Book Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Wow. You guys only get one review for this month. I feel sad. I haven't been able to catch up on reading, and I'm not going to make any excuses up so I'm just going to flat out say that this month was a blog tour month. Woopsie Daises. But in all seriousness, I sincerely apologize and I will try to make up for my lack of review posts next month!

Series: Under the Never Sky (#1)
Genres: Young Adult, SciFi, Fantasy, Romance, Adventure
Published: December 1, 2011 by Atom
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

I'm not particularly fond of this book. It was a nice read and it's one where you can usually skim through and never understand (nah, just kidding. It's not to that extreme, but it is confusing). Although you have questions, you don't get answers. You have to search for it. I'm not sure what to think of it, I guess some things I could pick up on and some things I couldn't. I just went along with it and assumed what I thought was what, and that helped me throughout the reading process. Teeheeee.

Also, Peregrine (The name though...) AKA Perry is someone who can invade your privacy. Stay clear from him if you were to ever meet him in reality okay? Ok. Joking. But seriously, I'm someone who hates invasion of privacy and/or lack of privacy. Like, I want to keep some (maybe a lot)of things to myself, alright? So back off. I'm fine if you ask questions, but if you do it on purpose and the other party dislikes that invasion of privacy, it's annoying. And I just want to point out that Perry's nose can smell what kind of feeling/emotion you have and that is just creepy and something that I couldn't stand while reading this novel. Especially when she got her period and he was there to witness and smell everything. I just feel embarrassed in her place.

Also, I don't know if I'm the only one, but I have no idea what the title means. I also like the fact that they have 'smart(-)eyes'. It's a nice useful advanced piece of technology that must hurt a lot, especially because you're practically attaching it to your eye's inner membrane.

In the beginning, I was actually hoping to read a romance novel like this where the guy (who loves to invade your privacy) loves/likes (whichever word you use to interpret the romance in the beginning) the girl, but the girl has no feelings, but nope. Not going to happen. The girl, obviously, later on in the novel starts to fall for him (I'm not really sure if that should be counted as a spoiler, because it's very obvious?)

The world building was insane though. Although, there were little details, it gave you a lot of room to imagine what the places would look like. From the Realms to the Outside world, everything fitted in place. And the dual PoV's was fantastically written, especially since it was from third person point of view - if I'm not mistaken.

I have one last thing to say. To me, the SciFi books that I've read so far are confusing. But at least, you slowly start to catch on right?

Book Review: Altered by Jennifer Rush

Series: Altered (#1)
Genres: Young Adult, SciFi, Mystery, Fantasy, Romance
Published: January 1st, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Review ~

I loved the story in this! In fact, that was the only thing that kept me reading. Oh. Very unpredictable. I didn't know that the person was going to betray them. I didn't know they were going to make it. The only let down was the near death situations, and how they still survived. Also, the main character?
Anna? She annoys me. She's your typical stuck up and nosy teenage girl. I mean leaving them alone and more of a punishment for you than to them? Obviously, you got that right. Like seriously, all you think about is yourself.

The boys are the best characters in the whole book. Sam though, we need to see more of his real side, not the masked side. Not much character development between the boys either. As of the world building, not much either. The plot was the best, earned the book three stars and a half. Anna and the boys dragged it down. Haha. Alright book. Will I read the next one? Yea, if I have time though.

Drama. Yes. The most crucial part of a book. It was solved very quickly. Like, just a page or two of the characters discussing the matter and then they either forgive each other quickly or forget about it for the rest of the book. I also loved the plot(I said that), but like the part..you know, I love how Jennifer Rush includes the brain being altered, "telepathy" and other scientific notes.

One thing that was confusing. Who loved who? I mean, maybe its my fault and I don't mean to be slow, but I wasn't fully into the "romance" of the book, I was into the scifi and mystery/thriller/suspense in it. I don't know, but those aspects were simply amazing and captured all my attention.

Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Series: Anna and The French Kiss (#2)
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Romance
Published: September 28, 2011
Publisher: Dutton Books
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit--more sparkly, more fun, more wild--the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket--a gifted inventor--steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Review ~

First off, just to put it our there, I loved Anna and the French Kiss, but this, not so much. One thing I liked about this was the fact that Lola still can't ignore Cricket, even after the past years. This just shows how strong love is if you look at it from Lola's point of view. She didn't contact him either, in any way. I just really loved this aspect, however I didn't like the fact that Max was the one being the "3rd wheel".

“I know you aren't perfect. But it's a person's imperfections that make them perfect for someone else.”

