Saturday 25 April 2015

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Rating:
4 stars

Synopsis: On her nineteenth birthday, Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, raised in exile, sets out on a perilous journey back to the castle of her birth to ascend her rightful throne. Plan and serious, a girl who loves books and learning, Kelsea bears little resemblance to her mother, the vain and frivolous Queen Elyssa. But though she may be inexperienced and sheltered, Kelsea is not defenceless. Around her neck hangs the Tearling sapphire, a jewel of immense magical power; and accompanying her is the Queen's Guard, a cadre of brave knights led by the enigmatic and dedicated Lazarus. Kelsea will need them all to survive a cabal of enemies who will use every weapon - from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic - to prevent her from wearing the crown. But the quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun - a wondrous journey of self-discovery and a trial by fire that will make her a legend...if she can survive.

Review: According to Goodreads, I'm one of very few people who really liked this book. Don't get me wrong, there are things I would have changed but overall I loved it and once I got into it I completely devoured all 400+ pages of it.

Kelsea is our nineteen year old heroine; raised in the middle of nowhere in preparation for the time when she has to go home and rule a kingdom she barely knows anything about. I did like Kelsea as a character although there are times when she did irritate me. She gets very hung up on one moment in her childhood for a while that confused me slightly because, while I could see some of the relevance to including it, it did seem a little strange to me to include it. However, I did think Kelsea made an amazing Queen. She comes to the Tearling with a very basic knowledge of how everything works (and by basic I mean really basic) but she steps up straight away. The reason Kelsea knows so little is because her foster parents, and her guards all took a vow to her mother - but we don't get told why. I'm hoping this is explained in the sequel because there has to be some reason why all these people would keep things Kelsea really needed to know beforehand from her.

The whole story revolves around the Shipment - a monthly lottery where hundreds of randomly selected people are shipped of Mortmesne and to the Red Queen. This is the treaty that protects the Tearling from invasion and so, of course, Kelsea puts a stop to that immediately, despite knowing this. Some people will see this as being stupid but Kelsea is hell bent on Justice - a concept that is foreign to her kingdom when she arrives and so everything she does is to give her people Justice and I thought it was really brave of her to put a stop to something that has been ingrained into society for seventeen years on her first day in the Tearling.

I liked Mace (or Lazarus, whatever you want to call him) as a character. He makes a formidable guard and, despite the 'security' lapses, I think he makes a really good leader. Over the course of the book, you really see the guards and Kelsea develop this friendship and banter between themselves which help Kelsea prove herself to her guards. That's another thing. Kelsea is nineteen - still just a child - and that's how her guards see her. She has to continually try and prove herself to everyone when she barely knows what to do herself and that characteristic made her endearing to me as a character. She's no push over but she's not completely fearless; I thought there was a nice mix of the two.

I did think the beginning was a little weak. The journey from the cottage to the Keep took longer than necessary I thought but, once the characters got to the Keep, the story did really pick up. The differing perspectives and inter-joining story lines worked really well for me and helped bring the plot together in the most part. I was surprised at how little we saw the Red Queen throughout the book - I was expecting the book to end with the Invasion that was promised early on but that never comes. There are a lot of questions surrounding the Red Queen and the final section we get in her perspective leaves you with a good few more.

For a debut novel I thought this was a really good book. The world Erika has created is so detailed and developed and she's really bought it to life. There are mentions of rape and abuse and prostitution so it's probably not for younger readers but on the whole I really enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward to the sequel that's coming in June this year I think and the movie that's coming out that's starring Emma Watson.

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father-an elusive European warlock-only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

Review: This trilogy was a really fast read - I think I read all three books in as many days. The only thing that I didn't like about the series was that it really mirrored the Evernight series by Claudia Gray. I'm not sure which came first but I did read Evernight before Hex Hall and the similarities between them are alarming. Don't get me wrong, it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the series in any way and the similarities are mainly in the first two books then they kind of split apart but it was something that I noticed twenty pages or so into the book.

