Book Review: World After by Susan Ee

World After 

by Susan Ee

Series: Penryn and the End of Days #2

Genre: YA, fantasy/paranormal

Published November 19th 2013 by Skyscape

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Purchase: Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Book Depository

Local purchase/order: Fully Booked * National Bookstore

Blurb (Goodreads):

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

My Thoughts:

When I found out that Angelfall will have a follow-up sequel and will *gasp!* become a trilogy, I was greatly ecstatic. I am deeply in love with Angelfall and I'm one of those people who begged for a sequel. After years of waiting, Susan Ee gave us World After! I didn't had a chance to have my own copy and read it ASAP but it's one of the books where I put an imaginary red sign, meaning: Never die until you read this. And then another two years had passed and the third book, End of Days has arrived but I haven't read it yet. Then I received (rejoice!!!) a copy of End of Days on the mail and also got lucky when shimmy World After was up on Netgalley and I got accepted against all odds. I never expected ANY of this to happen. High-pitched squees and crazy dancing are involved.

I am determined to re-read Angelfall before devouring World After. (It's been years!) But because I had so many things to do, I just skimmed it. World After picked up days after what has happened to Penryn on the end of Angelfall. If Penryn thought everything will be fine once she found her sister--and additionally her mother--she was wrong. Paige was the same sweet girl, but not as innocent after all she have been through and presently look like. Once again, I'm reminded of how I adored Penryn because of her love and care for her sister. Even if Paige scares her now, she's doing all her best to provide the things she need, especially her care.

However, something I cannot exactly pinpoint has happened. Because the moment I started reading World After, my excitement gradually died down. The pace and the events aren't as exciting as Angelfall. It could turn on the curiosity but not the excitement of reading more. I can very much relate to Steph Sinclair, a Goodreads reviewer, when she said she struggled to stay interested on the first half of the book. You know that thing when you're reading a book but it doesn't interest you enough that you had to put it down for a while and pick another book? It shockingly happened to me. And then I dragged myself to read it again. I can't believe I'd say that. I mean, I loved Angelfall. I'm pretty sure I'd love World After as well. But that's what happened. And I guess it also had to do with Raffe.

Thankfully, the story and pace picked up on the last quarter. I was brought to life. This time, I didn't have to drag myself to read. I'm turning the pages as fast as I have turned the pages of Angelfall before. Oh, I forgot to mention that there are rare times that I enjoy the first three quarters of the book because of a certain thing. Let's call it Pooky Bear. I'm not kidding. Don't worry, you'll meet her when you read this book. I'm not here to spill the beans. Only to tease you. ;D

From the last quarter, the story flew higher until the ending. It was a painful part because I have to end it but then I remember I already have End of Days. One of the reasons I'm sad because I enjoyed only a part of this book, not entirely as I expected. It always sucks to have your high expectations and not meet it. I hope it won't happen in the last book. I won't expect too much but I'm hoping I'll like it better than this one. 

More creepy-looking characters, same mission, stronger Penryn--World After isn't what I expected as a whole but I'm very pleased that Penryn has more improvements. I thought she's already great in Angelfall but she became even better. Fans of the first book, angels, and apocalypse stories will enjoy this.

Check out my review for Angelfall (book one).

*Thank you so much Skyscape for the review ecopy in exchange of an honest review!

Rating:

Blog Tour (Review): We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

We All Looked Up 

by Tommy Wallach

Genre: YA, contemporary
Published March 26th 2015 by Simon & Schuster UK
Source: Tour host
Purchase: Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Book Depository
Local order/purchase: Fully Booked * National Bookstore

Blurb (Goodreads):

Before the asteroid we let ourselves be defined by labels:

The athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever. 

But then we all looked up and everything changed. 

They said it would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end. 

Two months to really live.

My Thoughts:

We All Looked Up was a story of four teenagers whose lives was changed by an asteroid called Ardor that will hit the Earth in two months, which will cause "end of the world". From that simple yet fresh premise I can already see myself engaged in this book. And I was right.

