Studio Reads

Thursday, 8 May 2014

Review: After the End

Publication Date: May 6th 2014

~A copy was provided by HarperTeen and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review~

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She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future.

World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

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After The End was an average read for me, which is so disappointing because I enjoyed the Revenant series and was so looking forward to something new from Amy Plum. With the synopsis, and what you think is a pretty interesting one, and what I thought would end up being a good conspiracy story ended up being like a homeopathic 101.

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.

Waiting on Wednesday (#43)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

Very Bad Things by Susan McBride

Expected publication: October 14th 2014 by Delacorte Press

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Katie never thought she'd be the girl with the popular boyfriend. She also never thought he would cheat on her-but the proof is in the photo that people at their boarding school can't stop talking about. Mark swears he doesn't remember anything. But Rose, the girl in the photo, is missing, and Mark is in big trouble. Because it looks like Rose isn't just gone…she's dead.

Maybe Mark was stupid, but that doesn't mean he's a killer.

Katie needs to find out what really happened, and her digging turns up more than she bargained for, not just about Mark but about someone she loves like a sister: Tessa, her best friend. At Whitney Prep, it's easy to keep secrets…especially the cold-blooded kind.
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I don't know if it's because of the cover or the font but it's looking pretty Pretty Little Liars-esque. So you know, that translates to MINE.

What're you waiting on?

Tuesday, 6 May 2014

Review: Don't Even Think About It

Don't Even Think About It
Author: Sarah Mlynowski

Publication Date: May 1st 2014

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This is the story of how we became freaks. It's how a group of I's became a we.

When Class 10B got their flu shots, they expected some side effects. Maybe a sore arm. Maybe a headache. They definitely didn't expect to get telepathy. But suddenly they could hear what everyone was thinking. Their friends. Their teachers. Their parents. Now they all know that Tess has a crush on her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper. Some of them will thrive. Some of them will break. None of them will ever be the same.

A smart and funny story about friendship, first love and surviving high school from the bestselling author of Ten Things We Shouldn't Have Done.

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I would be the first person to complain about the way it was written. I have mixed feelings about first person and second person, and always comes down to each and every book whether I like it or not and if it works for me. The way Don't Even Think About It was completely new to me. It's kind of third person mixed with first, completing a collective "we". I thought I would hate it, but I didn't. I did get a confused a little in the beginning for the first few chapters until I got into it and then I got hooked and it just really flowed well. I don't think it will work for everyone, but it worked for me.

Review: Deep Blue & Giveaway

Deep Blue
Author: Jennifer Donnelly

Publication Date: May 1st 2014

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Waterfire Saga is an epic new series set in the depths of the ocean where six mermaids seek to save their world.

Written by Carnegie Medal winning author of A Gathering Light, Jennifer Donnelly.

When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be about reuniting with handsome Prince Mahdi, her childhood crush. Instead she finds herself haunted by strange dreams foretelling the return of an ancient evil, and dealing with the deaths of her parents as assassins storm the betrothal ceremony, plunging the city into chaos.

Led only by her shadowy dreams and pursued by the invading army, Serafina and her best friend Neela embark on a quest to avenge her parents' death and prevent a war between the mer nations. In the process they discover a plot that threatens their - and our - world's very existence.

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So, Mermaids don't float my boat. You know, I wasn't really all that into The Little Mermaid, and Ariel in Once Upon a Time annoys the hell out of me. So yeah, I can't say I like or read about them much. That being said, Deep Blue just had something that completely captivated me.

Stacking the Shelves (#42) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

How was everybody's week? So... it's that time again. Yup, the Harper Collins edition.

I do have some others too (including a new approval and an auto-approval), but I'll leave them for next time because this is going to be long enough as it is. I really tried to only download a few. Honest.

For Review

Edelweiss: