Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

Book Stats:  

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Hardcover: 425 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release date: December 1, 2015

Series:  Starbound, #3

Source: Library

Reviewed by: Kara

Order: Amazon | Book Depository

A year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now-infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness LaRoux Industries' corruption. A year before that, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux were the only survivors of the Icarus shipwreck, forced to live a double life after their rescue.

Now, at the center of the galaxy on Corinth, all four are about to collide with two new players in the fight against LRI.

Gideon Marchant is an underworld hacker known as the Knave of Hearts, ready to climb and abseil his way past the best security measures on the planet to expose LRI's atrocities. Sofia Quinn, charming con artist, can work her way into any stronghold without missing a beat. When a foiled attempt to infiltrate LRI Headquarters forces them into a fragile alliance, it's impossible to know who's playing whom--and whether they can ever learn to trust each other.

With their lives, loves, and loyalties at stake, only by joining forces with the Icarus survivors and Avon's protectors do they stand a chance of taking down the most powerful corporation in the galaxy---before LRI's secrets destroy them all.

I was really excited Sofia got her own book! I really liked her from the last series. And from what I can remember, the Knave was mentioned in earlier stories too? Appreciated the strings of how they came together in this novel. With both of these interesting characters having, shall we say, layers of persona, it took some time to be able to tell what was fiction and what was truth with Gideon and Sofia. They've both put up so many walls that you had to wade through the plot action until they both softened a bit. I thought this book was possibly the most creative in the series because it shows a very futuristic business-oriented world with layers, from rich to poor and pristine to filthy, sort of a sci-fi picture of modern day Edinburgh with the vaults and streets buried underneath (you know, if people still actually lived underground).

One of the side characters I identified most with is Mae, the secret mom hacker, whose kids make her vulnerable to LaRoux. It's so true that your kids are your biggest weakness... Another character who stood out to me was the scientist Sanjana. I would have liked to see more of her since she's a tough, defiant woman and one of the few adults who helps the group of radical teens. What stands out about this book is the discussion around different emotions and sacrifice. While the characters do discuss these topics, the small interruptions in narrative, similar to the previous novels, also explore these emotions and even what it means to be human and to care about humanity.

The pace in this novel is possibly the fastest of the series what with LaRoux Industries having a countdown to some horrifying plan, and Gideon and Sofia seeming to be a step behind in thwarting it. Their flirty banter and comic escapades at times gives the reader a break from the high risk of discovery for Gideon and Sofia and their fight against LaRoux Industries. A high point in the book is when we get to observe the six main characters in the series join together in a weird but enthralling kismet of fate, and experience a devastating plot twist that changes everyone's plans. Then it's a dystopian battle for the end reminiscent of The Hunger Games at Snow's mansion, except the enemy isn't "Snow" like you would expect. Shocking. Twisted. I couldn't put this book down! That final plot twist...wow. I don't think I really saw that coming? Possibly the most thing that frustrated me at the end was how I was still craving what happened. I wanted more resolution. I wanted more books, what happened to the characters...Probably this is a really good thing for an author. Total book hangover at the end that I had trouble starting other books for a few days.

Have you read this series? What did you think? Should I start their newest series ASAP?

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Posted by Kara at 07:00

 Amie Kaufman, Disney-Hyperion, Megan Spooner, Science Fiction, space fiction, Starbound, Their Fractured Light, Young Adult Fiction  Leave your mark

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

 This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

Book Stats:  

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Hardcover: 390 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release date: December 23, 2014

Series:  Starbound, #2

Source: Library

Reviewed by: Kara

Order: Amazon | Book Depository

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.

Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. His sister died in the original uprising against the powerful corporate conglomerate that rules Avon with an iron fist. These corporations make their fortune by terraforming uninhabitable planets across the universe and recruiting colonists to make the planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.

Desperate for any advantage against the military occupying his home, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape base together, caught between two sides in a senseless war.

The stunning second novel in the Starbound trilogy is an unforgettable story of love and forgiveness in a world torn apart by war.

A new planet, a new pair of heroes, and a new star-crossed love. Having been used to Lilac and Tarver from the first series, it was a bit jarring to start over with Lee and Flynn. Rather than being immediately sympathetic to the characters this time around, I, too, found Lee cold and living up to her Stone-face nickname. She was hard to trust. Flynn, by contrast, seems immediately likeable. Hurting him seems like kicking a puppy. It's easy to see why he was the one who cracked her hard exterior worn like battle armor throughout her military career due to her childhood trauma.