Apart from that, I did enjoy this series and I think the main reason for that is the sass. Sophie is so sarcastic and her relationship with Archer is literally them just passing insults back and forth. There doesn't seem to be a page where there isn't something for you to laugh about; whether it's Sophie's problems with magic or her friendship with Jenna. This is probably the reason I sped through this series so fast - the humour is so compelling and I think that spurred me on to read rather than the plot itself which, like I said, is similar to Evernight so I could guess what happened.

For a little while, Sophie almost reminded me of Jace in the Mortal Instruments. She doesn't know her father, she doesn't know what kind of witch she is and there are just a whole lot of secrets surrounding her life, reminding me of Jace's story - unknown father and practically every last name under the sun. I did like that despite everything that Sophie's had to deal with in her life - the numerous moves and new schools for examples - she tries to use her powers to help - even if it doesn't always end well. I did love the fact that, in the first book, Sophie struggled so much with using her powers. It meant there were quite a lot of funny mishaps and problems for her.

I want to mention Elodie as well. In the first book she's displayed as your typical mean girl who wants Sophie to join her coven. Sophie refuses and they become instant enemies. Except, that's where the plot twist comes in. The other two members of the coven are being killed/hurt and they're on the hunt for either Elodie or Sophie next. I thought this was an interesting plot point in the first book but I didn't really connect with Elodie until the second and third book, which is where I thought she really came into her own. The conversations between Sophie and Elodie in these books in particular were incredible and so funny. The difficult relationship between the pair never disappears which I thought was a brilliant thing to do because many authors would make the pair reconcile and it just wouldn't have worked and I'm so glad Rachel didn't do that with Sophie and Elodie.

I'm not too sure how I felt about Archer as a character, especially in the first book. The romance/crush aspect was just too sudden and, since I guessed what was coming, it spoiled that a little for me. He grew on me in the other two books but in the first one - I don't know - he just felt a little flat to me. There wasn't really anything redeeming about him - he was too arrogant to begin with and by the time he started to change I'd already formed an opinion on him that stuck throughout the first book. Like with Elodie, he does get better in the second and third books so I would definitely stick with it.

All in all, I did like the series and I think if you haven't read the Evernight series then a lot of the issues I had with the series will disappear. Even if you have read Evernight, I'd definitely recommend picking these books up as a quick summer read that will keep you laughing the entire time.

Image from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5287473-hex-hall - no Copyright Intended  

Tuesday 21 April 2015

Top 10 Tuesday


Week 3 of Top 10 Tuesday is here and this week, the prompt from The Broke and The Bookish is Top 10 All Time Favourite Authors - because they're apparently incredibly evil over there. Oh well, here we go...

  1. Veronica Roth - of course the author who created Four has to go in here. Despite the rocky final installment in the Divergent trilogy, I still love Divergent, Insurgent and Four (a bind up of short stories from Tobias' POV for those of you living under a rock) and so I think she deserves to go in this list.
  2. Jennifer L. Armentrout - again because she created the hottest alien around, she is automatically slotted into this list. I also love her writing style. In Lux it's so informal and casual and it really lends itself to creating both Katy and Daemon's characters. Maybe one day, this post won't include anything about the Iron Fey or Lux - we can only hope.
  3. Tess Gerritsen - while her books aren't YA, I really enjoy reading them. Tess Gerritsen is a crime writer with a flair for writing killer mysteries. One of my favourite books by her is Gravity which is set in space. This book got really mixed reviews - it seems like you either love it or hate it but I really love it and I keep coming back to it again and again.
  4. Holly Black - currently, I've only read The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly, but I can't wait to pick up her newest novel The Darkest Part of the Forest which sounds amazing. I don't know why it took me so long to find Holly but I'm so glad I finally did.
  5. Maggie Stiefvater - I love the majority of the novels that Maggie writes. The Scorpio Races was just magical and the Raven Boys is just brought to life by the incredible characters she's created. While I didn't like Ballad (the sequel to Lament) and I've kind of been put off reading the Shiver trilogy, all the other books by her that I've read have just been incredible.
  6. Suzanne Collins - while I actually prefer watching the movies to reading these books, there wouldn't be any movies without Susanne Collins (no Finnick Odair? *Gasp*) so she goes in here as well.
  7. Cassandra Clare - The Mortal Instruments (despite the poor movie) is a series I love to live in. I love how Cassandra Clare blends the normal and the paranormal to create a world that we all know and recognise but at the same time, is completely foreign. And she's created an army of would be Shadowhunters because, lets face it, Shadowhunters are bad ass.
I think this pretty much makes up my list. There are a few authors that I've left out because, while I love one series that they've written, they're other books just aren't as good and I probably wouldn't pick up any of their other books because of this. So this is my top 7 all time favourite authors - what would yours be?

