Early Review: The Glimpse by Claire Merle

The Glimpse by Claire Merle

• Pub. Date: June 7, 2012
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Pages: 432

http://www.clairemerle.com

Once you've seen into the future, can you change your destiny?


"In a near future, society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to Pure-boy Jasper Taurell.
Jasper is from a rich and influential family and despite Ana’s condition, wants to be with her. The authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out among the Crazies. As Ana’s joining ceremony and her birthday loom closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City and live a ‘normal’ life. But then Jasper disappears.
Led to believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not interfere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society and into the pits of the human soul. And as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper's abduction she uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown up to believe, but she also learns to love as she has never loved before."

Review: Wow this book was intense. The world which was created was disturbingly scary, imagine a world where little kids as young as four commit suicide, believing in religion or a higher power is considered a form of psychosis and then of course there is the Big 3 - schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. I finished reading The Glimpse about a week ago and I usually write the reviews a day or so after but with this one I had to wait and get my feelings in order. Did I love it..did I like it, in the end I decided I really did like it. But I do have a feeling that this is going to be one of those controversial books.


Ana is a Pure ( people who don't have the genes to ever develop a mental health illness ) or at least she thought she was until she learned her father who is a Pure geneticist altered her test results. Now she must be joined with Jasper before she turns 18 to remain in the pure society or be kicked out and have to live with the Crazies ( people who tested positive to have or to eventually develop a mental illness. ) Long story short Jasper disappears and Ana sets off to find him but in the process discovers truths that she never would have accepted true, learns about the lies being fed by the government and she meets Cole.

I struggled with the first half of the book, not that I didn't find it interesting with all the world building that was going on but it just dragged. The second half is when things picked up and it had the total opposite affect on me then the first, I wasn't able to put it down.

 I really liked Cole he is actually seven years older then Ana which came a surprise since I rarely see such huge age gaps in the YA genre but nonetheless he was a character I really enjoyed. Seriously if it wasn't for Ana being seventeen I wouldn't even put this under YA there was so many events that took place that is definitely for a more mature reader.

The book ended with nothing really being solved, a lot of secrets are revealed but only for more questions to arise by the end of it. The Glimpse leaves you hanging and wanting for more. I'm really curious to see what happens in the next book.

Buy on

Amazon

Review: Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan

Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan

• Pub. Date:February 2012
• Publisher:Cedar Fort, Incorporated/C F I Distribution
• Pages: 312

http://www.rachelmcclellan.com

"Llona Reese is used to living on the run. After the Vykens killed her parents, she knew they would eventually come for her too. But she never felt ready to face them---until now. Defying the Auran Council and everything she's been taught, Llona must learn to use her power over light as a weapon if she wants to survive."

First Line: "Sigmund Freud once said that the goal of all life is death."


I paused from getting into the now-empty hearse, looking from the black-gloved hand gripping my arm to the woman who'd spoken the depressing words.


Review: I found myself reading Fractured Light late into the middle of the night, telling myself I'm almost finished just a few more pages.  I really enjoyed this book despite the fact that it followed your typical Paranormal YA story line of where there is a girl who has powers but is hiding it, a guy who falls in love with her and she with him but they are forbidden to be together and of course the dangerous enemy. I loved the uniqueness of the Auras, the characters were very likable and it was all incredibly fast paced that I couldn't help but love Fractured Light.

I loved Llona's character especially when she burst out of her shell and refused to be weak and scared of the Vyken and  took control of her life. I really found the Light to be very interesting and am interested to see what more Llona learns about the Light and how her powers will grow in the upcoming book.  Another person I really loved was May I thought it was pretty awesome how McClellan made Llona's closest friend an undiscovered fury. I can't wait for the second book to see how their friendship develop and really hope we get to see more of what May can do as well.

I also liked Christian, I wasn't a fan of the mixed signals he gave Llona but at the same time I can see why he was so conflicted. I 'm interested to see how things develop with the two.

Another thing that I found very predictable was knowing who the Vyken was. It was very obvious from the moment the character appeared although I wanted to think otherwise because I figured it couldn't be that simple. Nonetheless it didn't take away from the plot for me in a twisted way I actually was interested to read how the antagonist toyed with Llona. There was one scene that I did not see coming though, a character who I was growing to like got killed but I can see why it had to happen.

Overall this was a fast paced and exciting debut novel. And I can't wait to buy the second in the series when it comes out because I have a feeling that all that happened in this book is just the beginning with many more secrets still waiting to be revealed.

Buy on 

Amazon / B&N

Review: Goddess Interrupted (Goddess Test #2) by Aimee Carter

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

• Pub. Date:March 2012
• Publisher: Harlequin
• Pages: 304
• Series: Goddess Test #2

http://www.aimeecarter.com

"Kate Winters has won immortality. 


But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it. 


Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. 


As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future. 
Henry’s first wife, Persephone."

First Line: Calliope trudged through the sunny field as she ignored the babble of the redhead trailing behind her.


Review: If you are a lover of Greek Mythology be warned that Goddess Interrupted does not follow the actual myths. Carter has taken the myths and put major twists to pretty much all of it. And for a person like me who loves her Greek Mythology at times it can be frustrating but when I read it and take it for what it is, it's actually an enjoyable read.

First and foremost I still can't stand Henry. He infuriates me through the entire novel. It is so wrong the way he treats Kate. Plain and simple I do not like him even in the end when he did try to make things better between the two of them the damage had been done as far as my feelings towards him goes. Although I have to admit Carter did do a great job writing his character because it takes a lot for me to get so emotionally pissed off at a character. I think I might have had understood him better if there were a few chapters written from his point of view.

What I was interested in going into this novel was how Kate and Persephone would interact. And Persephone definitely made things interesting. As far as Kate's character is concerned she is a much stronger character then in the previous book but my biggest complaint about her was she whined so much about her insecurities with Henry.

What I did like was how Carter incorporated the Titans into the story line. And I actually like Calliope the Villain of the story, ( I know what a weird thing to say) only because she was very consistent character wise and with her hatred towards Kate even after her major plans failed she still found ways to disrupt Kate's life, the ending which is a major cliffhanger being one of them.

Overall I found this to be a quick read and I'm even looking forward to the third book in the series.

Review: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

• Pub. Date: June 2007
• Publisher:Harper Collins Publishers
• Format: Hardcover 336pp
• Series:Wicked Lovely #1

http://www.melissa-marr.com/

"All teenagers have problems, but few of them can match those of Aislinn, who has the power to see faeries. Quite understandably, she wishes that she could share her friends' obliviousness and tries hard to avoid these invisible intruders. But one faery in particular refuses to leave her alone. Keenan the Summer King is convinced beyond all reasoning that Aislinn is the queen he has been seeking for nine centuries. What's a 21st-century girl to do when she's stalked by a suitor nobody else can see? ""

First Sentence: "The Summer King knelt before her. "Is this what you freely choose, to risk winter's chill?"

It's funny every time I think of faeries I think of Tinkerbell, which is why I admire Melissa Marr for keeping much of the folklore that really surrounds faeries true in her novel. I personally loved that at the beginning of every chapter there was a quote taken from random works about the fae.

The characters were interesting, they kept my attention but besides Donia I didn't really feel there was much character growth through the novel, everyone just stayed the same. I also wasn't feeling the whole Seth and Aislinn pair. I just didn't feel the connection between the two. Not to mention I didn't understand how Seth especially with the way his character was described could be so calm in every single situation. Some raw emotion would have been nice.

As for Keenan, I don't really have much to say about him. I understood his frustration and desperation but I did not care for the whole stalker vibe he was giving off to Aislinn. Seriously, stalkers are not sexy...it's creepy.

Overall I did like but not love Wicked Lovely. I received the first three installments in the series for free through Swap so I will continue the series, and see if the characters have more development. Although it will be interesting to see since the next book is about Leslie, Aislinn's friend.

Book Trailer