Humanity is all but
extinguished after a war with partials, engineered organic beings
identical to humans—has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to
only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of
humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled
together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent,
but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a
decade. Humanity’s time is running out.
When sixteen-year-old
Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a
solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with
the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left
of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and
partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin
that she never knew to ask.
Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Battlestar Galactica, Partials
is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what
it means to be human is in question, one where our sense of humanity is
both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival
They estimate that the youngest person left on the planet is fourteen years old, with only forty thousand people left on earth. Eleven years ago, the race known as The Partials tried to destroy the population. Built by man to be faster, stronger, to fight for humankind in the Isolation war. When a blood born virus known simply as RM was released, the world crumbled, and The Partials turned on those who created them.
Kira is a plague baby. She has just completed her medic training, and works within the confines of the island hospital. The post apocalyptic civilization had been driven to settle on Long Island, under the dictation of an authoritative government. The RM targets unborn children, ending their lives within days of being brought into the world. Kira sees the wailing mothers, yearning to hold their children, the monitoring, the testing, and still the children continue to die.
The vigilante group known as The Voice, have infiltrated their community. The Voice plunder the earth, stealing, killing and taking the citizens of Long Island, so the council tells them. They stand against the control of the government and the Hope legislation, that all girls over legal age are required to perform their duty to the community, become pregnant, so they can break the cycle of the fated children. They are humanities last hope.
Kira has a plan, to essentially snatch a Partial from the wilderness, to test their immunity that may be the key to a cure. In theory it should have been simple, one Partial soldier taken alive, until the salvage group find Samm. Lethal, this soldier won't go down without a fight. It isn't until he is taken back to the island for testing, that Kira sees that her community is built on lies, control and deception. Samm is nothing like she imagined, quiet with an intelligence and striking good looks. When Samm saves her life amidst the rioting and insurgence, Kira and the small group of self made visionaries and revolutionists flea into Samm's world.
Everything they know and have been taught about the Partials doesn't quite add up. Will Kira find the cure, or a lot more than she bargained for?
Partials wasn't at all what I expected and was surprisingly good, but not great. There is far too much to the storyline all at once, and I felt bombarded, it was just too busy.. It short, it's a post apocalyptic world, where super soldiers were created, essentially artificial humans. A deadly virus was released upon the world, and the only known settlements are the community on the island, and a rebel group called The Voice. Mix that in with a killer virus, forced pregnancies on eighteen year old girls, and lengthy speeches regarding genetics, scientific research, and the story ends up busier than an ice cream truck at a Weight Watchers meeting.
It's not all bad, it was actually more often entertaining and thrilling... In places. Since Partials took care of all the explanations, I'd be interested to read the next in the series, I have a suspicion I may in fact enjoy the next one far more.
Partials
(Partials: Book One)
Written By Dan Wells
Published 28 / 02 / 2012
438 Pages
438 Pages
Thirty-five girls came
to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent
home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned
princess of Illea.
America still isn’t sure where her heart lies.
When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless
romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she
sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with
memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down
to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon
over - and time is running out for America to decide.
Just when
America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her
question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her
future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy
are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any
kind of happy ending.
The selection is now down to six girls, with the competition to win prince Maxon's affections becoming more brutal. America initially entered for the monetary compensation for her struggling, middle to lower caste family and the decadent meals, but Maxon isn't at all how she imagined the prince would be.
Her decision made all the more difficult by Aspen. Forgiving his hasty decision isn't the only issue that weighs on America's mind, it's the cruel and vindictive behavior of some of the Selection, her feelings for Maxon, and discovering the truth on how the young country of illéa was founded. The rebel groups are attacking with greater resources, more often. But when America encounters one of the rebel groups, questions are raised as to what they are really fighting for.
America is conflicted, with only a handful of girls left, she is struggling to find her role and whether or not she is cut out for life as a royal. Keeping Maxon at arms length seems to drive him into the arms of the other contestants. It pains America more than she is willing to admit.
