Bite-Sized Reviews

In which I notice that, hmmm, I have several books that I meant to review but then I got distracted by new and shiny other books. Life is hard...

Working Stiff by Rachel Caine
Revivalist #1
3 stars

Working Stiff is a dark and interesting take on zombies filled with moral ambiguities and layered characters. While a bit slow in places, it definitely has the potential to become an excellent series. Recommended for fans of My Life as a White Trash Zombie and Unholy Magic -- imagine it as somewhere between the two.

The Cipher by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Crosspointe #1

3 stars

The Cipher gets off to a promising start, and, after stalling a bit in the middle, delivers a solid finish. While the book is a little overly focused on what seems like a strange romance, overall the unusual magic system and the last third or so of the book manage to make up for it. Recommended for fans of Holly Lisle and possibly Kate Elliot.

Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
Sabina Kane #1
3 stars

Red-Headed Stepchild doesn't do much to stand out from the urban fantasy crowd, but it is an enjoyable read, though Sabina can be annoying at times. Recommended for anyone who's craving more urban fantasy and doesn't need anything particularly new.

Mister Monday by Garth Nix

Keys to the Kingdom #1

3 stars

I find that Garth Nix's works generally have excellent, unique magic systems but fail to live up to their world-building prowess in the storytelling department. Like Nix's other books, Mister Monday has a fascinating world, but the story doesn't really capture the reader's attention until the last third or so. That's not to say the writing is bad -- it's not -- but somehow I always expect the writing to be as compelling as the world. Recommended for fans of The Graveyard Book and a less funny Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout
3 stars

In an almost exact reversal of Garth Nix's strengths, Jennifer L. Armentrout is a captivating writer who doesn't seem to publish anything really original. Like her other works, Cursed is nothing you haven't seen before, but the addictive quality of JLA's writing carries it towards the front of the YA line. Recommended for fans of the usual YA paranormal suspects.




I guess it's no wonder I wasn't in much of a hurry to publish these -- they were all good but not really excellent. I could, however, easily see other readers very much enjoying any of them, depending on tastes, so if one sounds interesting, definitely give it a try. All of them are also the first in their series, so they might be worth trying anyway; the best books often come later.

Review | Unravel Me by Taherah Mafi

Unravel Me
Taherah Mafi
Shatter Me #2
Published 5 Feb 2013 by HarperCollins
YA post-apocalyptic
4 stars

tick
tick
tick
tick
tick

it's almost

time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

Bite-Sized Review

Once again, Taherah Mafi's spectacular writing makes a fairly standard YA dystopian stand out from the rest. With exciting reveals and plenty of action, Unravel Me will appeal to any fan of Shatter Me.

Chocolate (things I liked)
-I happened to glance at my review for Shatter Me after reading Unravel Me, and I saw this:

The contrast between Warner and Adam was spectacular. They were really mirror images of each other, and seeing their interactions with Juliette and each other was fascinating. Warner was an excellent villain; his motivations and actions were completely understandable, while Adam made a great hero. Normally I don't like love triangles, but this one is a little different – for one thing, Juliette doesn't love Warner, and for another, Adam and Warner balance each other so perfectly that this is just another aspect of their duality.

and I wanted to go back in time and say to my past self, "Kate-of-2012, you have no idea." Everything just gets more complicated in this book, and once the shock wears off, somehow Taherah Mafi makes it all seem inevitable rather than contrived.

-Mafi is one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Her imagery is nothing short of brilliant, and her creativity really makes this series stand out from the rest. There's not quite as much of the crossing-out and repetition in this book -- I know some people weren't fans -- which makes sense because Juliette's situation is more stable. Ish. It's really amazing how much the writing changes with Juliette's state of mind; when she's feeling off-balance, that's when the "crazy" writing comes back. It's incredible how well the writing fits Juliette's character.

-I wasn't a huge fan of Juliette and Adam's relationship in the first book. I thought Juliette was far more dependent on Adam than any healthy person should be. So I'm happy that she does grow and learn to interact with other people normally in this book. She still has a long way to go, but she makes progress.

Brussels Sprouts (things I didn't like)
-Angst is a little overly prevalent in this book. Juliette could do so much, if she would just stop freaking out every eleven seconds. Obviously she's not going to go from no-experience-of-normal-human-interaction to fine right away, but as a couple of characters pointed out to her, of course everything seems terrible if she's thinking about it to the exclusion of anything else.

Recommended for
Anyone who enjoyed Shatter Me. Everyone else should read Shatter Me, and then Unravel Me will be recommended for you too.