There's Peter, the athlete. I like that Peter isn't afraid of what a higher person says. On some novels, it bothered me how negatively [teen] characters react towards "shrinks", counseling, or the truth. I like Peter's open-mindedness, and the book. Eliza, the outcast, was a distant girl before but after history with Peter, became the S-word. Andy, the slacker, who cares about nothing--except getting laid (at last) before Ardor would either make or break the world. He had the most character improvement and I liked it very much. Anita, is an overachiever and talented singer. She's different from the rest--like, good girl and all--but I'm glad she didn't turned out a bore. There were a lot of different wisdom, sayings, realizations on every character. It gave the book more depth and edge but not in an overly dramatic way.

This book plainly shows how people would act/what would happen if the end of the world is coming and how judging people by mere appearances/labels isn't fair and untrue. This book is wild and reckless and liberated and quite heartbreaking in the end. It's about self-discovery, forgiveness, love, chances, hope, romantic and family relationships, and finding the real friend. One of the most real thing I've read this year. Readers of any genre would appreciate this as well.

Here's also a quote I got from the book that left a mark:

The best books, they don't talk about things you never thought about before. They talk about things you'd always thought about, but that you didn't think anyone else had thought about. You read them, and suddenly you're a little bit less alone in the world. - page 11

*Thank you so much Pinoy Book Tours for lending a review copy in exchange of an honest review!

Rating:

Book Review: I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

I'll Meet You There 

by Heather Demetrios

Genre: YA, contemporary, romance

Published February 3rd 2015 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

Source: Publisher

Purchase: Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Book Depository

Local order/purchase: Fully Booked * National Bookstore

Blurb (Goodreads):

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper. 

My Thoughts:

Sometimes I hate it when I start a book but because of the odds and my crazy schedule, I have no choice but to read only bits of it on a little time. Most books I read this way were most likely would be an 'okay book' or 'not-for-me book'. That's why I found myself scrolling again on the Goodread page of I'll Meet You There (been there done that, even before I receive my review copy. That's how excited I am) and determined to find out what did I miss. Why most of my GR friends and reviewers loved it. I want to  know. Because I can't accept the fact that I'll Meet You There, a Heather Demetrios novel and one of my highly anticipated books, turned out to be an okay book. Usually I'd know if it's the book or my fault. But not this time.

Heather Demetrios crafted her characters like a pro. Skylar Evans, apart from not being a typical Creek View girl, is also different the way she cared about her mother. Despite always being drunk, associating with a no-good man, and as good as throwaway life, she deeply cared about her mom, to the point she'd forget the college dreams and stay with her. I like her passion towards her mom and the people around her. While Josh Mitchell is a womanizer before-one leg soldier after man. He's probably the most ruined and imperfect male character I've read, whether it's about his past or former life and reputation. They were both different in many ways--not  star-crossed type--but fit perfectly. They're like mismatched socks but can be worn at the same time. That's the thing I like the most about this book. The author's ability to make something ruined to fixed, and different to the same. The chemistry is great and their story is touching. I was thinking about why it was titled as I'll Meet You There, but after knowing Skylar and Josh's story--personal and romantically--I understood the deeper meaning. Like two different ends meeting in the middle. Perfectly matches them.

I also liked that the author had love and knowledge about the marines. It was clearly shown in the book. I get to have a closer look at the marines' life in the field and post-war. It was touching and heartbreaking. I guess what I didn't like was the pace and probably I just had higher expectations. If I didn't, I think I'd appreciate this book more. I'm not saying that this book is bad, though. It's really good and will touch the hearts of many. I guess there were just many things that was thrown to me before reading this book: the hype, expectations, mood, and time. Try it and you might love it more than I did.

*Thank you so much Macmillan International for the review copy in exchange of an honest review!

Rating:

Book Review: Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Finding Audrey 

by Sophie Kinsella

Genre: YA, contemporary

Published June 9th 2015 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Source: Publisher

Purchase: Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Book Depository

Local order/purchase: Fully Booked * National Bookstore

Blurb (Goodreads):

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Shopaholic series comes a terrific blend of comedy, romance, and psychological recovery in a contemporary YA novel sure to inspire and entertain.

An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

My Thoughts:

So. Sophie Kinsella does YA. I wasn't greatly excited but I've read books from her and liked some. I do wonder how she would wrap this up.