This is probably by far my favorite planet of the series. Avon reminds me of Dagobah from Star Wars. Murky, swampy, filled with plops and oozes, slime and sludge. I didn't notice any mentions of animal life in the book, which struck me as odd. Here we have an ecosystem of algae and water, and while there's a bit of a mention of fish, there's no crocodile or snake equivalent that present a danger to the populace. That and maybe the lack of swarming insects? However, I think it can be written off as a result of their unstable climate.

In this novel, there's a different literary device used to tell the story. The narrative element of third-person descriptive scenes breaks up the action between Lee and Flynn and tries to give the reader a different perspective of Lee through past, present, and future. Sometimes I felt it was really used well and other times it carried me out of the story when I just wanted to know what happened next and couldn't be bothered to figure out yet again why there was a third narrator. However, the concept is intriguing (especially once we find out the why of said perspective). It seems to be related to dreams or predictions or memories of Lee, but none of these seem to fit exactly. Once Lee has the incident in the cave that results in a very sad death, that was when I started questioning everything and really trying to figure out, was this girl going mad too? Have we been following a would-be murderer this whole time?

You tell me.

P.S. This isn't so much relevant to this novel, but it's really easy to see this narrative plot device  morphed into the dossiers, IMs, emails and various other mediums used in Illuminae. . . Fascinating to study Amie's earlier work and how it evolved!

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Posted by Kara at 07:00

 Amie Kaufman, Disney-Hyperion, Megan Spooner, Science Fiction, space fiction, Starbound, This Shattered World, Young Adult Fiction  1 Person left their mark

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

Book Stats:  

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Hardcover: 374 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release date: December 10, 2013

Series:  Starbound, #1

Source: Library

Reviewed by: Kara

Order: Amazon | Book Depository

It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

I was interested in reading this book because I am such a huge fan of the Illuminae Files. Since I loved that series to pieces, I was curious about Amie Kaufman's other novels, especially since she and Megan Spooner have yet another series that is currently in publication. How was this different? How was it similar? A fellow librarian friend loved it after I turned her on to Illuminae and she'd been bugging me to read it.

I had two main complaints with this first book. But, just...bear with me a minute.

1) I wanted to know more backstory about Tarver and Lilac. They were such very interesting characters, but I somewhat felt the action continuously pulled them into the present and neglected telling us about their lives before the story. I kept figuring this was going to come in a later book, but it didn't. And I didn't realize this series would jump to new protagonists in the next novel. As far as problems go, it's a minor one, but I really wanted to see Tarver pre-military and Lilac have some more depth to her familial interactions, though some more details are revealed in later novels.

2) While I loved the idea of this planet and its inhabitants, I also had trouble with really seeing it in my head. Once again, most of the story is propelled through the characters of Tarver and Lilac and their interactions and thoughts, but not enough detail is spent on fleshing out the setting, making it fully realized. Perhaps the reader is supposed to see their own version, but since this was a planet  seemingly missing the inhabitants, the setting could/should act as a character. I didn't have this problem in the other novels, just this one. I guess I just wanted it to be a tad bit richer so I could love it more.

So, despite these few flaws, I genuinely liked this story. Tarver and Lilac are strong characters and I enjoyed their story continuing in later novels. In no way did I predict the twist at the end of this book because I just was still trying to figure out what was going on. The juxtaposition of the madness versus a ghost or something else kept you on your toes for what might happen. The most vivid scene I remember that I still love (writing about this months later) is where they find the disembowled juggernaut, Tarver becomes ill, and Lilac, already facing the prospect of insanity and hallucinations, has to explore inside the mass grave of a ship to find supplies. Wow. The sheer horror of the situation and the fierce need for survival and companionship makes this an amazing scene in a really good book. Hopefully coming soon -- This Shattered World where we continue the resistance against LaRoux Industries and meetJubilee "Lee" Chase and Flynn Cormac and revisit with Tarver and Lilac.

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Posted by Kara at 07:00

 Amie Kaufman, Disney-Hyperion, Megan Spooner, Science Fiction, space fiction, Starbound, These Broken Stars, Young Adult Fiction  Leave your mark

Circa Now by Amber McRee Turner

To be honest, y'all, I deliberated over this review.  I read Circa Now a couple of weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it, but I also felt slightly misled.  In the back-of-book synopsis, I felt promised "a hint of magic."  In fact, that final paragraph of the synopsis is a bit off base.