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Excellent

Review | Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland

Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues
Diana Rowland
White Trash Zombie #2
Published 2012 by DAW (Penguin)
Contemporary science fantasy
4 stars

Angel Crawford is finally starting to get used to life as a brain-eating zombie, but her problems are far from over. Her felony record is coming back to haunt her, more zombie hunters are popping up, and she’s beginning to wonder if her hunky cop-boyfriend is involved with the zombie mafia. Yeah, that’s right—the zombie mafia.

Throw in a secret lab and a lot of conspiracy, and Angel’s going to need all of her brainpower—and maybe a brain smoothie as well—in order to get through it without falling apart.

Bite-Sized Review
I started this series after enjoying Diana Rowland's other series, Kara Gillian, but at this point I'd say that White Trash Zombie is at least as good. This book, the second, has improved over the first, and I really like where the series is going. Definitely give My Life as a White Trash Zombie a try if you think you might be even remotely interested.

Chocolate (things I liked)
-I love that Angel continues to grow as a character in this book. It would have been easy for Diana Rowland to say, "Whelp, her life (as it were) doesn't suck anymore! Character development, check!" but she doesn't. Angel's new life was sort of handed to her, but in this book, she takes control of it, which makes her an easy character to root for.

-Blues has a lot more scientific explanation of zombies than the first book did. That may not appeal to everyone, especially since the imparting of this explanation was in the less-than-ideal form of an info dump, but I really like having more background than "everyone knows what zombies are, duh." As an added bonus, the science-y stuff actually made sense, although someone with more of a background in biology might disagree (or not, I really don't know).

-Even though there are a lot of parts that could be really gruesome, Diana Rowland deals with them in such a matter-of-fact way that it's easy to ignore all the brains, guts, brutal injuries, etc that crop up during the course of the novel. It's written in such a way that you could revel in the gooey viscera, but you don't have to.

-Despite the whole "zombie" plot, the casual tidbits about morgue work seem exceedingly authentic. Some quick googling that was totally not stalking reveals that Diana Rowland has been, among other things, a street cop, a detective, a computer forensics specialist, a crime scene investigator, and a morgue assistant, so clearly she knows what she's talking about. Not only is it cool to get a glimpse of "real"(ish--most police forces probably don't have to deal with mysterious zombie-related deaths) police work, having a realistic morgue/sheriff's office makes the "zombie" part of the story easier to swallow.

Brussels Sprouts (things I didn't like)
-Probably the only real issue I have with this series is how easy it seems for Angel to fix her life once she becomes a zombie. I think I would have found it more believable if she had made a few mistakes along the way.

Recommended for 
Fans of urban fantasy with a focus more on plot than romance. Though I would technically classify this series as science fiction, it feels more like urban fantasy. Give it a try if you like Stacia Kane, Carrie Vaughn, and Kalayna Price.

Review | The Bright Court by Anthea Sharp

The Bright Court
Anthea Sharp
Feyland #2
Published May 2012
YA modern fairy tale
Review copy from the author
4 stars

Bite-Sized Review
The Bright Court was a great followup to the first book, The Dark Realm. Feyland is a fascinating, enthralling modern fairy tale, and I can't wait to read the next book. Definitely recommended.

King-Sized Review
I have something terrible and shocking to confess. Don't freak out - but I don't really like YA as a whole. It has a tendency to be juvenile (I shouldn't be surprised by this, should I), consumed by relationships (like anyone really knows what they want at 16), and kind of generic (I wish people would stop re-writing Twilight with different supernatural creatures). Luckily, some authors, like Maggie Stiefvater, Holly Black, Rachel Vincent, and a few others, manage to step outside the usual trends and write books that are honestly excellent, not just for YA but in general.

Anthea Sharp is one of the good ones. Feyland is a fascinating world, one that merges magic and technology skillfully and seamlessly. I know. You're looking at the description and thinking, "Fairies and video games? Are you sure this isn't just someone combining World of Warcraft and Tron in a book?" Fear not, curious readers. The Bright Court, like its predecessor, The Dark Realm, is much less about video games than it is about bargains, necessity, and even a little bit of love. In this series, the fae resemble classic stories more than in most other books, something I really appreciate. They're dangerous and cruel, and most importantly, they are most definitely not human. I can't think of anything in the worldbuilding I would want to change or complain about.

