Showing posts with label scifi. Show all posts
When Talia Lyons was just a child, her parents were murdered before her eyes. Offered a choice between accepting their fate and exacting revenge, Talia trains to become one of the country’s deadliest assassins in order to kill the man responsible for their deaths: Ian Crane. Luckily, Talia was born with a gift- the ability to read and influence the minds of others. At sixteen, Talia is poised to graduate from the McDonough School for the Talented, where she learned to control her abilities. Now there is only one obstacle standing between her and the retribution she craves... Talia herself.
Her greatest asset may also be her undoing; while a formidable weapon in the field, Talia’s talents prevent her from both shutting off the mental connection she shares with her questionable boyfriend and blocking out the thoughts of a beguiling fellow recruit. But Talia can’t afford to have the feelings and distractions of a normal teenage girl, when her life is far from normal.
She must regain the single-minded determination that has brought her this far, or it may cost Talia her life when she finally faces Crane. And even after being molded in to a weapon of war, she’ll still have to find the strength it takes to pull the trigger.
If James Bond and Sookie Stackhouse had a love child with a yearning for vengeance, her story would be TALENTED: an adventure about powerful teenagers who aren’t afraid to embrace their fears and fight for what they believe in.
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First I must say, that I'm don't completely agree with that James Bond and Sookie Stackhouse stuff. In some way it is right, if you think only talents of those characters; spying and psychic stuff. Maybe I'm the only one who missunderstood, but I expected something bit different. And thats why I'm going to say my own opinion about that. I advice that at least don's compare plots or writingstyles. My opinion is that the Sookie Stackhouse-series isn't the most best quality there is, even if it's pretty entertaining, so comparing anything to it isn't necessarily a positive thing. But if you think only Sookie's mental talent, I quess they're pretty similar to Talia's. But I think that Talia is way smarter than Sookie.The cover is yet again the first thing I noticed. Usually it it with me. I notice great covers and I ignore books with covers that I don't like. I've probably missed many great books because I didn't llike the cover.
The synopsis summaries the story pretty nicely, so I'm not going to say more about that. There were perfect combination of action and romance. I really enjoyd this book, and I'm going to read other books in this series too. I can't wait to see what's next in Talia's story. I'm pretty sure that there are lot of thing that aren't what they seem to be.
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How can love mend a heart full of hate?
Small town girl, Molly Bennett, moves to Los Angeles where she becomes an outsider while attending Beverly Hills High School. It seems life cannot be any more dreadful. Then one day after school, something magical happens. On a secluded hike in the Hollywood Hills, Molly chases her disobedient mutt and only friend into a hidden cavern. She stumbles upon a strange glimmering gateway that transports her to Arkana, a planet that is the cradle of an advanced human race. There, teenagers navigate amazing flying vehicles, compete in perilous games for glory, and possess supernatural powers. While Molly tries to wrap her mind around this unbelievable discovery, she meets the alluring and mysterious Victor Sorren. He is a Sentinel Apprentice, whose hatred toward people from Earth is beyond understanding. Yet every time Victor unpredictably saves Molly's life, his heart draws closer to hers, no matter how much he tries to fight against it. It further complicates things that their growing friendship is strictly forbidden. Earth people are prohibited in Arkana, yet Molly continues to cross through the portal to Arkana to see Victor. Torn between their double lives, they go down a dangerous path, from where there is no return and multiple endings.
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I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.The book's idea and story seemed really interesting and intriguing at first. And I kinda liked the story, but not the writing style. Many times I thought that the characters didn't seem "real", but more like stereotypicals. Chris is typical popular guy flirting with everybody and bragging about girls he's been with. Camilla is also very typical popular girl. It's all about repution and the looks with her. She's pretty cold and mean, but she also secretly hopes that she could someday just relax and wear sweatpants. And the mc Molly... Lonely guitar playing songwriter new girl. Her father is really overprotective and controlling. Molly wants to have an adventure and she falls in love with "bad boys" she feels sorry for. She wants to "rescue" them and she believes she can change them and teach them how to love etc. Almost every character was like picked from the catalog; here's the popular boy, popular girl, lonely new girl, orphan bad boy, overprotective father, absent father.... You get what I mean.
