The Paper Planes

Fire by Kristin Cashore

2012-05-28T18:06:00.000+12:00

Title: Fire
Author: Kristin Cashore
Publication Date: October 1st 2009
Publisher: Hachette NZ
Pages: 370
Rating:

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she has the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.

Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City. The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there’s more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.

If only she weren’t afraid of becoming the monster her father was.

Cashore has an extremely adept way with words, because in Graceling she captivated me with her jaw-dropping new fantasy world and characters that I've come to love, and now with Fire, we see Cashore's strengths shining even brighter! Her writing is astounding---so original, creative and altogether magical, and Fire is a prime example of that.

Fire is afraid of her beauty, her ability to manipulate the minds of those she captivates, but she is also afraid of becoming like her deceased father, wicked, cruel and the reason why The Dells is going through a time of chaos and war. Yet that's what makes her so endearing, what makes her feel real. As she is summoned by King Nash to help with the inevitable war, we're able to see a drastic change in her character that springs from the people she meets to the tasks she performs for the Kingdom. Starting as a character drowning in sorrow and guilt, she blossoms into someone who stands tall and proud---that was what I loved about her! Fire isn't quite the action-packed story you see in Graceling but Fire's story of regrowth and redemption has just the touch of realism and relatability to make up for that lack of activity!

Cashore also manages to invent another entirely new set of likable, fleshed-out characters. Where Graceling held me attentive to each and every one of them, Fire's had me actually tearing up a bit. The relationships between characters are so perfectly well-crafted and palpable that by the end of it, I found myself discreetly wiping tears away when my parents weren't looking. And again, Cashore manages to stun me with a romance that left me delighted and exuberant with the outcome!

Fire is perhaps a little darker than it's predecessor---it's not focused on amazing fighting scenes or some kind of great conspiracy but the quiet truth of a world struggling to regain balance and unity. We find ourselves stuck behind the palace walls for most of the story yet so much still manages to happen. And there's always enough danger and intrigue around the corner to keep you on the edges of your seat. It may be a little long for a book that lacks a huge amount of action, but for me, the pages flew by in a flurry! I was despearte to know what happened to the characters I had grown attached to and of course, the sweet, slow-building romance between Fire and Brigan had me always eager to read on!

Set in the same world as The Seven Kingdom's yet not entirely so, The Dells is a world just as spellbinding and imaginative as Graceling's was! It's stunning, really, how well Cashore makes you want to drop everything and move into this world where there are animals the color of sunflowers and grass. And trust me, given the chance, even with the danger of my life at stake, I definitely would! Cashore's descriptions of a land by the endless sea, with bridges of unique variety and strange people who live underground has me completely entranced. It's just a shame that we only get one book in this enchanting world!

Fire is a book that not only lives up to the hype of it's companion, but rivals it in all the aspects that made it amazing! You don't have to have read Graceling before reading this, because Fire does enough with itself to stand entirely on it's own. If you're ever in the need to get lost in a new world, and spin away from reality, than this is perhaps one of the best books I could recommend you to read!

A huge thanks to Ruby over at Hachette NZ for sending me a copy for review!

350 Followers Giveaway!

2012-05-27T14:08:00.000+12:00

Hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I haven't quite hit the 350 mark yet, but I just wanted to thank all of you lovely followers for sticking around even through my inconsistant blogging and month-long unexplained absence! So, THANK YOU! Seriously, exams have been drowning me in endless study and I am SO FREAKING HAPPY to be able to finally read without worrying about getting lost in a book when I'm supposed to be studying!

Oh, oh, oh! And guess what? I FINALLY MADE A TWITTER! Like two minutes ago! Took me long enough, huh... But I figured since exams are over, this is probably the best time to see whether or not the addiction that fellow bloggers seem to have applies to me as well :P

Anyway, to thank you, I'm going to give one winner one pre-order of their choice from the list below. Open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to you and closes on July 4th. These are all some of my most highly anticipated releases coming out in the second half of 2012, plus some that I assume many people are desperately craving!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday (23)

2012-05-09T17:20:00.000+12:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Alice in Zombieland
by Gena Showalter
Release Date: September 25th 2012
NZ Pre-Order: Paperplus | Whitcoulls
International Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….

I've yet to read anything by Gena Showalter but this seems as good as any to start! I mean, LOOK AT THAT COVER! Seriously, I'm in love. And I'm pretty sure once I get my hands on this, in the faraway lands of September (I know, right?), I'm going to fall in love with a certain badboy named Cole Holland as well ;)

Leave a comment so I can check out what you're waiting on!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

2012-05-07T20:50:00.000+12:00

Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Publication Date: February 1st 2009
Publisher: Hachette NZ
Pages: 370
Rating:

In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are both feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing.

Feared by the court and shunned by those her own age, the darkness of her Grace casts a heavy shadow over Katsa’s life. Yet she remains defiant: when the King of Lienid’s father is kidnapped she investigates, and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap the old man, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced man whose fighting abilities rivalled her own?

The only thing Katsa is sure of is that she no longer wants to kill. The intrigue around this kidnapping offers her a way out – but little does she realise, when she takes it, that something insidious and dark lurks behind the mystery. Something spreading from the shadowy figure of a one-eyed king...

It's hard to create the perfect book---maybe even impossible, but Graceling does a pretty damn good job at attempting it. With it's enigmatic characters, spellbinding prose, and phenomenal world-building, I was completely enraptured by Cashore's whirlwind of a tale!

Everyone fears the Graced, but Katsa, with one eye blue and one eye green has the most fearsome Grace of them all---she can kill an armed man with her bare hands. Yet, this character that kills is far more complicated and complex than that. She can choose to end one's life, however given the choice, she'd rather not. Perhaps she's not one of those characters that are secretly fragile and in emotional turmoil on the inside, but she's definitely not what everyone suspects her to be---a monster. She's brave yet kind, strong but fair and she'd rather face the wrath of an entire army and a King's fury than aim an arrow at an innocent man. With a huge heart and a voice that is just so deeply evocative, Katsa is a character that I fell in love with at the start and was incredibly sad to part with at the end!

But truly, Katsa wasn't the only character that left a deep imprint on me. We have Po, the Graced man who can equal Katsa in strength, the only man to ever lay a finger on her without dying himself. Po is certainly one of the better love interests out there---funny, kind, fiercely devoted to those he loves, however he also carries a heavy burden, for which no-one knows about. His relationship with Katsa was believable---believable because, in the face of so much insta-love growing in YA these days, this was one that grew steadily on the basis of friendship.

Yet, there's also not one character I could name that wasn't entirely convincing or fleshed out to the brim! There's Bitterblue, the young Princess of Monsea whose brave front in the face of danger was always admirable, and Raffin, who's peculiar experiments never failed to put a smile to my face---plus a dozen more characters I could name!

Katsa's quest to solve the mystery of Po's kidnapped grandfather is like an enchanting fairytale, one with a little less glimmer and glam of course. In a finely built world where Kings are selfish, greedy, merciless, and at war with each other, the ending to Graceling might be a little different from your typical happily ever after, however that doesn't dim the fact that Cashore builds her story to it's finest point! The pacing is perfect, sparing just the right amount of action to keep readers satisfied, but also managing to balance the enticing romance, mysterious plot, and isolated survival through mountains all into one un-put-a-downable journey through the Seven Kingdoms.

You kind of have to laugh at the tagline of the UK/AU/NZ cover---"[This] exquisitely drawn romance ... will shake the thirst of Twilight fans!" For perhaps they got the 'exquisitely drawn romance' part right, but Twilight is hardly the comparison Graceling deserves. It held me captive with the magic and Graces we see in an extraordinary new fantasy world and it's not easy to find yourself bored or drifting off to sleep---everything builds up to something else, and then to something bigger after that!

Easily one of my favorite reads of 2012, or rather---ever, Graceling is a book for everyone, with it's gripping, unpredictable plot, amazing array of realistic characters and world-building that still continues to astound me. If you've not yet read this, I highly recommend it and hopefully, for those who have read it, you'll be re-reading this soon just to remember how incredible Cashore's writing is!

A huge thanks to Ruby over at Hachette NZ for sending me a copy for review!

Slide by Jill Hathaway

2012-05-05T18:36:00.000+12:00

Title: Slide
Author: Jill Hathaway
Publication Date: March 9th 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins NZ
Pages: 250
Rating:

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

Nothing gets me more excited than a new murder mystery coming out and since this was one of the very few I knew of being released this year, I jumped at the chance to finally read it! Yet, as much as I wanted to obsessively love it, unfortunately me and Slide just didn't quite fit like the perfect puzzle pieces I had hoped for.

A book can be predictable and still be hella-amazing yet for Slide, I'm afraid it took the wrong turn too quickly. A few chapters in, and I was already pretty confident I had the killer nailed on the head! A good mystery makes you think hard and wrack your brain for solutions and get major headaches trying to piece everything together. Unfortunately, Slide exploits none of these traits and instead of becoming increasingly curious as to who the killer might be, I found myself going in the opposite direction.

Slide is also subject to a fair amount of coincidences that seem too unlikely to happen if applied to real life circumstances. One particular example had me pulling my hair out in frustration! Vee needs to be holding onto something important to a specific person to be able to 'slide' into them and I grew incredibly annoyed at how Vee somehow managed to get those important items whenever Hathaway felt like showing a suspicious scene from someone else's perspective. I get that it needs to happen but why make it seem so obvious and contrived?

Slide relies heavily on the characters to pull off a convincing mystery, which is why I was so incredibly disappointed with them. They're all pinned to the stereo-types of fictional high school--there's the popular mean girls you admire but secretly hate from afar, the delinquent guy who prefers to keep to himself, the jerk head quarterback. They were just another example of flat, plastic characters and I felt like I didn't get to know any of them enough to really relate to them.

Vee herself wasn't without her faults--she was entirely too opinionated in regards to the killer. So say she accidentally slides into one of her class mates--woohoo! She's found the number one suspect to the murderer! And wow, suddenly everyone in the bloody school is suspect, even those who've been with her through thick and thin. Le sigh...

If there's one good thing I can say about Slide though, it's that I really did enjoy Vee's relationship with her little sister, Mattie. Honestly, I didn't like her at the start but as she and Vee grew closer, I have to say some of their scenes were rather touching.

I hate to say it, but Slide just didn't work for me. While the concept of using the sliding ability to figure out a mystery is at first intriguing, that dies down a bit when you realize that there isn't a whole lot of suspense and the writing feels rather childish in comparison to most young adult books. However, I think it'd definitely work for readers who don't care for dissecting the plot and about trivial things like coincidences and predictability!

Stacking the Shelves (1)

2012-04-29T13:23:00.000+12:00

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews. It gives bloggers a chance to share what they bought, borrowed, swapped or got for review that week!

Due to the incredibly surprising events of this past week, I will no longer be participating in In My Mailbox and instead in this new meme! While I prefer to stay out of all blogger related drama most of the time, I think that if I continue participating in IMM, I'll feel like I'm supporting Kristi in the matter which I'm definitely not. So therefore, this is what you get from now on!

This was a freaking amazing week for me! I just got back from my holiday in London and Paris which was fantastic except for the fact that it's spring there and it's still freezing and colder than our coldest winters and I came back with the worst cold I've ever had... but it was fun! I managed to buy a few books there because they were on sale so hey, why not?

Theeeen, eleven of the books I won from Lisa and Brodie's Valentine's Blog Event back in February arrived, and seriously, that month was so. much. fun. You should go check out all the swoon-worthy posts they organized! Plus, I also happened to get an extra book along with that prize pack making it twelve books I won that arrived this week, which is strange but I'm definitely not complaining ;) And EEEEEEE! I got the whole set of Graceling Realms books for review! Really, I'm very happy this week, and it makes up for the fact that I have to go back to school tomorrow. Le sigh...

Bought

Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson
Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Crossed by Ally Condie
Tempest by Julie Cross

Won

A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton
Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
Forgotten by Cat Patrick
Heaven by Christoph Marzi

Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington
Enticed by Jessica Shirvington
Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter
Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover by Ally Carter
Cross my Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter
I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

For Review

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Fire by Kristin Cashore
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

A huge thanks to Brodie at Eleusinian Mysteries of Reading, Lisa at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me, Hachette AU, Hardie Grant Egmont AU and Ruby at Hachette NZ!
What are you stacking on your shelves this week? Leave a comment so I can come check it out!

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

2012-04-26T17:09:00.000+12:00

Title: The Immortal Rules
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publication Date: April 24th 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 504
Rating:

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

I've no doubt many of you were scared that one of your favorite authors was starting a vampire series but as I'm sure you've all probably heard by now, there was really nothing to fear! The Immortal Rules is definitely a whole lot darker and a whole lot grittier than her faerie fluff of a series, yet Kagawa's managed to take a paranormal creature I'm sure we're all tired of and make it work!

Perhaps I'm being a little biased here because I mean, hello, first asian protagonist I've ever read about, but I loved Allie! She's fierce, feisty and incredibly stubborn. I had my doubts with her at first, because I thought she was trying a bit too hard to be all mucho-woman and all but I warmed up to her guys, I seriously did. Also, adding to the fact that she's totally kick-ass, is that fact that she's also completely relatable. I laughed with her, cried with her, hurt with her -- she just possesses a voice that calls on your empathy.

Unfortunately, except for Allie and Kanin, Allie's vampire daddy/creator and mentor in all things dead, I was disappointed with the rest of the characters. The love interest, Zeke, for example, wasn't my cup of tea and didn't exactly make my heart beat a thousand miles per second. He's sweet, caring and utterly perfect, but see, that's the problem. Zeke? He just didn't stand out. He's too kind. He's too understanding. And really, he was just too perfect. And then Kagawa went and created a jealous mean girl to be added into the mix... Luckily, there was no insta-love though, so I can at least say that I enjoyed the romance. Sadly, I just didn't love it.

As much as I disliked the secondary characters, the same can't be said about the plot. It's action, action, action with no pause for breath. It's exciting, exhilarating, electrifying! And it's surprisingly action-packed for, you know, a vampire novel where usually it's all sparkles and stalkers. I mentioned Kanin before as the one secondary character I loved and it's solely because without him, the plot wouldn't have flowed so well together. He's a bit of a mystery and Kagawa manages to weave his story into Allie's journey whenever you least expect it!

The pacing perhaps is a little up and down with some parts dragging longer than necessary, but during the last hundred or so pages? I was captivated, my eyes glued to the book. And the cliffhanger ending has made sure that I'll be getting the next book as soon as it's released!

In all honesty, I didn't fall in love with the Iron Fey books, however Kagawa's new Blood of Eden series is one I'm sure I'm going to love! Though it's not very strong character-wise, it has a plot that pulls you along with it's unescapable string and like me, you'll definitely be wanting the next book pronto!

The Paper Planes is going to Europe!

2012-04-06T16:26:00.000+12:00

Okay, so I know I haven't been posting much because school has literally just finished and I have had so many deadlines to meet. Like two days ago I only got 3 hours of sleep because I had to finish my Graphics assignment! But I've finally got everything done and now we get a three week break! Yay! :D

So basically, I'm not going to be here for the next two weeks because I'm heading off to Paris tonight and then London after that! I wonder if I'll meet my own Etienne or or -- what if I get to sit next to a cute guy like Oliver from The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight!? EEEEEE! So many rich possibilites *happysigh*

*coughcough*
Ahem.. Anyway, I'm really excited to go but unfortunately it'll mean I'll have no access to the internet for two weeks and therefore won't be posting anything for the time that I'm gone. However, since the time it takes to get from New Zealand to Paris is just over 24 hours, I'll have plenty of times to catch up on the review books that have piled up because of school! So be prepared to be bombarded with constant reviews when I get back haha :)

Well, that's all! Just wanted to let you know in case you were wondering what ever happened to me and why there've been no posts!

Au revoir!
And Happy Reading! :)

Waiting on Wednesday #22

2012-04-04T15:46:00.000+12:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

The Golden Lily
by Richelle Mead
Release Date: June 12th 2012
NZ Pre-Order: Whitcoulls | Paperplus | Fishpond
International Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age-old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she’s supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she’s been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?

I loved Mead's Vampire Academy series (seriously, who doesn't?) but Bloodlines surprised me by being just as freaking good! Adrian Ivashkov just went and freaking stole my heart and now I need need need more of him! Plus, that summary is killing me! WHAT HAPPENS WITH SYDNEY AND ADRIAN!? I seriously need this now!

Leave a comment so I can check out what you're waiting on!

172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

2012-04-01T16:27:00.000+12:00

Title: 172 Hours on the Moon
Author: Johan Marstad, Translated by Tara Chace
Publication Date: April 1st 2012
Publisher: Hachette NZ
Pages: 359
Rating:

Three teenagers are going on the trip of a lifetime. Only one is coming back.

It's been more than forty years since NASA sent the first men to the moon, and to grab some much-needed funding and attention, they decide to launch an historic international lottery in which three lucky teenagers can win a week-long trip to moon base DARLAH 2-a place that no one but top government officials even knew existed until now. The three winners, Antoine, Midori, and Mia, come from all over the world. But just before the scheduled launch, the teenagers each experience strange, inexplicable events. Little do they know that there was a reason NASA never sent anyone back there until now-a sinister reason. But the countdown has already begun. . .

172 Hours on the Moon is a hard book to describe without giving anything away. It's laced with the suspense and horror that you'd expect of it, but also a supernatural twist and an ending that took me completely by surprise! And since I don't usually read much horror, I was blown away by how much I actually enjoyed it.

Harstad introduces a large range of characters and since it's told in third person, an equally large amount of POV's too. Yet unlike most books where too many POV's make the characters seem rigid and stiff, in this one every character manages to completely enrapture you! The characters each hold a sense of naivety and innocence about them that makes their experiences and feelings entirely appropriate to what is happening. However I'm not going to lie, all three of the teenagers weren't entirely likeable at the beginning, but when they finally cross paths during their space training, it's easy to forget your earlier misgivings!

Not only that, but the relationships between the characters are clearly palpable! They're three completely different teens yet when they all come together, they seem to fit perfectly like missing puzzle pieces. Midori and Mia's relationship is one of a sisterly bond and it's definitely comforting to read about amidst a terrifying horror background, while Antoine and Mia share a sweet relationship, making up the romance portion of the book for all those avid romance readers! It's hard to say without spoiling anything but their individual traits and reactions make them all believable in a way that most fictional characters aren't!

As well as having amazing characters, 172 Hours on the Moon is an interesting blend of science-fiction, horror and the supernatural. While fairly predictable, it's doesn't dull the fact that I was too scared to look at myself in the mirror for three days! If I were to compare, I would say it holds that slightly creepy feel -- that feeling where you're almost certain that someone is watching you, of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the desolate isolation of space as seen in Across the Universe and the utter hopelessness we see in Titanic. There's just this eerie, foreboding sense that something is going to jump out at the characters at any minute, and it had me sure that I was always reading it during the day!

Layered with genuine characters and a mind-blowing plot, 172 Hours on the Moon is a book that horror, supernatural and sci-fi fans alike will pounce on! It may not have the best fore-shadowing in terms of the surprise in plot developments but it's still stays true to it's original catchline as being "a chilling edge-of-your seat thriller!"

---

Plus, check out this amazing trailer where you might have a chance to go to the moon! ;)

A huge thanks to Gemma and Ruby over at Hachette NZ for sending me a copy for review!

Night School by C.J. Daugherty

2012-03-26T20:18:00.003+13:00

Title: Night School
Author: C.J. Daugherty
Publication Date: January 31st 2012
Publisher: Hachette NZ
Pages: 451
Rating:

Sometimes school is murder.

Allie Sheridan's world is falling apart. She hates her school. Her brother has run away from home. And she's just been arrested. Again.

This time her parents have finally had enough. They cut her off from her friends and send her away to a boarding school for problem teenagers.

But Cimmeria Academy is no ordinary school. Its rules are strangely archaic. It allows no computers or phones. Its students are an odd mixture of the gifted, the tough and the privileged. And then there's the secretive Night School, whose activities other students are forbidden even to watch.

When Allie is attacked one night the incident sets off a chain of events leading to the violent death of a girl at the summer ball. As the school begins to seem like a very dangerous place, Allie must learn who she can trust. And what's really going on at Cimmeria Academy.

Allie Sheridan has a lot on her shoulders, but she carries the weight of it all with just about as much strength as you'd expect from a girl who's been arrested three times! It's fun to read the story through her eyes as Daugherty includes just the right amount of wit, humour and teenage tendencies within the narration to make her so believable. Not only is she believable though, she's also strong and likable -- perhaps not in the physical way, but her capability in dealing with all the dangerous problems that are continuously thrown in her path!

As well as Allie though, there are a lot of secondary characters that I came to love! From Jo to Lucus to Rachel to Jules! Each character has their own depth, their own story that leaves Night School on a whole other level compared to other books. What's amazing about Daugherty's writing and characterization is that even when a character is caught doing something horrible, she manages to redeem them all through other various actions. Also, there's the boys! The sweet-talking, Sylvian with his delicious French accent and Carter, the seemingly bad-boy-player of the book. Two completely different persona's -- one a knight in shining armor and the other clad in an atmosphere that most would be wary to trust, yet they'll both immediately steal your hearts right from the beginning!

"When everyone is lying, who do you trust?"
That catchline? It fits Night School like a glove. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of characters that I adored, but many of those characters have moments in which you're left to think "What if...?" because of just how well Daugherty weaves her story. The endless twists and turns completely threw me off the trail of the suspect and by the end of it all, I had no idea who was innocent or who was guilty!

Plus, these days mysteries don't tend to have that element of surprise and intrigue that makes a mystery so engaging. Instead they're usually embedded with terrible fore-shadowing and predictable twists, so I was glad to find that this isn't one of those books! Night School carries itself with an air of trepidation, that feeling of knowing something strange is happening yet you have no idea what exactly is going on. When you're still hanging onto every word the story has to offer because you're desperately trying to piece everything together right up till the big reveal at the end.

Night School is one of those near perfect books that you'll want to read over and over again, with every re-read leaving you just as curious and intrigued as you were the first time! Whilst the cover may be deceiving into making you believe it's for sure going to be about vampires, it's definitely not. Instead, you're presented with a normal, real-life mystery, one with that atmospheric tinge of something just a little bit more eerie than a simple murder case that needs solving. In addition, the ending leaves just enough of a cliffhanger to leave readers desperately awaiting the next book, because I can assure you that I most certainly am!

A huge thanks to Gemma and Ruby over at Hachette NZ for sending me a copy for review!

Top 10 Books On My Autumn To-Be-Read List

2012-03-20T18:08:00.000+13:00

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where bloggers answer the specific list of the week!

Top 10 Books On My ~~Spring~~ Autumn To-Be-Read List!
As I live on the other side of the world from most of you, it'll be autumn instead of spring for me! But wow, what a particularly tough list to make since there are literally tons of books that I am super excited about coming out this autumn!

1. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
This one easily tops the list! I have been craving this since the moment I turned the last page of Divergent and I'm so eager to see what happens to Tris and Four in this bound-to-be-awesome book!

2. Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins
I love the Hex Hall series and I'm so sad to see it coming to a close but I'm still really excited to read this! I need myself some more Archer Cross! ♥

3. Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris
Such a unique premise! And from what I've heard, this is one of those books that are worth more than 5 stars! Definitely excited for it!

4. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
I'm one of those few people who did not enjoy Julie's Iron Fey series, but I'm not about to judge her new series based on that. Though I'm not too into vampires anymore, this one just sounds fantastic!

5. Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
Okay, I'm not going to lie, that cover is probably the main reason this is on my list, but hey, it does sound great as well doesn't it? :)

6. Gilt by Katherine Longshore
Historical fiction! <3 There doesn't seem to be a lot of historical's coming out this year which means, since this is my favorite genre, that I must read this!

7. A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink
So I thought I was sick of angels until I read Unearthly and Angelfall and now I really want to try what seems like a really great angel book! My hopes have risen thanks to the potential I now see within angel books!

8. Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg
My only contemporary on this list! But one that I'm definitely looking forward to. I've recently found a love for books relating to music and since this one is centered around show business and bands? I'm so there!

9. Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock
Another beautiful cover! Plus, it has werewolves and werewolves are cool.

10. Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London
A cover that looks frighteningly similar to the Fallen series but I'm still convinced that it's going to be amazing. After all, you can't get much worse than the Fallen series!

What made your list? Leave a comment so I can come check it out!

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

2012-03-19T17:43:00.000+13:00

Title: Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFevers
Publication Date: April 3rd 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 560
Rating:

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

This book was crazy good. I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it because seriously, who else thought that the idea of assassin nuns was too strange to even comprehend when they first read the summary? But LaFevers manages to expertly weave this into a story that I hungrily devoured and now leaves me aching aching aching for more!

After recently coming out of a book that was as interesting as watching paint dry, I was immeasurably happy when Grave Mercy started off with a bang. I love beginnings that start off as strongly as this did, with the plot already rolling into play because wow, it held me captive to it's enticing pages the minute I started reading. Fortunately, you're not left to be disappointed after such a strong start either. There's never a moment to feel bored, never a moment to feel like going off and doing something else. Never a moment to catch your breath because the action hits you like a wave -- endlessly consistent and powerfully exciting each and every time.

Plus, assassin nuns. I meant what I said before about not believing this would turn out to be one of the most incredible idea's ever seen in literature and the surprise was definitely a plus. Ismae is as kick-ass and butt-kicking as you'd expect assassin nuns to be, but she does that all without coming off as your typical Mary-Sue character. She's flawed in a good way -- her stubborn and fierce loyalty to the convent endearing rather than annoying, and her untrusting nature is all with good reason. Also, thankfully, there is no insta-love to be witnessed! The romance between Ismae and Duval is as believable as you'd expect an assassin and a royal's love life to be!

What surprised me though, was how similar this was to Maria Snyder's Poison Study series. While not exactly the same, it's enough to warrant pointing out the details. A protagonist dealing with poisons? With special powers? Working in a castle for the Duchess? With a love interest who's really close to said duchess? A romance that starts off with both characters wanting to kill each other? And a mystery to solve within the high court? Does this not scream Poison Study? However, I am definitely not complaining because I love that series, and though the basic outline is typically the same, LaFevers spins it into something that is unique yet not entirely different from Snyder's story, if that even makes any sense.

Overall, Grave Mercy is a book that kicks itself into gear right from the get-go and doesn't let up till the very last page. You'll be spurred on by the mystery and intrigue of the court life and relentless action keeping you glued to each page! This book has everything -- amazing array of characters, gripping plot and assassin nuns, because I know all of you are curious to see what that's all about!

In My Mailbox #8

2012-03-18T14:05:00.001+13:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers a chance to share what they bought, borrowed, swapped or got for review that week!

*does happy dance* I am so excited to read all of these! Balthazar? Night School? The Scorpio Races? EEEE! So many to choose from -- I can't decide which one to start first! And I was so happy when I found out that Pure was released early -- snagged it for my kindle the second after I read the announcement over at Jennifer's blog :) I've also already read 172 Hours on the Moon and was surprised to really enjoy it since I don't read much horror haha! Anyway, really really happy with my haul this week!

For Review
172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
Night School by C.J. Daugherty

Bought
Slide by Jill Hathaway
Balthazar by Claudia Gray
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Netgalley
The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross
Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear

A huge thanks to the lovely Gemma and Ruby over at Hachette NZ!
What did you get in your mailbox? Leave a comment so I can come check it out!

Waiting on Wednesday {21}

2012-03-14T18:04:00.000+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

The Immortal Rules
by Julie Kagawa
Release Date: April 24th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

You will kill. The only question is when.

In the dark days since the insidious Red Lung virus decimated the human population, vampires have risen to rule the crumbling cities and suburbs. Uncontested Princes hold sway over diminished ranks of humans: their "pets." In exchange for their labor, loyalty and of course, their blood, these pets are registered, given food and shelter, permitted to survive.

Unregistered humans cling to fringes, scavenging for survival. Allison Sekemoto and her fellow Unregistereds are hunted, not only by vampires, but by rabids, the unholy result of Red Lung-infected vampires feeding on unwary humans. One night, Allie is attacked by a pack of rabids, saved by an unlikely hero...and turned vampire.

Uncomfortable in her undead skin, Allie falls in with a ragtag crew of humans seeking a cure, or cures: for Rabidism and for Vampirism. She's passing for human...for now. But the hunger is growing and will not be denied. Not for friendship—not even for love.

OBVIOUS CHOICE I KNOW! But really, doesn't it sound fantastic? Like most people, I'm so over vampires by now however, vampires in a dystopia? Okay, I'm definitely there! And actually unlike most people, I didn't really enjoy Julie's Iron Fey series but I loved her writing so I'm super curious to see where she goes with this story!

Leave a comment so I can check out what you're waiting on!

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

2012-03-12T20:15:00.001+13:00

Title: Born Wicked
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Publication Date: January 25th 2012, NZ
Publisher: Penguin NZ
Pages: 330
Rating:

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship--or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with six months to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate stars scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood -- not even from each other.

I was so excited to read this because of all the amazing reviews about it so far but I fear I seem to be the only person who just doesn't see what everyone else does. Which is a shame because I really wanted to like this!

First of all, Born Wicked prides itself with it's unique premise of witches in a alternative historical setting and yet… where is the magic? When a book promises witchery, you expect witchery right? And so I was incredibly disappointed when I found myself already three quarters of the way through and there still hadn't been a great amount of witchcraft going on because the author decided to focus on the romance instead of advancing the story. Personally, I'm not a fan of these kinds of books -- when the romance completely overrules the plot, especially since the romance in Born Wicked wasn't entirely all that engaging either...

I wish I could say that the characters saved this for me but no, unfortunately every character, with the exception of Finn and Tess, were either rip-your-hair-out annoying or flat and one-dimensional. Cate herself was a hard protagonist for me to relate to. While her loyalty to her sisters was charming and admirable, it didn't hide the fact that she was controlling and thought she could dictate how Maura and Tess lived their lives! That's not to say that Cate is the only sister with faults though. Maura is constantly in one of her sour no-one-understands-me moods that literally had me throwing the book on the floor to go read another book. But I adored little Tess, she's wise beyond her years and was definitely one of the only characters I actually enjoyed reading about!

As I mentioned before, the romance left much to be desired. A love-triangle is a tricky thing to get right and this was indeed another example of an attempt gone wrong. There is no equal balance as to who Cate is going to end up with, it's blatantly obvious from the start that Paul is out if the equation once Finn steps in. And while I love Finn, I wish there could have been more of a challenge for him to win over Cate's heart. Because again, we're given the opportunity to read about insta-love in it's prime state! Ugh! I really do love Finn, he's different, he wears glasses, he's smart, and he's not the best looking guy out there but I just wish his relationship with Cate was a little more... developed? Realistic, maybe?

The writing, however, was superb and I loved the beautifully woven prose Spotswood presented us with. The language itself is entirely appropriate to the time-frame in which Born Wicked is set and this, since historical fiction is like my absolute favorite genre, had me jumping with joy!

Overall, Born Wicked was definitely not what I expected it to be. I know most people who've read this really enjoyed it though so if you were thinking of reading this, it just might appeal to you more than it did me!

Waiting on Wednesday {20}

2012-03-07T18:45:00.003+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Gilt
by Katherine Longshore
Release Date: May 15th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

In the Tudor age, ambition, power and charismatic allure are essential and Catherine Howard has plenty of all three. Not to mention her loyal best friend, Kitty Tylney, to help cover her tracks. Kitty, the abandoned youngest daughter of minor aristocracy, owes everything to Cat – where she is, what she is, even who she is. Friend, flirt, and self-proclaimed Queen of Misrule, Cat reigns supreme in a loyal court of girls under the none-too-watchful eye of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.

When Cat worms her way into the heart of Henry VIII and becomes Queen of England, Kitty is thrown into the intoxicating Tudor Court. It’s a world of glittering jewels and elegant costumes, of gossip and deception. As the Queen’s right-hand-woman, Kitty goes from the girl nobody noticed to being caught between two men – the object of her affection and the object of her desire.

But the atmosphere of the court turns from dazzling to deadly, and Kitty is forced to learn the difference between trust and loyalty, love and lust, secrets and treason. And to accept the consequences when some lessons are learned too late.

I haven't read any normal historical's this year (Born Wicked = witches, Grave Mercy = magic assassins) and seeing how it's my favorite genre, I really want to read one! And this sounds like the perfect historical for me! :) Plus, not to mention that gorgeous cover!

Leave a comment so I can check out what you're waiting on!

In My Mailbox #7

2012-03-04T15:43:00.001+13:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers a chance to share what they bought, borrowed, swapped or got for review that week!

GRAVE MERCY! :D I was so so so happy when I got the e-mail about it from Netgalley! I'm reading it right now and it is amazing so far! I've already read Born Wicked -- kind of mixed in my thoughts of it though. And the contemporaries were all really cheap at my local bookstore so was there really any excuse not to buy them? ;)

Bought
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Netgalley
Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers
What did you get in your mailbox? Leave a comment so I can come check it out!

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

2012-03-03T21:31:00.007+13:00

Title: Bittersweet
Author: Sarah Ockler
Publication Date: January 3rd 2012
Publisher: Hachette NZ
Pages: 378
Rating:

Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life... and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last...

Though not entirely without it's faults, Bittersweet was a delight to read! It's so adorable and sweet, just as it's title and cover suggests. I truly didn't expect to enjoy it much because the cover looked overly cheesy and fluffy to me but you know what? I love it when I'm wrong about these things.

Hudson is a character that you believe right from the start. You feel her pain, her anguish, her regret, but most of all, you feel her intense love for figure skating -- the joy she has when she glides out across the ice. However, it's unfortunate that she changes as the story progresses. If I'm going to be blunt, Hudson is an absolutely terrible friend for the latter half of the book, not to mention a terrible girlfriend and daughter as well. The Hudson we're left with at the end felt like a whole different Hudson from the start and I really missed the girl who was fun, witty and most definitely not the kind of person you'd expect to turn on the people she cared about. So I honestly can't say I enjoyed the change...

But the upside to the down? I absolutely adore the way Ockler paints her secondary characters! Seriously, if there's one thing I can gush about, it's this. I fell in love with Watonka High's whole hockey team and Bug, Hudson's little brother and Dani, who is probably my favorite character from Bittersweet. She's a girl anyone would want as a BFF -- understanding, reliable, and one of those amazing and loyal friends who'll stick by you through thick and thin. And, I fell in love with the boys -- Will and Josh. There were times when I really did have a hard time choosing who I wanted Hudson to end up with even though I had already guessed how it would end. Deliciously sweet and charming, despite some misunderstandings, it's easy to see why girls fall hard for both of them in the book.

Plus, you've probably heard it all before but the writing. There is no doubt that Ockler can write! Because every new chapter that started off with a short cupcake recipe? Yeah, that drool over there was mine. Take my advice and don't ignore the warnings -- always have a cupcake on hand while reading this! You won't regret it! Ockler's beautiful prose makes you see things that are supposed to be just words on paper. It's like her words are the paint and our minds are the paintbrush, each new page forming breath-taking images to feed our inner fantasies... and make us go hungry.

Overall, I might not have been blown away like I know a lot of other's were but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. Because I did. I really did! It was a fun read -- one that you couldn't believe had ended when it did because you wanted to read more. But hey, just remember if you're planning on reading this? Cupcakes. Next to you. Always.

Waiting on Wednesday {19}

2012-02-29T17:31:00.001+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Spell Bound
by Rachel Hawkins
Release Date: March 13th 2012
NZ Pre-Order: Paperplus | Whitcoulls
International Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

Anyone else a fan of the Hex Hall series? Yes? Then I'm sure that cliffhanger at the end of Demonglass is killing you just as much as it's killing me! I must find out what happens next and I can't wait to jump back into Sophie's hilarious head! Plus, of course, there's Archer... ♥

Leave a comment so I can check out what you're waiting on!

Brief Hiatus!

2012-02-19T19:04:00.001+13:00

Hi everyone!
If you've paid attention to my blog in the past few weeks, you'll have probably noticed that I haven't been posting all that much! The reason? As with a lot of other teen bloggers, I've recently gone back to school so I've been really busy since first weeks back are always pretty hectic :S But don't worry, it won't be like this all the time! The real big reason I haven't been online as much is because next week, starting tomorrow, I'm going to be camping on an island just off the coast of New Zealand as part of our School Camp Week that we do every year! So I've been all over the place trying to get everything packed and ready.

And yes, an island. Away from civilisation... Which means no electricity, no showers, no access to cellphones or laptops, and ultimately, no blogging from me for an entire week! So if you're wondering why The Paper Planes hasn't been blogging lately, that's the reason :)

Anyway, hope you all have an awesome week while I'm away and get down and dirty within your huge TBR piles :)

Happy Reading Everyone! xx

Partials by Dan Wells

2012-02-12T16:12:00.003+13:00

Title: Partials
Author: Dan Wells
Publication Date: May 18th 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins NZ
Pages: 472
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.

Kira doesn't believe in the Hope Act, the law decreeing that every female over the age of 18 must get pregnant as many times as possible. No baby has ever survived more than a matter of days since the Partial War due to the deadly RM virus and Kira's tired of watching them die right in front of her when she, as a medic, can do nothing at all to save them. So when her best friend gets pregnant, she can't bear to see her child fall prey to the continuos string of disastrous fates and sets off to capture a Partial, the only beings that are immune to the virus, in the hopes of finding a cure before the baby is born.

I don't usually write my reviews like this as you've probably noticed, but trying to write a review for Partials in a single non-divided essay form is like trying to fly -- impossible. Which is a good thing as a reader since it means there are too many great things to gush about but bad for me as a writer, since I can't write long reviews like this if someone pointed a gun at me and told me they'd shoot me if I didn't! So... cut me some slack if I end up sounding pathetically lame? *puppy-dog eyes*

-- Ms. Kira Walker
As far as main characters go, Kira is a pretty damn good one. She's brave, strong-willed and persistent in all the right ways. When she's set her mind on something, she sees it through right to the end and her determination shines through even her toughest moments. Despite being told in third-person, it was unusually easy to relate to her. Though she made a lot of decisions that, had it been any other protagonist, would have seemed stupid and Mary-sue, you could understand exactly why she did the brash things she did because of how deeply her emotions ran. Her loyalty to her friends is endearing and admirable, especially towards her best friend and adoptive sister, Madison. She takes the question "How far will I go for this person?" to a whole other level and it's safe to say that I loved her for it!

-- A Family Tied Together By A World Gone Mad
Partials offers us an incredible array of secondary characters, all of whom are fresh, fun and unique! But truthfully, that's not what made me write a whole paragraph about them, it's rather their relationships with each other that made them such a thrill to read about. I said Kira was loyal, but what her friends do for her is beyond even that. Loyalty doesn't even begin to describe all the sacrifices they make for that one single cause! Kira, Madison, Xochi, Isolde, Marcus and Jayden. Though most of them are part of same adoptive family, these 'plague babies' as the adults call them are as tight as a family bound by blood and the bond they share with each other is palpable and patent.

But that's not all, every character was interesting -- even those who didn't add anything to the story. I actually found myself immeasurably sad whenever any of them died and I think it's amazing that Dan was able to characterize them like that. Not often do I feel such a strong connection to characters that don't play a big part in a novel, but this was definitely an exception!

-- A Dystopia That Swings The Right Way
Partials surprises us with a thoroughly engaging storyline -- one that isn't just about finding a cute guy or rebelling against a government. Instead, it's about the hunt for a cure to RM and isn't even really that heavy on the romance! Though this is just under 500 pages, there are plenty of action scenes to keep you glued to the pages and just as many twists and turns to have you guessing right till the end. I will admit though, that the beginning is a little hard to get into but once you're in, well... you're in for a night without sleep!

-- Substance Within The Science
This is one of those rare Dystopia's/Post-Apocalyptic's that use science as a base for the story to grow. And let me tell you, I have read a lot of Dystopia's where the world-building leaves you to wonder "How did this happen?" or "Where did it come from?" but Partials leaves no question unanswered. It is so clear and apparent that Dan has done his research because the science and human biology actually makes sense! And not only does it make sense, it's interesting in all the ways that science classes at school aren't. I was fully immersed in what could have caused the RM virus to spread and how the genetic make up of a Partial was linked to it!

---

Overall, Partials is a book that I could go on and on and on about what makes it amazing but I fear that like science classes are for me, I would bore you to tears and scare you away from my blog! Take my advice though, and go pick it up when it's released because this, fellow bloggers, is how a dystopia should be written!

Pure by Julianna Baggott

2012-02-06T19:31:00.008+13:00

Title: Pure
Author: Julianna Baggott
Publication Date: January 31st 2012, NZ
Publisher: Hachette NZ
Pages: 448
Rating:

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters. We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join you in peace. For now, we watch from afar, benevolently.

Pressia Belze has lived outside of the Dome ever since the detonations. Struggling for survival she dreams of life inside the safety of the Dome with the 'Pure'. Partridge, himself a Pure, knows that life inside the Dome, under the strict control of the leaders' regime, isn't as perfect as others think. Bound by a history that neither can clearly remember, Pressia and Partridge are destined to forge a new world.

Pure is one hell of a roller-coaster! It's amazing at times, but has a slow beginning, gets freaking brilliant, then fades to a dull series of events. Never have I ever felt as conflicted as I do for this book.

Pressia and Partridge are decent leads. They're brave, strong and determined to get through the toughest obstacles! However, for the most part, you feel disconnected with them until the novel picks up at the end. I don't think it's necessarily their fault, like I said, they're likable, but writing in third person and also in present tense is a pretty hard feat to accomplish. In addition to that, we don't only have Pressia and Partridge's POV's but two others who don't really bring much more to the story. Sometimes multiple POV's work for me, sometimes they don't and unfortunately in this case, it was the latter. I feel like I was looking through too many different pairs of eyes and it made it harder for me to relate to our two main characters.

A lot of people have mentioned that Pure has a lot of too-good-to-be-true coincidences and I'm not going to argue. Pressia and Partridge live in a large post-apocalyptic world yet they somehow manage to meet all the people they need to meet and find all the clues they need to finally get to where they want to be in the end. A few coincidences I can take but Pure is built up of so many that it went way beyond the point where I drew the line!

But fear not! Pure does have it's redeeming qualities. It's a romance, yes, but Pressia's been living in a world where the need to survive overcomes the need for a love life and so the romance takes a back seat in this! It's not at all predictable and though I am a HUGE romance fan, I enjoyed how it wasn't focused so much on the lovey-dovey scenes. Pure is more about family more than anything and I liked that. Plus, at the end where it really gets interesting, if not a bit tragic, you'll find that the ending would be perfect even without a romance.

The stand-out of Pure was undoubtedly the world-building. It's grotesque, gory and sometimes makes you want to empty your stomach of your recently eaten dinner, but I think that's what makes it great! It's scary to see what our world could become, with the surviving humans bearing such realistic deformities. Baggot doesn't shy away from the horror's of a post-apocalyptic world like most other's. It's one of the more believable worlds out there just because of how easily you can picture it in your head!

Overall, Pure is a bit of a hit-or-miss really. If you're willing to get past the agonizingly slow start, and persevere right to the end, you'll be happy that you finished it! Because it does get better, I swear. And if you liked the world-building in books like Under the Never Sky, then you'll probably like the world in this one too. Though, the world in Pure is a whole lot more graphic, I warn you.

In My Mailbox #6

2012-02-05T14:48:00.002+13:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers a chance to share what they bought, borrowed, swapped or got for review that week!

Eeeeee! I got my first physical copies for review! ASDFGHJKL I'M SO HAPPY. I thought they would reject me for sure haha! LOL I'm kind of overreacting but it's so freaking exciting!! We don't get ARC's in NZ though, so these are finished copies that the publishers kindly sent me :)

For review
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
Melody Burning by Whitley Strieber
Partials by Dan Wells (Netgalley)

Bought
Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Thanks to Random House NZ and Allen and Unwin!

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

2012-02-02T17:54:00.005+13:00

Title: Fallen in Love
Author: Lauren Kate
Publication Date: February 2nd 2012, NZ
Publisher: Random House NZ
Pages: 201

Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story. And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first-and last-time, Daniel and Luce will spend a night together like none other. Lauren Kate's FALLEN IN LOVE is filled with love stories . . . the ones everyone has been waiting for. True love never says goodbye...

Fallen in Love reads rather like the movies LOVE, ACTUALLY and VALENTINE'S DAY in that it's told in separate stories but is tied together through loose threads with other characters. It's set during the events of Passion when somehow the whole gang ends up in Medieval England a day before the St. Valentine's Faire!

I'm not the biggest fan of the Fallen series but even I really enjoyed reading this! I loved getting to know the secondary characters because to be honest, I actually like them more than the main characters.

Anyway, I'll do a short review for each story and individual ratings:

Love where you least expect it: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles
Rating:
Shelby and Miles really grew on me! I actually didn't really like them before this because they were kind of boring but it's in this short story that they really start to shine! For one thing, it was fun to watch them naively tackle love in their inexperienced state's. The small awkward moments and little acts of friendship left me smiling at the simpleness of it all. Sometimes I just love a little innocent normal romance and Shelby and Miles gave me that!

However, what I would have liked was to see more depth put into their characters. Like in Torment and Passion, these two didn't quite have the uniqueness that's in all the other angels. There were obvious chances for Miles to be a phenomenally interesting character, what with his obsession with his damn hat, but Lauren left us with nothing on that matter, and that disappointed me. I have a feeling that given the chance, these two could appeal to readers who originally didn't like them.

Overall, I surprisingly enjoyed Shelby and Miles story! Simplistic but entertaining, others who had negative thoughts towards them might want to give this a try. You might just warm up to them like I did!

Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland
Rating:
Roland's story is definitely a lot more complex than Miles and Shelby's and I loved seeing his heartbreaking past unfold before us!

I actually don't have much to say about this one because there wasn't a whole lot going on. It's more of a memory story, with flashbacks of his painful past. I did really like it though! But, I might have enjoyed it more if it had been a little less predictable. I've always liked Roland but I just think Lauren could have done something more, I don't know, unique or different with this because I could tell what would happen from a mile away. It was lovely to see the elements of sacrifice for love in it though and I came out of this having a whole lot more respect for Roland.

Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane
Rating:
To say I was surprised after reading this would be an understatement! Lauren really caught me off guard with this one - really, to think she could write about girl x girl love and actually do it WELL? Mind. Blown. I love Arriane and I am SO happy that Lauren was able to do her story justice!

Unlike the other short stories, this one managed to hit me on a deeply emotional level. We always know Arriane to be happy and fun and also kind of a delinquent character but in this story we get to see a completely different side to her! She's sweet, caring, but kind of conflicted. It's most definitely a tragedy and in a way, reminds me vaguely of Romeo and Juliet because of it's forbidden love between an angel and a demon.

Within the span of four chapters, Lauren has completely sold me on Arriane's character! While the other stories lacked depth, this one excels at it and I feel like I know Arriane a whole lot better now. Behind her outspoken personality is a girl who lies shattered by her past. No doubt, this is my favorite story from Fallen in Love!

Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda
Rating:
Daniel and Luce were a lot more tolerable in this than they were in the previous books but they still fail to interest me to a high degree. For one thing, this was pretty much like what happens in the previous books with the whole Luce goes gaga over Daniel kind of thing. And seriously? Isn't everyday for Daniel and Luce some kind of Valentine's Day?

Nevertheless, like I said, it WAS tolerable and I did enjoy it, but after coming out of Arriane's fantastic story, it just kind of fell flat on a lot of levels. However, with a short story of only so many pages, there's not a lot that can go wrong and thankfully, that was the case for this! Luce and Daniel's relationship is definitely one for those romancaholic lovers, much like Matched by Ally Condie was for me and I think huge fans of Fallen will devour this! Sadly, since I love my romance alongside a bigger plot, I just couldn't muster up much enthusiasm for it.

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There's also a sneakpeak at the first few chapters of Rapture but I couldn't bring myself to read it in case it was really really good and I'd have to wait SO LONG until the actual book came out. But I've heard from other reviews that Rapture kicks off with a great start!

Overall, Fallen in Love was a surprisingly good addition to the Fallen series! People who didn't quite like the previous books but are still wanting to finish it with Rapture? Definitely take a look at this! It'll remind you of why you started it in the first place, gorgeous covers aside. I'm really hoping that Lauren writes a story for Cam though! Or at least by the end of Rapture, he gets some kind of happy ending!

Thanks to Random House NZ for providing a copy for review!