DNF Early Review - Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X, Book 1) by Richelle Mead (2/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Size: 464 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Release Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-0525953685
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Age of X series
Source: eGalley from Edelweiss
Rating: 2/5 stars


I got a copy of this book to review through Edelweiss. Thanks to Dutton Adult and Edelweiss for allowing me the chance to read and review this book. I've pretty much love everything else Mead's written; from her YA to her other adult works (excluding her Dark Swan series). That being said I was very excited to read this book. Unfortunately this book was a bit flop for me. Pretty much everything about it was sloppy, confusing, and just not at all well done.

I read about 40% of this book and ended up setting it aside. This is the third time I've sat down to try and read this book and it's just been a struggle for me. I have too many books to read and review to waste time struggling through a book like this.

The story is told from two main viewpoints. The first is that of Mae, she works for RUNA, and is being sent on a mission to Panama as a break from her normal duties. She recently lost her partner and is having trouble coping so RUNA decided a change of pace would be good for her. The second point of view is that of Justin March, a man who has been exiled to Panama for unknown reasons. He is the man Mae is sent to interact with. Together they are supposed to solve a series of murders that are happening in RUNA territory. There is a third POV that of a younger girl whose name I forget.

Let me start by saying that I'm not a big sci-fi fan anyway, and this is definitely a sci-fi type world. So, yeah I guess I should just let you know that. I do love some sci-fi, for example Scalzi writes some wonderfully entertaining stuff. My problem with a lot of sci-fi is that the world throws a ton of unknowns at you and never explains them. You are expected to struggle through and figure out what all this terminology means. This book definitely suffers from that. Mae works for RUNA (at 40% through the book I still don’t know what that’s an acronym for). There is also a sect called EA (it seemed to be some sort of Asian conglomerate). None of this is explained, it’s all kind of confusing and to be honest not all that interesting.

The characters are just as difficult to engage with. Mae is some sort of drug-enhanced fighter. Apparently this makes her edgy...she likes to hit things and have sex to take off the edge. Yet she somehow manages to come off as prissy, elitist, and boring.

Justin is incredibly confusing, I finally figured out that all of the characters he talked to were in his head...I think. Pretty much his POV starts out with him talking to all these people in italics and the people don’t seem to be people that anyone besides Justin can see. So yeah, very confusing. Justin likes to do addictive things like drugs, drink, smoke, and have sex with a different woman every night. I didn’t really like him and didn’t really want to know more about him.

I think Justin and Mae are supposed to be love interests to each other but am not sure. They are sleeping together after a drink at the bar and then hating each other for it very early on in the story. They have absolutely no chemistry together and were absolutely flat as a couple.

The most interesting character of the bunch was the young girl that moves from Panama with Justin in order get a good education at a RUNA university...and I can’t even remember her name because she just wasn’t in the story much.

The story was such a wandering and meandering mess that the whole murder investigation plot wasn’t dealt with all that much in the first 40% of the book. Justin and Mae do some investigating and then the story gets weirder with Justin seeing visions of flowers over Mae’s head. There are also strange people threatening Justin about the Gods and the evil people...but this isn’t ever really explained well and just makes the story a bigger and longer mess.

I finally just gave up on this. The story was meandering and a mess, the characters were not at all engaging. I tried, I really did. I have no idea where this story was going or why. I kind of was beginning to think this was some kind of joke to see what Mead’s readers will tolerate given her past successes.

Overall this was not a good read, I just couldn’t finish it. The world is confusing, the characters are numerous and confusing. Worst of all I just didn't find it engaging enough to work through all the confusion and actually care. I just can’t recommend this book. Check out Mead’s Vampire Academy series if you like paranormal YA, that’s a good read. Check out her Georgina Kincaid series for a decent adult paranormal read. Skip the Dark Swan series and skip this one.

Graphic Novel Review - Visitor in the Field (Rust, Volume 1) by Royden Lepp (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: All ages
Genre: Graphic Novel/Science Fiction
Size: 192 pages
Publisher: Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: December 13, 2011
ISBN: 978-1936393275
Stand Alone or Series: 1st volume in the Rust series
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5 stars


This is the first book in the Rust graphic novel science fiction series. The second book is, Secrets of the Cell, and is already out. I found this to be a surprisingly engaging book with an interesting story, and very well done sepia toned illustrations.

