Review -- Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Title: Under the Never Sky
Author: Veronica Rossi
Series: Under the Never Sky (1)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: 03 Jan 2012
Date Read: November 2012
Rating: ★★☆☆☆


WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.
(from Goodreads)

Aria is, well, an okay character, nothing special about her or her personality. I thought she was flat and two-dimensional. I didn't feel any sympathy or a real connection with her despite all of the hardships she had to go through. Glad to say that her character did improve but I still don't like her. Perry is a little better developed than Aria. Perry was caring and funny. He, along with a portion of the population, has heightened senses but he's double Marked, which makes him extra special. He's a Seer, can see very well in the dark, and a Scire, can smell things and people's emotions. Most of the time, this Scire thing of his was cool. But there were so many mentions of how he could smell Aria's period (smelled like violets) and when she was ovulating (she wasn't, at the time. If she was, she would've smelled, I quote, 'sweeter'). Ew. Ew. Ew. I was fully prepared to forget the whole thing but he kept going on and on about her smelling so good, like violets. No. Please, don't. I guess it makes sense, biologically. If he has heightened senses, like animals or whatever, then he should be able to smell pheromones like that. But I still found it creepy.

A small note: It was hard to get into Perry's character and to take him seriously. I had to work hard to ignore the images my brain was conjuring of Perry the Platypus instead of the muscular, strong Savage he's supposed to be. That's not the author's fault. It's mine and my inability to grow out of child tv shows.

Roar and Cinder were side characters that I'm guessing are going to be very important later on in the series. They interesting. Roar was funny, entertaining and canceled out the awkwardness that was sometimes there between Perry and Aria. Hopefully things turn out well for him. Cinder is the wild card with the mysterious back story. I can't help but root for these two.

The writing is in third person narrative, told both in Aria and Perry's perspective. I wish Rossi had done it in first person. I don't have a preference of anything but the third person just didn't work. It felt contrite and constrained. Especially at the beginning. It was a very rough beginning. And I wish I could say that it gets better. That you only have to stick around for a little while because the rest is amazing. That you would think that that rough beginning was worth it. But I don't think I can say all those things. It got better, but not by much. The rest wasn't amazing and I don't think that rough beginning was worth it.

My face the entire time

This is my main problem with Under the Never Sky: world-building. It was so confusing. Especially during that rough beginning. I thought the setting was in a spaceship after humans fled Earth because of an apocalypse or something. But nope. That's not what this world is, then again, it wasn't really explained what exactly this world is. Little flaws I can overlook, but there were just so many things that made no sense and I kept turning the pages, kept hoping that everything would be explained later on. I don't know what the Reverie exactly is.  I don't know why half the population decided to isolate themselves in these Pod things. They kept mentioning The Unity and I kept thinking 'Well? What the hell is that?' I'm still confused about the Realms and why they're there in the first place. What's the whole point of the Realms? There was this Aether sky thing. I don't know what it's supposed to be. Everyone is just scared shitless of it because it rains down lightning and kills lots of people. Our blue sky somehow turned into an angry, red, pulsing Aether sky, for no apparent reason, it seems like.

In a couple of months, I'll probably forget about most of what happened to this. The only things I'll remember are the feelings of confuddlement I had while reading this. I don't know if I'll read the second one. I might since this book oozes with debut novel-ness and Rossi might learn to improve. A lot of people seem to love this book. You might too.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Dear Santa...

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the girls over at The Broke and The Bookish. This meme feature features a different theme every week, showcasing book-related lists. And hey, who doesn't love a good list?

This week's Top Ten:

Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me

1. Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
3. By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julia Anne Peters
4. Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant
5. Stardust: The Gift Edition by Neil Gaiman

Santa can do anything, right? Let's see him do some magic.

    6.   Detergent by Veronica Roth- To be published 26 Sep 2013.

    7.   Untitled (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater- Expected Publication Sep 2013. 

    8.   Untitled (Gallagher Girls #6) by Ally Carter- To Be Published 01 Jan 2013.

    9.   Scarlet by Marissa Meyer- To Be Published 05 Feb 2013.

    10. The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen - To Be Published 01 Mar 2013

What's on your list?