Tuesday 14 April 2015

Top 10 Tuesday




Week 2 of Top 10 Tuesday courtesy of The Broke and the Bookish and this week the list is Top 10 Inspiring Quotes from Books (anything that inspires you, challenges you, makes you think, encourages you, etc.). So, in no particular order, here's my top 5 (because I'm currently on a tablet and formatting sucks so I'll update when I get a proper computer)...

  1. '"Yeah, sometimes life really sucks," she says. "But do you know what I'm holding on for?" I raise my eyebrows. She raises hers, too, mimicking me. "The moments that don't suck," she says. "The trick is to notice them when they come around." Then she smiles, and I smile back, and we climb the stairs to the train platform side by side.' ~ Allegiant by Veronica Roth Despite Allegiant being my least favourite of all the Divergent trilogy, this section really stood out to me. In the last few pages of the book, I felt like this was actually a really good message to leave readers with - something that we can use in our own lives. So while I said this list was in no particular order, I think that starts now because this is definitely my favourite quote of them all.
  2. '"It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart."' ~ Mockingjay by Susanne Collins I love Finnick - there needs to be more Finnick in the books (and he totally should have stayed with Annie). I think dystopian novels in general are great at giving messages and I think this, while so simple and just a short moment in Mockingjay, is really powerful, because again it's relatable to our lives, not just the characters. A sound piece of advice from a character who knows what he's talking about.
  3. '"We have to be back in three hours," Ronan said. "I just fed Chainsaw but she'll need it again."
    "This," Gansey replied "is precisely why I didn't want to have a baby with you."'
    ~ The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater What I love about this series is, not only is the premise something totally original to me but the characters are so complex and well thought out. This series makes me wish I had a group of friends just like this - who have known each other for years and you just have so many hilarious moments with them. This quote to me, reflects that. Gansey and Ronan are really close friends and you can tell there's some kind of history between them just from that quote. I'm thinking I need the final book even more now...
  4. '"And what have you decided?"
    "My soul." I felt a great weight lift off my shoulders as I said this. No more doubts. No more agonizing. I knew my path, what I had to do. "I choose humanity and all that comes with it. Weakness, conscious, mortality, everything."'
    ~ The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa I'm starting to think you can start a drinking game with this - every time I mention the Iron Fey or the Lux series, take a shot! Seriously though, The Iron Knight covers so many things with the main issue being how is humanity defined. What makes us human? This quote essentially summarises that question for me. It made me think more carefully about what it means to be human. Now we've covered The Iron Fey, I suppose it would be rude not to include the other series I'm in love with wouldn't it...
  5. '"More books." His eyes went wide. "You have, like, ten books you just said you haven't read."
    "Doesn't mean I won't get more books." I smiled at his incredulous expression. "I haven't been able to read a lot lately, but I will, and then I won't be out of anything new to read."'
    ~ Onyx by Jennifer L Armentrout Maybe it's just the relevance to my life but I love this quote so much and I guess it encourages me that having a HUGE TBR list is perfectly normal. Plus, like I said, Katy + Daemon = perfection. I need more of these books in my life. Please?

    So this is my (current) top 10, which will more than likely be updated sooner or later. What would your top 10 look like?

Saturday 11 April 2015

Taylor Swift Book Tag

Taylor Swift Book Tag

As a huge Swiftie, I couldn't not do the Taylor Swift Book Tag. Since I'm currently friendless I'm not tagging anyone but feel free to do it yourselves if you enjoy it. I saw this tag originally here on Katytastic's Youtube channel (amazing channel btw, I love it) so I'm doing her version. So, lets get started.

