Review: Blood Red Road

By Moria Young

Published by Doubleday Canada

Released: February 28th, 2012

Source: For Review

Rating: 5 Stars

This fast-paced YA debut novel has it all: smart, savvy characters making their way through an eerily dystopian society, with all the requisite action, adventure and romance characteristic of the genre vividly and at times, chillingly, portrayed.

In a wild and lawless future, where life is cheap and survival is hard, eighteen-year-old Saba lives with her father, her twin brother Lugh, her young sister Emmi and her pet crow Nero. Theirs is a hard and lonely life. The family resides in a secluded shed, their nearest neighbour living many miles away and the lake, their only source of water and main provider of food, gradually dying from the lack of rain. But Saba's father refuses to leave the place where he buried his beloved wife, Allis, nine years ago. Allis died giving birth to Emmi, and Saba has never forgiven her sister for their mother's death.

But while she despises Emmi, Saba adores her twin brother Lugh. Golden-haired and blue-eyed, loving and good, he seems the complete opposite to dark-haired Saba, who is full of anger and driven by a ruthless survival instinct. To Saba, Lugh is her light and she is his shadow, he is the day, she is the nighttime, he is beautiful, she is ugly, he is good, she is bad.

So Saba's small world is brutally torn apart, when a group of armed riders arrives five day's after the twin's eighteenth birthday snatch Lugh away. Saba's rage is so wild, that she manages to drive the men away, but not before they have captured Lugh and killed their father.

And here begins Saba's epic quest to rescue Lugh, during which she is tested by trials she could not have imagined, and one that takes the reader on breathtaking ride full or romance, physical adventure and unforgettably vivid characters, making this a truly sensational YA debut novel.

(http://goodreads.com)

Ever since they began sending out ARCs of Blood Red Road over a year ago, I've been hearing nothing but amazing things about it, but for some unfathomable reason I've had a copy of it sitting on my shelf since last March, unread. It's not like I never planned on reading it, but it just wasn't something that I was reaching for, at least not until I received the new paperback copy. Now that I've finally read it, I 150% agree with all of the phenomenal things that I've heard about it! It's utterly amazing and I think I'm slightly obsessed!

I think that one of the most noteworthy things about this novel is the writing. I don't think that I have ever really read anything that I can compare it to (the closest thing would probably be some of the writing in Flowers for Algernon). It's difficult to describe the writing, the only way that I can think of is that it's written in an accent, but I feel like that doesn't really do it justice. I think you have to read it yourself to really understand what I'm talking about. When I first began reading, the writing somewhat concerned me, especially the fact that no quotation marks are used for dialogue. I was worried that it was going to be difficult to differentiate between speech and internal thought, but I'm more than happy to say that there was no problem at all! The writing style may take a little bit of getting used to, but by 20 pages in you'll be completely adjusted and reading through it with no problem!

When it comes to characters, Saba's probably one of the best female protagonists that I've seen in a long time! I'm really drawn to characters who know how to kick ass and who really fight through their struggles. There are a ton of great female main characters in YA, but it's not every day that you come across character that has to fight to quite the same extent as Saba. Also, as much as I love romance and boys (which is a lot!), I really liked that Saba wasn't fighting for love and romance, but that she was fighting for her family. I think that sometimes the importance of one's family can become almost forgotten in YA books, where people are often fighting for (romantic) love, but I thought that it was really great that everything that Saba was doing was for her family.

Now, just because Saba was fighting for her family does not mean that there wasn't any romance! There was definitely romance and delicious it was! Yes Jack, I'm talking about you. I loved Jack, everything about him. He definitely had a bit of an attitude, was quite snarky and sarcastic, and way cocky at times, but call me crazy, I love that in a guy. I really liked those characteristics about him, but I also really liked that he could be understanding, sweet and super romantic as well. Ugh, I just loved that boy! (On a bit of a side note, this doesn't really have to do with my review, but have you seen the cover of the sequel to Blood Red Road, Rebel Heart? I'm pretty sure that beautiful specimen is Jack and all I have to say is daaaaaaaamn, I like!)

There are so many awesome and interesting characters in Blood Red Road and I wish that I could write an individual paragraph dedicated to each of them, but I just don't think that's possible without this review being ridiculously long, so I'm going to try to sum them now in a paragraph or two. First off, there is Saba's little sister, Emmi, who annoyed me in the beginning almost as much as she annoyed Saba (to be fair, Saba wasn't exactly the best sister to her)! She was quite immature and I don't think that she quite understood the gravity of her and Saba's situation, but as the book progressed there was definitely a huge change in her that was obvious to both the reader and Saba. I really enjoyed watching Emmi's strange relationship with Saba develop and change over the course of the book and I'm really glad with how things turned out between them.

During the book, Saba meets a rebel group of girls called the Free Hawks. Although we didn't really get to know the members of the Free Hawks as well as I would have liked, we do get to know a few of them during Saba's journey. As I said, I love strong female characters and I really loved how fierce and willing to fight these girls were! Now, I must say that I think that the most interesting character in the whole book would probably have to be DeMalo. We don't really know much, if anything, about him at all, but he's very mysterious (and sexy, might I add) and he seems to have some unknown connection with Saba. I think that there is a possibility that he might become a love interest in future books, something that I would wholly support, but I really just have no idea what's going on with him. I will say that I do definitely feel like he's  going to end up playing an important role in the future.