From the first page I was greeted by Sophie's writing style which is light and quirky and comedic. However so, these things didn't help to keep my reading light and easy. It was rather hard. Moreover, it wasn't what I expected. I don't have any great expectations but you know, it wasn't something I thought it would be or about be. Almost the half of the book was about her crazy "serene and loving family", especially her mom obsessing about her son being obsessed with a certain computer game. In return, I didn't get much information about Audrey's illness and its history. I finished the book with some hints here and there but there wasn't an exact information so it seems incomplete. Anyway, it's all this book's majorly about and I was lost interest on the way and felt like not finishing it. But urged myself to do so because I want to see if there's any improvements.

The book was hilarious and sometimes trying to be hilarious, like watching a sitcom. Everything's exaggerated. I mean, it's not a bad thing because that vibe is expected. It's just that it's too much and I just want to know Audrey more. Really felt like I'm finding Audrey. The story picked up on the quarter of the book, which I'm glad. It became more meaningful for Audrey and I saw some improvements with her family, especially her mother. Audrey also had an obvious cute chemistry with Linus. I'm glad I didn't gave up on it.

Finding Audrey isn't what I entirely expected, although I could see it being enjoyed by Sophie Kinsella fans. It was funny and also had some touching happenings. If you want a break from stressful events or heavy (fantasy/paranormal/sci-fi/drama) novels or want a comedic vibe, Finding Audrey is for you.

*Thank you so much Penguin Random House for the review copy in exchange of an honest review!

Rating:

.5

Book Feature (Excerpt + Giveaway): Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs

Powerless 

by Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs

Series: The Hero Agenda #1

Genre: YA, sci-fi

Published June 2nd 2015 by Sourcebooks Fire

Purchase: Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Book Depository

Local order/purchase: Fully Booked * National Bookstore

Blurb (Goodreads):

Kenna is tired of being "normal". The only thing special about her is that she isn't special at all. Which is frustrating in a world of absolutes. Villains, like the one who killed her father, are bad. Heroes, like her mother and best friend, are good. And Kenna, unlike everyone else around her, is completely ordinary— which she hates.

She’s secretly working on an experiment that will land her a place among the Heroes, but when a Villain saves her life during a break-in at her lab, Kenna discovers there’s a whole lot of gray area when it comes to good and evil and who she can trust.. After all…not all strength comes from superpowers. 

EXCERPT

“You never answered my question. What are you doing down here so late?”  

Those bright blue eyes sear into me as he takes a step back. “I have to go.”  

His sudden evasiveness makes me suspicious, so when he starts to move past me, I sidestep into his path. “Excuse me,” I say, “but this is a secure level. Are you even authorized to be down here?”  

“My dad,” he says, scowling at me. “He’s a security guard.”  

A security guard? The facility might be so big that I can’t keep track of everyone who works in every lab, but I know all the guards by name. Especially the night guards, since I’m usually the last one here.  

Travis and Luther are on duty tonight. Travis and his wife just had their first baby, a girl named Tia. Luther is old enough to be my great-grandfather and he never married.  

I take half a step back as my suspicions turn to concern. “Who’s your dad?” I demand. 

This guy definitely has the look of a villain.  

What if he really is one?  

He glances nervously over his shoulder. “He’s—”  

I shake my head and start to walk away before he can finish the lie. 

He reaches for me, but I shrug him off. My heart is beating way too fast. This could go way bad, way quick.  

“Please, just listen.” He waits until I’m looking him in the eye before he continues. “You know me,” he says, his voice taking on this weird, hypnotic tone. “We’ve met before.”  

His eyes start to burn brighter and brighter. Oh crap. He must be a villain, and one with a psy power. The vilest kind. Fear and anger collide inside me as I wonder what to do about him trying to mess with my head. How to play this? I can’t exactly tell him I’m—  

Suddenly, the floor beneath my feet shudders violently, knocking me off balance. I lurch forward into Dark-and-Scowly’s arms. He catches me, grabs my upper arms, just as a concussion wave of air and sound hits us.  

That sounded—and felt—like a bomb went off in the lab. If we weren’t a hundred feet underground and shielded by every protection science and superheroes can create, I’d think the supervillain Quake had struck. But that’s impossible.  

