Mini Review: Origins: The Fire by Debra Driza

Origins: The Fire by Debra Driza
Series: Mila 2.0, #0.5
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: January 8, 2013

Goodreads Summary:

Heart-stopping and electric, MILA 2.0: Origins: The Fire contains a short prequel story and an excerpt to MILA 2.0, the first book in a riveting Bourne Identity–style trilogy by Debra Driza.

Mila can't remember anything before the fire that took her father's life. It's normal to have some memory loss after traumatic events, but Mila doesn't remember if she's ever learned to ride a bike, or if she's ever been in love. Nothing.

What she doesn't know is that she isn't supposed to remember—that she was built in a computer science lab and programmed to forget. Because if she remembers, she might discover her true identity.

The question is: If she relived the fire, what would she see?

When I started this one, I was expecting a novella that would give me enough of a hint on whether or not I'd like Mila 2.0. I was expecting it to be close to eighty pages - turns out that it was fifteen (including excerpts, which I didn't read), and it literally only includes one event. The entire novella was based around a fire.

Mila wakes up. Fire. Runs outside. Runs back in to find her parents, passes out and it ends. So, I'm not sure about this series, in the long run. I thought the writing was pretty good, but it was all over way too quickly. I'd have loved to have learned more about Mila, or even to get a hint of what she was like, but nada.

It was very action packed, but that just wasn't enough for me. All in all, this was an interesting prequel - but it was over way too quickly, and I honestly kind of rolled my eyes at it.

Mini Review: Before by Melissa Pearl

Before by Melissa Pearl
Series: Betwixt, #0.5
Release Date: September 17, 2013

Goodreads Summary

Dale Finnigan is a teenage rebel; he lives for parties, girls and joy riding in stolen cars. In spite of his uptight parents' constant warnings and lectures, he continues to run wild. His crazy lifestyle is the only way he can live and feel free… Until his reckless behavior takes him down a path where there is no going back.

In this prequel to BETWIXT, find out who Dale Finnigan was before he became known as“scar-face”—the unassuming hero everyone underestimates.

WARNING: This book is intended for mature teens due to coarse language and mature content.

I'm going to come right out and say that there's nothing really noteworthy about Before. I think that it's a good introduction novel to the Betwixt series (which I haven't started), but I didn't find anything about this really grabbing.

Dale was an interesting enough character - I actually relate to him. I understand a lot of what he's going through (as a teenage rebel), but I also don't. I don't take things that far, and I guess that makes it a bit hard for me to really like him. I knew what was going to happen to him early on, but I didn't really want to believe him.

Towards the end, I really didn't relate to him anymore. I am very curious to see where the story will be going from here, though. All in all, Before was a good introductory novel, but I didn't love it. I'm definitely interested to continue the story, though! (Sorry for the super short review - I don't really have much to say, and it was a super short read!)

Mini Review: Untamed Hearts by Melody Grace

Untamed Hearts by Melody Grace
Series: Beachwood Bay, #1.5
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: September 13, 2013
Buy: Amazon

It's the last night of summer in Beachwood Bay, but for Brit and Hunter, it's only the beginning …

She is: rebellious, wounded, free.
He is: handsome, searching, enchanted.
One night. Two restless hearts. But what happens when morning comes?

A tantalizing new novella from the internationally best-selling Melody Grace.

I didn't really love Untamed Hearts. I thought that I would, because all of Melody Grace's covers are so pretty - I'm a cover whore. I can't help it. I snatched this up on a freebie day, only to find out that... I didn't love it. It was too rushed. I generally like prequel books, but I found that I just couldn't believe that after one night they were in love.

Their relationship is based entirely on sex. That's obviously why they're in love. THIS is my face: -_- I don't feel like you can base an entire relationship on a physical connection. That just doesn't ring true. I want more depth to the romance that I read.

I found it interesting that there was a cameo of Emerson, and I liked the way that the stories kind of intertwined with Unbroken, but that just wasn't enough. I found Brit, our main character, to be an idiot. There's no other way to describe her for me. She runs away from everything, and she never even ventured to make an attempt at trying. That's why I didn't like her.

The love interest wasn't all that great either. I don't understand why everyone has to have problems to fall in love. Is there no people out there without the drama of a death or pressures or anything? All in all, this just wasn't the read for me, and I don't want to spend any more time dwelling on it.

Review: Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Series: Benny Imura, #1
Release Date: September 14, 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

In all honesty, I absolutely adore zombie novels. But for whatever reason, it's been impossible to satisfy me with zombies recently. They're all too... boring. They can't turn doorknobs, they shamble along and in all likeliness, their only purpose is a scare/action type factor. So, you can see where I'm going with this. Benny's zombies just weren't scary enough.

On the back of my copy of this book, it says "Benny Imura couldn't hold a job, so he took to killing". That makes him sound like the king of all badasses, but in the long run I didn't even really like him. As characters go, I thought that he was remarkably flat. He didn't have the emotion that I expected him to have, and... I didn't feel his drive. Like, I knew why he was doing things, but I couldn't feel it. There were no emotions behind him as a character.

