Goodreads Monday 5/14/2018

Goodreads Monday is a meme hosted by Lauren @Page Turner,  and the idea is to post a book that’s on your TBR pile and show it off. This is a great way to show off books I have not yet managed to read!

---

This week I have chosen:

Title:  Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) 

Author:  Amie Kaufman (Goodreads Author), Jay Kristoff (Goodreads Author)

Published: March 13th 2018 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Summary:

Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they’ll find seven months after the invasion?

Meanwhile, Kady’s cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza’s ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha’s past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.

With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken.

Hey everyone it’s been awhile!! I celebrated my very first Mother’s Day yesterday, and the highlight of my day was dedicating my baby at church in the morning and then picking out paint for her room. Man how my life has changed in such a short amount of time! How did you celebrate Mother’s Day yesterday?

Over the weekend, my hubbie got me Obsidio as part of my MD present and I couldn’t have been happier! (Okay, so I might have picked it up and put it in the cart for him, but hey he still got it for me! That’s what counts, right?!) I still need to finish book 2, and I am only a quarter of the way through!! Now that I have this book, I imagine I will finish quickly so that I can start this one!

What is on your TBR list this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (1/3/2018)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by  Jill from Breaking The Spine that shows the upcoming books that many of us are anticipating! This week, I’m waiting for…

---

 

Title:  Thunder Head (Arc of a Scythe #2)

Author: Neal Shusterman

Expected Publication: January 9th 2018

Publisher: Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Summary:

Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.

Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.

Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

I have the first book on my TBR shelf, but since this book comes out the day after my birthday I may have to just read it and buy this one as a present to myself! I have heard nothing but good things about the first book and the author, so I have high expectations which I think is why it’s taking me so long to read it.

Have you read it? What are your thoughts?

NeverSea Book Review

NeverSea (Echoes of the Lost #1) by Jenetta Penner and David R. Bernstein

Expected Publication: December 12th 2017 by Torment Publishing

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

An eARC was provided free in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary:

Can a pure, but broken heart fuel the war to control the NeverSea?

“The Little Mermaid & Peter Pan together in a sci-fi retelling.”

Forced under the sea, seventeen-year-old Arya fights, alongside her sisters, to take down the Syndicate—a group looking to genetically redesign humanity against their will. When a routine patrol goes horribly wrong, she reunites with Peter, the ousted former leader of the Lost Boys. Arya and Peter’s tortured past, filled with genetic experimentation, fuel their need for justice.

Years earlier, Peter left young Arya when she needed him the most, leaving her torn from James, the love of her life.

Now, Arya has no choice, but to trust Peter or risk losing everything.

In a future where a constantly rising sea has swallowed nearly all the land on Earth, Arya and Peter fight to regain control of Neverland, a massive floating settlement, now controlled by the Syndicate.

The abilities forced on them years ago, are now the weapons they need to fight back.

Fans of The Lunar Chronicles series will love this exciting and epic new, young adult series.

I love retellings, and this was a great start to a new series. This story was very fast paced and I probably could have read it in one sitting if I didn’t have to do adult things (like cleaning =/). The story starts off with Arya and Peter inside the Syndicate being tested on and altered “for the greater good”. They break out one day and then we jump forward a couple of years to where the main story takes place. Their sole mission in life is to take down the Syndicate. Albeit Peter and Arya both have different reasons for taking them down, but it boils down to revenge and making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to anyone else. The authors merged the two stories very well into one, and gave each one their own spin to it. Many of the elements from the original stories were very much evident in this one, and I liked how they were fitted into this dystopian world.

This story wasn’t without it’s flaws though. The plot is there and it moves fairly quickly to keep you entertained. However, I wish there was more backstory to the characters so that we can have a better connection to them other than their current situation. I wish there was also a little bit more of a world building. For instance, why is the Earth covered in water? What happened for the NeverSea to take shape?

Hopefully the next book will answer some of the questions for me!

 

Waiting on Wednesday (11/15/2017)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by  Jill from Breaking The Spine that shows the upcoming books that many of us are anticipating! This week, I’m waiting for…

---

 

Title:  Unearthed (Unearthed #1)

Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Expected Publication:  January 9th 2018

Publisher:  Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads Summary:

When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying’s advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.

For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study… as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don’t loot everything first. Mia and Jules’ different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.

In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race’s secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race…

I really love Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s collaboration on The Illuminae Files, so I can’t wait to read her next collaboration! This also comes out the day after my birthday, so I am thinking a little birthday treat to myself will be in order!

