The Ables | Jeremy Scott | Rachel

Monday, 18 May 2015

The Ables | Jeremy Scott | Rachel

*Image and review copy c/o Netgalley

Synopsis:

It turns out, superheroes are real. They’re just really good at keeping their society a secret. It’s actually superhero policy to not tell kids born into superhero families about their powers until they begin to manifest around puberty. Our main character, Phillip, finds out he is a telekinetic. He can move any object with his mind. The problem? He’s blind. As a result, he can only move objects he is familiar with. When he starts as his new high school, he is in a class with other disabled superhero kids. Together they learn to use their abilities to their fullest.

Review:

I first found out about this book by watching Jeremy Scott’s channel, CinemaSins. I thought it would be interesting to read a book by a guy who critiques movies for their obvious plot fails and stereotypes. I’ll admit, it did affect my reading for the first several chapters because I couldn’t stop reading it in Scott’s voice. There were even a few sounds “sins” in his book. But after the first few chapters I really got into the reading and I started hearing Phillip’s voice and forgetting about plot stereotypes.

This was a rather intense read. I completed this book significantly faster than I had anticipated. Scott does a wonderful job of keeping his characters relatable and realistic, in spite of having superpowers. We follow a group of 12-13 year-old boys that act like 12-13 year-old boys. They like to eat pizza and play video games. Most importantly, they don’t respond well to being told what to do.

The Ables is a fast-paced, energetic read. It even made me emotional at times. I did see both big-plot-twist-reveals well before they happened, but there was enough else going on that I still enjoyed reading. The characters are well worth investing in. Really the only person you never feel sorry for is the main villain. Everyone else makes you feel how they feel and can really tug at your heartstrings.

I highly recommend this book for just about all readers. There is a lot of fun, action and adventure, but also a lot of heartache and loss. I happily give this book 4.5 out of 5!

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Sidekick | Auralee Wallace | Review

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Sidekick | Auralee Wallace | Review

When I saw Sidekick pop up on Netgalley I was instantly intrigued by the superhero inspired cover. I couldn’t resist taking a chance on it… and I’m very glad I did!

The story follows Bremy the daughter of a very rich family who has left behind her socialite partying lifestyle for independence in the big city. Living undercover and struggling to make rent Bremy needs to make money fast.

After a couple of unfortunate ‘wrong place wrong time’ run-ins with the Sultana and her performers who are committing various crimes and threatening local citizens, Bremy meets Dark Ryder the city’s famous vigilante superhero. With her money problems spiralling and her newfound taste for fighting crime Bremy embarks on a new venture to become Dark Ryder’s sidekick. Of course, this doesn’t go all that smoothly for Bremy as with no real superhero skills she has to muddle her way through some tricky situations on her determined attitude alone.

As a protagonist I really enjoyed following Bremy on her journey, she is a strong character and definitely grew over the course of the story. The book also has a whole host of other interesting characters from Bremy’s father & twin sister, to handsome reporter Pierce and bizarre neighbour Queenie.

Sidekick is a refreshing, fun read and an impressive debut. This unique story is definitely a new favourite for me, packed with action, adventure and superheroes – what’s not to like?!
 
*Review copy c/o Netgalley, image via goodreads.com

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Rot & Ruin | Jonathan Maberry | Review

Wednesday, 25 September 2013

Rot & Ruin | Jonathan Maberry | Review

“Often it was the most unlikely people who found within themselves a spark of something greater. It was probably always there, but most people are never tested, and they go through their whole lives without ever knowing that when things are at their worst, they are at their best.” - Jonathan Maberry, Rot & Ruin

Yes! I finally have another zombie review for you! It's been too long since I last reviewed a zombie novel, because we all know that it's my favorite genre (okay, maybe you didn't know that, but now you know). And do you want to know what the best thing is? It's a review of a really good zombie novel! I guess that kind of spoiled the surprise, but oh well, I guess the five stars at the bottom of this post are pretty revealing as well...

Rot & Ruin is the first book in the series about Benny Imura by Jonathan Maberry. The story is set around 15 years after the zombie apocalypse in a small town in central California. There isn't a lot of people left in the world and most of those people live in small towns behind fences and high walls. When Benny Imura turns 15 he's required to get a job so he can earn his rations of food and necessities. After a few failed attempts on different jobs Benny gets asked by his older brother if he wants to join the family business. Benny thinks that all his brothers job is about is hunting down and killing zombies. But when Benny gets to tag along one of his brothers trip out to the world on the other side of the fences, the rot and ruin, he realizes that there's so much more to his brother and the job he calls the family business.

Like I've already admitted, I truly enjoyed this book! Rot & Ruin consists of everything that makes a good zombie novel! It's fast paced, exciting and filled with action. But it also touches important issues about humanity and about how people face extreme situations. I also really enjoyed the characters in this books. I think the main character Benny Imura is a really good example of good character development. The other characters are also well-written. They're different, interesting and have a lot of depth to them and they're never predictable or too stereotypical. I also like Jonathan Maberry's writing-style. He doesn't try too hard, but he never gets sloppy. To be honest, I don't have anything negative to say about Rot & Ruin. It's a well-written young adult book filled with interesting characters. It also have an interesting story-line and good pacing. It's a book that keep me up all night so I could read just one more chapter...

