Title: Waiting for the Flood
Author: Alexis Hall
Published: February 21, 2015
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
ASIN: B00TWI05QA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
People come as well as go.
Twelve years ago, Edwin Tully came to Oxford and fell in love with a boy named Marius. He was brilliant. An artist. It was going to be forever.
Two years ago, it ended.
Now Edwin lives alone in the house they used to share. He tends to damaged books and faded memories, trying to a build a future from the fragments of the past.
Then the weather turns, and the river spills into Edwin’s quiet world, bringing with it Adam Dacre from the Environment Agency. An unlikely knight, this stranger with roughened hands and worn wellingtons, but he offers Edwin the hope of something he thought he would never have again.
As the two men grow closer in their struggle against the rising waters, Edwin learns he can’t protect himself from everything—and sometimes he doesn't need to try.
Rating: ★★★★★
This is a story about imperfections and ephemery and fasciculing and floods and rivers and houses that should be homes and men who think they're broken and stuttering and environmental agencies and self-consciousness and loss and orange waders and wellies and overcoming and dimpled smiles. It's a story about love.
This is one of those rare occasions when a book was nothing like I expected it to be and still completely surpassed my expectations. And then some I didn't have.
Waiting for the Flood did in 106 pages what many books cannot manage to do in several hundred; it made me feel. I literally smiled the whole way through this book, even when I was crying.
Our Hero is a thirty one year old gay man living on his own in the house purchased by him and his ex boyfriend, trying to come to terms with being alone. Edwin has some pretty serious self-confidence issues which mostly center around his stutter and his feelings of unworthiness brought about by his break up with ex boyfiend Marius. Edwin is a flawed human being; he has cut himself off from the world because he truly believes no one will accept him, that no one truly wants to know him and so keeps to himself and his elderly, octogenarian neighbour. Edwin also has serious trouble coping with social situations or situations which make him feel uncomfortable and often finds himself resorting to sarcasm. He's not perfect, and that's what makes it so much easier to love him.
Our love interest in this novella is Adam Dacre who is working for Oxford council's Environmental Agency and is charged to help flood-proof Edwin's street. Adam is sweet and charming and so ready to see the good and beauty in everyone and everything and, also, the complete opposite of Edwin in every way; he's outgoing and flirtatious and cannily sure of himself in ways that intimidate Edwin and it's so easy to see just what it is that has Edwin so enchanted.
The story is told from Edwin's point of view, so we're given full access to Edwin's inner turmoil and his thought process whilst dealing with Adam and his feelings for the red-headed engineer. Most of all, the thing I love is that we get to see Adam's beauty through Edwin's eyes. Edwin tells us:
"No one could have called him handsome, and the orange waders probably didn't help - but when he smiled? Suddenly handsome didn't seem important anymore - only the things happiness could do to a man's face."
It's wonderful to come across a romance in which a person is beautiful because of who they are - because of the type of person they are and this is exactly what we get with this story: two flawed, imperfect people who meet and see something wonderful in each other and it's beyond beautiful.
Alexis Hall's writing is wonderfully simplistic and exquisite. This being my first Hall book, I cannot comment on whether this is a consistent theme in all of his books but I do know I will definitely be reading more of his works to find out.
This is short and so, so sweet. It is a simple story that is beautifully written and a definite must-read for all romance fans. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you don't.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Title: The Darkest Minds
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Published: October 22, 2013
Publisher: Hyperion Books
ISBN: 978-1423159322
Genre: Dystopian/Sci Fi
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.
When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.
When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.
Rating: ★★★★☆
How to write a typical Dystopian adventure, and get it completely, 100% right.
I really enjoyed this book. I had such high hopes going in and it did not disappoint me at all.
Really interesting premise and awesome characters, and oh mY GOD A FEMALE CHARACTER THAT I ACTUALLY LIKE!!!1!
The world building is superb. The way that Bracken only gives you enough information to understand what is going on, but little enough to keep you intrigued is terribly clever. There are a lot of authors who try too hard at this end up failing miserably. Not so in this book; the balance is just right.
The characters, whilst certainly nothing I haven't seen before, are infinitely likeable - even her villains. They are complicated, diverse, well-fleshed out and human. It's so easy to make your character into a caricature of what a human being is supposed to be, but Bracken doesn't take it too far here. She captures all of the good and bad parts of humanity in all of the best ways.
And, ultimately, that's what this books is about. Humanity and how we fight to keep it in the worst of conditions.
Maybe a little predictable at times, but there's so many dystopian stories out there now that they're obviously all going to be following the same recipe. This one is no different, but it doesn't take away from your enjoyment at all.
That ending, though. Welcome to heartbreak hotel.
I can't wait for book 2 to arrive.
You said it, Liam.
Title: Snow Like Ashes
Author: Sara Raasch
Publisher: Balzer+Bray
Published: October 14, 2014
ASIN: B00HYMBNUS
Genre: Fantasy
A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.
Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
This book was really, really disappointing.
I had really high hopes after all of the reviews and it just sort of ... fell flat?
