4 Stars
Thirty-five beautiful girls. Thirty-five beautiful rivals…
It’s
the chance of a lifetime and 17-year-old America Singer should feel
lucky. She has been chosen for The Selection, a reality TV lottery in
which the special few compete for gorgeous Prince Maxon's love.
Swept
up in a world of elaborate gowns, glittering jewels and decadent
feasts, America is living a new and glamorous life. And the prince takes
a special interest in her, much to the outrage of the others.
Rivalry
within The Selection is fierce and not all of the girls are prepared to
play by the rules. But what they don’t know is that America has a
secret – one which could throw the whole competition… And change her
life forever
America is a five, in a world where your status defines your life. In the new country of Illéa, citizens are born into their caste, from those classified as One, the elite, to the homeless struggling to survive, the Eights. You must marry within your caste, with only men being permitted to marry beneath them. Your status determines how citizens will earn their living. America is a performer, her family being patrons of the arts. They have enough to get by... Barely.
Aspen is a six, and is born into servitude. He is beneath America, making their romantic interludes both illegal and dangerous. When the invitation for the Selection is announced by the palace, Aspen doesn't want America to always wonder what could have been. Being one of the selected girls chosen to potentially become the wife of prince Maxon, the future princess of Illéa.
When America is chosen to move to the palace along with the other 35 selected girls, she leaves with a heavy and broken heart. If it weren't for the promised compensation for her family, she never would have agreed to enter. America is a down to earth, stubborn and of simple taste, vowing to be none other than her true self. She quickly cements herself as one of the favorites to become the princess of Illéa, with her honesty and humanity.
As Maxon and America strike up a warm and strangely comfortable friendship, the competition intensifies. Girls are being sent home, which pales I'm comparison when rebels are trying to storm the castle. The rebel fighters are sweeping the country, hiring towns and clearing crops, but why? As Maxon and America's friendship blooms into something more amidst the growing concern, a new soldier is recruited to the palace duties, and American wonders if her time as one of the selected has come to an end.
The Selection is an entertaining version of The Bachelor, with a little dystopian woven throughout. Illéa, formally The United States of America, was invaded after the forth world war, effectively becoming The United States of China, when America failed to repay it's national debt. Illéa was taken back by the citizens and a monarchy came to be. But this aspect of the storyline, takes a backseat to the Selection contest and love triangle.
I was waiting for 'The Rebels' to make a grand statement, but sadly it never came. It was entertaining, but really more of a teen romance than the post apocalyptic dystopian that it's shelved at on Goodreads.
The Selection
(The Selection: Book One)
Written By Kiera Cass
Published 07 / 06 / 2012
339 Pages
(The Selection: Book One)
Written By Kiera Cass
Published 07 / 06 / 2012
339 Pages
I can’t weep. I can’t fear. I’ve grown talented at pretending.
Elizabeth
Caldwell doesn’t feel emotions . . . She sees them. Longing, Shame, and
Courage materialize around her classmates. Fury and Resentment appear
in her dysfunctional home. They’ve all given up on Elizabeth because she
doesn’t succumb to their touch. All, that is, save one—Fear. He’s
intrigued by her, as desperate to understand the accident that changed
Elizabeth’s life as she is herself.
Elizabeth and Fear both sense
that the key to her past is hidden in the dream paintings she hides in
the family barn. But a shadowy menace has begun to stalk her, and try as
she might, Elizabeth can barely avoid the brutality of her life long
enough to uncover the truth about herself. When it matters most, will
she be able to rely on Fear to save her?
Elizabeth doesn't feel fear... Or surprise, hate, even disappointment, she sees them. Elizabeth can see emotions in human form, they each have a face, a smugness and questioning stare. She can also see the elements, far beyond the weather, but the bodies that control them. Elizabeth feels nothing, not grief, happiness or lust, and strangely, she can't feel curious as to why not either.
Fear is determined to crack Elizabeth, not being able to accept that she is living her life without feeling. He has watched her since the day of her accident, and knows it's just a matter of time before her walls come tumbling down. He's the one that wants to drive her to feel, what he didn't count on was quiet farm boy Joshua, who has always seen past her facade, now breaking through the cursed barrier. In a series of tragic events, nightmares and revelations, Elizabeth realises that she isn't just the freak that classmates label her, that her past and future have collided, and that evil lurks, waiting to snatch her.
Who is she?