I'm not going to lie, I didn't really care for the writing style either. It made the book a very slow read for me, even when the plot was really moving. I just kept trudging on and on. That was the only speed at which I could read Rot & Ruin, a trudge.

Don't get me wrong, the story was interesting enough. The plot was okay, and there were a few surprises... but it was bogged down by flat characters and I slightly confusing point of view. Most of the time, Benny was our narrator, but I noticed a few times that it was Tom, which was slightly awkward. I think that I just have a problem with third person writing. Maybe that's it.

I did like Tom, but he wasn't really in the book for very long. He had a great sense of justice, and he was wonderful when he was telling stories to Benny, which makes him one of the bright-ish spots in this novel. The ending was nice and gave me closure, but unfortunately... I don't really believe that I'll continue the series. All in all, Rot & Ruin just wasn't for me, no matter how much I wish that it was.

Review: Starling by Lesley Livingston

Starling by Lesley Livingston
Series: Starling, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository

Mason Starling is a champion fencer on the Gosforth Academy team, but she's never had to fight for her life. Not until the night a ferocious, otherworldly storm rips through Manhattan, trapping Mason and her teammates inside the school. Mason is besieged by nightmarish creatures more terrifying than the thunder and lightning as the raging tempest also brings a dangerous stranger into her life: a young man who remembers nothing but his name—the Fennrys Wolf. His arrival tears Mason's world apart, even as she feels an undeniable connection to him. Together, they seek to unravel the secrets of Fenn's identity as strange and supernatural forces gather around them. When they discover Mason's family—with its dark allegiance to ancient Norse gods—is at the heart of the mystery, Fennrys and Mason are suddenly faced with a terrifying future.

Set against the gritty, shadowed back-drop of New York City, this first novel in award-winning author Lesley Livingston's epic Starling Saga is an intoxicating blend of sweeping romance and pulse-pounding action.

Starling was an interesting change from what I've been reading lately. On one hand, I was expecting it to be different, but on the other I was way surprised by the direction it went. At first, I was just really confused. We get thrown into the story immediately, with no real precursor to give us a hint at what's going on or anything. Talk about adrenaline rush, you know? When a naked guy drops out of the sky with a band of freakish zombie draugr, it gets kind of weird.

And to add more weirdness to the cake, the naked guy gets chapters. There is alternating points of view! Yay! My only problem with this is that sometimes in the middle of a chapter points of view would change to someone who's pretty much unrelated. It was always obvious when it changed, but still. There was a bit of shock there.

Mason was a little bit boring, to tell you the truth. Her chapters were way too formal for me to really just sink into the narration, and the Fennrys Wolf's chapters followed that tradition. Strangely, I was more okay with that because he was an otherworldly creature. But let's talk romance. I didn't feel like there was any chemistry or build up to the romance. They're friends, then they're not and they're making out. It was too fast for my taste, and like I said, there was no build up.

Throughout the first three quarters of the book, the story really went nowhere. There was info, mostly. A lot of info on Norse mythology, which was cool, and even more info about the school and the families who's children go there. The first three quarters really was just information. I feel like everything happened in the last quarter-- all the action was there.

And then, with no warning, the ending hits. It was open and unexpected, and it really left me wondering what was going to happen next. I'm excited to find out! All in all, Starling was a surprise. It may not have been super awesome amazing, but it was interesting paranormal read.

Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Series: The Goddess Test, #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 19, 2011
Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary

Every girl who had taken the test has died.
Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom - and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld - and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy - until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess.

If she fails...

I finally picked this book up because I was in a "mythology mood" and I thought this might be the read for me. Based on reviews and such, I was fairly excited about starting The Goddess Test. But...turns out that it really wasn't for me.

Let's start with Kate, shall we? Kate was... she was suffering from one of the greatest (and most fiendish!) of all book personality disorders - The Bella Syndrome. She was so whiny and self centered and I just couldn't fall for her as a character. She was so off-putting! To make matters worse, I found her to be very immature. I like for characters to have some semblance of personality, which is why I didn't like Kate. Her personality was as flat as the page it was written on.

The romance between Henry & Kate was also flat. At first, I felt like it had a little bit of potential...but. Can you say "Stockholm syndrome"? Because that's what was going on here. Henry was so morose and quiet, so we never really got to know him as a character. He really wasn't in The Goddess Test very much at all.

A lot of things didn't add up. And when I say "didn't add up", I mean that they really didn't. Maybe it made a little bit of sense in the end, but the things that made sense were ridiculous, and they pointed towards a fate (and plot point) that should have been obvious to Kate from the beginning, because I was sure questioning it.

I know that I've already talked about Kate a little, but I feel like she's worth revisiting. In the beginning, I was all set to like her. At about two chapters in, though, I was ready to kill her. She meets not one... but two boys that are "interested" in her within the first ten minutes. At the beginning of the second chapter, she begins the dreaded "pretty" speech. (I wasn't conventionally pretty, etc.) Then, suddenly, she has a "friend". Quite truthfully, I saw no development on the part of friendship. It was awkward.

At least there was no love triangle, though. That was a plus. You know what was a minus, though? The plot. I predicted most everything that happened. I wanted to be surprised, but... it wasn't meant to be. All in all, The Goddess Test just wasn't for me.