Razorland Trilogy + Giveaway

Guess what, guys? For those of you who have read the books Enclave and Outpost, you're probably pretty pumped for the releasing of Horde, which comes out in four three days! Cue flailing.





I know! How is this possible.



If you have no idea of what I'm talking about whatsoever, this is what I'm talking about:


(This is not my photo!)

Enclave is a post-apocalyptic dystopian young adult novel(Oh my!). It is set in the future(obviously), and in this world, there are Freaks, also kind of like zombies.

There's a lot of this:







And this:


(Maybe a little more different than this...)






And then just a little bit of this:





How can you resist?

If I've convinced you, you can buy Enclave(or the WHOLE series) here:
Amazon
Barnes and Nobles
The Book Depository

OR/AND

you can enter to win a paperback copy of Enclave right here! Check out my rules before you enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Red: Review(In which I rant)

Felicity St. John has it all—loyal best friends, a hot guy, and artistic talent. And she’s right on track to win the Miss Scarlet pageant. Her perfect life is possible because of just one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair.

Having red hair is all that matters in Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power—and everybody knows it. That’s why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives an anonymous note:

I know your secret.

Because Felicity is a big fake. Her hair color comes straight out of a bottle. And if anyone discovered the truth, she’d be a social outcast faster than she could say "strawberry blond." Her mother would disown her, her friends would shun her, and her boyfriend would dump her. And forget about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that comes with it—money that would allow her to fulfill her dream of going to art school.

Felicity isn’t about to let someone blackmail her life away. But just how far is she willing to go to protect her red cred?

Red was one of my most anticipated reads for the fall of 2013. Ever since the cover reveal, months, and MONTHS back, I wanted to read it. Even though her hair color is wayyy too faky to actually be believable. It's like saying people will not notice if you died your head green...they'll just think it's natural.


Anywho, I was just really getting excited for this book. From page 1, I could tell Red would not live up to my maybe-somewhat-too-high expectations. The first thing that made me dislike it was not really a "problem" per se, but it did bother me. The author wrote the novel in third person. For me, contemporaries are all about lovey-dovey type things and it should be at least bring out some emotions out of me. When you write in third person, you can't exactly tell what some of the emotions are and what the characters are thinking, or at least not as well when you write in first person. So I ended up being bored out of my mind.


The real problem of this book, however, was the main character, Felicity. Can I just rant about how she is a stereotypical, mean, prejudiced, stupid, bitchy, spoiled girl? I guess that's what I get for knowing it was about a popular girl. Ok, maybe that's taking it too far. What I really would have liked was for the girl to have some depth, rather than the boring exterior that the book showcased her as.

I guess I can't blame the girl for her prejudice-ness. I mean, she grew up in a racist family...and a racist community, where it was okay for a certain type of people to rule over the community. That's the second problem. The freaking book was pretty much being racist...and everyone thought it was okay(including Felicty, may I add).  Well, everyone besides some of the brown-haired or blond haired peoples. I'm in that crowd.


The third problem is the romance. Can I just say blahhhh. And some more blahhhh.


I just...it was so boring. And so, well, unemotional. Aren't relationships supposed to be messy and complicated? I WANT THAT, BOOK. I did like the love interest, but did not enjoy how the author executed their relationship. At all.

Overall, Alison Cherry just did not have the right skills to write a book like this. Or maybe it just was the whole plot of the book she should not have stuck to. 0.0 Everything was, frankly, bad, worse, and horrible. And this saddens me, since it was one of my most awaited books of the fall.

Oh, I should also add that I did "not" finish this book. I had a total of 40 pages left. So yep.

Fangirl: Review

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?


I honestly don't even know how to start this review. I can't even decide whether this should be a funny type of review or a serious type. So, I'll just see what comes out.

Cath is your basic obsessed reader. Except with just one series: Simon Snow. Even though I haven't read Harry Potter yet, I would undoubtedly still say it compares to it. Now, what happens when you become obsessed with books...simple. Write fanfiction. And that is Cath's whole childhood, her whole life. And when her twin sister, Wren, starts growing apart from Cath, you could say Cath became even more immersed with the fandom.

When you start off Fangirl, Cath is just starting college. I knew instantly that I would love Cath-because even though I am less extreme about fandoms, I relate to her so much. People who read in general will probably also relate to her a ton. She was a bit quiet and awkward, which I can probably relate to even more so than reading. Cath, to put it simply, was the perfect protagonist for me.

