Candor by Pam Bachorz

Publisher: Egmont Books

Format: Paperback

Published: 2^nd August 2010

Number of Pages: 304

Book: Borrowed From The Library

Genre: Dystopia, Psychological Thriller, Sci-Fi, Speculative Fiction, Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Nothing Really Unsuitable

No Alcohol, Drug References

My name is Oscar and I am the perfect teenager. My girlfriend is the hottest girl in school. I get straight As. I am class president. But there is a terrible reason I am so perfect: the Messages. Oscar Banks lives in the pristine town of Candor. Son of the mayor, he is good-looking, smart and popular. And he knows something he's not supposed to - he knows about the brainwashing Messages embedded in the music that plays all over the town. But Oscar has found a way to burn counter-Messages that keep him real. Up to now, it's all worked perfectly. There's just one problem: Nia Silva, the newest Candor arrival. What will Oscar risk to keep the Nia he loves rather than watch her become a Candor automaton? Deeply chilling, "Candor" is a psychological thriller that will haunt readers with its vision of a world controlled by something worse than Big Brother.

Review:

I picked up Candor, meaning to just read a chapter or two: it was about one in the morning, and I was tired.  The problem: I simply could not put it down!  It was almost as if the messages were inside my own head, saying, ‘Don’t stop.  Keep reading.  Great readers never stop.’  Candor was just so addictive.  I was up until three, and finished the book in just a matter of sittings.

Candor, the town, was really creepy.  It’s the place where rich parents take their problem children to become ‘fixed’.  What the children aren’t told is that the music that plays all around town contains hidden messages that mould them into perfect little sons or daughters.  All day long, all around ‘respectful space in every place’, ‘always strive to make your parents proud’, ‘studying is your top priority’, ‘the great are never late’.  Without their knowledge, in a week or two, they have lost all their free will.  It’s inevitable, “Nobody escapes the messages”.  Oscar’s different.  And not just because he’s the founder’s son.  He’s different because he knows.  He knows about the messages – he can even hear them in his head, rather than them being sent straight to his subconscious.  And, he can fight them, he can make his own.  He gets kids out.  It’s risky, yes, but he’s always careful.  He never gets caught. 

Until Nia skateboards into his life with spray-paint in her hand.  Suddenly, his world’s different, and instead of wanting to get her out, he wants to keep her the same.  But just how far will Oscar go to keep the Nia he knows and loves?

Oscar was a great male lead, probably because he wasn’t perfect.  I liked that he fought back and that he found a way to make his brain belong to him.  Yes, he was reckless and occasionally a jerk, but when he spoke of everything he’d lost in his life, and everything his own father had done to him, it killed me a little inside.  Oscar was just one of those characters I genuinely came to care for.

Nia was brilliant too: one of those classic literary rich-girls-lashing-out.  She did literally everything imaginable that her parents didn’t want her to do.  But underneath, she was a sweet girl, with a great sense of humour and I came to really like her too.

Candor was one of those books that gripped me from the word go, and had me smiling, laughing, in shock and screaming at it.  I struggled to put it down.  I’m crossing all my fingers, hoping for a sequel, because I did not like how it ended.  Hence the screaming.

Overall, a story with amazing characters and a beautiful lovestory, with a chilling psychological thriller hidden underneath.  Big Brother truly has nothing on Candor.

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Gone by Michael Grant

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading

Megan

Beyond the Darkness by Leonard D. Hilley II

If you want to buy either Predators of Darkness: Aftermath or Beyond the Darkness go to: eBooks For Pleasure

Series: The Darkness, Book Two

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Format: eBook

Published: Paperback: 22^nd July 2008

eBook:

Number of Pages: 280

Book: For Review From Author*

Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action, Adventure, YA, YA-Adult Crossover

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Lots of Violence, Mild Law Breaking, Swearing

No Alcohol, Drug References

PLEASE DON’T READ THIS IF YOU’RE PLANNING ON READING PREDATORS OF DARKNESS: AFTERMATH!

Synopsis From Goodreads:

“Leonard Hilley II's first novel, Predators of Darkness, shows us a nightmarish world of gruesome genetically-engineered monsters preying on humans, corporations more powerful - and more dangerous- than governments, and a web of lies and cover-ups that all sound remarkably like they could have been drawn from today's headlines. Fact or fiction? Read this gripping novel and find out."

- John Kachuba, Author of Ghosthunters: On the Trail of Mediums, Dowsers, Spirit Seekers and Other Investigators of America's Paranormal World

Three years after Daniel and the other survivors escaped the terrorizing, blood-thirsty shifters in Pittsburgh, his friends have moved forward with their lives, but Daniel cannot. He believes the conspiracies within TransGenCorp have not ended and more shifters exist.

Then Daniel receives a phone call from Lucas that bolsters his paranoia.

Lucas is being charged with murders he insists his clone committed.

Daniel soon discovers darker atrocities are emerging, which not only place his life in immense danger, but all his friends as well.

Review:

I knew there had to be more to come after Predators of Darkness: Aftermath, but I just wasn’t sure what.  After all, the Lucas-clone got away, and, well, it just couldn’t be over.  There was too much corruption, too many secrets, too many unanswered questions.  Plus, I had the sequel, given to me so generously by the author (thank you Leonard!).

Three years have passed since Predators of Darkness: Aftermath, and all the survivors are back in the real, outside world.  The evil mastermind behind the shifter experiment is dead, and therefore the nightmare is over.  But Daniel’s isn’t.  He can’t accept that it’s all over, that they’re all safe.  He just can’t shake the paranoia he acquired during his time in Pittsburgh. 

Turns out, he was right.  Lucas’ clone kills four senators and the real-Lucas is arrested for the murder.  To prove his friend’s innocence, Daniel will have to renter a world he never wished to see again.  And this time, they’re all in danger: Daniel, Julia, their daughter Felicia, Nancy, Lucas, Lydia, Dr Helmsby and Johanna...

I admit, I wasn’t entirely sure where the plot would go, but I found myself being pulled in straight away and just as addicted.  I raced through it, hooked: it was amazing and the pace was perfect.  And it was the same adrenaline-filled roller-coaster as the previous book, the one I simply adore.

Daniel was very withdrawn at the start of the book, constantly in fear of the shifters, damaged by the nightmarish time three years ago.  He’s married to Julia now, who’s just as strong and brave as ever.  The two have a daughter, Felicia.  And a shifter-cat called Morton.  I loved Morton!  He’s a good shifter, created by Helmsby, who has the ability to tell right from wrong.  And a very good sense of humour.  He would do anything for his family, and his witty remarks kept even the darkest bits amusing.

I still love the very reckless, brave and caring Lucas.  A few characters I didn’t like in the first I grew to love: Johanna and Lydia to name a few. 

Lucas’ clone had a name of his own in this book: Lucian.  You got to know him as a person, and I even felt sorry for him.  Idris treated him horribly, even using genetic blackmail on him.  Only a great author could make me feel for a guy who would’ve murdered everyone in the previous book.

I can’t wait to see where Game of Pawns takes this series, and I know that it will be just as fast paced and addictive as the rest of them.  I really recommend this, not just for teenagers or YA readers, but for adults as well.  It’s one of those that crosses between the two age groups so easily it appears to be effortless.  I love the twists, turns, the amazingly detailed characters and plots.  I can’t wait to get back into this world again!

P.S. And, can I just say, it was the coolest thing to have the FBI involved.  Supernatural-thriller meets police-drama.  Two genres I love.

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

YA Thriller:

Cherub by Robert Muchamore (Same Adrenaline Rush)

Agent 21 by Chris Ryan

YA Horror:

Gone by Michael Grant

The Dead by Charlie Higson

Adult:

Stephen King novels

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

2011 E-Book Challenge (Hosted by The Ladybug Reads)

Happy Reading

Megan

*This book was recieved from the author in exchange for an honest review

Predators of Darkness: Aftermath by Leonard D. Hilley II

Series: The Darkness, Book One

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Format: eBook

Published: 11^th April 2007

Number of Pages: 340

Book: For Review From Author*

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller, YA-Adult Crossover, YA

Recommended Age: 15+

Contains: A Lot of (Awesome!) Violence, Sexual Scenes, Swearing, Difficult And Too-Mature Subjects for Younger Readers: Touches On Rape, But No Graphic Scenes

No Alcohol, Drug References
Author's Blog: Deimosweb

Synopsis From Goodreads:

 Fear What Lurks In The Shadows

The desolate streets of downtown Pittsburgh in 2073 are a reminder of the missile attack that forever changed the lives of the surviving scientists and students hidden in the fallout shelter of Helmsby’s Genetic Research Center. Believing themselves to be the only survivors, they station themselves inside the center until food supplies near depletion. Thinking the fallout has lessened, they emerge three years later to discover strange creatures patrolling the streets in search of human flesh and blood. The creatures possess the ability to shift their genomes and alter their appearances by realigning their genetic sequences. Daniel Hutchinson, their leader, teams with Lucas Ridale and together they set out to scavenge the area for food and supplies with the hope to find other survivors. But Daniel’s most recent journey uncovers mysteries more frightening than the shifters. He discovers the tip of Pittsburgh has been fenced off from the rest of the area. Low-flying helicopters observe the streets, making him ponder the question: Were the shifters released as simply part of a military experiment with humans being their prey?

Review:

I was lucky enough to get an email from the author asking if I would like to read this book, the other two in the series, and then if I’d like to interview him.  Of course, how could I say no?  The blurb drew me in, the premise was brilliant.  And, after finishing the book, I can honestly say that I loved it!  So thank you, Leonard D. Hilley II!

From the first sentence, I was hooked.  This was mainly because I wasn’t sure whether I should laugh or not.  The sentence was:

“Dropping a cat from the top ledge of a ten-story office building was not the best way to remain hidden, but it was necessary.”

It got better from there.  I was drawn into Pittsburgh, 2071, and a world after a missile attack that’s left only a few bands of survivors.  And, to make things worse, there are horrifying creatures, known as ‘shifters’.  The name comes from how they are able to change their form, “manipulate their own genomes” into any shape they want.  But the mutation has left them hungry for human flesh.  On top of that, they can heal themselves of just about anything, even grow back limbs.  Which makes them insanely hard to kill: not such a good thing for our male protagonist, Daniel.  But, the shifters are genetically impossible: how can anything evolve so much in three years?  They shouldn’t be here.  So how are they?  Who – or what – is behind them? 

Leonard D. Hilley’s world was brilliantly thought out, and felt very real, almost like I was there – which is, can I just say, a terrifying feeling.  The way Hilley slowly reveals snippets of information was addictive, and I loved how there were so many mysteries, lies, secrets and twists, all of which left me reeling.

The characters were brilliant too: Daniel, the leader, who was brave and strong, but haunted by the past: lives he’s lost, his memories, nightmares.  He was easily likeable, and I admired him.  One of the characters that intrigued me the most was Dr. Helmsby: I couldn’t quite figure him out.  He was undeniably brilliant, driven, slightly obsessive and a charismatic genius, yet was at the same time slightly distant.  I just got a feeling, as I read about him... that he knew more than he was telling...  Lucas was insane, a risk-taker, and Daniel’s second-in-command: reckless and slightly unhinged – in my opinion, anyway.  Finally, Julia – who was in love with Daniel – was smart, brave and funny: very easy to like.

Something unique about this book is that it doesn’t skirt around subjects like death, violence and... um, sex-esque scenes.  I could tell it was written for mid teens – and may I just say, the writing was brilliant – and it definitely didn’t talk down to them, like some books do, which I think they’ll appreciate.  What with that, the non-stop action, suspense and violence, I know that adrenaline-junkie-fifteen-plus-teenagers will love Predators of Darkness: Aftermath, especially with the strong sci-fi undercurrents.  It’s also one of those books that just grabs you from the word go, pulls you in, and takes you on a break-neck-speed adventure that you just can’t leave until the book – or the series- is finished. 

What I loved most was the message: humans should be careful when they mess with science.  If one person gets the information and wants to use it for the wrong reasons, then, bam!  We’re in a world like Predators of Darkness.  It honestly isn’t a stretch to imagine.  If you don’t fully understand what you’re doing, it can go bad, very bad.  The thought was there all through the book, and it terrified me.  It should terrify you too...

From the ending, I know there has to be more, that there’s worse to come.  And I can’t wait to re-enter the world, and find out where it goes next...

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Adult:
Stephen King Books
Watchers or Mr Murder by Dean Koontz
YA:
The Dead by Charlie Higson
The Demonata or The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

2011 E-Book Challenge (Hosted by The Ladybug Reads)

Happy Reading

Megan

*This book was recieved from the author in exchange for an honest review

Portal by Imogen Rose

Series: The Portal Chronicles, Book One

Publisher: Unknown

Format: Kindle Edition

Published: 20^th January 2011

Number of Pages: 350

Book: Bought

Genre: Time-Travel, Sci-Fi, Romance, Paranormal, Mystery, YA

Recommended Age: 11+

Contains One Incident of Mild Violence, No Swearing or Sexual References

Come Find Me Two Years Ago...

Six words that propelled ice hockey playing tomboy, Arizona, into an alternate dimension.
She suddenly found herself in the past. In one moment she went from being an ice hockey playing teenager in New Jersey to a glamorous cheerleader in California. She found herself transported from a happy life with her dad, Dillard, to a new, strange one living with her mother whom she hates. Apparently it's a life she's always lived in.
Everyone knows her as Arizona Darley, but she isn't. She is Arizona Stevens.
As she struggles to find answers she is certain of one thing- that her mother Olivia, a brilliant physicist, is somehow responsible. .
PORTAL is the story of the repercussions of Olivia Darley's attempt at creating a perfect world for herself and her children. Arizona's quest for answers threatens to undermine the seemingly perfect world that her mother has so carefully constructed.
PORTAL is the first book of the Portal Chronicles. Fans of time travel, romance, and the supernatural will enjoy Arizona's quest for answers.

Review:

Once again, lots of split reviews over this book.  I can see why, now that I’ve read the book.  I loved the idea of the book, and the plot was good, if a little slow at times.  It was the language that bugged me: it was all overly formal, and didn’t flow at all.  And how many 17-or-so teenage boys say:

“I feel tremendous pressure to do so.”? 

It just didn’t sound right to me, and the language went on like that.  For example:

"She is being taken up to x-ray now. She said that she's absolutely fine, but I guess they want to make sure. She is right there on the gurney." 

Does that sound like part of a normal conversation to you?  To me, it just isn’t how someone would speak casually, or naturally. 

That was my only negative point about the book though.  I loved the alternate world side of it, and how one day our protagonist, Arizona, just wakes up and realises she isn’t in her own universe.  She’s no longer a tomboy, but a cheerleader, she has friends she doesn’t know and no idea what on Earth’s going on.  It was just the way Imogen Rose jumps between the first person told from the POV of Arizona and then third person from her mother, Olivia, which I thought was brilliant and worked incredibly well.  And the way she slowly revealed little snippets of information, mainly through flashbacks from Arizona’s mother was pure genius.  Everything just fell into place slowly, and there were twists that knocked me completely off balance.   

I really liked Arizona: she was strong and believably frustrated at suddenly being trapped in an alternate world.  That was completely understandable, though I didn’t really get why she seemed more concerned with ice hockey that with getting back to her own time.  Then again, we all cope in different ways, and I think this was her way of dealing.  I really liked her, and the way she stood up for herself, even feeling sorry for her, and completely confused with her.  The supporting characters were brilliant as well – Kellan, Ella, Ariele and Harry to name a few – although some of them could be padded out a little more.  As for Arizona’s mother, I started off hating her, because that was how Arizona saw her.  But then, with the help of a few flashbacks, I started to realise why.  It was hard to hate her so much then.

I loved the sci-fi romance and the time-travel, wanting to know what was going on just as much as Arizona did.  It took me a while to get into – mainly because I was reading The Hunger Games, which is completely addictive – but when all the twists began, I was hooked.

Portal was not the best written, but the plot made up for it.  I don’t want to give anything away, but the ending was such an unexpected cliffhanger it’s untrue.  Now, I need the next book in the series, because I really want to know what happens next!

Overall, the plot was slow to begin with, but full of mystery and surprises.  I really liked it.  The only drawback: the writing.  Which is honestly such a shame, because otherwise this would have gotten far closer to a 5 from me.

 

Star Rating:
3¾ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Trylle Trilogy by Amanda Hocking

My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking

The Seeker Series (Blood of Gold) by B. V. Larson

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)
A-Z Reading Challenge (Hosted by Book Junky)

2011 E-Book Challenge (Hosted by The Ladybug Reads)

Off the Shelf Challenge (Hosted by BA Reading Challenges)

X Marks the Spot (The X Files #1) by Les Martin

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Format: Paperback

Published: 1996

Created and Based on the Teleplay By: Chris Carter

Number of Pages: 118

Book: Borrowed (From Library)

Genre: Sci-Fi, YA

Class of the Doomed.

The FBI thinks Fox Mulder is weird - or worse.  He keeps insisting that aliens are running amok on earth.  His lovely and level-headed partner, Agent Dana Scully, is supposed to keep him in line.  But that's hard to do when they're investigating an Oregon high school class full of corpses and the walking dead.

Yes, Mulder's theories about the class of '89 are beyond strange.  But in a world where minds are turned off like lights, bodies blossom with otherworldly scars, and the night explodes with blinding evil, Fox Mulder may not be weird at all.  He may just be the one with the answers nobody's ready to hear...

Review:

Ok, I’ll admit that the main reason I picked this up is because it was the only book starting with ‘X’ that I could find.  I’ve seen some of the series on TV, but haven’t really followed it so much, even though I really like it.

This book was... really good actually.  Strange, kind of scary and full of weird events, this book had me hooked.  Also, it set the scene really well, without sending me into information overdrive.

‘Spooky Mulder’ is obsessed with the unusual cases: The X Files.  This fixation worries the FBI, especially as they think he’d go to any lengths to get the truth.  So they send by-the-book agent, Dana Scully, to keep an eye on him.  Together, the two go to a small town where bizarre deaths are cropping up: all from the same high school class.  Little do the FBI know that Mulder is very, very convincing, especially as his theories seem to be the only ones that make sense...

Mulder’s brilliant.  He doesn’t care what anyone thinks – even though some of them believe he’s insane – and he’s intuitive, frighteningly so at points.  His conviction that aliens are walking among us sometimes makes him slightly blind to other options, but as the book goes on you find out why he’s so certain, and it really makes you understand him more.  So, all in all, he’s a brilliant, smart, if slightly ‘spooky’ character.

Scully’s more down to earth, and her ideas more practical.  Sometimes she wasn’t all that open minded, but Mulder can be pretty convincing.  She’s cool, level-headed and smart: pretty much what you want in a lead girl.

Overall, a book that, honestly, I loved.  It was short, addictive and spooky, full of alien-abduction-theories and defensive locals.  The characters were great, strong and believable.  Yeah, I’m not exactly a fan of Sci-Fi, but The X Files is one in this genre that I really like, and would happily either read or watch again.

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5

Read This Book If You Liked:

The X Files TV Show

Daniel X by James Patterson

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)
A-Z Reading Challenge (Hosted by Book Junky)
Horror and Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)