review: angelfall - susan ee

ANGELFALL
Susan Ee
Release Date: May 21st 2011
Publisher: Feral Dream
Pages: 255
Source: ebook purchase

Rating: 5 out of 5

"It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.
Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again"

This is the first 5 out of 5 rating I've given on this blog, and this book is completely deserving. If you only decide to read one angel/paranormal book make it this one! And don't be put off by the fact it's self published, it's absolutely brilliant! I was completely engrossed by the plot of this book, it features angels in a way in which isn't often seen in books it portrays them as the bad guys! This to me, was such a new and refreshing take on the usual angel lore.

I liked the post-apocalyptic world that was built, danger is everywhere in Penryn's world. Not only do they face the obvious danger from these harsh angels, who kill humans without a second thought, and seem to be abducting human children. They also face danger from the human gangs who have taken over in the aftermath of angel destruction. And that isn't even to mention the mysterious cannabilistic 'low people'.

Penryn as a main character reminds me of a tougher, more ruthless Katniss. She proves herself a competant fighter, and is able to hold her own. I also liked that she didn't waste time, she doesn't allow anyone to walk over her. She also lives in this destructive world and manages to look after her paranoid schizophrenic mother and disabled sister.

And then there's Raffe. Swoooonnnnn. I absolutely loved his character. I loved his sarcastic, hilarious comments! There was many a moment I laughed out loud, Susan Ee did so well mixing comic relief in this story! Occasionally I forgot Raffe was an angel, as he seemed so human, in a good way. Pen and Raffe's relationship develops slowly, and neither of them forgot about their enemies. I really liked how their relationship intensified naturally, instead of the 'insta-love' you get in a lot of YA novels.

I'm so glad this book is going to be part of a series (5 books apparently), as I really want to see what happens to Pen and Raffe. I also feel some things needed more explaning like the scorpions and the children, so I hope Susan explains this in the next! I bought this for my Kindle as it was ridiculously cheap, but i think it's come out on paperback now and I'm definitely going to buy a copy as I can see myself re-reading this multiple times! I highly suggest you check this book out as you won't be disappointed!

review: the other life - susan winnacker

THE OTHER LIFE
Susanne Winnacker
Release Date: February 1st 2012
Publisher: Usborne
Pages: 320 pages
Source: bought

Rating: 4 out of 5

"3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world.

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation…and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.
When Sherry’s dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua – an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers. But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?"

When I read the summary of this book, I was immediately intrigued. Underground bunkers, savage mutant zombies and a romance? Right down my street! I read this book in the space of a couple of hours, once I had started reading I couldn't stop. It was fast paced and enjoyable to read.

I really liked the characters in this book, reading the first chapter, I was sold on the idea of a family at breaking point, being confined to a small space for 3 years would cause tension and Susanne captured family discord perfectly. Sherry I also found was a good main character, and Joshua, well who doesn't love a cynical, gorgeous male who's also out for revenge?

One part of the book I really liked was the flashbacks to 'The Other Life'. I found it interesting how they showed you a little about how the virus started and also gave valuable insights into Sherry's character; they helped endear me to her.

The ending was interesting and had a few twists, which I was unprepared for and left off nicely for the sequel. I would definitely give this a read if you are a fan of dystopia/zombies, as while not completely original or groundbreaking it was a really enjoyable read.

review: fever - lauren destefano

FEVER
Lauren DeStefano
Release Date: February 21, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 341 pages
Source: bought

Rating: 3 out of 5

"Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Rhine and Gabriel may have escaped the beautiful prison of Wither’s mansion, but they are far from escaping danger. First they’re chased for stealing a getaway boat, and then the fleeing pair ends up in the eerie den of Madame, an old woman who collects girls and sells them to the highest bidders. Worst of all, Vaughn, Rhine’s sinister father-in-law, seems to be on her trail every step of the way. Rhine remains determined to get to her brother in Manhattan—but the road they are on is long and perilous.

Now that Rhine has finally regained her freedom, what lengths will she need to go to in order to keep it?"

Honestly, I was soooo excited to read this book as Wither probably has made it onto my list of favourites. I'm not sure if because I was SO hyped for this book and created unrealistic expectations, that it fell flat for me? I was pretty dissapointed! Lauren picked up immediately from where she left off, and I was excited to see where she would take this. However I found whilst reading the plot didn't really seem to go anywhere, and the pacing was really slow. I feel bad saying it, but this left me bored. It wasn't really an exciting read, as Rhine and Gabriel just seem to wander, with occasional exciting points.

I was dissapointed with the characters aswell, Rhine seems to have to carry the story. Whilst I connect to Rhine and find her a good main character, I was dissapointed at the lack of development in Gabriel. I was hoping we'd find out a little more about him but we don't really. However I did like finding more out about Jenna, and Rhine's realisation that she didn't know her aswell as she thought she did.

Another factor that dissapointed me was the lack of romantic development between Rhine and Gabriel, it felt like instead of there actually being feelings between them, they were just together by coincidence. Maybe this could easily be explained by what they go through throughout the book, but as I'm quite a romantic I was a little disheartened!

I will say the last quarter or so of the book was definitely the saving grace. There were interesting plot developments which completely gripped me. The reappearance of Linden was welcome, as I will admit I have a soft spot for him! I was practically in tears the last few chapters of the book, I just wish it had been the same throughout! The ending sets the way for an interesting conclusion to the triology, and despite the slight dissapointment I found Fever to be, I will definitely pick up the next. I would highly suggest if you haven't already, to read the first novel Wither, definitely a 5 out of 5 in my books (no pun intended!)

the start of a new blog

Since before I can remember, I've been surrounded by books and always understood the virtue of reading, partly down to my mother I guess. I can't explain today how deeply grateful I am for that! I will always remember the moment, at a school book fair no less, when I was probably 9 or 10, and my mum bought me the first 2 Harry Potter books; I guess that's when my obsession began!

I started this blog as so often I will find myself so completely enthralled and impressed by a book, that I just want to share my opinion about it with the world. So here we are. This blog will mostly consist of Young Adult reviews of mostly paranormal and dystopian genres, as that's what I primarily read.