5 Stars
The Winner's Curse
The Winner's Curse: Book One
The Winner's Curse: Book One
Written by Marie Rutkoski
Fantasy, Dystopian
Fantasy, Dystopian
Published March 4th 2014
368 Pages
Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia via Netgalley
Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: She can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.
One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him, with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
Written By Skye Melki - Wegner
Published July 1st 2013
Fantasy, Dystopian
416 Pages
Thank you to Random House Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
Escape is impossible. Escape is their only hope.Danika is used to struggling for survival. But when the tyrannous king launches an attack to punish her city, echoing the alchemy bombs that killed Danika’s family, she risks her life in a daring escape over the city’s walls.Danika joins a crew of desperate refugees who seek Magnetic Valley, a legendary safe haven. But when she accidentally destroys a palace biplane, suddenly Danika Glynn becomes the most wanted fugitive in Taladia.Pursued by the king’s vicious hunters and betrayed by false allies, Danika also grapples with her burgeoning magical abilities. And when she meets the mysterious Lukas, she must balance her feelings against her crew’s safety.Chasing the Valley is the first book in an epic trilogy of magic, treachery and survival.
As the alchemy bombs rain down on Rourton, Danika Glynn can't help but remember the last occasion where the city was decimated at the hands of King Morrigan, the night her parents and brother were killed. That was seven years ago and Danika is a Scruffer now, living on the streets and begging for food, while fighting for each meager wage from her lowly work in Rourton's underbelly. She's cold and alone, but she isn't prepared to die tonight as she scurries down into the sewers, the only safeguard within the city. As she stumbles across a group of teens planning to evade the king's oppressive reign, their plan is to escape the city for Magnetic Valley, a place where citizens live with freedom and safety. She is caught eavesdropping and sent on her way, they've no room for her in their group, considering she has nothing to offer them as an incentive. Danika often contemplates running, a suicide mission in which no escapee has survived without being recaptured, or killed. In two years she will be drafted into the army and forced to sacrifice her life for the King, the King who ultimately killed her family Only then will Danika be able to reveal her Proclivity, her magical link to nature. The city is reduced to mouldering ruins, plunged into mayhem, if she wants to escape... Tonight Danika will make her bid for freedom over the walls.
Teddy Nort is a pickpocket, born and raised on the streets and can charm anyone into turning the other cheek while he steels your wares, and he's part of the escapees. Even through Teddy is in awe of Danika being an amateur illusionist, it's still not enough to convince Radnor, the boy in charge of their liberation. The easiest escape route is to join a licensed trading crew, responsible citizens who can legally leave the city walls to trade items to sister cities. To barrel under the solid wall is impossible and Danika's only option is to scale over. But on the verge for her bid for freedom, Teddy and his crew are charging through the open gate by posing as Foxary riders. If she's caught, she'll be killed, so Danika runs amid the shouting and shots being fired, setting off a flare to provide cover for the crew, running towards a better life.
Fearing she's been caught, Danika stumbles upon Teddy, who has separated from his crew in the mayhem. Reluctantly, she accepts his help and the two become unlikely partners, navigating the rough terrain. The royal Hunters are in pursuit and escape seems improbable until Hackel, the fifth member in crew, engulfs their persuaders in a fiery blaze. The older and more experienced Hackel is a smuggler with a Flame proclivity, Danika's simple illusionist trick paling in comparison. Wealthy sisters Clementine and Maisy, paying dearly for his escapee services. The group of underage teens all keeping their magical prowess a secret, being forbidden to reveal your proclivity before the age of eighteen. With the numbers of Foxaries slowly dwindling, the group stumble across a fallen palace biplane, still carrying a full load of alchemy bombs. It dawns, the flare that Danika had set off in the commotion of escape... Has taken down the palace plane, making Danika number one on the royal hit list, one of the royal family is now scouting their location. But there is someone taking out the hunters, executing them before the crew stumble into their path.
Each night as the crew settles, Danika notices a kite flying high in the night sky. Surely it must be a trap, but as the night's pass, the kite flyer comes closer and closer to camp. Someone is following their trail and Danika breaks ranks and searches the hinterland, stumbling across Lukas. Lukas has been traveling for weeks, having just turned eighteen and refusing to join the King's army. His proclivity is that of the Bird, using his kite to attract those within the vicinity, taping into their vision to survey the area from above. Lukas is heading for the Magnetic Valley. His identity and presence kept a secret until the Hunters finally catch up with the group and Lukas comes to the rescue.
There is a price on Danika's head, a thousand gold coins for her capture, provided by the palace. The lure proving too great with one of their own willing to kill Danika for the illustrious reward, while baring the secret that Lukas carries close to his chest. Can he ever be trusted again? With an intense fire burning out of control within the township, the crew flee on the newly constructed train network, why would the King want to provide transport for the wealthy in and out of the gambling slum town? When the group share their histories and what has led them to join the crew, leaving Rourton behind, it all becomes clear that there is far more at stake than the group finding the Magnetic Valley, the evil reign of a kingdom is threatening not only their freedom, but the freedom for generations to come.
Kelly's Thoughts
Chasing The Valley is the young adult fantasy fusion novel of the year. It's an engaging mix of magic within an oppressive dystopian world, and blends so effortlessly together. In their world, the wealthy and homeless are both ruled by the confines of their walled city, those with money to burn living a fuller life, but all under the watchful eye of the palace and royal guards. The King is a tyrant, and will stop at nothing until he is the sole ruler and citizens at his mercy. The idea isn't unique, but the mixture of characters and surroundings not only make for a magnificent fantasy, but it's enchanting. I loved Danika, her story of her parents being killed was heartbreaking, but she was determined not to live life on the streets, alone and wondering where her next meal would come from. She isn't strong or sassy, she's real and not matter how hard she's kicked, she'll rise again.
There is no forced romance between the characters, and no horrid love triangle either. Teddy, the pickpocket is adorable. He's the entertainment within the group dynamic, taking a lighthearted approach to the situation. The wealthy twins come across as cruel and unforgiving, but also have a worthy reason for seeking to escape. Lukas is the mystery factor within the storyline, not featuring prominently, but just enough to keep readers intrigued.
It was so entertaining, that I found myself trying to preserve reading Chasing The Sky, but it was too difficult to put down. I absolutely loved it and now eagerly awaiting the second in this epic trilogy.
Huck Jones, the son of the admiral of the Soaker fleet, has a legacy to live up to. Haunted by the distorted memories of his mother's untimely death, he must face his demons and the man who raised him as he strives to take the courageous step forward into manhood. When he's transferred to the worst - performing ship in the fleet, everything he believes is called into question when he meets a lowly brown - skinned bilge rat girl. Huck walks a deadly rope...
Meanwhile, Sadie, destined to be a Rider in the Stormer army, seeks to avenge her brother's death at the hands of the Soakers. Trained hard by her mother, an experienced Rider, Sadie knows strength and determination more than most. Her father, a Man of Wisdom, has shown his cowardice more times than she can count. As her world and family fall apart, she must cast aside her anger and focus on the wisdom she's always brushed off as foolishness.
Amidst everything, a Plague ravages all, discriminating against no one.
When four worlds collide, lines will be drawn, sides will be chosen, victory will be sought. Death will be wrought. The mysteries of the Cure for the deadly Plague will be uncovered. Who will survive? And what will those who do learn about themselves and the ones they love?
Huck is a Soaker, a native of Water country. On his fourteen birthday, he officially becomes a man. He isn't cut out for the savage life upon The Merman's Daughter, the son of the tyrant admiral, he lives under the cloud of disappointing his father.
Sadie lives in Storm country, at almost sixteen years old, she isn't a warrior like her mother, but she longs for the days she can shirk her weak willed father, and stand on her own two feet. Stormers are a strong, proud people, fighting for every breath of their meager land, against the tyrant head of the Water ships.
Upon becoming a lieutenant, Huck is sent to oversee Mayhem, the slowest and non productive ship in the fleet. Aboard, he never expected to find a sassy bilge rat, a girl stolen from heater country and used to work the ship as a child slave. The Heater girl whispers truths about the slave trade, about his father and life beyond the Deep Blue.
There has been an attack in Storm country, two males presumed to be from Ice country and one Marked from Fire country. Some are calling for blood, but for Sadie, only revenge will quench her thirst for all that she's lost. Slowly, more citizens from foreign lands join them, those they call the Wilds, Heaters and those from Icers. There's a call to arms, the Riders from Storm country and their new allies are preparing for war against the battered ships of the soakers.