  1. We are never ever getting back together - pick a book or series that you were pretty sure you were in love with but then wanted to break up withThis is quite a hard one but I think it might have to be Mockingjay. I love the Hunger Games series - both books and movies - but for me, Mockingjay was the worst book out of all of them. It was confusing and rushed and it just kind of ruined the series for me. Mockingjay Part 1 is great though so I'm hoping the movies change my mindset but the book was definitely awful and, as such, I haven't read it since I first finished it.
  2. Red - pick a book with a red coverFor this one I'm going to pick Evernight by Claudia Gray which is the first book in a paranormal series about a half-human half-vampire Bianca who starts school at the mysterious Evernight which is a boarding school for vampires - hence the red cover I guess.
  3. The best day - pick a book that makes you feel nostalgicThe Smuggler's Cove by Enid Blyton is a huge bind up of a collection of short stories that my dad used to read to me at night before I went to sleep when I was little and, although I don't read them anymore, I still have the book tucked away in my room.
  4. Love story - pick a book with a forbidden loveThere are a couple of series that are going to be repeated in this tag I can tell. Meghan and Ash's love is definitely not problem free. There's no getting away from the fact that she's a Summer and he's a Winter which is going to cause a few issues...
  5. I knew you were trouble - pick a book with a bad character you just couldn't help but loveSo while Daemon Black isn't a bad character - he is kind of a jerk, especially in Obsidian. But, despite that, I did fall in love with him - he's hilarious and sweet and, once you get past the whole being a jerk to protect my sister side of him, he's kind of the perfect guy and Katy is a lucky girl.
  6. Innocent - pick a book that someone ruined the ending forBy the time I got my hands on Allegiant by Veronica Roth, I already knew what happened at the end which, while it didn't spoil it for me, it did put a damper on it because I knew what happened.
  7. Everything has changed - pick a character that has gone through extensive character developmentI think for me, Meghan Chase from the Iron Fey series goes through a big character development, especially in the first two books. By the time we reach the Iron Queen, Meghan has changed from the naive 16 year old who cautiously entered the Nevernever, into a bad ass Queen who is completely ready to rule her court.
  8. You belong with me - pick your most anticipated book releaseI did a post on this a couple of weeks ago but I think my most anticipated release is A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. The premise of this book sounds so interesting and since I'm planning on reading Throne of Glass at some point in the near future, I'm definitely looking forward to this book.
  9. Forever and Always - pick your favourite book coupleAt the minute, probably Daemon and Katy (I'm obsessed can you tell?). Their relationship is just so sweet and neither one holds out on the other when it comes to arguments and just generally irritating each other which means there are plenty of hilarious moments to read about. I need more...
  10. Come back, be here - pick a book you would least like to lend out, for fear of missing it too muchCan I say all of them because I'm very protective? I can? Oh good...
  11. Teardrops on my guitar - pick a book that made you cry a lotI don't really cry at books or movies but I did cry at If I Stay - both the book and the movie. It's just so sweet and sad and all you want is for Mia to decide to stay.
  12. Shake it off - pick a book that you love so much, you just shake off the hatersI did really like Twilight - back before it was slated and before the movies, I still have a place in my heart for the series and, more specifically, one certain werewolf that Bella (stupidly) turned down.
So, that was my Taylor Swift Book Tag. What books would you have chosen?



Top Ten Tuesday...On Saturday



This is a new thing that I'm starting - Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and the Bookish blog. Every week (hopefully Tuesday but my laptop's broken so it'll be whenever I can get to a computer) there will be a new top 10 bookish list of things. This week's list is Top 10 characters you'd like to check in with, so, in no particular order, here's my list...