When one girl is caught in a compromising position with a guard, it is only the beginning of a journey of disappointment for America. The fierce competition, her feelings torn between Maxon and Aspen, and the clear divides in society. But when America exposes the royal secrets, she knows that her time has come to leave. Is she ready or will Maxon let her go?
The Elite is the continuation of The Selection, with the storyline focusing on the competition between the girls and America's lingering decision on whether to commit to the potential life as a princess, or the wife of a guardsmen. America has lost her nerve and flitting between the two boys, she has lost her sense of identity. Where Maxon was the unlikely and surprising front runner in The Selection, neither Maxon or Aspen are worthy in The Elite, nor does America deserve either one.
As far as the rebels are concerned, I was hoping that we would be introduced to their cause and how they are involved within the series... But nothing evolved beyond storming the castle. They seem as though they are merely scenery in a twisted love story of sorts. I still can't class the series as dystopian, rather not much more than romance. I'll be interested to read the synopsis for the third, and I believe final book in the series. I suspect it'll be little more than Maxon choosing a bride, and America stringing along both boys.
The Elite
(The Selection: Book Two)
Written By Kiera Cass
Published 04 / 2013
336 Pages
(The Selection: Book Two)
Written By Kiera Cass
Published 04 / 2013
336 Pages
Three days on Palm Beach will change everything. We all have one, the one who got away. For 31-year-old Trent Matthews, that woman is Lauren Crawford. For 28-year-old Lauren Crawford, that man is Trent Matthews.
Ten years after they last saw each other on Palm Beach, an unexpected night at The Breakers sends Lauren and Trent roaring back into each others lives. She's still sassy, sexy, and sophisticated. He's still rich, handsome, and an expert with women.
The years have passed, but old feelings haven't died. Not even close. Now, these two have a second chance at love. The problem is, Trent left Lauren without any explanation in 2002. She's still mad and confused. Back then, Trent had his reasons - about a dozen - for his abrupt exit from her life. But even a decade later, he doesn't want to admit all of them - or make them public. And that hesitation may cost him Lauren. Forever.
Will Trent admit the mistakes of his youth? Will Lauren grant Trent her forgiveness? Or will they lose love again underneath THE PALMS?
The Palms is available now on Amazon
New Orleans born Sara Celi has lived all over the United States. She calls the Greater Cincinnati area and the Queen City home. She's currently a TV reporter and anchor in Oklahoma City, and has spent more than a decade working in journalism. She graduated cum laude from Western Kentucky University in 2004. Celi is also a contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Positive.The Undesirable is her debut novel. In her spare time, she likes to read, shop, write, travel, run long distances, volunteer with the Junior League, and fundraise for Cooperative for Education, a non-profit providing educational opportunities for Guatemalan kids.
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
It's only been three days, and already everything is different.
Paragon is behind her, but somehow Alessa's life may actually have gotten worse. In a wrenching twist of fate, she traded the safety and companionship of her sister for that of her true love, losing a vital partner she'd counted on for the ordeal ahead. Her comfortable university life is but a distant memory, as she faces the prospect of surviving a bleak winter on the meager remains of a ravaged world. And if she'd thought she'd tasted fear upon seeing a ghost, she was wrong; now she's discovering new depths of terror while being hunted by a deadly virus and a terrifying pack of superhuman creatures thirsting for blood.
And then there are the visions.
The memory-altering "stitch" unlocked something in Alessa's mind, and now she can't shake the constant flood of alien feelings ransacking her emotions. Haunting memories of an old flame are driving a deep and painful rift into her once-secure relationship. And a series of staggering revelations about the treacherous Engineers - and the bone-chilling deceit shrouding her world's sorry history - will soon leave Alessa reeling...
The second installment in the electrifying Stitch Trilogy, Shudder follows Samantha Durante's shocking and innovative debut with a heart-pounding, paranormal-dusted dystopian adventure sure to keep the pages turning.
Alyssa and Isaac have escaped the walls of Paragon, seeking safe passage to join the rebel cause and find a safe house for operations. Their lives played upon a manipulated reality, realised with the aide of producer.
