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Stitching Snow

Stitching SnowTitle: Stitching Snow
Author: R.C. Lewis
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Spice: 0.5 / 5
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 338
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:

My Thoughts

I loved STITCHING SNOW! I had high hopes that the story wouldn’t disappoint and it didn’t. I loved the uniqueness of the retelling–the setting, the characters, and the story itself. I love the sci-fi feel, especially with how Lewis incorporates the old “Snow White” story with her imagination. It helped breathe new life into this classic fairy tale.

The characters were fantastic. Essie was a heroine I could really get behind. She was stubborn, strong, and vulnerable. I related to her in a lot of ways. I also really liked Dane. I loved all the twists that he played a part in. Some of my favorite characters were the drones (a.k.a. dwarfs). I loved their personalities, especially Cusser’s and Dimwit’s. (I may have cried a few times in the story that involved the drones.) Essie’s father and Olivia were fantastic villains.

The romance in this one is very slow-building. The two love interests are immediately attracted to each other, but there’s no instalove. In fact, there were times when I was frustrated because there was no kissing. But, then it dawned on me that their first real kiss had to tie into the kiss in “Snow White.” And, I loved how Lewis did it. It was unique and unexpected.

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Ignite

IgniteTitle: Ignite
Author: Sara B. Larson
Series: Defy #2
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Spice: 0.5 / 5
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 304
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:

Also in this series: Defy
My Thoughts

I have been anxiously waiting for IGNITE since I read DEFY early last year. I had immediately fallen in love with Larson’s characters and I wanted to continue their story and find out what happened to them.

IGNITE was one wild ride! My emotions were on a roller coaster throughout the entire book. At times I was anxious, then I’d be ecstatic, just to be heartbroken the next minute. It was everything I didn’t know I wanted in the sequel! I thought it was a strong book that added a lot to Alexa’s story. We learned more about aspects of the world in the series. New questions were posed, and new characters and problems were introduced. The romance kept building and getting more angsty from what it was before. Plus, the book ended on one hell of a cliffhanger! I’m seriously on pins and needles waiting for the third book now.

I fell in love with Damian all over again. I loved the new characters (good and bad) and their roles in the story. I loved exploring more of the jungle surrounding Antion. I loved learning more about the surrounding kingdoms, Blevon and Dansii. I loved the action so much. It felt like I was playing a game of Zelda. It was so fun to picture all of the sword fighting and archery moves in my mind.

There is so much potential for this story and how it’ll continue. There’s so much that could happen, go right or wrong. I’m sure it will be just as wild of a ride as it has been so far. I can’t wait to see how this series ends!

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Atlantia

AtlantiaTitle: Atlantia
Author: Ally Condie
Genre: Dystopian, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Spice: 0.5 / 5
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 320
Reason Read: SLTA Party
Rating:

My Thoughts

ATLANTIA led me to a world underneath the sea. I enjoyed exploring it while the characters went about their lives. The world-building in this novel was poetic and beautiful, just like Ally’s writing. Everything about it made me wonder what it’d be like to live in Atlantia and whether or not I’d choose to live in the Above or the Below.

The religion Ally created was interesting and intriguing. I loved finding out about its truths and myths. It created a nice venue for the dystopian setting as the society in the Below and Above were governed by the religious leaders. Some were sincere and good people and some were drunk with power.

I thought the ideas of the three miracles were especially fascinating and the bats and sirens intrigued me. I loved Ally’s portrayal of the sirens. I loved seeing the differences in each of their powers.

I liked Rio and her story. I felt bad for her and all she had to go through. I do wish she weren’t so secretive and distrustful so we could’ve gotten to know the others a little bit better. Because of that, I didn’t feel like I connected with enough of the characters.

I also wish that the romance were a little more fleshed out. It didn’t seem tangible enough to make a difference to the story. Rio could’ve ended up just as really good friends with “him” to help everything happen the way it did. The book was only 320 pages, so I felt like it could’ve been a little longer to help the romance make more of a difference to the story.

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Shutter

ShutterTitle: Shutter
Author: Courtney Alameda
Genre: Horror, Young Adult
Format: Kindle
Pages: 384
Reason Read: Received for Review
Rating:

My Thoughts

I’m really glad I had a chance to read SHUTTER around Halloween to help me get into the Halloween spirit. But, I would’ve enjoyed reading it at any time of the year because I loved every minute. It was intense from beginning to end. The characters hardly had any time to rest. The way Courtney writes made the characters and setting show up vividly in my mind. I could imagine everything she described in awesome detail.

One of my favorite things about this book played on the fact that Dracula was real and that Bram Stoker was the historian that wrote everything down instead of an author writing fiction. Many of the characters are descendants from the central characters in Stoker’s novel, which made it fun. I kinda wish I had read DRACULA before I read this. At the very least, I’ll try reading DRACULA at some point.

I really liked Micheline. She was strong yet vulnerable. I loved Ryder and his Aussie-isms. I wish all leading males could be as cool as him. I really liked Jude too. He was funny, witty, and added an interesting dynamic to the group. Oliver seemed a little more aloof to me, but maybe that’s because he was the observer. He’s smart, but he just didn’t seem very observant for being as smart as he is. He probably just paid attention to only the stuff he wanted to. The rest of the characters carried the story enough for me that he didn’t bother me at all.

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The Unhappening Of Genesis Lee

The Unhappening Of Genesis LeeTitle: The Unhappening of Genesis Lee
Author: Shallee McArthur
Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 352
Reason Read: Received for Review
Rating:

My Thoughts

I loved the premise of THE UNHAPPENING OF GENESIS LEE. It was very intriguing and interesting. I liked reading about the science of how this world functioned. Some of the tech sounded really cool and made me want it.

I went into the book thinking it was going to be science fiction with a hint of romance, but there ended up being some dystopian characteristics to the story too because of the volatile relationship between the Mementi and the Populace. It created an interesting viewpoint on discrimination, caste systems, and how hate passes from one generation to the next without just cause.

I really liked the characters. Gena and Kalan were interesting. I loved that their backgrounds were completely different because it gave the story more depth. I kind of wish the book had been written in third person, though, so I could’ve gotten more characters’ perspectives. The antagonist was well written too. I didn’t figure out who they were before they were revealed. The story kept me guessing all the way to the end.

I was really frustrated with the fact that Gena kept losing her memory of Kalan. It made the story slow in those parts and I almost had to force myself to keep reading. I understand why it was important to the story and why it happened, but I still hated it. When she lost her memory, Gena’d feel unsure of what was happening and she’d question everything around her. And, because the story’s from her POV, the reader’s meant to feel that way too. Instead, because I already knew what was going on, I just felt like my progress in the hunt for the Link Thief was stunted. I did feel sorry for her, but my frustration won out over my sympathy.