REVIEW: NEVER FADE by Alexandra Bracken

REVIEW: NEVER FADE

Summary:
Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her.

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

Title: NEVER FADE

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Series: The Darkest Minds #2

Source: Purchased from Kobo

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: October 15, 2013

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

I thought this was a case of sloppy execution. I felt like it was too much a repeat of the first novel and not enough of it's OWN novel. I thought maybe I would learn to love Liam and Ruby because I had heard such great things about how amazing he was, but I was left feeling kinda blah about it and them. It would have been better if the whole mind erasure thing from the first book hadn't happened because I wasn't a fan of it as a plot device, tbh.

REVIEW: A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU by Claudia Gray

REVIEW: A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU

Summary:
Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father's killer through multiple dimensions.

Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores an amazingly intricate multi-universe where fate is unavoidable, the truth elusive, and love the greatest mystery of all.

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You

Author: Claudia Gray

Series: Firebird #1

Source: Purchased from Kobo

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Honestly, this one started out a bit slow but picked up some pace. I enjoyed it but not nearly as much as I thought I would. The ending left me wanting more and I honestly don't see how there could be a sequel to it. Sure there were a couple things left unresolved, but in my opinion, not having read the second book, I would say this could have been a stand alone.

REVIEW: MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza

Summary:
Mila 2.0 is the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence.

Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past—that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.

Mila 2.0 is Debra Driza’s bold debut and the first book in a Bourne Identity-style trilogy that combines heart-pounding action with a riveting exploration of what it really means to be human. Fans of I Am Number Four will love Mila for who she is and what she longs to be—and a cliffhanger ending will leave them breathlessly awaiting the sequel.

Title: MILA 2.0

Author: Debra Driza

Series: Mila 2.0 #1

Source: Purchased from BookOutlet and Kobo (I had high hopes)

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: March 12, 2013

Rating: 3/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

I am okay with marketing a book in a way that will get people to read it -- so long as it is true. When you say that something has Bourne Identity-esque qualities to it, then there should be some of those qualities to it. I thought it was a stretch to name Mila 2.0 in the same vein. This still wasn't TOO bad, I got through it. But there was so much of it that relied on convenience and dramatic moments that I couldn't handle it.

REVIEW: THE DARKEST MINDS by Alexandra Bracken

Summary:
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.
 

Title: THE DARKEST MINDS

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Source: Purchased from Kobo

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication Date: December 18, 2012

Rating: 3/5 stars

Purchase:
Amazon | Chapters | TBD

This wasn't a bad book per say. I didn't mind reading it, but I thought it was pretty predictable. I felt like I knew everything that was going to happen before it did. Maybe I just have some latent mind powers though. You never know.

QotB Recommends: SCIENCE FICTION BOOKS

Just like with the Fantasy list, I'm going to do this in three separate lists. Basics, Further Study, Back of the Bookshelf. 

"But Jamie, how do you define these?" you're asking. Well I do have an answer for that:
Basics are the books that are science fiction lite; they will help transition you into the genre and give you an understanding of the tropes/types of things you will see in most Science Fiction novels. 

Further Study are the books/series that are heavier on the world building and character development; they are typically trilogies so they won't take too long to read.

Back of the Bookshelf are the epic sagas that go so much deeper than world building. I have tried to make these ones books that are not as mainstream.

Waiting on Wednesday: CONSIDER by Kristy Acevedo

It's that time of week again -- WAITING ON WEDNESDAY! I have a super awesome one for you guys this week that I have been excited about for a while but that was renewed when I saw the cover reveal and chapter one excerpt (which I have linked below for you to check out!) My choice for this week is...

CONSIDER by Kristy Acevedo

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY: Starflight by Melissa Landers

Hi and happy Wednesday! This week I'm up for what I'm waiting on and I think I have a pretty good choice...

STARFLIGHT by Melissa Landers