Feyland has a fairly limited cast of main characters, with secondary characters more sketches than fully fleshed-out figures. Normally I would frown upon this practice, but here it actually fits perfectly with the mood of the story, making it seem more like a fairy tale. (Hey, at least Feyland's characters get real names.) The main characters, Jenet and Tam, exhibit a refreshing lack of angst and (thus far) impending love triangles (hooray!). Their problems originate in socio-economic differences as well as fairy troubles, which, now that I think about it, adds again to the fairy-tale atmosphere.

Overall, I've found this series to be impressively well-written and captivating. I definitely recommend giving The Dark Realm a try and picking up this one as well.

Review | Railsea by China Miéville

Railsea
China Miéville
Published May 15, 2012 by Del Ray (Macmillan)
Steampunk
4 stars
eARC from NetGalley

Bite-Sized Review
After its slow start, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this coming-of-age story set on an ocean of train tracks. This imaginative world brings new life to an old story.

King-Sized Review
Railsea is kind of like Moby Dick if Moby Dick took place on a sea of train tracks with lots of creepy creatures that want to kill you and pirates and also a search for a mythical place. Um. It's probably not that much like Moby Dick, but it does sort of start out looking like it. Sham ap Soorap is the greenest member of the crew of the moletrain the Medes, which hunts the giant moldywarpes. Captain Naphi wants one moldywarpe in particular, the elusive ivory Mocker-Jack. The hunt leads to Sham's stumbling across pictures that change his worldview and have the potential to change the whole world of the railsea.

At first I really didn't think I was going to like this book. It started off very slowly, and while I'm perfectly okay with not having worlds really explained, I didn't feel like I had a sense of what was going on at all. But then around a quarter of the way through I found myself trying to sneak in pages whenever I could, delaying getting of the train to work, and totally caught up in the story. The world is really fascinating, and you do eventually get a good picture of how things work and how it became that way. (On a side note, the ampersands, while annoying, do have a purpose which is explained about halfway through.)

Although this book is classified as YA, it's not as obviously YA as, say, Hex Hall or Saving Francesca. It is something of a coming-of-age story, and part of it is Sham discovering what he wants and what his life will be. However, there's virtually no romance, no high school drama, or any of the other things you'd normally expect from a YA book. It's really hard to categorize this book at all – I listed it as steampunk, but it doesn't really have the same feel as other steampunks I've read. Let's just say it's a coming-of-age scifi, which is probably about as close as you can get.

Sham has no idea what he wants in life, but he does feel vaguely dissatisfied with what he has. Gradually, he grows and finds a purpose, a journey that's quite well-done and believable. The rest of the limited cast doesn't show as much development, for the most part, but they're interesting characters.

This book is about the unknown and exploration, which made for a great story. I kind of felt like I should be listening to the Star Trek intro voiceover while I read it ("These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise..."). Despite my initial reservations, I ended up liking it a lot. While I have Perdido Street Station on my Kindle and have read a few pages, this was my first full China Miéville book, so I guess I'll have to suck it up and read some more of his books now!

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Good

Review | Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Struck
Jennifer Bosworth
Struck #1
Published May 8, 2012 by FSG BYR (Macmillan)
YA apocalyptic
3 stars

Bite-Sized Review
Struck is a good story about the end of the world, though with mediocre characters. It's still worth a read: well-paced and exciting, with a decent sense of mystery.

King-Sized Reivew
Struck takes place not after the apocalypse but right in the middle of it. Mia, who has been struck by lighting countless times, now lives in LA, a place where it almost never storms. Unfortunately, when it rains in LA, it pours, as the recent massive storm and subsequent devastating earthquake proved. In the wake of the disasters, two groups, the religious cult of the Followers of Rance Ridley Prophet and their opponents, the Seekers (who were basically also a cult, just not religious), want Mia on their side, because the worst is yet to come, and whatever it is, Mia will be in the middle of the lightning.

Struck was a good if fairly standard example of YA paranormal(ish) literature. There's some originality here – people gain their power by being struck by lightning rather than the many other means used in other sources – but for the most part Struck similar to the rest of its kind: fate of the world rests in the hands of one person who has no idea of her destiny, love interest with secrets, powerful, unscrupulous people in need of some serious thwarting, et cetera. The lightning feature was definitely interesting and gave the book a little extra spark. (Not even going to bother pretending – that pun was totally intentional.) But it's a popular story because it works, and Jennifer Bosworth does a good job with it here. The pace of the story is good, without any dragging or confusion.

The characters weren't bad, but I didn't love them. They were just sort of there, without much personality or depth. They didn't really make me feel anything for them, which was a little disappointing. There were aspects that I liked, such as the fact that I only figured out Jeremy's big secret in a flash of intuition about 70 percent in, which is pretty much the ideal way to figure things out in books, but that's not so much a character quality as a storytelling quality. They mostly didn't really seem like real people. My indifference towards the characters was the main reason I didn't love the book, because I enjoyed the storyline and the world quite a bit.