It is, however, truly a "gripping story full of hope and heart."  So that's excellent!  Circa Now is Circa's story- a young teen who lives in a small town with her photographer parents.  One night her dad goes out to deliver some photos and is caught by a tornado.  Just as she and her mom are beginning to pick up the pieces and find their new normal, Circa begins to notice that things that she and her dad Photoshopped in photos are coming true.  A strange boy even shows up on their porch, the exact right age to match a baby that she and her dad Photoshopped into a picture!

More than anything else, Circa Now is a story of hope and healing... and maybe not so much of magic.  You know that we here at Tynga's Reviews avoid spoilers like the plague, but I can't help this one:  there is no magic.  I enjoyed the story.  The author is quite talented.  But the publisher put a misleading synopsis on the back cover.  I think there was enough in the book to recommend it even without a teaser of magic, but maybe that's just me.  From what I've been able to glean from author interviews and talking to other bibliophiles, authors very rarely have hardly any say over these synopses, so don't hold this against the book!

As I mentioned, it is a story of healing and growth.  Circa is quite a young teen, and she's having to deal with the horrific tragedy of losing her dad.  Her mom has depression and anxiety, and there are even hints of mild agoraphobia.  Not only is there a beautiful story here of a young girl coming into her own through hope and help from friends and family, there's also a story of friendship.  In the middle of all this, there's a strange boy, Miles, who shows up on their doorstep with amnesia.  After the tornado he found a photograph on the ground with Circa's parents' photography studio address on the back, and he found his way to them.  Circa and her best friend really step up and they befriend Miles.  I love that this is a YA book without romance!  Just friendship.  It's really sweet.

Overall, I very much recommend this book, even minus any actual magic.  The writing is superb, and I had trouble putting down the book ever.  The plot kept a good, steady pace and the characters are 110% lovable.  Then there are these cool photos roughly every other chapter.  A big part of the plot focuses on photographs that Circa and her dad Photoshopped, and the author put them into the book so that we can see them!  I loved that detail.

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Posted by Tynga at 02:00

 Amber McRee Turner, Disney-Hyperion, Family, Friendship, magic-not-magic, photoshop, Publisher, Review, young adult  Leave your mark

Starflight by Melissa Landers

I absolutely loved this book. It has everything a good sci-fi needs: a derelict ship with a group of outcasts for a crew, a space government conspiracy, space pirates and two young adults running away from the government and those space pirates. Fans of the TV show Firefly will love this book, and while it has many similarities, the actual story is very different.

The protagonist of the book, Solara Brooks, will do pretty much anything to get on board a ship that will bring her to one of the new colonies, on the outskirts of space. And that includes becoming a servant for Doran Spaulding, her high school bully and nemesis. Their servant/master relationship doesn't last very long as Solara cons her way out of it, in a very genius way. Solara is very clever and mechanically proficient, so fans of Firefly will compare her to Kaylee. As an orphan, she really didn't have many chances in life, and when she was just about to graduate from high school, she got into trouble and convicted for crimes she helped commit. In this world, every felon gets tattoos on their hands, advertising their crime and making it very difficult to find a job or be trusted. Solara hides her hands out of shame but the crew members of the Banshee slowly start to trust her, despite their knowledge of her shady past.

Solara is a survivor and a fighter. She will do just about anything to succeed in life, and she's not afraid to take chances. Doran Spaulding was born into an easy life. His father owns a very wealthy oil company and he's always taken advantage of his status to get what he wants. Solara turns his life upside down, and honestly, it's probably the best thing that's ever happened to him. Especially now that he's wanted by the government, Solara's street smarts come in handy quite a few times. Solara and Doran are the most unconventional pair, but for some reason, they work well together. They started off as enemies, became "cohorts" (their word, not mine) and then developed strong romantic feelings.

Honestly, the world the author created isn't crazy original. There are no alien life-forms--just humans traveling in space. However, the way it was executed was genius. Her story, the action and her amazing characters make Starflight stand out from the crowd. I really enjoyed the slow build and the fact the details were only revealed when they were absolutely necessary.

Fans of science-fiction will surely enjoy this one. It's an easy novel to read and it has just enough romance, action and science to make it a well rounded novel. The author will surely explore her universe a little bit more since she left quite a few questions unanswered. In the few hours that I spent reading Starflight, I fell in love with these characters so I definitely want to know what happens next.

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Posted by Tynga at 02:58

 Disney-Hyperion, Library, Melissa Landers, Review, sci-fi, Science Fiction, Science-Fiction, Starflight, young adult  1 Person left their mark

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

The Blood of Olympus is the fifth and final Heroes of Olympus book, and boy does the series go out with a bang!