Then again, impossible doesn’t always apply in the superhero world. After all, impossible didn’t keep Dark-and-Scowly from being where he doesn’t belong.  

Suddenly, every alarm in the facility blares. I freak. The lab! All that research—Mom’s and mine—is priceless. The superhero blood samples alone are more valuable than anything else in the building.  

Panic overrides judgment and I push away, but his grip only tightens. The jerk. A little super strength would be really useful right now.  

“You can’t go in there.”  

“Who are you?” I demand, struggling to get out of his grasp. If he really is a villain, I don’t want him near me or this lab. Not with what villains are capable of. “What have you done?”  

He doesn’t answer. More pissed than ever, I fake left and pull right. He follows my fake-out, and as his hair swings with the momentum, I see the mark I’d been looking for earlier. Not under his right ear like the superheroes. Under his left.  

Shit.  

“You’re a villain.”

***

About the Authors

One fateful summer, Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs embarked on a nine hour (each way!) road trip to Santa Fe that ended with a flaming samurai, an enduring friendship, and the kernel of an idea that would eventually become Powerless. On their own, they have written YA tales about mermaids (Forgive My Fins, Tempest Rising), mythology (Doomed, Oh. My Gods., Sweet Venom), smooching (International Kissing Club), and fae princes (When Magic Sleeps). Between them, they have three boys (all Tracy), three dogs (mostly TLC), and almost fifty published books. Find TLC and the #TeamHillain headquarters at teralynnchilds.com. Check out Tracy and the #TeamVero lair at tracydeebs.com. Hang out with all the heroes, villains, ordinaries, and none-of-the-aboves at heroagenda.com. 

Website * Twitter * Facebook

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ARC Review: Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer

Proof of Forever 

by Lexa Hillyer

Genre: YA, contemporary, time travel

Expected publication: June 2nd 2015 by Harper Teen

Source: Publisher

Purchase: Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Book Depository

Local order/purchase: Fully Booked * National Bookstore

Blurb (Goodreads):

From debut author and poet Lexa Hillyer comes the lyrical story of four seventeen-year-old friends who receive an unlikely chance to relive the perfect summer . . . and the devastating secret that could unravel it all. Elegant and evocative, Proof of Forever is one of those first novels that hooks you from the beginning and builds toward a stunning--and unexpected--end, calling to mind Gayle Forman and Ann Brashares.

Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe were once best friends. Now they barely speak. That is, until the fateful flash of a photo-booth camera transports them back in time, to the summer they were fifteen--the summer everything changed. Photos fade. Friendships dissolve. Summers end. But this one will change the girls forever . . . again.

Wendy Wunder calls Proof of Forever "The Sisterhood of the (Time) Traveling Pants for a new generation!"

My Thoughts:

*This review is based on advanced reading copy. There might be some changes with the finished copy.

When you look at your friends today, would you know that your friendship is forever? Do you know? Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe are ones of those people with friends relationship that would say they're forever. But what could be the last thing that could break it--or the first thing? Proof of Forever is a  tale of four seventeen year-old friends who lost their friendship after their summer camp two years before. They came into the reunion of the camp never knowing that they'd be transported back in time and redo what happened two years ago. The year that their forever has changed. The year that their forever may change again.

Maybe one of the reasons why they came back to the past is to reveal/discover something about their selves they never knew, and something about the people they thought they knew and the people they should have known. It's an endless possibilities. I myself sometimes wonder how it will be if it would happen to me. Time travel, it seems, was such a wonderful idea although fictional.

I don't think Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe's friendship faded with a huge reason. I think they just lacked honesty and faith in each other. But I'm glad that a lot happened on their "time travelling" and truly changed their lives once again. One thing I wasn't prepared was the ending. It made me glad but also made my heart break.

I had a little problem with the pacing in the beginning but it got interesting afterwards.  The characters were enjoyable to read but wouldn't say would leave a mark. Proof of Forever is fun, bittersweet, heart-warming, sad and happy, and even with hints and bits of romance--a novel you and your friends would enjoy and realize how important honesty is and every moments together.

*Thank you so much HarperCollins International for the review copy in exchange of an honest review!