Change is upon them. It's more than war, it's a fight against justice, bringing peace between the regions and questioning what you thought you knew... And what the reality of the new world is.
War is just a prelude to bigger things to come.
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of David Estes and both the Dwellers and Country saga series. Like so many who were giddy over The Hunger Games series, I've never been able to fill that void... Until David came along. He creates tough, sassy and independent female heroines that can only be rivaled by the likes of Katniss Everdeen and Allison Sekemoto of The Immortal Rules. I can't recall any author having two current series that merge into one epic story, it's brilliant and well thought out.
Throughout both series (Country Saga and The Dwellers), all the characters are connected, knowingly or not, cross paths and share each others journey. Each new edition in the series have a similar feel, but the 'country' quirks set them apart, especially the slag terms. It's endearing.
I NEED The Earth Dwellers... And everything I read between now and it's release, is just going to feel like I'm biding time. It's going to be epic, worlds will collide and I want a front row seat.
Water & Storm Country
(The Country Saga: Book Three)
Written By David Estes
Published 06 / 06 / 2013
380 Pages
Purchase from Amazon or Smashwords
The city of New Eden is cleared, but it won’t stay that way forever. The Bane continue to advance in horrific ways that will wipe humanity from the face of the Earth. A storm is coming, one none of them could have dared imagine.
When a group of outsiders come to the city, everyone is on edge. They have too many questions and not enough answers about where they are from or what they want. Just because they are human doesn’t mean they can be trusted.
Eve made a choice, one that could have deadly repercussions. Desperate hearts bring about desperate actions. Now she must make another decision as her world continues to crumble: come to terms with who she really is, or risk her sanity. She thought she had unlocked all the secrets from her past, but there are truths still buried that leave her questioning what is real and what is not
The Bane are dead and New Eden is in the process of being cleared for habitation for the survivors. The Pulse killed off former Bane soldiers, but not without casualties. West may never be the same again, infected by The Bane, a human turned hybrid machine. The technological Bane infection spreads throughout the human body, effecting organs and your humanity.
Eve is the first Bane recipient, an adjustment to save her life as an infant. She has the ability to control The Bane in small numbers... Until now.
With her emotions at an all time high after choosing between Avian and West, Eve spirals into a depressive, angst ridden state. She misses the camp, the trees, the fresh air and changing seasons. Now confined to the hospital quarters at New Eden, without a purpose. How quickly that will change...
With survivors arriving at New Eden, Eve can feel that the group's intentions are sinister. They keep their cards close to their chests and refuse to answer questions. It isn't until Eve is kidnapped and West going along willingly, that she learns that there is also a large population in Seattle. They know all about Eve and plan on using her to save themselves, in exchange for life saving surgery for West to remove the remaining Bane components.
Little does she release, that not only can she save humanity, she also possesses the power to destroy it.
The Bane trilogy is, in one word, AWESOME. Eve is half human, half Bane machine, and some days she struggles to be either. I love her character, she's not only tough and a leader among men, she'll rewrite the young adult science fiction genre. Keary Taylor has created a post apocalyptic world where modern advances in health sciences have lead to mankind being wiped from the earth. It's scary, it's even comical at times, dramatic, heartwarming, but mostly it's bloody brilliant.
The Bane Series will blow your sock clean off.
The Human
(The Eden Trilogy: Book Two)
Written By Keary Taylor
Expected Publication 18 / 06 / 2013
Thank you to Keary for the privilege of an ARC
Dazz, a hard-edged, fun-loving Icer, likes fighting, particularly while at his favorite watering hole. However, while recovering from a particularly bad break up, his decision to engage in a brutal pubroom brawl leads to a series of events that thrust him into a dark and mysterious scandal involving King Goff, the ice country ruler.
When his sister is abducted in the dark of night, Dazz pledges to do whatever it takes to get her back, embarking on a quest that threatens to rip apart the very fabric that's barely holding his shattered family together.
Along the way he meets a group of unlikely allies in the form of a travelling group of fire country natives. Can Dazz, when joined with his best friend, Buff, and new tan-skinned friends, defeat the King and his guards before it's too late for his sister?
Brawling in bars, gambling and drinking, landed Ice country native Dazz, working for the king. Along with best friend Buff, the two unemployed bar regulars are recruited to deliver and retrieve goods to the citizens of Fire country. Until little sister Jolie is kidnapped.
