Friday, April 29, 2011

Bumped, Megan McCafferty - 4.5/5 Great Read


Title: Bumped
Author: Megan McCafferty
Series: Bumped, Book #1
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Page Count: 336 Pages (Hardcover)
Pub. Date: Published April 2011 by Balzer + Bray (Imprint of HarperCollins)
Rating: 4.5/5


When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents are forced to pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid infused food.
Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Until now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend Zen, who is way too short for the job.
Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to bring Melody back to Goodside and convince her that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.
When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.
From New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty comes a strikingly original look at friendship, love, and sisterhood—in a future that is eerily believable..

~My Review~


In a world where teens are the only people able to conceive Melody is praised for her choice to be a surrogate. Her twin sister Harmony, raised by "the churchies", however is not happy about her newfound sister's choice and has set out to change her mind.

With all the dystopian fiction flooding the bookshelves lately, I was pleasantly surprised by Megan McCafferty's fresh take on the genre. The conflict surrounding the society in Bumped isn't post-apocalyptic or struggling under oppression as so many are, it's an amplified struggle that we face today - we make our choices based on fear, fear of poverty, fear of rejection, and in more cases than not a miss-placed fear of God.

I was sucked into the story of Melody and Harmony, and their struggle to know what is the right thing to do. I felt compassion for the Harmony, who is trying to balance what she knows is true in her heart, and the rules she feel obligated to follow. Melody wants to fulfil the role her parents have trained her for. Both sisters start out the book making their decisions based on fear and manipulation, but grow throughout their struggles to a place where they can start to think on their own.

The ending wasn't as wrapped up as I wanted it to be, but after finding out that Megan McCafferty is writing a sequel, I am actually glad she ended it the way she did. Bumped was a light and fun read that also really made me think.


Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC


My Rating: 4.5/5

~ You'll like this series if you liked ~

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, Unwind by Neal Shusterman, or Matched by Ally Condie.

~Links 4 More~

Author Website: here
Add to your Shelfari: here
Add to your Goodreads: here
Buy it at BookDepository (free shipping): here

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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Radiant Shadows



Title: Radiant Shadows
Author: Melissa Marr
Series: Wicked Lovely, Book #4
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Page Count: 352 Pages (Hardcover)
Pub. Date: Published 2010 by HarperCollins
Rating: 5/5


Hunger for nourishment.
Hunger for touch.
Hunger to belong.
Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers.
Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries' coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani's death.
Ani isn't one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin's plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear for one another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other?
Alluring romance, heart-stopping danger, and sinister intrigue combine in the penultimate volume of Melissa Marr's New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series.

~My Review~


The last book in my re-read of the Wicked Lovely series before I get to read the fifth and final book Darkest Mercy.

In Radiant Shadows we meet Ani, well we technically met her in Wicked Lovely but she was a very minor character - not so much anymore. Ani could change everything for the Dark Court, for all of Faery. She has the ability (and curse) of being able to feed off of both touch and emotions, and her abilities are not limited to just fey, she can feed from humans as well.

Devlin is the High Queen's advisor and bloody hands, he has sworn fealty to Reason and has devoted his existence to protecting Faery. But if he is truly High Court, then he should only listen to Reason, and should definitely not have dark urges inside of his - being made also of War, he has to battle with himself daily to restrain that half of his nature.

Devlin, like Irial, drew me in with his multifaceted personality. He is regal and logical, but also fierce and tormented. He wasn't born into a court knowing only to follow a certain path, he had/has to choose the path of Reason over War, deciding the fate of Faery by his allegiance. He had always obeyed his queen, until he saved the life of a half-breed Sorcha ordered him to kill. Now he is faced with the consequences of that decision.

Packed with action, Radiant Shadows barely let me catch my breath, as all of Faery is turned upside-down by a new Faery and a halfling. A great buildup for what I am expecting to be an epic finale in Darkest Mercy.

The only problem I had with Radiant Shadows was the cover. I LOVE the covers for the other four books and was disappointed in this one. The wolves look weird and very photoshopped on. I found a pick online of an alternate cover and I like it better, wish my hardcover sported this one:







My Rating: 5/5


~ Other books in this series (click the name for review) ~

#1 Wicked Lovely, #2 Ink Exchange, #3 Fragile Eternity, #4 Radiant Shadows, #5 Darkest Mercy, - Novellas (Set between books 2 & 3): Stopping Time, Old Habits.

~ You'll like this series if you liked ~

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, Tithe by Holly Black, Need by Carrie Jones, Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton, or Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.

~Links 4 More~

Author Website: here
Add to your Shelfari: here
Add to your Goodreads: here
Buy it at BookDepository (free shipping): here

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Fragile Eternity - Short and Sweet Review


Title: Fragile Eternity

Author: Melissa Marr

Series: Wicked Lovely, Book #3

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Page Count: 400 Pages (Hardcover)

Pub. Date: Published 2009 by HarperCollins

Rating: 5/5


Seth never expected he would want to settle down with anyone—but that was before Aislinn. She is everything he'd ever dreamed of, and he wants to be with her forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen. Aislinn never expected to rule the very creatures who'd always terrified her—but that was before Keenan. He stole her mortality to make her a monarch, and now she faces challenges and enticements beyond any she'd ever imagined. In Melissa Marr's third mesmerizing tale of Faerie, Seth and Aislinn struggle to stay true to themselves and each other in a milieu of shadowy rules and shifting allegiances, where old friends become new enemies and one wrong move could plunge the Earth into chaos.

~My Review~


In case you missed my earlier reviews, I am re-reading this series because the fifth and final book (Darkest Mercy) was just released.

Fragile Eternity is Seth's story. I was happy Melissa Marr went back to some of the original Wicked Lovely cast for this one. We get to have more Ash, Seth and Keenan.

Seth is struggling to come to terms with his place in Ash's life now that she is a queen. He is mortal, and therefore vulnerable, even with the protection of the Summer queen. Worse still, he has to watch Ash grow closer to Keenan as the summer season comes closer. The solution that seems so obvious to Seth - to make him one of the fey - is denied him by all he knows to ask for help, forcing him to seek it on his own, but at what cost?

At this point in the series you have a well established view of the Summer and Dark courts, and are now introduced to the ins and outs of the High court. Having delved into the Dark court and finding to good parts *ahem Irial ahem* it was interesting to delve into their counterbalance - the High court.

I liked Fragile Eternity the best so far in the series. It is so rich in story and drama that you never know what is going to happen next, and you can't wait to find out.

My Rating: 5/5


~ Other books in this series (click the name for review) ~

#1 Wicked Lovely, #2 Ink Exchange, #3 Fragile Eternity, #4 Radiant Shadows, #5 Darkest Mercy, - Novellas (Set between books 2 & 3): Stopping Time, Old Habits.

~ You'll like this series if you liked ~

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, Tithe by Holly Black, Need by Carrie Jones, Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton, or Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.

~Links 4 More~

Author Website: here
Add to your Shelfari: here
Add to your Goodreads: here
Buy it at BookDepository (free shipping): here


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Monday, April 11, 2011

Starlighter by Bryan Davis, a Quick Review


Title: Starlighter
Author: Bryan Davis
Series: Dragons Of Starlight: Book 1
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Page Count: 400 Pages
Pub. Date: Paperback - published in 2010 by Zondervan
Rating: 5/5


Dragons are enslaving humankind and a black egg signals the end of the world. Jason Masters must journey to another realm and join forces with a slave girl named Koren to rescue the captives and save two worlds from destruction.
What if the Legends Are True? Jason Masters doubted the myths: people taken through a portal to another realm and enslaved by dragons. But when his brother is taken, he must uncover the truth and find the portal before it's too late. Once he's through the portal, he meets Koren, a slave in the dragons’ realm, who struggles to destroy a black egg prophesied to doom all mankind. Jason and Koren must work together to save their two worlds before the dragons learn that their secrets have been discovered.

~My Review~

Two worlds hoping that the tales of the other exist. In one world a young warrior sets out on a quest to find his brothers and the Lost Ones and rescue them from slavery. In another world a slave girl risks her own life to find out the fate of her friend. Dragons, sword-fights, and magic wrap this story up in adventure and leave you wanting more. A great YA read.

My Rating: 5/5


~ Other books in this series ~

#1 Starlighter, #2 Warrior.

~ You'll like this series if you liked ~

Eragon by Christopher Paolini, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, or Firelight by Sophie Jordan.


~Links 4 More~

Author Website: here
Add to your Shelfari: here
Add to your Goodreads: here
Buy it at Bookdepository (Free Shipping): here
Buy it at Amazon: here


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