Killer Instinct by S.E. Green | Book Review

(Redhead on the cover!)

Ohmygoodness!  I loved Killer Instinct so very, very, much!  It was like a female teenaged Dexter.   And I loved that show!

Lane, the main character, is your typical teenager.  She lives with her mom, stepdad, stepsister, and half brother.  She gets along ok with her stepsister, and they both love their little brother.  She is close to both her mom and her stepdad.  She gets good grades, works part-time at the animal shelter, and takes martial arts classes with her little brother.

Her hobby:  tracking serial killers.  Trying to figure out what makes them tick.  She even decides to take it a step farther and start taking her own vigilante missions late at night to deliver justice as needed.  She always stops short of murder... so far.

Killer Instinct sucked me right in and I ended up reading it cover-to-cover in an afternoon.  Lane is a very likable main character.  Isn't that something that the author was able to make the reader like and root for a character who may or may not decide to start killing people?  That's amazing talent right there.  But I just loved all the positives in Lane's life.  Like, a combined household doesn't have to be a bad thing.  Her stepdad is pretty awesome, and they have a good relationship.  And her relationship with her stepsister:  teen girls can be super catty, but they manage to avoid sniping at each other even when they don't agree.

There's so much more to Killer Instinct than just the will she/won't she kill thing.  The reader really gets to see so much growth and development as Lane comes into her own.  And the ending!  What a fantastic ending.  It totally surprised me.  Through the novel, Lane discovers who she really is and why.  It's awesome, and you won't want to miss it.

*I checked out my copy of Killer Instinct from my local library.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray | Book Review

(What a gorgeous cover!!!)

Today Stephanie and I co-wrote a review of A Thousand Pieces of You after we both read it and loved it!  Head on over to Tynga's Reviews to read it, and to enter a giveaway for a finished copy of the book!

Tynga's Reviews: A Thousand Pieces of You Review + Giveaway

The Battle for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi | Audiobook Review

(With all the #diversityinYA talk, I like that Eva Nine has gotten progressively darker on the covers.  Her skin tone is never discussed in the books, so who knows how light or dark she is?)

The Battle for WondLa is the final book in the trilogy, and it tells the story of the ultimate battle.  The tenuous peace between humans and aliens has been broken, and Solace has fallen to Cadmus Pryde.  Eva embarks on a journey to gain some unlikely allies and set all right again.  It's a pretty exciting journey for middle grades; adults may see the ending coming.  Still, it's a pretty pleasant ride to get there.

I feel a little "meh" about The Battle for WondLa.  Maybe I could name this disease of mine:  trilogy fatigue.  I notice that I tend to lose a little interest in the third book of trilogies.  Maybe it's all the pressure on the author to bring two books' worth of plot to a thrilling conclusion.  I felt that the book was a little too long.  I felt like there was more talk, especially talk about emotions, than there was action to balance it out.  I also felt like the pacing of the narration was a little slow.

That's not to say that there weren't redeeming factors.  Eva Nine has really grown into her own person quite well.  I enjoyed seeing her continue to grow even more still in this third book.  She has gone from a sweet, if naive, girl just finding her feet in the wider world to a lovely young lady who fearlessly leads her group.  Eva is compassionate and cares greatly for her "herd."  She always seeks the path of least violence.  And how cool would it be to be able to communicate with all animals, some plants, and all aliens?  Speaking of, it's always fun in these books to meet the different types of aliens.

3 of 5 stars to this one.  It was ok, but not fantastic.

*I received my copy of The Battle for WondLa from my public library.

A Hero for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi | Audiobook Review

Throwback Thursday Review!

I originally read A Hero for WondLa in July 2013.  I gave it 5 of 5 stars and wrote a review!

First, here's what Goodreads has to say about it:  Eva Nine has finally found what she has always been looking for; other human beings.  Having been rescued by Hailey, Eva couldn't be happier, and now Hailey is taking Eva and her friends to the human colony New Attica, where humans of all shapes and sizes live in apparent peace and harmony.  But all is not as idyllic as it seems.

And here's what I wrote:  Warning.  Minor spoilers.  I give away a small piece of the plot.

I had to put this book on a LOT of "shelves" here at Goodreads!  It got 5 stars from me, I listened to it as an audiobook (it had a great reader!), it's sort of fantasy, sort of fiction, sort of middle-grades dystopia, and I'd definitely recommend this series to any and all middle schoolers!

A Hero for WondLa is the second book in the delightful WondLa series by Tony DiTerlizzi.  It's a book for both genders; the main character and point of view is a young girl, Eva 9, but she has a close companion/guide/friend who is an adult male alien.  In the first book, The Search for WondLa, we see Eva 9 come of age and leave her sanctuary (home) for the first time.  In this book, Eva has grown and matured some, but is still very excited to experience new places and meet new people/creatures/aliens.

I love that this book takes all the great aspects of YA dystopian fiction and takes out all the hard violence and "darkness" and mushy romance to make it suitable for the younger set.  But because it has some harder subjects, like Eva 9 still dealing with the loss of her mother, or finding out through trial and error who she trusts, it could still appeal to teens or even older folks, like me.

*I received my copy of A Hero for WondLa from my public library.

Wake by Amanda Hocking | Book Review

(When you see this cover, do you not think "maybe there will be mermaids.  Gee, I hope there are mermaids!")

Goodreads actually has a really great synopsis for Wake, so here it is:  "Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.

Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets."

There was so much to love about Wake!  The main character, Gemma, is awesome:  she's independent and fun and a good friend and a good sister and a good daughter.  She's determined and she works hard, even under less-than-ideal circumstances.  These less-than-ideal circumstances include a dad who works hard hours, a mom who lives nearly an hour away in a group home after suffering a traumatic brain injury, and an older sister who is having trouble letting go of her caretaker role as she transitions to college.  Through it all, she remains a very active member of her school's swim team, maintains good grades, plan to go to college after graduation, and is a loyal friend who knows how to have fun.

I loved that Gemma and Harper, her sister, wasn't perfect.  Because that's real.  There is never, ever a question of whether or not they love each other:  they love each other nearly to a fault.  But that doesn't mean that they will always see eye to eye or never say a hurtful word to each other.  That's just the way it is, and I love that Amanda Hocking is able to convey that fiercely loyal never perfect sisterly love.

I also love that there may or may not be mermaids in Wake.  Ya'll know I love me some potential mermaidness.  No spoilers!  You'll have to read the book.  Either way, the characters live on the coast, and there's lots of ocean interaction.

While I loved Wake and want to give it an enthusiastic five stars, there's one little thing holding me back a little:  willing suspension of disbelief.  Amanda Hocking does demand a little bit of willing suspension of disbelief at times.  And by a little, I mean a good dose of willing suspension of disbelief.  If you go into Wake fully committed to a great time and a fantastic story, you're in for a treat.  If you're a skeptical person, this book may not be for you.  But I loved it, and I also plan to hand over my copy to my own sister in the near future.  I think she'll love it as much as I did.

*I received an ARC of Wake from the publisher.  Thank you!

Top Ten Tuesday

This is a neat weekly feature over at a blog I really enjoy, The Broke and the Bookish.  They read books similar to some that I've been reviewing, and they're fun and they write well.  Totally worth checking out!

I missed doing Top Ten Tuesday last week because the hubby and I went on vacay!  That's fantastic for us, but not so fantastic for my lovely readers when I forget to pre-schedule a TTT post!

Top Ten Five New Series I Want to Start

(The proposed quantifier on The Broke and the Bookish is that the series has begun in the last year or two.  Let's see if I can stick with that.  Ya'll know I can be kind of a TTT renegade....)

(Update: just finished the list.  I ran out of time, so there's only 5, not 10.  Also, I've technically already started one of those.  Oh well...  Oh, and these are not listed in any particular order.  Like I said, time ran out.)

1. Firebird trilogy by Claudia Gray.  I knew I'd "bend" a rule on this list.  I've already read A Thousand Pieces of You and LOVED it, but it's not officially published until next month so I'm counting it as a new series.  ;)

2. Cage series by Megan Shepherd.  I am a huge fan of her Madman's Daughter trilogy, and I can't wait to see what she does with this new series.

3. Snow Like Ashes series by Sara Raasch.  Another reviewer I know recently read this and really liked it, and I consider that a good sign.

4. Eat, Brains, Love series by Jeff Hart.  I have the first two books as ARCs; I just need to get around to reading them!  They look hilarious.

5. O'Hare and Fox series by Janet Evanovich with Lee Goldberg.  I have loved the Stephanie Plum books so much for so many years that I'm actually nervous to start a new series by Janet Evanovich.  What if it isn't as good as the Stephanie Plum books?

Inspire me!  What series are you looking forward to starting?  Leave a comment with a link; I really do love seeing others' TTT!

The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi | Audiobook Review

Throwback Thursday Review!

I originally listened to The Search for WondLa in December 2012.  It's a J book; not usually my thing; and I forget who recommended it.  I'm glad they did, though!  I gave this book, the first in the trilogy, 3 of 5 stars but was intrigued enough to go on to listen to the second and third books too.  Reading other reviews of the book, I wonder if my slightly lower rating on this one was due in part to the format.  I listened to it on CD, but other reviews gush about the illustrations.  Illustrations I've never seen.

So no surprise here; in 2012 my reviews on Goodreads weren't much to write home about, if I wrote anything at all.  I wrote nothing about The Search for WondLa.  Bah.  Here's what Goodreads has to say:  Eva Nine is a curious and sensitive twelve-year-old who has existed only in a subterranean home called Sanctuary, cared for by a robot named Muthr.  Eva's great desire is to go aboveground, and her wish comes true, though not as she'd imagined.  On the surface, Eva goes in search of other humans-she has never met one-and soon meets both friend and foe.

I do remember feeling like Eva read much younger, more immature, than other twelve-year-olds.  But then, she'd lived her entire life to that point in a very nice little bubble with Muthr, never having to interact with anyone else and never having to do much for herself.  It would be rather a shock to suddenly find yourself outside in the elements after that.  I did like Eva's take-no-prisoners approach to life; she wasn't afraid to approach other creatures, and she didn't let anything or anyone deter her from her goal:  find WondLa.  

I'd definitely hand this book to upper elementary or early middle kids.  It's sweet, touches on learning independence and finding family and friends, and what it means to be a friend.  I hear the illustrations are great.  ;)  As for the audio... well, it's not bad.  But it's not great either.  The pace is a bit on the slow side.  The pro is that you get to hear all the different alien accents.  The con is that it's slow, and you miss illustrations.  Oh, one last thing:  this first book can be read all on it's own.  There's no cliffhanger ending forcing you to read the second book.

*I received my copy of The Search for WondLa from my public library.