I know some people have said they're uncomfortable with the prominence of religion in this book, but if anything, the book comes across as anti-religious; the Followers are definitely not the good guys, and, at least in my reading, were pretty clearly portrayed as worse than the more mystical, secret-society-esque Seekers. So don't let that stop you from reading the book, if you're worried about it. The story does focus a lot on apocalyptic events, but each group has different opinions of the origin of these calamities.

The apocalyptic climax does make me wonder a little about where the second book is supposed to go from here. It's the same issue I had with season 6 of Supernatural: how do you find something with more tension than the apocalypse? It's pretty tough to find a tougher time than the end of the world. But I'm sure I'll pick it up anyway, because I did enjoy Struck and I'm curious.

Quality: Acceptable
Enjoyability: Good

In the same aisle
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi
Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Review | Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky
Veronica Rossi
Under the Never Sky #1
Published January 3, 2012 by Harper Collins
YA science fiction/post-apocalyptic
3 stars

Bite-Sized Review
Under the Never Sky is an exciting post-apocalyptic story that fans of the genre will certainly enjoy. It's definitely worth reading if you're interested.

King-Sized Review
You're thrown into the middle of this book with little introduction. Aria gets thrown out of her enclosed home with startling rapidity and no time for a sense of what goes on in the pod-thingy or why it exists. However, things do eventually become a little clearer as the book goes on, and it's worth working your way through the first few chapters to read the rest of the tale.

Essentially, something went wrong in the atmosphere. It gave rise to dangerous storms known as Aether storms and caused a large portion of humanity to move to domed cities, kept sane by a virtual reality interface called the Realms. Aria was content where she was until her mother went missing. That's the reason she was in the agriculture dome when the fire started, and the reason she was exile. She expected to die right away, killed by cannibals or Outsiders or the air itself. When she ran into an Outsider, she had no choice but to stay with him and hope he could help her find her mother.

The story alternates between Aria's and Perry's perspectives, which gives a good view of both Outsider and Dweller cultures. It's a creative world that could be either Earth in a vastly altered future or another world – which one it is isn't really important. Though not new, the scifi elements were interesting and well done. It's a little confusing at first, but it works itself out so that you know what you need to without info-dumping, which is pleasant.

The characters ended up being good despite a shaky start. Aria managed to be shockingly stupid sometimes, but she grew on me throughout the book. And while Perry started out as kind of selfish and annoying, I got to like him too. The minor characters (read: Roar) were probably my favorite.

Overall, Under the Never Sky is a good read, especially if you like dystopian/post-apocalyptic books. I'll definitely be reading the next book.

Quality: Good
Enjoyability: Good

In the same aisle
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Partials by Dan Wells
Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi

Review | The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer

The Arctic Incident
Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl #2
Published
MG science fiction
Review copy from NetGalley
4 stars

Twelve-year-old billionaire genius Artemis Fowl is back and close to finding his father. He's finally discovered a connection between the lost ship carrying Fowl Senior and the Russian Mafiya, but on his way to learn more, he's interrupted by none other than his old LEPrecon friends, or possibly nemeses, Commander Root and Captain Holly Short. They have problems of their own.

I enjoyed this book more than the first, partly because there was more going on and partly because Artemis started to develop something that might eventually resemble a conscience. As far as the first goes, the fairies are dealing with goblin attacks and a mortal selling fairies human weapons. Root, Holly, and centaur Foaley, having some experience with Artemis Fowl, immediately suspect Artemis. Involving him in the investigation leads to some hilarious and extremely dangerous hijinks, and in the face of peril and near death, the characters show a bit of their softer sides. They then proceed immediately to deny the existence of any such side, of course.

It will be interesting to see the changes in the series after the end of this book, because even though I've read the next book, I don't actually remember what happens. If you ever want a break from love triangles and brooding, I definitely recommend this series; it's a fun and exciting diversion.

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Excellent

Review of Artemis Fowl

Review | Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl
Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl #1
Published 2001 by Disney-Hyperion
MG science fantasy
Review copy from NetGalley
3 stars

Bite-Sized Review
Artemis Fowl contains a twelve-year-old genius, a highly unusual take on fairies, a kidnapping planned by the protagonist, and a smartass centaur. It's not as good as later books in the series, but it's still fun and good to read.