The plot seemed really interesting at first, but the more I read, the more I was confused and uncertain what the actual plot really was. I didn't know what the whole point was and what was the idea and purpose behind the story. Molly finds another world, meets people these and falls in love with the boy who's actually mean to her. What then? Where is the mystery? Or some crime to solve or bad guy to beat or some was between worlds? Who is the villain? There doesn't seem to be any ulterior motive or anything. So I did think that the book was fairly entertaining, if you don't mind that the character are really shallow and stereotypical. But there didn't seem to be any purpose or destination in this story. Sometimes I even had to check that I didn't accidentaly skip over pages, things seemed to jump from scene to other sometimes so randomly. And even when english isn't my first language, even I noticed some funny sentences and stuff. I don't usually notice them, grammar isn't my specialty, but now they bothered even me.
And the more I read, the more I noticed thing that bothered me. I couldn't not to notice how shallow and "false" the character were. I got angrier and angier with every page I read and even considered if I should left this one unfinished. But there were only about 50 pages left, so I decided to finish it. But the ending made me even angrier, it was so unbelievably stupid. First everything is great almost syrupy, then everything goes to hell and then there's magically some "supernatural powers" that save the situation and everything is great again. And moment later everything is going wrong again. And like magic, everything is fine again. And all this in about 20 pages. WTF?
So the result in my opinion is that promising book got lousier and lousier with every page and the ending was just awful. I read the synopsis for next book and it seems interesting, but I'm thinking that I'm gonna pass. I was so disappointed in this book, that I doubt that the next one will be any better. Sorry. It was difficult to decide how many start to give this book, 'cos the beginning was better than the ending. I decided that 2 stars would be appropriate. This book has been compared to Twilight and I can almost see why. There are some similarities, but I actually loved Twilight. This was bad. Well, I was a lot younger when I read Twilight and maybe I've developed as a reader, but I'm still going to defend Twilight. It was great and this was not. Sorry.
When everything that defines you is stripped away, who do you become?
For Aris, a talented wingjet pilot, war means sacrificing everything: her home, her name, her face—and the one promise she swore she’d never break.
In the small village of Lux, everyone flies wingjets, but nobody flies them like Aris Haan. When she’s not dancing through the skies, she’s spending every minute with Calix, whom she’s loved since childhood. They plan to Promise, but instead he is sent to defend their dominion against a bloody invasion. Determined not to lose him, Aris follows, joining an underground network of women inside the male-only military. Using secret technology that allows her to pass as a man, she becomes “Aristos”, a Flyer in a search-and-rescue unit.
As Aris grows stronger on the battlefield and more comfortable in her guise as Aristos, her personal mission becomes less and less clear. When she and her enigmatic commander, Major Vidar, uncover an astonishing conspiracy that could destroy everything, she must make a choice that will determine not only the fate of her heart, but the future of her dominion.
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I received this book from NetGalley in exhange for an honest review.
My first impressions wasn't very good and my expections wasnät very high. But the story got way better really fast when got "in" it. The setting is pretty typical dystopian style. Story happens in a world where people's occupations gets determined by their school tests etc. You can be Military, Commerce etc... And there's war. So pretty typical...
Aris as a character was at first pretty naivi and blue-eyed and kinda stupid even. In a way she's really brave, but I think it's stupid when someone's whole life depends on one person. And Calix is Aris' whole world. Aris is ready to do practically anything to be with him. She's even willing to cut her hair, pretend to male and join to army just to be near him. But as the story progress Aris grows as a person. Her naivity disappears really fast in a middle of a war. Just the training to be a soldier is hard, but imagine when she really has to go to a battlefield in a mission, just to notice that the family she's supposed to rescue, is slaughtered just moments before the rescueparty comes. Stupid naivi Aris becomes hardcore, strong and brave Aristos.
As whole, the book was really great and I really enjoyd it. I'm looking forward to read the next book and what's more to come.
Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late?
Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again.
Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.
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I received this from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.Impostor wasn't my first Susanne Winnacker's book that I've read, I've read The Orher Life too. So I had certain expections about this book based on The Other Life. My expections were met and this was really great book.
The main character is Tessa, a Variant, who can absorb other people's DNA and mimic their appearance. There are all kinds of Variant, one can turn invincible, one can reads minds and someone is superstrong. There all kinds of people with different gifts. Their abilities are inheritable, but useally they skip one generation. Tessa lives in FEA's (secret branch of the FBI) training facility with other Variants. Tessa's childhood was pretty lousy, her mother thought that Tessa was a freak, especially when Tessa couldn't control her ability as a child.
