Book Tour: Shutdown- Review and Giveaway

Thanks to Shane, from Itching for Books, for organizing this blog tour. To see other stops on the tour click here

 Shutdown by Heather Anastasiu

Glitch #3

320 pages- Fiction, Young Adult, Scifi/Fantasy/post-apocalyptic

July 2,2013

http://www.heatheranastasiu.com/

Facebook- Yes

Twitter-@h_Anastasiu

Source: Netgalley, and Itching For Books

Purpose: Review, Blog Tour

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this digital galley, free, in exchange for my honest opinion.

From Goodreads: The battle is all but over, and hope seems to be lost. Zoe and her fellow Resistance fighters are on the run, having lost their home, their protection, and their leader. They are outnumbered and outmatched by the powerful corporation that controls the world, and the cruel Chancellor is inches away from completing a scheme that would kill most of humanity. Zoe's only remaining option is to chase the impossible dream of upending the Link system, freeing the world from the hardware that controls their thoughts and emotions, and hope it will trigger a revolution.  The plot requires a nearly impossible mission to infiltrate the dangerous Community, and it is a task that Zoe must unfortunately complete alone. With challenges and surprises at every turn, nothing goes according to plan. Adrien's visions of the future now show two possible outcomes: one in which they succeed, and one in which humanity falls. It all lies in Zoe's hands. 

My Thoughts: 

                Have you been following my reviews? Have you been listening to my thoughts about this series so far? In case you haven’t, or if you want a refresher, here it goes. Glitch didn’t do it for me. I was excited about the series, but in the end was completely disappointed. In fact, I even considered giving up on the series altogether. Override was a lot better. Though it didn’t make me want to go out and purchase a copy, it did make me very grateful that I chose to continue the series. But then . . .but then I read Shutdown.  I am a fan! Finally. Okay, yes I still had my doubts. Yes I was still hypercritical and hyperaware of the pitfalls. Yes there were moments that I groaned because I felt that Zoe was regressing into her whiny naïve self. And perhaps she was, but she didn’t stay there! She grew and blossomed into a very flawed, a very human hero.  I couldn’t say for sure whether or not she would survive ‘til the end, but I was right there with her.

                I don’t want to make this super long, and go overboard with my happiness, but I will say this. I am even more grateful that I was convinced that I needed to continue the series.  Let’s rewind a bit, and cover the cons of this story. Honestly, they are minor and I can’t say that they lie in Anastasiu’s control. First, I am not sure if it was just the galley or if it effects the print edition, but there were quite a few areas where words were misspelled, words were left out or extra words were left in. It was distracting, but not too detrimental. Zoe was whiny, to the point that it got a little annoying.

                But here is the good. There was action, there was danger and doubt. There was hope, there was strength, acceptance and humanity. There was redemption, beauty and redefining.  Zoe turned out to be an awesome hero, one who carried the guilt and truth of things but also the hope and strength to push on. The things that didn’t make sense seemed believable. The romance… Finally it was believable and it didn’t read as being too much. The end came and it didn’t turn out the way that anyone expeted it to. I really liked the conclusion to this series; it may not be a favorite of 2013. But it does get the title of the most improved and I plan on buying this series-all because of Shutdown – the best in the trilogy.

4.5 Stars ***

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Always Shine, 

Starr K

Review: Override

Override by Heather Anastasiu

Glitch #2

320 pages- Fiction, Young Adult, Scifi/Fantasy/post-apocalyptic

February 12,2013

http://www.heatheranastasiu.com/

Facebook- Yes

Twitter-@h_Anastasiu

Source: Netgalley

Purpose: Review

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this digital galley, free, in exchange for my honest opinion.

From Goodreads: Zoe is free. She has escaped the enslavement of the Community, disconnected from the hardware that had controlled her every thought and emotion, and evaded capture by the Chancellor intent on killing her. She is finally free, but she is far from safe. Zoe and Adrien hide themselves from detection at the Foundation, an academy that trains teen glitchers to fight in the Resistance movement. Together, Zoe and her new team of superhuman fighters must risk their lives to rescue other glitchers and humans from the Chancellor's control. Challenges abound at every turn, and Adrien, who has become silent, distant, and tormented by his visions of the future, only adds to the growing certainty of defeat. But worst of all, as Zoe's team fights against impossible odds, distrust and betrayal leads to the terrible discovery that their greatest threat could already be lurking behind the safe walls of the Foundation.

                Did anyone read my review of Glitch? Well, this is not going to be the same. I liked this Override. Did I love it? Almost, but not quite. I have learned a valuable lesson in keeping an open mind when continuing a series, and to finish all review books. Yep, it’ll be hard and irritating, but you never know what will surprise. Where I didn’t feel Glitch was worth reading, Override definitely was. I couldn’t put this one down. It still had it flaws, but they weren’t so in-your-face. I was able to overlook them and get into them. That’s something I can appreciate, since it is hard to write the perfect story for more than one person. Override was redeeming to the series. I am once again looking forward to this series.

