3.5 stars Dark, gritty, surprisingly engaging. Liked the characters, totally bought the set-up, and the sex is pretty good...if a little too talky/a b3.5 stars Dark, gritty, surprisingly engaging. Liked the characters, totally bought the set-up, and the sex is pretty good...if a little too talky/a bit too much of a tease in a lot of scenes....more
And add that I really disliked the writing style, logic gaps, and characterization.
Also, I'd normally enjoy baking scenes, but the baked goods in Canter's look pretty terrible, so I was mostly scrunching up my nose every time one of those came up. ...more
3.5 stars I quite liked this one--cool future tech, interesting characters, and engrossing plot. I'm not sure how I feel about some elements of the th3.5 stars I quite liked this one--cool future tech, interesting characters, and engrossing plot. I'm not sure how I feel about some elements of the the ending, however, as the guardianship stuff seemed pretty farfetched (I know, I know, I can buy dream-mining, but there's got to be some logic even within fantastical circumstances), and I'm not clear on exactly what happened in those final moments. A stronger finish would have been better, as well as a little more detail/development with the stepfather stuff and the female relationships. Still, lots to enjoy here, including cool technology, reality show integrated into daily life in a believable way, and investment in Rosie and her friends. Look forward to book two! ...more
After being disappointed or so-so on so many YA scifi novels, I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. This is a high concept story that reAfter being disappointed or so-so on so many YA scifi novels, I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. This is a high concept story that really works, with well thought-out technology, nuanced characters, and an engaging plot. And a standalone! And a book with something to say, but doesn't hammer you over the head with it!
Review to come. But definitely put this on your list if you enjoy dystopian thrillers....more
Well, damn. There had better be a sequel for this book! Penguin, you can't just leave us hanging there!
The first few chapters are absolutely riveting Well, damn. There had better be a sequel for this book! Penguin, you can't just leave us hanging there!
The first few chapters are absolutely riveting (you can read an excerpt here, btw: http://www.mtv.com/news/2051414/exclu...), and the cruel, merciless world these characters inhabit is well drawn. The feel of this book reminded me of the Legend trilogy, actually, though I think Ember is more complex in plot, characters, and setting. It's fantasy that feels a bit dystopian, which is pretty interesting.
I'm mulling over a couple of major points that I think could have made this book better (view spoiler)[one of which involves complicated romantic entanglements (hide spoiler)], but overall I enjoyed this very much. Review to come....more
I'm sad that I didn't end up enjoying this book more. I try not to use these comparisons too often, but there are so many similarities that this is thI'm sad that I didn't end up enjoying this book more. I try not to use these comparisons too often, but there are so many similarities that this is the best way I can think of to describe the story: it's sort of like The Hunger Games as a punishment/crazy justice system combined with Divergent-ish tests using Star Trek TNG's holodeck. The premise is pretty interesting, but I felt pretty disconnected from the drama and the characters, as well as confused by the plot throughout most of the book. The constant flashbacks didn't help, nor did the deliberate withholding of information (that the main character knows) so that the reader stays in suspense. I was also not crazy about any of the motivations, especially this reveal that comes late in the book: (view spoiler)[
Casey and I committed unthinkable crimes because we were so desperately in love with people in our lives. We felt as though we had no choice.(hide spoiler)]
I think the writing was solid, but I wish it had been more dynamic. I felt pretty disinterested by extremely dramatic things that were going on, even when people were taking off their clothes. Some of the writing or dialogue also could have used some smoothing out:
Mine and Casey's breathing rattles in sync.
I mean, that's just an awkward sentence, and it distracted from what should have been a relatively important moment.
While this is dystopian/scifi and there are certainly elements that make it so, the style felt like more of a paranormal/horror book to me. Which would have been fine, I guess, if I'd enjoyed it more, but because I had a hard time getting engaged, it all felt a little jarring. And the horror elements were pretty gross. I'm really glad to see more NA being published that aren't always angsty contemporary romances, but somehow this one feels like it might've slotted better for an upper YA audience if it weren't for all the sex in it. (Or maybe it would have worked for an adult MIRA-type imprint? I haven't read that many Intermix titles yet, but this wasn't what I expected.)
I was originally interested in this book because I'd seen the author refer to its sequel as "insanely sexy lesbian NA," but I think I might wait to see what else she writes outside of this series. Other readers seem to be enjoying this, so I'd recommend sampling the ebook previews when they become available to see if you like the style.
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for this review....more
Wendy Darling
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Books:
dystopian-post-apocalyptic-utopian
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