The one problem I had with this book was I just don't think there was enough problems in this book. Rowell definitely covers a bunch of stuff-sister stuff, romance stuff, self-appreciation stuff- in this book, but I just didn't think there was enough. There were several parts in the book that lagged for me. And that's one of the reasons why contemporary is so hard for me to read. In Eleanor & Park, I was constantly eager to read more. But Fangirl was a slow read for me, because it bored me at parts, which makes me sad to write.

The romance was still squeal-worthy, but much more lighter than Eleanor & Park. Because Cath was at a turning point in her life-the book exhibited that most of all, with a side-dish of romance. It's a romance that's slow and swoon-worthy-from friends to lovers. Just ahh. Rowell does not disappoint in romance.

I would talk more about characters, but the review is quite long already.

Overall, this book is recommended, especially for newbies in New Adult or if you just adore contemporary. The romance was cute, the protagonist was awesome, and the story was well written(just not the plot for me...).

Never Fade: Review

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster. 

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her. 

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

*This review may contain spoilers for The Darkest Minds.*

The firs thing you need to know about this book is that it is a fantastic sequel. When I had finished The Darkest Minds, I was left feeling a jumble of emotions. Same goes for this book. I will attempt to make this review as professional as possible, but I may go off at some points.

The Writing. Bracken's writing is very elongated or, as others may say, drags on. When I first started Never Fade I was excited to read it, but I admit, by about page 40 I was getting bored.(This may have to do with not being able to see Liam, though.) No, I am not saying it was boring. There was much fighting and action happening. It was just my inability to read about Liam personal problems. I'm also not saying Bracken's writing is terrible. In fact, I am very impressed by her writing. Her descriptions are awesome and very vivid. Yes, I think there may have been a little too many descriptions, but other than that, I love her writing.


The Plot. At the start of the book, you are placed sixth months after The Darkest Minds. Ruby has been doing dirty work for the League. The United States is as horrible place as ever.  You get to experience one of Ruby's "missions" from the bat. You also get to meet Liam's older brother, Cole, during one of these said missions. 
It's paced fairly nicely. Never too fast or never too slow.  At times, parts seemed to drag out, but I think that's due more to Bracken's writing style. There are many things that happened in this book, but I don't quite know what to say about them. Alot of action.
You are also introduced to minor characters, such as Vida, Jude, Alban, aka leader of the League, and many others. Many of them I hated at the very beginning, but during the book I started liking and understanding them a whole lot better. I also will not talk about Liam until the romance part. "raises eyebrows"

The Romance. Oh, yeah. After that killer of of ending from The Darkest Minds, I had to find out what would happen. Of course, I would have read the sequel even if that thing hadn't happened at the end. This is also the part where I get to talk about Liam.

The Characters. Ruby is a girl of many problems, I would say. She doesn't have much of a family. She was placed in the League, the last place she should go. Through it all, however, she is strong. Now, I'm not saying she's a strong fighter and blah, blah. I mean, she has a strong personality. I strong heart.(Yeah, it sounds as lame as when I said it out loud.) In this book, she struggles with many obstacles, but she always, I mean always, people, tries to remain a good person. That is one thing that I loved about her.

Chubs is shown a good deal in this book, a fact I was pleasantly surprised by. He is the same smart boy as ever, though changed, as many characters have grown and changed throughout the books. At the end of the first book, you really don't much about what has happened to Chubs, otherwise the fact that he went to a hospital. I was happy to know he turned out okay, but I wasn't happy about his recklessness when I first met him in this sequel. He was reckless for a certain reason which I shall not say. I will say though,  that I liked him better by the end.




Liam didn't show up until over half the book, which was sad which means he wasn't a very there figure. He was always talked about and stuff, but he never was actually in the picture. So, it was just kind of weird to actually have him show up. Not that I'm complaining.

I can't talk much about Liam, because it may spoil something. However, I can tell you he is very different in this book. If you read The Darkest Minds, you probably can guess why. But he is still very sweet and says the most swoon-worthy stuff ever.

The Ending.


Enough said.

Overall. I really enjoyed this book. It was filled with action and adventure. It had a sweet side of romance. A definite read if you're looking for just a really good action book. Or if you must find out what happened after The Darkest Minds ended.