Book Review: The First Twenty

Title: The First Twenty
Author: Jennifer Lavoie
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Year of Publication: 2015
Summary: Humanity was nearly wiped out when a series of global disasters struck, but pockets of survivors have managed to thrive and are starting to rebuild society. Peyton lives with others in what used to be a factory. When her adopted father is murdered by Scavengers, she is determined to bring justice to those who took him away from her. She didn’t count on meeting Nixie.

Nixie is one of the few people born with the ability to dowse for water with her body. In a world where safe water is hard to come by, she’s a valuable tool to her people. When she’s taken by Peyton, they’ll do anything to get her back. As the tension between the groups reaches critical max, Peyton is forced to make a decision: give up the girl she’s learned to love, or risk the lives of those she’s responsible for.

Review: **Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

If you like your books filled with page-turning action, heart pumping romance, and characters that pop right off the page... sadly The First Twenty isn't for you. Really, you should only consider reading this book if you love stagnant pacing, forced romance, or just possibly need something to put you to sleep.

The First Twenty, at a glance contained most things I love in YA fiction. Dying earth, diversity, interesting plot - but sadly all were poorly executed. By the end of the story I was not attached to any of the characters, nor was I invested in any of the zero-chemistry romances that occurred. And really, I can't even tell you what the main characters looked like aside from the fact that one was blonde and tall. They were all so very two dimensional.

The world building was another huge let down. Readers are left with more questions than answers at the end. How did society fall? What happened during the collapse? How long ago was it? What kind of town do the Settlers live in? Is it a city, or a suburb, or a small town, or just a bunch of buildings? Is there a wall or a fence around it? Wouldn't that be the smart thing to do if you are trying to keep people out?

Why is this book even called the First Twenty?

So many questions. Ultimately this novel is not the worst thing I've ever read but it does make me sad because it had so much potential. Two stars are all I can muster up for this one.

Rating: 2/5 stars

★★✰✰✰

Book Review: Dark Child

Title: Dark Child (the Omnibus Edition)
Author: Adina West
Publisher: Momentum
Year of Publication: 2013
Summary: Lately things have been getting weird for pathology technician Kat Chanter. She's been craving raw meat, and having dreams so realistic they're scary. When she accepts a job offer from the prestigious Hema Castus Research Institute, she hopes she'll have the chance to discover what's wrong with her, but instead, her move to New York thrusts her headlong into a treacherous hidden world, where the wrong move could be fatal . . .


Review: **Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Whilst Dark Child did deliver a unique concept as promised, the rest of the novel fell flat on it's face.

For the most part, the story flowed pretty well, however there were certain points, either where it all positively crawled, or the jarring transition from some chapters to another. It was such a struggle to get through this book that I have been stopping and starting for months. This novel would have worked better in it's original serial form, perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if that were the case.

Most characters in this novel were bland or two dimensional, especially Kat and her love interests. There was absolutely no chemistry between any of the characters, and the book most likely would have worked better if the romance was eliminated.

Kat, though a pathologist, was pretty unintelligent most of the time. At the beginning of the book when she faints at work, someone advises her to go to a doctor. Perfectly reasonable, one would think. Instead of this, Kat's inner monologue proclaims that she isn't the type of person to go see a doctor when she is perfectly healthy.

Shall I remind you that she has just fainted? Not to mention, soon after she mentions her nausea. These things put together sure would seem like a valid reason to go see a doctor. Instead, however, she chooses to test her own blood and finds that everything is pretty wonky.

Is she worried? Doesn't seem like it. I'm pretty sure the word cancer was tossed in there somewhere... and Kat still chose not to see a doctor.

I could go on and on about this book, but I'd like to leave you with this little gem, about the scent of her own blood:

"Hers was a contradictory medley, a mixture of different notes forming an intoxicating whole like a fine perfume; moonlit midnight and sun-baked drowsy summer, dew speckled unfurling petals and mossy stones and night scented jasmine."

If you think your blood smells like this, you should probably see your primary care physician.

Rating: 2/5 stars
★★✰✰✰

Book Review: Inhuman

Title: Inhuman
Author: Kat Falls
Year of Publication: 2014
Summary:  America has been ravaged by a war that has left the eastern half of the country riddled with mutation. Many of the people there exhibit varying degrees of animal traits. Even the plantlife has gone feral. Crossing from west to east is supposed to be forbidden, but sometimes it’s necessary. 

Some enter the Savage Zone to provide humanitarian relief. Sixteen-year-old Lane’s father goes there to retrieve lost artifacts—he is a Fetch. It’s a dangerous life, but rewarding—until he’s caught. Desperate to save her father, Lane agrees to complete his latest job. That means leaving behind her life of comfort and risking life and limb—and her very DNA—in the Savage Zone.

But she’s not alone. In order to complete her objective, Lane strikes a deal with handsome, roguish Rafe. In exchange for his help as a guide, Lane is supposed to sneak him back west. But though Rafe doesn’t exhibit any signs of “manimal” mutation, he’s hardly civilized . . . and he may not be trustworthy.

Review: Inhuman sounded like it was going to be an awesome adventure novel through what sounded like a dystopian, post-apocalyptic setting with a kick ass main character. I was so ready to tumble into this novel and thoroughly enjoy it.

Unfortunately, to put it bluntly - this book sucked. The opening scenes were boring, the main character was whiny, and the plot went slowly. By the end of the first quarter it was blatantly obvious there was going to be a love triangle. I knew more about how both boys looked than I did about the main character. Especially Rafe, as she took the time to describe his "sunkissed skin, aquamarine eyes and sculpted lips."

