Book Review: Twist by Karen Akins (5/5)

Title: Twist

Author: Karen Akins

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Pages: 336

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Time Travel

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Blurb:
Bree Bennis finally has it all - a non-comatose mother, an uber-hot (albeit anachronistic) boyfriend named Finn, and a new-found mission to protect the timeline from those who would skew it for their own gain. But when she leans over one day to smooch said boyfriend, her lips meet those of her arch-nemesis Wyck instead. The timeline has been altered, and Bree is caught in the crosshairs. But when she goes back to repair the damage, she is stopped by none other than her Future Self, who delivers an urgent message: Someone is kidnapping Shifters from the distant past. It's up to Bree to stop them. But first, she has to figure out who... and why. 

Book Review: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (5/5)

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird #1)

Author:  Claudia Gray

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 368

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Time Travel, Romance, Science Fiction

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Blurb:

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

I’m taking the risk of sounding like a ditzy fangirl when I say this, but this book is FANTASTIC. Easily one of the best books of 2014. It had everything: the adventure, the suspense, the romance. And the fact that it has the whole dimension traveling aspect definitely makes it seem better in my eyes.

To begin with, let me first describe the protagonist, Marguerite Caine. She’s one of the most strong-willed, obstinate, talented protagonists I’ve read about. Being born in a family of science geniuses left Marguerite the odd one out when she wanted to pursue arts. She was the only person in this book who had a regular person’s point of view. This was exceedingly helpful in describing the book, as I’ll describe later. Another thing I liked about Marguerite is her character. She’s a kind, nice girl who’s a touch shy. Sure, she sounds like someone who will stand back meekly, but read the book and you’ll figure out how passionate she can get over what she feels strongly about.

Now onto the adventure part of the book. As stated in the Goodreads Blurb, Marguerite has gone back in time to avenge her father. She, along with her friend, Theo, journey back hoping to kill Paul. The best thing I liked about the adventures was that the action was nonstop. The adventures that Marguerite, Theo and Paul go on are back to back to back. There wasn’t an overly large pause where I was bored and had to flip the pages to remain engaged in the book. No, everything was smooth and seamless.

Another thing I really liked about this book was the world building. And I know. It comes to my attention that for a time-travel (or in this case dimension-travel) book to be good the author has to be exemplary at world building. But I still can’t stress enough how phenomenal the world building in this book was. The main reason I liked the multiple dimensions, which was described through the creative words used to describe the world, was because of the details provided: Marguerite is as much of an outsider to these strange new dimensions as we, the readers, are. Because of this (as well as Marguerite’s artistic eye) not a single detail flies by unnoticed and readers will be able to truly appreciate it.

I also liked the suspense in this book. In the beginning of the book, the reader (as well as Marguerite) is lead to believe that Paul is the murderer. But as the book progresses, both parties realize that Paul is not the murderer. Indeed, something much more horrible and atrocious is afoot. And this is where the suspense comes in. Ms. Gray is able to skilfully weave a tale where the reader is left guessing to the very end. No one is sure who’s killed the father, but as the book continues there are quite a few moments when it feels like the mystery is about to end. These delicate moments of intrigue just made the book so much better. These were the pages that I paid the most attention to, the pages that were the most crucial.

And then there was the romance plot. If you’ve been reading lately, you most probably have noticed that love triangles are EVERYWHERE. At first, I didn’t have a problem with it. But as more and more love triangles started to pop up in books read, I got quite fed up. When I figured out that this book had a love triangle, I actually debated whether or not to read. I’m really glad, though, that I didn’t let the love triangle bit stop me, because this love triangle is one of the best I’ve ever read about. It is truly brilliant.

Now, the thing in this book that I loved the most in the book would be the Firebird. When I say Firebird, I mean the actual value of the Firebird, as in, how important it is in the book and how deeply complex it is. First of all, Ms. Gray does a great job describing the Firebird. She truly makes it sound like a piece of technology that is evolved and is immensely important to the future of the human race. But beyond that, I just liked reading about the Firebird. All those tiny, seemingly unimportant things the Firebird could do were fascinating. All the parts of the book that seemed slightly geeky with all the technology and physics – those were some of the moments that caught my attention – the moments of the book that were quite intriguing.

