Category: science fiction

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Book Boyfriends Book Reviews science fiction ya fiction

The Dazzling Heights – Book Review

Title: The Dazzling Heights

Author: Katharine McGee

Pages: 432 (hardcover)

Genre: YA, Science Fiction

Publisher: Harper

Published: August 29, 2017

Summary:

Manhattan is home to a thousand-story supertower, a beacon of futuristic glamour and high-tech luxury… and to millions of people living scandalous, secretive lives.

Leda is haunted by nightmares of what happened on the worst night of her life. She’s afraid the truth will get out – which is why she hires Watt, her very own hacker, to keep an eye on all of the witnesses for her. But what happens when their business relationship turns personal?

When Rylin receives a scholarship to an elite upper-floor school, her life transforms overnight. But being here also means seeing the boy she loves: the one whose heart she broke, and who broke hers in return.

Avery is grappling with the reality of her forbidden romance – is there anywhere in the world that’s safe for them to be together?

And then there’s Calliope, the mysterious, bohemian beauty who’s arrived in New York with a devious goal in mind – and too many secrets to count.

Here in the Tower, no one is safe – because someone is watching their every move, someone with revenge in mind. After all, in a world of such dazzling heights, you’re always only one step away from a devastating fall….

Review:

I loved this book so much. Just when I thought that this story couldn’t get much better after The Thousandth Floor, I was proven wrong because The Dazzling Heights is absolutely amazing.

The story picks up shortly after the events that ended the first novel. I won’t go into any details here to avoid spoilers, but the drama between characters is so entertaining. There were so many times where you just want a character to be aware of one little bit of information because it would make a world of difference, and the fact that they are so blind to everything except what they believe drives you crazy, but in the best way!

I also loved that we got a new character’s perspective in this novel, and got to experience more of this world outside of New York and what little we saw of Paris in the first novel. In The Dazzling Heights we also get to explore Katharine’s versions of Hollywood and Dubai, and they are just as stunning.

This book ended on such a cliffhanger and now I am absolutely dying to read the next one! Seriously though, who do I need to sell my soul to in order to ensure I get an ARC of the next book, because it’s all yours. Are you listening, HarperCollins?

I give 5/5 stars to The Dazzling Heights. It exceeded my expectations, and dazzled me until the very end.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

Categories
Book Reviews science fiction ya fiction

Replica – Book Review

Title: Replica

Author: Lauren Oliver

Pages: 520 (hardcover)

Genre: YA, Science Fiction

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: October 4, 2016

Summary:

Lyra

From a distance, the Haven Institute, tucked away on a private island off the coast of Florida, looks serene and even beautiful. But up close the locked doors, military guards, and biohazard suits tell a different story. In truth, it is a clandestine research facility where thousands of replicas, or human models, are born, raised, and observed.

But when a surprise attack is launched on Haven, two of its young experimental subjects—Lyra, or 24, and the boy known only as 72—manage to escape. As they make their way through a new and menacing environment, they meet a stranger named Gemma, who has embarked on a perilous quest of her own. And as Lyra tries to understand Haven’s purpose, she uncovers earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls.

Gemma

Gemma has been in and out of hospitals her whole life. A sickly child, she has grown into a lonely adolescent whose life is circumscribed by home, school, and her best friend, April.

But after she is nearly abducted by a stranger claiming to know her, Gemma starts to investigate her family’s past and discovers her father’s mysterious connection to the secretive Haven research facility. Hungry for answers, she travels to Florida, only to stumble upon two human models, or replicas, 24 and 72—and a completely new set of questions. As Gemma tries to unravel the mysteries of Haven, she learnes terrible truths about herself and her family that will threaten to destroy everything she loves.

Review:

I love the unique way that this story was told! Instead of the book being told in alternating chapters to tell both stories, each half of the book is dedicated to one character. That means that the book can be read in numerous ways. I chose to read a chapter from Lyra, then a chapter from Gemma, alternating throughout the whole novel. I really liked each girl’s perspective. By the time I made it to the end of a chapter, I was so immersed that I wanted to keep reading, and not switch chapters. But as soon as I switched, I was right back into that perspective too.

This book really looks at what makes someone human. Is it the ability to love? The ability to feel emotion? The ability to make your own choices? All of these questions are explored throughout the novel. And while we may not come out of the novel with a clearer idea of the answer to this question, I never really expected that. After all, it isn’t really an easy question to answer. There really isn’t just one thing that makes someone human. It’s a combination of all of the things we are that add up to the big picture.

One of the things that I wasn’t a huge fan of was Gemma’s lack of value of herself. She is a little overweight, and by the sound of it, it’s not as if she is morbidly obese, she just has a little extra weight that all of the “perfect” size zero girls at her school don’t. But once Gemma finds a boy who is attracted to her, she suddenly becomes okay with herself. It’s problematic thinking.

It was very interesting to see that this world exists in our own world, and not some far off fantasy world. It really makes you wonder just what goes on out in the world that most people would never believe is real.

I enjoyed this book, and have started reading the sequel, Ringer, which comes out in October. Expect my review of Ringer closer to the publishing date, but so far I’m enjoying it even more than I liked Replica. I give Replica 4/5 stars.

Categories
Book Reviews dystopian fantasy science fiction ya fiction

True North – Book Review

To see all of the great blogs featuring True Born and True North on this blog tour, click on the banner above!

