Category: Science Fiction
Carrier by Vanessa Garden
(Cover picture courtesy of A Reader of Fictions.)
For fans of The Walking Dead and The Hunger Games comes a YA novel about freedom, choice and family — and the terrifying disease that makes them mutually exclusive.
From the day she was born, Lena has viewed the world through the jagged window of a razor-wired fence. The hundred-acre property she shares with her mother in the Australian outback may keep her safe from the Y-Carrier disease, but it is no longer enough to hold Lena’s interest, and her mother’s increasingly tight grip on her free will is stifling.
Just as her curiosity blooms and her courage rises, she meets a boy through the fence — the first boy she has ever laid eyes on. His name is Patrick and he comes with a dangerous yet irresistible invitation of adventure beyond the fence, an invitation to which Lena cannot say no.
But Lena’s newfound freedom is short-lived and she soon discovers that the Y-Carrier disease is not the only enemy she faces on the outside. Her new enemies want something Lena has, and they are willing to do anything to get it…
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
If you’re thinking this is a zombie book, I’ve got news for you: it’s not. You never, ever see a zombie. No, instead this is something a lot more interesting, something that hasn’t really been done before.
We have Lena, a seventeen-year-old girl who has lived only with her mother and cousin, fearing what lurks beyond the fence that keeps the family safe. Now that her cousin Alice is dead it’s just Lena and her mother and the two, like quite a few teenage daughters and mothers can’t stand each other. Lena wants to get out and explore the world. It’s been a while since she’s seen a Carrier (only males carry the disease but they live; females die from the disease) and she wants to go out and explore. She knows how to hunt from killing rabbits inside the fence but her mother refuses to let her go. So when she sees a boy she decides to make her move.
Now I know all of this sounds pretty cliché but I can assure you that there are quite a few plot twists along the way. The plot is incredibly fast-paced and just when you think you know what’s going to happen, Vanessa Garden changes everything on you. At the same time, the plot twists actually make sense within the context of the story. They’re not totally out in left field, I promise.
The characters are by far the best part of the novel, especially Lena. She’s strong and determined but not afraid to admit she’s out of her element when she meets Patrick. He’s the first boy she’s ever seen (aside from her magazine crush) and you can guess how much awkwardness ensues. And the thing is that the awkwardness is believable. They’re two teenagers that have had exactly zero experience with the opposite sex. What do you expect to happen, really?
Overall, Carrier was a pretty good novel. It didn’t have the ‘wow’ factor that Vanessa Garden’s first book Captivate did but it’s a good standalone novel. It doesn’t release until March 1, but if you’re at all intrigued by the blurb or my review I think this is the book for you. It’s certainly worth a try.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Altered by Gennifer Albin
(Cover picture courtesy of Xpresso Reads.)
Life. Possibility. Choice.
All taken from Adelice by the Guild—until she took them back.But amid the splendid ruins of Earth, Adelice discovers how dangerous freedom can be. Hunted by soulless Remnants sent by Cormac Patton and the Guild, Adelice finds a world that’s far from deserted. Although allies are easy to find on Earth, knowing who to trust isn’t. Because everyone has secrets, especially those Adelice loves most. Secrets they would kill to protect. Secrets that will redefine each of them. Torn between two brothers and two worlds, Adelice must choose what to fight for.
In this thrilling sequel to Crewel, Adelice is about to learn how tangled up her past and future really are. Her parents ran to protect her, but nothing can save her from her destiny, and once she uncovers the truth, it will change everything.
Usually I expect the second books in trilogy to be boring. Slow, sometimes with more character development and sometimes not. Usually they’re just set up books for the final book. Usually.
Altered is anything but usual. With a book as awesome as Crewel I knew it would be hard for Gennifer Albin to write a follow up that could top it, but she did. Altered is a lot different from Crewel in part because Adelice is finally able to make decisions for herself. She isn’t constantly being monitored by other Spinsters or having Cormac leering down at her at every turn. It takes her a while to discover that steel within herself, but when she’s able to make her own decisions she does mess up occasionally and learns from her experiences. Adelice knows she isn’t perfect and tries to be a better person for her experiences.
The plot dragged a bit in the middle, but there was never really a time when I felt like I was about to go to sleep. There was always some new twist or turn, some new knowledge about the origins or Arras or another interesting character being introduced that made me want to keep reading. And the twist at the end? Wow, I can’t wait to read Unraveled because of that. The first part of the plot twist was not entirely unexpected but the second part dealing with choices certainly was. I won’t give anything away, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing some more dysfunctional family dynamics in the third book.
The thing I liked most (other than the character development) was Gennifer Albin’s world-building. In Crewel we were introduced to the basics of Arras’ creation but in Altered we actually go into a lot more detail and learn about the surprising origins of the project and its leaders. Trust me, the scientist behind the project is not who you’d really expect but it’s a pleasant surprise. We also get to learn that not only women are born with the ability to weave, but men called Tailors can alter the world around them. They can’t create like Spinsters but they have some very interesting abilities and many of them have been persecuted for their talents.
So overall? This is an awesome second book. I can hardly wait until Unraveled, coming this October!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Crewel by Gennifer Albin
(Cover picture courtesy of Xpresso Reads.)
Incapable. Awkward. Artless.
That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail.Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.
Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.
Because tonight, they’ll come for her.
