Book Review: Sparrows for Free - Lila Felix

Title: Sparrows for Free

Author: Lila Felix

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

There are skeletons in every closet. Some stay quiet—and some rule your soul with an iron fist.

Ezra is ruled by the ghosts of his past—and needled by the guilt they create. Not only does he have to manage his own guilt—his friends are forced to bear the weight as well. He lives in limbo, never dreaming of anything that lies beyond the grave.

In his mind, he’s a murderer, pure and simple.

Hide and seek is Aysa’s game. She begs for small spaces and empty places. But, she secretly desires so much more.

When they find each other, a hope for something new is sprung.

But Ezra’s skeletons are out for blood.

“I hide shock well. I’m a pro at hiding. I have no idea that whatever he had to tell me would be so personal—so heartbreaking. But, I quickly remembered that heartbreak was all around him every time he turned around. He needs no more empathy or sympathy in his life. He craves someone to give him a different take on a tired situation.

And different is practically my middle name.”

My Review:

I had read Lila Felix’s Love and Skate book a few months ago, and while the story line was really good and I did like the characters, the whole book felt a little stiff and needed quite a bit of editing; the lesson I have learned is never judge an author by previous work, and honestly I never would have pegged myself for doing something like that, but I know that is exactly what I was doing every time I scrolled past Sparrows for Free on my kindle and bumping it down the line of my TBR pile; thankfully a friend talked some sense into me and told me I would really like this book, and she was right!  The story of two messed up people and the road to their recovery was beautifully written. The characters were people I really wanted to get to know.  Asya, was someone I could realate to in some ways; not necessairily in the hiding from life - but while growing up there were moments when I felt like I was invisible.  I loved Asya's gradual increase of self esteem and how she  stood up for herself; she didn’t wake up one day and decide to be different – it was a work in process.  If nothing else, Sparrows for Free will trap you into a story that you absolutely have to finished, if for no other reason than to see Asya and Ezra find themselves and begin to move past who they are and into who they should be.

Rated:  PG-13 - Mild cussing, a bit of sensuality

Genre: New Adult - Romance

Rating:  4 Stars

Book Review: Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard

Title:Red Queen

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of

those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

Review:

The Red Queen started popping up in my newsfeeds and emails a couple months ago, and despite the hype, mentally I was prepared to be disappointed. I was finding it compared to The Selection Series and Graceling, both books (series) I have read, and both of them I started out loving and ended up not very happy with them for different reasons.  Also, with big named publishers, books tend to get a lot of hype and advertismenet because of who is backing them.  What I'm trying to say is, I wasn't buying into the hype.  I saw the book on my library's Overdrive Ebooks list and thought it was at least worth a chance.

The Verdict??

I.want.to.own.these.books.  ...and only the first book is out.

(Edited 4/21/14 - I DO own this book!)

So, I can see the relationship to The Selection and Graceling, and I would add The Hunger Games in the mix too, because of the arrogant turning their noses on those who provide them basically everything.  The world building was absolutely excellent!  I didn't feel lost or confused about what was going on or why.  I also really enjoyed that none of the characters were perfect, every last one of them had their strengths and flaws, making the story feel more believable.  This is a bit rare in dystopian type novels - usually at least one of the characters is unnaturally good at almost everything.  I did find that much of the book was predictable due to foreshadowing, so I really wasn't surprised by much of the story at all.  

If I were to pick a favorite part of the book I would say it would be all the conversations between Mere and Cal, and Mere and Maven (the Princes of the Kingdom); and how while the book was about the ruling class of super-humans and the normal humans living as a secondary slave class, both sides of the spectrum felt trapped and confined by their lives.  It really plays on the whole "grass is not always greener on the other side" concept, although there truly is a lesser more oppressed side.

The biggest downside of this series.... the wait for book 2 has begun!

Rated:  PG-13; Some Cussing

Genre: Young Adult: Dystopian, Romance

Rating:  5 Stars

~* Books by Victoria Aveyard *~

Book Review: The Taking - Kimberly Derting

Title: The Taking

Author: Kimberly Derting

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing. 

