- Title: Pretties (Uglies #2)
- Author: Scott Westerfeld
- Page Count & Publisher: 368 | Simon & Schuster
- Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
- Format: Paperback
- Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads
Summary:
Tally has it all. She's now a Pretty, her clothes are amazing, she has a gorgeous boyfriend, she's about to be voted into the most popular group and she's going to the best parties. But there are times when she just can't escape the feeling that there's something not quite right. Then she gets a letter from her past and she remembers.
My Thoughts:
I wasn't expecting the Pretty world to be quite so creepy! It's non-stop fun and parties but something's seriously off. Throughout this book you find out more and more about why it seems so creepy and it really is not nice! We also find out more about the Specials, their utter ruthlessness and they seem to be somewhat separated from every body else.
I read through this one rather quickly again, the whole Uglies series was a fairly quick read. It's very enjoyable and well written. The world building is pretty good, we see more of the half of the city that the Pretties live in (it's much nicer than the Uglies part!) and then there's Andrew's tribe (which brings home more of how the Specials see themselves).
To be honest, I'm rather more interested in Shay's story. She's a very strong character who's forced to figure things out for herself, whereas Tally seems to always have a boyfriend to figure these things out for her and drag her along for the ride. Shay's hatred is obsessive and while part of it is explained in the events that happen in The Smoke, I wish we'd seen more of her character development. They're both driven to escape the city and find out the truth of what's going on. Shay's methods are a little more extreme than Tally's, but it turns out that Tally may be very special indeed...
My Rating: 
- Title: My Soul To Steal (Soul Screamers #4)
- Author: Rachel Vincent
- Page Count & Publisher: 375 | Mira Ink (Harlequin)
- Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
- Format: Paperback
- Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads
Summary:
Still reeling after the events of My Soul To Keep, Kaylee is trying to figure things out with Nash. She still has deep feelings for him but can't work out how to trust him. But worse than that, his ex-girlfriend, Sabine, has started at their school and she fully intends on carrying on where she left off. After a spate of suspicious deaths at the school, Kaylee begins to suspect it has something to do with Sabine. It turns out Sabine is a mara, she feeds on people's deepest fears and Sabine isn't above using Kaylee's fears against her.
My Thoughts:
Four books into the series and it's not slowing down at all! We're still learning more about the Bean Sidhe world with Kaylee and a few new creatures are introduced. This book in particular was fast paced, never letting Kaylee relax for one minute!
I'm still feeling for Kaylee after the events of the last book and I'm somewhat stunned when I've seen reviews saying that she should just get over it and not leave Nash hanging. Kaylee was betrayed in a horrific way and she's got to deal with that before she can even think about a relationship again. Just as she's started talking to him again, the ex-girlfriend shows up. I liked Sabine, she knows what she wants and how to get it. Amazingly, she has no ill wishes towards Kaylee (until later in the book when events start spiraling) and offers to be friends once the whole Nash business is dealt with.
I'm liking Tod more and more as well. He seems to be offering some comic relief in the books, in this one he gets a new job to keep himself entertained between hospital shifts.
Perhaps this one had just a tad too much of a rushed ending. The long buildup was great, you're lead down one path of plot before it veers off and you see how wrong you were. But it all got resolved a bit too quickly and felt incomplete. Though I'm sure we'll be seeing more fall out from that in the next book.
My Rating:
- Title: My Soul To Keep (Soul Screamers #3)
- Author: Rachel Vincent
- Page Count & Publisher: 378 | Mira Ink (Harlequin)
- Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
- Format: Paperback
- Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads
Summary:
Kaylee and Nash discover that Demon's Breath, a highly addictive and dangerous substance is being used by several people at their school. They need to cut off supply, and fast, as it is already having a disastrous effect on the people they know. Kaylee is devastated to learn that someone much closer to her is already addicted.
My Thoughts:
Oh gosh, this one utterly broke my heart. Kaylee has so much to deal with in this and she does it well. There's no immediate forgiveness after such an utter betrayal, she reacts with the shock and horror that I'd expect. She won't allow excuses and needs to work through things herself. She's growing into such an amazing character and I want to see where book 4 goes with this.
