This was such a fun and fast book! I quite enjoyed it, and figured I would do a nice breakdown of what I liked (which was a lot!) and what I didn't (which is really just two things, and one of them is pretty minor). Let's get to it!
The Yays:
I felt for Liz immediately. I mean, talk about no good choices! She basically has to die for her people, in a way that she doesn't even really believe will save them, or run for her life but in doing so, having her people lose faith in her. You cannot help but cheer for Liz. She doesn't deserve to die because of some (possibly bogus) prophecy, but we all know how absurd unreasonable people can be. Especially when Liz dying is the "easy" solution for them. Which, to me as a reader, made me want Liz to run to safety even more, of course!
It's a wonderfully paced adventure! I can't help it, I love when characters have to go on the lam. I love a good survival travel story, and this book has it for sure. The stakes are so high, because obviously Liz cannot be captured. But also, there are all kinds of other things at play. People hunting her, and political issues that she's been kept in the dark about.
Loved the other characters just as much! Matioch is a sympathetic character as well, though at first perhaps less than Liz. He's flawed, no doubt, acting with self-preservation in mind, but as the story goes on we begin to see who he really is. Tia, Liz's best friend, is another wonderful bright spot in the story. She grounds Liz, and gently but firmly reminds Liz who she needs to be. I adored their friendship so much.
The Nays:
The romance felt a little insta-lovey. It wasn't like, eye-roll worthy or anything, I just kept getting a nagging feeling. Especially since at the start of the story, Matioch was very not ready to settle down. I think it's supposed to show how special Liz is to him, which I understand, but it was just a little quick for me- especially considering that they both had to give up a lot.
There is a part of the story where Matioch says he won't "ruin" Liz. And that irked me. I am hoping that this is to highlight the awfulness of the patriarchal society that thinks this way of thinking is acceptable, but it just wasn't clear enough. And so it made me a bit stabby.
Bottom Line:
A fast paced, high stakes story with enjoyable characters, I will definitely be picking up the next book to find out what will become of Liz and Mat!
This was such a fun and fast book! I quite enjoyed it, and figured I would do a nice breakdown of what I liked (which was a lot!) and what I didn't (which is really just two things, and one of them is pretty minor). Let's get to it!
The Yays:
I felt for Liz immediately. I mean, talk about no good choices! She basically has to die for her people, in a way that she doesn't even really believe will save them, or run for her life but in doing so, having her people lose faith in her. You cannot help but cheer for Liz. She doesn't deserve to die because of some (possibly bogus) prophecy, but we all know how absurd unreasonable people can be. Especially when Liz dying is the "easy" solution for them. Which, to me as a reader, made me want Liz to run to safety even more, of course!
It's a wonderfully paced adventure! I can't help it, I love when characters have to go on the lam. I love a good survival travel story, and this book has it for sure. The stakes are so high, because obviously Liz cannot be captured. But also, there are all kinds of other things at play. People hunting her, and political issues that she's been kept in the dark about.
Loved the other characters just as much! Matioch is a sympathetic character as well, though at first perhaps less than Liz. He's flawed, no doubt, acting with self-preservation in mind, but as the story goes on we begin to see who he really is. Tia, Liz's best friend, is another wonderful bright spot in the story. She grounds Liz, and gently but firmly reminds Liz who she needs to be. I adored their friendship so much.
The Nays:
The romance felt a little insta-lovey. It wasn't like, eye-roll worthy or anything, I just kept getting a nagging feeling. Especially since at the start of the story, Matioch was very not ready to settle down. I think it's supposed to show how special Liz is to him, which I understand, but it was just a little quick for me- especially considering that they both had to give up a lot.
There is a part of the story where Matioch says he won't "ruin" Liz. And that irked me. I am hoping that this is to highlight the awfulness of the patriarchal society that thinks this way of thinking is acceptable, but it just wasn't clear enough. And so it made me a bit stabby.
Bottom Line:
A fast paced, high stakes story with enjoyable characters, I will definitely be picking up the next book to find out what will become of Liz and Mat!...more
This book left me fairly speechless. It's hands down one of the darkest and most messed up books I have ever read, and that is saying something. When an inexplicable condition renders Lucy's classmate a violent mess, she's rightfully unsettled. And things only go downhill from there. Soon, the town is overtaken by what is basically a murderous rampage, and Lucy and her friends have quite the time trying to survive.
I don't want to say too much here, because spoilers, and I think you should go into this one as I did, knowing very little. Because once the shit hits the fan, I was not be able to stop reading. Lucy was certainly a sympathetic character, and as she was relatable, I was easily able to ask myself what I would do in her shoes.
And wow I never ever want to be in her shoes! When things got bad, they got bad fast. At first, it had seemed like her one classmate may be an isolated incident, but when the outbreak picked up... well, you can imagine how quickly things went from "boring suburb" to "hellfire". And the author did a great job at making me feel the crisis-level that Lucy and her friends were operating under. Everything felt incredibly high stakes, and the danger immediate.
