Mini Review Collection { 4 }
Hi friends! Since I like knocking off several reviews at once, I've decided to create Mini Review Collection, where I'll usually post 3 quick reviews of books I recently read!
In this third collection, I'll be reviewing upcoming 2018 ARCs: Unearthed, Everless, and Heart of Iron!
In this third collection, I'll be reviewing upcoming 2018 ARCs: Unearthed, Everless, and Heart of Iron!
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Standalone Novel... for now
Publishes January 9, 2018 by Disney-Hyperion
e-ARC provided by Netgalley
e-ARC provided by Netgalley
When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.
For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study... as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Mia and Jules' different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.
In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race's secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race...
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Honestly, if you ask me what I liked about this book, I wouldn’t be able to give you much of an answer other than Jules. Because for most of the novel, I’m not sure what exactly happened (and that’s 100% on me, I read it at weird intervals and between other books lmfao). Anyway, though, Jules is super adorable and I love him. Mia is great, too, but Jules, what a soft angel.
Look, Amie and Meagan are a powerhouse together, okay? This book has great action, amazing leading characters, an adorable hint at romance, and lots and lots of scientific stuff I did not understand because I don’t like science! Literally, my mind just sort of glazes over those things and I’m like wat?
Anyway, the whole aspect of it seemed wicked cool and very interesting. I mean, alien worlds and alien technology! Aliens in general! How cool is that? Jules and Mia trekking through this world and then the caves provided for some entertaining scenes. Seeing Jules all hyped up about literally everything? It was so heartwarming and sweet! Not to mention that Mia got to show off some of her amazing skills with mathematics. I definitely wouldn't mind more of that being in the second book because, yeah, I might not like the subject, but it's great to see girls excel at it.
Look, I just really liked it. Had I not been reading this between books, I know that I would have enjoyed it more. I loved the writing and Mia and Jules both had such great voices—they stood out and their brands of humour made it all the more fun. So I’d recommend this! Just don’t read it the way I did, haha. 4 stars, though! That ending made me want mooooore.
Look, Amie and Meagan are a powerhouse together, okay? This book has great action, amazing leading characters, an adorable hint at romance, and lots and lots of scientific stuff I did not understand because I don’t like science! Literally, my mind just sort of glazes over those things and I’m like wat?
Anyway, the whole aspect of it seemed wicked cool and very interesting. I mean, alien worlds and alien technology! Aliens in general! How cool is that? Jules and Mia trekking through this world and then the caves provided for some entertaining scenes. Seeing Jules all hyped up about literally everything? It was so heartwarming and sweet! Not to mention that Mia got to show off some of her amazing skills with mathematics. I definitely wouldn't mind more of that being in the second book because, yeah, I might not like the subject, but it's great to see girls excel at it.
Look, I just really liked it. Had I not been reading this between books, I know that I would have enjoyed it more. I loved the writing and Mia and Jules both had such great voices—they stood out and their brands of humour made it all the more fun. So I’d recommend this! Just don’t read it the way I did, haha. 4 stars, though! That ending made me want mooooore.
Buy links!
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Everless, book 1
Publishes January 2, 2018 by HarperTeen
e-ARC provided by Edelweiss
Add it on GoodReads!
In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.
No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.
But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.
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Honestly, you could skip this novel and you would not be missing out on anything at all. It’s the same overall fantasy plot in a generic fantasy world and the only thing new—blood equalling time—could have been done better.
I don’t want to be mean, but really, there was just… nothing very good about this. The main character, Jules, came off very boring and dull and I didn’t understand her pining of a prince she hasn’t spoken to in like a decade at all. (I’m 100% sure that last bit was just for romance and it wasn’t very good so efforts wasted on me, lmao.)
I wish there was more depth. To everything. Most of the secondary characters felt like they were there just to move the plot forward; they weren’t important otherwise. At one point, Jules actually befriends two ladies and the very next day, one of them entrusts her with a secret she didn't feel comfortable talking about with her best friend. Which, just… I mean, there was literally nothing between them that showed the other girl could trust Jules with this—their relationship wasn’t developed at all! So I don’t get it.
Then there’s the world. As I understand it, this is a high fantasy. So, for no reason whatsoever should there be a month that we have. That’s just lazy world building. A different world wouldn’t share that kind of thing. Maybe I’m making a big deal out of this, but it just grates at me! Not to mention that with most of the novel taking place in a novel, you don’t even get a chance to really see what Jules’ world is like.
Anyway, I’m very disappointed with this debut. I’m hoping that the second book is better—the ending left something that could become more, and I want to see where that goes. Overall, 2 stars.