This time I can honestly say it was not the cover of this book that caught my attention. Rather, it was the title. Crewel. What’s a crewel? Is it a dystopian city, a deliberate misspelling of cruel for some sort of theme in the book or something else? It was my curiosity that made me read the blurb and I soon learned it was a weaving term. A teenage girl in a dystopian world where time itself is woven? That’s pretty unique. So of course I bought the book.
Gennifer Albin’s book is one of the very few dystopian novels I’ve read that has such an amazing, unique premise. If the rest of the book were trash, you could read it for her world-building alone. Good thing the rest of the book wasn’t trash, though. She doesn’t dump too much info on you at once and just when you think you know all about Arras, you learn something completely different that throws the conventions for a loop. And you know what? All the shocking behind-the-scenes things that ordinary citizens in Arras don’t know about make sense considering the kind of beautiful yet horrible world they live in.
Adelice was an interesting protagonist. She was defiant but she also learned when to fight and when to keep her mouth shut as she began her apprenticeship as a Spinster. Yes, she made some pretty big mistakes because of her naivete but she learned from them and became a better person. Adelice saw through all of the glitz and glamour and actually tried to find a way to hide her talents so she could escape. Finally, a smart YA protagonist! And when she falls for a guy that’s obviously not a good choice for her, she learns to smother her feelings and move on. What a novel concept!
The plot starts off pretty fast in the beginning but then it slows down a little to allow you to catch your breath in this crazy new world. As Adelice learns about the world around her, so do we and it’s a more natural pace than a lot of books. Crewel focuses heavily on character development but it’s never at the expense of the plot. There’s always this feeling of suspense and dread just lurking in the background, ready to materialize and wreak havoc on Adelice’s plans. Especially toward the end of the novel when Cormac’s true intentions are made painfully clear as he goes from run-of-the-mill pervert to something a little more dangerous.
This is Gennifer Albin’s debut novel so I think we can expect great things from her in the future. I can’t wait to read the rest of the Crewel World trilogy!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Short Story: Feyland: The First Adventure by Anthea Sharp
(Cover picture courtesy of Anthea Sharp’s Wattpad.)
High-tech gaming and ancient magic collide when a computer game opens a gateway to the treacherous Realm of Faerie.
Jennet Carter never thought hacking into her dad’s new epic-fantasy sim-game would be so exciting… or dangerous. Behind the interface, dark forces lie in wait, leading her toward a battle that will test her to her limits and cost her more than she ever imagined.
[Full disclosure: Unlike with her other works, I was not provided this short story by Anthea Sharp. I downloaded it for free off Amazon so (as usual) my review is completely honest.]
While we caught flashes of Jennet’s first forays into Feyland in The Dark Realm, we never really saw the level of detail that’s revealed in this short story. We learn a little more about the Queen’s plot to bring Jennet to her, Jennet’s first quests and her character flaws. After meeting the selfless person Jennet became in The Twilight Realm it’s a little hard going back to her old spoiled self, but it makes perfect sense.
A lot of prequels don’t really add anything to the established universe but this one does. It’s not necessary for understanding the story, but it gives you a much clearer picture of the events leading up to Jennet asking Tam Lin to be her champion. There’s also a little more detail about Jennet’s life and her rather rocky relationship with her single father.
The plot was fast-paced and interesting even though I knew what was going to happen. The characters were believable and I loved the dynamic between Jennet and her father that explains a lot of her actions later on in the series. So overall, The First Adventure is a pretty good short story. If you read it and like it (it’s free on all major ebook platforms) I can’t recommend the rest of the trilogy enough.
I give this short story 5/5 stars.
Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
(Cover picture courtesy of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s site.)
Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…
Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.
Something worse than the Arum has come to town…
The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we’re linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there’s this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that’s possible. Against all common sense, I’m falling for Daemon. Hard.
But then everything changes…
I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?
No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…
I have a confession to make. This series is pretty much guilty pleasure for me. It follows the pretty typical YA formula of girl meets hot jerk at school, falls in love, finds out he’s [x] supernatural being, etc. Normally I would hate this with a passion.
And yet I don’t.
Katy may not know her mind like some of my favourite heroines, but she doesn’t take crap from anyone. Not even Daemon Black. When he at first tries to woo her she rejects him over and over because she remembered how he treated her like garbage for three months. That sort of treatment just doesn’t go away overnight, no matter how many apologies are said. Yet when Daemon actually starts to prove he’s really not a jerk you start to see Katy at war with herself as she becomes more attracted to this new Daemon while remembering how badly he treated her.
The thing that separates Onyx and the rest of the Lux series from most YA is that it’s well-written. Dare I say that I literally laughed out loud because some parts were so funny? (The people around me have now become inured to my book-laughter so I didn’t get the usual ‘crazy’ stares.) At the same time, there were some very touching, serious scenes, especially toward the end of the novel.
I haven’t read a girl loves alien book yet so the premise is actually quite refreshing despite the overall formulaic approach. Jennifer L. Armentrout’s alien race (the Lux) are truly fascinating and how the government treats them is disturbing. And realistic. I like how the full scope of Daemon’s power is revealed in slow increments rather than being thrown at us all at once. The history of the Lux is also shown in greater detail in Onyx, especially concerning the Department of Defense’s relationship with them.
Is this the most unique book ever written? Of course not. However, Onyx is well-written, fast-paced, funny and touching at the same time. The characters seem like your typical YA characters at first, but then Katy and Daemon acquire so much more depth. They really grow throughout the books and I can’t wait to see what happens in Opal.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.