King-Sized Review
I actually read some of the Artemis Fowl books as a kid and enjoyed them, so when I saw them on NetGalley I grabbed them. As an adult, this was still a fun read and one I'd definitely recommend to fans of middle-grade books. Artemis, heir to a formerly vast fortune, is trying to track down a fairy in order to restore his family's status. However, when he decodes the fairies' book and manages to capture one, he gets rather more than he bargained for.

The fairies in the Artemis Fowl books are quite different from the ones you see in more recent paranormal books. While they do have great respect for and a deep connection to the Earth, they're also extremely technologically advanced, giving this book a bit more of a scifi feel. I really enjoyed the book's take on fairy tales and legends, like making leprechauns the LEPrecon squad, a branch of law enforcement.

As a kid, I don't think I really understood how incredibly morally questionable some of Artemis's decisions are. That's not a criticism; he changes throughout the book, and although I wouldn't exactly call him "good" by the end, he does get a lot better and continues to do so in later books. It's just interesting how oblivious elementary school Kate was to shades of gray. But don't worry, this book won't turn your kids evil or anything.

Artemis is a twelve-year-old genius, which is the only reason his schemes have any chance of succeeding. Of course it's a little ridiculous, but it's a fun character trait. He also has unusual freedom for a twelve-year-old because after his father vanished in a shipwreck, his mother sank into depression and now doesn't even recognize him most of the time. It makes his choices at the beginning of the book a little more sympathetic.

This book is full of action. It switches between various perspectives, including some underground, where the fairies live, and it's quite interesting to take a look at their culture, which is very well developed. There's quite a bit of fighting, with and without fairy technology, as well as lots of wittiness and humor. It does drag a bit at times, and there's certainly room for improvement, but it's definitely worth a read, especially since the series gets better after this.

Quality: Good
Enjoyability: Good


In the same aisle
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

Feed by Mira Grant

Feed
Mira Grant
Newsflesh Trilogy #1
Published 2010 by Orbit


Bite-Sized Review
I really, really loved this book. It's emotional, clever, fast-paced, actually meaningful, and all-around excellent, and I can't believe I waited so long to read it. Why haven't you started yet?

King-Sized Review
Feed is the exciting, brilliant story of a team of blogger-journalists who are selected to follow the campaign of presidential hopeful Senator Ryman. As they get to know the senator and his ideas, they find themselves in full support of his candidacy, but it seems there's someone else out there whose opposition to the senator's policies threatens them all. And in a world where the Kellis-Amberlee virus has created the potential for anyone to become a zombie, threats become a lot more real.

There are a few things you should know before reading this book:

1. Feed is not a zombie book. It has the potential to become a zombie series, but for now it's not about averting the zombie apocalypse, and it's certainly not about how zombies have feelings too. The zombie apocalypse has already happened, and Feed just happens to take place afterwards, when the world has changed. What this book is is a political thriller. No, don't go away. I know, if you're reading this blog you're probably not the type of person who regularly picks up those kinds of books. Neither am I. Just trust me. You want to read this one.

2. The world is entirely believable. Everything from the way zombies were created to life after the Rising is spectacularly conceptualized and explained. From the paranoid testing before you can go anywhere to the laws that arose from the presence of the infected, there were no glaring inconsistencies, no transparent plot devices. If an outbreak of something like the Kellis-Amberlee virus occurred, it seems completely reasonable that people would react in just the way they have in the world of Feed. Fortunately for your sanity, it's less gruesome and terrible than the reactions in World War Z, but then, as I said, Feed isn't a zombie book, while World War Z is. Their both quite believable, and they both work perfectly for the kind of stories they want to tell.

3. Feed has brilliant characters. Shaun and Georgia, in particular, are characterized perfectly and complement each other better than you can imagine. Shaun cracks jokes and pokes zombies with sticks, Georgia stoically reports the facts, just the facts. The combination is ideal for a lot of reasons, mainly that it makes for a balanced narrative, because while Georgia is the narrator, Shaun is never far from her or her thoughts.

4. Feed is suspenseful, funny, and brutally emotional. The suspense arises from a conspiracy that our faithful bloggers uncover while following the presidential campaign of Senator Peter Ryman, and it's well done. It's not perfect – the revelations don't come as a huge surprise at any point – but it works, and it's where the zombies come in. If zombies aren't scary, you're doing it wrong. So there's that, but it's the emotion that really gets you. If you're not in tears at the end of this book, it's possible that you don't have emotions. Or that you have retinal KA. But you might want to get that checked out.

