Riky's book reviews

Book enthusiast who loves to read and write.

[rikysbookreviews]

The Hundred - Kass Morgan

☆☆☆☆

Published: September 3rd 2013

Pages: 323

Series: The Hundred #1

I have to admit right off the top that I only started reading this book after I saw the series (or rather the first season), which absolutely blew me away. However, I will try not to compare it to the series.

So ... not the best book in the world, but not a complete waste of time either. The story begins (as in the series) by introducing the main character when she is in prison and the guards would come for her, take her to a pod in which she is transported to Earth along with 99 other teenagers.

I didn't really like the flashbacks that were in every chapter. Each chapter was narrated by a different character, which wasn't too bad. However, these glimpses into the past, the reasoning behind it, always just flew in front of my eyes. The story is basically told by four characters: Clark, Bellamy, Wells, and Glass. The last named is still on the Ark (she managed to escape after Bellamy secured a spot on the Earth-bound pod) and brings us to a situation that leads to the end of the Ark and the likely death of everyone who fails to reach the escape pods left behind. While in space they face a lack of air and a shortage of space on the escape pods, it's not much easier on Earth. They may not be in any danger in terms of radioactivity, but there are other threats. Someone sets a fire in their makeshift camp and burns all their supplies, and also kidnaps Bellamy's sister Octavia.

The first volume is basically about how a hundred teenagers get to Earth and find out they're not alone. They find that they are in danger not only from nature (poisonous plants and animals) but also from humans who have never left Earth.

But it's quite entertaining to watch their personalities and knowledge assert themselves. How they adapt to their new environment and new circumstances. Anyway, if you've seen the TV series, you'll probably have trouble reading this book... Nevertheless, I didn't find it as bad as some of the reviews say.

[rikysbookreviews]

Divergent - Veronica Roth

☆☆☆☆☆

Divergent #1

For the first time in a long time, a book that completely absorbed me. The subject matter is completely unique, which I have not encountered before. I really liked the setting the writer created for her storyline. And she managed to write it very nicely and catchy as well. I literally devoured the book and read the 344 pages in one night.

I also really liked the way Tris gained courage and confidence and the relationship that developed between her and her instructor "Four". How he tries to help her and encourage her while she thinks he's picking on her :-) Which, of course, she understands pretty quickly. And also how Tris changes Four without them knowing it themselves. For example, that Four lets Tris see into his land of fear, where Tris also learns his real name and origin.

The author was always surprising me with something… whether pleasantly or unpleasantly. I guess one of those unpleasant surprises would be Tris killing Will. I'm not saying she didn't have or had a choice. She just did it, and at that moment, she thought it was the only possible solution. However, it was sad and Tris blames herself for it by the end of the book (not just the first one).

In short, the story describes (from Tris's perspective) the transition from the Abnegation to the Dauntless and their free, carefree and extreme lifestyle. She misses her family, everything is new and extreme to her, and it scares her a little that she actually enjoys it. She's discovering new feelings and opinions within herself. She is also trying to keep her biggest secret (that she is Divergent) which, besides her, only two people know about. Of course, a situation arises that calls for an extreme solution, and who else would take on such a fight but Tris and Four? But they won't be alone in this. They have a few friends who are happy to help.

Eventually, the city will come under the rule of the Erudite, and Tris and Four will have no choice but to go to the Asylum of the Amity for a few days, where they will figure out how best to bring peace and tranquility back to the city. But that's in volume two.

[rikysbookreviews]

Obsidian - Jennifer L. Armentrout

☆☆☆☆☆

Lux #1

For the first time in a long time, a super young-adult book that is not so much about the story (not that it isn't substantial and interesting) but mainly about the relationship between the two main characters. And that it's a relationship with a capital R. When Katy goes to ask her neighbors to go to the store (as a cover to get to know them) and is greeted by a super hot guy who is wearing nothing but a trench coat… well, no wonder she's incapable of words… and then he opens his mouth and what he lets out reveals something in Katy that she didn't know she had inside her. From that moment on, she starts to change from a grey mouse/bookworm to a bold and confident young lady who doesn't go far for a punch (just a verbal one). And the way she and Daemon (the sexy neighbor) treat each other… Katy gets pretty confused at times…. at first Daemon is really mean to her… but then his sister hides his keys and won't tell him where until he takes Katy swimming and goes to visit his family. What choice does Daemon have but to grit his teeth, shut his mouth and listen to his beloved little sister Dee? Only he had no idea that Katy wasn't as bad as he thought and he was going to have quite an afternoon with her. Katy would get to know the part of Daemon that afternoon that wasn't so bad, so arrogant. But it's not that easy with him. For a while he's the jerk who opened the door for her when she went to ask for directions and then he's like the pretty funny guy from the lake.

I really liked how Katy thought about him and how she tried to tell herself she hated him. And the internal struggles of Daemon? Just awesome… Saving Katy and letting her in on his (and the whole family's) secret? Or let her get hit by a truck? I really had fun with that. I found myself laughing like a depressed teenager at times :-D Good thing no one was home when I read it :-D

I'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops.

[rikysbookreviews]

Day 21 - Kass Morgan

☆☆☆

Published: September 16, 2014

Pages: 320

Series: The Hundred #2 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20454076-day-21

On the one hand, it was better than the first one, but on the other hand, there were probably more parts that I skimmed with my eyes, unlike the first one. But I'm not sure that has anything to do with the book itself… I was more interested in just the parts narrated by Bellamy and Clarke :-D I'm a team Bellarke :-D

The plot starts with Bellamy going with Clarke on the hunt for Octavia's captors, but along the way they discover the wreckage of a space module that was part of the Ark, but which no one had any idea had been sent to Earth. Moments later, Clarke is bitten by a snake and Bellamy carries her in his arms back to the campsite… 6 miles (so romantic). Meanwhile, at the camp, they discover someone who's been watching them for a while… one of the original inhabitants….. a girl named Sasha. But the only people who trust Sasha are Clarke and Wells. Wells even begins to feel some affection for their prisoner.

In this volume, we witness new relationships and emotions. And we also meet the original colonists and learn two pretty big secrets. SPOILER!!!!!!!!! Clarke discovers that her parents really did come to Earth and that they didn't die fighting the Colonists, but set off together to discover more of Earth. We also find out that Bellamy and Wells share something other than the need to protect those they love, no matter what it takes, and that Bellamy and Octavia aren't the only siblings in the universe.

Nothing too deep, but it's a pretty good book to wind down and shorten a long winter evening.

[rikysbookreviews]

Northern Bites - Nikki Jefford

☆☆☆☆

Aurora Sky - Vampire Hunter #2

This book was a bit better than the first one, at least in terms of writing maturity. But still… I don't think it's a 5 out of 5…. Don't get me wrong, I really like the series and definitely recommend it :) I really like the scenes with Dante :-D As I wrote in the last episode, Dante is just my hero :-D and the way he flirts with Aurora… many times you really don't know if he's just being polite, if he's joking or if he's serious… and Aurora feels the same way. But I never skip the Dante parts, unlike the other descriptive parts :-D

Aurora has gotten pretty used to her new school and even has her first admirer, who of course has to follow her to one of Markus' parties and how to tell…. it doesn't end well for him (sorry for the spoiler).

As mentioned in the annotation, one of the agents is killed and Aurora has to go on a mission with Valerie and Agent Jered, who turns out to be kind of different than they thought. And actually tries to kill them. But worst of all, when Aurora tells Agent Melcher, he just waves his hand and doesn't do much about it. And since Valerie has taken to the rabbits, Aurora's on her own. But she starts noticing (remembering) things from the past and suddenly everything starts to fall into place. But is her theory true? Or is it just paranoia? Either way, it doesn't do her relationship and trust with Agent Melcher any good.

And of course, the best part is the ending…. :-D Aurora goes to Markus' party and catches Fan and Noel there. She kind of breaks down in one of Markus' private rooms, where she finds a ring that belonged to her friend. And of course, Markus finds her there. So what does our dear Markus do? He handcuffs her and once all the guests have left, he tries to kill her, only he has no idea that Aurora is a vampire hunter and instead of him killing her, she's going to kill him. Only he's one of the prominent vampires in town, so Agent Melcher sends Aurora out of town for about 5 months… specifically to a boot camp on the other side of the US. But more on that in the next episode.

What else is worth mentioning is that right before Aurora kills Marcus, she decides to give Dante a chance. Yikes! They've only flirted on the phone so far, but when Aurora's grandmother comes to town, Dante has to play her boyfriend at her request. Not that he minds :-D He definitely throws himself headfirst into it, and as soon as he sees Aurora with her grandmother, he pounces on her and kisses her passionately …. finally…. :-D Well, Aurora doesn't complain twice either :-D But you'll have to read more for yourself…

[rikysbookreviews]

Aurora Sky - Nikki Jefford

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Aurora Sky - Vampire Hunter #1

I wasn't expecting much from this book, but I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. I'm busy trying not to go into the whole plot here, but I'll try to keep it up :-D

I really liked the plot... As you probably already knew (either from the title or the annotation), it's a story with vampires. Not that we're short on them :-D But I personally haven't read anything with that particular theme yet. Of course I've read about vampires, but to have the government involved in this way? To create their own hunters by injecting them with vampire blood with all sorts of diseases? I'm kind of intrigued. How does an author come up with something like that... but I like it. I like the way the plot develops, too. How Aurora loses her best friend because she got into college while her friend hasn't... It could have been explained better - more - but it was still enough. Then how Aurora meets new friends... and not just a few..... I also liked the mentor idea and the author's choice of Dante (my favorite). I don't quite understand what exactly Aurora sees in Fane.... well, according to the description he's supposed to have a pretty nice body, but somehow I can't imagine what he looks like.... he's described in quite a bit of detail, but I don't know... my imagination just refuses to work when I try to picture him.... but as far as character goes, he's not bad either... I mean, a dude with his personality would be worth a sin :-)

Quite surprising to me was how the author involved Aurora's mother in the story... that she was the one who signed Aurora up to the government (with the good intention of saving her life), and then knew basically everything.... about her missions (not the details, of course)... and sacrificed a lot for Aurora... since Aurora had a phobia of driving (and kind of cars in general) after the accident, she drove her everywhere...

But now for the not-so-nice part.... at times it felt very amateurish and kind of half-baked.... the way the agents explain to Aurora what happened to her... I understand that it was supposed to be cool (government agents aren't very warm after all), but still... you don't give someone who's come out of a coma after a serious accident all the facts and basically no facts... I don't know... in my opinion, the author could have squeezed in maybe an extra week or some kind of paramedic to give Aurora more insight into what happened to her.... but that's my opinion..... I also felt like the author kind of misjudged Aurora's age... she's eighteen in the book, but most of the time I felt like she acted like she was fifteen or sixteen....

But let's recap.... the plot is great and if you like YA books with vampire themes, I think you'll like if not love this book... but I have to warn you that it's a simpler read. If you're more into intellectual titles, you probably won't get too excited... but it's up to you if you give it a chance. Anyway, I'll be glad for any feedback you have if you do decide to read this book :-)

[rikysbookreviews]

Ghost Light - LeeAnne Hansen

☆☆☆☆☆

I received this book for free for an honest review. I knew nothing about the book or the author when I started to read it.

I must say that the cover was quite intriguing to me. The single light bulb and the theatre in the back, very original.

As not an English native, it was sometimes a little hard for me because of the Scottish dialect. But even though I really enjoyed this book. It's not one of those books which consume you and you have to read it overnight but still, I was so curious about what will happen next and what will Fiona do.

Her affection for Patrick was cute at the beginning but then, when Sean appeared, it was more of a complication for her. Honestly, I liked Patrick since the first mention of him and I hated Sean. But as the story went, Sean got under my skin somehow. Not that I didn't like Patrick, I just liked Sean as well.

I hoped I will find something bad about this book, but I failed. It's just perfect :-D and I'm so pleased I had the opportunity to read it. LeeAnne did a marvelous job with this book.