I have no complaints with this book. None. Not one. Great adventure, suspense, and romance. I definitely recommend this to anybody who likes young adult, romance, time travel, science fiction, or suspenseful books. Keep an eye out for the next book in this series which is to release sometime towards the end of the year (late 2015).

Book Review: Loop by Karen Akins

Title: Loop (Loop #1)

Author: Karen Akins

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Pages: 336

Genre: Science Fiction, Time Travel, Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5

Goodreads Blurb:

At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels…at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn’t go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn’t think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her.

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tagalong uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future. 

First off, wow. This book was great. To begin with, the pros of the book. 1, it was incredibly interesting. Just after reading the Goodreads Blurb. And even though I know that my love of time travel influenced this feeling, I would still recommend this book to people who don’t like time travel. It was that good.

One thing that I really liked about the book was how Bree brought Finn back with her (or more accurately, brought him forward, if that makes sense) to the 23^rd century. I know it says she does this in the blurb, but I was still surprised. It was so different from what usually happens in other time travel books (the heroine has to stay back in the past, fix the problem, and then leaves). I was flabbergasted by this twist. But even when you put that aside, when Bree brought Finn forward, watching how amazed he was by the future was hilarious and insightful. When looking through just Bree’s point of view all the high tech gadgets you can’t get a clear insight of how cool they are because she’s used to all of it. But toss in Finn’s questions – some hilarious, some serious – and the reader is provided insight from a person who is a just a stranger to the futuristic world as the reader is. This definitely allowed me to truly appreciate the world that Karen Akins created.

This leads me to the second thing I really liked about this book: how great the world-building was. Everything’s changed, as one might expect buy jumping 200 years into the future. Just figuring out about all the cool techy gadgets and how they worked was mind-blowing. Like the grappling hook that Bree and Finn used– it seems like something totally boring, but the science has evolved to a point that once you read the book it seems so amazing. And this is just one of the neat devices that are used/described. Ms. Akins definitely did a fantastic job of building a new, cool world. And this may sound cheesy, but I definitely hope our future gadgets will match the ones described in the book.

Secondly, the plot. The adventures that Bree and Finn go on – heart stopping. The whole book was filled to the brim with action and adventure. How could it not be? The two of them have to figure out who’s the person who has been pulling the strings, and why. This one person who hurt Bree’s mom, who has every bit of information laid out at their feet, the person who is willing to kill to stop Bree from piecing it altogether – this person will stop at nothing. One thing about the plot that I had a problem with was the speed. Though this only happen a few times there were moments in the book where it was too rushed and the information was being thrown at the reader. Not only was this annoying, but it was extremely inconvenient. I had to go back and reread sections of the book to pick up on information that I hadn’t noticed at first.

A third thing I liked about the book were the emotions. Not the romance plot, I’ll discuss that later, but just the emotions that Bree felt as she was trying to figure out what her future self had to do with this entire mystery. And god, the moments when only Future Bree knew what was going on – the frustration that both Bree and I were feeling. Like, wow. Ms. Akins was playing with my emotions. Everything I felt was so sharp and so real. There were barely any moments when I had to guess at what Bree was feeling – her emotions were my emotions. There’s no simpler way to state it.

Now to the downsides of the book. One thing that I didn’t really like was the romance plot. The romance throughout the beginning and middle of the book was good. There were touching scenes and Bree was falling in love with Finn. It was sweet. But towards the end of the book where the romance plot reaches its climax, Ms. Alkins drops the ball and the romance is practically gone. It was incredibly disappointing. The whole book was extraordinary. It was fantastic, all except for the one part of the romance plot that matters the most – when Bree and Finn discuss how they feel. The romance plot was building up throughout the book – it was really good before the ending - and then it fell flat on its face. That was just a terrible, terrible thing to witness in such a good book. The other problem I had with this book also had to do with the ending. Basically as Ms. Akins wraps up the book her writing was being incredibly rushed. Some of what she said didn’t make sense or didn’t seem relevant – it was like a last minute scramble. She hadn’t drawn out the ending and hadn’t put in the details that were critical to explain how Bree and Finn figured out who was the culprit then the ending.

