Review - Lifer by Beck Nicholas

Lifer by Beck Nicholas
Published: December 2014 by Month9Books, LLC
Source: eARC
Rating: 5+ Stars

Asher is a Lifer, a slave aboard the spaceship Pelican. A member of the lowest rung of society, she must serve the ship’s Officials and Astronauts as punishment for her grandparents' crimes back on Earth. The one thing that made life bearable was her illicit relationship with Samuai, a Fishie boy, but he died alongside her brother in a freak training accident. 

Still grieving for the loss of her loved ones, Asher is summoned to the upper levels to wait on Lady, the head Official’s wife and Samuai’s mother. It is the perfect opportunity to gather intel for the Lifer’s brewing rebellion. There’s just one problem - the last girl who went to the upper levels never came back.

On the other side of the universe, an alien attack has left Earth in shambles and a group called The Company has taken control. Blank wakes up in a pond completely naked and with no memory, not even his real name. So when a hot girl named Megs invites him to a black-market gaming warehouse where winning means information, he doesn’t think twice about playing. 

But sometimes the past is better left buried. As Asher and Blank’s worlds collide, the truth comes out - everyone has been lied to...

This was a novel that crushed the depths of my soul and I'm still trying to glue it back together. Asher is our main character, a strong young woman who is in a forbidden love affair with Samuai, a boy born of a higher social class. Samuai loves Asher despite her social status and even wants to help bring down the walls of oppression that the Lifers have lived behind for many years. Everything changes when Asher's brother and Samuai are pronounced dead. Asher is quickly summoned to be the Lady's servant. Lady is the equivalent of say... the first lady of the United States, power-wise anyway. Lady also just happens to be Samuai's mother. While trying her best to do as she's told without sarcasm (which still slips every once in a while), Asher mentally maps out every detail she can remember to relay back to her mother, who is in charge of an upcoming rebellion against the upper class, AKA the Fishies. 

Then there's Blank. He's named Blank because he woke up on a planet and has no recollection of who he is. He quickly learns about The Company, an organization who recruits and brainwashes people to join their cause. Blank may be well... literally blank when it comes to the details of his past, but he still knows the difference between good and evil. He rather quickly sides with the people who are against The Company and does whatever he can to help the cause. 

Asher and Blank's worlds collide in way that leaves you dizzy. I truly cannot wait to read the next novel in this series. 

Review - The Cage by Megan Shepherd

The Cage by Megan Shepherd
Published: May 2015 by Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4 Stars

When Cora Mason wakes in a desert, she doesn't know where she is or who put her there. As she explores, she finds an impossible mix of environments - tundra next to desert, farm next to jungle, and a strangely empty town cobbled together from different cultures - all watched over by eerie black windows. And she isn't alone.

Four other teenagers have also been taken: a beautiful model, a tattooed smuggler, a secretive genius, and an army brat who seems to know too much about Cora's past. None of them have a clue as to what happened, and all of them have secrets. As the unlikely group struggles for leadership, they slowly start to trust each other. But when their mysterious jailer - a handsome young guard called Cassian - appears, they realize that their captivity is more terrifying than they could ever imagine: Their captors aren't from Earth. And they have taken the five teenagers for an otherworldly zoo - where the exhibits are humans.

As a forbidden attraction develops between Cora and Cassian, she realizes that her best chance of escape might be in the arms of her own jailer - though that would mean leaving the others behind. Can Cora manage to save herself and her companions? And if so... what world lies beyond the walls of their cage?

I fell in love with this book just reading the summary, so you can imagine how thrilled I was when the book followed through. Cora was constantly on the go - both mentally and physically. She never let her guard down, even when everyone else pressured her to just give in. When your entire life has been altered drastically and everything you know is gone, wouldn't you feel the need to fit in with those around you who are in the exact same situation? Cora will not be told what to do or what to think, even by a powerful, slightly intimidating alien named Cassian. 

Cassian may be another species who does as he's told and follows orders, but he still has some underlying human traits. I found him to be quite the mystery in the beginning. I clung to the hope of the author diving deeper into his personality and was definitely rewarded. This is a must have novel for anyone who enjoys science fiction with a few drops of mystery.

Review - Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
Published: January 2016 by Disney-Hyperion
Source: eARC
Rating: 4 Stars

passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods - a powerful family in the colonies - and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them - whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.

