Partials by Dan Wells

Series: Partials, Book One

Publisher: HarperCollins

Format: ARC

Published: 29^th March 2012

Number of Pages: 482

Book: For Review*

Genre: Dystopia, Science-Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Action-Adventure, Mystery, Post-Apocalyptic, YA

Recommended Age: 13+

Contains: Violence, Death, Drinking, Swearing

No Drug References

Author's Blog: Dan Wells

The human race is all but extinct, wiped out by a killer virus released by genetically engineered soldiers – Partials.

Sixteen-year-old Kira is trapped on Long Island.  Her community clings to survival, but what hope can they have when no baby survives for more than three days?

Kira is determined to make a difference, to find a cure.  Her best friend is pregnant and Kira cannot let that baby die.  Time is running out, and finding a cure means capturing a Partial…

                                                                   Review:

Since the Break, no baby has lived past three days.  The human race is at the edge of extinction, almost all of the population having been killed by the virus released by the Partials – part human cyborgs.

Kira Walker’s community is barely hanging on, but with no idea how to save the babies, they merely ask the citizens to keep having children and hope for the best.  But this splits the survivors, some furious with this new act and threatening war.

And now Kira’s best friend is pregnant – Kira loves Madison and refuses to stand by and watch the baby die. 

Kira has a theory, one that could find the cure and save Maddy’s baby.  The problem?

It requires a Partial.  Or more specifically, capturing a super strong, super powerful, genetically-engineered soldier.

Can Kira pull it off in time?  Or will their whole world be ripped apart first?

I remember seeing this one Sammee’s blog and thinking: “Oh my God!  MUST get my hands on this book!”  And Partials really didn’t disappoint!  It sucked me in from the word go.  It was addictive and action packed and just pure awesomeness.  With strong characters, a scarily brilliant plot, amazing writing and a disconcertingly plausible world, Partials was a book I was addicted to from start to finish!

Kira Walker was strong, brave, caring, funny, good natured and witty.  I loved her!  She was brilliantly snarky and funny, and totally kick butt!  She was so calm under pressure and wonderfully strong, stubborn and determined; a natural leader who could totally hold her own. 

Marcus, Kira’s boyfriend, was funny and goofy – totally insane and so cute!  He was so loving, so trusting, so loyal. Whenever he came in, he made me laugh.  His snark just lightened my day!  I officially love Marcus Valencio. 

Samm was really clever and a real puzzle; he seemed almost vulnerable and was really sweet.  He was more human than most of the actual humans.  I loved him!  And I don’t know if he meant to be, but he was really quite funny at times!

I just loved all the characters so much!  Loads of them were hilarious, all of them were brave and I just loved the relationships between them all.  Also, I had no idea who would make it through – I felt as if any of them could just die at any time, something I’ve never felt before.  The characters were all so charismatic and awesome and I loved them all!  Xochi was one of my favourites!  She was brilliant, rebellious, fiery, snarky and really funny!  And I loved Isolde! She was brave and funny and kinda bonkers.  I loved that her solution to everything seemed to be: get drunk.  (By the way: kids reading this, alcohol is not the solution!!  Um, righteous moment over…  Carry on…)

This book brought up lots of tricky moral and ethical questions.  Humans created the Partials to win wars and they turned against them because they didn’t want to be slaves anymore.  And the Hope Act: everyone had to have a baby at eighteen and have them as often as possible afterwards.  And they all die.  Admittedly, the Senate passed the law to try and save the human race, but still.  And what was even more shocking and oh-so-terrifying was that it was all plausible to me, like it really could happen. 

The writing was amazing: addictive, action-packed, simple, descriptive and brilliantly funny.  Told in third person from Kira’s POV, it really let me get into her head.  I’m not sure if some of the bits I lost control at were actually meant to be funny, but I found them hilarious.  And I loved the plot just as much!  The only think I didn’t get was: why didn’t the other scientists figure out what Kira did?  That, seriously, is the only negative thing I have to say.  I couldn’t see the twists coming and I was hooked to every word.  Ok, admittedly I had suspicions about one of the final twists, but it was only a vague theory.  As for the ending… I thought it was perfect, with just the right amount of unanswered questions… ‘til I reached the last few pages.  And now?  Oh.  My.  God!  I need the next book.  As in now, now, now!

A civilisation torn apart, a world on its knees, on the brink of extinction and war, one girl willing to risk everything to save them all… Partials was addictive, action packed and just brilliant!  I sped through it, desperate to see how it would end, yet not really wanting it to end at the same time.  It had action, it had humour, it had romance, it had brilliant characters.  I can’t recommend this one enough!

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Legend by Marie Lu

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Shadow of the Hawk by Curtis Jobling

Series: Wereworld, Book Three

Publisher: Puffin

Format: Paperback

Published: 5^th January 2012

Number of Pages: 448

Book: For Review*

Genre: Action-Adventure, Fantasy, Thriller, Suspense, Magic, Horror, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, YA

Recommended Age: 9+

Contains: Violence, Death

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Site: Wereworld Books 

Drew Ferran, the rightful king of Westland, is trapped.

Enslaved by the Goatlord Kesslar, young Werewolf Drew finds himself on the volcanic isle of Scoria, forced to fight in the arena for the Lizardlords.  With the help of an unlikely ally, he must find a way to break free – but who has ever managed to escape?

Meanwhile, Hector the Wereboar flees the forces of the Catlords.  Now on board the pirate ship Maelstrom, the enemy’s net is closing in.  Haunted by the spirits of the dead, Hector is soon left wondering who the true enemy is…

                                                                   Review:

A brave hero, a band of gladiators, an imposter king, a vengeful knight, a world full of Werelords and Wereladies, Wereworld is a place like no other, a world more fantastical and magical than any I’ve read about for a long time…

Drew Ferran, rightful heir to the Westland throne, is a prisoner.  The Goatlord Kesslar has the young Werewolf in his possession, taking him to the land of the Lizardlords.  There, Drew will be forced to fight as a gladiator, and make unlikely alliances in order to escape alive, from a place no one has broken away from before…

Hector the Wereboar, Vega the Sharklord and Werestag Manfred are fleeing from the Catlords, aboard the notorious pirate ship Maelstrom.  But as the spirits haunting Hector grow stronger, he is left wondering whether the true enemy is closer than they thought…

I honestly don’t know what I was expecting when I started this – especially as I haven’t read any of the other books in the series.  A cross between Narnia and Teen Wolf perhaps?  I don’t know.  Most definitely not the fantastical, action-packed, magical, pure awesome book that was Shadow of the Hawk.  From the word go, I was sucked in.  I fell totally and completely in love with the world.  I just could not put it down, in a constant adrenaline rush from start to finish.  I know I have to get my hands on the previous two books in this series: I want back into Lyssia!  ASAP!

Drew Ferran, the last Grey Wolf of Lyssia, was smart, fast and strong, willing to do anything to survive.  I found him proud, kind, good, loyal and giving, with a good heart.  Drew was just really noble: a real king.   His thinking was inspiration and he always spoke his mind.  And while he wasn’t afraid to use violence, he preferred to talk things out.    Drew was a king of old, honourable, brave, defiant and passionate.  And I fell in love with him from the word go!

Baron Hector, Boarlord of Redmire, was haunted by “Vincent-vile”, the spirit of his dead twin.  He really missed Drew, and he had a good heart.  But the black spot on his hand, that grew every time he “dabbles in communing” with spirits, showed that something was wrong...  And the Vincent-vile was just horrible, always saying cruel things.  All he wanted to do was help Drew, but he was truly out of his depth…

Count Vega, a Sharklord, the Pirate Prince.  To start with, I felt Vega was heartless, that he killed too easily.  But soon after, I started swaying, changed by his snarky humour and the care he showed towards his crew and the Weres on it.  And, before long, I had decided that I loved him.  Ok, so he’s a pirate – a Were pirate at that.  But he has a good heart.   He was really rather sweet, in a piratey way.  He soon turned into an unlikely favourite of mine, one I was always happy to see.

Trent Ferran, Drew’s brother, who was in the Lionguard, hunting Drew.  He wanted his brother dead more than anyone…  Of course, as I loved Drew, I instantly hated Trent for hunting Drew down.  But as I saw his reasoning, and what he was like, I grudgingly admitted he wasn’t too bad.  He was quite honourable and very determined.  I think he will come into himself in Book Four, and I’m looking forward to that. 

All the other characters were equally well padded and thought out.  One of the ones I hated most was Count Kesslar, a Goatlord and slaver.  He was a selfish, greedy coward, who I loathed from the moment I met him.  On the other hand, I loved Duke Manfred, the Werestag of Stormdale: he was really level headed, proper and kind, always seeing the good instead of the bad.  The character who creeped me out the most was, without a doubt, Slotha, the Walrus of Tuskun.  She was (to quote from the book): a “notoriously ill tempered, violent woman”.  And her city?  Eek, it came me the creeps, and so did she.  She really was horribly vicious, and the fact she was a Werewalrus made her even scarier.  (If you want to find out more about Slotha, check out Curtis’ guest post on when it comes up tomorrow.)

May I just say, I am in love with this world.  The various Werelords, all the different ‘species’.  The change, the characters: everything was so vivid.  I love the twist Jobling has put on the lycanthropy mythology: silver, shifting…  It was all just so cool!  I loved learning all about the Therianthropes, and meeting the various other characters.  I was over the moon to see Sirens as well – again, I adore the twist!  But: it got better:  Weremammoths.  So cool, right?!  I loved this book, the action, the fantasy, the characters.  And by the end, I was left going crazy for more.  

The action had a huge part in that: it started from the word go, sucking me straight in.  And even though I hadn’t read any of the previous books, I felt… invested.  And I understood everything, all the backstories.  And, blimey, the action was non-stop!  There were the most amazing battle scenes, that really got the old adrenaline flowing.  I loved the action – and I’m not normally one who likes violence.  All reluctant readers could really get into Shadow of the Hawk in my opinion – it’s like a film: I could see everything in my head as I read. 

And that was thanks to the writing: it was just amazing.  It had me totally hooked.  It was lyrical, powerful, descriptive.  I could see everything – every character, every setting, every battle.  And I loved that we got to see into all of the characters’ heads, got to see all the action.  There was never a dull moment.  Throughout the whole book, I wasn’t bored from a millisecond.  This series, this book, this world is so utterly addictive it’s untrue.  I loved every moment, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the other books!

I loved this book, the action, the fantasy, the characters.  By the end, I wanted more, more, more!  In other words:

I.  NEED.  THE.  NEXT.  BOOK.  NOW!

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5 

Read this book if you liked:

Wereworld Series by Curtis Jobling

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

Time Riders by Alex Scarrow

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tokien (Same Epic Fantasy)

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

British Books Challenge 2012 (Hosted by The Overflowing Library)

Megan

* This book was received from Puffin in exchange for an honest review

Happy Reading

Fracture by Megan Miranda

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: ARC

Published: 5^th January 2012

Number of Pages: 272

Book: For Review*

Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Contempory, Thriller-Suspense, Action-Adventure, Mystery, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Mild Violence, Death, Mild Swearing, Alcohol References

No Drug References

Author's Blog:

By the time seventeen-year-old Delaney Maxwell is pulled out of the icy waters of a frozen lake, her heart has stopped beating.  She is officially dead.   Then she starts breathing…  The doctors are mystified.  But Delaney knows something is very wrong, even though outwardly she has completely recovered.

Pulled by sensations she can’t control, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying.  Is her brain predicting death or causing it?  Then Delaney meets Troy Varga.  Is Troy a kindred spirit who somehow understands her weird and frightening gift?  Or are his motives chillingly more sinister…

A page-turning read that will send chills down your spine.

Review:

Delaney Maxwell was playing Manhunt with her friends, just having fun.  She and her best friend Decker were crossing the lake, when snap.  Just as she is declared dead, miraculously she starts breathing.  Only, Delaney seems to be the only one who isn’t so sure her survival was a miracle.  She has these… feelings.  Ones she can’t explain.  She knows something is very, very wrong with her.  Delaney is now drawn to death.  Without knowing why or how or by what.  And then she meets Troy.  He is the first and only one who knows what she’s going through.  But, after all, he is just a stranger – and one who seems to be unable to stop lying.  Does Troy really just want to help?  Or does he just want to…

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this book up.  I thought maybe there would be ghosts, spirits, something like that.  But Fracture took me totally by surprise.  It was emotional, powerful and it left me reeling.  Everything I thought I felt about life and miracles and reviving someone blurred and changed.  I was a whirlwind, a rollercoaster of emotions, from start to finish, and I still can’t get the characters out of my head. 

Delaney was a girl I liked from the word go; she was clumsy, uncoordinated, snarky.  Her voice was fresh, likable, relatable and funny.  I just loved her!  Plus: she loved books, the smell of them – something I could totally relate to! Delaney was rather awkward in social situations: she had this no-touch policy.  Plus she was kind of obsessive: categorized everything (including snow and food).  I just found her bonkers, brilliant and totally believable.  In some ways she really reminded me of Temperance Brennan (AKA Bones), what with her love of logic and grammar and total social-awkwardness.  Delaney was a good person with a good heart who only wanted to help.  She had a terrible burden, but she was strong.  I loved Delaney Maxwell!

Decker Phillips, Delaney’s best friend, was so sweet, too cute and really loved Delaney.  (I loved him!  I seriously want a Decker!)  He was so caring and protective towards Delaney.  And insanely funny.  He would do anything for Delaney, even when they fought.  He literally dropped everything for her.  Again: love him!

Troy Varga was a character I just could not figure out.  To begin with I decided he was a jerk.  Then I found out he was studying to be a nurse, and I thought “Ok.  Occasionally nice.”  After that I changed my mind, settling on creepy…  Then, sweet, then this, then that…  All the way through the book, I just could not decide who he was.  He’d been through one heck of a lot, and I really did feel sorry for him…  But, in my mind, at no point did he come close to the wonderful Decker.

The relationships were just as amazing, Decker and Delaney’s being the most wonderful: they were just too cute together.  Decker loved winding her up, but you could tell he loved her really.  They were really close, and I could feel the connection when they were together: I just couldn’t help grinning! 

The writing was also amazing.  I could feel Delaney as I read, feel her like she was right there next to me, telling me the story herself.  I felt everything she did: her confusion, her love, her pain, her fears.  I just… felt.  The writing was so simple, but it made me feel so much, which is one of my very favourite styles.  There were no dull moments, no lengthy descriptions.  Everything was perfect, and I loved every moment.  When I read, I found that everything dropped away.  All that mattered, all that existed was Fracture.  Delaney, Decker, Troy, death, life.  This plot, this world.  I laughed, I cried (a lot), I smiled, I was terrified, I drowned.  Everything possible, I felt.  I was hooked from the word go, to the suspense, the characters, the writing: I couldn’t put Fracture down.  It was just amazing.  I have two pages worth of notes, and a third page full of quotes in my notebook right now.  In my mind, that equals an amazing book.

This was a thriller that didn’t let me go from start to finish.  It messed with my head, my emotions.  It left me just sitting, staring at the cover.  One part I didn’t see coming at all.  Another, admittedly I could.  But it didn’t change how I felt about it.   I have a feeling I won’t stop thinking about Fracture for a while: it hasn’t gone out of my head since I finished it.  I’m also certain that Megan Miranda’s next book will be equally amazing.  Fracture was a stunning read, one I am over the moon to have read, and whatever comes next from her, I can’t wait!

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Spirit Guide by E.J. Stevens

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

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

Megan

* This book was received from Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review

Happy Reading

Kill All Enemies by Melvin Burgess

Publisher: Penguin

Format: Paperback

Published: 1st September 2011

Number of Pages: 320

Book: For Review*

Genre: Realistic-Fiction, Coming of Age, Contempory, Psychological Thriller-Suspense, YA, YA-Adult Crossover

Recommended Age: 15+

Contains: Violence, Suggested Sexual Assault, Drinking, Drugs, Swearing

Author's Site: Melvin Burgess

Everyone says fourteen-year-old Billie is nothing but trouble.  A fighter.  A danger to her family and friends.  But her care worker sees someone different.

Her classmate Rob is big, strong.  He can take care of himself and his brother.  But his violent stepdad sees someone to humiliate.

And Chris is struggling at school.  He just doesn’t want to be there.  But his dad sees a useless no-hoper.

Billie, Rob and Chris each have a story to tell. 

But there are two sides to every story. 

And the question is… who do you believe?

                                                                   Review:

Everyone’s given up on Billie.  They think she’s dangerous, a lost cause.  But her case worker can see her potential.

Rob may get beaten up a lot, but he’s strong.  Strong enough to look after himself and his brother.  But whenever he’s around his stepfather, he feels worse than rubbish.

Chris couldn’t care less about school.  He’s going to be an entrepreneur, and who needs GCSEs for that?  He knows where he wants to go, but all his dad sees is a worthless layabout.

All three are linked together, but not entirely by choice.  They’re on their last chance: can they stay out of trouble long enough to prove themselves?

Kill All Enemies was an emotional rollercoaster, one that has left me reeling.  I was hooked from the first page, never set free until the very last word.  Some parts were very shocking and a little hard to read, but I loved every single moment. This was just an amazing, amazing read.  Bravo to Melvin Burgess!

Billie Trevors got into a lot of fights.  But I could tell she tried to do the right thing.  She’d taken care of herself since she was a little kid, and by the age of ten she had so much responsibility…  Everything that had happened to her… It… well.  It broke my heart.  I mean, Billie cared so much about everything, and tried so, so hard not to fight…  And everyone had such low expectations of her: self-fulfilling prophecy anyone?  She’d had such a hard life.  Deep down, she was a real sweetie: broken, only acting hard to protect herself from being hurt again.  She didn’t think anyone could ever love her, but she couldn’t stop herself from loving.  I cried at one point.  My heart ached, my eyes burned.  It was so strong, what I felt for this girl.  She really does break your heart in a way that makes you love her so, so much.  She went through way too much.  It wasn’t fair and she didn’t deserve it.

Rob had “wrong ears”.  But he was a strong, cheerful boy, who let himself get beat up to stay out of trouble.  Which, in my opinion, takes a lot more strength than throwing a punch.  He used Metallica to protect himself from his mum and stepdad’s fighting, and he looked after his brother.  He was adorably pleased (or well chuffed) to have Billie Trevors as a mate, ‘cause she was “hard”.  And he was funny, if kinda gross.  I liked him.  He was rather weird though…   The fridge was his friend… and he had conversations with the skeleton on his Metallica t-shirt – called him “Skelly”…  I have a feeling he’s slightly mad.  And some of his ideas were kinda odd.  He was a great friend and a great brother.  And he was just so, so optimistic.  Just liked Billie, he did not deserve it – any of it.  I loved him.

Chris Trent found school boring and pointless – he planned to be an entrepreneur.  But he cared, just maybe not about school.  And I just found Chris hilarious!  His sense of humour was mildly twisted, but it really appealed to me.  Plus… he saved snails.  And he helped other people out – kinda.  He got involved – for good reasons – when he maybe should have kept to himself.  He was just too smart for his own good – a real wisecracking guy.  Chris didn’t play by the rules, but he had good human morals: he did not like bullies… and the whole snail-saving business.  He was just really funny – especially when his mouth often got away with him.  Oh, and he was mildly idiotic.  In all the heartbreak, his funniness was a nice break. 

Hannah: who was she?  That was my question for ages.  Billie mentioned her a lot, but not who she was, what she did.  But once I got to know her, our fourth narrater, I realised that she really cared for Billie.  It was obvious, and – like me – she hated everything Billie had gone through.  She was really nice, sympathetic.  But was maybe too close to Billie…

Just because I hate him so much: Philip, Rob’s stepfather.  I hated the guy, and I mean physically hated him.   Like I’ve never, ever hated anyone before.  In my head, I kept calling him very, very bad things that I never actually say.  Urgh.  (Hate him.)

The writing… wow.  All four narrators sounded completely different – I would have been able to tell who was who, even if the chapters didn’t have their names at the start. Sometimes four POVs get confusing, but in Kill All Enemies it completely worked.  It let me get into all of their heads and see all their actions, their fears.  And it was so personal – far more so than 3^rd person or just one POV could have ever been.  Plus, Burgess had the teen voice perfected.  As for the plot; it was one of finding yourself, saving yourself.  There were no epic battles, no foreshadowing prophecy.  There were just the worst parts of life, the worst scenarios and attempting to overcome them.  The plot was suspenseful and powerful: I was never bored, not even for a second.  I was sucked in and I just couldn’t get the book out of my head.  I finished and it’s still stuck in my head.  And, yes, this book is honestly just that good.

Family bonds played a big part in this book.  Or lack of, in some cases.  You had heart-breaking realities, and love – so much love.  Such as the bond between Rob and his mum: it was so special.  He loved his mum so, so much – he’d do anything for her.  I laughed, I cried, I smiled, I cringed.  It was overwhelming.  But isn’t that what love and family are?

Kill All Enemies was so emotional, so powerful.   I felt everything – hate, anger, pain, heartache, depression, let down.  God, everything they went through, those kids… it broke my heart into pieces over and over and over.  Beaten by stepdads, rejected by parents, belittled by parents… It was terrible.  My heart’s still aching.  The things kids put up with… no wonder they acted out.  People made them feel worthless.  And you know what?  None of them deserved it.  People just don’t see the whole story, some don’t even try.  They should, but they don’t.  They need to listen to the so-called trouble makers.  There’s always a reason.  And there is no such thing as a lost cause.  Kill All Enemies was raw, edgy, borderline inappropriate.  It was horrible.  It was beautiful.  It was so powerful it left me breathless.  I can’t wait for my next Burgess book.

Key Quotes That I Can’t Get Out Of My Head:  “You’d be amazed at the things some of our kids have to put up with.  People see them as troublemakers, but if you knew the trouble that’s going on in their lives you wouldn’t think that.”

“These kids, to me, they’re not troublemakers – they’re heroes.  Proper, real-life heroes.”

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Junk by Melvin Burgess

Before I Die and You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Being Billy by Phil Earle

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

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

British Book Challenge (Hosted The Bookette)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Penguin in exchange for an honest review