Saturday 21 July 2012

Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #2)

Genres: Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopian, Romance
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

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I rarely have as high hopes as I did for this. Its not a good idea to let your hopes get so high but I couldn't help it. I ended up not getting what I expected. I was so unjustifiably upset while reading this that it can only be because of my ridiculously high expectations. I couldn't get over how sad everything was. Everything was going to sh#*s and I wasn't enjoying it. Tris was being a big baby and antagonizing Four at every opportunity, Four was being stiff and stand-offish, no one trusted them, the world was falling apart, and I almost cried. But its Insurgent! I had to finish it.

Things ended up getting better, and what Tris and Four went through together in the Erudite headquarters seemed to strengthen their bond again. But I am still really disappointed in them both. I know Tris' parents
died and she couldn't deal with it, but it really didn't make for good reading IMO, to see her falling apart. I blame her behaviour for most of her troubles with Four, but he is not without fault. I was really upset about the way he treated her after their meeting with the factionless. He brought her because of her perceptiveness, but then he didn't even ask for her opinion, and when she gave it, he ignored it and accused her of being biased. What?! Tris and Four were always the epitome of YA couples for me. The couple that all other couples were compared to. It hurt me personally, to see them fighting. I really hope it means that they have worked through all their problems and it will never happen again.

But needless to say the writing and story were great. Besides all the confusion at the end, and Tris and Four's relationship, I was impressed with where this went. Lots of action, and twists and turns. Even though the ending was way too abrupt and I didn't fully understand it, it was ambitious and I did not see it coming.

“We're all right, you know,' he says quietly. 'You and me. Okay?' My chest aches, and I nod. 'Nothing else is all right.' His whisper tickles my cheek. 'But we are.”

Thursday 12 July 2012

The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Córdova (The Vicious Deep #1)

Genres: Young Adult, Adventure, Fantasy/Mythology
Publication Date: May 1st 2012
POV: Male - First-person, Present tense
My Rating: 3 out of 5

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For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave.

He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.

His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he's heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he's suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.

Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea...and now it wants him back.

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This was a bit disappointing. It was from a male POV. Tristan was interesting and I mostly liked him. He was a bit of a whore, but he was funny. The story was interesting but not amazing. They spent too much time on land for my liking. And he spend too much time just at school and hanging around with friends when he should have been completing his quest. I would have preferred to be more immersed in the mer world.

But I like Tristan, mostly because he amuses me. Because I am laughing at him, not with him. He is supposed to be so cool and popular and girls are throwing themselves at him, but I find him to be a tad silly and awkward. I guess that's because he's 16 and I'm not. I also really like Layla, Thalia, and Kurt. A great cast of characters. Tristan was pining after Layla for the whole book, but he was so passive about it, it was kinda sad. He thinks he loves her, and he says he always sees her face when he is in trouble, but he doesn't do anything about it. It was a very uneventful romance. All thought, no action. 

And then they introduced the Gwen character to complicate things. Maybe in The Savage Blue Layla will decide she likes Tristan and a love-triangle will be introduced with Gwen. As long as something happens I wont complain. Gwen was interesting but there is no comparing to the bond Tristan and Layla have. I am so Team Layla. I've never had to team with a girl before. Unless I take Kurt into consideration. I am not sure if maybe Kurt likes Layla, or maybe Layla likes Kurt. It's unclear, but if there is something going on there, I am Team Tristan.

Anyway, this was decently entertaining but I am not super excited for more, but I will still read The Savage Blue.

“Our kind, we don't leave many traces behind in this world.”

Sunday 8 July 2012

Leif by Abbi Glines (Existence Trilogy #2.5)

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Novella
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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"She was mine. I owned her soul…until Death stole her heart."

Leif is a novella from the Existence series. It is glimpses into Leif's point-of-view during both Existence and Predestined.

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While reading this I couldn't recall how I felt about Leif in Predestined. I liked him enough in Existence, but just in a Puck or Matt (TVD) sort of way. I had to reread my reviews to remind myself. Apparently I hated Leif after Predestined. Now I kind of feel bad for hating him. And I also felt bad for how much Pagan clearly hated him. He so didn't deserve it. He definitely made a lot of mistakes and went about trying to woo her all wrong, and he lied to her too much. But can you imagine being any better after having the parents he has? No, he is lucky he turned out so good. And he really loves her. When Pagan was in Vilokan during Predestined and she told Leif that if he loved her he wouldn't hold her against her will, I agreed with her. But now I see he was telling her the truth. He was doing his best to protect her from his father, hoping she would choose him, but he never intended to force her to.

In most love-triangles I still like the other guy and wish he could be happy, but do not want him to move on because I still admire his feelings and don't want his love to be cheapened by being forgotten too quickly. Such as Puck. He still loved Meghan in the end and says he is leaving for decades in order to get over her. If he had found another girl in the end I would have been disappointed in him. There are a few instances when I found the other guy to be just an annoyance and a distraction and I could care less if he fell for someone else, in fact I would prefer it, such as Will Herondale. I know, I know, I am alone in that, but that is a discussion for another day. That is how I used to feel about Leif, but now he has switched to the other category. He tried so hard to win Pagan that it is unforgettable, and I don't want him to forget it either. I don't know if that is unfair of me, but as I said, I feel like his love would be cheapened otherwise, affecting how I view his character.

But I wish more had been covered from Existence. The last scene was when they made out on her couch (which was super hot from Leif POV btw), then it skipped to the end when she picked Dank. But when did Leif realize that Pagan was in love with Dank? Did he know she was in love with him all along? Did he realize that his kisses hadn't ever excited her? We don't know. I wouldn't mind having another book about Leif. One that isnt just Pagan's story from his POV, but a book that is actually his story and his HEA.
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