latter part in a minute. Gardnerville is a place where almost everything is quite perfect, with their quite perfect health score and quite perfect lives, except for that pesky little undertone of fear.

Review: The Three

The Three
Author: Sarah Lotz

Publication Date: May 22nd 2014        

~An advanced readers copy was provided by Hodder and Stoughton in exchange for an honest review~

 

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Black Thursday. The day that will never be forgotten. The day that four passenger planes crash, at almost exactly the same moment, at four different points around the globe.

There are only four survivors. Three are children, who emerge from the wreckage seemingly unhurt. But they are not unchanged.

And the fourth is Pamela May Donald, who lives just long enough to record a voice message on her phone.

A message that will change the world.

The message is a warning.

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I didn't know what to expect from The Three, contemporary mixed in with horror? Paranormal? It's what was great about going into it, the synopsis is pretty vague and no way is it an open book. That being said, It's inevitable that when it comes to Armageddon, The Four Horsemen and the end of the world, we are, at some point, going to point straight to Religion. However, I just didn't expect The Three to rest heavily on it. And it did. For most of it.  

Review: Mutant City

Mutant City
Author:  Steve Feasey

Publication Date:  May 8th 2014  

~An advance readers copy was provided by Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review~

 

 

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Fifty years ago, the world was almost destroyed by a chemical war. Now the world is divided into the mutants and the pure. Mutants must fight for survival in a scarred landscape, while the privileged pure live out a life of disease-free perfection.

Thirteen years ago, a covert government experimental facility was shut down and its residents killed. The secrets it held died with them. But five extraordinary kids survived.

Today four teenagers are about to discover that their mutant blood brings with it special powers. They are heading straight for Mutant City with rival factions close behind. One by one, they face the enemy. Together, they must stay alive .

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Mutant City is the only book (out of all the "mutant" books I've read) that I can say I and X-Men would approve of. You know I take X-Men seriously and I do hate when anything is compared to it because sometimes it's just offensive. Especially when the mutants are more genetically enhanced with added powers but mostly look totally human and you would never guess who they were (I'm talking to you Transparent.) And while in the Mutant City, some of the mutants are exactly that, they can blend in, but there's something about them that tells them away. But, there are also the full on mutants with appearances' compared to Mystique and Beast. X-Men approves.

Stacking the Shelves (#39) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So, how was everybody's week? I've had an actual-mostly-great week. So, this physical haul is over the past three weeks. (Well, I had 4-5 the first two weeks and the rest came this week.) AND DOROTHY MUST DIE IS HERE (finally Amazon.) I also finally resorted ALL THE BOOKS on my shelves...and floor. Now I can see my carpet again.

 

 

Review: Don't Look Back

Don't Look Back
Author:  Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publication Date: April 10, 2014      

 

 

 

What cover do you prefer?

 

 

 

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Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

 

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 I actually really love both covers, they give the creepy atmosphere it deserves and they both fit the story perfectly.

 

 

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Two disappear. Only one comes back.

Don't Look Back was one of my most anticipated of 2014 for multiple reasons, psychological thrillers are my type of book. I just love everything about them and of course, Don't Look Back delivered, and let's be honest,  Jennifer L Armentrout never disappoints.

 

Review: The Geography of You and Me

The Geography of You and Me
Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Publication Date:  April 15th 2014  

 

 

 

 

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For fans of John Green, Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Ockler, THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME is a story for anyone who's ever longed to meet someone special, for anyone who's searched for home and found it where they least expected it.

Owen lives in the basement. Lucy lives on the 24th floor. But when the power goes out in the midst of a New York heatwave, they find themselves together for the first time: stuck in a lift between the 10th and 11th floors. As they await help, they start talking...

The brief time they spend together leaves a mark. And as their lives take them to Edinburgh and San Francisco, to Prague and to Portland they can't shake the memory of the time they shared. Postcards cross the globe when they themselves can't, as Owen and Lucy experience the joy - and pain - of first love.

And as they make their separate journeys in search of home, they discover that sometimes it is a person rather than a place that anchors you most in the world.

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In The Geography of You and Me,  for the first time ever Jennifer E Smith has made me dislike her characters. Or I should say, some of the choices they make.  It's also a different style than I was expecting, maybe more like the previous This is What Happy Looks Like,  which it wasn't, and it was so much better for it

The Geography of You and Me is different in a way that, in This is What Happy Looks Like, we had the emails between Ellie and Graham, whereas in here Lucy and Owen aren't so commutative, it's a more read between the lines kind of thing, which made it refreshing and a little more angsty than ever before, and not a repeat.

Stacking the Shelves (#30) & Recap

How's everyone's week? My lovely neighbours from hell woke me up waaaay to early in the AM with Karaoke. Joy.

I've decided only to do a physical edition from what I've bought/received once a month or so, and this is Part 1 from before Christmas.

