Early Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen
Delirium Book #2
ISBN:  006197806X
ISBN13: 9780061978067
Genre: Young Adult/ Dystopian
Review Copy Source: Publisher

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame. 

PANDEMONIUM continues immediately after the ending of DELIRIUM. Lena is running away from the border after seeing her love Alex killed. She is half dead herself before she is found by a group of Invalids in the wild.

The first quarter of the book was a bit depressing as Lena mourns and lets herself sorta waste away. She finally kicks herself into gear and gets back to her strong self. She of course is strongly against the cure and is now fighting on the side of the Invalids. The story flowed well. It jumps back and forth between Lena's time in the wild in the past and the present day events she is currently going through. I liked all the explanations of the wild and how everything worked around "camp". I enjoyed most of the new characters. The newest love interest kinda annoyed me. I know that Lena needs to move on with her life but I had a hard time seeing the romantic connection between her and Julian. They went through some tough things together but they didn't click with me. If she had to have a new love interest at all I would have liked to see her with someone from the wild. That is the only thing I didn't like about the story.

I sorta saw the ending coming but still enjoyed it all the same, it will definitely shake things up. Everything was just going too good for something major not to happen. It is a bit of a cliffhanger though so be prepared to be left with your mouth open and mind racing. REQUIEM will be out in 2013.

I gave it 4/5 stars 

Winner: Unbroken by Rachel Caine

Thank you to everyone who entered!!

Prize: Print copy of Unbroken

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New Releases: 2/12-2/18

Tues Feb 14

Arcadia Awakens (Arkadien, #1)by Kai Meyer

Bewitching by Alex Flinn

The Nightmare Garden (Iron Codex, #2) by Caitlin Kittredge

Happy Reading!!!

Early Review: Partials by Dan Wells

Partials
Author:Dan Wells
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen
Partials Book #1
ISBN:   0062071041
ISBN13: 9780062071040
Genre: Dystopian
Review Copy Source: Publisher

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to 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 threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into 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 discover 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 pulse-pounding 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.

The virus that killed off  most of the human race has kept the population at a stand still since the babies that are born die within days due to the virus that is in the air. Kira is working in the hospital helping with research to keep the babies that day within days alive. Kira refuses to watch another baby die and begins the journey to find a cure which leads to some secrets she never would have guessed would be revealed.

Kira was easy to like. She was strong and brave when most people would have listened to their friends and given up. I loved Samm, I enjoyed watching Kara getting to know what a Partial really is instead of what the humans at the top told her they were. The other characters were enjoyable. Wells did a good job with giving back story on the virus and events that lead to the world that the humans now live in. I cant really say more about the story without giving away spoilers but I can say the twist towards the end was fantastic and I really did not see it coming.

Ive been on a huge Dystopian kick lately and I'm so glad I got a chance to read PARTIALS early. The only downside to that is that I have to wait even long for book 2 to come out. PARTIALS had a fantastic world, built around an interesting and unique story with great characters. Kira's story continues in FAILSAFE planned to release in 2013.

I gave it 4/5 stars

 

Week in Review: Feb 5-11

Books Ive Bought/received

*Fair Game by Patricia Briggs- From Publisher

*Croak by Gina Damico-eARC- Teen Book Scene/Netgalley

*The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda-eARC- Publisher

*Operative by Kate Kaynak-Arc- Publisher

* Fever by Lauren DeStefano- Arc- Swap 

* Fated by Benedict Jacka- Publisher


* Black Howl by Christina Henry- Publisher


Books I read

Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton
Deceived by Stephanie Nelson
Torn by Amanda Hocking
Ascend by Amanda Hocking
Operative by Kate Kaynak
Fever by Lauren DeStefano
Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Reviews posted


Witchful Thinking by H.P. Mallory
By A Thread by Jennifer Estep
Wrong Side of Dead by Kelly Meding
Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

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* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?


*A promotional post and giveaway went up Monday for Rachel Caines newest Unbroken.

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*If you see something on my books Ive read list that you are dying to know about let me know I'm back logged on reviews and can move it up on the list if I know people are wanting one.

* I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.

Review: Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

Wings of the Wicked
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Publisher: Katharine Tegen books
Angelfire Book #2
ISBN:   0062002368
ISBN13: 9780062002365
Genre: Young Adult

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

Ellie wants nothing more then to have a normal life outside of her Preliator duties. She wants to have a relationship with her the man she loves but will keeps pushing her away. More of her memories come back until her mind is completely free and she remembers everything of her past human lives. The demonic players are more determined then ever to get their hands on her making being normal harder and harder as the days go on.

I enjoyed ANGELFIRE but was not overly into it. I have to say the WINGS OF THE WICKED was much easier to get into. There is plenty of drama and danger to keep you turning the pages. The frustration of Will and Ellie's non relationship keeps you determined to see them move on in their relationship already. We get to meet a few more allies in their war against the evil and Caden proves to be more then meets the eye. I really enjoyed the characters and the way they fit into the story. The plot continued to be unique and interesting and the pace had a nice flow to it. I really like the world that Courtney has built for her story and will continue reading her future books in this series.

I gave it 4/5 stars
 

Review: Wrong Side of Dead by Kelly Meding

Wrong Side of Dead
Author: Kelly Meding
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Publisher: Bantam
Dreg City Book #4
ISBN:   0345525795
ISBN13: 9780345525796
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Monster hunter Evangeline Stone woke up on the wrong side of dead this morning—and now there’s hell to pay.

Barely recovered from her extended torture at the hands of mad scientist Walter Thackery, Evy can use a break. What she gets instead is a war, as the battered Triads that keep Dreg City safe find themselves under attack by half-Blood vampires who have somehow retained their reason, making them twice as lethal. Worse, the Halfies are joined by a breed of were-creature long believed extinct—back and more dangerous than ever. Meanwhile, Evy’s attempts at reconciliation with the man she loves take a hit after Wyatt is viciously assaulted—an attack traced to Thackery, who has not given up his quest to exterminate all vampires . . . even if he has to destroy Dreg City to do it. With Wyatt’s time running out, another threat emerges from the shadows and a staggering betrayal shatters the fragile alliance between the Triads, vampires, and shapeshifters, turning Evy’s world upside down forever.

WRONG SIDE OF DEAD ended up being my favorite Dreg City book yet. Its been a few months since the events of book 3 ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD. The story jumps a bit between the past (couple months ago) and the present day. There were a few points that that got a bit annoying but only because something good or suspenseful was going on and I was impatient to find out what would happen next.

I couldn't imagine a better fit in the series then Evy and Wyatt. They have been through so many ups and downs that you would think they could survive anything at this point but Evy's latest kidnapping really did a number on both of them and they are on a break when WRONG SIDE OF DEAD starts. We get taken through a lot of growing, soul searching and realizations. It was very easy to imagine being in the story with them. Kelly did a fantastic job conveying feelings and situations. All of the characters in the Dreg City Series are very strongly portrayed. I can picture the way they look and the way they act when they are described. There wasn't as much action as in previous books but the emotion was high and it still left me flipping the pages to find out what would happen next.

If you are new to the series you really should start with book 1, Evy has been through A LOT. She has been tortured, she has died, she has come back to life in a new body, she has been tortured again. There is way to much back story that you would miss if you jumped in at this point and its worth starting at the beginning. I don't think this is the last book in the series but if it ended up being the last I would be happy with where it ended. This is a great darker urban fantasy series to add to your book shelf.

I gave it 4/5 stars