Alysses

Radley is volunteering in Haiti when the President of the United States has been assassinated and all hell has broken loose. Radley is focused on one thing... getting home to her parents.

I was quite intrigued with the synopsis. I started reading this book and I couldn't put it down. The story is told in three parts symbolizing the three phases of Radley's adventure/story. The first third of the book is fast paced consisting of Radley traveling back into the States to reunite with her parents. My adrenaline was pumping and my anxiety was at about 100 because like Radley, I too wanted to get back to her parents and find out what happened. It was written that well. It does lose a bit of momentum after that initial rush but all in all, the story was engaging, coercing me into turning the pages at rapid speed.

Imagine my surprise when I was left in a confused state of mind upon finishing this book and thinking of a 3.5 rating.

It wasn't difficult to believe in a United States that has been broken. It wasn't difficult to believe that any part of this book could and would happen. What was difficult to believe was that we never learn about the American People's Party, why they took over, why the assassination, and a world of other questions pertaining to a very broken United States happening in real time... The world building was non-existent in this book. These questions were what motivated me to keep on reading because I kept thinking that eventually all these questions would be answered. Perhaps not in part one or even part two but part three? Surely in part three. They were not. Something else that was off; the pictures that were introduced in part two of the book. I think I would have liked them more if they had been placed in the book from the beginning. I know why they were plugged in when they were but they didn't always make sense.

As always I recommend that you read this one and let me know what you think because you might like it more than me. I was expecting more but it just fell short with me.

On to the next one!

ARC was provided by Feiwel & Friends via NetGalley.

I'm liking the series I just find that at times it rambles. I think the author goes into historical details at the wrong times. It always seems to be when something action packed is about to happen. It slows down the story when at that moment the author should have ran with it. At the same time some of the action packed details are kind of chaotic and you can't really understand or picture what is happening at the moment. All in all I'm glad I'm done with the book and on with the next one.

One word...

Beautiful.



Merged review:

Audio Book

Logan has Shaded, Aura is exploring her feelings for Zachary and Logan while itching to find out more about her conception/origins, Zachary is Zachary... The adults all have secrets to tell and the Department of Metaphysical Purity is getting nastier and scarier.

I had such high hopes after reading the first book Shade. The tone was the same and although I still liked the overall story it went downhill kind of quickly for me. This book focused way too much on Aura's numerous amorous relationships. It also focused a bit too much on her flaring hormones. For such a smart girl all she had her brain on was sex and that to me was a turn off. I think I disliked Zachary most in this book. As sweet as he can be and as considerate as he can be he can equally be a jackass. I did not appreciate his back and forth. Aura lets be together, two minutes later, Aura we maybe need to create some space between us... There was more of this and it just ticked me off and frustrated me beyond belief. Zachary totally made a bonehead move and Aura actually let it slide because she thought he was so hot. I mean seriously?? I sometimes wish some of these ladies were written to be a lot stronger and less tolerant than they are. I get this is fiction but there are a lot of girls reading these books and hopefully they have enough sense to know that kind of behavior/reaction is ridiculous.

I think what saved this for me is that we finally get some answers to some of the mystery created in Shade. We learn what happened at Newgrange the months prior to Aura and Zachary being conceived, more about Aura's mom and dad and finally we understand a bit more about the connection Aura and Zachary share.

I still recommend the series as it is a unique story and I'm hoping Shine, the third installment, will wrap things up nicely and be a lot more balanced than this book.

What if our world was absolutely perfect. What if there was a panel of people who made all decisions for us? What if they told us what to eat, when to sleep, what to study, what our careers will be, who we are to marry if we are to marry, or stay single, how many kids we will have, what to wear, what to say or not say, what to read, what to write, what to play in the rec room, where to live, when to die, who to love... Basically having all choices taken from us with the trade off being that we live long productive lives, disease free, hunger free, never in want, always having just the right amount of anything to live just right.

I listened to this book and I loved the voice!

From the moment I hit play I fell in love with this story and its characters. Cassia Reyes ( I LOVE THAT SHE IS LATINA!) is on her way to her Match Banquet where she is will meet her future husband. Cassia at 17 will meet him and will get to know him slowly in a controlled environment throughout the next 4 years. Cassia's life is being mapped out before her and she trusts the Society completely because their methods have been proof positive... until she becomes one of the Society's social experiments.

I highly recommend this book. It is definitely thought provoking. It actually had me thinking about this world and how there is a world similar to this one in our present day... similar but not the same. It's hard to really know what is right, what is wrong, how far to take things to preserve humanity and give everyone the best fighting chance.

I can't really say more without giving key details that can be interpreted as a spoiler. You need to go into this book knowing that you are being introduced into a new world and you are basically living it along with Cassia getting a good sense of what it is like to live in her province. There are times where you will be shocked but things revealed are things you kind of expected but not at all predictable, if that makes sense. This book will leave you thinking if you will ever want a utopia type world. It will leave you wondering if things as bad as they are now is still the best possible scenario in the long run.