Tessa gets a chance to go on a real mission to catch a serial murderer in small town in Oregon. Tessa's job is to impersonate Madison, one of the victims. Being a impostor terrifies Tessa, but she also loves playing the role of a normal girl in a normal family. But Tessa needs to remember that her job is to kind the murderer before it's too late. And they have no clue who the murderer is. There are multiple suspects. Is it the jealous ex-boyfriend? Or maybe Madison's brother who seems to be hiding something? Or is possible that it could be the english teacher who was maybe more than just a teacher to Madison? Tessa's job is to look for clues and to find out who had the motive to kill Madison and others.
The idea about "superhero teenager" is nothing new, and the first that came to my mind was X-Men. And there are some similarities. Not that much, but the basic idea is similar. But the story is well written and I loved the characters. They're deep and well thought. There were those small details about their past and personality that made them whole. And there were these little things that were left pretty vague, like Tessa's family, and maybe we'll learn more about then in next books. Tessa's father and brother were mentioned, but that was it. Nothing else was told, so I'm pretty sure that we'll get back to that in some point. I hope. I'm pretty curious about them and I have my own theories (as usual).
The story progressed nicely and there were balance. Action, romance, mystery, thriller.. They were all there and I believe that there were something for everyone. Some questions were left without answer, so there's something to look forward to in next books.
Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.
And that was before she died... and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.
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“Apparently this month is full of surprises. No one is as dumb as I thought they were.”
Does anyone remember the TV series Roswell from somewhere around 1999? That series was one of my favorites at the time and my opinion is that it still is one the best series ever. This book, and escpecially the beginning of the book reminded me a lot of Roswell. Janelle and Ben reminded me of Liz and Max and the beginning where Ben saved Janelle's life was a bit similar like when in Roswell's pilot episode Max healed Liz's gunshot wound. There are so many similar elements, that I could almost swear that the author was either consciously or unconsciously influenced by that TV series. This could also be my own imagination, but the feeling is really, really strong.
I wasn't very excited about this book when I started reading, but this book's been in my tbr-list for a long time, and my goal this year is to shorten that list and read as many books as possible from that list. I was between 3 and 4 start a long time and my real opinion would probably be 3.5, but I'm gonna round it up, so 4 stars. The was not bad, but it wasn't great either. It was well written, but it reminded of lot of Roswell. Bit too much maybe. I loved that series, but this seemed a little like copying it. And there was something missing. For some reason, something just didn't "click".
The ending was absolutely heartbreaking, but I kinda liked it. On the other hand, the story was complete, but there is still possibility of next book. And I know there is another book. I'm going to read it, even though this book did not make it to my favorites, 'cos it sounds more promising than this one, at least based on summary it seems really interesting. But my conclusion about this book is that it was nice, and probably many will really like it, but for me something was missing. It wasnät complete waste of my time, but I could've live with myself even if I hadn't read this at all. Sometimes I really regret when I hadn't read some book before, but this time I didn't feel like I'd missed anything important.
(tbr-list 14/200)
YOU CAN BE A VII. IF YOU GIVE UP EVERYTHING.
For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.
If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.
There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed …and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.
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Kitty lives in a world where people are divided into castes, highest class being VII, which belongs only to Prime Minister and their families. Others will have to participate in a test on their 17th birthday, which will determine their social class. Kitty, our heroine who unfortunately can not read, gets III and has been sentenced to life as a sewageworker. But as a result of unexpected events gets an offer she can't refuse. She can have a life as VII, the highest possible social class. Kitty accepts this offer, but doesn't know what awaits her. Kitty will be Masked - surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who was murdered.
All of this because Lila was a great advocate of the revolution. Lila campaigned against the caste system and now Kitty's task is to repair Lila's doings, so that the people would not take a full-scale rebellion against the government. As the story progresses, Kitty understands that she is just a pawn in other peoples games and everything is not what it seems. Who Kitty cantrust and what she has to do in order to save her own, as well as her loved ones' lives?