This book really has everything going for it: great writing, great characters and a great plot! I feel like so much happened in the story, which isn't always a good thing, but in this case it is a very good thing. The plot was so diverse, but whether or not the story was currently taking place in a cage fighting ring or in a barren wasteland, the atmosphere was spot on. Sometimes when there is so much going on in a book it can get convoluted and messy, but this wasn't the case for Blood Red Road.  Everything really worked together to make this book the amazing thing that it is!

Whew, I think that this is the longest review I have every written and I could still say even more about this book! I have nothing but praise for the writing, the characters, the plot, every little thing. If you haven't read this book yet, I'm telling you right now to please stop making the same mistake that I made for over a year! Read. This. Book. ASAP. It is exceptional!

I hope that you enjoyed my review of Blood Red Road by Moira Young! Please comment and follow for more of my reviews!

Claire :)

In My Mailbox (46)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created and hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren for bloggers to show all of the awesome books or book related things that they have gotten over the past week, or in this case, past couple of months! Here is what I got!

Bought:
- Insurgent by Veronica Roth

For Review:

- Betrayed by Ednah Walters (ARC)
- Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
- The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell
- Ladies in Waiting by Laura L. Sullivan
- Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer (ARC)
- The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent (ARC)
- Envy by Elizabeth Miles (ARC)

- Surrender by Elana Johnson (ARC)
- Wake by Amanda Hocking (ARC x 2)
- Torn by Amanda Hocking
- Ascend by Amanda Hocking
- Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan (ARC)
- The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond (ARC)
- Last Rite by Lisa Desrochers (ARC)
- The Last Song by Eva Wiseman
- Passion by Lauren Kate
- Hooked by Catherine Greenman
- The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls by Julie Schumacher
- Welcome to Bordertown by Various Authors
- The Warlock by Michael Scott
- The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks
- Railsea by China Miéville
- Silver: Return to Treasure Island by Andrew Motion
- Blood Red Road by Moria Young

Huge thanks to Spencer Hill Press, Thomas Allan and Sons, Simon and Schuster Canada, St. Martin's Press, Raincoast Books and Random House Canada!

What did you get in your mailbox? Leave me a link in the comments!

Claire :)

Review: Afterlife

By Claudia Gray

Published by HarperTeen

Released: March 8th, 2011

Source: Bought

Rating: 4 Stars

Destiny awaits Bianca and Lucas . . .

Bianca and Lucas have always believed they could endure anything to be together. When a twist of fate not only transforms Bianca into a wraith but also turns Lucas into a vampire—the very creature he spent his life hunting—they are left reeling.

Haunted by his powerful need to kill, Lucas can turn to only one place for help . . . Evernight Academy. Bianca is determined to remain with him. But with the vampire leader of Evernight waging a war against wraiths, her former home has become the most dangerous place she could be, despite the new powers her ghostly transformation has given her.

A battle between wraiths and vampires looms, and Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They've overcome every obstacle life has thrown at them, but is their love strong enough to survive the challenges after life?

(http://goodreads.com)

**This review will contain spoilers for the first three books in the series!

The Evernight series was one of the first that I began reading when I got into young adult books about four years ago, so I'm really sad to see it come to an end, but I've really enjoyed reading the series and Afterlife was no different!

After the end of Hourglass, it was clear that Bianca and Lucas were going to have some serious struggles to deal with, not only with themselves, but with how they were going to be able to stay together. Bianca had to deal with becoming a wraith, something that she was always taught to fear, and Lucas had a serious struggle with becoming a vampire. I was glad that things seemed to go okay for Bianca, but I was sad to see how many problems Lucas was having while trying to adjust to his new life.

There were so many points in this book when I felt so bad for Lucas. He's always been a character that I really liked, and I was so glad that he was able to overcome his initial hatred for vampires in order to be with Bianca, but becoming a vampire was a huge internal battle for him. Not only did he have to deal with it himself, but all he could think about was being rejected by the vampire hunters, including his mother, who raised him and who he cares so much about. There were some points in this book where I really thought that Lucas was going to crack, but I was really proud of him and of all the strength that he showed while dealing with this.

With Bianca as a wraith and Lucas as a vampire, there were obviously some unavoidable issues within their relationship. They didn't face any problems when it came to wanting to be together, they loved each other as much as ever, but the problems came from the fact that they might not even be able to be together due to their situations. Despite these problems, I loved how hard they tried to be together, even against all odds; I think that it really showed how much they loved each other.

As a whole, I really enjoyed this book and thought that it was a great ending to the series. There were so many struggles to overcome and Lucas and Bianca really had to fight for their happy ending, although their ending wasn't perfect. There were some relationships that, sadly, didn't make it to the end of the book, but I still think that the ending was very satisfying! Evernight is a fantastic series and, if you haven't yet, I would definitely recommend reading it!

Thanks for reading my review of Afterlife by Claudia Gray, I hope that you enjoyed it!

Claire :)

ARC Review: The Selection

By Kiera Cass

Published by HarperTeen

Released: April 24th, 2012

Source: ARC from Publisher

Rating: 4 Stars

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

(http://goodreads.com)

I was a bit hesitant to read The Selection after some drama that I saw going on between the author, her agent, and a fellow reviewer, as well as the fact that this book is described as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games, but... I was pleasantly surprised! I actually really enjoyed this book!

As I previously mentioned, this book is described as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. Without a doubt I saw the Bachelor comparison, but honestly, I have no idea where the Hunger Games comparison came in, besides the fact that this book could be described as a dystopia. You could definitely say that the world they live in is dystopian, but I think that the book as a whole is not, considering most of the time it takes place in Prince Maxon's palace wherein the girls can have pretty much anything they desire. Seeing as this book was marketed as dystopia, I wish that we could have seen a bit more of that angle, but it didn't really have a huge impact on my enjoyment of the book.

I wasn't quite sure how much I was going to like America, but much like this book, she surprised me! I liked her a lot more then I expected to. I liked that she wasn't all about money and class, but that she just wanted to be with the person she loved even if it meant she wouldn't exactly live a life of luxury. She was very loyal and caring of her family, and she wanted to do everything she could do to give them a better life, even if it mena giving up a bit of her own happiness. I think that she had some great qualities and I really enjoyed reading from her POV (although, on a side note, I do wish that at the beginning people didn't tell her how pretty she was every two pages, it definitely got frustrating).

I really liked both love interests in The Selection. They're obviously very different from one another, Maxon being a prince and Aspen being very poor, but they both seem like good guys. Aspen did annoy me a little bit at one point (I'm sure you know which part I'm talking about if you've read the book), but all in all I really liked him and would have liked to have seem more of him. Maxon actually ended up being very sweet and much different then you would expect him to be. It was clear that the whole Selection thing wasn't something that he really wanted to be doing, but that he was doing it because he knew it was his duty.

I really enjoyed this book, overall. I would have liked to have seem a bit more of a dystopian angle and have gotten to know Aspen a little better, but I still quite liked most of the main characters and I found the story to be interesting! I don't think that this book is for everyone, I think it's one that you'll either love or hate, but if it sounds interesting to you, I would definitely give it a shot!

I hope that you enjoyed my review of The Selection by Kiera Cass! Please comment and follow for more of my reviews!

Claire :)

ARC Review: The Last Echo

By Kimberly Derting

Published by HarperTeen

Released: April 17th, 2012

Source: ARC for Review

Rating: 5 Stars

In the end, all that's left is an echo...

Violet kept her morbid ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and her childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay Heaton. That is until forensic psychologist Sara Priest discovered Violet's talent and invited her to use her gift to track down murderers. Now, as she works with an eclectic group of individuals—including mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe—it's Violet's job to help those who have been murdered by bringing their killers to justice. When Violet discovers the body of a college girl killed by "the girlfriend collector" she is determined to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new "relationship" and Violet may have caught his eye....

(http://goodreads.com)

First off, let me just say that I was so sad when I first read the title of this book because I thought that it meant that it was going to be the end of an awesome series, but luckily the title is misleading! I adore this series and everything about it, and The Last Echo was no exception.

In the last book, Violet and Jay had some trust issues and stuff going on, secrets that really shouldn't have been there, but I was really glad that they seemed to have sorted all of their problems out between the end of the last book and the beginning The Last Echo. I really love this couple, so seeing them happy and very much in love again was awesome!

Although their relationship issues seemed to be in the past, I did feel like there was a distinct lack of Jay in this book. I felt like he had way fewer appearances in The Last Echo then in both the two previous books and I really missed him! I think that a big reason that this was the case is because Violet had began working with the government to use her gift to help track down murderers, and in doing so she had to spend a lot of time away from Jay. Luckily, this didn't seem to impact their relationship and they spent as much time together as possible, but I still missed seeing Jay as often as in The Body Finder and Desires of the Dead.

I mentioned in my review of Desires of the Dead that we met a new character (and potential love interest?) named Rafe and that I hoped that we would get to know him better in The Last Echo, and we did! While working with the government, Violet spends a lot of time with Rafe and we can really see him starting to let him walls down with Violet. We learn about his past, what his gift is and how he ended up working with the government. I definitely enjoyed getting to know him and I really like him! The chemistry between him and Violet grew during this book, but unfortunately I don't think that anything is every really going to happen between them because Violet really loves Jay (but I can always hope!). I hope to see more of him in the next book!

I loved this plot of this novel, I think that it's definitely my favourite so far in the series! I've always liked how these books are told partially from the point of view of the killer/stalker and this time around it was really interesting. The killer in The Last Echo was really creepy and obviously insane, but as disturbing as the killer was, I actually found those parts very interesting.

As a whole, I love this series and I loved this book! It was well written, suspenseful, and I really enjoyed getting to know Rafe a lot better. I think that The Last Echo is, for sure, my favourite so far in the series! I recommend that you all read this series if you haven't already, it's fantastic!

Thanks for reading my review of The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting, I hope that you enjoyed it!

Claire :)