artsy musings of a bibliophile

fantasy

Review: Vicious by V. E. Schwab

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Vicious by V. E. Schwab
adult fantasy science fiction published by Tor on 24 September 2013

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers.
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

THE RATING


THE REVIEW

What one can expect from a story that begins in a cemetery is not much. It is a place where guilt begs to be buried right along with a body. But this story does not begin in a cemetery because it is no ordinary story. Vicious is something else. From the cover where Victor stands for the last act in the show of his own making to the last page when the curtain is finally, finally drawn.
Yet, certainly, nothing good can come out of Victor Vale making his way through the Merit Cemetery. But then it isn’t about good; it was never about good. Vicious is a battle between bad and worse akin to the quote placed at the beginning of the book; before it all even begins.
Victor Vale and Eli Ever are heroes in their own stories. Perhaps each of us are. But when their stories are blended together, it turns them into villains fighting to end each other. To triumph. To come out as a better villain. ‘One devil to lure another.’
Victor Vale is a keen judge of character; able to distinguish the tiniest deviation. It is due to this keenness that Victor is fascinated by Eli. Eli, who is so good at hiding what Victor recognizes as easily as one does his own reflection. Eli, who is so good at masking his arrogance into charming confidence, his brilliance into intelligence and his sharpness into mere curiosity. Victor wants to know what goes on in Eli’s mind more than he wants to efface the books written by distinguished psychologists, the Vales.
Every misstep brings Eli’s terrible secrets closer to the surface and he is aware that Victor sees that surface more clearly than anyone ever has. But more than that, Eli needs an audience for his brilliance and Victor is willing to deliver. Where Victor brings out the darkness in Eli to feed his own curiosity, Eli makes Victor feel invisible. Not because Victor is always a step behind Eli, but because that makes Victor the first loser.
From then on, it is intriguing to see Eli winning at the game that Victor invented, the goal of which is to leave a mark. They were both damaged from the beginning but that is what made them invincible, intensified their damage, removed their fears and turned them into vicious men because ‘there are no good men in this game.’

The game that ends until only the winner is left standing.

THE QUOTES

‘By the time the first bell rang, signalling the end of Victor’s art elective, he’d turned his parents’ lectures on how to start the day into: 

Be lost. Give up. Give In. in the end It would be better to surrender before you begin. be lost. Be lost And then you will not care if you are ever found. 

He’d had to strike entire paragraphs to make the sentence perfect after he accidentally marked out ever and had to go on until he found another instance of the word. But it was worth it. The pages of black that stretched between if you are and ever and found gave the words just the right sense of abandonment.’

‘I watch you, and it’s like watching two people.’

Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Everneath by Brodi Ashton
young adult mythology fantasy published by HarperCollins on 24 January 2012

first book in the Everneath series

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.
As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.

THE RATING


THE REVIEW

I went into Everneath with a very particular mindset: I wasn’t expecting anything extraordinary. I added it on my to-read list because of the mythology aspect as the story of Persephone and Hades is so intriguing. However, Everneath surprised me. A lot. Brodi Ashton captured the essence of the characters perfectly. I could feel the emotions that made Nikki go over the edge. I could feel Jake’s hurt and I just couldn’t bring myself to hate Cole.
At the beginning of Everneath, Nikki is waking up after lying in an uncomfortable position for a long time. She doesn’t want to let go yet a face is compelling her to. It made me curious. I like reading books where the main character’s fate is already written and the story is really a story of accepting that fate. Redemption, regret and the desire to make everything right drove Nikki. The core of Everneath is what humans go through: realizing the value of something after it’s gone.
Nikki is a complex character from the very beginning. Life has been tragic for her and she had to get away. The backstory is told in pieces; what happened in the past is synced with what’s happening in Nikki’s life now. It provided a refreshing perspective on how Nikki’s life took such a sharp turn. From having a whole life to feeling empty of emotions. I just felt that more focus should’ve been put on Nikki’s best friend, Jules.
Jack is the one who got left behind. He acts pretty normal when he sees Nikki after six months. He went through a hard time when Nikki disappeared but Nikki doesn’t know that. Their relationship dynamic is done so beautifully by Brodi Ashton: there are questions, there’s hurt, there’s love but there’s also patience. The true love of Eurydice and Orpheus shines through in Everneath.
Cole is as dark and hell bent on convincing as they come but he isn’t broody. He has accepted the sacrifice of humans in order for the Everlivings to survive which is where Nikki disagrees with him. I understood where he was coming from and how he tried to stop Nikki from spiraling into the Everneath with him in the beginning. So I know he’s just looking out for himself. However, I could feel his defences lowering when it came to Nikki. He’s deep that way.
Everneath is beautiful. The writing sucked me in, all the emotions in the book overwhelmed me and the characters felt real. The character of Mary was perfect the way it was and she added a little more substance to the essence of Everneath. A fantastic start to a series! Brodi Ashton weaved a perfect modern day mythological story. I’m glad to have read it. More, please.

THE QUOTES

‘Sometimes, when something hurts us, our hearts break a little-in a slightly more … literal way than for humans. Our pain sort of spills out and onto anyone around us. We call it a cracked heart.’
‘We’d both been stripped of all the evasiveness, all the lies, everything we’d ever kept from each other. Layer by layer, we had given up our defenses and our excuses and our demands for whys and hows, and what was left were two broken beings. Clinging to one last shred of hope. Tethered to each other.’
I read Everneath as part of Secret Readers feature by Paperback Princess.

Review: Uprising by Jessica Therrien Blog Tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK
Uprising by Jessica Therrien

Click the image for
the blog tour schedule.

yound adult fantasy published by ZOVA on 28 May 2013 

second book in the Children of the Gods series

Elyse has done everything she can to protect her friends from The Council’s reach. As long as they believe she’s dead, she has time to rest and train for war. And war is inevitable. 

When Kara arrives with the news that Anna and Chloe have been captured, Elyse is faced with the realization that no one is safe until The Council is stopped and Christoph is destroyed. She doesn’t need a prophecy to tell her to lead an army. Christoph has done the one thing that ensures she’ll fight to the death. He’s threatened the people she loves. 
It will take more than the words of an oracle to help them fight against the most powerful Descendant alive. To break The Council’s oppression and rise up against a plot so many years in the making, Elyse will need to get dangerously close to her enemy. So close, in fact, she may not survive.

THE RATING
THE REVIEW
Being one of the most anticipated books of 2013, I wanted Uprising to blow me away. And it definitely did. Jessica Therrien’s talent of weaving Greek mythology into Elyse’s story is so enchanting that I couldn’t stop reading. The book is a little short of going over 400 pages and so a lot of things happen. The plot was unpredictable and dangerous if I say so and so I never knew how it it would all turn out. In the end, that what made Uprising such an enjoyable read for me.
Elyse is definitely one of those characters who changes gradually and to see her go from a shy and reserved person to a leader who will ultimately might be the most important is amazing. I liked her strong will and how she acted under all the pressure and expectations of the other Descendants. Her life isn’t made to be an easy one and it only goes on to show her strength and capacity to handle herself in the worst of times. And boy, what worst of times they were!
William is a solid rock for Elyse to lean on at all times but it is war and anything can happen. It was interesting to read about William’s strong will fight over his protective one. He definitely wants Elyse to be the leader but when it means that she could get hurt, it tortures him. But I have to admire his character the most, he has definitely grown since Oppression and I was relieved to know that he doesn’t fall into any cliched scenarios.
The war is inevitable and with Christoph determined to get his way, it is clear that he wants something from Elyse. As the story progresses, more and more of Christoph’s intentions are revealed and the whole picture is a true face of evil. It also weakens Elyse’s into thinking that it’s all a futile cause and she’ll end up either alone or dead. But there are people who want out of the oppression, people willing to help Elyse with her cause.
And so it goes. The story is action-packed and the secondary character play important roles especially Kara and Alex. It’s also interesting to read about the abilities of Descendants introduced in the book. The war, the new oracle, the betrayers all come together in this explosive continuation of Children of the Gods series. I loved it! Three kudos to Jessica Therrien! So cannot wait for book three, mythology for the win.
THE QUOTES

‘I don’t think his love is the kind of thing that just goes away.’

‘Every nerve seared with sharp unrelenting pain. My bones felt like they were splitting and splintering inside my body. I went into shock. I couldn’t stand or fall or breathe or cry.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jessica Therrien is the author of Oppression and Uprising, book one and two in her YA paranormal romance/adventure series, Children of the Gods. Oppression was published by ZOVA Books in February of 2012 and Uprising was released in May of 2013.
Jessica is a graduate of San Diego State University. She lived in Taiwan for a year where she learned Chinese, but she lives in Chula Vista now, where everyone speaks Spanish instead. Although she spends most days in a cubicle at her day job, her alter ego is a writer, who loves the arts with a passion.
Jessica is currently writing book three in her Children of the Gods series.

Jessica Therrien can be found at
Buy Uprising (Children of the Gods, #2)
Thanks to Jessica Therrien and ZOVA for providing me a copy of Uprising for review.

Review: Unremembered by Jessica Brody

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ABOUT THE BOOK

young adult science fiction fantasy published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on 5 March 2013
first book in the Unremembered trilogy

With no memories and no identity, the sixteen-year-old girl who was found floating among the wreckage of a devastating plane crash knows only one thing for certain: nothing is what it seems. Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue comes more questions. And she is running out of time to answer them. Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

THE RATING

THE REVIEW
I had been crazy excited for Unremembered ever since I discovered its existence. What really attracted to me about Unremembered was the main character being the lone survivor in a plane wreckage with a definite memory loss. I thought it didn’t get any better than that. Only it got worse. I wanted to like Unremembered, I really did. But I just couldn’t connect with it. Despite being just over 300 pages long, it took the book more than 250 pages to finally pick up its pace.
Not only that, I felt there was a lot of repetition. It’s one thing for Zen to find her but it took more than a few meetings for him to finally say something substantial to her. I know people are lying to her and what not but I wanted to scream at her to believe the guy already. More so when she almost trusts the wrong guy.
I also had a lot of issues with Cody. He’s supposed to be this 13-year-old foster brother but he acts like he’s Seraphina’s age fellow. He drives cars and can apparently leave and come home whenever he pleases. And it doesn’t help that he has a bit of an attitude despite his claims that pretty girls tend to look through him. Naturally, there is a lot of talk about the supermodel beauty of Seraphina which I got tired of really fast.
Seraphina is a pretty decent character; she doesn’t have a sense of belonging and only a meager amount of clues. She talks in foreign languages without even realizing it and she is this super smart math geek with an urge to count everything around her. However, she lacks depth which could’ve not been the case. Her thought process is predictable and she isn’t memorable at all.
Zen is the love interest and though we only get glimpses of how they fell in love, it is clearly not enough. He doesn’t have much of a back story so you really don’t get to know him. There’s the Sonnet that they just keep repeating throughout the book and the warm feeling Sera gets in between her eyebrows. Their romance is just really unbelievable somehow.
Just when I was about to give up on Unremembered, it decided to get better. The whole mystery was unveiled and while a lot of questions were answered, some are left unanswered. I was quickly awed by the whole mystery of how Sera ends up in the wreckage and who she’s running away from.
Honestly, if the whole book could have had more depth, I’d have definitely loved it. I loved how it ended, I finally felt the ohmigodyes feeling right there. And that was the Seraphina I was hoping to read about. So while I’m not giving up on the series, I just hope Unforgotten is way better than Unremembered.
THE QUOTES
“Forgetting who you are is so much more complicated than simply forgetting your name. It’s also forgetting your dreams. Your aspirations. What makes you happy. What you pray you’ll never have to live without. It’s meeting yourself for the first time, and not being sure of your first impression.”
“Death is not a memory you can fake.”
Thanks to MacKidsBooks for sending me an ARC of Unremembered. 

Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

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ABOUT THE BOOK
Pivot Point by Kasie West
young adult paranormal fantasy published by HarperTeen on 12 February 2013
first book in the Pivot Point duology

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .
Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.
In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

THE RATING

THE REVIEW
“I run my finger along the smooth glass, drawing my standard doodle—a line that halfway up splits in two. Then I circle the pivot point. The point right before the path separates. I press my finger into the center. One little choice can make all the difference.”
The split second when the mind is swaying between two things, there is a subtle buzzing. If you ponder too much, you might get paralyzed and ultimately rendered unable to make the right choice. If you don’t ponder at all, you might make a wrong one. What comes to mind in that instance is a wish to be able to see the outcome of each choice, a searing hope. It all happens in a moment that Pivot Point explores.
Addison Coleman is a Divergent so when faced with a choice, she can close her eyes, feel and see the future almost as if it was real. The Compound where Addie lives is full of Paranormals who have a special something in their genes and are much more advanced that the Normals who are unaware of their existence.
Thus, it comes as more than a shock when her parents tell her that they’re divorcing. Even more so when she comes to know that her father has decided to leave the Compound for the Normal world. As easy as it sounds, to make a decision based on the familiarity of the Compound and the unfamiliarity of the Normal world, Addies knows that she has to Search.
The journey between the words ambush and screwed thus ensues. I say this because of the word and its definition at the start of each of the 36 chapters. The events of the next six weeks of the two possible futures occur almost simultaneously in Addie’s mind. Alternating between the Normal and the Paranormal, Addie experiences life like never before.
In the Normal world, she has a hard time adjusting to its ways with electrical switches, locks, and the people. Trevor is the only one who gives her hope that she might just survive okay. While in the Paranormal world, life goes on as it was before with Addie trying to act out and Duke showing interest in her.
One of the things I really loved about Addie was her behavior in each of the worlds. It’s fascinating to see her out of her element in the Norm world and then to really see her make her way into life with the help of Laila, her best friend, in the Paranormal world. I like that she’s a reader, she’s witty and she’s smart. It’s very easy to relate to her and her problems even though she’s a paranorm which makes her so fascinating.
Trevor is a pretty reserved character and as a reader, you really want to get to know what is going on with him. He surprised me with his penchant for graphic novels and the quiet. His capability to put other people at ease is what makes him the perfect choice for Addie to get to know in the Norm world. Duke, on the other hand, is flamboyant, swoon-worthy, humorous and definitely have a way with words.
The abilities in the Paranormal Compound range from being fairly simple to dangerous. There are the ones who have the ability to Persuade and Discern, the ones who can perform Telekinesis, then there are also Memory Erasers, Mood Controllers and of course, Clairvoyants. Essentially, these are mind powers and seeing as how obsessed I’m with anything to do with the brain and its manipulation, I devoured the explosive way they came together to make Pivot Point a thoroughly breathtaking read.
Kasie West style of writing is simple and clever and you really marvel at Pivot Point as it maneuvers its way through tough decisions and laugh-out-loud moments. It is a difficult feat to achieve that balance and still shock the reader at the end of the book. Kasie West made it look easy and for that, I am amazed.
THE QUOTES

“Sometimes I feel like I’m slowly floating away. I’m constantly looking for something to grab on to so I don’t lose myself.”

“And can we just get this out of the way? Your eyelashes make mine want to commit suicide from shame.” 

“I hate obvious boys. Tell me that.” “You hate obvious boys. Because heaven forbid you like something that everyone else does. If you don’t have to hunt for it, and carefully plan its capture, it must not be worth having.”