Don't get me wrong. It's a good book. I enjoyed it enough that I kept reading. I think I just got caught up in the hype and expected too much?
Overall, I thought the book just tried too hard. The world building is what I'd call 'meh' - I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. At times, the naming could be a little cringe-worthy. There was absolutely nothing new in terms of characters. I've met them all a hundred times before in a hundred different books. This one was riddled with tropes that have been done better in other books.
And what is with the frickin' love-triangles? Is it law that all YA-Fantasy books featuring a female protagonist must feature a love triangle?
Meira, as a character, tries too hard. I love that writers are trying to make a point and take a feminist stand with their characters. But sometimes they fall short of the mark and, at times, can do more harm than good. Meira is your standard fantasy female MC: orphaned, tom-boy, can-do, I-dont-need-no-man, burn-anything-remotely-feminine but ends up being the specialest of special snowflakes. Again, there's nothing new here and for a recycled character, it's been done better in other books. Unfortunately, here's another one to add to the list of female characters I do not like. Mostly because, like a lot of female characters, Meira strays dangerously close to Misandry. Or, well, Raasch does.
By trying to maintain a feminine view-point and trying to project the message that women are just as capable as men, she goes to far and can, at times, err on the side of man-bashing. That's not feminism. It's, also, not cool.
Also, Meira is too much of a moaner to make it onto my list of likeable characters. For someone who spends so much of the book trying to convince us of her capability, she is way too much of a whiner.
This book is actually compared to Graceling, and I can fully support that because I had a nice little rant about feminist ideologies in that book, too.
But, overall, a pretty enjoyable read with enough good points that I am looking forward to the next book.
Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: US Imports
Published: November 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0062085504
Genre: Dystopian/Sci-fi
I have a curse
I am a monster
My touch is lethal
I am their weapon
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
DNF at 37%
This was actually painful to read. Kat Kennedy wrote a review in which she said: "Shatter Me, otherwise known as: When Creative Writing Class Goes Wrong." She hit the nail on the head.
It's either that or like trying to read really, really bad fanfiction for pretty much any dystopian book ever.
Mafi actually has the makings of a pretty interesting story here and then completely bombs in the execution. The writing is ... well ... I'm pretty sure I covered that with my opening statement. Her characters are flat - they have absolutely no dimension to them. Juliette is every teen, dystopian heroine ever but worse. There is nothing likeable about her - there's nothing to relate to. Adam actually lacks a personality completely. He doesn't have one. At all. I'm not even joking. He is literally the token bad-boy love interest and that is as far as his character development seems to go. Warner is your typical too-good-looking-for-your-own-good Villain who is obviously going to end up number 3 in their epic love triangle. I'm upset that this book is so popular when this has been done so much better in much less popular books: Shadow and Bone, The Darkest Minds.
What's worse is that there is no discernible plot to this book. I might have carried on if I thought that the book was actually going in even a vague direction. It wasn't. It was just scene after scene of Juliette sniveling, Adam brooding and Warner being his evil-genius self.
So much potential with the plot and it's characters but it ends up as an Epic Fail. I'd like to introduce you to the paragraph which finally forced me to give up on this book:
As I said before: I murdered every minute I wasted reading this tragedy and I mind very much.
Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Chicken House
Published: August 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1908435132
Genre: Dystopian/Sci-Fi
If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
This book was disappointing.
No.
Not disappointing.
Underwhelming.
This book could have easily been a five star read but fell woefully short.
The plot of this book is incredible: young boys have their memories wiped and are then forced to live in the middle of a mysterious maze and then have to work together to find their way out. It is original and exciting. Even the contrived slang used by the Gladers didn't bother me all that much.
The pacing and structure of the book is also good. It never felt like it was going too slow or too fast. There was never a lack of suspense or action. This wasn't a book that I couldn't put down but I did find myself going back to it a lot. I would read it in burst: read for an hour, leave it alone for twenty minutes. But I still always went back. It definitely has that going for it.
The characters. Oh! The characters. Thomas pissed me off. I've heard a lot of people say that his constant question asking pissed them off. I'm going to go against the grain and say that it actually felt completely natural and did not piss me off at all. The guy had his memory wiped and was then dumped into the middle of some big-ass mysterious maze; I'm pretty sure he's entitled to ask as many questions as he wants. I'd be concerned if he wasn't asking questions. What pissed me off about him was how much he let the others walk all over him. Every time Alby, Newt or Minho told him to shut up and bugger off, he did. I mean, seriously? You just woke up in a maze with amnesia and you're going to let people fob off your questions? As if.
Newt and Minho, however, are the lights of my life. I can't remember the last time I connected to characters in this way. By three-quarters of the way into the book I just wanted every scene to feature on or the other, or both. Actually, I wish they were the main characters of this series. Gah! Love them. I hope I get to see plenty of them in the remaining books.
This could have been truly brilliant but there is something fundamentally lacking in the execution. I couldn't justify more than three starts, as much as I wanted to give it more.
On that note, I will definitely be reading the other books in this series because Newt and Minho. That is all.