  1. Sean and Puck - The Scorpio Races by Maggie StiefvaterThis book was so good and, while I probably wouldn't want an entire book about them because it's so good as a standalone; I would like maybe a novella or short story about them and their families. Are they still racing? Did Puck keep her family together? Lots of questions that I would like answered at some point in some form.
  2. Daemon and Katy - The Lux series by Jennifer L. ArmentroutThis is my favourite series at the moment. Kat and Daemon's relationship is so perfect and I think I've read the series at least ten thousand times since February this year (which is when I first found it). There are some extra bits about their life dotted around the Internet which I love reading but I could honestly read another ten books about these characters I just love them so much.
  3. Gabriel and Kaitlin - The Dark Visions series by L.J.SmithL.J. Smith's books are a bit hit and miss for me but I loved this series so much. Gabriel is such a...tricky character to like but once you get to know him he's a sweetheart. Apparently there is another book coming in the series but that rumour has been going around for a few years now so I don't know whether we will or not but again, I'd really like to see what these characters are up to now.
  4. Ash and Meghan (and Puck) - The Iron Fey series by Julie KagawaYou all knew this was coming. What can I say - I need more Ash in my life. Like with the Lux series, I could read hundreds of books about these characters and not get bored. I would love to see the wedding and the birth of their son and just generally know what life is like for them as rulers now. I'm sure wherever Puck is, trouble isn't far behind anyway...
  5. Bianca and Lucas - Evernight series by Claudia GrayA paranormal series with a difference. I'd really want to know how they've managed to get around the whole human-ghost issue they've got going on and whether they've returned to Evernight or whether Lucas and his mom have made up. Lots of questions but few answers, which seems to be a common theme in this post
  6. Sarah and Natasha - The Horse Dancer by JoJo MoyesNot really a YA book but I fell in love with this story none the less. It's a beautiful and magical story that has stayed with me since I turned the last page. We get a brief look at life after the story at the end of the book but I'd love to know more about Sarah's life training and whether she thinks her grandfather would have been proud of her for following in his footsteps.
  7. Gavriel and Tana - The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly BlackI need more! Does Tana go cold? Does she stay together with Gavriel in the Coldtown or do they escape and leave the confines of the town? What happens?!?! I love it as a standalone yes BUT there are so many things I need to know that isn't answered in the book. Pray with me for a sequel...
  8. Four/Tobias - Divergent by Veronica RothBecause after that ending I need to make sure my baby is okay. Veronica cannot leave me hanging like that without knowing he's doing okay. Plus I kind of want to know how he's getting on with his parents and without the factions.
  9. Willow and Alex - Angel trilogy by L.A WeatherlyI thought this series ended well so I don't think another book is needed, but again, maybe a novella, just to let us know how Willow and Alex are doing after the war with the angels. Did they travel anywhere or did they just stay at the cabin?
  10. Jace and Clary - the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra ClareAgain, probably an obvious choice and again, a novella is probably only needed but I want to know whether Clary got her best friend back, how Luke and Jocelyn are getting on now they're married and how Jace and Clary are. Does she live at the Institute now? Taking bets on how many arguments the pair of them have had over something stupid...
So there you have it - my top ten list of characters that I would most like to check in with because I'm a nosey person like that. Plus, most of these are book boyfriends and who wouldn't want to spend more time in their pleasant company? Like I said - hopefully these will be every Tuesday but it depends on when I can get to a computer that actually works.




Sunday 5 April 2015

The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson

The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson

Rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis: St Petersburg, 1917. Anna's world is under threat. The eighteen-year-old countess has lived in luxury all her life, but revolution is coming - and her family must escape.
London, 1919. Now penniless, Anna is working as a servant for the aristocratic Westerholmes. But as she falls in love with the young earl, it becomes harder to keep her true identity a secret.

Review: First off, I want to take a moment to appreciate that cover. You can't see it on a computer screen but those gold dragonflies in the top left corner are so sparkly and glittery and the effect is beautiful. Honestly, buy it for the cover! Plus, the model is gorgeous as well and is a perfect Anna for me. Anyway...

This is a really light hearted and fast paced read. I love Eva Ibbotson's writing style and how she effortlessly creates these stunning plot lines in places that I both know and don't know. Anna is a Russian countess so there's little bits of Russian mingled in throughout the book and it's very detailed on it's history. A lot of authors would struggle with this - incorporating history and so many characters (because there are a lot) into one story is intimidating but Eva really makes it work. This is a story that doesn't really require a lot of thinking on your part, which makes a nice change from the overwhelming number of books that now incorporate mysteries or murders or something that means you have to stay awake in order to follow along. This book is definitely perfect for a lazy summer read - the most taxing thing is keeping track of who's who and it gets easier after a few chapters.