Basic things to keep in mind: this book is phenomenal in the beginning and middle. Once you get to the ending, the book basically dies. I had really high hopes for “Loop” and the conclusion just didn’t meet them. But besides the sad conclusion, the rest of the book was really good. I definitely recommend it to people who love time-travel or young adult. Keep an eye out for the next book in the series “Twist” which releases March 31^st, 2015.

Book Review: Alienated by Melissa Landers

Title: Alienated

Author: Melissa Landers

Publisher: Disney Book Group

Pages: 352

Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Young Adult

Rating: 4.5/5

Goodreads Blurb:

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them. 

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class. 

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

‘Alienated’ was a pretty interesting book. It’s a fun ad easy read. It isn’t overly complex to the point where you have to really think about what the author is saying, but it isn’t a light, mindless beach-read.

So let’s start off with all the things I really enjoyed about this book.

First, is the plot. As stated in the Goodreads Blurb, this book takes place in a regular town with a regular high school. And considering the fact that most new YA books all take place in some far off world, reading a book that is centered in a high school is definitely a plus side. Another fresh thing about ‘Alienated’ is the fact that this book isn’t about Cara and Aelyx having to go and fight a bunch of battles in some far off universe. Instead, the plot is mainly focused on the two protagonists of this book getting to really know each other, and in the end falling in love. But that doesn’t mean that this book is all sappy or that it lacks some mysteries. There are quite a few secrets between the two characters. Secrets that are more important than just the two of them: secrets that are important enough to destroy their worlds.

The second thing I really liked about this book was the romance plot. One thing I found quite exceptional about this was how it progressed. It wasn’t too fast and it wasn’t too slow; instead Ms. Landers includes a multitude of details about how Cara and Aelyx fall in love that were exceedingly fun to read and helped build up to the climax (of the romance plot), which was fantastic. I won’t say what happened but I will say this: it more than a little swoon-worthy. But the thing I liked the most about the romance plot was how Cara and Aelyx interacted with each other. In the beginning of the book both characters are more than a bit snooty, but slowly they start to warm up to  each other. In addition, considering that both characters were quick-witted and their banter was fun and entertaining really boosted the romance plot, and book, in my eyes.

Now on to the character analysis of Cara Sweeney, the heroine. She was fantastic. I found it extremely easy to relate to her. This may be for a multitude of reasons, two being that we both debate and we both blog. But besides that, Cara’s a nice, kind hard-working girl who isn’t afraid to play a little dirty. As soon as she accepts the opportunity to have Aelyx come over, she’s bombarded with insults from her own friends. Even the people she thought loved her are quick to turn. The fact that she’s willing to stick with what she believes in truly shows how determined she is.

And then there were the cons. Or really, con, since I had only one problem with this book. ‘Alienated’ was going along perfectly until the conclusion. Up till that point, Ms. Landers was going at a nice pace and was putting in a nice amount of details. For one, the pace at which the conclusion went was a bit too fast for my liking. Because of this, the ending was abrupt and left a lot of questions that the second book will have to answer. Ms. Landers could have definitely slowed down and fleshed out a few more details about the conclusion.

But in the end, ‘Alienated’ was a very satisfying book, and one of the best that released in 2014. It had a fantastic plot, a great romance and very interesting characters. I definitely recommend this book to people who like romances, young adult books or sci-fi. Keep an eye out for the next book in this series ‘Invaded’ which is releasing February 3^rd, 2015.

Book Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars
Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Pages: 374
Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, Adventure, Young Adult
Rating: 4/5
Source: Netgalley

Lilac LaRoux has never learned what it truly means to work. Why should she? After all, she is the daughter of the richest man in the galaxy. Everybody knows her name. She’s a princess; one of a kind. And then, there was Tarver Merendsen. He was worth nothing, until he became a famous war hero. But even as popular as he has become, he knows that girls like Lilac are not worth the trouble. However, everything changes when the luxurious spaceship Lilac and Tarver are on is pulled off its course and crashes into the nearby planet. And the only two survivors are Lilac and Tarver.  

Now the two must band together to go seek help, and venture across the land that separates them from safety. But when their last chance of rescue is destroyed, Lilac and Tarver begin to realize that staying on this planet may not be a bad thing after all. Yet, there is something eerie about their new world. Voices, mirages, hallucinations – there is life here, and it’s haunting the two of them. The two survivors might find a way out, but the price of escaping might be too high to risk.

Out of Lilac and Tarver, I have to say that Tarver is my favorite character. Lilac is haughty, spoilt and selfish. Yet somewhere deep insider her, there is a girl who wants to break free of the chains her father has set around her, and it is amazing reading about her struggle to overcome these boundaries . On the other hand, Tarver is kind, calm and collected. Yet through his quiet demeanor, he also does not agree with Lilac’s father, the one who is controlling everything. But besides the first impressions, it is  easier to connect with Tarver than Lilac. Throughout the book, Lilac’s emotions aren’t clearly portrayed and it is hard to see at times what she is thinking. I didn’t have that problem at all with Tarver. Throughout the book his emotions are easy to connect with. And even beyond that, it’s easier to connect with his lifestyle than Lilac’s. He lives a more practical life, while she could have the whole universe if she so desired.

This is a pretty good book. It is unique, has a great plot and has fantastic characters. This story is exceptional because of how smoothly the genres change in the middle of the plot. In the beginning this book seems like an outer space-love fantasy, but towards the middle, it becomes a, haunting sci-fi-romance. I loved how they were stuck on this new planet that nobody had explored. Sure, the fact that only Lilac and Tarver survived was kind of clichéd. But, it was nifty how the whole plot tied together as the mystery of the planet was solved.

One thing I liked about this book was the adventurous plot it had. The mysterious life forms are my favorite part of the book. The details that describe the strange happenings are mesmerizing and as the book progresses that’s the main thing that I’m thinking about. And when you take into account how Lilac and Tarver also have to escape the mysterious forces, this book was full of suspense that had me hooked. Throughout the book, I was anxious to figure out what was going to happen. There are so many possibilities, but in the end, only one can actually occur.

The one thing I didn’t like about this book was the romance plot. In the beginning it was good; you can see the feelings they have for each other. But towards the end in the book the romance plot takes over the whole story. As the book progressed the time spent discussing how Lilac and Tarver would reach their goal decreased, and was just replaced with the feelings the two have for each other. It’s okay to have some romance, but there’s a line which the author crosses, between having a good amount of romance and having so much romance that it takes over the whole book.

For the most part, ‘These Broken Stars’ was an above average read. It had a delightful design and simply splendid characters. This book is probably for people ages 12/13+ mainly because of the death, violence and romance that happens throughout the story. If you like science fiction or love stories, this is a book you will definitely want to try. Don’t miss the second book in this series, ‘This Shattered World’ coming out later this year.

Book Review: Entangled by Amy Rose Capetta

Title: Entangled

Author: Amy Rose Capetta

Publisher: Houghton Miffin Harcourt Books for Young Readers

Pages: 336

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Romance

Rating: 3/5

Source: Netgalley

Seventeen-year-old Cade has been alone for years. Aliens had invaded her planet long ago, changing everything. Now she lives apart from the other humans and aliens, having nothing to do with them for her own safety. The only thing she holds true to her heart is her cherry red guitar. But her thoughts of life change when she realizes that she isn’t as alone as she thought. Now hunting for the truth that was hidden from her for her whole life, Cade has no choice but to venture to other planets in search of one person: Xan, a boy from her past, whom she loves.

I enjoyed reading about Cade. She’s interesting, stubborn and determined. With her eye on the prize she’ll stop at nothing to succeed, which is one of the reasons I like her so much. But while Cade is a great heroine, at times I felt that she wasn’t described as much as I really wanted; it was hard to see clearly into her thoughts, which created a barrier in between the two of us.

This was definitely an interesting book. First of all, the futuristic theme of the book, extra terrestrial beings living together, was really fun and engaging to read about. There were a lot of creative details that described how Cade lived her life, which made it easy to compare her life to mine.

But, while the details were great to read about in some parts, in others it just made the book drag. Going to extremes was the biggest problem in the book; ‘Entangled’ is chock-filled with intricate ideas – which I won’t list here - but Capetta emphasizes each one to the point where the main plot is lost beneath a sea of details.

Now, the romance plot between Cade and Xan was probably the worst part of the book. In the beginning I didn’t think there was going to be any romance in this book, but then Xan’s character was introduced and that idea died. As the book progressed, the romance was built up to its height; it was good. It wasn’t embellished to the point that I was sick of it, yet it wasn’t completely dropped. I could definitely see how anxious Cade was to finally meet Xan and how he felt about her. And as the book proceeds, the tension between the two of them built to the point where I was bouncing up and down waiting for them to finally meet.