So far, this has got to be the best in the series. Well, I'm only 3 into it so far but this one hurt in a way that the others didn't. The writing is phenomenal. Addiction is hidden from friends and people are willing to go to drastic lengths to continue their access to Demon's Breath. That's not to say this is going to beat you about the head with the message "drugs are bad, m'kay". This is more "this is how addiction can screw up more than just one life".
We meet up with Addison again, who is somehow retaining her own sense of self and dignity despite the horrors she's subjected to in the Underworld. We also meet Alec, a human in the Underworld who is clearly going to be playing a large role in the future.
I cannot wait to read the next one, the Soul Screamers is turning out to be one of my favourite series.
My Rating:
- Title: Wool (Silo #1)
- Author: Hugh Howey
- Page Count & Publisher: 542 | Arrow Books (Random House)
- Genre: Dystopia, Post-apocalyptic, Science Fiction
- Format: Paperback
- Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads
Summary:
In a post-apocalyptic waste land, the only safe place to live is in the Silo. The world outside will kill you in minutes. The rules of the Silo need to be followed to maintain order. Rule breakers are simply sent outside, an efficient punishment - discord is removed and the cameras outside are cleaned. Jules is one of these rule breakers, she has questions, and she may be the most dangerous person there is.
My Thoughts:
This was one of my most anticipated books of this year! I waited for the paperback to be released and immediately dove into the pages.
The world building in this is absolutely amazing! The Silo feels like a real place filled with real (for the most part) characters. The descriptions inside the Silo made it feel fully fleshed out and a place I could imagine. Only one or two of the characters felt a little one-dimensional but on the whole they were complex and felt like actual people.
It did take me some time to get through, I've been reading quite a bit of young-adult at the minute so it was refreshing to get back into a book so densely packed with words and storyline. The plot is as many layered as the Silo in some places. People's motivations and actions are not always as you expect and people's loyalties can and do switch.
I loved Jules as a lead character. She was strong and utterly competent, sure of her convictions even when she wasn't sure of her actions. Her reactions felt real and believable, even when placed into some truly horrifying situations. I think she's one of my favourite leads that I've read in quite some time.
Again, I loved the descriptions of the world outside. I want to know more about it! I love a good description of a devastated environment and this teased me with just enough to keep me happy!
I'm planning on reading the rest of this trilogy as soon as the paperbacks appear. The next part is out in hardback already so I may just cave and buy the Kindle edition!
Rating:
This is the second in a series of 7 books, I've got them all to read through and I'm liking them so far!
- Title: My Soul To Save (Soul Screamers #2)
- Author: Rachel Vincent
- Page Count & Publisher: 362 | Mira Ink (Harlequin)
- Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
- Format: Paperback
- Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads
Summary:
Set 6 weeks after the end of the previous book, Kaylee is learning more about her Banshee heritage and learning how to have a relationship with her Dad. She's also developing her relationship with Nash and her friendship with Tod. They go out to a concert one night when the singer collapses and dies on stage. Kaylee, however, doesn't feel the urge to scream. How can she, when there's no soul to scream for? It then becomes a race against time to discover who girls are selling their souls to and why, before someone else meets the same fate.
My Thoughts:
I jumped straight into the second book in the series after finishing the first, I certainly was glad that I had it to hand! In this book, more of the Banshee world is fleshed out. We see more of the Netherworld and what Kaylee could be capable of. However, I did think that Kaylee was just a little too competent a little too quickly. It doesn't exactly take her long to work out her new abilities.
The relationships still feel real in this book. The slight distance she has with her Dad still, the remaining doubts she has about her relationship with Nash. Kaylee feels like a well fleshed out character, someone who is starting to grow as a person. I still want to shout at her for not involving someone who could actually offer help at some points in this but her hesitance to do so does make sense.
We meet some more clearly important character in this and Tod's almost hero worship is somewhat adorable.
The main plot doesn't quite feel as personal this time round. Previously, the people involved were Kaylee's friends and family. This time round she's helping a friend of Tod's and it seems to be because she couldn't save everyone last time.