Some Quiet Place was a unique story of the elements and emotions being controlled by conscious beings. Sadness, Joy, even Fear, placing a hand on your shoulder, leaving you suddenly overwhelmed. Elizabeth first poses as a inhumanly cold girl, but even with her emotions stripped, she'll soon grow on you. Her life is full of sadness, anger and abuse, and you can't help but pity her.
Well written and unique, it's essentially a girl trying to find who she is.
Some Quiet Place
Written By Kelsey Sutton
Published 01 / 06 / 2013
336 Pages
Published 01 / 06 / 2013
336 Pages
Thank you to Netgalley and Flux Books
Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?
Reyna isn't crazy. Diagnosed and medicated, the sixteen year old has spent three years of her life inside a mental asylum. Since her mother's death, Ray has seen angels. They're not real of course, just a figment of her imagination, a coping mechanism to compensate for her loss, or so said her current psychologist. She's been angel free for months, no sign of the feathered celestial beings... Until she meets the new boy at school, Cam.
Cam is a higher being, he embodies serenity, peace and protection, but is in a state of panic that Ray can see his wings. Shortly after Cam's arrival, students at the small high school are committing suicide. Eerily, all the teens have a common theme before they died, seeing a black winged angel that seemingly, pushed them over the edge.
Kade, handsome, sinful and a fallen angel. His coffee addiction drives him into the cozy dinner on a regular basis, the diner where Ray works. He's as sexy as he is dangerous, but it's all a front. He can be considerate as well as conscientious, or perhaps Ray brings out the best in him.
But it seems something far darker and more sinister is luring teens to their death, targeting those around Ray. It isn't a coincidence, evil I'd coming for her and will let nothing stand in the way. Her family have disowned her, she's a social outcast amongst her peers, it'll be up to the two angels that landed her I'm this mess, to help save her life and the lives of those around her. But with emotions running high, will she fall for the fallen angel, or the angel that is hellbent on not falling.
A Shimmer Of Angels was fluffy and cute. Although dealing with issues such as perceived mental illness and teen suicide, it was still a light read. It had all the aspects that young adult readers have come to rely upon, the dreaded love triangle, the angst, the token nerd, stereotypical teens and bullying, but it was brilliantly entertaining, I couldn't put it down.
I have a strained relationship with Angel themed young adult novels, but A Shimmer Of Angels has certainly changed that, and I'll definitely be continuing on to the second book of the Angel Sight series. Becca Fitzpatrick, take note, this is how you produce a well written young adult angel series.
A Shimmer Of Angels
(Angel Sight: Book One)
Written By Lisa M. Basso
(Angel Sight: Book One)
Written By Lisa M. Basso
Published 29 / 01 / 2013
263 Pages
263 Pages
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher
Mackenzie 'Max' Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice, wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.
Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.
Cade is trying to move past his unrequited love for Bliss, his now awkward best friend, and her relationship with Garrick. Garrick plans on proposing, and Cade wants nothing more than to run, and never look back. He has no option than to steer clear of the happy couple.
Max is a wild child, from two prim and proper parents. The redhaired pinup beauty takes her music seriously, her tattoos, and hiding her current unemployed boyfriend from her parents. So while waiting for coffee, her parents surprise her with a visit. Needing to find a nice, clean cut boyfriend in a hurry, Max spots Cade sitting in the cafe and proposes an offer he simply has no interest in refusing.
The two form an instant attraction and the sexual tension is heavy in the air. Cade plays the role of the loving and dutiful boyfriend a little too well. He's scared, scared of feeling too much, too soon, until Bliss is just a memory and he's infatuated with Max.
Max will never be the put together, clean cut replacement for her sister Alex. She's tired of pretending she's someone that she's not. So when Cade breaks down her protective walls, she's terrified. She believes that isn't good enough for him and doesn't want to invest in someone that will ultimately realise she can't be fixed.
Cade doesn't plan on letting this girl get away.
Faking It is the story of Cade from book one in the series, Losing It. Cade is in love with Bliss, the unobtainable former best friend. It isn't until he meets the moody, dark and sexy Max, that he releases that perhaps what he felt for Bliss wasn't love. I fell in love with Max, she's sassy and not afraid to march to the beat of her own drum, except where he parents are concerned. Cade oozes sex appeal, and together, they are a lethal combination of hormones and banter.
I enjoyed it more than the original, Losing It. It had more edge, more tension and more Cade.
Faking It
(Losing It: Book Two)
Written By Cora Carmack
Published 04 / 06 / 2013
304 Pages
Thank you to Netgalley for providing the ARC
Saylor Grayson makes herself sick. Literally.
She ate her first needle when she was seven. Now, at nineteen, she’s been kicked out of college for poisoning herself with laxatives. The shrinks call it Munchausen Syndrome. All Saylor knows is that when she’s ill, her normally distant mother pays attention and the doctors and nurses make her feel special.
Then she meets Drew Dean, the leader of a local support group for those with terminal diseases. When he mistakes her for a new member, Saylor knows she should correct him. But she can’t bring herself to, not after she’s welcomed into a new circle of friends. Friends who, like Drew, all have illnesses ready to claim their independence or their lives
For the first time, Saylor finds out what it feels like to be in love, to have friends who genuinely care about her. But secrets have a way of revealing themselves. What will happen when Saylor’s is out?
Saylor is a beautiful young woman but with a crippling illness, she makes herself ill. She thrives on the attention that emergency hospital visits bring, with medical staff caring for her, and her emotionally distant mother finally interacting with the daughter she so desperately ignores.
Saylor has Munchausen Syndrome and has suffered at her own hands since she was only seven years of age, when her grandmother left without looking back. Saylor despises her mother. She's cold, distant and spends her time refurbishing doll houses for no apparent reason. Her father is an attorney, and lives out of a suitcase. Neither parent provides Saylor with love, affection or stability. So she takes her illness one step further. After her psychologist suggested volunteering, Saylor finds herself working at the hospital. Her goal? To provide herself with more ammunition to further her illness, but providing refreshments to the support groups isn't part of the plan. A means to an end, right?
Saylor meets Drew, the handsome young leader of a support group for young adults with terminal or degenerative diseases. So when he mistakenly thinks she's a new member, her vast knowledge of diseases only fuels her lies. As Drew's disease progresses, Saylor's admiration of his independence and determination morphs into an unrealistic love. A love based on a lie, on her sickening illness, and the sweet and gentle boy that is slowly losing himself to disease.
Can he still love the girl who self harms for attention and lived a lie to experience acceptance, friendship and love? Drew might just change her life.
Secret For A Song is disturbing, it's honest, emotional and beautifully sad, but it's inspiring. Saylor is one of the most disturbed characters in young adult fiction, but your heart will ache with what her life has become. Her father is absent, her mother is emotionally absent, vindictive and her only reliable caregiver was removed from her life. She has no example of a loving or trusting relationship, no friends and the only warmth in her life is that of medical staff, after self harming.
Drew is a beautiful soul. He's slowly being cut down in the prime if his life, by a disease in which he will lose complete motor functions, all before he turns thirty years of age.
Secret For A Song will take you on a journey about death, loathing, love, friendship and healing. Although the ending may leave some readers feeling empty, it's poignant and reflective, it's ugly tears emotional.
A huge fan of spooky stuff and shoes, I enjoy alternately hitting up the outlet malls and historic graveyards in Charleston, SC where I live and imbibe coffee. My husband and two small children seem not to mind when I hastily scribble novel lines on stray limbs in the absence of notepads.
Since no writer’s biography is complete without mention of her menagerie of animals, you should know I have one dog that doubles as a footstool, a second that functions as a vacuum cleaner, and a cat that ensures I never forget that my hands are, first and foremost, for pouring cat food.
Contact her via Her Website Goodreads Facebook or on Twitter
Secret For A Song
Written S.K Falls
Expected Publication: June 2013
Valerie always wanted to be the smart girl. The pretty girl. The popular girl.
But not the rape girl.
That’s who she is now. Rape Girl. Because everyone seems to think they know the truth about what happened with Adam that day, and they don’t think Valerie’s telling it.
Before, she had a best friend, a crush, and a close-knit family. After, she has a court case, a support group, and a house full of strangers.
The real truth is, nothing will ever be the same
It should never had happened. She said no, but he didn't listen.
Valerie is having a party, her mother has gone away for the weekend, leaving Valerie and her six year old sister alone in the house. Her sister is put to bed as the party goers start arriving, and soon the binge drinking begins.
After a few drinks, Valerie is slightly tipsy, just in time to see Adam arrive, the boy of Valerie's dreams. After a daring game of spin the bottle, Valerie is far too drunk, vomits, and passes out.
When Valerie wakes to a hangover, her clothing in disarray, and Adam perched too close for comfort, whispering coercion, holding her down. She said no, but he didn't walk away.
A rape test, pending criminal charges, school taunts, lies and malicious friends are a result of Valerie being brave enough to tell someone. She's treated as the instigator, that she's lying to gain popularity, she's a whore, or poor Adam is being victimised. The police don't seemed to believe her, her legal representatives clearly have no interest in trying the case, and her school has allowed Valerie to be bullied, often catering to that of the accused, Adam.
Valerie is strong, she's an inspiration to girls who are victims of sexual abuse. This will not define her.
Rape Girl made me beyond furious at the treatment of Valerie. She was painted by peers and trusted adults as a liar, that she was promiscuous, to stop playing the victim and move on with her life, often giving the impression that she had no right to tell anyone about what happened to her. But for all of the judgmental, so called 'inconvenienced' adults that Valerie should have been able to trust, luckily she had pillars of support. An unlikely friend, a councilor, a cute barista, a victim support group and her loving mother. It was the difference between living... And self destructing.
Rape Girl
Written By Anna Klein
Published 01 / 09 / 2012
126 Pages
Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors.
But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?
Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?
On the island there are no parents, only children, their leader is the eldest at twenty one years of age. Before each child becomes a teen, they leave their parents and homes, never to return. Twins Leia and Luc now call the small island home.
In a dictatorship, the child citizens all adhere to the telling of The Book, featuring light sabers, fathers that abandoned their children, and a history of being able to use The Force. Whispers around the camp is that their leader is keeping secrets... And Leia plans to find out.
It isn't until Leia meets Walt, the mysterious boy from the wrong side of the wall that separates the island, that she releases that something is horribly wrong in their world. With talk of men coming across to the island by boat, the children of the island revolt. It seems there is far more beyond the horizon that any of them could have dreamed of.
The island is a quick story of a dystopian world, in which a group of parentless children are learning to survive, guided by an old Star Wars book that they believe as gospel.
Sounds like a strange concept, but as the story unravels, readers will find themselves marveling in this brilliant, but short novella. I honestly hope that Jen Minkman might consider rewriting The Island and turning it into a full length novel, even a series. The concept is entertaining and I'd love to read more.
The Island
Written By Jen Minkman
Published 01 / 07 / 2013
80 Page novella
80 Page novella
Thank you to Jen Minkman and Netgalley for a review copy
Eighteen-year-old Jade Reamer is a tough girl with a reputation to prove it. She loves three people and three people only: her brother, her boyfriend, and her best friend. Everyone else is irrelevant.
That is … until Reed enters the picture again.
Suddenly things start to spiral out of control and things aren’t as they seem. Life is no longer simply black and white, love versus hate. Suddenly, it’s hard to figure out which of those four letter words is true.
Especially when she can’t look away from those devil eyes.
I love you. I hate you. I love you. I hate you. Which is it? I don’t even know anymore.
Well, let’s find out.
This 15,000 word novella contains coarse language, angst driven young adults, and a lot of pent-up frustration.
Oh yeah. Plus love and a little bit of hate
Eighteen year old Jade may not have the perfect life, but it's good enough. A senior at high school, dating the popular, likeable - but possessive Connor, a loving - abet alcoholic brother and a blunt best friend Nina. She's angry, trying to rein in her temper, and learning not to lash out. It's become increasingly difficult since Reed walked back into her life.
It's been three long years since he left, since he left Jade and never looked back. It destroyed then fifteen year old Jade, and she hasn't been the same since.
As she battles with old resurfaced feelings for the man that left her shattered, her life is falling apart around her. It seems everyone is hiding a secret, devastating enough to destroy what little of Jade's spirit is left.
She only ever has enough love for three people at any one time, with Reed in the picture, does she have room for one more?
I really enjoyed Those Four Little Words, and devoured it within one sitting. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to be the first person to read this angst driven, emotionally charged book in it's entirety.
Jade is genuine, her persona is realistic and true to life. I spent the first half of four letter words on edge, the tension is unbearable and you know something is coming. It was an emotional read, my only complaint is that I want more! Christina Channelle seemed to hint at there being another book... There had better be lady, I need to know!
Those Four Letter Words
Written By Christina Channelle
Expected Publicaton July 2013
Novella
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