Just as in the previous books, the action picks up immediately where it left off in the book before.  The demigods are still traveling the world in the Argo II with the Athena Parthenos statue, trying to complete their mission in time to stop Gaea from awakening.  Every time Rick Riordan would remind us readers how many days were left, I'd get more and more nervous!  How on earth would these teens get back to Athens in time?  And on top of that, they start hearing about an impending war between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, and they decide that the statue must get back to Long Island!

This young-YA series continues to impress me.  There are many characters, and many personalities, and much mythology, but I didn't struggle too much to keep up.  (I listened to the first four books on CD, and the first half of the fifth book... didn't realize until I picked up the hard copy to finish the story that there's a really handy glossary of characters and gods in the back of the hard copy.)  The pacing of the series is great; perhaps because Riordan has had practice laying out series?  I never felt overwhelmed with too many characters or plot points being introduced at once.  By the time you reach this fifth book, there are a lot of characters, but they're well-developed, so you feel like you know them.  I also love the "cameos" in this final book!  The Amazons make a brief appearance, for instance.  That's fun.

Speaking of characters being well-developed... the main characters all show remarkable growth through the series, but none of it feels forced.  A few natural relationships form, deep friendships are forged, and all of them mature.  Occasionally, younger-YA or MG books have moments in the ending that feel very "after-school special," but this book didn't.  Riordan trusts his readers to pick up on the growth and changes without being overly explicit.  I appreciate him trusting me like that.

As I mentioned in this review's opening, The Blood of Olympus ends on a huge bang.  It doesn't wrap up overly neatly too quickly.  (It is younger-YA, so it does eventually wrap up pretty nicely.)  There's lingering tension, even after the battle ends.  I won't tell you anything about it, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the ending!  It was so right for this series.  I can totally see the readalike comparison to the Harry Potter series as far as writing and action go.  It's hard to describe, but Riordan manages to stage a huge battle with many Greek and Roman gods and demigods, where some campers even end up slain, without being gratuitously gory or descriptive.  It's amazing.

And finally, I both listened to and physically read this book.  (My audiobook checkout expired before I reached the end of the story!)  The narration is done by Nick Chamian, who did the previous four books as well, and he continues his excellent storytelling.  I would definitely recommend the audiobook... except that there's that great glossary of gods/terms in the back of hard copies!  I don't know... that throws a small kink in my audiobook recommendation!  No matter what format you choose, I do recommend that you try this series!

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Posted by Tynga at 01:00

 Action amp; Adventure, Disney-Hyperion, Heroes of Olympus, Library, Mythology, Review, Rick Riordan, YA, young adult  5 People left their mark

The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz

The book's synopsis opens with "Princess Marie-Victoria, heir to the Lily Throne, and Aelwyn Myrddn, bastard daughter of the Mage of England, grew up together.  But who will rule, and who will serve?"  Y'all, let me tell you that this book is so much richer than that!  I have a habit of jumping into books "sight unseen" (without reading the synopsis), and I'm so glad I did that with this book.  From that opening line, the synopsis gets a little muddy, before circling back around to Marie-Victoria and Aelwyn's plot to switch places.  That is a (cool but) quite minor part of the story.  Rather, this is a book of political intrigue, magic, alternate history, and courtships.

Told from multiple points of view, the reader gets a very good view of the politics of the time.  The Ring and the Crown is set in an alternate early 1900s England during the Season.  (We all know about the Season from Downton Abbey, right?)  There's lots of balls and dresses and social mores that must be followed.  I always find it slightly ironic how many societal rules there are to follow while the people involved are unabashedly chasing potential spouses.  It's a romantic free-for-all, where people follow all kinds of unwritten rules about who gets invited to which party and which people are allowed to dance with each other or visit each other, all while discussing others' financial statuses in detail behind their backs, jockeying for the best match:  most good-looking + most rich.  No matter how silly the customs of the times seem to us now (I might not be married if I wasn't allowed to approach a man!  The hubby is a bit shy, and I approached him first), I do relish the descriptions of the dresses and the balls.  I would go to one in a heartbeat if anyone offered me a time machine ride!

The Season described in The Ring and the Crown is amped up to eleven:  this year the Queen of England and France (they're joint kingdoms in this alternate history) has announced her daughter and only heir's engagement to the Crown Prince of Prussia.  It's a totally political arrangement; while Marie-Victoria and Leopold have known each other since childhood, they're friends and nothing more.  This marriage will tie the two ultra-powerful kingdoms together.