                There are only a couple of minor things that I didn’t like, so I won’t talk about those. I will talk about the major flaws that I saw. Of course, the first one is the romance. I get it, I really do, but gag! They are teenagers so their hormones are going crazy. Their emotions are still fairly new so they are strong and overwhelming. But, really?  Come on! Is it really necessary to do some serious kissing and light touching, then sneak away and insinuate they’re going to have sex only to pull back at the last moment? At this point, either do it to get it over with or move on. Personally, the passion is too much for such young and naive people. I can understand the tension that’s being created, but there are much better ways to do that.

                The second major thing is the twist. Well, it sucked. It read as if it was thrown in there because Anastasiu didn’t know how to get to point A to point B with what was already happening in the story, so she just pulled something out of the air. What’s sad about the twist is two things. The first is the writing is better than that, she cut herself short doing this. The other is that this would have been an awesome twist, and an emotional pivot point in the story – had it been believable. I won’t spoil it, but if there had been an earlier clue to put the possibility out there this would have been amazing.

Now on to what I liked about it. This time, the characters had emotional depth. It wasn’t just because they were able to openly share and experience emotions. Each had a story and as it was shared, I was able to understand them a little better. With this understanding came a connection. There was a whole lot of action and second guessing. The pacing was strong and the storyline was engaging. Finally, Zoe. When I started reading and she was the same whiny, annoying glitcher I groaned and thought the books was doomed before I started it. But-she grew, she changed. She developed into someone who really stood a chance at being a hero.
3.5 Stars

Book Tour: Review and Contest

Echo by Alicia Wright Brewster

291 pages – Fiction, Young Adult, Science Fiction

April 25, 2013 –Dragonfairy Press

http://www.aliciawb.com/

Facebook: Yes

Twitter: @aliciawbrewster

Source:  Xpresso Book Tours

Purpose: Review

Disclaimer:  A copy of this galley was given to me, free, in exchange for my honest opinion

               

  FromGoodreads: The countdown clock reads ten days until the end of the world. The citizens are organized. Everyone's been notified and assigned a duty. The problem is . . . no one knows for sure how it will end. Energy-hungry Mages are the most likely culprit. They travel toward a single location from every corner of the continent. Fueled by the two suns, each Mage holds the power of an element: air, earth, fire, metal, water, or ether. They harness their powers to draw energy from the most readily available resource: humans. Ashara has been assigned to the Ethereal task force, made up of human ether manipulators and directed by Loken, a young man with whom she has a complicated past. Loken and Ashara bond over a common goal: to stop the Mages from occupying their home and gaining more energy than they can contain. But soon, they begin to suspect that the future of the world may depend on Ashara's death.

My Thoughts:

                First, I have to say that the cover is awesome! What can I say? This was an amazing read. It does take a little while to start hitting the key points. So long that I was beginning to think that I was going to hate the ending –thinking that it would be rushed or cut off. There is really only one word to describe the ending –perfect.  I have to say that despite my doubts, I was completely satisfied with the ending.

                I really liked the Ashara, Loken and Rey. I liked Krin in the beginning, but I was disappointed in her at the end. I get it, I really do, but I guess I expected more from her. I was definitely interested in this world and how it all worked from the beginning.  My only complaint, and it is a small one, would be that there wasn’t enough sensory details when it came to the setting.  That made it difficult  for me to visualize so I ended up inserting what was familiar to me. There were some areas that this didn’t apply, but as an overall thing I wanted more sensory.  As far as the characters, most had some distinctive features and all of the primary characters had distinct voices.

Moving on to the actual story. . .I had a very hard time putting this book down. Even with the doubts about the ending, I couldn’t stop reading.  Even though the mystery was slowly unraveled (some may say that it had a nice even pace) I had to have more. In a book world where we want everything now and then complain it all happened too fast, Brewster’s timing was near perfect! (Just because I can acknowledge the problem doesn’t mean I’m not going to be impatient…)There were enough given to keep you interested in what was really going on without distracting you from the action.

The action and interactions between the characters were at times filled with tension and at other times filled with warmth. This made me really care about what was going to happen to them, I was able to connect with them emotionally.  There was humor, romance, mystery and the unique role of magic. I am so happy to see the tension between faith and science in this work. This is something that could have gone horribly horribly wrong, but it worked out so well.

The ending was my favorite part.  After everything I witnessed on the journey to such a pivotal moment, it was nice not to be let down. I was holding my breath right along with the characters (ok so I may have been alone on that one, but still).  The ending was completely satisfying, and while there was a mere suggestion of things to come, I would be completely okay if it stopped here. It was full and satisfying, but I wouldn’t hesitate to revisit this world if given the chance.

5 stars *****

A 2013 favorite

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Always Shine,

Starr K

Book Tour: Crimson Hunt Review

I am a tour stop for Crimson Hunt by Victoria H. Smith, thanks to Giselle from Xpresso Book Tours. (click link for more tour stops!

The Crimson Hunt by Victoria H. Smith

 Eldaen Light Chronicles #1

November 8, 2012 - Indie Publishing 

340 pages- New Adult, Science Fiction, Romance

http://twentysomethingfictionwriter.blogspot.com/

Facebook:  Yes 

Twitter: @VictoriaSmith76

Source: Xpresso Book Tours 

Purpose: Review 

Disclaimer: A copy of this galley was given to me free, in exchange for my honest review. 

From Goodreads: College junior Ariel Richmond is working on year three of Project Normalcy.

Her house reeks of keggers past and her bestie is just a slight bit vulgar. But the thing is—they both aid in making life refreshingly uneventful. 
So much for hard-earned mediocrity when Luca Grinaldi appears on the scene.
Luca’s sudden presence on campus is hard to ignore. Those bright eyes act like a beacon to unsuspecting females, and with features like his, he’s got to be moonlighting for GQ. Luca hopelessly captivates Ariel with his confidence and charisma, but the mysteries surrounding him make him nearly untouchable. And just when Ariel grows close enough to unlock his secrets, a tragic event sends her life in a downward spiral.
That steady life is no longer an option and allies quickly become scarce. The mysterious Luca seems to be the only one willing to help her—but with that trust comes the burden of his secrets. He has a dark mission of otherworldly proportions, and is willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes to see it completed.
Gone are the days of simply maintaining normalcy, and if Ariel isn’t cautious with her trust, so soon may be her future.

My thoughts: Hmmm... I have to admit that my feelings for this story is not consistent. To be clear, I would say that I'm sitting on the fence. I do think it's worth checking out though. There wasn't a character that I consistently liked. The only character I consistently didn't like was Lila, and I think that was the purpose of her character. If I had to pick a character that was my favorite it would be Piper, but not the Piper we actually met. I liked the Piper Ariel remembered.  The story was interesting, and though there were moments that took me out of it (Ariel's constant lusting over Luca got to be a lot ridiculous) and moments that made me angry (it took way too long to explain what Luca was, and  at first it was unsatisfying). 

It was overall a story that kept you pulled and wanting to know more. I really like how art was pulled into it, and though there were moments where I was impatient or angry or taken out, I couldn't put the book. I still had to know what was going to happen. 

3 Stars ***

I will more than likely follow this series. 

Always Shine, 

Starr K

Blog Tour-Review and Giveaway: Phoebe Pope and the Year of the Four

Phoebe Pope and the Year of the Four by Nya Jade

355 Pages - Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction/Fantasy 

October 30, 2012 - Dreamwell Publishing 

http://www.nyajade.com/

Facebook: Yes

Twitter: @TheNyaJade

Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Purpose: For Review
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this title, free, in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Goodreads Summary : The students of Green Lane Academy roam their halls unaware that below their manicured campus exists a prestigious school of an entirely different kind . . .Sixteen-year-old Phoebe Pope has enrolled at the Campus Below: a spy academy for shape-shifters hidden deep beneath the grounds of a boarding school whose humans unknowingly protect it. There, thanks to a carefully planned schedule, she leads a double life: spy trainee Below and normal teenager Above. As if two course loads, concealing a secret power she alone wields, and coping with her father’s recent death weren’t enough, Phoebe finds herself developing major feelings for actor and teen heartthrob Colten Chase, who attends the Campus Above and appears to be majoring in winning Phoebe’s heart. But when officials learn that Phoebe may be at the center of a startling prophecy, she becomes the target of shape-shifting assassins who will stop at nothing to suppress the truth. Now Phoebe’s lessons about Shaper’s enemies and spycraft take on great importance as a menace stalks the campus, with Phoebe as its target. Meanwhile, what began as an unlikely relationship with Colten, quickly morphs into heartache when she suspects that something sinister lurks beneath this movie star’s glitter and fame. Suddenly, Phoebe’s caught in a mesh of lies, betrayals, and danger where she doesn’t know who to trust, and needs to rely on herself—and her secret power—to get to the truth and to stay alive.

My Thoughts:

                Oh, Ms. Jade. What are you doing to me? I love this world! I want more right now! Honestly, I have to admit that I was totally biased from the beginning. I saw the cover and knew that the story was going to be amazing. Yes, this is one of those books that would have totally pissed me off if it turned out to be a dud. I am so excited to say that this is far from a dud.  Well played, Jade, well played.