The book's plot was interesting and I set my eyes on this book months ago, even before the publication of the book. However, I read it only now and it really didn't disappoint me. There is mystery, action and romance, and as I already mentioned, all is not what they first seem to be. Kitty is just an awesome character from the beginning and you can see how good a person she really is. She is ready to sacrifice herselves for others, and she survives surprisingly well in a situation where she was directly thrown into a life that is completely foreign to her. And even if Kitty can't read, she is still very smart. And she's spunky. In a hopeless situation she found a spark, and she doesn't give up. On the other hand, she has one "tiny" flaw. Her world seems to rotate only around Benjy, who I did not think in any way interesting character. There's nothing wrong with altruism, but somehow it seemed to go a little too far. Threaten Benjy and Kitty does everything she's told. And there was a lot of threatning. At times, it seemed a little amusing, I should've counted how many times Benjy's life was threated or how many times the Kitty agreed to do something just because of Benjy.
In fact, I root for Kitty and Knox, and I very much hope that in the next book, there will some action or sparkle between them. Benjy is a boring, meaningless character, who does not seem to have any other purpose than to be threated. Sorry, Benjy-fans, but I think that Benjy should just disappear. I wouldn't miss him.
Otherwise, there was certainly enough action. Sometimes even too much. The plot progressed quite rapidly. On the other hand, there wasn't even a moment of borebom and there were plenty of exciting plot twists, some pretty major. And things really wasn't what they seemed to be at first, quite literaly.
The book reminded me of The Selection series, which wasn't a bod thing, 'cos I love that series and it's one of my favourites. I think that the fans of that series will like this one too and also the other way around. In my opinion, there wasn't that major cliffhanget in the end, but this part of the story was wrapped up pretty nicely. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.
(from my tbr-list 11/200)
Maddie lives in a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home. There’s really no need. For the most part, Maddie’s okay with the solitary, digital life—until she meets Justin. Justin likes being with people. He enjoys the physical closeness of face-to-face interactions. People aren’t meant to be alone, he tells her.
Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her—a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking.
In this not-so-brave new world, two young people struggle to carve out their own space.
“Don't worry about hurting me, if that's what you're afraid of. I want to get hurt. At least I´ll feel something for a change.”
Katie Kacvinsky's debut novel, Awaken, takes us to the year 2060, where people's lives are almost entirely online. People go to school online, meet friends online and go on a date online. Real trees and grass are very rare and have been replaced with plastic ones. There are no more physical books; people read them in digital format. People no longer cook food, but eat tasteless energy bars, where they receive all the nutrients needed. People do not even know what their neighbors look like, because they have never met them face to face.
That is the world where Maddie lives and she is relatively satisfied in life, until she meets Justin, who shows her a different way to live, in the real world. Justin is in fact one of the rebels, who are fighting against the ever increasing digital live. But everything isn't that simple, as Maddie's father is the developer of digital school, and the largest of its advocate. Maddie is confused and does not know what would be the right way to live. On the other hand, she enjoys her digital life, but at the same time misses real people and real life. And Maddie's past isn't absolutely spotless either. Nearly three years ago, she hacked her father's computer's secret information and gave them to the rebels, with catastrophic consequences. Maddie is on probation until her 18th birthday, and if she makes even one wrong move, she is at risk of going into a detention center where people go to "rehabilitation".
I think this book is an incredibly great example of what our society is perhaps going. A rather frightening example. In Maddie's world, people's whole life is online; we are luckily not quite there. The reality, however, is that Facebook and other social media are pushing our society toward it all the time. We pay bills online and without e-mail address life is almost impossible. For example, many of the bills come in there, and no longer physically in mailbox or post office. We order stuff online and I myself have studied online. At least in Finland it is possible to carry out the whole high school online, so that only the tests will take place at the school doing them physically. In fact, I did not even know what my teachers looked like, because I never met them. I'm not complaining about that, 'cos at same time I was studying also elsewhere, so it would've been impossible to be in two places at once, but it's frightening to think that maybe in the future it's the only way to go to school.
The story was well written and the characters are extremely interesting. The plot was written nicely, so that, for example, Justin and Maddie's past and motives are not revealed at once, but bit by bit and new aspects of the story unfolds, and the outcome or the reality was not quite what it seemed at the beginning. The back-story, the events and characters hatched into something completely different, what you first thought. There was also some gaps and questions left without answer, which I hope will be revealed in the following books. I myself have at least some theories and a guesses, and I look forward reading the next book to see if I guessed correctly. And, in particular, what Justine's and Maddie's future holds, and if they have any hope to eventually be together.
5/5
When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone.
Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.
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Who is this girl? The well-bred girl who sang opera and carefully styled her hair every morning so that it looked carefully messy is gone. As good as dead. Stragely enough, she has to be if I want to survive.
Imagine a world where a single gene determines your future, if you'll be maybe the next ax murderer or school shooter. In this book that world is reality. Davy Hamilton is a normal 17-years-old teenager whose hobbies include playing multiple different instruments and singing . She is a successful, popular, and she has been accepted to study at Juilliard. One day, however, the test results show that she has the so-called "killgene". Davy is fired from a private school, her acceptance to Juilliard canceled and she will have to go to a public schools killgene carrier class, "the Cage". Davy's whole life will change once and for all, and she turns from popular music proginy to an outcast and feared freak. Life is no longer easy and Davy loses her hope in a bright future. When all hope seems to be gone, Davy gets an opportunity to go to a training camp, where only a selected few specific gene carriers can get. Also Gil and Sean from her carrier class get the same opportunity. Davy believes that this is her chance for a better future, but the camp is not quite what Davy thought it would be.
I enjoyed this book immensely. The idea is really interesting and the story is well written. The idea of a killer gene sounds pretty scary, when in fact studies have found a little similar gene called "warrior gene", if I remember correctly. The gene carriers resort to violence more easily than normal people.
In this book, the idea of this gene is taken pretty far, and killgene is almost like epidemic, and it's carriers are like plague patients who are isolated from the others and avoided.
It's interesting to think about the existence of this gene, especially how people resort to violence. Of course there is a real sociopaths who really enjoy the violence and who really are dangerous. But what about the people whose nature is not violent at all, such as for example, Davy? What about when you are isolated from the others, you will be feared and controlled and you will be driven strait into a corner? No one will defend or protect you. It is horrible to think that you do not get to defend yourself because then you will be branded with a tattoo like a cattle. It is absolutely horrible that some people are classified so easy, and then they actually provoke you until the "desired" reaction can be obtained. It's just so wrong. I could not help, but to feel anger at the thought of what the world of the story is. In a way, the thing is that because you have the killgene, you will become a killer almost by force. You will be driven into a corner, so that killing seems to be only way out.
But like I said, I really loved this book. I read it in one night, because I just could not stop. And I really look forward the next book. I could probably say, however, that I was not completely satisfied with the ending. How should I say it without spoiling too much... The ending was pretty nice, but somehow things happened perhaps too smoothly. In a way it was nice ending for this book, but there wasn't that delicious, nervwrecking cliffhanger, that makes you want to rip you hair off and beg to get your hand on arc of the next book. I know, those endings are always annoying, when you turn the page and it's just blank and you really have to wait the next book to know what happens. But that's the thing, you still want that ending, 'cos the waiting is so deliciously torturous. And I would have preferred something more like it. For something little bigger, little more. Now the book ended in such a way that, even if I'm just going to want to read the next book, it is likely I'm not in a hurry to read it. I'll read after the release when I remember, but I won't lose my sleep over it.
4/5
Jenny Kramer knows she isn't normal. After all, not everybody can see the past lives of people around them.
When she befriends Ben Daulton, resident new boy, the pair stumble on an old music box with instructions for “mesmerization” and discover they may have more in common than they thought. Like a past life.
Using the instructions in the music box, Ben and Jenny share a dream that transports them to Romanov Russia and leads them to believe they have been there together before. But they weren't alone. Nikolai, the mysterious young man Jenny has been seeing in her own dreams was there, too. When Nikolai appears next door, Jenny is forced to acknowledge that he has travelled through time and space to find her. Doing so means he has defied the laws of time, and the Order, an ominous organization tasked with keeping people in the correct time, is determined to send him back.
While Ben, Jenny and Nikolai race against the clock - and the Order - Jenny and Nikolai discover a link that joins them in life - and beyond death.
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I received free ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The first thing that I noticed was the gorgeous cover. I love it. It is so beautiful. So peaceful. I would love to have it as a poster in my wall. Something about it is just... I love it. I absolutely love the cover.
But the book and the story. Well... It turned out to be quite different than I first thought. And in a good way. It was way more complex than I thought. The idea behind the story is great and it was so well written. I'm not usually big fan of time travel, but it worked. Like I said, it was different.