But there's more!  Not only are Marie-Victoria and Leopold not in love with each other, they are in love with other people.  Marie-Victoria dreams of running away with Gill, a commoner, and Leopold had to break an engagement to Isabelle (who is in turn pursued by a Duke) in order to participate in this new treaty-engagement.  Luckily, Marie-Victoria's best friend is the court magician's daughter and they make plans for her to use glamour to take Marie's place.  This is ok, because Aelwyn really likes Leopold.  To add to the romance and the who-loves-who tangle, there's also Leopold's brother, Wolfgang.  He's free to date around, since he's not the Crown Prince, and he has his eye on an American, Ronan.  That courtship can't be simple either, of course; Ronan is simultaneously pursued by two others.  Is your head spinning?  I didn't find it a struggle to keep up once I was in the story, and I did find a Goodreads review with a very helpful chart if you do get lost.

And for a final plus:  magic!  In this alternate history, magic is very real and very prevalent in Europe.  (The Americans have figured out electricity and have abandoned magic.  They're cool with it but don't use it.)  All the royals keep a powerful mage in their court to help their influence, especially with political maneuvers and battles.  I love how seamlessly Melissa de la Cruz fits magic into the story.  It never overshadows the romance; it only serves to enhance the story.

Unfortunately, I do feel compelled to point out the sheer number of "main" characters and points of views, as well as all the world-building necessary, leads to very little character development.  I finished the book very satisfied with the story, but not really feeling like I knew any of the characters too well.  Multiple sources tell me that this is the first in a series, though, so I'm sure we'll get to know the characters better in the upcoming books.

Overall, I definitely recommend!  I saw it described on Goodreads as "historical romance lite," and I think that's very accurate.  It's definitely YA, so no overly-steamy scenes but lots and lots of courtship.  And the dresses and balls!  And intrigue!  I loved it.

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Posted by Tynga at 02:00

 Disney-Hyperion, Edelweiss, Fantasy amp; Magic, Historical, Historical Romance, Love amp; Romance, Magic, Melissa de la Cruz, Review, Thr Ring and the Crown, YA, young adult  Leave your mark

MARY: The Summoning by Hillary Monahan

As a child, I played the legendary game of Bloody Mary and I still remember standing by the mirror with the lights off, frightened for my life. Bloody Mary is such a cultural cornerstone and Hillary Monahan brings her to life in such a wonderfully, grotesque form. Mary: The Summoning was a surprisingly scary novel, this is just what readers will want to read to get goosebumps down their spine. Few YA horror novels are as great as Monahan's debut and I'd love to see more novels like Mary: The Summoning on the market.

This is a novel about 4 friends who summon Mary and are forced to face the consequences of their action. Readers will be brought back to their childhood years when they had played Bloody Mary and will revisit this chilling game. This novel takes the famous game and makes it extremely terrifying for the YA audience, I'd be quite surprised if younger readers would even attempt to play the game after reading The Summoning.

Something that bothered me was how Monahan completely warped the story I had heard as a child, I remember Bloody Mary being Queen Mary I, not a troubled American child. I'm aware that Monahan wanted this novel to take place in America, but I feel like this story lost something in translation when Bloody Mary became an American legend. It didn't feel like the Bloody Mary I grew up with because she was American; I did enjoy the inventive, epislatory backstory on Bloody Mary, but the alteration of her story  just didn't sit well with me.

In typical horror movie fashion, The Summoning is quite brutal to its characters and there isn't much character development. Most of the novel is spent on thrills and spooky moments to the point where I felt like I didn't know anything substantial about any of the characters and I couldn't really sense the history that the characters shared because their relationships weren't clearly defined. I wanted to know more about each character, especially about Mary and Jess who the novel didn't concentrate on enough.

I'm not exactly sure why this novel was expanded into a series because this would've worked much better as a stand-alone. Though readers do gets answers, I didn't really feel like this novel had a satisfying ending and I felt like I was left hanging unnecessarily. There wasn't a real need for further books about Mary and the fact that Monahan didn't give readers the answers they deserved, in order to stretch the story out really bothered me.

MARY: The Summoning is a perfect Halloween read and this is the type of that will best be enjoyed under the cover with a flash-light in that classic, spooky way. I will still continue reading about Mary, despite the fact that I feel that this book should've been a stand-alone. I really enjoyed reading Mary: The Summoning and I have a feeling that book will appeal to horror fans who aren't quite ready for Stephen King.

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Posted by Tynga at 02:00

 BEA, Disney-Hyperion, Hillary Monahan, Paranormal, Review, young adult  2 People left their mark