                The introduction to shapers and vigos was done so effectively, you were given enough information to visualize and understand how they all work without getting bogged down with the details.  The characters were engaging and distinct. It was believable and I could see how a world like this would work and fly under the radar of the humans. Oooh the mix of shapers and humans! I guess it would be tricky putting humans alongside a species that was not quite human, but it didn’t seem to be a problem with Above and Below. I love the fact that a lot of characters had distinct physical characteristics (Lewis and his dreads, Phoebe and the streak in her hair, Hayley and her “Clark Kent” glasses). I love that they also had skills that had nothing to do with their shaper secret – soccer, baking and photography.  But what I absolutely positively loved was the diversity of the characters. (Shameless plug if I was an agent I would so try to get this book into the hands of someone with Tu Books, a publishing company that seeks out diversity and science fiction).

                The illustrations were beautiful and I so wanted more of them! Yes give me more!!! Okay, I guess you’re wondering about the story…. I was captivated throughout the entire book! I was trying to figure who it was, whether or not Phoebe would figure it out, what was up with Chase? All of it, all of the questions, all of the action kept me neatly tucked in my chair flipping pages. Did I see it coming? Did it all work together in the end? Oh wouldn’t you like to know? Normally, I would tell you my opinion of the ending.  I would say whether or not it worked for the entire story as a whole---my opinion of course. But I had so much fun getting there, that I think you should too. Pick up a copy and find out for yourself!

5 stars *****
2013 favorite

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Always Shine,

Starr K

A More Diverse Universe: Wild Seed By Octavia Butler

This is a dual post. I am participating in A More Diverse Universe Tour but I received this galley for review via Netgalley. First I want to say what an awesome idea this was to highlight speculative fiction with a focus on authors that are people of color. Diversity in reading is something that I strongly believe in. After recent events, which will be discussed later, diversity in reading will also be one of the focuses of my blog.  For more information, or to look at other diverse posts, check Aarti's blog at http://www.aartichapati.com/2012/09/a-more-diverse-universe-schedule.html

Wild Seed by Octavia Butler

The Patternist Series- Book 1

Open Road - July 24, 2012

320 pages - Adult, Fiction, Speculative

http://octaviabutler.org/

Facebook: Yes

*Octavia Butler passed away February 24, 2006, so all information posted on either site is posted by people wishing to keep her work and memory alive.*

Read what this book is about: here.

A copy of this digital galley was given to me, free in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Where do I start? I have been a huge Butler reader since the first time I read Kindred for a college English Class.  She revolutionized my opinion of science fiction much the same way she revolutionized the genre, I have come to expect a world that may take me a while to get acquainted with, but once I have it becomes almost like a second home to my imagination. I expect characters that walk, talk and act as if they are living and breathing real people. And a story that is just a story for those who only want to tangle with the surface, but for those who wishe to go deeper there's layers upon layers to go through. I got exactly what I expected plus more with Wild Seed.

I cannot even begin to imagine what life was like for Doro or Anyanwu, to live so long without end and always believing that you are the only one that carries the weight of supernatural abilities. Doro has accepted his lot by seeking out and creating others that are similar (but nowhere near as powerful) to him. He has little colonies of people that he breeds with each other and with others that he finds in the hopes of making someone that would one day be a companion to him. He has made himself out to be a god to his people and he creates his own rules and ways of living. The only law that his people have is to not disobey Doro. The punishment is death. Anyanwu's choice is to live her life as unnoticable as she can make it. She has accepted that she is the only of her kind and she does  what she can to make her area better for it.

Both are abnormally strong and there are times when their differences compliment one another. But, there are also times when their strengths push them into dangerous areas, possibly pushing them to the limits of their self control. Anyanwu goes with Doro, the first and only man who has enough strength and unchallenged power to make her submit, in the hopes of sparing her children the heartache of becoming one of Doro's possessions. I don't want to give too much away, because like most of Butler's work, Wild Seed,  is more than a book it is an experience. I was hooked from the beginning, and I allowed myself to trek through the wild and the colonies to see the world that Doro and Anyanwu were imprinted on.

Matters of faith, gender issues, racism, incest and slavery all find their place within these pages. Even the cruelest find sympathy when I thought that I couldn't muster up any for him. Once again, I have found another reason to follow Butler's work. Though I am sad that she is not around to create more worlds and tell more stories, what she has left us with will be read over and over again.

Recommendation: Wild Seed is the first book in the Patternist series, and is a great place to start if unfamiliar with her work. I recommend this if you are looking for amazing science fiction, if you are looking for stories with substance that are captivating.

What's Next? Mind of My Mind

5 Stars *****

Always Shine,

Starr K