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Cover Release -- Hover by Melissa West + Giveaway

I am excited to present to you the cover for Melissa West's new book, Hover from the trilogy The Taking (2). Here it is.

It looks great, I know. An exclusive excerpt and official blurb will be revealed closer to the book's release - 06 Aug 2013. In the meantime, you can pre-order the book on:
Amazon
Chapters
Book Depository

Also in the Trilogy

Gravity

In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

You have the chance of winning a signed copy of Gravity. Just enter in the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Melissa lives in a tiny suburb of Atlanta, GA with her husband and daughter. She pretends to like yoga, actually likes shoes, and could not live without coffee. Her writing heroes include greats like Jane Austen and Madeleine L'Engle. 

She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and an M.S. in Graphic Communication, both from Clemson University. Yeah, her blood runs orange. 

Follow Melissa at:

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

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Book Blast -- The Sun Dwellers by David Estes + Guest Post

Synopsis
With those she's closest to dying around her, Adele embarks on a secret mission to the Sun Realm to assassinate the President. Along the way she'll uncover secrets about her relationship with Tristan that she might not be ready to face.

Tristan has a secret, too, one that's been eating him up inside ever since he met Adele. Will he reveal all, and risk the loss of friendship and love at a time when he needs it the most?

At the same time, Adele's mother, General Rose, must lead her soldiers into battle to face the Sun Dweller army in the hopes of holding them off until Adele can complete her mission. Can she outlast the strength of President Nailin's elite fighting force?

There's only one truth in their world: someone must die.

Includes bonus material:

The Dwellers Short Story (Anna's Story) and a sneak peek at David Estes's follow up YA dystopian Series: Fire Country!

Early Praise for The Sun Dwellers

"This finale exceeded all of my expectations. The action, the intrigue, and the relationships were taken to a new level. Fantastic finish to the series, and definitely the best of the three."

Kerri Hughes ~Goodreads

"There are some very surprising twists and turns. And the ending is awesome! I can’t wait to read what David writes next! "

Lolita ~ Goodreads

This was a great ending to the series! So much action and emotions packed into this story. The pacing was great and we get a lot of big secrets to come out and finally tie everything together.
Alexandria Nicole ~Goodreads

“This series is nothing short of amazing. It's given us more than the moon and the stars, now we the brilliance of the sun.”
Terri ~ My Book Boyfriend

The Dwellers Saga books are now available everywhere ebooks are sold or in print via Amazon.com

                                                                                                                                       

Readers Rule!

by David Estes

I’ve been thinking about writing a post like this for a while now. As the title suggests, I basically want to tell you why all of you, as readers, rule. I’m not just talking about my readers, those incredibly supportive and loyal people who chanced upon my books and now continue to read each new one I publish (although you are AWESOME in my completely biased opinion), but all lovers of the written word. The reason I think this post is important is that so many other groups of people get accolades poured out upon them, whereas the common reader is often ignored, or even shunned (and potentially bullied at younger ages, like in high school). Well, I’m here to set the record straight. Readers of all ages, officially rule!

Why are you all so awesome? Because you have an imagination and you like to use it. You don’t take yourselves too seriously to pick up a book about faeries or vampires or crazy worlds where people cry tears that fuel their cars or meatloaf is the equivalent of kryptonite to the superhero. No, you dive right in, biting your nails in suspense, sometimes crying when made up characters die, sometimes laughing, always happy at the end of a particularly long reading session. And nothing’s wrong with that.

I’d venture to say that readers are more compassionate, more creative, and more interesting than people who’d rather burn a book than read it. Why? There are probably many reasons, but I think it’s because you are constantly showing compassion and caring for the fictional characters in the books you read, so that when you see someone in real life who needs help, you’re the first one to jump up and help them.

Another reason readers are awesome is that we’re as funny as H-E-double hockey sticks. Trust me, I know. I spend an insane (and probably slightly pathetic) amount of time on Goodreads talking to fellow readers, and I am forced—yes, forced—to use the somewhat annoying LOL acronym a lot. Like every other comment. Okay, maybe I overuse it, but trust me, I only use it when I’m really laughing. Which is like all the time when I’m talking to fellow readers. Readers tend to be witty, opinionated and just plain funny. So, once again, you rule!