But somewhere over the second half of the book, the feelings between Cade and Xan faded – the romance was practically dropped. You could still see how Cade felt for Xan and vice versa, but in the end it was as if Cade’s feelings were shut off and instead there was this mindless needing. Just lust, no love. At that point it was hard to see what Cade was really thinking.

Essentially, it was as if a wall was put between the reader and Cade. And this isn’t for just the romance. Throughout the last quarter of the book, Cade was being described less and less, and it was as if she had no more heart-felt feelings.

Overall, this is a pretty interesting, but average book, mainly because of how Cade wasn’t described as much as I would have liked and the romance plot. If you like science-fiction or romance, this is a book you’ll want to read.

Book Review: All Our Yesterdays

Title: All Our Yesterdays

Author: Cristin Terrill

Publisher: Hyperion

Pages: 368

Source: Netgalley/Publisher ARC

Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Adventure, Action, Time Travelling, Young Adult

Rating: 4.5/5

The world was changed forever, 4 years ago.

Em and Finn, two teenage time travellers, have been held captive in a secret military base for the past 4 months. The only thing keeping them alive is a piece of information their captor, a deranged scientist, desperately needs, a piece of information only these two teenagers know. But everything changes when Em finds a note hidden in her cell. The note says:

“You have to kill him,”

There is no doubt that “him” is their captor, who has created the time machine that has torn the world apart. And Em has to do what the note says. Em and Finn now have a chance to change the terrible world they are living in. Now she and Finn will have to go back in time to the moment when the world’s fate was sealed. Otherwise she will have failed, like the others who were sent back in time before her.

James Shaw, the brother of a famous politician, has always been, well, a tad bit eccentric. A genius in academics, this teen is capable of many things that can change the world. But just when things were going well, James’s life is irreparably damaged when his brother is shot. James isn’t who he was before. He’s changed, and no one knows how to help him. His brother wasn’t the only one who was being hunted, though. Someone is trying to kill James, and his friend Marina will do anything to protect him. She just doesn’t expect that her attackers will reveal a secret that could change the world – a few years too early.

Even though James wasn’t the character who was explained the most, he is my favorite character in this book. After suffering through the traumatizing death of his brother, James has changed and not in a good way. This science prodigy will stop at nothing to find a way to get his brother back, even if it includes flirting with death. But the reason I liked him so much is because his one goal was to make the world a better place. Throughout the whole book, his heart was in the right place, even though some of his actions might speak against that.

This book is just, wow. It is definitely one of my favorite books I have read this year. So to start off with, this isn’t a book I would typically read. I mean, yeah its science fiction, but I’m not always too excited about time traveling. It’s just been done way too many times – in books and movies. But wow, I definitely don’t feel that way about this book. Told from Marina’s and Em’s perspectives, this book is amazing, has lots of action, and is beautifully constructed.

My favorite part – to my surprise – of this book would be the time travelling. And I know I’ve already said this, but WOW. ‘All Our Yesterdays’ definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. The whole time travelling explanation – just amazing. It was written in a captivating way, that I could literally just read over and over again. It made perfect sense, but still was a little confusing. And yes, the explanation I gave is also a bit crazy/confusing, but the time travelling and the theory of the world were just so interesting to read about. That itself made reading this book worth it.

But on the other end of the spectrum, this book did have a couple of faults, one of them being the pace of the book. At times I just felt that some events could go by a lot faster, while at others I felt that there should be more of an explanation. Another thing I didn’t like about this book was how at times the adventure, action and suspense could have been built up a bit more. Sometimes, I knew that what was going on in the book was blood chillingly dangerous, but it didn’t always seem that way when I read it. But otherwise this book is absolutely perfect.

‘All Our Yesterdays’ by Cristin Terrill is a must read. Full of romance, adventure, action and time travelling, this book is definitely one you don’t want to miss if you love reading sci-fi books. Join Em, Marina and the rest of their friends on an adventure that will change the future – that is, if they succeed. Other books in this series includes the sequel, yet unnamed, releasing 2014.