If you are a fan of zombie fiction and you haven't read this book yet I recommend that you pick it up right at this moment! Because I'm pretty sure you're not going to be disappointed! And if you're not into zombie fiction, why not give it a try? There's actually a chance that you might like it as well! So, it's not a surprise to anyone that I give Rot & Ruin 5/5 stars!

This post was written by regular reviewer Niina, get to know her here.

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Blackbirds | Chuck Wendig | Review

Wednesday, 3 July 2013

Blackbirds | Chuck Wendig | Review

“She thinks, I want an orange soda. And I want vodka to mix into the orange soda. And while we're at it, I'd also like to stop being able to see how people are going to bite it. Oh, and a pony. I definitely want a goddamn pony.” - Chuck Wending, Blackbirds

Blackbirds by Chuck Wending is a story about a girl named Miriam Black who can by a simple touch see how and when people are going to die. She has seen how hundreds of people are going to die in accidents, illness and suicides.

Miriam is getting used to seeing how people die and has learned that there’s nothing she can do to change the future. But one day she meets a trucker called Luis and when she touches his hand she sees him getting tortured to death while he’s calling her name. This time Miriam realizes that she has to try to do something...

I feel so conflicted about Blackbirds. First of all I loved the general story line. A girl who can see how and when people are going to die? That sounds pretty fascinating and interesting to me. But be aware, there’s a lot of swearing and violence going on in this novel. Don’t get me wrong, I usually don’t have a problem with swearing or violence, but even I felt that there was a bit too much of that stuff in Blackbirds. There’s a difference in using swearing and violence for a purpose and just simply overusing it. In the first half of the book this disturbed me quite a bit. Yes, I understand, Miriam and her fellow characters are the swearing and violent types. But I kind of felt that was the only thing there was to them. Sure, they all had a troubled past and everything, but still? Do people really talk like that? But in defense of the book I have to say that in the other half of the book both the characters (especially Miriam) and the story-line grew on me and I quite enjoyed the ride. That makes it extra sad that all the swearing, violence and weird sex dragged this book down for the first 150 pages because this could have been pretty darn good.

So, let's wrap it up: I didn't fall in love with this novel, but Blackbirds was an interesting and exciting story. It would definitely have deserved a higher rating with a bit less of the stuff mentioned above and I have to say that I’m pretty interested in reading Mockingbird (the sequel to Blackbirds). I’m sensing that we might get to see more of who Miriam really is in that book. Because to be honest, in the last 20 pages I kind of started liking the girl! 

So my rating for Blackbirds is going to be 3/5 stars. I do recommend it if you think that you’re okay with A LOT of swearing and violence. If you’re sensitive to that kind of stuff, this is not the book for you...

This post was written by regular reviewer Niina, get to know her here.

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The First Days | Rhiannon Frater | Review

Wednesday, 10 April 2013

The First Days | Rhiannon Frater | Review

“Well," Jenni said with a wry smile, "at least we live in Texas, where people actually own guns and hunt.” - Rhiannaon Frater, The First Days

The First Days (As The World Dies) by Rhiannon Frater is the first book in the As The Wold Dies series. Yes, that's a pretty dramatic title right there...as the world dies. In this book we get to know Katie and Jenni, two totally different women who end up in the same car fleeing from a city infested by zombies. It's a pretty classic zombie roadtrip  about Katie's and Jenni's journey to find safety and a new life in a pretty messed up world. The main theme like in most zombie novels is survival but it's also a story about a friendship that probably would never exist under different circumstances. 

Well, you all know me (you probably don't, but lets pretend), I love my apocalyptic zombie stories. I've always just been a bit too fascinated about how people get on when the world falls apart (especially if the falling apart part contains some flesh eating people). And yes, The First Days did fulfill my need of action, excitement and apocalyptic survival. This is a pretty classic zombie novel. Some people in a car who has to learn to use dangerous weapons and raid supermarkets (I just always enjoy the parts in apocalyptic stories when they get to raid a supermarket). I would say that it reminded me a lot of The Walking Dead (and that's a good thing because I'm a The Walking Dead fan, no surprises there).

But...Yes, there is a but, there was something missing for me to completely fall in love with this book. I never felt the urge to run home from work just to read another page. I think my main concern was that I never really cared that much for any of the characters.  I guess I found the characters a bit too stereotypical for my taste. The author made some desperate tries to make them original and surprising, but they never really surprised me. My other concern with this book was that I didn't find the story original enough. Yes, there's a few key elements that a zombie story has to consist of and they were all there but I also like a zombie novel to consist of something new. An original twist, a surprising fact or something that throws me off my feet and this book doesn't really have that. 

So my final verdict is that The First Days gives you that exciting and action filled ride you expect from a zombie story and it does that part pretty good, but that's pretty much it. I just wish there was something different or that the characters had more depth to them or...because I did enjoy this story and it had a lot of potential and I will most probably give the sequel a go sometime in the future. So, I give The First Days by Rhiannon Frater 3/5 stars.

This post was written by regular reviewer Niina, get to know her here.

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