The general population of Paragon, the former government quarantine zone, fear The Virus, a lethal illness brought into the city from over the walled compound. The citizens of Paragon, known as the ruling class, are being drugged to be kept compliant, unaware that their daily lives are being manipulated, right down to the nightly drama, where the 'actors' believed the soap was reality, both Alyssa and Isaac included.
The goal? To produce a peaceful, egalitarian society, the first the world has ever seen. To mend communities after the world went to war, the millions of lives lost after the the missiles rained and the virus killed the weak and wounded... So they say.
Their journey through harsh, unforgiving terrain is hungry work, with little rations now available. The two forge on with a quiet resolve, but something is terribly wrong. Something is hunting them, not quite human, but far more than a wild, feral animal. Whatever it is, is effecting Alyssa. She is having vivid nightmares and heightened emotional sensations. She is overpowered by grief, the loss of loved ones... And not just that of her own.
Janie, Lizzy and Joe are missing, Nikhil has been captured, but a fate far worse has been destined for one of them, trialled for her involvement, she will be made an example of. If only she could remember who she is. As Alyssa and Isaac make it back to Paragon, unscathed, plans are put in place to move the rebels and those seeking refuge, to the new safe house.
Not everything will go according to plan, they have a traitor in their ranks, animalistic hunters out for blood, and a revelation from the faceless men who control Paragon... Deemed worthy of a war that the rebels need to survive.
Shudder was awesome. Where the first book in the series Stitched, posed more questions than answers, Shudder answered them... In abundance.The Stitch trilogy isn't your average dystopian series, it's intelligent, unique and will keep readers on their toes. I'm giddy at the prospect of the final in the series, it'll be epic.
Shudder
(Stitch Trilogy: Book Two) Written By Samantha Durante
Published 15/ 06 / 2013
348 Pages
You can purchase Shudder HERE
Thank you to Samantha and CBL Book Tours
Struggling to put her life back together after a tragic mountaineering accident kills her college sweetheart, twenty-one-year-old Holly Treadwell is trying to set aside her grief, forge ahead in school, and find herself again.
When Carter Hansen, a guy who brings back horrible memories from the night of the accident, finds his way back into her life, Holly’s unsure if she should let him in. He terrifies her in more ways than one and invokes feelings in her that she thought were buried forever. Regardless of her fears, she knows she must face him in order for her heart to heal.
Everyone tells Carter that what happened on the mountain that night was just a terrible accident, but even then, he can’t help but carry around the guilt and is unable to forgive himself. He’s drawn to Holly and being near her helps ease his conscience and gives him the release he needs.
As Holly and Carter’s relationship grows, they begin to realize that the more time they spend with one another, the more their wounds begin to heal, her grief and his guilt. But when Holly learns the details about the night of the accident, what everyone has been keeping from her, it will rip open old wounds and tear apart what they’ve both worked so hard to overcome…
Holly is incomplete after having lost Adam. Since Adam's death, helping during a mountain rescue, Holly has ceased living, struggling through medial tasks of everyday life. How can you live, when it feels as though you've died?
Carter was part of the rescue group on the mountain that night, when the weather turned and resulted in Adam's death. He hadn't met Holly before that night at the hospital, but after delivering the tragic news, he still remembers how she felt while he was holding her, while she fell apart.
Holly doesn't blame Carter, but the sight of him brings the painful memories of that night, flooding back. Through fate, Holly overcomes her fears and the two become friends. Carter brings brightness to her days, slowly lessening the pain with his smile. He never expected to fall for the devastated girl he held while she cried, the girl that has brought meaning into his life, and has helped him to live again.
As their friendship strays into something so much more, Carter has a confession to make, that he's tortured himself over, but will Holly blame him too?
The heart wants, what the heart wants.
Simply lovely. Fall From Love was a breath of fresh air. Realistic characters, heartbreaking story lines that deliver the ultimate happy ending. The storyline was emotional and Holly's character in her grief, her thoughts and healing were realistic, raw and sadly beautiful. You'll form an instant connection with the heartbroken protagonist.
Beautifully written and adored it. It was simplistic, yet emotional. Its simply an emotional story of two collage students helping one another heal through friendship, and falling in love in the process.