Roman is having a hard enough time supporting his family farm when a young boy with a rocket pack, Jet Jones, crashes in his field while being chased by a giant robot. Most of Roman’s family thinks Jet is trouble waiting to happen, but Roman thinks Jet might hold the key to fixing the farm and saving his family.

Roman is a young man just trying to make ends meet on the family farm. He is practical and also willing to do whatever he has to to help out his family.

Jet Jones is a mysterious young boy who at times comes off as much older than the young age he appears to be. He has awesome mechanical skills and is a great helper around the farm. Only problem is that he seems to draw trouble in the form of giant robots.

The whole setting is an interesting one. The world is obviously recovering from some sort of giant world war. As part of this war robots were trained to fight in place of mankind. The cause of this war and who was on what side is still a mystery at this point in the book. The fact that the story is set on a farm gives the story a nostalgic feel, but then you have all of the robots that Roman is trying to rebuild in his barn and that adds a sci-fi twist to the whole thing.

The illustration is wonderful. All of the illustrations are done in sepia tones, again this gives a nostalgic feel to the story. The drawings are detailed, realistic, and portray emotion very well. They were easy to follow and told a lot of the story all on their own.

This volume ends with some huge questions unanswered. Who exactly is Jet? What happened to this world?

Overall I really really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was an entertaining read with excellent world-building, engaging characters, an interesting story, and wonderfully done illustrations. Highly recommended to those who enjoy graphic novels especially novels in the fantasy/sci-fi genre. I will definitely be picking up Secrets of the Cell.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge

Review - The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden, Book 2) by Julie Kagawa (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Science Fiction
Size: 448 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Date: April 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-0373210695
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Blood of Eden series
Source: eGalley through NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the second book in the Blood of Eden series by Kagawa. I got an eGalley of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. Thanks to Harlequin Teen and Netgalley for a chance to read and review this book. This was an action-packed and fast-paced continuation of this post-apocalyptic vampire series.

Allie has vowed to rescue her maker, Kanin, who is being held captive by the psycho vampire Sarren. In her hunt for Kanin, she runs into her blood brother, Jackle. Allie and Jackle form an uneasy truce and end up hunting Sarren and Kanin back to where it all started...New Covington and the Fringe. Meanwhile a new strain of the Red Lung plague has broken out and is killing humans and vampires alike.

This was an excellent continuation of this series and I actually liked it better than the first book in this series. Allie spends a lot of time struggling with the balance between her vampiric nature and human morals. She is a very intense character, just like in the first book. In this book we spend a lot more time with Jackle, her brother (he was also made by Kanin). Jackle adds a lot of snark and dark humor to this book and I really enjoyed him as a character.

Zeke is in this book as well, later in the story. I liked him better in this book than the first one, he still comes across as a little needy; although he has become more accepting of Allie and what she is. There are a number of interesting revelations about him as well. The romance between Zeke and Allie is there, but it doesn’t necessarily drive the story. I enjoyed that their romance was in the background but still part of the story.

There is a lot of action in this book and a lot of mystery solving. They are trying to track down Kanin, figure out what Sarren wants from the labs he’s been raiding, and ultimately find a cure for Rabids.

The plot is fast-paced and engaging and there are some interesting twists and turns throughout. The book is well written and easy to read, the writing flows well.

Overall a decent continuation of this series. Honestly I still like Kagawa’s Iron Fey series better than this one, but I think that’s just because I like reading about Fey more than post-apocalyptic vampires. The book is fast-paced and engaging and I found it to be an entertaining read. I am eager to see how things progress in the next book in this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

DNF Early Review - Romulus Buckle and the City of the Founders (The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin, Book One) by Richard Ellis Preston Jr. (2/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk/Science Fiction
Size: 456 pages
Publisher: 47North
Date: July 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-1611099188
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin
Source: ARC through Amazon Vine
Rating: 2/5 stars

I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. This is the first book in The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin series. I love steampunk books and was excited to read this one. Unfortunately I ended up not finishing it, it was just too hard to read and I could not stay engaged in the story.