Everything in this book was like a mystery. There were this massive amount of puzzle pieces and piece by piece everything comes together. I couln't stop reading, I just needed to know what the next piece would be and how it would fit in. And it took a while to finally get some idea of the big picture. I think I had read over half of the book and I still didn't know what was going on. There were always something more you wanted to know and that was the main reason why I couln't stop reading. It was great how much little details there were about art and Romanovs and stuff. And it was great how story slowly reveals how past and present meet.
There were three main characters, one girl and two boys and yet Endless doesn't have that typical love triangle. First Jenny meet Ben, but can't stand him. Then they become friends and Ben turns out to be great and loyal friend. Then Nikolai comes into the picture and you can that first there is a little bit of tension, but luckily it clears out and Jenny and Ben are able to remain friends, even when Jenny and Nikolai grow closer.
The ending wraps thing up pretty nicely leaving room for sequel. And I really hope that there will be a sequel to this story. Ending was fine, but I think but it wasn't actually a happy ending. Well, it depends how you look it, but I think that there are still lot more in this story and would like to read more.
5/5
Penny Black hasn’t had it easy. Just about everything you’d expect to happen to a harassed foster-kid turned junkie has happened to Penny. Add in the mysterious power to rewind time, conducting events around her, and it’s a wonder she held up on the streets for so many years. Now, at seventeen, the New Society has found her. Finally, Penny is where she belongs. But that doesn’t stop the visions, or the need to protect the victims shown to her.
Wyatt Adams is excited and intrigued when his sister Melody assigns him to be Penny’s Lookout. Being the youngest, and hopelessly ordinary in the family that created the New Society, has left Wyatt feeling like he has a lot to prove -- and Penny is a big deal. She’s got abilities that surpass any he’s seen before…and pretty much every quality he looks for in a girlfriend, but no one needs to know about that, especially Penny.
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I received a free ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Just wow. Wow. That's the first word that comes in mind when I think about this book. I was a little sceptical, when I started this book, but I was so totally wrong! So wrong! This was really amazing book. Found is the first book in Penny Black trilogy that's spin-off of Zellie Wells trilogy. And I'm definally going to read that one too while I'm waiting for next book in this series. One great thing about this series is that it wasn't a problem that I haven't read the previous books. You can understand this story without reading them.
This was a really great story with interesting characters and backstory. This time rewinding thing seems really interesting (even though I noticed some problematics that bugged me after reading and got me pretty confused at times) and it's pretty cool ability. But the plot was great and intriguing and there were just the right amount romance, mystery and action.
And the ending.. WTF? Really. What the hell is going on? It was A SHOCK. I did not see that coming. But it was great. It was fabulous twist. I feel sorry for Wyatt, but oh boy, I just can't help but to love good drama and love triangle. I was so disappointed when this book ended and I can't wait to read the next one too. Can someone tell me when it will be published? I couldn't find the info anywhere.
But if there was anything I didn't like, it was the slang. I think it was annoying. But it was so small thing, that I can get over it. There kinds of books aren't usually my first picks in bookstore, but this was great. I think that if you like movies like X-Men or Jumper, you will love this book.
3/5
I received free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Donate Body to Science. Check.
When seventeen-year-old Kaitlyn checked the box, she never suspected she’d have her life–and her body–stolen from her. She awakens one day in a secret laboratory to discover that her body is now half-robot and is forced to hide her own secret: that she still has human emotions and a human mind. If the scientists who made her find out, they’ll erase what remains of who she was.
Kaitlyn finds an unlikely ally in Lucas, a handsome, brilliant scientist who can’t get over the guilt he feels knowing she was once a vibrant, beautiful young woman. He never expected a science project to affect him the way she does. As he tries to help her rediscover her past, he finds himself falling for the brave girl struggling to find her place and acceptance between the human and computer worlds.
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The first thing a noticed about this book (obviously) was the cover. I love it. It was the first thing that made me want to read this book. And then I started to read the book. The beginning was great, I loved the story and idea behind this book and I thought it was really promising.
English isn't my first language, so I'm not really sure if understood everything correctly, but there were some things that kinda didn't make sense. Like the fact that first they say that there are cameras everywhere and they need to be really careful what so say or how to act, so the cameras don't catch them. And then suddenly Kaitlin and Lucas are kissing in a middle of the yard? Right. So nobody sees them, but then next time when they are sitting and talking under the tree, the guard comes almost immedialy 'cos they are in a blindspot and they can't see them. There few other times too, when I got the feeling that things didnät make sense, if you know what I mean..