Bottom Line: Perhaps not for the faint of heart, but if you can handle some violence and horror, this is quite the exciting (and thought provoking) ride! ...more
Five Total Strangers is certainly compulsively readable and highly entertaining, though I did have a few issues with it that perhaps took me out of the story a little? Though if I am being completely fair, I probably noticed these things more than a typical person did- partly because I live here, and partly because I am just kind of weird about random stuff? Anyway, I will break it on down!
The Good:
►Like I said, this book was a page-turner! I wanted- nay, needed- to know who was up to what! There is a mystery here, no question, but I didn't have any idea what was going on, and I love that! I basically couldn't put it down.
►While the main character gets herself in a very messy situation, it made sense why she'd make these choices. Like- you might read the synopsis and be like "girl, why the heck?" and right? But it does make sense in context! I mean, your home life is a mess, and you know your mom is going through it, you'd want to be home from Christmas too!
The author nails the atmosphere. I mean, it feels exactly as desperate as you'd expect, being stuck in the snow in the middle of nowhere! I was creeped out, no question! ►I liked Mira, and rathered she not be murdered by a blizzard compatriot. I mean, the fact that she cared so much about her mother's well-being was quite lovely. And I was certainly interested in the other characters too, even if I wasn't sure if I could trust a damn one of them.
The Not:
►The geography was just wrong. Again, look, I know that this is likely a "me" thing. But the way these people were driving made no sense! And the author kept talking about Newark Airport like it's in Pennsylvania when it is very not and then implying that I-80 is near Philly, which again, so much nope. And while it is maybe a silly gripe, it did take me out of the story because I kept having to suspend... well, not disbelief, perhaps suspend knowledge of Mid-Atlantic Highway Systems? ...more
I love me a dystopian, and this book absolutely fulfilled my craving. I could not put it down, and immediately knew I would be needing the next book. We follow the story of Eve, a surly and rather unhappy inhabitant of Compound Eleven. It's basically a crappy bunker town, at least for the Have-Nots like Eve and her friends and family. In fact, Eve's own brother was Octavia Blaked (it's a verb now), only instead of floating the mother for having a second child, they floated (reverse floated I suppose) the kid which is next-level cruel. So to say Eve isn't exactly enamored with the place would be a gross understatement.
She fights (voluntarily) in the pits, but she doesn't really want to fight forever. This is how she meets Wren, an upper-level privileged sort that decided to take part in a fight for funsies. (In truth, I think Wren may have a serious anger management problem, but that is an issue for the next book to tackle.) Eve gets beat up pretty badly, and even though Wren kind of feels bad, it just cements what Eve has always known: she needs to get out of there.
What ensues is Eve formulating an escape plan while simultaneously falling for Wren. This complicates matters, of course, but his position is also helpful to her plans. She's also quite remiss to trust him, or any of her existing friends with her intentions, which makes sense (I mean, things don't seem to end well for many folks) but obviously this creates a lot of conflict.
There were some predictable moments, which is the only actual negative I can offer. Otherwise, I was deeply invested in Eve's escape plans, as well as her evolving relationships with her friends, family, and Wren. I also liked reading about the hierarchy of Compound Eleven itself, and there was mention of other compounds (and the world in general) outside of Eleven, so I am really looking forward to reading more about those mysteries in the upcoming books!
Bottom Line: A very solid start to a series that has hooked me with its appropriately desperate main character navigating a pretty intense and uncomfortable dystopian world. ...more
Black Sun blew me away, there is no other way to say it. From the first page, I was completely hooked. And I am going to attempt to coherently explain why.
►The world building was phenomenal, and just luscious. Look, this is a complicated world! But instead of feeling lost and overwhelmed, I felt like this world was being explained to me in a way that I was able to absorb. Piece by divulged piece, I was able to understand it better. I wrote a note in my Kindle at one point that said "This is how you world-build!" and that sums it up.
►Speaking of, the Pre-Colombian inspiration was simply incredible. I mean, I have not read pretty much anything about it before, which is unfortunate because it is beyond fascinating! And I cannot wait to delve even deeper!
►I fell in love with the characters. Oh, what a flawed bunch we have here! Heroes, no. But neither are they not heroes, if that makes sense? They each have a huge potential to change the world, but truthfully none is more deserving than the next, which makes it so compelling. Which faction will come out ahead? No idea, because there isn't a clear "good guy". And just as everyone* knows, there are no good guys. But they are all, regardless, incredibly sympathetic and well developed, which I am always here for.
►Obviously, gray morality is huge. We all know I am a complete sucker for this, but it is done so well in this book, which is definitely one of the reasons I loved it so much.
►I was completely and totally immersed in the story. Without giving much away, I just fell into the book, from the start, and never once wanted to put it down. I had to, because life, but I didn't want to. And I think I shall re-read it before the next book comes out, because I feel like there is just so much, in the best possible way, to consume in this story!
Bottom Line: Black Sun is a damn work of art, there's nothing else to say. I need the next book!...more
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