Anna is a really strong female protagonist for me. She is willing to do anything to keep her family safe and secure, even if it means degrading herself by working as a maid in someone else's house. This is how her family view her decision to work for Rupert but Anna loves it. She's an inquisitive child growing up and that innocence in the world never leaves her, even after having to flee from her home in Russia and losing her father. There are lots of humorous moments that involve Anna, specifically her use of 'Selina Strickland's Domestic Compendium.' As a countess, Anna obviously knows very little about life as a maid and so, to help her in her new life, she uses this book - all two thousand and three pages of it - in order to help her. Unfortunately, it's very old fashioned even in 1919 and this leads to lots of comedic moments in which Anna drives the other servants mad asking for things which she doesn't actually need.

Muriel is actually a really good antagonist. She's two faced and sly and is willing to do whatever it takes to take over Mersham. As the book progresses and you find out more about Muriel, you really begin to dislike Muriel and her underhand methods and you really feel for Rupert who tries so hard to make his fiance happy but never quite manages it. When he buys her the most expensive horse for example, despite not being able to afford it, and she turns it down straight away just makes you feel so sorry for Rupert and leaves you screaming at him that she's no good for him and he should leave now while he still can. Of course he doesn't, and so the drama continues, and Muriel systematically makes enemies of every single person in the neighbourhood in some way, either by insulting their religion or by choosing to have her wedding dress made in a posh boutique rather than the local dressmaker. This book just proves that you don't need to have a murder or a big mystery to solve to have a good antagonist.

I love Rupert. He's so kind and he really does love his family and wants to do right by them. He's a war hero and was a scholar before that and, despite not wanting to take over Mersham, he honours his promise to his older brother George and does it anyway, marrying Muriel after she promises to help him do that. You get the feeling that he's never really had a girlfriend - especially when you see Muriel's behaviour - and that just makes you feel even worse for him. I could write a whole post just on the characters who are so well rounded and believable but I won't, even though there are plenty of them to write about!

The romance. Ah, finally a good romance. Good romances seem to be few and far between recently but this book does it perfectly. It's not an insta-connection per se but there is definitely an attraction between Rupert and Anna that just gets stronger as the book goes along. You know they're going to get together eventually, but that doesn't make it any less interesting to see how they develop and how they overcome the barrier of them being earl and maid. Or countess - whatever. It's just a really sweet relationship which leaves you yelling at both of them to just get together already - forget the Wicked Witch of the West and your duties - kiss already! Or, at least I was. (I get very emotionally attached to characters, can you tell?)

The plot itself isn't anything special but it doesn't need to be. It doesn't matter that it's quite predictable because it's not meant to be something you have to solve. You're meant to just sit back and relax and enjoy the book and I think that Eva has really pulled off something that is quite tricky to do. Normally, having a predictable plot is a bad thing but sometimes, if it's the right genre and the characters are good, it can be just what you need.

This book is the perfect lazy summer read, and if you haven't read anything from Eva Ibbotson, brace yourself to fall in love with her work just like I have.

Image from http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Secret-Countess-Eva-Ibbotson/dp/0230014860 - no Copyright intended 

Thursday 2 April 2015

Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Rating: 2.5 stars

Synopsis: Neva keeps a list of The Missing - people like her grandmother who were part of her life but who have now vanished. The people who everyone else pretends never existed. In a nation isolated beneath the dome of the Protectosphere - which is supposed to protect but also imprisons - Neva and her friends dream of freedom. But life is becoming complicated for Neva. She's falling for her best friend's boyfriend - and she's learning more than she ever wanted to know about what might be happening to The Missing...

Review: Dystopian novels seem to be really taking a turn for the worse lately. This book sounds promising. Essentially a separate world, protected by the aptly (and somewhat arrogantly) named Protectosphere, where the good old government is keeping secrets from it's citizens. The actual story itself was a huge let down. The plot itself reminded me of Delirium except to me it wasn't written as well as Delirium was. The list of The Missing had the most potential for me. This is what would have separated Dark Parties from other dystopian's, but it was a very hit and miss thing to me. We'd have the list explained and then it wouldn't be mentioned for a while and, eventually, by the end of the book, the list was almost being added in as an afterthought. We moved away from Neva finding out about what happens to The Missing and, instead dwell more on her 'feelings' for her best friends boyfriend.