Dazz discovers that Jolie isn't the only child to be taken, when he is asked to deliver a group of Fire Country children directly to the castle. Was Jolie taken as insurance for his silence? When Dazz stumbles across a group of Fire country dwellers, he knows something is wrong. It's illegal to travel through districts, as a precaution to stop the rampant illness that kills the country citizens before their time.
Dazz enlists the help of brother Wes, who has taken over the fatherly duties after his father passed and his mother became drug dependent to numb the pain. Along with Buff, the three find themselves locked inside the palace dungeons, alongside the girls from the Wildes, a Marked and Heater from Fire country. Sharing information and theories. The king has been taking and trading children, keeping them locked within the palace, but why?
Nothing could prepare the new group of unlikely friends for the civil war, brought on by the dark warriors on horseback, the Stormers. Can they reach the castle to save Jolie and the Heater children before the Stormers take out everything in their path, including the castle and Ice country king?
I love the Country Dwellers series, it ties in with David Estes original Dwellers series, but with a new perspective. It tells the story of a dystopian world, after a meteor struck the planet, and how differing communities survived but are now segregated by their differences. We have the Dwellers, featuring segregated classes and living beneath the Earths surface, the Glassies, who are Dwellers living within a dome on the surface, an experiment on survival for the dwellers. Heaters living within the baron, hot sandy landscape, and the Icers, who live within the snow capped mountains, with the Stormers being introduced in the third book soon to come in the series.
Currently, David is my favourite author by far and I love escaping to the harsh, dystopian worlds he creates... And I'm not above groveling for an advanced copy of the next book in either series.
Ice Country
(Country Saga: Book Two) Written By David Estes
Published 04 / 04 / 2013
348 Pages
348 Pages
In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely.
Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers.
Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with.
As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun.
It's tough living in Fire Country. The Heaters are a village run by the Greystones, they live off the desolate land, live in rustic tents that provide no shelter against the grueling and deadly sandstorms. Girls are seen as breeders and start after they turn sixteen, their mate is chosen for them. Siena knows she isn't ready to become a mother, to fulfill her role in the Call, as it's known, but with her father being head Greystone, she has no other choice.
Circ and Sie have been friends since they were both toddlers, making mischief and causing mayhem to entertain themselves. Circ is a hunter, he's fast and athletic, The Call wouldn't be so bad if Circ was old enough. It isn't until the two friends are seen embracing by Siena's father, when all hell breaks loose.
The Greystone laws are to ensure survival, but grossly unfair. It isn't until Siena finds herself sent to confinement, that she realises that there is something awfully amiss with those who rule the village with an iron fist. Siena is beaten into submission, with her chosen Call being the very man who enjoys violent tussles with his women. Siena isn't ready and can't be coerced, surely women have rights, they have a choice of who they give themselves to, and when. Escape is her only option... If only Circ was with her.
Siena escapes into the wild, the barren land where the stories if wild animals, kidnappers and cannibals lurk, just waiting to snatch her. She's on a mission, following in the footsteps of friends, honoring the memory of loved ones and rebelling against all she's ever known, and what she believes in.
The girl may be scrawny, but she's a fighter.
I loved Fire Country, it reminded me of Blood Red Road by Moira Young. It's the ultimate tale of feminism, set in a barron, dystopian world. Siena is a strong character, willing to stand up for what she believes in, regardless of the gender roles. I loved Perry and is 'inner dialogue', Perry's sarcasm brought a sense of humor to the storyline.
She's feisty, fierce and one of my favourite young adult characters to date. David Estes is brilliant, his female protagonists are always strong and sassy, not to mention likeable. He's fast becoming one of my favourite authors.
Fire Country
(Country Saga: Book One) Written By David Estes
398 Pages
The 5th Wave (The Fifth Wave: Book One)
Written By Rick YanceyPost Apocalyptic, Science Fiction
After the first wave, only darkness remains. After the second, only the lucky escape. And after the third, only the unlucky survive. After the fourth wave, only one rule applies: Trust no one.Now, it’s the dawn of the fifth wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother, or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: Between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.
If you only read one book this year, this is the one. It's phenomenal.