I don’t want to be mean, but really, there was just… nothing very good about this. The main character, Jules, came off very boring and dull and I didn’t understand her pining of a prince she hasn’t spoken to in like a decade at all. (I’m 100% sure that last bit was just for romance and it wasn’t very good so efforts wasted on me, lmao.)
I wish there was more depth. To everything. Most of the secondary characters felt like they were there just to move the plot forward; they weren’t important otherwise. At one point, Jules actually befriends two ladies and the very next day, one of them entrusts her with a secret she didn't feel comfortable talking about with her best friend. Which, just… I mean, there was literally nothing between them that showed the other girl could trust Jules with this—their relationship wasn’t developed at all! So I don’t get it.
Then there’s the world. As I understand it, this is a high fantasy. So, for no reason whatsoever should there be a month that we have. That’s just lazy world building. A different world wouldn’t share that kind of thing. Maybe I’m making a big deal out of this, but it just grates at me! Not to mention that with most of the novel taking place in a novel, you don’t even get a chance to really see what Jules’ world is like.
Anyway, I’m very disappointed with this debut. I’m hoping that the second book is better—the ending left something that could become more, and I want to see where that goes. Overall, 2 stars.
Buy links!
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Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston
Standalone Novel... for now
Standalone Novel... for now
Publishes February 27, 2018 by Balzer + Bray
e-ARC provided by Edelweiss
e-ARC provided by Edelweiss
Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him.
Ana’s desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But at the last moment, a spoiled Ironblood boy beats Ana to her prize. He has his own reasons for taking the coordinates, and he doesn’t care what he’ll sacrifice to keep them.
When everything goes wrong, she and the Ironblood end up as fugitives on the run. Now their entire kingdom is after them—and the coordinates—and not everyone wants them captured alive.
What they find in a lost corner of the universe will change all their lives—and unearth dangerous secrets. But when a darkness from Ana’s past returns, she must face an impossible choice: does she protect a kingdom that wants her dead or save the Metal boy she loves?
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Poston’s follow up novel was a thrill ride. I loved a lot of the characters, I loved the action, and of course, the romance. But Heart of Iron was also different for me—because with this book, I thought the side characters outshone the main characters.
There are four perspectives in this book—Di, Ana, Jax, and Robb—Ana being the main one. And I found myself dreading each and every chapter of hers. Which kind of sucks because Ana was such an interesting character... But she was also so childish. She’d stomp her feet and throw a tantrum when she was told to do something she didn't want to. Her actions has serious consequences, yet she was so easily forgiven—or so it seemed to me. No matter how much I wanted to like her, she made it hard in the beginning that I eventually gave up.
I loved Jax and Robb. Both had such interesting chapters and I really would have liked to see more of them in general. They had a great, quirky relationship and it was just so much fun to read. As for Di, it was interesting seeing him go from a robot-like... person—?—to someone who grew to experience feelings and other things that make us human. His arc was really interesting and I loved reading his chapters.
The world was a bit confusing, especially the bits with the metals and whatnot. Honestly? I still don’t understand it and I feel like it was poorly explained in the beginning. It just didn't make sense and considering that it affects the plot later on, well. Yeah, it totally confused me and very little made sense.
Overall, Heart of Iron was just okay. I ended up having some high expectations and I ended up a bit disappointed. I am intrigued about a potential follow up though! 3.5 stars. Hopefully, more of the side characters will be present because they were reaaaallly just great.
There are four perspectives in this book—Di, Ana, Jax, and Robb—Ana being the main one. And I found myself dreading each and every chapter of hers. Which kind of sucks because Ana was such an interesting character... But she was also so childish. She’d stomp her feet and throw a tantrum when she was told to do something she didn't want to. Her actions has serious consequences, yet she was so easily forgiven—or so it seemed to me. No matter how much I wanted to like her, she made it hard in the beginning that I eventually gave up.
I loved Jax and Robb. Both had such interesting chapters and I really would have liked to see more of them in general. They had a great, quirky relationship and it was just so much fun to read. As for Di, it was interesting seeing him go from a robot-like... person—?—to someone who grew to experience feelings and other things that make us human. His arc was really interesting and I loved reading his chapters.
The world was a bit confusing, especially the bits with the metals and whatnot. Honestly? I still don’t understand it and I feel like it was poorly explained in the beginning. It just didn't make sense and considering that it affects the plot later on, well. Yeah, it totally confused me and very little made sense.
Overall, Heart of Iron was just okay. I ended up having some high expectations and I ended up a bit disappointed. I am intrigued about a potential follow up though! 3.5 stars. Hopefully, more of the side characters will be present because they were reaaaallly just great.
Buy links!
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