Some may say they don't like her love for Max, but I did. Well, until half way through the book. You see, we didn't really know much about him so I didn't really get an opportunity to hate him. Throughout the first half of the book, I hated, wait, let me emphasize that, I HATED Cricket. The more Lola spent more time with Cricket the more I wanted her to spend more time with Max. You see, he's getting questioned during Sunday Brunch with Lola's parents(who are gay) and here's Cricket, being invited to outing with the family. What?! I don't understand the logic. I hate, scratch that, dislike those who think age is the problem.

“Grasshopper. Centipede. Praying Mantis."

And then after I went past the halfway point of the book, I started to get why Lola wasn't able to let go of Cricket, however I still loved Max as a character. I was blind and couldn't see anything wrong about him. He was the nice guy who loved Lola. That's how I saw him. Don't ask why I couldn't see him as anything worse, I just couldn't. Aside from that, I liked this boy. Pretty enjoyable! Stephanie Perkins knows how to write characters that have trouble deciding! Normally, I don't really like it(e.g. The Selection Trilogy by Kiera Cass, I didn't understand America), but she knows where your soft spot is and when to hit it. It's simply stunning!

“Just because something isn't practical doesn't mean it's not worth creating. Sometimes beauty and real-life magic are enough.”

Would I recommend this? Yes. If you love Anna and the French Kiss, then you should definitely check it out, it's very exciting and "cute"! The way Stephanie Perkins was able to write the characters was something I liked! The costumes Lola wore were incredibly detailed, giving me a vivid image of what she was going to wear for the day, or even for her senior prom. The only reason I gave this 3 1/2 was because of Lola's parents and how they hated Max, Lola acting childish(not because of the way she loves costumes, but because of her irrational, childish decisions) and how conflicts were solved in the blink of an eye. I also didn't like the fact that Lola just wouldn't admit to herself that she liked Cricket and just break it off with Max. I felt so bad for him because he was stuck being jealous with a girl who likes another guy.

Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Series: Divergent Trilogy( #3)
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopian
Published: October 22, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollin's Children's Books
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

     The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered — fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

     But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Review ~

So, if you've already read the other reviews that express their hatred for this book, I'd just like to say that I am not against them, but I'm not for them. My rating for this book was 3.5/5 and I do believe that this book could've been better. Also, if you know what happens at the end, don't let that stop you from reading the book, just think of it as it is helping you prepare for this nice piece of literature.

Some people will always fear change.

Let me just state this. I didn't hate this book, nor was I amazed and awestrucked by it. I just liked it. Yes, I liked it. If you're asking, Divergent was my favorite out of the whole series(just in case you were asking, Hahaha). So like, this book is told in two PoV's: Tris' and Tobias'. I wasn't very excited, and I didn't have much high expectations for how Veronica Roth was going to write this because many books out there are now being written in dual PoV's and I'm sort of getting sick of it. As usual, Veronica Roth didn't exceed my expecations in writing the dual PoV's.

Alright, let's move onto the plot. Here's the thing: it was very intriguing and interesting. Here's another thing: It led to the most lamest ending ever. I'm sorry, I just had to say that. Yea, I liked the storyline in this novel, but there also wasn't much character development...I mean, there was a little, but they developed in ways that I thought they were becoming cowards.

Knowledge is power. Power to do evil, like Jeanine . . . or power to do good, like what we're doing. Power itself is not evil. So knowledge itself is not evil.

Let me just say that Veronica Roth has an amazing talent for writing fear landscapes. Throughout this whole book, the scene where Four goes into his landsape again was my favorite. I really did feel like I was there with Four, helping him out through his fears and overcoming them. The details Veronica Roth wrote when writing this scene was simply fantastic. But...I'm not a fan of Four in this book. I am a fan of Uriah. And then, dear lord, something happened to him and my heart cracked into pieces. *Sobs in a corner* Anyways, back to Four or Tobias(however you know him as), the Four/Tobias I knew before, is not the Four/Tobias I know now in Allegiant.

This book was also confusing, but that was neither a con nor a pro. Remember the GD's and GP's, that was very confusing, not only did you have to keep facts on the GD's and GP's straight in your mind, you have to follow along with the plot, and if you forget something important, just hope you remember it. If not, you'd have to flip back to the pages, which is annoying, if you haven't noticed/done that before. It just ruins your experience of reading the book.

"She said that everyone has some evil inside them, and the first step to loving anyone is to recognize the same evil in ourselves, se we're able to forgive them."

So, yea, I didn't necessarily hate this book, but I didn't love it either(yes, I believe I said this twice, but who cares? Hahah). I loved the plot and everything that happened before the ending, but the thing that spoiled my mood when reading was the lame ending, and Tobias, especially his reckless actions, which he wouldn't have done before.