Not quite as strong as the first book, but still worth its rating!
My Rating:
The Soul Screamers series is one I haven't heard much about, but I managed to get 6 of the 7 books for cheap from The Works so it seemed like a pretty good idea at the time!
- Title: My Soul To Take (Soul Screamers #1)
- Author: Rachel Vincent
- Page Count & Publisher: 345 | Mira Ink (Harlequin)
- Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
- Format: Paperback
- Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads
Summary:
Kaylee Cavanaugh is just trying to be a normal teenager. Well, as normal as she can be when she has the overwhelming urge to scream when someone around her is about to die. She's just caught the attention of Nash, the hottest guy in school, when girls around her start dying. Strangely, Nash seems to know more about what's going on than Kaylee does. And just what is her family not telling her?
My Thoughts:
As I said at the start, this was a pretty random purchase for me and I ended up with the whole series of 7 books before reading any! I got the first 6 for £10 from The Works and thought I may as well get the last one from Amazon.
I thought this was a really, really good start to a series. There's not a huge amount of world building going on but we discover the world of Banshees and everything else that goes with it along with Kaylee. The focus is most definitely on characters here, but there is enough information given to us about the world to make it feel almost "real".
Speaking of information, Kaylee is actually given answers to the questions she has. So often in YA, the girl discovers she's not what she thought and everyone around her prevents her from getting answers for "her on good". Kaylee's family has kept plenty of very important things from her "for her own good" but once she starts questioning it, they answer.
I found I liked Kaylee more and more through the book, she seemed well thought and avoided falling into some of the more popular tropes! When the hottest guy in school is suddenly aware of her, she doesn't react with the whole "my life suddenly has meaning!" I've seen before but instead reacts with suspicion. Why is he suddenly paying so much attention to her? What's he getting out of it? I also loved the way their relationship began to play out. It felt like a naturally progressing relationship, none of that insta-love here.
Perhaps though Kaylee is a little to ready to accept the changes in her life. She had no idea that this world existed and had actually suffered in the past because of her urge to scream.
I didn't see the twist at the end coming. Though upon skimming through again to see what I missed, perhaps there were more clues than I thought!
My rating:
Well, since I started a book blog to go with my YouTube Channel I thought I should actually post something! I'm going to try and review most of what I read on here with a few each month recorded as usual for uploading!
- Title: Uglies (Uglies #1)
- Author: Scott Westerfeld
- Page Count & Publisher: 425 | Simon & Schuster
- Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
- Format: Paperback
- Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads
Summary:
Tally Youngblood is about to turn 16. She'll get her operation to turn her from an "Ugly" into a "Pretty". She'll get to party all night and sleep all day with the other Pretties. Her oldest friend, Peris, is already a Pretty and Tally can't wait to join him. Not long before her birthday she meets Shay, another Ugly not far from her 16th birthday. However, Shay would rather stay Ugly and look for "The Smoke" than turn pretty. Shay vanishes not long before she's due to have her operation and Tally is given a choice by Dr Cable from the almost mythical Special Circumstances: bring Shay back or stay Ugly forever. The choices she makes have far reaching consequences.
My Thoughts:
Uglies was actually recommended to me by a coworker, we've swapped book recommendations and always see if the other is reading something interesting! This was a pretty easy read and I got through the first three of this series in just over a week! I really enjoyed this one, it was definitely a good introduction to the world.
I didn't find Tally the most engaging of characters in Uglies, I was far more interested in Shay's story. At times it felt as though Tally was being swept along with everyone else, it wasn't until nearer the end that she took more control of her own path. She had a lot of lessons to learn and she definitely got there. There were some hard things to discover about herself and the world of the Pretties but she was a better person at the end because of it.
I did have a few questions about how sustainable this environment is, especially once you learned more about what is going on with the Pretties. An answer was given for the "important" people such as Doctors, but what about the dirty jobs that no one wants to think about? Where do all the resources come from? The relationships between the characters were a bit more developed than the world, though this may just be because Tally hasn't has cause to question the world around her.
On the whole I was pretty well absorbed by the story! I was certainly pleased that I had the next on hand to dive straight into!
My Rating:
