July Multiple Books Review: 4. Gravity (The Taking #1) by Melissa West

4. Gravity (The Taking #1)

Author: Melissa West

Published: December 18th 2012

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pages: 284 pages

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Synopsis:

In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

Deskynowsky's Review:

Haha.. So I started reading this on a very peaceful Sunday morning and finished reading it in the afternoon. Well, it is pretty good and addictive ;)

To generally describe pretty much a mixture of Legend and Cinder (without retelling the classic tale and no cyborgs, just alien, pretty good looking alien in my wildest imagination)..

I have a feeling that a fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout will enjoy this series so much.. Tho I haven't really read any of her book yet (but I did read few chapters of Obsidian, sadly I didn't really continue reading it, maybe later.)

Soooo I like the characters! The heroine is a very strong individual (physically and emotionally), other characters are also very interesting and well developed..

And the story line is basically like other ordinary love ya dystopian-sci fi story from two different sides with fangirling dramas and really good world building and story plot that have successfully made me addicted and could not put the book down! No pause here..

So in summary, I enjoyed this book so much!

July Multiple Books Reviews: 1. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Oh Wow, I think I have to say that July has been a great reading month for me. I read 10 books in total.. I am so excited..

Since it's been quite some time I haven't posted any book reviews, guess this is the time to catch up the absence don't U think? :)

1. The 5th Wave

Author: Rick Yancey
Published: May 7th 2013
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 457 pages
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Synopsis:

The Passage meets The Hunger Games in a gripping new series from Carnegie-shortlisted Rick Yancey. After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave. On a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, until Cassie meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be her only hope for rescuing her brother and even saving herself. Now she must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. Cassie Sullivan gets up.

Deskynowsky's Review:

Everyone has been raving about this book... So am I.. I was sooooo curious, because I really like a good YA SciFi with post-apocalyptic setting..

This book is definitely one of my fave books of year 2013! I am really impressed and satisfied with this amazing YA book!

Somehow the story of this book (for me) kinda reminded me of The Passage by Justin Cronin and The Host by Stephanie Meyer (and fyi, I love those two books). The idea of this book is in the line with the idea of The Host, and the post-apocalyptic world setting of the story is very much as creepy as The Passage.

I like all characters in this book, very well characterized and built with a devastating background-story which shaped their development through out the story. And as for the story line, this one is the most main factor that made me enjoyed and love reading this book. Like I have mentioned earlier, this book is for me like the combination of The Host and The Passage, but less complexed and complicated than the Passage, and more action than The Host. So, how could I not like this book?! xp

So I think, most people who like The Host (and/or The Passage) will like (and favorite) this book. So read it! :D

Book Review: The Passage (The Passage #1) by Justin Cronin

Buy The Passage by Justin Cronin? click here :)

SPOILERS FREE!

Year Published: 2011
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages: 784
Rating: 

In case, you don't know.. I read this book because of Joseph Morgan.. If you guys don't know him, google him.. It's been a long time since I really like an actor and considering myself as a fan. haha.. I like many actors and actresses, but never really thought myself as a fan.. but this time, I make an exception ;)

4.5 stars! - SPOILER FREE!

This is one of those books that could catch me off my guard.. I just can't seem to formulate coherent thoughts of what I felt after finishing this book. It was just a mix of anxieties.

It took me a while to finish this book, other than the monstrosity of how thick this book is, there is also a busy life to live.. work and everything, mostly the limited time.. but what a journey and experience reading this book.

I don't think people who can not bear a really slow and long development of a story-line can enjoy this book. But if you are patient enough and up for the long, intricate, and complexed details of a story, this book probably is for you. Because there were so much of it. I think it was from the start till well most of the stories anw.. xp There were actions here and there, but mostly the story was about a journey.. a very long one and a-very-not-smooth one. There were just so many things happened, and most of them were unexpected. Surprises and puzzles of why things happened the way it was happening were kinda overwhelming.

Okay so let's talk about the book.

This book is a sci-fi/post-apocalyptic/dystopian/adult fiction.

So basically, this was a story about a journey of the-descended-survivors in the post-apocalyptic world.. The world in the state of apocalypse because of things human-made during the Time Before. Humans created through experiment monsters (or twelve of them) that were becoming disaster when all of them broke free from their containment-facility. And their escape has created pandemic that crossing all over the states (in the USA) and created more monsters or virals. And for sure, it put down the history of human. These monsters were like vampires. So it was really interesting to read. Instead of as supernatural/paranormal creatures, vampires in this book were human-worst-made-creation. and speaking about the Twelve, there were more about them than what it seemed. They were like the originals (hah, I can't think straight when I said that.. ) and the kings of the virals (Volturi to the Twilight world) xp

The story line. I can divide the book into two parts. First, the pre-apocalyptic story. It was the intro story of how these things happened. In this book, they called it "The Time Before". and the second part, the post-apocalyptic one, where the journey and everything began. When people were starting to find answers and actually do something about it. At this point, it was like I was watching "The Walking Dead" tv series. and I love TWD, so I really enjoyed the process of the reading and the development of the story. The story was detailed and complexed. But it was amazing to see how the story developed and gave so many surprises. I like how the world setting and everything were able to shape the story itself. It was like the story was alive and forced everyone to live in such a state. Although, in the Time Before, we learned that everything happened because of humans.

It told the story from the 3rd person perspective of multi-characters in the book.. It was confusing at first, especially at the middle of the book or at the time when the story was set in the colony. There were quite many characters in the book, so sometime it was difficult to keep track on who was who.. haha.. but I got the hang of it after some pages (thou sometimes I had to get back to previous chapter to read about which characters was who). Other than the main casts (whether it was in pre- or post- apocalyptic world) were really amazing characters. I could actually feel their personal and emotional growth. So that was one of the great things about the book.

As many good story went on, it has a crazy ending. And it was told in the way that made me stunned. Okay, crazy! CRAZY!

oh and one more thing, it was like the sense of time in this book stopped. and somehow it also influenced the story (well, that was how I felt ;) )

And am actually pretty excited to read the sequel (thou I don't know when will I read it.. ) xp

Alright then... up to the next read.. :)

Book Review: Under The Never Sky (Under The Never Sky #1) by Veronica Rossi

Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Year Published: 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 376
Rating: 

Spoilers Free!

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered.

This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent energy storms will. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must come together to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Okay.. I am actually conflicted whether on giving this book 3 or 4 stars.. this time there is no in between..

I honestly enjoyed this book. I really like the world setting and development. I think it was unique and different. There were elements combination of sci-fi-dystopian and primitive-fantasy. It was like there was two worlds in the story. Both were very different, but related. And they were on earth. One lived in the security of isolated dome, and the other one lived constantly in danger of deadly storm (and other weird things) outside the dome. Both were also different in the sense of how they rule their own world.

Then the story plot and character development. I really like the idea of the story plot, but maybe there were quite many different things going on, sometimes I just had "what what what just happened?!" reactions. Still I adore the plot thou, think it was different and refreshing. And as for the characters, I love how complex they could be. But again there were quite many different things going on in these characters as well that also gave me "what what what?! She/He is what?!" reactions.

and here was my problem also why it can be 3 stars.. I pretty much enjoyed the first 280-ish pages and the last 50 pages. And pages between the first 280 pages to the last 50 pages were kinda let me down a bit. Somewhere along where they were on the run from the cannibal tribe and the saccharine-sweet-romance that was happening, there were slightly.....off a bit moments? well I don't know, I just felt that way.. but hey at least the last 50 pages towards the end, the story was kinda picking up again and it even surprised me.

Why it can be 4 stars.. the world setting and well.. mainly because I love the unexpected surprises that this book gave me. Quite many things, that I did not see them coming (nor even think).. and the ending, got to love that one.. Pretty good cliffhanger.. And I could not help to find myself wanting to read the sequel. So it got to be good ;)

yup, that's pretty much summed up everything ;D

Book Review (SPOILERS FREE!): Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles Series #1)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

SPOILERS FREE!

Year Published: 2012
Publisher: Puffin
Pages: 390
Rating: 

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizenwith a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

me after reading Cinder:

I can't properly function right now............. I just need to read the sequel at this second!....... (T^T)

Btw..... it's.....

SOLID FIVE GOLD STARS! (and maybe more.........)!

I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK! This book has exceeded my expectation!

At first, I was kinda reluctant to read this book.. It was just because it's a retelling story of Cinderella with Cyborgs in it.. and it did not sound appealing to me.. and oh dear God, how happy I am to be proven soooo wrong........ I thank everyone who kept forcing me to read this book.. I need to have a group hug..

This book goes easily directly to my all time fave books! This book is so amazing! ultra-awesome! It's Dystopian! It's Post-apocalyptic! It's Sci-Fi!

I love the story-line! Probably one of the best story-lines I ever read.. It has the right pace, right amount of action, mysteries, conspiracies, and romance, and importantly, great story development. What I like the most from Cinder was that although you can guess a certain thing, but it still can surprise and shock you, thanks to the great timing of revealing that thing..

One other thing that I really love is its originality. Despite of being a retelling book of Cinderella story, it still owned its story-line. It's original and unique. Totally no-where near Cinderella story.. xp

The characters......................... AMAZING Characterization of these awesome fictional characters, whether they are the antagonists or the protagonists.. You just can not help to get drawn with so much feelings to these characters.. Love how Marissa wrote these characters <3 I love Cinder and Kai chemistry, I just love these two characters a lot.. then there is also Dr. Erland, not so much of him, but he is one interesting character.. then Queen Levana, Adri, and Pearl, I hate these three characters with all my being.. haha..

I wonder what had Marissa Meyer been thinking when she wrote this book, how she got the idea.. Because I am still mesmerized by the world setting of this book.. and the story line... and Thank God, I already pre-ordered Scarlett, the sequel of Cinder.. Can't wait to read it.. The ending of this book was quite a cliffhanger!

If you haven't read this book, I strongly urge you to go to a bookstore or open any of book-shopping online website and get this book! It's really a great read! <3