Are you surprised I didn’t pick the paranormal book or did you guess which one I’d choose?

Title: Partials

Author: Dan Wells

Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release date: February 2013

Pages: 528

ISBN-10: 006207105X

ISBN-13: 978-0062071057

Rating:  

DESCRIPTION:

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what’s left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Review:

I loved the dystopian feel of this novel. It’s what made me purchase it in the first place…well, that and all the wonderful reviews. And I’m going to have to agree with them. The world-building wasn’t that involved, but it slowing unfurled and captured me the further I read. No, what grabbed me on this book was the characters, Kira in particular. She’s clever, brave and flawed…the perfect combination for a novel.

The adults in the books do not come off in a favorable light. A few of them are okay, but you can tell the book was written strickly from the point of view of a teenager. The plot deals with some heavy issues…manditory teenage pregnancy, the near military settlement they were forced to live in to survive. The world is a fearsome place. Dangerous. One wrong move, and the human race could be destroyed before they can even rebuild. It automatically added tension to the book. 

If you allow yourself to be pulled into the story, you’ll enjoy it. If you study it a little too hard, you might see some slight issues. In the end, I liked the quest the characters had to endure, the comradery and their determination to do what they felt was right despite the risks. The light romance crumbled around the edges a little, but the science fiction overtone of the book won me over. I’ll be reading book two when it’s released.

I decided to give YA one more try. Apparently, I stock-piled a few of them up, and they need to be read. I wanted to read a dystopian novel, but the one I selected was written in a dialect that drove me nuts after two pages. *shutter*

Here are the blurbs:

Isle of Night: The Watchers ~

IS LIFE OFFERING FEWER AND FEWER OPTIONS? THEN JOIN THE DEAD.
 
 
When Annelise left for college, it meant good riddance to her abusive father and stepmother—until a bureaucratic screw-up left her without a diploma, flat broke, and facing an uncertain future Then she met Ronan—tall, dark, and way too seductive for her own good. He promised Annelise a new life, if she had the courage to chance the unknown. One look at him and she certainly had the desire. Sure enough, accepting rides from strangers does yield surprises.
 
 
Whisked away to a mysterious island in the North Sea, Annelise is pitted against other female recruits in tests of skill, smarts, and strength. To win is to become a member of the Watchers, an elite and unique partnership—with vampires—that dispatches its teams on the most dangerous missions imaginable. It’s not exactly what Annelise had in mind for a new beginning but it’s livelier than the alternative. Because on the Isle of Night, to lose the challenge doesn’t just mean dishonor. It means death.
 
 
Let the games begin.

Partials~

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.
 
 
Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what’s left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.
 
 

Which one would you pick? Or are you reading something else?

I cheated a little this week on the book challenge. The YA went so well last week, I decided to read the other book that was in the challenge. Here’s a little re-cap:

Title: Storm (Elemental)

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal

Publisher: Kensington

Release date: May 2012

Pages: 432

ISBN-10: 0758272812

ISBN-13: 978-0758272812

Rating:  

DESCRIPTION:

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys – the ones she doesn’t want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water – just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They’re powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.
 
 
And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.
 
 
When Hunter, the mysterious new kid in town, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who’s hiding the most dangerous truth of all…

Review:

I don’t read much Young Adult, so I’m surprised to find that I really enjoyed this book. Storm started out with Becca being the hero and coming to the rescue of a young man. Little does she know that saving him will drag her into a life of chaos. Becca has a lot on her plate for a teenager, and the boy she rescued even more so.

It didn’t take Becca long to realize there was something different about the Merrick family. She just didn’t realize that she needed different to distract her from her own trouble or that she would find such friends in unexpected places. Something about the way the characters were written made me believe they were truly teenagers…very much living in the moment, boy trouble (the yummy debate of Hunter or Chris), rampant emotions, and dealing with the day to day life of trying to survive school as unscathed as possible.

I loved the added paranormal elements. It enriched the story and fit the characters perfectly. Though some of the story was a little predictable, the writing kept me interested. The book dealt with a lot of heavy issues. The story swept me up, and I devoured the book. I look forward to reading more about the Merricks.

Each books had such strong openings, I wanted to read them both. I just wish I had more time. My husband selected the winner this week.

The one without the dudes. lol

Title: The Demon Trapper’s Daughter: A Demon Trappers Novel

Author: Jana Oliver

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Young Adult

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Release date: February 2011

Pages: 355

ISBN-10: 0312614780

ISBN-13: 978-0312614782

Rating:  

DESCRIPTION:

And because I had so much trouble last week, I indulged myself with another book.

Title: City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments)

DESCRIPTION:

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who’s becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn’t ready to let her go—especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary’s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil—and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings—and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

Review:

This book resumed where the last one ended, building up the wonderful worldbuilding to another level. The Shadowhunters were becoming Clary Fray’s new family, only her old family wouldn’t give her up that easily, making everything she does suspect. The adults were a little more front and center in the book, coming to the rescue in some cases, being ‘parents’ in others.

I liked the teenage overtone of the book, the angst and drama of love (and hate), added with the real-life danger of survival. I loved getting to know the characters more, not to mention the deeper mythology. There was a thread that carried over from the previous book that still bothered me, dulling my enjoyment. I understand why the author did it, but it drew me out of the fantasy world. Some parts became a bit more predictable.

Overall, the story was so unique, the characters so haunting at times, I was drawn to them despite the small flaws in the story. I liked watching each character overcome their own stumbling blocks and grow into better people. I will continue to read the series. I hope the next book has a good twist, for I fear it will become even more predictable if something earth-shattering dosn’t happen.

With so many troubles this last week, I let myself be swept away by reading.  And I chose City of Bones. Did you guess right?

Title: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)

DESCRIPTION:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Review:

I’ve only read a handful of Young Adult books. I select them very carefully. Unless I’m half in love with them, I usually pass. I’ve heard wonderful things about this series and purchased the first three books in a box set. I loved the worldbuilding of this book. Everything was filtered through the teenage characters in a way that drew me closer to them.

The story had a mystery that kept growing, twisting about and changing, keeping me guessing. I fell into the world feet first and took off running to keep up with the characters. There is a semblance of the normal world in the book, but there is nothing normal about these kids. They grew up in a world where they protect humans from demons and worse…their own kind.

I enjoyed the tension between the characters, the increased drama, but the surprise twist at the end threw me. It’s the only reason why the story didn’t get a full five stars. I would’ve preferred any other type of ending than…that. If you want to read about characters that seem as real as you or me, life and death, and unrequited teenage love, this is a great series.