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

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

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