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Monday, 29 February 2016
The Selection by Kiera Cass ~ Review
The Selection
by Kiera Cass
Website | Goodreads | TwitterSeries: The Selection #1
Released: April 24, 2012
Format: Audiobook
Publisher: Harper Audio
Narrator: Amy Rubinate
Genre: Young Adult Dystopia
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.
~ Review ~
The Selection initially caught my attention soon after it's release because of it's beautiful cover, I just love covers with beautiful dresses! However, with so many newly released books constantly flooding the blogosphere I haven't gotten the chance to read this until now. I borrowed the audiobook from my library and I am so glad as I just loved this book!
America Singer lives in a somewhat dystopian world where the society is based on a caste-system. The lowest being 8s mostly destitute and homeless, and 1s being royalties, the Singers are 5s, they are Musicians, Artists and Performers, and despite not being in the lowest castes they still found great difficulty in making ends meet. So when The Selection was announced, a lottery of 35 women chosen to compete for the Prince's heart, America's Mother was more than ecstatic to finally show to the world how important her America is, however, America doesn't feel the same enthusiasm. After much debate, tears, and fights America decides to enter the lottery, fairly certain that she would never get picked...if she only knew.
The story is great, and unlike many dystopian novels I enjoyed the fact that Cass provides the readers with an explanation as to how the world came to be the way it is and why there is a "selection" process. Kiera really put a lot of thought into the history and background of her story, this I truly appreciate.
The characters are fantastic and I truly felt like I was within the pages of its story, watching people I actually know. They were built and created very well that I could see them in person as if they were acting the scenes in front of me, this is how Kiera Cass made me feel with The Selection.
The writing was well done, Kiera introduces snippets of little information in which you can grasp and later through the book be like "ah...that's when it started happening" or "oh...that's why this happened" and I truly love that because you can see that the writer didn't simply write away, you can tell the writer really constructed the story and did it well.
I enjoyed this novel so much that I swiftly picked up The Elite straight after and currently reading The One. I cannot wait to continue the entire series, so please stay tuned for the rest of the series reviews.
Saturday, 27 February 2016
Stacking the Shelves #21
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's main purpose is to showcase the books you've obtained (borrowed, won/gifted, given for review or purchased) for the week gone by. To participate, link to your own STS post here.
Book Hauls!
This is my little book haul from a city St Vincent's de Paul Shop, and whilst these books are simply amazing and I'm yet to see it anywhere else they were oh so expensive compared to the normal prices of shops like these at my area...but oh well, it's going to charity.
I'm really excited to read The Penguin Book of Etiquette by Marion von Adlerstein as I really loved The Passionate Shopper (pic below), so I'm hoping that this Author does it again for me. Do you have any recommendations on books with a similar theme to these? Please comment below if you do.
That's all for me for now, see you next time.
Have a Great weekend!
Wednesday, 24 February 2016
Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh
Burning Midnight
by Will McIntosh
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | TwitterReleased: February 11, 2016
Publisher: Pan MacMillan
Genre: YA Adventure
Source: Publisher
Buy It Now
How much would you pay for superpowers? Fast-paced action adventure with a world-changing twist...
For fans of The Maze Runner and The 5th Wave, this debut YA novel from Hugo Award-winner Will McIntosh pits four teens against an evil billionaire in the race of a lifetime.
Sully is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn't pay much - Alex Holliday's stores have muscled out most of the independent sellers - but it helps him and his mum make the rent. No one knows where the brilliant-coloured spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at maths, better-looking. The rarer the sphere, the greater the improvement - and the more expensive the sphere.
When Sully meets Hunter, a girl with a natural talent for finding spheres, the two start searching together. What they find will change more than just their lives... Because the entire world fights over spheres, but no one knows why they're here or what their powers are... until now.
~ Review ~
Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh is a fast-paced and exciting journey which will take its readers from the seat of their homes to hunting super-power-giving-spheres, along the way dodging very dangerous people and all the while forging unbreakable bonds.
From the premise of the synopsis I did not think I would enjoy this novel as much as I did. Upon receiving this book I had not heard of this novel nor of its Author so I wasn't sure what to expect, sure the premise sounded interesting but I certainly did not think I would enjoy it as much as I did. From its first few pages, it had me hooked, asking questions and turning pages just to find out the answers to these questions.
The world in which Burning Midnight is set at isn't much different to our world, the main difference being this world has spheres, when two of the same coloured spheres are "burnt" (touching both to either side of your temples) it gives that person some kind of power whether it be forgetting a memory, being better looking, smarter, faster etc. Like all things with a value, humans soon finds a way to exploit it financially.
David Sullivan is a sphere trader at the local markets, trying to help his single-Mother out financially, Hunter Valdez is a sphere hunter, when the two meet paths their adventure begins.
I absolutely enjoyed the fast paced adventure ride that McIntosh takes his readers on. Everything about it was fantastic, the story line was original and inventive, the pacing was fast and adventurous but not rushed, the characters were multi-dimensional and their relationships and friendships were relatable and realistic. Even the Villain you can come to understand, I certainly didn't sympathise with his greed but you understand him as a person.
The story is truly fantastic and it is certainly worth the read. Being a standalone novel, the Author tied the end up nicely which is where I find a lot of adventure books lacking. I would still love to read more about this world and the characters, but alas it was still a satisfying ending and I found myself feeling wowed once I turned the last page. I highly recommend this book to those that enjoy adventure stories and I cannot wait to read other Will McIntosh novels.
From the premise of the synopsis I did not think I would enjoy this novel as much as I did. Upon receiving this book I had not heard of this novel nor of its Author so I wasn't sure what to expect, sure the premise sounded interesting but I certainly did not think I would enjoy it as much as I did. From its first few pages, it had me hooked, asking questions and turning pages just to find out the answers to these questions.
The world in which Burning Midnight is set at isn't much different to our world, the main difference being this world has spheres, when two of the same coloured spheres are "burnt" (touching both to either side of your temples) it gives that person some kind of power whether it be forgetting a memory, being better looking, smarter, faster etc. Like all things with a value, humans soon finds a way to exploit it financially.
David Sullivan is a sphere trader at the local markets, trying to help his single-Mother out financially, Hunter Valdez is a sphere hunter, when the two meet paths their adventure begins.
I absolutely enjoyed the fast paced adventure ride that McIntosh takes his readers on. Everything about it was fantastic, the story line was original and inventive, the pacing was fast and adventurous but not rushed, the characters were multi-dimensional and their relationships and friendships were relatable and realistic. Even the Villain you can come to understand, I certainly didn't sympathise with his greed but you understand him as a person.
The story is truly fantastic and it is certainly worth the read. Being a standalone novel, the Author tied the end up nicely which is where I find a lot of adventure books lacking. I would still love to read more about this world and the characters, but alas it was still a satisfying ending and I found myself feeling wowed once I turned the last page. I highly recommend this book to those that enjoy adventure stories and I cannot wait to read other Will McIntosh novels.
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