Legend by Marie Lu

Series: Legend Trilogy, Book One

Publisher: Puffin

Format: ARC

Published: 2^nd February 2012

Book: For Review*

Genre: Dystiopian, Science-Fiction, Action-Adventure, Mystery, Romance, Thriller-Suspense, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Site: Marie Lu

Los Angeles, California

Republic of America

He is Day.

The boy who walks in the light.

She is June.

The girl who seeks her brother’s killer.

On the run and undercover, they meet by chance.  Irresistibly drawn together, neither knows the other’s past.

But Day murdered June’s brother.

And she has sworn to avenge his death.

                                                                   Review:

Day is the most wanted person in the Republic.  June is the Republic’s prodigy, on a mission to find her brother’s killer.

Day.

Undercover, the two meet, oblivious to the other’s identity.  Against all the odds, they start to fall in love.  But June has promised her brother that she will avenge his death.

When the truth is revealed and both of their worlds begin to crumble, will these two teenagers be able to put aside their differences and fight to say alive?

Now, I recently have read a lot of dystopian books.  And, boy, did I have high expectations of Legend!  And you know what?  It lived up to them all.  There was a totally epic and wonderfully thought-out world (which was also terrifying), a strong heroine, a swoon-worthy hero, a totally believable love story and a huge web of lies.  In my eyes, this not only equals great dystopian, it equals just all-round great book!  Marie Lu, I can’t wait to see what you bring out next!

Day was a legend in Los Angeles – everyone knew his name.  He was sweet: he had to know his family as safe and he really, really cared for and loved Tess.   A worryingly good actor, he was brave, adventurous, rather reckless and was able of doing the impossible.  I loved that he was snarky, loud-mouthed and clever, and just as observational as June.  As for why he chose the name “Day”, oh it just made me love him even more!

June Iparis, aged fifteen, was “the Republic’s favourite little prodigy”.  But instead of being all goody-goody, she was cheeky, mildly rebellious and often in trouble!  The way she saw and noticed everything really reminded me of Sherlock Holmes: a freakin’ deduction genius!  But despite the rebellious streak, she was devoted to the Republic: the perfect soldier.  She was just a good person who has been fed lies all her life.  She was also snarky, confident, funny and strong, and absolutely doted on her brother.  I couldn’t help loving the crazy, reckless, kick-butt genius!

The other characters were amazing, and equally well padded out, in my opinion.  Tess, who hung with Day, was so sweet.  It was obvious she adored Day, and her fragility just made her so loveable to me.  Captain Metias Iparis, June’s big brother and guardian: he was just so lovely, always there for “Junebug”!  He was a really good person, one I fell in love with the moment I met him!  There was Captain Thomas, a soldier, who I started of liking, until I slowly saw the real person inside.  Commander Jameson, stern, strict, ruthless, the Republic’s lackey.  Day’s brother John, so loving and warm and protective of his little brothers: even though he wasn’t in it much, I loved him too.

The relationship between Day and June was brilliantly done – neither knew who the other was, and yet I could feel the history, the chemistry.  Even when they both found out who the other was, they couldn’t help the feelings.  And they were alike in so many ways, so it was no secret why they should like each other.  They had the same talents.  That’s why June was sent.  The Republic knew they thought alike.  They knew June would get Day, given a motive.  People have complained about their similarities, but I would’ve thought that after reading the book it would have made sense.  Or maybe it’s only in my (very twisted) mind that all the pieces clicked.  For me, the similarities, shared gifts and traits were a MUST.  Plus, none of the other events would have been possible otherwise. 

I, in a twisted way, love dystopian worlds.  They all haves some parallels with our world, often exaggerating the extreme wealth and poverty.  And this world? So, so epic!  I loved how it was all described, how it was controlled and how everything was explained.  The pretence covered the terrible truth without a single fault.  Lu just wove the most amazing society, terrifying and amazing.

And the writing was amazing!  It kept me on the edge of my seat.  I was totally immersed in the world and story.  There was enough description so I saw everything, it not enough to make it boring in the slightest.  I really got into Day and June’s heads; fell in love with both of them.  More, Lu’s writing was addictive and exciting, and before I knew it, I had finished the book.  Amazing! 

I loved the plot of Legend.  The twists and turns.  The way the romance happened.  The way the truth came out, the way… Well, how more or less everything happened.  There were, of course, aspects from the beginning I suspected would happen – this is a dystopian world, after all, and everything tends to kick off in similar ways.  But some I didn’t see some things coming at all.  And whether I guessed the plot parts or not, I loved every second – I simply cannot wait to see where Book Two takes us!

A prodigy, genius girl, a master criminal boy and a Republic with more secrets than citizens, Legend was a brilliant story that had me hooked from start to finish.  I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Divergent by Veronica Ross

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

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

Happy Reading

Megan

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

Number of Pages: 304

India Dark by Kirsty Murray

Publisher: Templar

Format: ARC

Published: 1^st January 2012

Number of Pages: 336

Book: For Review*

Genre: Historical, Realistic-Fiction, True-To-Life Fiction, Thriller-Suspense, Action-Adventure, Mystery, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death, Mild Swearing

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Site: Kirsty Murray

MADRAS, 1910: two girls are caught up in a scandal that will change their lives forever. Singing and dancing across a hundred stages in a troupe of child performers, they travel by steam train into the heart of India. But as one disaster follows another, money runs short and tempers fray. What must the girls do to protect themselves, and how many lives will be ruined if they try to break free?

Review:

Poesy Swift and Tilly Sweetrick are Lilliputians – child performers who tour the world, singing and dancing, having the times of their lives before becoming ladies, gentlemen and ‘real’ actors.  To begin with, it is just like that for Poesy: she’s escaped the shattered remains of her family, is with her old friend and doing what she loves best.  But soon the money starts running out.  Illness strikes.  Under the pressure, the manager Mr Arthur soon shows his true colours.  And before they know it, Poesy and Tilly are trapped at the centre of a scandal.  Unsure of who to trustm who their true friends are, the two must find a way to escape.  Without destroying everything – including their own future careers – as they do…

I love historical novels.  I love the feeling of going back in time, getting a glimpse of the past, feeling like I’m there.  The last one is the trickiest to find in a book.  But with India Dark…  I found it!  I travelled back to the early 1900s, touring India and such with the Lilliputian troop.  I fell in love with the world, the writing, the characters: sweet, too-naïve Poesy and overly-confident, always-scheming Tilly…  I couldn’t wait for my two narrators to reveal the scandal, but at the same time I didn’t want to leave!  Ever!

Poesy Swift, aged thirteen, was sweet, sensitive and really naïve.  She had a brilliant imagination and I just adored her voice.  She really loved her family, you could tell, but couldn’t cope anymore – not after her father’s death.  Poesy tried to see the best in everyone, and therefore overlooked things obvious to the rest of us.  But we all knew that sooner or later, Poesy would have to open her eyes and accept.  I just felt so bad for her the moment she did…  I loved Poesy, but, sometimes her blatant ignorance annoyed me…  She just had to grow up too soon, like so many of the others in this book.

Tilly Sweetrick, fifteen, didn’t care what anybody thought of her.  She was confident, bold, totally cool under pressure and really funny at times.  She loved being the centre of attention – in fact, the kids at school used to call her “Little Miss Noticebox”.  And once her mind was made up, it was final: No forgiveness to those who have wronged her.  She was an amazing leader: strong, fair.  She did seem to care for Poesy – she wanted her to grow up, explore life...  But she was rather cruel in her educating…  She could be truly wicked and manipulative at times, but I knew she only wanted the truth to come out.  To be free.  Tilly Sweetrick was a series of contradictions.  For ages, I couldn’t tell whether I absolutely adored Tilly or not.  She wasn’t nice at times, but I couldn’t help loving her.  It’s so hard to describe… 

Charlie Byrne, thirteen, was kind, sweet, wise, wonderfully odd and always there for Poesy.  He didn’t hide anything from Poesy: he always spoke his mind and he kept out of trouble.  Training to be a magician, I loved that Charlie believed in ‘real magic’.  He was just a real sweetie, loyal to the end, and always taking care of Poesy.  I loved him!  My star character!

Initially, Poesy and Charlie were like brother and sister.  But it soon turned into something else.  When they were together, I was so full of happiness at the sweetness of their friendship.  And the potential of something more…  Charlie was Poesy’s anchor, and I just loved seeing their relationship develop.    They were perfect, a wonderful break and some of my favourite scenes.  Plus: they were so cute!

Tilly and Poesy...  It was really interesting, seeing how the two’s memories of the same events differed – who was remembering the truth?  Or were they both merely seeing their own versions of the truth?  Seeing the world through both girls’ eyes was misleading to begin with.  Murray played it well, had me constantly guessing about what the two would do.  Why Tilly called Poesy a liar on the first page, whether it truly was Poesy lying…  I couldn’t tell, and I loved the feeling of mystery.  I was completely wrong at the beginning!

From the word go, hints of a scandal were dropped.  Accusations were implied, never written, never told aloud.  I was constantly forming suspicions as to what the scandal was.  As I read on, they got wilder, sillier and more unlikely.  All these hints, these guesses, made me desperate to know WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!!  I sped through the book to find the answer of my question.  So much foreboding, it just drove me insane!  And I adored every second of the plot, the twists, the turns, the hints.  Every single chapter had me under its power, the entire book was more effective than the mesmerising Tilly attempted.  It was a powerful book, one that consumed me and made me race to the end, desperate to find out what would happen to the characters, if the scandal was the one I felt it was.  And even though slow at times, I was never bored.

I adored the writing!  It was beautiful, powerful, emotional.  I just loved all the different metaphors, the descriptions…  I could tell the two girls apart – they each had distinct styles, but most of all the FEEL of their voices were different.  Tilly was more snarky, wiser, than Poesy’s more naïve, inexperienced voice.  Poesy was more delicate and gentle in her choice of words than Tilly, who being bold, confident and sure of herself didn’t have the same… shyness as Poesy.  I admired the subtle difference between the two girls, who I got to know as well as if I were in the troop with them.  ‘Though neither were that reliable as narrators: Tilly was a drama queen and Poesy was determined to only see the good.  But as I said, I adored Murray’s writing: so descriptive of all the different, amazing scenes, without being heavy and dull.  I loved learning about all the exotic places I’ve never been – especially as it was over 100 years ago!  More than that: I loved seeing the future.  I loved seeing what happened to my favourites, even if sometimes it was really sad (I cried!).  

Two unique heroines, one harsh guardian, a boy magician, a troop of young performers and one heck of a scandal, India Dark had me under its spell from start to finish.  I adored every moment, and I can’t wait for Kirsty’s next book!  And while I am aware there will never be another book in this world, I still long for one.  I want to know more about the girls!

If you want to hear more about Kirsty’s charcters – check out the guest post she’s doing for us tomorrow: it’s awesome! 

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Children of the Wind by Kirsty Murray

Anything by Celia Rees or Mary Hooper

Annexed by Sharon Dogar 

Before We Say Goodbye by Gabriella Ambrosio

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

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

Happy Reading

Megan

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

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

The Set-Up by Sophie McKenzie

Series: Medusa Project, Book One

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: Paperback (Waterstones Exclusive Edition)

Published: 2^nd May 2009

Number of Pages: 320

Book: Bought

Genre: Science-Fiction, Realistic-Fiction, Thriller-Suspense, Action-Adventure, Mystery, YA, YA-Children Crossover

Recommended Age: 11+

Contains: Mild Violence, Swearing

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Blog: Sophie McKenzie

Fourteen years ago, scientist William Fox implanted four babies with the Medusa gene – a gene for psychic abilities.  But Fox died and the babies were hidden away for years.

Now they’re teenagers – and unaware that their psychic powers are about to kick in.

Cocky, charismatic Nico thinks his emerging telekinetic abilities will bring him money, power and the girl of his dreams.  He’s about to find out how wrong he is…

                                                                   Review:

Over a decade ago, four babies were implanted with a gene known as the Medusa gene.  Its purpose?  To bring out psychic abilities.  But the scientist behind the experiment, William Fox, died, and the identity of the babies became unknown.  Now, all four are teenagers, with no clue of the powers that are inside them.

Nico Rafael’s power is telekinesis, and he’s certain that it will bring him everything he ever wanted – including the girl he’s loved for years.  But Nico is about to find out that sometimes, everything is not as it seems.  And that not everyone can be trusted…

This one had been sitting on my shelf for ages, just waiting to be read.  I can’t believe I left it for so long!  Just like all her other books, it was awesome!  Fast paced, strong characters, believable relationships, wonderful writing.  Plus: superpowers!  Call me juvenile, but who doesn’t want superpowers?!  The Set Up was a fun, funny, super-power-packed book, which left me addicted and itching for Book Two.  Another winner from Sophie McKenzie!  Loved it!

Nico was great: fun, snarky and very resourceful.  I just loved his sense of humour.  Although, I just can’t believe some of the things he used his power for!  He really loved Ketty – not having her as a friend devastated him.  Plus, everything he did, he did for Ketty: totally sweet.  On the other hand, he was kinda stupid and reckless sometimes: an act-before-I-think sort of character.  I loved him!

Ketty (short for Keturah, eek!) Wilshire was sweet, Nico’s best friend.  She was addicted to running, and wasn’t that interested in girly, material things.  She was… practical.  Even though at one point I felt like yelling at her, overall I really liked her. 

Ed O’Brien was the new kid at school.  He was super smart, really nice, and kind of geeky.  Also… sort of a goody-two-shoes – a bit of a snitch.  But, as the book went on, he got more confident and sarcastic: I like him better snarky!

Dylan Fox was an odd character.  She seemed distant and almost… smug? to begin with.  She was also rather arrogant.  But she was good at jumping into action, with the: perfect drawl.  She was aggressive, but so vulnerable, damaged, broken.  And: wonderfully sarcastic.  All the way through, I wondered what she was hiding…  I started off unsure of her, but by the end I got her.  She had more backbone that anyone gave her credit for – than I gave her credit for.  I loved Dylan – she was the character I actually wrote the most notes on.

And there were two characters I swung between trusting, and being completely suspicious of.  I just could not make up my mind on whether or not they were good.  And I actually completely misjudged one of them!  Don’t you love people you can’t guess about?

Some twists… ok, I guessed (I’m a top-notch guesser).  But others… completely threw me.  And don’t you love surprises?  Guessable plots can be majorly boring, and therefore twisty books are lovely!

The best bit about this book was, by far, the action and super powers.  Or more specifically, the parts where there was action AND superpowers.  And how the abilities came about was also super cool (pun intended).  And the different powers were just awesome.  Mind reading, future seeing… it was all so, so brilliant!  I want a superpower, please!

The Set-Up was a quick, fun read, with great characters and action.  Sophie rocks!  And Nico’s the best!  I can’t wait to see where all the characters go, where the plot goes…

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Blood Ties and Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie

Hero.Com by Andy Briggs

Time Riders by Alex Scarrow

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

Happy Reading

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

British Book Challenge (Hosted The Bookette)

Off the Shelf Challenge (Hosted by BA Reading Challenges)

Megan