Scientists and conspiracy theorists have always speculated that they had arrived... And all it took was ten days. Ten days before they unleashed the first wave, blasting the planet into darkness. Some assumed they came bringing peace on earth, others believed they were coming to save us from ourselves. But they weren't. They were coming to kill us, pit us against one another, to take our planet and purge us from existence.
When the second wave hit, it was designed to cleanse the earth. Tsunamis devastated coastal town and cities. But the world survived.
The third wave was created to decimate millions of survivors. A virus spread from human to human. Only the strong will survive, and the Sullivan's are survivors.
Cassie, short for Cassiopeia is sixteen. Before the others arrived, she was your regular teenage girl. She attended school, she especially enjoyed seeing Ben Parish strut through the halls. She isn't the same girl anymore. Now she's the teen who camps alone, in a dense forest with a rifle and a teddy bear, waiting for them to discover her... The fourth wave, the silencers. They look human, you don't know that you've been discovered until the split second before you're blown to pieces, so when Cassie is wounded on a desolate highway, she has two choices. Stay and bleed to death, or run and be gunned down.
Evan, the quiet farm boy with the soft hands nurses Cassie back to health. He's all alone, with no family to speak of. Cassie fascinates him, and will do anything to protect her. So when she sets off to find Sam, her little brother on a suicide mission, Evan is right behind her. The soldiers have been collecting children and taking them to camp Haven, with the promise that they are safe and their families will be joining them soon.
Something isn't right, the visitors aren't claiming earth just yet, they are allowing mass camps where the remaining humans are amassing, where they have electricity and security. Don't become complacent, we are losing our humanity, losing our planet and a war against a faceless enemy... The 5th Wave is coming.
My Thoughts
The 5th Wave is incredible. An science fiction, apocalyptic story about hope, survival, love and not going down without a fight. Seen through the eyes of female protagonist Cassie, then chapters as seen from Evan, Zombie (a newly recruited soldier) and Sam, Cassie's little brother. Cassie is a brilliant character, she believes she may very well be the last survivor. She carries around Sam's teddy bear as a promise and writes a journal to keep herself sane. She's tough, she's a survivor.
The story is horrific in places and will keep you guessing throughout. It's intelligent, emotional and exhilarating. It's a thriller of epic proportions. I was on the verge of self destruction once I reached slight cliffhanger masquerading as an ending.
I would beg, borrow and steal for a copy of the second book in this brilliant trilogy. I'm so thankful I look a chance on a apocalyptic, science fiction, survivalist novel about aliens, it's truly, hands down, the best book I've read thus far... Ever.
Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestselling Slammed series has brought countless readers to their knees with a whirlwind of love, passion, and heartache.
Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met.
In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from his point of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series
This Girl is the final in the Slammed series, as told from Will's point of view.
As Will and Lake are finally on their honeymoon. It has taken the newly married couple tragedy, laughter, seperation, and love to finally reach the point in their lives where they are both healing and happy. Over the weekend, Will retells the memories from his point of view of the important milestones and heartbreaking events in their lives.
We relive the death of Will and Caulder's parents, to the break up of Will's long term relationship only two weeks after the death of his parents, then to the day that Lake backs the moving truck into the driveway across the street. He was instantly taken with the girl who maims garden gnomes, wears Dark Vader slippers and has chocolate milk, on the rocks. He falls for her long before they both release how forbidden any relationship between the two is. Lake has just turned eighteen and Will is a student teacher. Morally and ethically, it can't happen, but it's torture for either of them to stay away from one another.
It had only been seven months since her father's death, when they discover that Lake's mother is ill. Both families only having one parent now between them. It's one of the hardest decisions that Will can make, he needs to step away and allow Lake to have this time with her mother, even if she seems to bury her head in the sand... Carving pumpkins.
Lake and Will have a tragically beautiful love for one another. Both understand what it means to have loved and lost, and both raising boys on the cusp of being teenagers. Finally, the happily ever after that both families deserve.
After reading both Slammed and Point Of Retreat, I became enamored with the story of Will and Lake. It's a magical story of loss and finding love amidst the tragedy. It's tender, emotional and one of those books that will make you fall in love with the written word all over again.
The ending? Absolutely perfect. Colleen Hoover is brilliant.
This Girl
(Slammed: Book Three)
Written By Colleen Hoover
Published: 30 / 04 / 2013
256 Pages
256 Pages
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