Black River Falls

Posted on by lynndellwatson

51fxxly-yll-_sl500_pisitb-sticker-arrow-bigtopright35-73_ou01_aa130_

Actual rating: 3.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for the arc of Black River Falls by Jeff Hirsch! A quarantine due to the virus called Lassiter’s has occurred. Lassiter’s is short for Lassiter’s Viral-Induced Retrograde Amnesia. The virus hit on October 16th, when people of all ages lost their memories and couldn’t even remember their families. Narrated by Cardinal Cassidy, Cardinal tells the story as if he’s writing/talking to his brother. Cardinal hasn’t contracted the virus and therefore, hasn’t lost his memory. He meets his mom in town, but she doesn’t seem to recognize him and she is living with a man that is not Cardinal’s father. He rescues a young woman from men pretending to be her husband and friend (a scheme men have thought up to capture women). The secret of the virus’ origins is revealed to Cardinal and he has the choice of revealing it to Dr. Lassiter and helping find the cure or ignoring the information and going on with life as it is right now. Sci-fi and dystopian fans will enjoy this book with the clever world building and character development.

The Last Place on Earth

Posted on by lynndellwatson

23637551

I was lucky enough to be a Goodreads give-away winner of The Last Place on Earth by Carol Snow! This is a genre bending story about Henry, his family and his best friend, Daisy. Daisy is trying to find Henry. He has been missing and Daisy soon discovers that his family is missing also. Daisy is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. I was relieved when Daisy confided in her brother Peter about her concerns and that she wasn’t looking for him alone anymore. The mystery unfolds for the first third of the book and then the aftermath is dealt with. I enjoyed Daisy’s personality and seeing how her relationships changed and grew as the story was told. The Last Place on Earth is realistic fiction and mystery wrapped up together with a dystopian edge; it’s also a clean read!

Railhead

Posted on by lynndellwatson

28507972

Thanks to NetGalley and Capstone for the arc of Railhead by Philip Reeve. I actually give it 3.5 stars and only because science fiction isn’t my favorite genre. Railhead tells the story of Zen, a human thief in a futuristic world, where space travel is quick but only if you use the trains. Nova is an endearing, interesting character who is a machine that believes she’s human, but knows she’s a machine. Nova is my favorite part of the book! The story is told in several points of view- Zen the thief; Malik the marshal and Threnody Noon, the rich girl. This science fiction story is full of suspense and is well written.

Dead of Winter

Posted on by lynndellwatson

18746546

The Dead of Winter, by Kresley Cole, left me hanging and in anxious anticipation of the fourth book in The Arcana Chronicles! The book begins with Evie leaving Death (Aric) to save Jack from the torturous twins. She makes more allies and, eventually, Death visits their camp. Together they are able to rescue Jack after some intense action and cooperation. The twins have taken Selena, the Archer, and Evie, Jack and Death work together to try to save her from the sadistic and twisted twins. Evie finally makes a choice between Death and Jack before an attack occurs and the book ends with no publication date specified for the fourth book-AAAHHH!

I absolutely love the variety of languages, the humor, the dynamics of the characters and the amount of complexity of each character – a perfect amount – and the fact that no character in this series is static!

Endless Knight

Posted on by lynndellwatson

16175040

I am loving the Arcana Chronicles series! The second book, Endless Knight, begins right where Poison Princess left off – when Evie transformed into the Empress to save her life through self-defense and Jackson saw her with all of her powers. Jackson states that he doesn’t want to be with the Arcana; he says they aren’t right. Evie, Selena, Finn and Matthew continue to meet more Arcana and make truces with some. Jack and Evie work through their differences and overcome their problems. Death kidnaps Evie and stunts her powers. The more she gets to know death, the more she understands him and cares for him. Then Matthew tells Evie that Jack has been captured by twin Arcana who enjoy torturing their victims, so now Evie must choose between Jack or Death. Wow! I love this book and I am excited to continue reading with the third book, Dead of Winter. Great characters, interesting surroundings, lots of action and adventure, dynamic relationships and romance make this a fun series to read!

The Crown

Posted on by lynndellwatson

ca2efd26-0c72-4593-bf88-a7cff3c7d573-_cb273808430_

The Crown by Kiera Cass is actually better than I expected it to be. The end to the popular Selection series, The Crown contains resolution and hope for a better future for the kingdom. Eadlyn learns who she can and cannot trust and discovers some family secrets along the way. Some predictability, but a fun book nevertheless.

Poison Princess

Posted on by lynndellwatson

13450339

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole is the start of an amazing series. This book contains many genres, such as dystopian, supernatural, romance, adventure, mythology and fantasy. Poison Princess immediately intrigued me with the feeling of doom in the first chapter. I was pulled into the story because it is interesting in so many ways; the Louisiana culture and language and the fantastical and mythological pull around Evie. I love the Cajun vocabulary lessons and culture and I think I felt at home with it because I lived in Louisiana during an impressionable age while growing up. I lived in several areas of Louisiana between the ages of nine and twelve. The Cajun references made me smile and sometimes cringe because they were spot on.

The author changes the point of view from Evie to the kidnapper for the prologue and one other chapter. This strategic writing gives readers insight into the enemy’s world. Clever, Kresley Cole! There is a bit of swearing and sexual innuendo that I will warn students about, but I absolutely love this book with its dynamic characters and I plan on reading it again and finishing the Arcana Chronicles series as soon as possible.

True Born

Posted on by lynndellwatson

true-born-epub

Thanks to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for the arc of True Born by L.E. Sterling! True Born is the first in a new dystopian series involving twins, plague and plague resistance, elitism, fantasy, and a genetics mystery. This fun story livens up with Jared’s and Lucy’s interesting relationship and the mystery of the power that Lucy and her twin sister Margot hold. I wanted more but, alas, I will have to wait for the sequel!

Map of Bones

Posted on by lynndellwatson

25814363

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the arc of The Map of Bones by Francesca Haig! The Map of Bones is the second book in The Fire Sermon series. Radiation destroyed the world and created defects and oddities, as well as everyone alive having a twin. The strong twin is the Alpha and the different twin is the Omega. The Omegas are persecuted, but if one twin dies, they both die. Secrets of life after the blast are discovered and the race is on between the council and the resistance to see who gains and uses the knowledge first. Cass has grown wiser through her trials and experiences with others. The suspenseful and interesting world building make this a good read!