Oh God. In the opening chapter we see this 'romance' bloom in the dark party and it infuriated me throughout the entire book. It's essentially what I talked about in my last post about insta-connections. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for the insta-connection if it's done well. In my next post, the connection between the two characters was really well done and wasn't too in your face. To me, that's a well done insta-connection romance. Where it's obvious they both like each other but they don't think about each other 24/7. To me, so many YA books overdo the insta-connection and don't do it well enough to properly convey the characters feelings. Here, Neva is constantly thinking about Braydon. Constantly. Half the book is taken up with her wanting to be with him but not wanting to destroy her relationship with her best friend. So, we all know what happens there then. It was just irritating and to me, ruined the book. Instead of spending so much time obsessing over Braydon, Neva could have become a really strong heroine but she didn't, and so it almost seemed a waste of time visiting these characters and spending time in their world.

It's not just Neva who wasn't a strong character. None of the characters in the book were particularly strong. Ethan, for example is such a strange character. He doesn't add anything to the story at all. The whole reason he's there is that he was Neva's boyfriend previously but he got arrested doing something stupid and became dull and boring and Neva has decided she doesn't love him anymore. She refers to him like he's not my Ethan - like there are two different people which was a little strange to me. To me (and maybe it's just me) if you loved someone as intensely as Neva and Ethan seemed to, surely that wouldn't fade away after just six months of him 'changing'. I'd have tried a lot harder to find out what happened to him, rather than just letting him be which is what Neva seemed to do. He was just a dead weight - put into the story at random moments so that the reader doesn't forget about him but his whole 'quest to prove his love to Neva' was a little ridiculous and didn't fit into the story.

Neva herself wasn't as kickass as she needed to be. A dystopian heroine for me needs to be able to kick ass. Katniss does, Tris does - they develop over the course of the books so that, while they're strong characters in Chapter 1, they're even stronger at the end of the book. Neva didn't make that transition. She tried to but it didn't really work. She reluctantly takes part in one act of 'rebellion' and suddenly she feels like she can do anything? Really? That's not how these things work. When you think about Tris and Katniss, they don't know how important they are until everything's been set in motion. They're just normal girls trying to survive in their world and it's only through a series of actions that changes that. Tris is told she's Divergent and so her only focus is staying alive in the one faction that checks for Divergents. Katniss volunteers for Prim in the Hunger Games and so her focus is staying alive for her. Point is, even before these actions, you get the idea that there's a history to the world. A long and complex history and you get a feel for other characters without having to see them or hear from them and I think that's why these series are so successful. The authors have created an entire world and crafted it in a way that makes the actions of the protagonist seem normal. Tris and Katniss are so focused on survival that they don't consider rebellion until the last minute, unlike Neva whose entire being seems to be focused on rebelling against this mysterious government that we don't really get much information about. Neva seems to ping from being timid and afraid of getting in trouble, to being unafraid and ready to start a fight. It's confusing and exhausting and it doesn't make for a believable character.

Running on that theme of  having important information inferred, Sara seems to rely too much on that. There are a lot of things that we're told that isn't ever explained to us. For example, Neva is afraid of the dark. We don't know why and we don't find out, she just has an inexplicable fear of the dark. Maybe if this interfered in the plot in some way it would be okay but it doesn't. Like Ethan, it's just there for no apparent reason and isn't explained and I was left wondering what the point of including it actually was. We don't know why Neva doesn't like Braydon to begin with. She hates him in Chapter 1 but again we don't know why. Then we launch into the whole but he's my best friends boyfriend debacle and I was lost. It's little details like this that the author has left to the reader to interpret but are things that we might actually need to know. Especially in the case of Braydon - why doesn't she trust him? What did he do to her that was so awful? If you're not going to explain it, don't put it in!

In short, this book had potential to be amazing. Unfortunately, there were just too many things that didn't add up or weren't thought out about the plot, the characters and the world itself and the plot had no real substance to it. Although it's a fast read, it was really disappointing. Looks like I'll just have to re-read Divergent again. Poor me...

Image from http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Parties-Sara-Grant/dp/B008W31IJY - no Copyright intended