The last reason I think readers rule is because they’re so supportive of the authors they love. That kind of loyalty is hard to find in the world these days. I mean, I have to buy the books of my favorite authors on release day and read them immediately. That’s loyalty. Sometimes I even wait a few days to watch the next episode of Grey’s Anatomy, which is my favorite TV show. I can’t wait for books. So for being such loyal people, readers get another big green tick in the “You Rule” column.

Honestly, I love you people. All of you. Even the ones who hate my books and want to use them as a doorstop, or return them to Amazon for a full refund so they can buy a bag of McDonald’s French fries. Yeah, I love you too! Although I might draw the line at giving you a virtual hug.

So, readers, keep on doing what you do, reading and being compassionate, interesting, loyal people. And please, please, please keep talking to me on Goodreads or I won’t know what to do with myself!

Also in the Trilogy

The Moon Dwellers

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms. 

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms,Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past. 

The Star Dwellers

After rescuing her father and younger sister, Adele is forced to leave her family and Tristan behind to find her mother in the cruel and dangerous realm of the Star Dwellers.

Amidst blossoming feelings for Adele, Tristan must cast his feelings aside and let her find her own way amongst the Star Dwellers, while he accompanies Adele's father to meet with the leaders of the Moon Dweller and decide the fate of the Tri-Realms.

Will Adele be able to rescue her mother and make it back to the Moon Realm before the President and the Sun Dweller Soldiers destroy her family?

Can Tristan convince the Moon Dweller puppets of the error of their ways?

Was Adele's lost kiss with Tristan her one and only chance at love?

In her world there's only one rule: Someone must die.

Haven't read The Dwellers Trilogy?

Today only- All three books are available everywhere ebooks are sold for $ 0.99 .

About the Author

David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010. He´s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table.

You can follow David at:

Blog

Author FacebookPage

Twitter

Goodreads

Goodreads Fan Page

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Follow Friday (7)

Feature and Follow is hosted by Paranjunkee & Alison Can Read every Friday. Complete Rules and Instructions are here: Feature and Follow

This week's question:

Activity! Who is your to-die-for book crush? What do you think they look like? Add an image to make us all happy.

One of the hardest questions any book lover has to come across. But my ultimate book crush will have to be Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars. No one can beat the hotness of that metaphor-loving, unlit-cigarette smoking BAMF. I can't pick only one actor to embody the amazing Augustus so here are a few:

Another book crush would be Finnick Odair from Catching Fire. I know Sam Claflin was already casted for this role but Heath Ledger (circa 10 Things I Hate About You) is the perfect human being to play this role. Honestly.

 

I may have used this meme as a reason to post pictures of hot guys. I regret nothing.

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Library Loot (3)

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they have checked out from the library.

This week, I've got:

• Blackout by Mira Grant
• Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning
• Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
• Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck
• Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

Normally, when I get home with books from the library, I get right to reading. But this time, I think I wasted about 15 mins, dilly-dallying and doing odd things around the house so I don't have to make the decision to pick which book to read. I'm telling you, it wasn't an easy decision.

What books do have for this week?

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Review -- Feed by Mira Grant

Title: Feed
Author: Mira Grant
Series: Newsflesh Trilogy (1)
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: 01 May 2010
Date Read: Nov 2012
Rating:★★★★★

This is a zombie post-apocalyptic novel. This is not just a zombie post-apocalyptic novel.

The Rising occurred in 2014. The cures for the common cold and cancer had mutated and created a virus: The Kellis-Amberlee virus. Those infected have no control over their own bodies. The virus kills the mind and thought, making them the living undead. The virus drives the body to feed on flesh and spread the virus. Twenty years later, the government has taken back some of the land the zombies took from us. Society now lives with having to take several blood tests a day and decontamination baths to monitor the spread of the virus. Hardly anybody leaves their homes, choosing instead to live behind the safety of computerized walls. Those who do choose to go outside would never go without several firearms within their reach. Society lives drenched with fear and paranoia. But society lives nonetheless.

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