Title: True North

Author: L. E. Sterling

Pages: 400 (Hardcover)

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Publisher: Entangled: Teen

Published: April 4, 2017

Summary:

Abandoned by her family in Plague-ridden Dominion City, eighteen-year-old Lucy Fox has no choice but to rely upon the kindness of the True Borns, a renegade group of genetically enhanced humans, to save her twin sister, Margot. But Nolan Storm, their mysterious leader, has his own agenda. When Storm backtracks on his promise to rescue Margot, Lucy takes her fate into her own hands and sets off for Russia with her True Born bodyguard and maybe-something-more, the lethal yet beautiful Jared Price. In Russia, there’s been whispered rumors of Plague Cure.

While Lucy fights her magnetic attraction to Jared, anxious that his loyalty to Storm will hurt her chances of finding her sister, they quickly discover that not all is as it appears…and discovering the secrets contained in the Fox sisters’ blood before they wind up dead is just the beginning.??

As they say in Dominion, sometimes it’s not you…it’s your DNA.

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Review:

If you haven’t read my review of the first book in the series, True Born, be sure to go check that out HERE.

True North returns readers to Dominion City, where the plague is continuing to wipe out the population. While I generally enjoyed this book just as I did the first one, there were a few issues that I had with it.

First, for a good chunk of the book, I felt like nothing was happening. Yes, I was reading words and some things were going on, but there was no advancement to the plot. The pace in the beginning of the book was slow and dragged on, causing me to wonder when something was actually going to happen. However, once things did start happening, it hooked my attention again and kept me hungry for more.

I love that this series explores a world that could conceivably be in the not too distant future, with such vast differences from the world we currently live in. While it’s hard for me to fathom that the world could one day have completely new countries, it’s entirely possible. After all, I’m sure the Romans thought they would be on top forever too.

In this book we get to see a lot more of the politics and the inner workings of the Upper Circle, which was very interesting. This really helped me to understand what kind of world Lucy is a part of, and just what motivates the characters in this novel.

I think that True North is an okay sequel to a great first novel. I’m not completely in love, but there is definitely enough intrigue to keep me reading to the third book when it comes out. I give True North 3/5 stars.

Categories
Book Reviews dystopian fantasy science fiction ya fiction

True Born – Book Review

To see all of the great blogs featuring True Born and True North on this blog tour, click on the banner above!

Title: True Born

Author: L. E. Sterling

Pages: 304 (Hardcover)

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Publisher: Entangled: Teen

Published: May 3, 2016

Summary:

Welcome to Dominion City.

After the great Plague descended, the world population was decimated…and their genetics damaged beyond repair.

The Lasters wait hopelessly for their genes to self-destruct. The Splicers pay for expensive treatments that might prolong their life. The plague-resistant True Borns are as mysterious as they are feared…

And then there’s Lucy Fox and her identical twin sister, Margot. After endless tests, no one wants to reveal what they are.

When Margot disappears, a desperate Lucy has no choice but to put her faith in the True Borns, led by the charismatic Nolan Storm and the beautiful but deadly Jared Price. As Lucy and the True Borns set out to rescue her sister, they stumble upon a vast conspiracy stretching from Dominion’s street preachers to shady Russian tycoons. But why target the Fox sisters?

As they say in Dominion, it’s in the blood.

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Review:

It’s been a while since I’ve visited some dystopian fiction, but I was very excited to dive into this book and see where its pages took me. I’ve had this book on my iPad for ages now but unfortunately had never gotten around to reading it. But then I saw that book two in the trilogy (True North) was coming out so I finally picked this up, and I am glad I did.

I think that it was very interesting to see a dystopian/plague-type novel from the perspective of an upper-class person, as I feel like most of the time with these novels we are only privy to the perspectives of the lower classes who are struggling the most. The rich perspective was done in such a way that didn’t feel like it was trying too hard to be what it was. Oftentimes, a perspective like this sounds unbelievable and overdone, but L.E. Sterling really managed to capture the tone and mood of the upper class as they perceive themselves, as opposed to an outsider-looking-in perspective,

Lucy and Margot are twins who were conjoined at birth, by a small area on their toes. And all those rumors you hear about twins being able to feel each other’s pain and whatnot are actually true with Lucy and Margot. They use this special connection to communicate with one another, and can also tell when the other is in danger, which comes in handy quite a few times throughout the novel. I thought that the connection between the sisters added something to the novel that helped to make the reader feel things for the sisters more deeply.

As with any YA book, there’s usually a love interest, and for our dear Lucy, this comes in the form of True Born Jared Price. From the moment Lucy lays eyes on him, she is intrigued by him (hello, insta-love!) yet once she gets to know him she finds herself rather annoyed by some of his behaviors. While I overall liked his character, I hated how he and Lucy were constantly hot and cold with one another. It seemed as though neither could make up their mind about how they felt about the other, and were constantly flip-flopping between liking one another and hating the other’s guts.

There were a few times throughout the novel where I got a bit confused as to what was going on with the story. This could be because some things just needed to be fleshed out a little more, or perhaps there are a few sentences that just needed some reworking. Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed True Born and I am very excited to see what the sequel has in store about tying up the many questions I am now left with. I give True Born a solid 4/5 stars.

Be sure to look out for my review of True North, coming on Tuesday, April 25th.