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Outstanding

Feed is similar to:
World War Z by Max Brooks

A Million Suns by Beth Revis

A Million Suns
Beth Revis
Across the Universe #2
Published January 10, 2012 by Razorbill (Penguin)

Bite-Sized Review
A Million Suns was an absolutely enthralling read, one that was highly enjoyable despite a few glaring plot holes. This series is definitely worth a read even if you're not a scifi fan!

King-Sized Review
A Million Suns swept me up and wouldn't let go until long after I turned the last page. Even more so than Across the Universe, it was an extraordinarily compelling book. Unlike many second books in trilogies, A Million Suns is obviously no filler, but a very exciting story.

However, wonderful as it was to read, A Million Suns is not without its flaws. The most critical was the scavenger hunt the entire plot rested upon, which never really seemed necessary. Supposedly Amy would need time to accept the answers she needed to find, but I was neither surprised nor shocked at what the clues, in the end, revealed. There is no obvious reason why the information couldn't have been imparted clearly, and then the characters could have taken all the time they spent hunting for clues and dealt with all the other things going on. And when they finally did find the information, they just sort of dismissed it and went on with their plans, so after all that buildup, it wasn't very climactic. This issue undermined the very premise of the book, which was annoying, though it clearly didn't ruin the story for me. (Sorry for all the obliqueness. I'm trying to be spoiler-free!)

Second, despite being raised for it, Elder is really not a very good leader. Granted, the other half of the story rested on this fact, but he didn't really have a good reason for keeping his role on the ship. He didn't like being the leader, and the only explanation for not giving it up might be to protect Amy. However, the leadership dispute ended up being the better of the plotlines, so I can't complain too much.

Having multiple first-person points of view doesn't always work, but once again it's very effective in Amy and Elder's case. They were both a bit whiny in this book, but since they had good reason to be upset, it wasn't nearly as irritating as some other books. The two of them make very good main characters: different enough to make their separate narratives distinct, but alike enough to have more or less the same goals.

Overall, although it had a few plot holes and some glaring unanswered questions, A Million Suns was even more addictive than Across the Universe. I can't wait to see how Beth Revis will wrap things up in Shades of Earth.

Quality: Acceptable
Enjoyability: Outstanding

A Million Suns is similar to:
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Acorna by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball
Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon

Partials by Dan Wells

Partials
Dan Wells
Partials #1
Published February 28, 2012 by HarperTeen

Bite-sized Review
I really loved Partials. Despite a slow start, the story sucked me in, and I'm rather attached to the characters.

King-sized Review
Worlds built on lies and ignorance are my favorite to read about. There's something thrilling about working your way through the layers of deception to find the truth, and Partials plays that card really well. Partials takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where, after a war with cyborgs, what's left of the human race has been severely depleted by a disease that now kills off 100 percent of their children days or hours after they're born. The main character of the story is Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic, whose determination and will made her wonderful to follow. If she sometimes made questionable decisions, it was only because she was trying to do the right thing, and even though she was sixteen, I didn't see any kind of annoying angst, probably because of the world she grew up in.

The plot ended up being quite exciting. The beginning was a bit slow and depressing, but it did serve as a good introduction to the world, and there was a lot more action later. I found the premise very interesting. There's some medical jargon in the book, and not being trained in any kind of medicine other than what I learned from watching the first three seasons of House, I couldn't tell you if it was accurate, but it sounded reasonable to me.

There were some awkward info-dumping conversations at the beginning, which is probably part of why it was a bit slow. And despite all that, I'm still not quite sure how their world functions. I get why they had electricity but no one knew how to use the more advanced equipment, and I understand why the Voice was fighting against the government. But I don't really understand what people did if they weren't in medicine, the military, or agriculture. I would have liked to see a little more of what Kira's day-to-day life was like, not just in the hospital, but at home with her foster family and out with her friends.

And if you're going to create cyborgs to fight a war for you, why would you give them the ability to feel emotions, particularly fear? That was one thing that really stuck out as odd to me, but I'm willing to buy it for now and hope there's more explanation later, because I really liked the book.

Overall, Partials was a great read. I loved the suspense and action, and the fact that it didn't pull punches. I can't wait to learn more about the Partials' society in the next book, not to mention see what happens to the remaining humans now.

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Excellent


Thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for providing this galley!

Mini-Reviews

I've been slacking on writing reviews, and there are a bunch I need to catch up on. Unfortunately, they're for books I read at least a week ago and neither loved nor hated, so I don't have all that much to say about them. I decided to just throw a bunch of mini-reviews into one post so I could catch up (and then be immediately behind again because of the Wicked Winter Read-A-Thon)!