The plot of this book was made of gold and the author spun a web of treasure with it. Etta Spencer is thrown into a new way of life that she never could even imagine was possible. She is strong-willed and determined, but she still has the same emotions and reactions that any of us would have.

After literally being pushed into a different time period, Etta meets the handsome and smart Nicholas Carter. Nicholas has been saving up to buy his own ship and has done everything in his power to stay away from the family who used to own him as a slave.

These two characters take us on an amazing journey through different time periods and different countries. Each unique place was described perfectly for me to imagine without going overboard with details and information about the time period. I followed their journey right along with them. 

There is so much to tel, but such a journey needs to be walked by an individual and not just be told. There were many times I just had to put the book down to sleep. I truly believe everyone will love this book, not just young adults or science fiction readers. 

Review - Wool: The Graphic Novel by Hugh Howey

Wool: The Graphic Novel by Hugh Howey
Published: June 2014 by Jet City Comics
Source: Purchased
Rating: 3 Stars

Wool as you’ve never read it before: The New York Times bestselling novel is now told in graphic novel format. This contemporary dystopian classic—hailed by Justin Cronin, New York Times bestselling author of The Passage, as “an epic feat of imagination”—will captivate readers both familiar and new.

This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.



I am already a HUGE fan of Hugh Howey's Silo Series, so I decided to dabble in the world of graphic novels and see what I'd come up with. 

I'll admit, I'm still not a graphic novel fan, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this one. The pictures/paintings/sketches were just perfect for the book's bleak environment. I LOVED when at just the right moment, every picture was tinted different shades of red for a particular scene. These graphic novelists have perfect timing. 

The story follows the book fairly well in my opinion. I think I only remember one or two differences that weren't a big deal. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys graphic novels... especially if you also like the dystopian or post-apocalyptic genres. 

Review - From a Distant Star by Karen McQuestion

From a Distant Star by Karen McQuestion
Published: May 2015 by Skyscape
Source: eARC
Rating: 2 Stars

Seventeen-year-old Emma was the only one who hadn’t given up on her boyfriend, Lucas. Everyone else—his family, his friends, his doctors—believed that any moment could be his last. So when Lucas miraculously returns from the brink of death, Emma thinks her prayers have been answered.

As the surprised town rejoices, Emma begins to question whether Lucas is the same boy she’s always known. When she finds an unidentifiable object on his family’s farm—and government agents come to claim it—she begins to suspect that nothing is what it seems. Emma’s out-of-this-world discovery may be the key to setting things right, but only if she and Lucas can evade the agents who are after what they have. With all her hopes and dreams on the line, Emma sets out to save the boy she loves. And with a little help from a distant star, she might just have a chance at making those dreams come true. 

Lucas is dying. Emma loves Lucas. Emma will do anything to have him come back to her. She's a little too obsessed with her boyfriend, but hey.. I remember when I was young. To get Lucas out of his dying coma-like state, she first tries to get through to him by taking up a constant vigil by his bedside, which only serves to piss off Lucas's mom. Then she tries getting help from a local old witch lady (comes with cats, of course) and acquires a potion that is supposed to heal him. The witch lady warns Emma that Lucas may not come back as the Lucas she knows and loves, but of course with the whole undying love thing.. Emma says it's worth the risk. 

Cue hopeful, slightly sad music as Emma applies the potion to Lucas's face. That same night, Emma and Lucas's mom hear a weird noise outside and even weirder.. they don't go investigate it. Long story short, an alien has crash landed and has now wandered into Lucas's body, curing him as he enters. (Think of the aliens in The Host.) 

It doesn't take long before Lucas is up and about, miraculously cured.. but Emma and Lucas's brother aren't buying it. They know their Lucas is not there... but they also know that who is there may not be so bad. The rest of the book is a whirlwind of saving Lucas and getting the alien back where he wants to be. It is fast-paced, but a little predictable. Every time a problem presents itself.. POOF.. there is a solution if the character just turns their head. This was annoying to me. It was not realistic, but then I kept trying to remind myself.. well.. how would they get from point A to point B unless that particular object was right there? 

I may be nit picky, but damn. I caught myself several times saying.. really?! Overall, I think a lot of readers will find this book to be cute and a little fun if you add the alien factor. Unfortunately for me, I just needed more.