The two dimensional friends mentioned in the first chapter were barely thought of again by the main character, even though Anna was supposed to be her best friend. In fact, throughout the novel she barely thinks of anybody but herself aside from her two love interests - Rafe the bad boy, and Everson the white knight who were essentially reduced to stereotypes. Not only that but the characterization for Delaney was wildly inconsistent - she mentions survival skill classes but can barely do anything. She is supposed to be smart but she's as dumb as a bag of rocks. She fears and hates germs and ferals then the next minute she likes and cares for them (and then goes straight back to being afraid of them).

On top of this, the plot was so slow. By the time I reached the 50% mark I felt like the book should have ended already. I wished it had ended already. That way I wouldn't have had to puzzle through sentences like, "The word alone triggered mental epilepsy" and "The river looked not just fast, but schizo." I wish I had made those quotes up. What does that even mean???

Perhaps if the author had sped the plot up and stopped the lovey dovey mess this book would have been as awesome as it initially sounded. The last quarter of the book was jam packed with the sort of action I'd been craving - if only the whole book had been like this.

I don't think I'd recommend this book to anyone unless they just want to be put straight to sleep by a plot that goes nowhere. Have insomnia? Try this. At the very least it will make you want to knock yourself out.

Rating:  2/5 stars
★★✰✰✰

Book Review: Doppelganger

Title: Doppelganger
Author: Milda Harris
Year of publication: 2012
Summary:  Citrus Leahy is having a really bad day. First she's late to school. Then she runs into the girl who drives her nuts because she always calls her Orange instead of her name. To cap it all off, when Citrus finally makes it to class, she sees herself already inside. 

Wait. What? Citrus Leahy has a doppelganger! It's probably aliens taking over the world and her life has just turned totally upside down. Goodbye, normal. Hello, paranormal! Luckily, her crush Aedan has the exact same problem!





Review: **Copy kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Doppelganger seemed like an intriguing and fun read, that ultimately fell short of expectations. This one is a hard one to review because honestly, there wasn’t much I liked.

The main character, Citrus, was horribly annoying. I guess I could say that the voice of the novel was unique or interesting, but it wasn’t in a good way. Citrus is an airhead and a motormouth - everything she thinks could be condensed in about half time, ridding the novel of the unnecessary rambling and maybe making her connection to the other characters more memorable. It was easy to forget she cared about anybody but herself and Aedan with all the dribble in the way.

All of the people in the novel felt two dimensional - they were nowhere near fleshed out enough, and came out bland and dry with no real flavor attached. I struggled through a lot of this book, there was just nowhere near enough of anything to keep me turning the pages.

The above paired with the author’s writing ability, was a recipe for disaster. Too many adverbs, not enough detail, and words/actions that repeated over and over again. To top it off, the story ended without any real explanation, on a cliffhanger to boot - albeit a bad one, as I have no desire to read on to find out what happens.

Overall, I’d give this story two stars as it was only just bearable. If you’re looking for a story about doppelgangers, there are much better ones out there so keep looking.

Rating: 2/5 stars
★★✰✰✰

Book Review: Breaking Free

Title: Breaking Free
Author: Winter Page
Year of Publication: 2014
Summary: Raimi Carter is finally a girl, just like she always knew she was meant to be. At a new school where nobody knows she’s had gender reassignment surgery, she hopes to finally live the normal life she’s longed for, happy in her own skin.

Life is great until she discovers a dangerous bully is blackmailing head cheerleader, Clare Strickland, threatening to reveal her secret: she’s gay. As Raimi fights to free Clare from his clutches, the two girls move beyond friendship. But secrets from their pasts and their own fears of coming out tear them apart—maybe forever. Baring their souls to each other could cost them everything. For two girls trapped and desperately in love, only strength, courage, and trust in each other will help them break free and claim their future

Review:  **Copy kindly provided by Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.**

Ah, where do I start with this one. The synopsis promised an interesting read - Raimi Carter has just started high school after two years of being home-schooled, and then finally gender reassignment surgery.

Listen, there aren't enough books in the world dealing with LGBTQ+ issues, especially Young Adult ones. Most books in the YA section of a bookstore are about cis/het individuals, who are more often than not, white. I've learnt to take what I can get regarding LGBTQ+ fiction - problematic relationships, bad writing, horrible characters, stereotypes galore... but gosh, I don't think I have ever read something this bad that wasn't written by a twelve year old on a fanfiction site.

I really, really wanted to enjoy this book, and I did... for the first two paragraphs, and then it all went downhill from there. Raimi is clearly the epitome of a Mary Sue - literally perfect at everything and oh-so-beautiful. She also looks down upon her peers and judges them, even though she herself would not want to be judged. The characters are little more than caricatures of stereotypes, which was evident from the moment Raimi's Spanish and Calculus teachers were introduced, and it did not get any better as we met the supporting cast.

The book didn't seem all that realistic, either, as Raimi has already had surgeries and hormones that usually are expensive and also generally illegal for minors. I get that this book was written by somebody still in high school, so I'm trying not to be too harsh. Page can spin a story, but I just think they need more practice and life experience, as evidenced by the events of the story and the horrible ending - which was way too sudden, and also, did I mention, horrible?

I think with a few re-writes and a good editor, this book could be really good and Page shouldn't be discouraged by the bad reviews. Rome was not built in a day and neither were best sellers. My advice to Page would be to keep going - there is potential for a great story here.

Rating: 2/5 stars
★★✰✰✰