What the first half of the book was really good if you can forget those things. And the truth is that almost every book has some "mistakes", so I can forgive. But I think that the other half of the book wasn't as good. The story progressed too fast and it felt pretty rushed. There weren't enought details and the book felt like it wasn't really finished. Like the first half was finished and the ending only a draft. There were so much potential and the book could have been great, but it wasn't "polished" enought.
The ending was kinda lame, everything was too easy for Kaitlin and Lucas. I can't really imagine that any multimillionare (or billionare) changing his mind so fast. First he spends millions and millions to this project and then he just changes his mind about it.
But I'm not losing my hope. I know that there are next book coming and I hope that it will be more "prefessionaly" written and maybe little more polished. The story and idea is really great and there is so much potential, it just need a little bit more polishing.
5/5
The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...
Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.
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Another great book from Marissa Meyer.
The book starts with an introduction of our new character Scarlet, who is looking for her grandmother and meets this mysterious guy Wolf. I was little bit more conserned about Cinder and Kai, but pretty quickly I started to wonder how Scarlet fits into story, and how she and Cinder would meet etc.
And stroy is pure genious. There are so complex and deep story and flawless backstory. Everything fits together perfectly and we meet to new characters along Scarlet; Thorne and Wolf.
And just as in Cinder, here too Meyer has takes classic Little Red Riding Hood story and makes it completely her own. The base is there and then she has really shaken things up and the final product is perfect. And again, there are some funny details like Scarlets red hoodie.
I really must confess that this was one of those books that I just couln't stop reading. I was reading like a madwoman and I just needed to finish it. And it was great. It was amazing. And the ending... GO, CINDER, GO! Yes! It's unbelievable that she's just sixteen. She is a teenager who has been through a lot and she has managed to grow such a great and strong character and I can't wait to see how she's going to beat Levana.
Please, please, please.. I need to get Cress like NOW. Like yesterday. I would to anything to get ARC. Do you hear me? Anything!
Ps. Kai, I love you. No matter what happens. I L-O-V-E YOU!
5/5
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This is actually my second time reading this book. First time was in august and now I wanted to read these fisrt books of this series as I'm waiting for next book to be published (I can't wait). I didn't review this book after first time and maybe it's good, cos after second reading, the book opened to me in whole new way and I liked this book even more than.
I can't believe it that I haven't read this book before. I mean, it took over year for me to find this book. But maybe it isn't such a surprise after all, I usually don' really like cyborgs and androids etc, they're too much scifi for me. But that wasn't the case with this book, cos when I sew the cover and started reading, I couln't help, but to love this book.
Meyer has taken the traditional Cinderella story and using it as a base, she made the whole new world and story. These are many familiar elements, like evil stepmother, two stepsisters, tha grand ball and the glass shoe (except in this story its actually Cinders fallen cyborg foot). There are also many funny little details and stuff that you can remember from the original Cinderella. Like Cinders "getaway car". “It looks more like a rotting pumpkin.” There are our heroines magic pumpkin carriege.
There are also clever mentions about upcoming books. They mention quenn Levanas stepdaughter Winter (Snow White) and Cress (Rapunzel) who lives and a satellite. I think that they are things that tells, that Meyer has really thought this story and upcoming books a lot. Considering that this is only first book in this series. She doesn't mention a lot, I think that she doensn't even mention Cresses name and Winter is just queen Levanas stepdaughter.
But what should I tell about this book without telling too much... Its really well written, and the story is smooth. Cinder is lovely, smart and strong femalelead, who has been through a lot. I loved Iko and her personality, it really was something. x) Prince Kai is wonderful. He is so fair and righteous and... I just love him. He will be great emperor who has to do some really tough choises. Queen Levana is really The Evil Queen, so cruel and wicked and ruthless.
This is absolutely one of my favourite series all time and I absolute recommend it to everyone. Even if you really donät like scifi. This book has mystery, action, romance and everything you can want. And it's scifi without being too scifi.
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In finnish:
Luen tätä kirjaa itseasiassa jo toistamiseen tämän vuoden aikana. Ensimmäisen kerran luin kirjan elokuussa, ja nyt ajattelin lukea sarjan ensimmäiset osat uudestaan odotellessani seuraavan osan julkaisua (jota en malta odottaa). Ensimmäisen lukukerran jälkeen en kirjaa arvioinut ja ehkä hyvä niin, koska toisen lukukirjan jälkeen kirja avautui täysin uudella tavalla ja pidin kirjasta jopa vielä enemmän kuin ensimmäisen lukukerran jälkeen.
Uskomatonta, että tämä kirja oli jäänyt minulta lukematta niin pitkään. Toisaalta se ei ole ihme, koska yleensä kyborgit, androidit yms. on hieman liian scifiä minulle. Perun puheeni kuitenkin täysin tämän kirjan kohdalla, koska kun näin kirjan kannen ja aloitin lukemisen ja todella ymmärsin mistä tarinassa on kyse, en voinut kuin rakastua kirjaan.
Meyer on ottanut perinteisen Tuhkimo-tarinan käsittelyynsä ja sitä runkona käyttäen muotoillut täysin uudenlaisen maailman ja täysin uudenlaisen tarinan. Monet tutut elementit tarinasta löytyvät, kuten kamala äitipuoli, kaksi sisarpuolta ja pudonnut lasikenkä (tässä tapauksessa kuitenkin kyse on tietenkin kyborgin jalasta). Tarkka lukija huomaa myös pieniä yksityiskohtia, jotka eivät ole niin selkeitä, mutta kuitenkin tuttuja perinteisestä Tuhkimosta. Itseä huvitti esimerkiksi Cinderin "pakoauto", jonka ulkonäkö oli kuin pilaantuva kurpitsa. Tässä siis tarinamme Tuhkimon kurpitsavaunut.
Kirjassa pohjustetaan myös nokkelasti jo tulevia kirjoja, kun mainitaan kuningatar Levanan tytärpuoli Winter (Lumikki), sekä satelliitissa asuva Cress (Tähkäpää). Tämä kertoo siitä, että kirjailija on hyvin suunnittellut sarjaa jo paljon eteenpäinkin, vaikka kyseessä on vasta sarjan avausosa. Kovin paljoa näistä hahmoista ei kerrota, Cressin nimeä ei muistaakseni edes mainita, vaikka hän muuten tarinassa vilahtaakin ja Winteristä taas kerrotaan vain, että tämä on Levanan tytärpuoli.
Mutta mitä kertoisiinkaan itse kirjasta ja sen tapahtumista paljastamassa kuitenkaan liikaa... Tarina etenee hyvää tahtia ja asioita on selvästi mietitty tarkkaan, koska itselleni ei ainakaan tullut mieleen mitään epäloogisuuksia. Cinder on hurmaava, nokkela ja vahva naishahmo, joka on kokenut kovia elämässään siltikään lannistumatta. Sivuhahmoista mieleeni jäi kaikkein parhaiten androidi Iko, jonka persoonallisuus todella on aivan omaa luokkaansa. Prinssi Kai on oikeudenmukainen ja reilu tuore keisari, joka joutuu tekemään paljon vaikeita päätöksiä pelastaakseen maansa ja kenties koko planeettamme. Kuningatar Levana on juuri sellainen kuin ilkeä kuningatar kuvitelmissani voisi olla, armoton ja julma.
Tämä on ehdottomasti yksi sarjoista, jotka olisivat todella upeita elokuvana. Suosittelisin sarjaa ehdottomasti kaikille toiminnan, mysteerin ja romantiikan ystäville. Ja vaikkei scifi ja kyborgit eivät olisikaan suosikkityyliesi listalla, älä tuomitse kirjaa pelkän aiheen perusteella. Kirja on scifiä olematta kuitenkaan liian scifiä.
435 words.
5/5
In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.
When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.
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I have read every book Richelle Mead is published and I've loved every single one. She is amazing writer and I can't wait to read her next book. I'm not usually big fan of dystopian books, even if I've read few of them and even liked them. Somehow I always have my reservation about this genre.
LOVED IT! Amazing! She did it again. Perfect combination of dystopian world, scifi, mystery, mythology and romance. This was bit different than her other books, but I loved it as much as all the other books. Can't wait to read next book! ♥
“We're pieces on a gameboard, Dr. March, and some of us are more powerful than others. You. Me. Her. We're the ones the gods want. We're the ones they're fighting over.”