Rating:

Blog Tour (Interview): Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen

Welcome to the Hidden Huntress blog tour!

I was supposed to have my post on June 4th but because I've been pre-occupied for the entire week,
I missed it. Apologies for that! But hey, that doesn't mean party's cancelled, aye?

Hidden Huntress 

by Danielle L. Jensen

Series: The Malediction Trilogy #2

Genre: YA, fantasy, romance

Published June 2nd 2015 by Angry Robot

Purchase: Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Book Depository

Local purchase: Fully Booked * National Bookstore

Blurb (Goodreads):

Sometimes, one must accomplish the impossible.

Beneath the mountain, the king’s reign of tyranny is absolute; the one troll with the capacity to challenge him is imprisoned for treason. Cécile has escaped the darkness of Trollus, but she learns all too quickly that she is not beyond the reach of the king’s power. Or his manipulation.

Recovered from her injuries, she now lives with her mother in Trianon and graces the opera stage every night. But by day she searches for the witch who has eluded the trolls for five hundred years. Whether she succeeds or fails, the costs to those she cares about will be high.

To find Anushka, she must delve into magic that is both dark and deadly. But the witch is a clever creature. And Cécile might not just be the hunter. She might also be the hunted…

1. What kind of alternative characters would they be, if Malediction trilogy characters weren’t trolls?

I can’t really imagine them being anything other than what they are at this point, but I think the heart of your question is whether I considered calling them something other than trolls. As I was drafting Stolen Songbird, I did consider giving them a made-up name, but eventually decided against it. The word troll has meaning to most people, and I was able to play with those preconceptions in a way I wouldn’t have been able to with a made-up word. How interested would you be in the book if the back cover had read like this:

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the kermuffins to their city beneath the mountain…. the kermuffins are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong… the more time she spends with the kermuffins, the more she understands their plight. 

Kermuffin doesn’t mean anything to anyone, so I don’t think it would have done as good a job of catching the eyes of readers as troll did. As well, I did have the larger picture in mind as to the trolls’ origins, which many readers have already picked up on.  

2. Which is harder to write, the first of a series, or the sequel?

Hidden Huntress was much more challenging. 

3. Are there any unexpected reactions/happenings after Stolen Songbird?

I never dreamed of having such an enormously positive response to the novel, and it still seems surreal when people tell me how much they connected with my characters. Having Stolen Songbird make it into the finals of the Goodreads Choice awards blew my mind, because it was entirely driven by readers, which is much more meaningful to me than a judged award. 

4. Who's your favorite character to write?

In Hidden Huntress, I really enjoyed writing scenes with Tristan’s father, King Thibault. There is a lot of depth to his character that wasn’t revealed in Stolen Songbird, and it was really fun to unpack it for readers. 

5. Do you have any *secret* projects as of now?

I have a YA epic fantasy that I’ve been working on for many years, but I’m currently focused on Malediction 3. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to share my secret project with readers!

6. What are the differences between the journey to publishing of Stolen Songbird and Hidden Huntress?

When I was drafting Stolen Songbird, the only opinion influencing my work was my own. When I was drafting Hidden Huntress, I was very much aware of what readers did or didn’t like about Stolen Songbird, and for several months, I tried to factor in those opinions as I wrote. And encountered total writer’s block. What I realized was that I needed to write the book that I’d want to read, because trying to please thousands of people with diverse opinions was impossible. 

7. What should we expect from Hidden Huntress?

Hidden Huntress is a darker, broodier novel with a slower build than its predecessor. I think people looking for expanded world-building will be pleased, and those who liked the intrigue of Stolen Songbird will enjoy the chapters from Tristan’s point of view. And for those of you looking for romance, have no fear – I’d never neglect you!

***

About the Author

Danielle was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. At the insistence of the left side of her brain, she graduated in 2003 from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in finance. But the right side of her brain has ever been mutinous; and in 2010, it sent her back to school to complete an entirely impractical English literature degree at Mount Royal University and to pursue publication. Much to her satisfaction, the right side shows no sign of relinquishing its domination.

Thank you so much Angry Robot Books for this opportunity and to Danielle L. Jensen for the Q&A!

You can also check out my review for the book one, Stolen Songbird.