 

   



(All bought)

• The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Minders by Michele Jaffe
• Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (I already read this back in November, just had to get a hardback though, so pretty. <3
• The shiny editions of The Hunger Games trilogy.

 

 

 

  

ARC Review: Unhinged

Unhinged
Author: A.G. Howard

Publication Date: January 7th 2014    (Also Jan 13th) 
~An Advance Readers Copy was provided by Amulet/Abrams & Chronicle in exchange for an honest review~

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Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.
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Following the events in Wonderland, Unhinged starts off almost a year after Splintered's events. Alyssa's been down the rabbit hole, defeated Queen Red, taken her rightful crown and came out the other end a survivor-and intent on staying human, and to live a life with a now clueless Jeb, her Mother home and keeping her hands out of Wonderlands antic's. But, a certain Moth isn't ready to let go just yet..

Stacking the Shelves (#24): I Can't Even Edition & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

The last StS before Christmas. How's everybody's week been? This week has been on of the best weeks for awhile, I'm turning 21 on Monday, am I officially an adult now? :( And I have received some amazing reads for over the holidays. The two I received in the mail last week are now finished and went onto a new home.

 

 For review:

• And We Stay
• We Were Liars (!!!!!!) I may have freaked out a little. Lie. I freaked out. A lot.
• Entice

(Thanks to Random House, Delacorte Press, Patchwork Press, and Netgalley)

• Unhinged (ARC) (!!!!) It's so preeeeety. Also, my hardback pre-orders in the mail, eek.
• Gretel and The Dark (ARC) (The lollipop is freaking huge, and it's cookies and cream. :D)

(Thanks to Abrams & Chronicle/Amulet and  Penguin.)
 

 

Bought:

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Pawn (Bought two weeks back)
• These Broken Stars (Bought last week)

 

Best. Birthday.Week. Ever. What did you get this week? :)

 

  



 A recap of posts this week

 

• Monday I reviewed  Fake ID by Lamar Giles
• Teaser Tuesday from Perfect Lies by Kiersten White
• Waiting on Wednesday: The Followers by Anna Davies
• Thursday I reviewed The Forgotten by Saruuh Kelsey   
• Friday I reviewed Pawn by Aimee Carter

This week I have read:

 
• This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
• Perfect Lies (Mind Games, #2) by Kiersten White
• The Forgotten (The Lux Guardians, #1) by Saruuh Kelsey    
  

   

   
  

   

  
  

Stacking the Shelves (#23) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Ahh, I've had quite a good week, apart from being ill. I had some nice surprises in the mail, and a pre-order came in, but they're unfortunately going to be left until next week because I currently have this awesome thing called food poisoning. Yeah joy. Anyway... readings been a little slow.

 

 For review:

 

 

 

 

 

( The Lost Boys, Anything to Have You,Camelot Burning and Always Emily

 

Thanks to Random House, Harlequin Teen, Flux and Chronicle Books.

I'm really looking forward to Camelot Burning.
What did you get this week? :)

 

 

  



 A recap of posts this week

 

• Monday I reviewed  Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton 
• Teaser Tuesday from Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson
• Waiting on Wednesday: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
• Friday I reviewed No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale
•  Feature & Follow (#9)  

This week I have read:

 
• The Lost Boys by Lilian Carmine    (kind of)
• Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson

EARC Review: No One Else Can Have You.

No One Else Can Have You
Author: Kathleen Hale

Publication Date: January 7th 2014             

~A huge thank you to HarperTeen, and Edelweiss, who provided a copy in exchange for an honest review.~

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Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield.

Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer.
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Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

The first thing you need to know about No One Else Can Have You is that it's weird, and kind of like Humpty, you're immediately sucked in, you start on a creepy ladder climbing high, and then it starts to fall, and it never really gets put back together. 

The town Friendship, population 689 is a small closed knit town where everybody knows one another, everybody is too friendly and nice and sickly like cough syrup. They talk to one another with first and last names. Polite. Happy. Nothing-bad-happens-here-no-sirry-don'tcha know. Did I mention they're friendly? sociopathic. They don't like bad things, they sweep things under the rug and take a happy pill.

Review: Cracked

Cracked
Author: Eliza Crewe

Publication Date: November 5th 2013

Source: An advanced copy was provided by  Strange Chemistry in exchange  for an honest review.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.

Stuck in an asylum for the past two weeks, what Meda's anticipated since then has finally arrived, and as her mother used to say, she's hangry. To live and to survive, Meda must eat a living soul, it's messy and bloody, but she's equipped and enjoys it. She makes it a point, on her mother's wishes, that she only kills bad people. Which, brings us back to the slimy asylum, in which she admitted herself to get closer to the target of a girl ghosts' murder.

She doesn't like the tables being turned.