I enjoyed this third instalment. It did feel like the younger end of YA - Cress seems very young. But then that is understandable based on her backgroI enjoyed this third instalment. It did feel like the younger end of YA - Cress seems very young. But then that is understandable based on her background, being alone would make her more naive and less worldly.
I loved having the gang together (more or less) and am looking forward to seeing how their heist will continue in the final book. ...more
Didn’t love it as much as book 1, for me Scarlet was more irritating as the protagonist and the romance was odd.
BUT we all know this about me, I acceDidn’t love it as much as book 1, for me Scarlet was more irritating as the protagonist and the romance was odd.
BUT we all know this about me, I accept early on that the romances won’t do anything for me, therefore I focus on the plot instead.
And the plot is great! Cinder manages to flee prison, bringing with her the hilarious Carson Thorne. Cinder tries to find out more about her past, and is hopeful that she can find someone to tell her.
Meanwhile Scarlet is determined to find her grandmother who has been kidnapped. With the help of a former gang member nicknamed Wolf.
As everything keeps moving along I am excited to dive into book 3!...more
Full of secrets and double crossing and romance. I’m not a big romance lover but the relationships all seem toAnother solid instalment in this series!
Full of secrets and double crossing and romance. I’m not a big romance lover but the relationships all seem to work really well in here.
After the end of book 2, Orion has had his memory wiped and he has been taken by his mother for further experiments. Rosalind won’t let her fake husband go though, and will go to great lengths to get him back.
Meanwhile tensions between the communists and nationalists are still rife, with further threats of war from the Japanese. Full of action but also with sparks of humour. Chloe Gong is fast becoming a fave for me.
Now, it’s been quite a few years since I read ‘They Both Die at the End’ and I gave that one 4.5 stars. But, if I reread it now, that might be d3.5 ⭐️
Now, it’s been quite a few years since I read ‘They Both Die at the End’ and I gave that one 4.5 stars. But, if I reread it now, that might be different.
I can only go on what I could remember when I opened this prequel.
We begin on Death Cast eve. The evening death cast is first introduced to America, and the first Decker will receive a phone call to say that they will die in the next 24 hours.
There are several POVs but the main two are Orion, a New Yorker living with a severe heart condition, wondering everyday if it will be his last. The second is Valentino - who has recently moved to New York to start his new life as a model.
Their paths collide on death cast eve and the calls are made. One of them will die in 24 hours. They spend the next 24 hours together, and it changes their lives.
I know I am bitter and cynical now. I wasn’t when I was younger, but ya know - life. So the whole insta-love wasn’t great, even though one of them thinks they are going to die.
It was still very readable and I liked the other POVs such as an old man who receives a death cast call and numerous others with relevance to the overall story.
It was ok, just not like the previous book as I remember it. ...more
I really enjoyed getting to visit this world again, which I’m really glad about because Rosalind wasn’t one of my favourite characters in the originalI really enjoyed getting to visit this world again, which I’m really glad about because Rosalind wasn’t one of my favourite characters in the original duology.
She really grew on me in this book and I loved the new characters of Orion and Oliver, while also getting to see Alisa Montagov and Rosalind’s sister Celia.
At times the different political stances lost me, but ultimately I enjoyed the action and twists. I’m looking forward to book 2!
This was a nice enough story. I found Sibling Dex’s character quite annoying at times, they were quite whiny and often harsh to Moscapp the robot.
TheThis was a nice enough story. I found Sibling Dex’s character quite annoying at times, they were quite whiny and often harsh to Moscapp the robot.
There was a lot of philosophical debate between the two characters, which I didn’t overly enjoy. But there were a few gems in there such as
“It is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.”
I am a big Becky Chambers fan, the Wayfarers series will always hold a special place in my heart. This one just wasn’t quite up there. However, I will still pick up book 2 to see where the story goes. ...more
“You tried to kill me. You could not. I know your power. I know your pride. And I have seen how you will fall...And if we fall, others will take our “You tried to kill me. You could not. I know your power. I know your pride. And I have seen how you will fall...And if we fall, others will take our place, because we are the tide. And we are rising.”
Goryhell and Bloodydamn!
This series has knocked about 10 years off my life I swear!
There isn’t really much I can say here. I was constantly shocked by the characters switching loyalties and plot twists.
The number of people being killed off had me on the edge of my seat.
This trilogy has a good ending but I am looking forward to starting the next series for more drama.
“We’re it, boyo. Broken and cracked and stupid as we are, we’re the light, and we’re spreading.” ...more
What do you suppose they would think of us?” I ask. “Of man?” “I suppose they would think wBloodydamn!!! What an epic second instalment.
I am SHOOK!
What do you suppose they would think of us?” I ask. “Of man?” “I suppose they would think we’re beautiful, strange and inexplicably horrible to one another.
This series has me hook line and sinker! Darrow and his band of loyal friends are planning to destroy their enemies. Meanwhile Darrow has agreements and plans with The Jackal, The Sons of Ares and Augustus. He can’t follow through with them all. But the real question is, who is deceiving him?
Twist after twist. We never know who will do what, or who will die next. It’s constant, edge of your seat battles and politics and I could not get enough!
And when we get to the end (view spoiler)[ and Roque betrays him (hide spoiler)] I was blown away. I honestly didn’t see that coming at all and it made me so mad! I ordered book 3 immediately because I cannot wait! ...more
This was an absolute mission to complete but I finally got there.
“To search and seek among the outer bounds, and when we land upon a distant shore, This was an absolute mission to complete but I finally got there.
“To search and seek among the outer bounds, and when we land upon a distant shore, to seek another yet farther still.”
Sci fi is always a mixed bag for me. Sometimes I think it’s great like the Wayfarers or Red Rising series, other times it’s just weird. Too weird even for me.
I picked this mainly because I loved the Eragon series and Christopher Paolini’s world building can’t be faulted.
I liked a lot of the characters, how the team were like a family. The whole ‘suit thing’ with Kira went over my head for a lot of it and that is basically the main plot point so that’s a bit awkward.
It probably didn’t need to be this long. The world and the lore is highly intricate, so sometimes it was less enjoyable and more of a chore. I will say I’m glad I read it but I don’t think I’d read it again.
“Unknown, content to face my end and pass, beyond this mortal realm, content to hold, and wait and here to sleep - to sleep in a sea of stars.”
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Honestly the fact that this book is arriving on Thursday is the only thing getting me through this week. ...more
“You are a terrible person.” The Thunderhead said. “You are a wonderful person.” “Well which is it?” And the response, as faint as faint could be, ca “You are a terrible person.” The Thunderhead said. “You are a wonderful person.” “Well which is it?” And the response, as faint as faint could be, came back to him - not as an answer, but as another question. “Why can’t you see that the answer is both.”
What a wonderful conclusion!
I’ll admit at first I wasn’t sure about the introduction of all these other characters in the final book. It seemed at times almost like I was reading an entirely different book to Scythe and Thunderhead.
But as everything began to link together and we have the epic conclusion with all the characters I loved it!
I loved watching everything come together - Goddard and his New Order Scythe’s are slowly destroying civilisation with their violent gleanings. The tonist’s have themselves a prophet known as The Toll but who is it? Meanwhile Citra/Anastasia and Rowan (as per the end of book 2) (view spoiler)[ have been revived 3 years after the sinking of Endura to find that Goddard has made himself Overblade of Midmerica which isn’t a thing and that Rowan is being blamed for the entire Endura disaster. (hide spoiler)]
It’s all madness and craziness and I was absolutely there for it! The ending was just the kind I was hoping for. (view spoiler)[ after Faraday and Munira pull the fail safe made by the founding Scythe’s in case of emergency. All Scythe rings explode and they are no longer required. A release of 10 different earthly illnesses every 20 years keeps the population culled. Meanwhile spaceships have been built to try and create human life in space. Rowan and Citra decide to go together. (hide spoiler)]...more
“We measure the freedom of human beings by their ability to change with their environment. The only truly alien influence is the dead grasping finger “We measure the freedom of human beings by their ability to change with their environment. The only truly alien influence is the dead grasping fingers of our own past.”
I’m trying to expand my horizons by reading more Sci Fi. But this did not float my boat. There were some pearls of writing, but that didn’t make up for the rest.
Two POVs. Sophie, in love with her best friend Bianca takes the fall for Bianca’s mistake and ends up cast out into the never ending night. Bianca thinks Sophie is dead, but Sophie finds a way to survive and return, something that will change her outlook forever.
Second POV - Mouth. She was a member of the citizens, a group of nomads who travelled together until tragedy struck. Now she and her best friend Alyssa wander around aimlessly.
Soon these two POVs connect and their stories intertwined. I liked Mouth, she was my favourite. She doesn’t let people in and is quick to violence if anyone crosses her. I didn’t like Bianca, she was a brat and Sophie’s obsession with her really needed to stop.
My main dislike was (view spoiler)[ Sophie’s connection with the alligators/crocodiles. I can’t even remember which they were now. Her argument that they are sentient beings was fair, I got that. But she kept pushing it onto everyone. And then when she wanted to become one and so became part humans part tentacle thing. (hide spoiler)] I didn’t enjoy it as a story arc. The whole thing just felt weird.
There were some good parts but it wasn’t an enjoyable reading experience overall.
“Maybe you don’t get to choose how you make peace, or what kind of peace you make. You count yourself lucky if peace doesn’t run away from you.” ...more
"Friends don't kill friends.' I say. 'Oh honey,' she says. 'Of course they do.'
Wow! I honestly am blown away. I didn't expect this level of thriller "Friends don't kill friends.' I say. 'Oh honey,' she says. 'Of course they do.'
Wow! I honestly am blown away. I didn't expect this level of thriller-ness when I picked this up, but I absolutely LOVED IT!
The description makes it seem like a kind of sci-fi futuristic novel. We have two POVs, Cat and Amy.
Amy is a Heartstreamer - she is able to post her feelings online via patches on her head that allow others to feel her emotions. Such an interesting concept - with the internet as it is now, people share so much online, so it's really believable that a piece of tech like this could become available in the near future. Amy uses Heartstream to share her struggles, particularly her mother's battle with cancer, and death (not a spoiler, this happens almost immediately.) After her mother's funeral Amy arrives home to discover a stranger in her house, a bomb vest attached to their chest - they have wanted to meet Amy for a long time. But what do they want? And who are they?
The second POV is Cat's. She is part of a fandom for a band called The Everlasting. They all ship two of the band members - Ryan and Nick, and they are OBSESSED. Seriously these girls were terrifying - I know fandom's can be pretty hardcore, but this was next level. Cat's best friend Evie is one of the worst. She is a powerhouse in the fandom - everyone knows her, she has every form of social media known to humankind, and if you piss her off you will be hacked, and wish you'd never been born. Their lives are 'Rick4eva' (Ryan and Nick). What Cat hasn't told her best friend, and probably never will - is that she is secretly dating Ryan. The lead singer. If the fandom found out they would be out for blood. (Imagine - every girlfriend Justin Bieber has ever had, the amount of abuse they recieved from fans.)
So how do these two characters link? How are they connected? Well, I am not going to tell you, because you NEED to read this book. Just know that I was absolutely SHOOK when all the revelations came out, and there is twist after twist and twist. Honestly, I can't view fandom's in the same light, and this was some seriously DARK parts of human nature.
I was truly gripped. Don't miss out on this one guys, honestly it is so worth it!
**********************************************
Well my nerves are shot to all hell, but damn this was GOOD!!!
"Happy endings are only stories. And stories are lies."
I had high hopes for this book. A warped version of Disneyland where the 'princesses' are kno "Happy endings are only stories. And stories are lies."
I had high hopes for this book. A warped version of Disneyland where the 'princesses' are known as fantasists. The fantasists are effectively robots, created by The Kingdom to serve its guests. To do anything they are asked without argument or comment, to 'make dreams come true.'
Right off the bat we are thrown into a court case, where Ana, one of the oldest fantasists is accused of murdering a member of park staff. The timeline shifts between these court hearings and Ana's meetings with lawyers etc. to chapters in the past, leading up to the night the crime occurred.
This book reminded me a lot of the TV program Humans. Where AI's grow and learn, soon they are able to think and perhaps even feel. The ultimate question in this tale is whether Ana does feel things like anger and love, whether she has developed the ability to lie.
It is a fantastic world that Rothenberg has created here - The Kingdom is the ultimate fantasy world where if you can dream it, it can be done. From recreating animals that have gone extinct, swimming with mermaids, skiing in the middle of summer and so much more. But behind this beautiful exterior is a vile place where the Fantasists are treated like property, and abused, where nothing is ever as it seems and some things are definitely too good to be true.
"People were far scarier than any disease or zombie or alien or face-eating monster."
THIS is the Christina Henry I love! I loved Lost Boy but didn't "People were far scarier than any disease or zombie or alien or face-eating monster."
THIS is the Christina Henry I love! I loved Lost Boy but didn't really think much of Alice or Red Queen so I felt this could go one of two ways. Thankfully it went the former and I was gripped!
Red is travelling to her grandmother's house in a post-apocalyptic world. A virus known as 'the cough' has swept the world and everyone is being rounded up and placed in quarantine camps. Red has no interest in being imprisoned so she is travelling through the woods, camping and surviving on what she can. Got throw back images to the Maze Runner series which I adored so that was cool.
The chapters flick between 'before' and 'after'. So before Red starts her travels, when she is with her family and then when she travels with her brother Adam. In the 'after' chapters Red is alone - so we know something has happened to her family but we only find out when the story flashes back, this keeps you hooked as you want to know what has gone on.
Red is a great protagonist. She is a far cry from the 'special' or 'chosen one' this book seems to poke fun at main characters who do stupid things and endanger their lives. She meticulously plans every part of her journey, learns how to defend herself and how to survive in the wilderness. Red also has a prosthetic leg which is awesome rep - I loved that.
My only tiny gripe would be (view spoiler)[ we never find out what these flesh eating slug things are. Why were there created? And how did they get out? (hide spoiler)] Other than that this was a great retelling and I would recommend to anyone who likes dystopias or apocalypse themed books.
"The only consolation in being a survivor was that you'd survived." ...more
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