Across the Universe
Beth Revis
Across the Universe #1

I really enjoyed this book.

Amy and Elder were great main characters, and seeing the story from each of their perspectives really emphasized the differences between their worlds. The split narrative worked really well, because one character's point of view always revealed something the other would never have thought of.

The plot twists were somewhat less than surprising, but I very much enjoyed the ride in this scifi/murder mystery/political thriller. This book wears a lot of hats, but it does it well. I can't wait to see what Beth Revis has in store for us next. I'll definitely have to read A Million Suns in the near future.

Beauty
Robin McKinley


It took me a while to get into the book, but once I did I really enjoyed it. It was a little slower-paced than I expected, and I think I would have been happier if there were a villain. But as it was, it was light and fun.

I loved Beauty; she was practical and proud yet sweet. The Beast was unexpectedly nice, and Beauty's family was great.

I've read (or watched) a lot of different versions of this story, so you could safely say I had some expectations. This one didn't stray far out of the normal storyline, which was a bit disappointing. However, it was a fun read, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance.

The Mockingbirds
Daisy Whitney
The Mockingbirds #1

The Mockingbirds was a pretty unusual story for me (because I don't often read YA contemporary) but I liked it. It gave some interesting insights into justice and fairness, in a student-administered sort of way.

I did find it difficult to believe that there was no one in any kind of position of authority that Alex could talk to. I'm glad she did find herself questioning this kind of justice system, and while it was surprisingly fair, it still seemed a little sketchy as well as strange that no one at the school was able to handle problems. Or, you know, the police. But overall, it was a good, emotional story, and I'll definitely read the next one.

The Piper's Son 
Melina Marchetta

I really really loved Saving Francesca, so I started The Piper's Son right away after I finished. It was also good, though not as wrenchingly and wonderfully emotional as the first book. I think part of that is because it's told in third person, which is generally not as immediate. Some of it was also because there was a lot about Australian politics and unions and things that I don't really know anything about. It didn't by any means make the story impossible or even difficult to comprehend, because the specifics of all of it didn't make that much of a difference, but I do think the story would have meant more if I knew what they were talking about.

But I really liked the characters and the story itself, so this book is more than worth the read. I'm currently hunting down every book Marchetta has written, because I really love her writing.

Blood and Chocolate 
Anette Curtis Jones

For some reason this book made me think of Sunshine, which I love, so I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it was nothing like Sunshine and I didn't much like it. Vicky was a really unlikeable character; she was self-centered and jealous and just really annoying. And since the plot was very centered on her thoughts and relationships, disliking her was definitely a problem. The story was okay, and it wasn't difficult to finish, but I also didn't particularly enjoy it.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

*I've been really busy recently, so I didn't have time to do the "Stars of" post this week. Stop by next Thursday for the Stars of Heroic Fantasy!*

Cinder
Marissa Meyer
Lunar Chronicles #1
Published January 3, 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

Bite-sized Review
Cinder was a fun, light read whose scifi twist made it stand out from the fairy-tale-retelling crowd.

King-sized Review
After seeing so many great review of Cinder, Marissa Meyer's debut, I was definitely looking forward to reading it. This scifi take on the fairy tale Cinderella sounded like a lot of fun, and it didn't disappoint. Cinder was a fun, enjoyable story, complete with an interesting world and great characters.

Sometimes it almost felt like a Disney movie – Cinder had a cute and odd sidekick, an evil "step"-mother (of course), a prince, a witch, and so on. There were a few variations that I liked – the fact that one of her sisters, at least, was kind to her, as well as the more complex world made it stand out a bit from the rest of the herd. Being a retelling of a fairy tale, the plot "twists" were quite predictable, but Cinder was enjoyably nonetheless.

There were times that I found Cinder a bit pathetic, but for the most part she was a good protagonist. Her cyborg attributes made her really unusual and added uniqueness to her character.

The world of the Lunar Chronicles is pretty different from any other I've read, containing both advanced technology such as cyborgs and artificial intelligence and what I would call "techno-magic" in the Lunars' abilities. I do wish there were more explanation of the origin of the lunar base, because I couldn't really tell if they were supposed to be human or not, and I wasn't entirely sure of the relationship between the various Terran nations. (Yes, Terran. I do try not to be nit-picky here, but the term "Earthen" really irritated me.)

Cinder was a quick, fun read, and I'm looking forward to the next book of the Lunar Chronicles.

Quality: Good
Enjoyability: Good

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Obsidian
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Lux #1

Déjà vu. That's what I felt when reading this book.

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was this girl who met this boy, and the boy was a gorgeous, but a jerk. She was kind of fascinated with him (because he was gorgeous, and also mysterious), but they didn't get along. One day, something happened that almost killed her, but the boy saved her, and he did it by doing something that should have been impossible. Turns out the boy's not human, and he has enemies. Now she'll be targeted by those enemies too.

Sound familiar? That's because not only is that the plot of Obsidian, it also perfectly describes Twilight, Die for Me, Hush, Hush, and probably other books I haven't read. It's not a bad plot, exactly, but I'm getting a little tired of reading the same thing in every YA paranormal romance.

I'm not a fan of the "human girl meets supernatural boy" aspect, either. Either both parties should have superpowers or neither should. The discrepancy makes it hard to have a healthy relationship.

I did like Katy a lot. It was fun (and a little surreal) to read about her book blog, and I loved that she didn't just sit back and let everything happen to her. I also appreciated that, instead of whining about moving to a small town where she knew absolutely no one, she was determined to make the best of it, which was a nice change from the all-too-frequent YA angst. I think Katy's character made this book actually stand out from the crowd I mentioned before.

Granted, the alien aspect of the story was different as well, but it really just seemed like the same setting as I Am Number Four. And while the Luxen were pretty cool, I was not impressed by the Arum. Evil should never be explained by saying, "that's just the way their species is." Good and evil aren't about what we are, they're about what we choose, and eliminating that choice by making a whole group innately bad makes the story seem superficial and juvenile. I want stories to give me reasons for people to do the things they do, and "they're all like that" is terribly unsatisfying, unless it turns out that they're actually not and that's a major part of the story. (From what I've seen so far, that doesn't seem likely here, but I guess you never know.)

This book the plot of Twilight with the world of I Am Number Four. If you liked those, I am sure you will like this one. Personally, I found it fairly unoriginal, but I liked the writing and the characters enough that I will probably read the sequels, maybe.

Quality: Fair
Enjoyability: Acceptable

The Next Thing I Knew by John Corwin

The Next Thing I Knew
John Corwin
Heavenly #1

In one fell swoop, humanity is wiped out. Fortunately it's not quite the end. Lucy and her neighbors wake up in an alternate universe they call Heavenly, where they never get sick, tired, or hurt. As they explore their new world, Lucy finds that the afterlife has the same problem as her old life, plus one other one - she stumbles across a spaceship headed for Earth. The aliens threaten Lucy's post-life existence, and she must figure out a way to stop their enemies from destroying all that's left of the human race before it's too late...


The idea of having everyone on Earth become ghosts was definitely original in my experience. I like a little scifi every once in a while, so a plot of having aliens trying to colonize the Earth was one I could get on board with. (Literarily. Literally I would definitely have a problem with that.)

The pacing was a little odd at times. The first third or so of the book was dedicated to the exploration of Heavenly and the rules of being a ghost, which was interesting for a while but eventually got a little slow. The things suddenly picked up a lot when the aliens arrived, and certain cooperation problems were solved with a speed that left me incredulous. I was also a little irritated that Lucy didn't seem to see a certain betrayal coming despite hints the size of an interstellar billboard.

There were a couple elements of this story that seemed totally disconnected from the main plotline. First, Lucy and Chris's romance bothered me for a lot of reasons that definitely were not resolved by the end of the book. (A "let's get it over with" attitude toward sex is not romantic at all and frankly a little disturbing.) I think this relationship could have been eliminated completely without affecting the plot in the least. Last living human Nick's appearances were a little more integrated into the story but still seemed a little random, and I was surprised that he wasn't involved in the climax of the story. I wish, though, that Nick had been the love interest in this book rather than Chris, which I think would have made a much better story.

I didn't get much of a sense of personality from Lucy for the first half of this book. Maybe this was a YA issue, but she just didn't seem to have any kind of goals or interests or anything. Eventually she did improve to the point where I found her mostly credible as a leader.

I also have a caveat for any religious readers: The Next Thing I Knew is quite explicitly anti-religious, which might bother you if you are not. (It bothered me a little, and I don't consider myself religious. I just don't like preachiness. Which is actually why I don't consider myself religious. Go figure.)

Overall, the story was pretty decent. Check it out if you like YA scifi or if you're looking for something a little different.

Plot: 2 cupcakes
Characters: 2 cupcakes
Style: 3 cupcakes
Overall: 3 cupcakes

If you liked The Next Thing I Knew, try:
Acorna by Anne McCaffrey
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff