{Review} The Murmurings by Carly Anne West

Title: The Murmurings

Author: Carly Anne West

Format: Library hardcover

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release date: March 5th, 2013

Date Read: April 21st to 23rd 2013

Rating: ✭✭✭✭

Everyone thinks Sophie’s sister, Nell, went crazy. After all, she heard strange voices that drove her to commit suicide. But Sophie doesn’t believe that Nell would take her own life, and she’s convinced that Nell’s doctor knows more than he’s letting on.

As Sophie starts to piece together Nell’s last days, every lead ends in a web of lies. And the deeper Sophie digs, the more danger she’s in—because now she’s hearing the same haunting whispers. Sophie’s starting to think she’s going crazy too. Or worse, that maybe she’s not….

It looks like I'm going to be the odd one out with this book, but not in the way you might have thought. In a surprising change of events, most of my friends did not like this book or at least, gave it a two star rating. But I did like it. I've been thinking pretty hard about this book and how I want to review and rate it. After a bit of deliberation, I've finally settled on a happy three and a half star rating.

This book isn't perfect, nor is it anywhere near perfect. It has a lot of problems, yet it also has a lot of positive points to it. While the book takes a long time to build up, the last part of the book is more then worth the wait. The supporting characters aren't all that built up but none of them are stereotypes or jerks.

Please take a moment to read the summary again and take a good look at the cover. I'm sure that by now you have vague ideas of what the book is about. Something that involves lots of scariness and creepiness and staying up all night? Nope, sorry.

THE MURMURINGS' summary isn't exactly truthful. It promises the reader a world of paranormal creepiness. Instead, the book turned out to be more of a mild psychological horror, or more appropriately a psychological thriller. There aren't any paranormal or real horror aspects to the book till the last 100 to 150 pages. Instead, West spends her time building up the story and the atmosphere. This may not appeal to some people but personally, I really liked this. 

Sophie, the main character, spends much of the book trying to figure out what exactly happened to her sister and why did she end up dead in an entirely different city - especially since she was "locked away". The book progresses very slowly here but I never felt like I wanted to drop the book. 

In the second half of the book, everything changes. Here enters the evil doctors, mental institutions, torture chambers, death, and gore. This part is the main reason I loved the book to be honest. While I enjoyed the beginning parts and Sophie's struggle with insanity or what she perceived was insanity, I do agree with most people by saying that the second part of the book was the main strength.

THE MURMURINGS avoided many of the standard clichés in YA literature. There was a cute romance that didn't overshadow the plot. It was treated as more of a side plot then the main objective of the story. Sophie's inner turmoil didn't consist of "omg, who do I love?". No, instead it ran more along the lines of "am I fucking insane or what?"

Though I found THE MURMURINGS to be a pretty awesome book, I was very disappointed by the ending. I hate easy endings. The ending wasn't in itself easy but the last chapter ruined the whole ending for me. I expect that when someone walks out of such a traumatic experience to have some scarring but from what it sounded like, everything was hunky-dory in happy land.




Aside from a few problems with lying blurbs and terrible endings, I surprisingly really liked this book. While it's definitely not my favorite, it was enjoyable and exciting, with just the right amount of scariness for the book. I recommend THE MURMURINGS someone who is looking to spruce up a boring afternoon.

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.

{Review} Partials by Dan Wells

Title: Partials
Author: Dan Wells
Format: Library Hardcover
Publisher: Balzar + Bray
Release date: February 28, 2012
Date Read: March 29, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them--connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Dan Wells, acclaimed author of I Am Not a Serial Killer, takes readers on a pulsepounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question--one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival.

Oh, man. This book made me feel like humanity was my nasty ex, and I had just dumped his ass before snapping my fingers in Z-formation.

By that, I mean most of the humans in this book pissed me off - though they were supposed to. 

PARTIALS takes place in a futuristic world where humanity is quickly going extinct after a virus released during the Partial-Human war kills off babies less than a week after birth. Kira Walker, sixteen, is a medic-in-training. When someone important to her becomes pregnant, she resolves to find a Partial, experiment on it, and try to save the human race. But there’s more background to the war and the Partials than she initially thought, and what she discovers will turn her world upside down. 

That was about the shittiest blurb I’ve ever written but GIVE ME A BREAK OKAY AND THIS WILL BE A MINI REVIEW BECAUSE I’M TIRED.

The world-building and plot was amazing, hands-down. It was extremely immersive, and even though I didn’t understand a lot of the medical talk being the idiot that I am, I still appreciated the effort Wells put into it. It was very, well, scientific.

The politics and government in PARTIALS was brilliant, and this book made me feel like humanity was my nasty ex, and I had just dumped his ass before snapping my fingers in Z-formation. I mean, TEAM NATURE, Y'ALL.

By that, I mean I was cheering when I read about the flora and fauna taking over the cities.

I didn’t like most of the characters, Samm the Partial being an exception. I loved how sweet and mysterious he was without being a huge jerk. While Kira was a determined badass, she was also boneheaded and whiny. Her friends annoyed the crap out of me, particularly Madison and Marcus, her boyfriend.

There wasn’t a lot of romance in PARTIALS, though when there was, it was with Marcus, Kira’s boyfriend. Not Samm. Unfortunately.

YOU CAN HEAR ME GROANING FROM HERE

The writing was average for me, honestly. Some people didn’t care for it and others couldn’t get enough, but I found it to be alright.

PARTIALS didn’t consume me as much as I thought it would, being a predictable read and all, but it was good anyway.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Eternity Cure
Author: Julie Kagawa
Format: NetGalley ebook ARC
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: April 23, 2013
Date Read: February 27, 2013 - March 3, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

ARC supplied by NetGalley and Harlequin Teen in exchange for an honest review.

Someone help me pick up my jaw, please.

*points at jaw on floor* Yup, right there. Thanks.

Julie sure knows how to write a soul-crushing cliffhanger, doesn't she?

THE ETERNITY CURE was a book that I was excitedly looking forward to. I'm unashamed to say that I'm a Julie Kagawa fangirl, and though THE IMMORTAL RULES was a four-star read for me, I loved THE ETERNITY CURE even more.

It follows vampire Allison Sekemoto as she searches for her soulmate, PLEASE mentor, Kanin, who is being tortured by the bat-shit crazy vampire Sarren. Along for the ride are Jackal, a former vampire Prince who has a lot more in common with Allie than she originally thought, and her romantic interest Zeke, a human. But saving Kanin isn't the only problem on their mind: a new strain of The Red Lung has appeared, a plague that can kill humans and vampires alike.


But apparently Allie and her friends do.

THE IMMORTAL RULES moved at a very slow pace for me, but THE ETERNITY CURE was snapping its fingers in my face and not slowing down. It was very rapid, with a lot of action that I couldn't help but adore. It was split into three parts, just like its predecessor, but all the sections were intense - so intense, in fact, that I couldn't put THE ETERNITY CURE down until I forced myself to...

... at three in the morning.



Julie's writing is superb. If I'm going to be perfectly honest, her style hasn't changed one bit - but I'm glad that it didn't. First person, present-tense, with lots of detailing that Julie managed to rein in so it didn't get too purple and flowery. 

The characters in THE ETERNITY CURE were unbelievably fascinating, especially Sarren, the psychotic vampire even though I wanted to rip his head off for hurting Kanin. Fleshed-out and detailed, they had a personality to speak of and a story to tell. 

It's true that I didn't love Allison in this book as much as I did in THE IMMORTAL RULES. When it came to killing, most of the time, she was the same Allison I had fallen in love with. The merciless bad-ass Asian chick who accepted what she was and didn't argue with it. However, when she was with Zeke in THE ETERNITY CURE, she became a sappy girl that constantly whined about not being able to be with him because she was a vampire.

And it got annoying, really fast.

Zeke also got on my nerves, because his mind was constantly changing about Allie. One moment he'd push her away and tell her that they'd never be together, but in the next he'd try to convince her to run away with him. I didn't care much about him - at all, actually - though that might be because I'm kind of a Kallison shipper.



Eek, let me explain. 

Yes, I adore Allison and Kanin together, but only if they're not technically daughter-and-father. Allison, at times, referred to Kanin as her father, but she also mentioned that they weren't actually family. So, Allison, make up your damn mind.

Kanin and Jackal were my favorite characters in THE ETERNITY CURE. Kanin ripped my heart out and handed it back to me in pieces while I sobbed uncontrollably. His sweet, shy, and quiet demeanor made me fall in love with him, hard. Kanin is one of the most emotionally depressed and broken characters I've ever encountered, and all I wanted to do was scoop him into my arms and stroke his hair.

Because that's not creepy AT ALL.

Jackal was like the eviler, meaner, murdering, PMS-ing version of Grimalkin from Julie's other book, THE IRON KING. I couldn't love him after everything he did in the previous book, but he did make me laugh out loud a couple of times. Jackal was a very dynamic character, and seeing him change throughout the book - though he maintained his violent, cold personality - was amazing.

And can we talk about Chapter 13, please? Oh my gods, my heart was racing while I read it. The chapter gave me the middle finger and stomped all over me, screaming, OCEANA, PLEASE WATCH THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE SHATTER 

I adored THE ETERNITY CURE and I think a lot of people will love it as well.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

Title: 172 Hours on the Moon
Author: Johan Harstad
Format: Library Hardcover
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release date: April 17, 2012
Date Read: March 1, 2013 - March 9, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide lottery, are about to become the first young people in space--and change their lives forever.

Mia, from Norway, hopes this will be her punk band's ticket to fame and fortune.

Midori believes it's her way out of her restrained life in Japan.

Antoine, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but little do the teenagers know that something sinister is waiting for them on the desolate surface of the moon. And in the black vacuum of space... no one is coming to save them.

In this chilling adventure set in the most brutal landscape known to man, highly acclaimed Norwegian novelist Johan Harstad creates a vivid and frightening world of possibilities we can only hope never come true.(less)

172 HOURS ON THE MOON is frightening. The hold-me-I'm-shaking-I'll-never-look-at-the-universe-the-same-way-again type of frightening. Call it whatever you'd like: nightmare-inducing, chilling, fear on paper. Whatever you do call it, 172 HOURS ON THE MOON is bound to scare the living daylights out of you.

I mean, unless you're one of them.

172 HOURS ON THE MOON is 355 pages of pure terror written by Johan Harstad, a Norwegian man who obviously must've gone to the moon and experienced these things to write about them so... gorgeously.

It tells the tale of three teens from around the world that have won the NASA lottery for a chance to go to the moon. Each teenager has their own reasons for wanting to get away: Mia, from Norway, who wants to publicize her band; Midori, from Japan, who longs to escape from her controlled life in Japan; and Antoine, from France, who just wants to GET AWAY FROM HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND that is so French I can't even omg

But they're not the only ones on the moon, and when you're being hunted 238,900 miles away from the Earth, no one's coming to save you.

"We don't belong here. Not at all."

No shit, Sherlock. HAHAHA SEE WHAT I DID THERE IT'S A GIF OF SHERLOCK- No one? Okay.

First of all, this book gave me all the feels. And by feels I mean waking up in cold sweat, being afraid to go out at night and see the moon, and constantly wanting to talk to my best friend about it because I NEEDED TO LET IT OUT.

It's not very hard to figure out what's stalking the group on the moon, but it's how Johan tells it that ultimately won me over. As my best friend said to me: it seems like the stupidest thing in the world, but while you're reading it it's tremendously scary.

As horrifying as it was, it was also really confusing. If you've read this or do eventually read it, I think you'll know what I mean. There seem to be gaps in the books were the reader required information, and I'm not sure if it's because the book was translated into English from Norwegian, or just because Johan’s weak spot is the 'hey let's make it clear for the reader to understand' part.

Johan's writing was pretty awesome, though I'm sure that in its native form it would've been much better. The dark and eery writing style, third-person omniscient, with multiple points of view, suited the book extremely well. It wasn't overly descriptive with figurative language and insisted on being more of the quiet, whispery-type of writing. While not often humorous, 172 Hours on the Moon wasn't meant to be. 

The characters seemed, at times, to lack in development, but other times every single character was so carefully constructed it was unbelievable. Their reactions, their tendencies, and their voices tended to either be real and genuine or totally ridiculous.

I liked Mia enough. She had hopes and dreams like every other teenager, and she really was kick-butt when it came down to it. I really despised Midori at first, because she was annoying, assuming brat. Eventually I warmed up to her, though. Antoine cracked me up every time he made an appearance because he was just so... French.

"He gave the two girls a gloomy look. "If either of you wants to have your very own room on the moon right now, you're very welcome to mine. It isn't exactly how I . . . envisioned it."

Mia took the hint and gave him a wry smile. "Okay, Antoine. Come on. Your girls will look after the poor little Frenchman who's afraid of being alone."

Antoine threw up his arms and looked around as if to say, Can you blame me? and followed them into the room."

Want to get away from the ex-girlfriend? LET'S GO THE MOTHERFUCKING MOON, YO.

There's all the stereotypes about the French being perverted and creepily romantic and crazy, but having been raised in a French environment, I know it's not all lies. For a small country, France is completely nuts and we're proud of it.

Obviously, so is Antoine.

That ending was fucking mind-blowing. It's one of those cliffhanger endings where you feverishly wish for a sequel, but don't at the same time.

172 HOURS ON THE MOON was a chilling and immersive read that I'd definitely pick up again. It was my first horror-science fiction novel - I mean, something this scary couldn't possibly be science-horror fiction - and it was fantastic.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} Dead To You by Lisa McMann

Title: Dead to You
Author: Lisa McMann
Format: Library Hardcover
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release date: February 7, 2012
Date Read: February 26, 2013 - February 27, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

Some memories are better left untouched.

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family.

It's a miracle... at first.

Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together.

But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked.

Something unspeakable...

Mindfuck.

That's the first word that comes to mind after finishing Lisa McMann's DEAD TO YOU, because damn, you guys. This book was one helluva ride. 

The plot and premise was absolutely stunning. Sixteen-year old Ethan, abducted at the age of seven, has finally returned to his family. It should be a time of rejoicing and glee, but there are secrets and memories that Ethan can't unlock, and it will rip his whole family apart.

I've always been interested in kidnappings, serial murders, and those fascinating, gory things that let people judge you easily. I don't know why, but DEAD TO YOU just knocked me over, dragged me by the feet, and sucked me in.

Lisa handled the family tension quite well, though I quickly figured out the 'mystery' surrounding Ethan. In fact, as you read this, you may already know the memories Ethan can't quite dig up. I felt like there were gaps and holes in the story, but I can't talk about it because I'd spoil it majorly for you.

Lisa's writing is... gorgeously simplistic. Very easy to read, but it maintains that shy air of elegance many authors loose in first-person. It may have to do with also being in present-tense, but I have absolutely no complaints about the writing style.

All the characters had a lot of depth, especially Blake, Ethan's younger brother. I absolutely despised Blake - yes, even at the end - because he was one of the biggest dickfaces I've ever encountered. Hell, he was my age, and that kid was a ball of infuriating, unstable anger. 

I really liked Ethan, because he was so real. Broken and lost, he had a lot of pressure on him that made him into who he was. And Lisa wrote him like a boy. His thoughts were the unspoken version of everything that would come out of my sexy archenemy's mouth. 

I found Ethan's romance with Cami, an old friend, ridiculous. The guy has just come back to his family after nine years and his life is practically a mysterious living hell, and Ethan's here thinking about how HE NEEDS TO SCREW CAMI I WANT HER WE NEED TO BANG ASAP 

So, yes. Lisa is fantastic at writing from a male point of view. She knows exactly how it works.



I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I'm not sexist! In all seriousness, I'm joking. Don't get offended, please. 

I liked DEAD TO YOU a lot, and the cliffhanger ripped me apart - especially since there won't be a sequel!

THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A SEQUEL.

WHAT.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Poppy
Release date: January 2, 2012
Date Read: February 25, 2013 - February 26, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.
A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, this is a cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves.

Don't let the shallow cover and blurb of SPL (let's just call it that) fool you. Even the inside summary is lying to you. Inside is a deep, gorgeous story of a girl going through her parents' divorce and trying to come to terms with it. 

Hadley is seventeen and on her way to her father's wedding in London. He's getting married to a woman Hadley hates but has never met. During her journey to England, Hadley meets mysterious Oliver and they hit it off quickly before being separated after landing. But fate is a funny thing, and it won't let them stay away for long.

The plot was original enough, but it wasn't the main focus of SPL - family was. It was more of a character-based self-discovery than a swooning airport romance. dude, a 'swooning airport romance'? It sounds like swaying and throwing up all over the plane

I thought that I'd hate the supposed insta-love romance, seeming as the summary of the book said:

Hadley and Oliver fall in love on the flight from New York to London...

'Fall in love' my ASS. Oliver and Hadley were perfect for each other, yes, and they had great chemistry, and they might have made-out, but they didn't fall in love! It was totally attraction and infatuation, something that I could sympathize with. However, their bond and thoughtful, sweet conversations were out-of-this-world and I don't doubt that they'll end up married.

I would know how it feels to be a teenager going through the divorce of your parents. My parents are currently getting one, and while it was hard for me at the beginning, it's taught me never to care too much. I was horribly angry at my father at first, and I bitingly defended my mother against him at all costs. Eventually, in August, I learned that he had just started living with his girlfriend, since the divorce could take years. He wanted to move into his new house with us in September.

I stopped avoiding my father, and while our relationship blossomed as we moved in, and I met his girlfriend, my relationship with my now-fragile, crying mother withered. My brother and I waged a violent war against each other, one that still goes on to this day. He refuses to speak to my father.

It seemed that I could never have the best of both worlds: I was either angry with my father, or my mother. My father's girlfriend was a beautiful, broken woman with a bad history that I'd come to love dearly not her shitty background, her, but their relationship was rocky and unstable. After breaking up and getting back together several times, we're currently living together again, but who knows how long that will last. 

After hoping that my parents would make up, then hoping that my dad and his girlfriend would make up, I just couldn't take it anymore. After a while, I shoved aside my feelings for myself and learned never to hope too strongly. My father might break up with his girlfriend? Fine by me, she wasn't my partner. My parents might get back together? No, don't do that, you'll just leave again and hurt her more. 

Every person experiences the divorce of their parents differently. I, strangely, was not upset with the decision after a few months, for a few reasons.

a) My mother was not the same. She was someone who couldn't stay dried-eyed for more than five minutes and needed my comfort. She also turned into someone who snarled, screamed, and shrieked at the mere mention of the name of my father's girlfriend. When she was in the latter mood, she frightened me terribly. I didn't have to deal with that with my father, or at his house.

b) I felt that my father and mother weren't really... made for each other after seeing my dad with his girlfriend. My mother had always acted older than she really was, slightly strict and not someone you could really have fun with, though I loved her. My dad and his girlfriend complimented each other perfectly: that couple that you can't help but aww at because they were so adorable. And she made my dad a better person, which in turn made my relationship with him so much better.

The whole point of that long section omg I totally poured my soul out was to show that I know how Hadley was feeling, even though I dealt with it differently. It was genuine as hell. Hadley was angry at her father and angry at the world.

I liked Hadley enough. I have the feeling that she could've been a much more likable character, but all the stress and sadness kind of dragged her down. However, all the characters were wonderful in their own way: very fleshed-out and complex, with a freaking personality and backstory, though I wished we had learned more about Oliver. 

Oliver was super cute, and though I didn't fall head-over-heels in love with him, I really enjoyed him as a character. He wasn't a jerk or an asshole, just a gentlemanly English guy with the accent.

I mean, the accent.

You got that accent and I'm sold, buddy.



Hadley's parents were very active in SPL, something that I liked a lot. Parents aren't common enough in a lot of young-adult novels lately, and the fact that SPL did have them was a huge perk. Especially since her parents were so detailed and real.

I didn't like the writing, at all. I've never read anything in third-person present tense, and it really bothered me for some reason. I don't have any other literary works to compare it to, but it's the absolute worst out there. In fact, here's a sample:

"Hadley stands on her tiptoes, turning in a small circle to get a sense of the restaurant choices... She isn't sure whether he'll be joining her..."

But still, SPL was a fantastic read and I'd recommend it heartily.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Title: Shades of Earth
Author: Beth Revis
Format: Library Hardcover
Publisher: Razorbill
Release date: January 15th, 2013
Date Read: February 25th, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.

But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.

FUELED BY LIES.
RULED BY CHAOS.
ALMOST HOME.

Actual Rating: 3.5 rounded up to four.

Wow. I am really speechless. I didn't like the first two books so I was hesitant to pick this one up (read: I waited till it was overdue to read it). But, holy shit, when I did? I am now a strong believer in insta-book-love.

All my earlier problems are still here (Elder, idiocy, Elder, more idiocy) but it got better! One of the reasons that this book is 100% awesome than the previous two books is probably because well, they finally landed on Centauri-Earth. 

This may not excite everyone but personally, I couldn't tear myself away from SHADES OF EARTH. It was just too fascinating. I mean, they're on another planet!

Other than my character-centered problems, I have one huge problem that isn't that easily overlooked. Idiocy and inconsistencies. I'll be going through my notes here (yeah, got all fancy with notes and stuff).

If you remember, in SHADES OF EARTH, the people of Godspeed finally decided to land on Centauri-Earth which means melting the frozen people to get them out of cryosleep.

When they do, predictably, they are quite confused over why these people of the Godspeed have leaders and aren't the Sol-Earthians slaves. It's all quite amusing, the little power struggles but when they semi-figure things out, everything is really crazy. 

After some terrible happenstances, Amy becomes "acting commander of the Godspeed mission". 
Amy. 

AMY THE SIXTEEN YEAR OLD IS IN CHARGE.

Why? I'm pretty sure in military doesn't work like that. The whole bleeping concept of "military" is chain of command. A sixteen year old, no matter why, would become acting commander unless the strict militariness of the military has devolved into a primitive war group.

My next problem with idiocy is these supposed "intelligent scientists types". So, this one scientists is excitedly telling Amy:

"It should be impossible. I talked to Frank, the geologist. He says there are minerals in the soil he's never seen before. We're talking about whole new elements to the periodic table!"- page 190.

Um, no. Sorry but if you're on another planet, why would you add the elements of this planet to the periodic table of Earth, another planet. What? No, that's not how it works. I would think that you would make a new periodic table, not add onto a Earth periodic table, full with elements that may not even be on this planet.

But, hey, what do I know? I'm not a scientist.

Inconsistency one: Amy seems to love Centauri-Earth in one chapter and detest it in another. I don't think your emotions can zip around like that every few minutes/hours. Weeks? I suppose but minutes? Nope, sorry.

The rest of my notes are centered on character problems.

Characters

Let's start with Elder and why I want him to go jump off a space ship. If you've read the previous two books, which I'm going to assume you have for the rest of the review, you'll know that Elder unhooked Amy from the cryochamber or whatever they're called in this. The unhooking almost killed her and after she recovers, he pretends he doesn't know how she woke up early. His reasons for unhooking her? He was horny.

No, I'm not kidding. The reason Elder unhooked Amy from her cryochamber was because he was horny and wanted to make out with her but was thankfully nice enough not to rape her while she was sleeping. In this case, I'm using "nice" lightly.

He’d also possessive, jealous, and assuming. Amy goes out with a guy and immediately Elder thinks that Amy is cheating on him and that they’re going out to make out. He then sneaks up on them right when this guy forces himself onto Amy and Elder’s like “OMG she’s kissing him and cheating on meh!” 

He only accepted the fact that she wouldn’t cheat on him after she pushes him off of her. 
W-WHAT 

Elder somehow couldn’t see the fact that Amy was completely devoted to him. Why? I'm sorry but that doesn't work for me. Elder, dude, she loves you so much that she followed you to a strange alien world. She's not going anywhere.

Amy is fairly mediocre as a character. Though she’s not extremely stupid, she’s not exactly bright. She’s not witty or loveable. She’s just sort of there, for better or worse.

In terms of intelligence, everything is weird. She’s not the stupidest heroine I’ve ever read about but then again, she’s pretty irresponsible and seems to have something against thinking situations out. 

Though this example is stupid on both Elder’s and Amy’s part, it’s a fine example of how much Amy thinks. Elder brings her a bunch of flowers, native to this new and exotic planet. What does Amy do? She sticks her nose in it and passes out because of some neurotoxins.

I suppose this is a case of plot needed stupidity but I’m sure Revis could have found another way to introduce the plants, as they are important to the storyline. Instead of thinking about how to introduce them, she just slaps them in, making her intelligent character unbelievably dumb.

Another prominent character who I find that I need to go over specifically is Chris, the seemingly mild mannered friend of Amy. For the first ¾, it seems like his only purpose in life is to make Elder and Amy’s relationship strain. That’s seriously how he’s treated.

He obviously lusts over Amy and is very close to her. Somehow, she doesn’t see his blatant flirting. Elder immediately sees his flirting and turns into Even-More-Possessive-and-Jealous-Elder. 

I absolutely detest characters whose only reason for being in the story (well, that’s not exactly true for Chris but it’s very near that) is to cause trouble in the main character’s romance. It’s a cheap way out.


The many of the other characters were sadly what I predicted them to be. In ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, you can immediately tell that, by Amy’s extreme love, her father would be a complete asshole - which he was. By her lack of thought towards her mother, it was obvious she would be a minor character without any real definition - which she was. 

Not many of the side characters were especially memorable but I don't think they were bad. It's just that the book was mostly focused on Elder, Amy, Amy's Dad, and Chris.

Plot and Writing

Plot

As I said, I love the concept. Other planets in one topic we are severely lacking in YA lit. Novels set on other planets are more common but the whole “humans traveling to another planet” idea is much more rare. Lately, a lot of aliens on Earth YA books have been popping up but I honestly prefer the we-are-the-aliens books.

I have laugh at SHADES OF EARTH for being entirely hilarious with the presentation of the aliens. Apparently, they're the bad guys, not the people who are taking over their goddamn planet. It's so stereotypical really. Practically every alien book and movie in existence follows this humans-are-always-the-good-ones storyline.

The story isn't bad, if extremely predictable. After they started finding the "things" I could tell the plot. I mean, ohmygod, was it predictable? Everything came true.

However, even though it doesn't sound like it at all, I loved the story. I didn't really care that I knew what was going to happen. I really ate SHADES OF EARTH up. I wish that the previous books were this amazing, but I guess you can't have it all.

Writing

While it's not elegant, or anything near elegant, Beth Revis's writing is most certainly exciting and addicting. I decided to read the first chapter before returning it but in what seemed like a few minutes, I had read a quarter of the book and didn't want to stop.

Likes and Dislikes

Liked:
- setting
- writing
- plot

Disliked:

- all the problems with stupid phrases and plot points
- plot
- Elder
- lame characters

Conclusion

Though Revis needs to work out the inconsistencies with the plot and characters (not to mention, do her homework on how periodic tables work), I just adore this book. I don't think it's perfect, but it's pretty awesome still. I recommend SHADES OF EARTH, and the whole Across the Universe series, as a good no-brainer read.

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.

{Review} Pantomime by Laura Lam

Title: Pantomime
Author: Laura Lam
Format: NetGalley e-book ARC
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release date: February 5, 2013
Date Read: February 5, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.


But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada

WEIRD PREREVIEW THINGIE

This review will hold spoilers but none that you won't find in any of the other "spoiler" reviews for this book. If you do not want to know about what the big twist is (which is actually revealed around 25 - 30% in), I suggest you skip this review as the spoilers for that will not be marked. The spoilers begin in the next paragraph. 

Personally, I feel like this "twist" should have been stated in the actual description. I would have been 100x more excited for this book, if I knew about the twist. In the description, it says:

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.

When I, like many other reviewers, first read this, I saw one thing: Gene x Micah. But the truth is, even though there is romance, it is not between Gene and Micah since they're, um, the same person. The protagonist is intersex. I really think that if this was in the description, it would be more popular because I'm sure there are others out there who wanted to read a YA book with an intersex protagonist.

I honestly do not understand why this is a secret since anyone who is paying a little bit of attention to the book would be able to realize this. Gene has not only similar physical qualities but the two "POVs" are pretty much the same. 

For a more in-depth assessment on why this "twist" should have been in the description read Experiment BL626's insightful review on why he thinks the same. Though I do not agree with every point, I do agree with many of them!

---

ACTUAL REVIEW THINGIE

PANTOMIME is a book that I've wanted to read ever since I first saw it on Cuddlebuggery. I got an ARC a long time ago but for some reason I could never get into it. It didn't help that I got the ARC during a bad time where I didn't - couldn't - read anything. 

But, when I finally got into a few days ago and finished it in a few hours like I always do in these stories.

PANTOMIME isn't the best book I've ever read. Something was missing throughout but I still enjoyed it very much. The best part of the novel, personally, is Micah, the main character. His troubles with his sexuality and identity were definitely my favourite part of the book.

Characters

Micah Grey, or Gene I suppose, is the intersex protagonist. Micah Grey is strong, smart, and just all-around amazing. I absolutely love him. The main focus of the novel is around Micah and his struggles with who he is. 

At times, the book could go very deep and get very depressing for a YA fantasy read. The only deepness I've seen in most YA fantasy is well... nothing. YA seems to save all the deep reads for contemp. reads. I felt really connected to Micah in this book, something that doesn't happen often - in any genre.
The supporting characters, Drystan and Aenea, were Micah's best friends also doubling as LIs. Though the romance is not the main focus of the book, there is a lot since the book revolves around sexuality and love, to a lesser but still prominent extent. Personally, I didn't mind this love triangle because it was barely portrayed as a love triangle, and by that I mean, Micah was not internally debating who he loved. *cough* Team Drystan *cough*

My favorite character, excluding the obvious Micah, was probably this one little side character who only had a few lines and pages. It was the little shopkeeper or stall keeper who took Micah in after he had run away. I don't know why I liked him, I just did.

Plot and Writing 

Plot

PANTOMIME is a very character based book, as YA books are slowly starting to do. The plot isn't very big. Micah isn't some mystical person, no one has supernatural powers, and there isn't a war. It's kind of hard to imagine but it's true.

There are a few hints of some more prominent plot in the second book, probably going to be about this ancient extinct race of Chimaera, who have a great magical power and this Vestige thing. *weird geeky reference warning* They sort of reminded me of the Dwemer from the TES series - in a good way of course.

The setting sort of reminded me of NIGHT CIRCUS but it was much less magical. PANTOMIME didn't have that mystical, magical feeling to it where it felt like Les Cirque des Rêves could be right outside your door.

Writing

It wasn't the most lyrical writing ever but for the book, it fit. It was emotional and expressed Micah's thoughts very clearly and well. I don't really have much to say on the writing since it was fairly average but not bad. No, the writing was very nice just I'm sure there could be... more.

Likes and Dislikes

Likes:

- Micah

- Characterization

- LGBTQIA aspect

Dislikes:

- It was still missing that part

In conclusion

Beautifully created, PANTOMIME is a masterpiece, which I full heartedly adore. The only thing keeping me from giving it a nice shiny five star rating is that I felt PANTOMIME was missing something. I'm not exactly sure what it is but it sure wasn't there. Still, I recommend this book to everyone and anyone.

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.