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day. 

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. 

Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

My Review:

I am not one to pick books that have an “alien” feel about it because it’s just not something I’m interested in, however, the idea of waking up and 5 years have passed, dealing with that and the fact that everyone else has aged and moved on while you’re exactly the same as when you left; I just found the premise enticing, thus saying ‘yes’ to The Taking.  I was not disappointed with this book in the slightest, it had the drama I was looking for and just enough of the sci-fi aspect to make a good story without taking it too far ::cough, cough:: ‘out of this world’ for my liking.  I felt like the book may have progressed a little too quickly in the romance part; while 5 years had passed for Taylor and he was acting on a childhood crush, only a few days had passed for Kyra – and after reading about her relationship with Austin, I wasn’t quite ready for Taylor.  Regardless, I was completely sucked into this book from the onset, the characters are captivating and the storytelling was truly excellent; I completely recommend reading this one if you’re into a light sci-fi theme.  I’m already anticipating the next book which is due to release in April (oh the day before my birthday in fact), and discovering more about why these people are being taken – is war coming? an invasion? or is it just basic evolution sped forward because of some weird black hole situation?

Rated: PG-13 - There's cussing  

Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Romance

Rating:  4 of 5

Book Review: How to Hook a Bookworm - Cassie Mae

Title: How To Hook a Bookworm

Author: Cassie Mae

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Getting kissed for a birthday present should not be a big deal. Especially for Brea Mason, who doesn’t think of her best friend, Adam Silver, in any way other than… well, a friend. But after the liplock she can’t seem to get him off her mind. And she has to, because Adam is a senior while she’s stuck in high school for another two years.

Then BAM, the perfect distraction comes along in the form of a new, hot sophomore who actually seems interested in Brea, despite her anti-social personality. And with the stress at home, stress at school, and ignoring the reality of all her friends leaving come June, Brea welcomes the distraction.

But when she sees four fat Fs on her report card, Brea needs a study buddy, and the best candidate is Adam, book nerd and math whiz. So she enlists his help, hoping the birthday kiss was just a fluke. After all, she has a boyfriend now. It should be easy to ignore the butterflies and fizzy feelings that arise with the bookworm… right?

My Review:

How to Hook a Bookworm is book 3 in Cassie Mae's How To series, a series I have absolutely adored from the very beginning.  This book was my favorite though, which is surprising since I thought Band Geek would totally take that spot since I, myself, was a band geek.  There was just something about Brea and Adam I fell in love with; perhaps it was the best friend scenario, or the building tension, or just Brea's personal growth in general.  I also am always a bit thankful when a learning disability (no matter the form) is thrown into these books, because my son is dyslexic and struggles with things like test anxiety.  I feel like maybe someone who struggles with the same issues will pick up a book such as this one and feel like they aren't alone.  Another favorite part of this series is that all of the couples have put the sex issue on the other side of marriage for reasons that include "because I want to," and because they "stopped making decisions based on how popular they (the decisions) are." These are qualities I completely respect!

And, for all the How To fans out there - this book includes a certain wedding that you simply don't want to miss!! 

Rated:  5 Stars

Genre: Young Adult - Romance

Rating:  PG-13 - Teenage appropriate talk of sex, mild cussing

Book Review: These Broken Stars - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars

Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive -- alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth. 

The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.

My Review:

These Broken Stars was a good adventure of twist and turns, a new planet, and budding love, and I look forward to reading the remainder of The Starbound Triliogy.  At the start of the book I almost felt like I was back on a cruise ship with all the different decks, entertainment options; but I felt the book really took off once Lilac and Tarver landed on the unknown planet.  As for the characters, I really enjoyed Lilac and Tarver’s relationship, it was fun at the beginning with each of them trying to display disinterest and indifference, and then growing into fondness with obvious attraction into something more.  In the end, I think the best aspects of this book was the world building and the story line/emotional roller coaster that the authors takes you on.

Rated:  PG 

Genre: Young Adult

Rating:  3.5 Stars - While I did love the world building, the travel time/time between action seemed kind of lengthy