Fall From Love
Written Heather London
Published 21 / 05 / 2013
330 Pages
Courtesy of Xpresso Book Tours
Heather London is a young adult and new adult author who loves to write stories full of romance, fantasy, and science fiction. She is a lover of only the finest of coffee and premium craft beer, but will settle for anything chocolate, regardless of its quality. Heather lives with her husband in Dallas, TX where she is currently working hard on her next project.
You can find Heather via her Website Goodreads Facebook and Twitter
I had the privilege to read an advanced copy of Australian author Gracie MacGregor's debut novel last month, Hearts on Hold, and wanted to interview Gracie as my first author.
You can find more information on Gracie by visiting:
What was the first book that you ever remember reading?
I know it wasn't the first (my wonderful parents read to me from my earliest days, so important for children) but the first I remember reading myself was Anna Sewell's Black Beauty. I was 6 or 7, absolutely horse-mad, and that book broke my heart. I so much hated what happened to Beauty's friend Ginger that I rewrote the story, in an old school exercise book. My parents were so proud, they took it to show my school teacher, Mr Ashburn. Unfortunately, I had an enormous crush on Mr Ashburn, and in the contrary way of shy little girls, was so embarrassed by the attention that I destroyed my very first manuscript. But I still have that original, careworn copy of Anna Sewell's beautiful book.
You're having a fabulous dinner party, which five authors (living or deceased) would you invite?
Five is really tough. I have some wonderful author friends, so I'm going to assume they know I love having dinner with them any time!
Dorothy Dunnett, the most amazing historical fiction author who ever wrote (a big call, I know, but if you haven't discovered her Lymond Chronicles, you are missing out on the greatest treat of your life).
Jane Austen, because I think even today she could still teach me a thing or two about gender politics.
Pablo Neruda (do poets count? Please let them count!) because he'd persuade every woman at the party she was desperately desirable, regardless of bad-hair days or the effects of a second helping of dessert.
Nora Ephron. I'm desperately sad she's gone, because her writing always filled me with joy and inspired me to try to be smarter, always smarter, more observant and more truthful.
Ian McEwan. I'm not sure he needs any further explanation!
(And if poets DON'T count, JK Rowling, because I admire a mind that can create that sort of magic, and would hope proximity might help a little of the magic rub off on me!)
What was the inspiration behind your debut novel, Hearts on Hold?
I was very lucky to spend a couple of weeks one summer holidaying in Xlendi on Gozo where the novel is set (do other readers do this? I was actually retracing a few of the footsteps of Dorothy Dunnett's Francis Lymond! Please don't call me obsessed, at least not to my face). The whole Maltese archipelago is such a wonderful combination of old and new, of Christian and Moorish, and this is particularly true of Gozo. I started to think about how traditions and cultures remain and adapt over time, and how quickly and brutally our modern world can sometimes force change. I thought Xlendi would be an ideal bolt-hole, if a bolt-hole was needed. And I imagined Cate one morning up on the headland after a run, and the story just took off after her.
Other than professor Blackshaw, which male protagonist from any other novel, could sweep you off your feet any day?
I'm afraid I'm very easily swept! But my current favourite is Jamie Fraser, from Diana Gabaldon's brilliant Outlander series.
I love to support independent and debut novelists, do you have any words of wisdom for potential authors wanting to make the leap into writing?
Thanks very much for the support, it really makes a huge difference! The key for me (and I'm by no means the first to say it, we all stand on the shoulders of the giants who wrote before us) is to finish. Finish something. Pick the best of the half-written manuscripts under your bed or the half-formed ideas in your head, and write until it's finished. Finishing Hearts on Hold gave me an enormous sense of achievement, even knowing it needed a massive amount of work, and that spurred me on to DO the work of rewriting, to make it the best I could make it. Before, I'd been a terrible tweaker - I had (still have) four or five bits of manuscripts whose first and second and third chapters I would endlessly "edit", but the secret is in finishing the first draft. It's fine to tell yourself it's just a vomit draft, if that takes the pressure off as you write, but just finish it.
Thanks to Harlequin Australia, romantics can win an eCopy of Gracie's novel, Hearts on Hold.
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
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