Captain Romulus Buckle and his crew are taking their ship, the Pneumatic Zeppelin, on a mission to rescue their leader Balthazar Crankshaft. Their mission leads them across lands devastated by some alien war that has left the Earth in a post-apocalyptic mess.

I ended up getting about 1/3 of the way through this book before I decided it was time to set it aside. It was just so hard to read and I was absolutely not at all interested in it. Rather than being sucked into the story, I constantly felt like this book was trying to push me away from the story (if that makes any sense at all)...I constantly had to force myself to engage with this book.

The book throws a plethora of characters at you from the get-go. All of them are hard to picture and engage with. They all seem like interesting characters when they are introduced, but you bounce between them so quickly that it is hard to get a good grasp on the characters’ personalities.

A big problem with this book is how it is parsed into such tiny chapters and how each chapter bounces between different character POVs. Just as soon as I felt like I was actually engaging in the story, then suddenly that chapter was over and we were onto another character's perspective of the battle. Many of the chapters are only a couple pages long. It really fractured the story and made it hard to follow and engage with.

The book is also very wordy with a ton of description that doesn't really help to describe the settings or what is going on. For example nearly a page is spent describing Buckle's clothing, but no explanation is given as to how/why Buckle has to plug his hat into his ship. In fact all of the characters plug their hats into the ship but we really never find out why (at least not in the first third of the book).

The story goes basically from one action scene to another, the action scenes alternate with these scenes of long description. The action scenes are not all that well written and I had trouble figuring out exactly what was going on. I felt like the pacing and plot was just a jumbled mess.

The writing also flowed very poorly, I constantly had to go back and re-read portions of the story because I missed something. Not to mention somehow despite all of the action scenes the story was boring.... You know how some books just suck you in and suddenly you’ve read 100 pages and you don’t know how that happened because you are just so absolutely drawn into the story? Well this book was the opposite. I would sit there reading and realize that I was still on the same page I was on 10 minutes ago...reading and re-reading the same paragraph and trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

Anyway, I really really disliked this book and will not be finishing it. I just have too many other good books to read. I can say that reading this book was truly an epic struggle for me.

Overall not a good read and not recommended. If you want to read some good military based steampunk check out Cherie Priest’s Clockwork Century series instead.

Audiobook Review - Fragments (Partials, Book 2) by Dan Wells (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Science Fiction
Size: 576 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Date: February 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062071071
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Partials series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars


This is the second book in the Partials trilogy. It was an excellent continuation of the series and I enjoyed it a lot.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator does an excellent job of distinguishing between voices and characters and also conveys character emotion well.

Kira is determined to figure out the secrets behind her origins, so she journeys to the deserted Manhattan to find a business office for ParaGen and hopefully find the answers to her questions there. Meanwhile Marcus is still desperately trying to find a cure for RM; issues are complicated when the Partials threaten to invade Long Island. There are many twists and turns and many secrets are revealed.

This was a fast-paced and well done YA dystopian/post-apocalyptic type of novel. Some parts have more of an adventuring feel to them as Kira heads out west to find answers about her origin and I enjoyed these parts a lot. I also enjoyed how we got to see other parts of the United State, for example the wastelands that Kira and crew have to cross.

The book switches between Marcus and Kira; I found the parts from Kira’s POV to be a lot more engaging. Kira is out exploring and finding new things while Marcus is mainly trying just to survive from day to day. This book has more of a science fiction and less of a dystopia feel to it than the last book. There is also a lot of survivalist stuff going on.

Kira comes off as a bit bull-headed and determined throughout the book. While I understood her drive to solve the problem and save the world, she comes off as incredibly selfish at times. Heron calls Kira out on this multiple times, finally Kira starts to question the morality of some of her decisions. Kira does have a point though, she has determined that it is okay to sacrifice a few people to save many...although she struggles with this decision towards the end of the book.

Along with Kira for much of the story are Samm and Heron. Both Samm and Heron were more interesting and fascinating characters for me than Kira. Samm always seems so emotionless but this book explores a lot more about Samm, his life up to this point, and what he wants out of the future.

I thought this book was more consistently paced than the first book. The story is engaging and there were some interesting plot developments. There are lots of twists and turns. Also this book is much darker than the first, all of our characters end up in very bad situations. So while it wasn’t exactly an uplifting story, it was intriguing.

