Dystopian

Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

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Angelfall by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days Book 1)
Author: Susan Ee
Genre: Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Source: Secret Santa
Publisher: Hodder (23rd May 2013)
Blurb:

It’s been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain.

Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night.

When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Including making a deal with the enemy.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

ANGELFALL is the first book in Susan Ee’s dystopian PENRYN AND THE END OF DAYS series. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Penryn whose disabled younger sister Paige is kidnapped by an angel. The story follows Penryn on her quest to reclaim her sister, who she is determined to protect at all costs.

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Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

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Allegiant by Veronica Roth (UK edition)

Title: Allegiant (Divergent #3)
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Collins (22nd October 2013)
Blurb:

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 beyond 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 herself – while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

ALLEGIANT brings Veronica Roth’s fantastic DIVERGENT trilogy to its conclusion. After the events and revelations of INSURGENT (review) Tris and her friends are left with a world thrown into chaos: everything they thought they knew was a lie. But it also offers them a world beyond the city they know, and Tris needs to know what’s out there.

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Review: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

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Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Title: Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: ATOM (8th January 2013)
Blurb:

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART. DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has struggled to build a life for herself outside Reverie. It hasn’t been easy adjusting to life in the wilderness, but the struggle has been worth it with Perry by her side.

But Perry has other challenges. His people are looking to him for answers. Answers about what happened to his nephew, and what’s happening to their world. And they don’t trust the privileged Aria, one of the enemy, in their midst.

Soon Perry’ll be forced to choose between the tribe that looks to him for leadership and the girl that looks to him for love.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT is the second book in Veronica Rossi’s fantastic UNDER THE NEVER SKY trilogy. It continues the story of Aria and Perry, that started in UNDER THE NEVER SKY (review), as they struggle to find and fit into their place in the world. Both have obligations that threaten to tear them apart.

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Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

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Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (UK edition)

Title: Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: ATOM (8th January 2013)
Blurb:

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 the only person who can keep her alive.

And if they can survive, they are each other’s best hope for finding answers.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi is the first book in the dystopian trilogy of the same name. It tells the story of seventeen year old Aria who has grown up protected in the dome world of Reverie, and who has no concept of life outside of it. One day her mother, who lives in another dome, goes missing and it is this event which causes the chain reaction of events that propel this novel.

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Review: Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin

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Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin

Title: Because It Is My Blood (Birthright: Book the Second)
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Dystopian, Thriller, Young Adult
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books (29th August 2013)
Blurb:

When Anya Balanchine is released from jail, she’s determined to put her life in order. She’s going to get over her ex, turn her back on her criminal family and concentrate on her siblings and her studies.

But her murdered father’s family have a different idea. They’re not going to let her walk away so easily.

When they take a hit out on her life, Anya’s forced to flee to Mexico. There she discovers that life isn’t all bad – but she also finds that, so far from home, it’s impossible to protect those she loves.

Doing nothing isn’t an option. But going to New York could kill her. Literally.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin is the second book in the Birthright trilogy. It tells the story of Anya Balanchine, the eldest daughter of a dead mobster and the Head of her family, as she struggles to find her place in the world. She wants to escape the Balanchine name and its connections to the mob and chocolate, but at the same time she wants to uphold her father’s legacy. Things are going on in the Balanchine family which will force Anya to discover who she is.

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Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

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PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE HUNGER GAMES AS IT IS THE SECOND BOOK IN THE TRILOGY.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic (1st December 2011)
Blurb:

MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOUR

KATNISS EVERDEEN SURVIVED THE HUNGER GAMES. NOW THE CAPITOL WANTS REVENGE.

Against all the odds, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are still alive. Katniss should be relieved, but now there are whispers of rebellion against the Capitol – a rebellion Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

As the nation watches Katniss and Peeta, the stakes are higher than ever. One false move and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:

Having enjoyed The Hunger Games as both a book and a film, I jumped into Catching Fire hoping to recapture the magic. Catching Fire is, after all is said and done, the second book in the trilogy so I wanted to know what happened to the Katniss and Peeta next. To be honest, Catching Fire was not what I expected at all.

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Review: Skylark by Meagan Spooner

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Skylark by Meagan Spooner

Title: Skylark (Skylark #1)
Author:Meagan Spooner
Genre:Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: Corgi Books (31st January 2013)
Source: Secret Santa
Format: ARC
Blurb:

Vis in magia, in vita vi. In magic there is power, and in power, life.

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.

Lark did not expect to become the City’s power supply.

Her only choice is to escape; follow the birds into the wilderness beyond.

Into the Iron Wood.

(from Amazon.co.uk)

Rating: ****(4 stars)
Review:

This book was one of my gifts from my Secret Santa. I hadn’t heard of it before, but after reading the blurb I was intrigued. Skylark sounded like it could be a really interesting read. Thank you Secret Santa for introducing me to this book – and series – I really enjoyed it.

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Review: Crewel by Gennifer Albin

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Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Title: Crewel (Crewel World #1)
Author: Gennifer Albin
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: faber and faber (18th October 2012)
Blurb:

TONIGHT THEY’LL COME FOR ME

AN EXTRAORDINARY GIRL
Sixteen-year-old Adelice is a Spinster. She can weave time and matter. But no one knows just how talented she is.

DANGEROUS LOVE
Guild Ambassador Cormac Patton has taken a shine to her. The Guild demands loyalty . . . even in love. So Adelice’s handsome, mysterious valet poses a dangerous threat to her place at the Coventry.

A DEADLY SECRET
Everyone at the Guild has their secrets. But Adelice is about to unravel the deadliest one of all, a sinister truth that could destroy reality as she knows it . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

This book reminded me why, every now and then, I try a dystopian. Crewel had everything that I love in a good dystopian and nothing to knock me out of the story.

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Review: Defiance by C. J. Redwine

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Defiance by C. J. Redwine

Title: Defiance (Courier’s Daughter Trilogy #1)
Author: C. J. Redwine
Genre: Dystopian, Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (6th September 2012)
Blurb:

RACHEL’S WORLD IS CONFINED to the protective walls around her city. Beyond them are violent wanderers, extreme terrain and a danger straight out of legend: a beast called the Cursed One that devastates everything in its path.

When Rachel’s father foes missing, she is desperate to search for him. But her attempts to flee the city bring her to the attention of its overbearing ruler. His efforts to control her make the world within the walls seem as dangerous as that outside.

Her only chance for escape is Logan. Once her father’s apprentice and now her sole protector, he feels that helping her might mean losing her completely. But if he can put his feelings aside, they might be able to save more than Rachel’s father. They might be able to break down the walls, and set their people free.

Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:

In the autumn Defiance seemed to be the book to read on the blogsphere. I wasn’t too sure about the blurb, but I loved the cover. So, when I saw it in a local bookstore I decided to give the book a go.

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Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

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Divergent #2

Insurgent by Veronica Roth, UK edition cover.

Title: Insurgent (Divergent, #2)
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: HarperCollins (1st May 2012)
Blurb:

I HAVE DONE BAD THINGS. I CAN’T TAKE THEM BACK, AND THEY ARE PART OF WHO I AM.

Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes even more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever . . . because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

Insurgent is the second book in Veronica Roth’s amazing Divergent series. We continue to follow Tris as she adapts – growing more reckless – from the events at the end of Divergent.

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