What are you waiting for this month?

Illuminae Book Review

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Published: October 20th 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

I am frequently underestimated. I think it’s because I’m short

I’ve had this book on my TBR shelf since last October, and I don’t know why it took me a year to finally pick it up and read it! I am kind of glad I did though, because after I read the second one I only have to wait a few months for the third and final book in the series to be released.

Most people would say I’m pretty cold, but I think of it more as…private. People are always saying “how are you?” to each other, and I guess I don’t see why I should answer such a personal question for just anyone

First off, I would like to say that I really liked the format of the book. It’s definitely not for everyone as it’s told through interviews, IM’s, e-mail exchanges, and a few other formats. I really liked the ones that made you rotate the book and where words made up pictures. So although it is almost a 600 page book, it goes by very fast because of the format. I was able to read it all from Friday night to Sunday morning (and while taking care of a baby in between).

Whatever the don’t want me to see, that’s where I’m digging. I need to be where the secrets are

Although the book starts off with interviews of Kady and Ezra’s experience of the invasion, you slowly start to get a sense of who they are as a person. By the end of the book, you know them pretty well and feel as if their fight is your fight as well. This book has three main obstacles for our MCs to overcome:  (1) they are being pursued by Beitech because they want to eliminate any witnesses to the invasion, (2) there is a mutated virus going around that command is being hush hush about, and (3) something is going on with the AI that is in charge of the Alexander (AIDAN). At first all three didn’t seem related to each other and I wondered how the authors were going to tie them all in, but thanks to all of the documentation you get a pretty good sense of what is going on. It doesn’t take very long for the pieces to start clicking together (with the help of Kady’s newly learned hacking skills of course).

What you do when stuff like this happens is you LIVE, you survive it, that’s how you honour the ones you lost

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! As someone who doesn’t read science fiction that often, I thought this book did an excellent job of living up to the hype that surrounded it when it first came out! I definitely recommend this if you are a sci-fi lover, or even if you just need to branch out and try something new!

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a meme hosted by Lauren @Page Turner,  and the idea is to post a book that’s on your TBR pile and show it off. This is a great way to show off books I have not yet managed to read!

---

This week I have chosen:

Title:  Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2)

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Published: October 18th 2016 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Summary:

The highly anticipated sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller that critics are calling “out-of-this-world awesome.”

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.

I just finished reading the first book in this series, and I will have that review up soon (hopefully, lol). I really enjoyed the first one, and I have heard nothing but good things about the second book. My only fear is that I will love the second book just as much as the first, and then have to wait all the way until March for the third book to come out!

What is on your TBR shelf this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (10/04/2017)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by  Jill from Breaking The Spine that shows the upcoming books that many of us are anticipating! This week, I’m waiting for…

---

Title:  The Knowing (The Forgetting #2)

Author: Sharon Cameron

Expected Publication:  October 10th 2017

Publisher:  Scholastic Press

Goodreads Summary:

Samara doesn’t forget. And she isn’t the only one. Safe underground in the city of New Canaan, she lives in a privileged world free from the Forgetting. Yet she wonders if she really is free, with the memories that plague her and secrets that surround her. Samara is determined to unearth the answers, even if she must escape to the old, cursed city of Canaan to find them.

Someone else is on their way to Canaan too . . . a spaceship from Earth is heading toward the planet, like a figment of the city’s forgotten past. Beck is traveling with his parents, researchers tasked with finding the abandoned settlement effort. When Beck is stranded without communication, he will find more in Canaan than he was ever trained for. What will happen when worlds and memories, beliefs — and truths — collide?

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and I can’t wait to pick up the second one!

What are you waiting for this week?

Goodreads Monday (10/02/2017)

Goodreads Monday is a meme hosted by Lauren @Page Turner,  and the idea is to post a book that’s on your TBR pile and show it off. This is a great way to show off books I have not yet managed to read!

---

This week I have chosen:

Title: Something Strange and Deadly (#1)

Author: Susan Dennard

Published: July 24th 2012 by Harper Teen

Goodreads Summary:

There’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia. . . .

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about.

Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper:

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor . . . from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

I first discovered Susan Dennard from her current series The Witchlands. I loved Truthwitch (and Windwitch is on my TBR shelf). I have the second book in this series, but hopefully I can get the first one soon so that I can start reading it. The good thing about discovering a book series after it is done, is that I don’t have to wait a year for the next book to come out!

What is on your TBR shelf this week?

Goodreads Monday (6/5/2017)

Goodreads Monday is a meme hosted by Lauren @Page Turner,  and the idea is to post a book that’s on your TBR pile and show it off. This is a great way to show off books I have not yet managed to read!

---

This week I have chosen:

Title: Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1)

Author: Neal Shusterman

Published: November 22nd 2016 by Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Summary:

Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

I recently received this book in a swap, and I have heard nothing but good things about it! I am currently packing since I am 6 months pregnant and we will be moving into our new house at the end of the summer, right around the time Sophia will be born. So I figured I might as well start now before I can’t help out any more. The first thing that gets packed away? My books. =( I left myself a little pile of books from my TBR shelf that has now become my summer reads list. Scythe is one of the books that I left unpacked that I hope will be able to pick up in the next couple of days.

What is on your TBR shelf this week?

The Diabolic Review

The Diabolic (The Diabolic #1) by S.J. Kincaid

Published: November 1st 2016 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

Nemesis is a Diabolic. Created to protect a galactic Senator’s daughter, Sidonia. The girl who has grown up by her side and who is as much as sister as a master. There’s no one Nemesis wouldn’t kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the galactic court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia.

She must become her.

Now one of the galaxy’s most dangerous weapons is masquerading in a world of corruption and Nemesis has to hide her true abilities or risk everything. As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns that there is something stronger than her deadly force: the one thing she’s been told she doesn’t have – humanity. And, amidst all the danger, action and intrigue, her humanity might be the only thing that can save her, Sidonia and the entire Empire…

Wow. What can I say about this novel by S.J. Kincaid?! This was going to be a standalone novel, personally I think it would have been great it Kincaid ended it there, but it looks like this will be a trilogy. I can see where the author can go to take this into a trilogy, but honestly it was such a great novel that it could stand on its own.

“A Diabolic is ruthless. A Diabolic is powerful. A Diabolic has a single task: Kill in order to protect the person you’ve been created for.”

At first, I thought that the beginning was very drawn out and kind of boring. The only part I liked about the beginning, was how Nemesis became a diabolic and her transition to being Donia’s protector. After awhile though it starts to pick up and people start dying left and right! There are so many different people plots you have to try to keep track of, you never knew if one was an ally or not! Especially with everyone trying to throw blame at someone else. It kind of reminded me a little bit like The Hunger Games, in the aspect that Nemesis is trying to survive in a place where killing is seen as a sport (but that’s about it comparison wise). Others have said it is similar to Red Queen and I can kind of see it, but if I compared the two, then the plots would basically be the same.

Nemesis is not your typical YA heroine, and I really liked that about her. She is a genetically engineered super human, whose sole purpose is to protect the person that she was bonded to (which in this case is Sidonia). Nemesis has a backbone, isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, and is very perceptive (well most of the time). She doesn’t second guess herself most of the time and always knows her abilities and limitations.

“Tyrus!” rebuked the Emperor. “What have I told you about killing people?”

“Yes, yes ask you first, Uncle,” grumbled Tyrus, sweeping into a bow. “But in my defense, she was irritating me.”

“Oh, you,” said the Emperor fondly. “She was dead anyway. Why hasten it?”

Tyrus tilted his head up, his pale-lashed blue eyes gleaming, his lips curling up in a lunatic’s smile.

Tyrus on the other hand, is a more than meets the eye type of character. When we are first introduced to him, he is naked in the virtual reality forums and everyone always talks about how crazy he is. When Nemesis meets him in person for the first time  he killed her servitor. You think that he is a crazy mad man who is second in line to the throne. In reality, Tryus is a cunning, deceitful, and very clever man who will do anything to ascend the throne so that he can revolutionize the empire.

Together, they make a very good team. Nemesis proved to herself that she has humanity in her after all, even though Donia had been telling her the entire time that she had one. Tyrus finally had someone that he could trust with all of his secrets. Although the ending had me worried for a second there, and I don’t know if Nemesis made the right choice or not. The explanations seemed a little bit too neat and tidy to not question if something else happened. If this book didn’t already have a lot of back stabbing and conspiracies, I might not have questioned it and took it for face value. I do like that she ended up choosing Tyrus in the end despite everything that happened (well to an extent, I also wouldn’t have mind if she chose herself and walked away from everything but then there wouldn’t be room for a trilogy).

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to fans of dystopian and sci-fi novels. It did take me awhile to get into it, but I am glad that I stuck with it because it does get better!