The one thing that really bothered me was that there were a few inconsistencies throughout the novel. For example Kira didn’t even know what a computer looked like early on, but then a short while later she is running searches on a computer without any help. When did she suddenly get so computer savvy? There were also some things that seemed implausible and contrived. For example the wastelands caused by oil rigs burning and off gassing; this seemed a bit contrived for me...especially in the way it was isolated to only a certain region. It made for an interesting story, but I couldn’t help occasionally thinking “this totally does not make any sense”.

Overall I thought this book was an enjoyable read. It’s fast-paced and engaging. There’s a lot of interesting secrets revealed and I enjoyed spending more time with Samm and Heron and getting to understand them better. The world-building is a bit weak and contrived and there were a couple inconsistencies in the story. Despite these I still found this to be an entertaining read. Recommended to fans of YA science fiction/dystopia.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge

Early Review - The Obsidian Mirror (Chronoptika #1) by Catharine Fisher (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-0803739697
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Chronoptika series
Source: ARC from Librarything’s Early Reviewers
Rating: 3/5 stars

I had read Fisher’s Incarceron series and enjoyed it, so I was eager to read this latest book by her. Thanks to Dial and Librarything for the chance to review this book. There were some interesting ideas in here and the book starts out as intriguing. As the story continued though there were too many POVs and the story became fractured and a bit confusing.

Jake is convinced that his strange Godfather Oberon Venn has something to do with Jake’s father’s disappearance. When Jake journeys to Wintercombe Abbey, he finds the truth is much stranger than even he could have guessed. Sarah is a strange runaway who is not exactly what she appears and she also ends up at Wintercombe Abbey in hopes of finding a mysterious mirror.

This is one of those books that is hard to explain. It involves a lot of people, a mysterious time travel inducing mirror, and a bunch of fey. Initially we mainly hear from Jack and Sarah, but as the book continues the story and the number of POVs kind of spin out of control. Trying to figure out how all these little threads are tied together is tough and maybe something that will become clearer in future books in this series.

I always have a bit of trouble with time travel books because you start thinking about how past and previous activities affect current ones and the whole thing gets a bit convoluted and confusing. This holds true for this book as well.

I also had some trouble with the characters. I didn’t really care for any of them all that much. As the reader you don't really get to spend enough time with any of them to fully engage with them.

I also found the inclusion of the Fey with time travel to be a bit confusing. It is definitely a creative twist to time travel, but by the end of the book I still didn’t understand why the Fey were involved. Again maybe future books in this series will reveal more about this.

The book started out as an excellent read. As the story continued it spiraled out into a million different POVs that ended up fracturing the story, slowing the pace, and making it difficult to follow. By the end I felt that what had started out as an interesting premise was kind of a let down.

Overall an okay read, but not great. The premise is interesting and creative and the book starts out as intriguing. As the story continues the addition of more and more story threads and more and more points of view made things confusing. The jumping through time and jumping from character to character fractured the story and made it hard to follow. I never really engaged with any of the characters and by the end of the book found the plot to be a bit of a drag. This could end up being an interesting series, but I disliked this book enough that I won’t be reading any more of it.

I definitely think Incarceron was a better book by Fisher. I wouldn’t really recommend this book to anyone unless you are a huge fan of Fisher’s work and really want to read something else by her.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - Fuse (Pure, Book 2) by Julianna Baggott (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic
Size: 480 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: February 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-1455503087
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the PUre trilogy
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars


This is the second book in the Pure Trilogy by Baggott. The third and final book, Burn, doesn’t have a release date yet that I could find. I enjoyed this installment in the series. Baggott has created a highly imaginative and bleak world, with heartfelt characters.

In the last book Partridge escaped the Dome in search of his mother, his girlfriend Lyda also ended up outside the Dome with him. Now Partridge’s father has unleashed a horrible type of explosive spider that is holding Wretches hostage unless Partridge returns to the Dome. Separately Pressia and Bradwell are trying to unlock the secret of the Cure so that they can save both the Wretches and the new young children that are showing up Purified on the streets.

