Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher

 

 

Rating: 4.5 Stars

“I remember a story of a girl in Paradise who ate an apple once. Some wise Sapient gave it to her. Because of it she saw things differently. What had seemed gold coins were dead leaves. Rich clothes were rags of cobweb. And she saw there was a wall around the world, with a locked gate.”

Summary: A thrilling, high-concept fantasy for fans of Garth Nix and Nancy Farmer.

Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible.

And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside- she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don’t realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know.

I went into Incarceron with no expectations at all. Good things and bad things had been said about it, and I was pleasantly surprised of how much I was invested in the book when the action started perking up. The first few chapters start out a little confusing; the setting is vague and you don’t exactly know the motivation of the main character for doing what he does. But after the pace picks up, the rest is a roller-coaster. A roller-coaster that only goes up, my friend.

The story is pretty fast-paced. We are started with a blast of action, and after a few quiet chapters we find Claudia plotting and Finn and Keiro planning their escape. In their journey, we are introduced to many characters, plots, and crazy technology. Claudia’s chapters mostly consist of her plan of escape from her wedding, and Finn’s consist of his hard journey along with Keiro, Gildas, and Attia to Outside. Throughout the book, a lot of the adventure and secrets raise a lot of questions, and I loved the aura of mystery surrounding it.

Shadowhunters TV Show: Casting Overview!

Hey peeps! So, if you Cassandra Clare fans haven’t heard, The Mortal Instruments series is going to be adapted into a TV show. The show will be called “Shadowhunters” and will air on ABC Family in 2016. Every fan has pretty much heard about the The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones movie from 2013, starring Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell Bower, and most are disappointed by the result, including me. Since the movie bombed at the box office and failed to satisfy fans of the book, executive producers McG and Ed Decter have decided to reboot it into a TV show. So, today, I have decided to do something different and go over the casting of “Shadowhunters”.

1) Kate McNamara as Clary Fray

McNamara has previously acquired small guest parts in many TV shows, especially Disney. She will also be playing Sonya, one of the leaders of Group B in The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner Series) movie. I am really excited about this casting, McNamara really seems to fit the description of Clary. Lily Collins actually did a good job as Clary Fray in the movie version, but of course, didn’t fit the physical description. I’m glad this actress at least looks like Clary; now we just have to wait and see how she acts!

2) Dominic Sherwood as Jace Wayland

 Sherwood has participated in many small roles but is best known for playing Christian Ozera in the movie adaptation of YA book Vampire Academy. I personally think he looks like a slightly rougher Jace, but I think he will do a better job than Jamie Campbell Bower. Hopefully he brings Jace’s sass to the table, because that is the key ingredient here. Bower definitely fit the description for Jace, but he said everything a bit monotonous in my opinion, so it took away the sass factor. Anyway, I am excited for Sherwood to play the role.

End of Days, by Susan Ee

3.75 Stars

I… I just don’t know what to say, I’m that disappointed

The Blurb: End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

The third book in the Angelfall series was supposed to be epic. All loose ends were supposed to come together in an explosive and ultimate whirlpool of emotions. I was supposed to laugh, cry, and swoon. Unfortunately, and I’ve never been more upset to say this, but I felt none of those things.

I did, however, give this book a 3.75 star rating. This is purely because of my love for the previous books plus the fact that the writing was still pretty good. But overall, this made me very upset, in more ways than one.

Otherbound, by Corinne Duyvis

5 beautiful, amazing, well-deserved stars

The Blurb: Amara is never alone. Not when she’s protecting the cursed princess she unwillingly serves. Not when they’re fleeing across dunes and islands and seas to stay alive. Not when she’s punished, ordered around, or neglected.

She can’t be alone, because a boy from another world experiences all that alongside her, looking through her eyes.

Nolan longs for a life uninterrupted. Every time he blinks, he’s yanked from his Arizona town into Amara’s mind, a world away, which makes even simple things like hobbies and homework impossible. He’s spent years as a powerless observer of Amara’s life. Amara has no idea . . . until he learns to control her, and they communicate for the first time. Amara is terrified. Then, she’s furious.

All Amara and Nolan want is to be free of each other. But Nolan’s breakthrough has dangerous consequences. Now, they’ll have to work together to survive–and discover the truth about their connection.

I came across this book completely by accident. In fact, I wasn’t even looking for a book to read when I found Otherbound. Now I’m wondering what other books there are out there that I’ll probably never discover because so little people have read and reviewed them. Really makes you wonder about hype.

Anyway, Otherbound is about Nolan, a kid from Arizona who, when he closes his eyes, travels into Amara’s body, who lives in the fantasy realm of the Dunelands. What makes this book truly amazing is this unique premise. It’s remarkable how flawlessly it’s carried out, there is truly no other book like it.

New Releases in YA for May 2015

I’m a bit(okay, quite a bit) behind with getting to this, but, hey, better late then never, right? Anyway, let’s see what wonderful books are coming out this month.

1. End of Days by Susan Ee (Penryn and the End of Days, #3) – Coming May 12

End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Yeah, I need help. Angelfall is the freaking best book ever, and I have been awaiting this one for a long time. I cannot wait for this to come out so I can get my greedy hands on it, and for those of you that already have an ARC, I will kill for it. Don’t underestimate a book-lover’s power.

Edit After Reading: I wish it were that good, but no. Worth reading though. Check out my review here.

The Sea Of Tranquility, by Katja Millay

Rating: 4.25 stars

“There are so many things that can break you if there’s nothing to hold you together.”

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

The Liebster Award

This has taken a while for us to get back to, considering we were both super busy and had communication issues. But we’re super excited to finally get to this!

First of all, thank you to Blaise at the Book Boulevard for nominating us! It means a lot and has really helped us feel accomplished as a blog. 🙂

For those of you who don’t know, the Liebster Award is basically a chain award passed around by bloggers in an attempt to spread the word about other blogs. The rules have morphed over time, but here are the ones we received from Blaise.

1. Answer the eleven questions that were asked by the blogger(s) who nominated you
2. Nominate 11 bloggers (if you can) that have less than 350 followers (the number is set by the blogger who nominated you)
3. Notify them in their blog to say that they have been nominated
4. Ask them 11 questions that they’ll answer
5. Do it again, as many times as you get nominated!

Anyway, here are the answers to the questions we received:

1.) Would you rather be able to fly or breathe underwater?

Aliza: I would say fly, because swimming is just not my thing, my one attempt at joining a swim team ended up with me hiding from to coach to avoid it. Plus, it would be really cool to fly.

Haven: I suppose swimming would be easier if you are able to breathe underwater, since breathing while swimming is my main problem. But, I would also have to say flying. It is way more thrilling, and I’m not the best swimmer anyway.

A Great And Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray

Rating: 4 stars

“Because you don’t notice the light without a bit of shadow. Everything has both dark and light. You have to play with it till you get it exactly right.”

A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy—jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother’s death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls’ academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions “for a bit of fun” and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the “others” and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy.

I started out A Great And Terrible Beauty like I would start out any Victorian-Era book, expecting drama, a school teaching women how to be polite and “womanly”, and of course, there was a whole load of sexism. The story starts out with a blast of action, Gemma witnessing her mother die in a dark matter she can’t quite understand. The pacing of the book is great, it adds chick lit elements into an eerie steampunk aura. The mystery throughout the book is actually quite interesting, I wasn’t as invested in it at first, but it certainly drew me in. The writing is definitely very pretty, and is delightfully british (I don’t know if that made sense).

Me And Earl And The Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews

Rating: 2 stars

Blurb: Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.

Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.

And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.

At the end of this book I wanted to be like:

But I ended being like:

Liars, Inc., by Paula Stokes

4.5 Stars

If you want a book to build up suspense and be perfect but then slap you in the face with a plot twist no one sees coming, Liars, Inc. is right for you.

The Blurb: For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV’s How to Get Away with Murder.

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called “Captivating to the very end,” Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters.

I was expecting Liars, Inc to be good from the start. I didn’t, however, expect it to be so masterfully crafted, with plot twists coming at you from all angles. While other books have been written with a similar concepts, Stokes takes those familiar elements and gives it that “it” factor, subsequently enrapturing me into the story.