As with the first book this book alternates between the viewpoints of Pressia, Partridge, Lyda, and El Captino/Helmud. In the last book I had a bit of trouble engaging with the characters. In this book we grow to know and understand these characters so much better.

Pressia surprisingly becomes a mental force to be reckoned with. Her and Bradwell work desperately to find the cure and it is Pressia’s quick mind that saves them time and time again. Pressia is slowly growing as a character and learning that sometimes it is okay to care about others.

Lyda also grows a ton in this book. She has been living with the Mothers, and they have started to teach her how to fight and survive on her own. In this book she becomes something of a warrior and really matures a lot.

Patridge is forced to face a lot of awful truths and make a lot of heartbreaking decisions in this book as well. El Captino/Helmud also become much more significant characters and have changed quite a bit.

The elements of having humans fused both to inanimate and other living things is less startling in this book than the last. I still do have some trouble picturing some of the characters. For example I never have a clear picture in my mind of how Bradwell looks with those birds in his back. So that is still a bit of a problem for me.

The world though it incredibly interesting and creative and well done. The majority of the plot is driven by two things; what will Partridge do if he returns to the Dome and will Pressia find the Cure before time runs out.

This book is a long read but a very interesting one. It’s not a fast read by any means, you need to take your time reading it to follow everything that is going on. The POV switches slow the story down some, but are very well done and overall I think they add a lot to the story.

Overall a very good continuation of this series. We really get to know and understand these characters and what drives them a lot better in this book. Things are fast-paced and engaging throughout. I love this crazy and bleak world and can’t wait to see how everything wraps up in the final book. This series is recommended to those you love YA dytopian novels that are a bit crazy :-)

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - Sever (The Chemical Garden, Book 3) by Lauren DeStefano (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia/Sci-Fi
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release Date: February 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-1442409095
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This was a beautifully written conclusion to this series. Everything is wrapped up nicely. I really enjoyed this whole dystopian/post-apocalyptic YA series.

Rhine is hiding at Linden’s uncle’s (Reed’s) house and trying to make plans to find her twin brother. Linden’s father Vaughn will stop at nothing to find Rhine and us her for his own genetic experiments. Will Rhine find her brother? Will she be able to escape Vaughn’s searching? Most importantly of all, will anyone ever be able to find a cure for this horrible genetic disorder?

This book, like the previous ones, is beautifully written. The descriptions of both the surroundings and the characters’ struggles are exquisitely done. Really the book is just a joy to read.

Rhine grows a lot in this book; she carefully considers how her actions affect those around her and embraces the danger around her. When Vaughn enters the picture, despite her horrible past with him, she is able to see beyond that and see that maybe he really could offer up a cure.

Both Linden and Cecily also show a ton of character growth. Poor Cecily is really forced to grow up in this book and she grows into a formidable woman. I was a bit disappointed that Gabriel is absent for most of the story. I mean really he needs to be in the story more to make him a character worthy of Rhine’s efforts.

The beginning of the story moves very deliberately. Rhine keeps getting delayed from leaving Reed’s by various complications. I still enjoyed this portion of the book though. In this part of the story we really get to see how Cecily, Linden, and Rhine interact with each other as a family of sorts. There is some anger and bitterness there, but there is also caring and love...it makes for some fascinating character interactions.

The pace picks up a lot in the second half of the story. At that point the book is a whirlwind of revelations around Rhine’s history, the genetic disorder plaguing humanity, and some startling truths about the outside world. It’s just one surprise after another. Despite all the revelations, I thought the twists and turns were well done...they never felt contrived or forced to me. I really loved how all the elements came together in the end.

I also really love how much thought and care is put into the cover of this book. The cover shows a number of little hints and secrets that are revealed throughout the story.

Overall a very well done conclusion to this series. I love the beautiful writing and also enjoyed the character development. The plot elements wrapped up very nicely in a way that was surprising and engaging. I was a bit disappointed we didn’t see more of Gabriel in the story. Also the first half of the book was a bit slow. Still I have really enjoyed this whole series and strongly recommend it to fans of YA Dystopian books.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - The Drowned Cities (Ship Breaker, Book 2) by Paolo Bacgalupi (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Post Apocalyptic
Size: 448 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0316056243
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Ship Breaker series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is the sequel to Ship Breaker, it’s set in the same world as Ship Breaker but with different main characters. I didn’t like this book quite as much as Ship Breaker...it was just too bleak and I had trouble engaging with the characters.

Mahlia and Mouse have fled the war torn Drowned Cities and live in a small town in the outskirts of a jungle. Mahlia works in the town helping the doctor there and does well, despite her lack of a hand. Mahlia dreams of a day when she will be able to escape these outskirts of the Drowned Cities and head North. When a dog man draws soldiers near their small town their lives change forever.

This book is set in an extremely bleak post-apocalyptic setting on the East Coast of the US. There are little hints throughout that eventually let the reader figure out what portion of the US this book is set in.

The is an incredibly violent and incredibly depressing read. So if you are offended by graphic torture and violence I recommend steering clear. It is even more violent and depressing than Ship Beaker was.

That being said it does a pretty darn good job of portraying the suffering of people living within a long and constant war. As to whether or not this is appropriate for young adults...I think it is okay but beware that the graphic violence in this book makes The Hunger Games look like a Disney Fairy Tale.

I had trouble relating to any of the characters. None of them are good and all of them make a large series of poor decisions. They are very human, but I mostly despised them. All of them kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. Mahlia comes off as incredibly selfish throughout. Mouse and others are incredibly naive despite their violent upbringing.

The most intriguing of the bunch is Tool, the dog-faced man. Tool is complex and simple at the same time; he is a tool of war yet he follows simple philosophies that make a surprising amount of sense. He was pretty much the only part of this book I found intriguing and enjoyable.

The world-building is absolutely fantastic. If you have read The Windup Girl or Ship Breaker, you know that this world is absolutely incredibly creative. The number one strength of this book is this fantastic, dreary world that Bacigalupi has created. The book is fast-paced and fairly engaging.

Overall this is a decent story. I just had trouble maintaining a lot of interest in these brutalized characters and I found the level of violence and bleak outlook depressing. Bacigalupi always has to take things just a bit too far for me, and it takes away a lot of the enjoyment of reading the story for me. I guess I would tentatively recommend to those who are interested in absolutely brutal post-apocalyptic reads of war torn lands.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 2) by Marissa Meyer (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Paranormal
Size: 464 pages
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: February 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0312642969
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Lunar Chronicles series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles. There are four books planned in this series with the third book, Cress, releasing in 2014 and the fourth book, Winter, releasing in 2015. This was an excellent continuation of this series. This book focuses on Scarlet and adds some wonderful new characters to the story.

Cinder’s story does continue in this book, as she tries to escape from prison. The majority of the book though follows Scarlet. Scarlet lives in one of the few operating farms in the French countryside. When her grandmother goes missing she travels into the city to try and get help. She gets help in the unlikely form of a street fighter named Wolf. But could Scarlet’s grandmother’s disappearance be tied in with the Lunar’s Queen’s politics?

The book switches between Cinder, Scarlet, and Prince Kai’s POV. The way the different POVs are done for this book works very well.

I absolutely adore the world this book is set in and the wonderful characters in this story. I love how fairy tale elements of Cinderella and Red Riding Hood continue to be woven throughout the plot. They are not the main plot elements but they are definitely there and influence the story.

The pace of the book is wonderful, the plot and characters are delightful. Cinder continues to be a very spunky character who is struggling with what she is and her responsibilities. Scarlet is less aggressive than Cinder but more caring and determined. Wolf is also an interesting character...he is torn between many loyalties but steadfast in his own way.

The story is definitely sci-fi...but it also has steampunk elements, cyborgs, aliens, and action galore. It was a wonderful read and I breezed through the book...it was so hard to put down. This is a really long book that feels really short when you read it.

I also love how Meyer has the very personal stories of Cinder and Scarlet tied in with the bigger story of war coming between the Lunars and the humans. The smaller story and the more epic story are balanced very nicely.

Overall just an absolutely wonderful and creative YA read. This has got to be one of the most creative YA series out there. The book is easy to read, with a very engaging storyline and characters that are easy to relate to. The story is growing to epic proportions but it is still easy to follow. I really look forward to reading future books in this series. Recommended to those who like young adult science fiction with a big dose of mystery and adventure.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- ALIENS: Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge