Fire Country (Country Saga #1) by David Estes

Fire Country (Country Saga #1) by David Estes

ebook, 398 pages
Published January 29th 2013
ISBN:139781301505821

Goodreads Summary

In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely. 

Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers.

Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with. 

As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun.

My Review

Fire Country is the first book of the Country series, which is the sister series to David’s Dwellers series. Now I have to admit that I have yet to finish David’s Dweller series and Evolution series, but I previously did a cover reveal for this book and it was the monthly read in an online book group I’m in, so I had to move this book up in my to-read list. As with Moon Dwellers, David did not disappoint me with this novel. Actually, I can say with all honestly that it’s the best book I've read by him so far. I have become a great fan of his. 

The main difference between this book and other books that I have read so far by David is the dialect of this society. Not to go off a topic, but I have a friend who once told me that he couldn't read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone because of all the made-up language. I personally feel the made-up terms helped make the world of Harry Potter what it is, but I can understand how daunting it can be to read something with words that you can’t find in a dictionary (or that can be but have a totally different meaning). Even though most of the time the new terms are defined or at the very least explained, you have to get your mind used to them and their usage. Once you get into Harry Potter, for example, words like muggle become second nature to you and you learn to love the new terms. That’s what happened when I first started reading the dialect of Fire Country. Getting used to their dialect wasn't all that difficult for me and I actually really liked it (not like Blood Red Road, where I found the language cool at first and then quickly got annoyed with it or Bumped where I hated it off the bat). It kind of reminds me of the dialect of the southern states and considering that this region is plagued by extreme heat and desert, makes me wonder if Fire Country is located within that region.  And trading words like “burnin’”, “searin’”, and “blaze” for common swear words is a good way to sneak such words into a teen book. 

David gave a lot of character development in Siena. She goes from a skinny, weak, “youngling” to a still skinny, but strong warrior. Even though the time and circumstances are different from what we know today, a lot of what she goes through mentally (growing pains, trouble fitting in, rebellion, grief) ring true for many teenagers today. In the beginning of the book, she’s so shy and unsure of herself because she’s small and scrawny and isn't popular, but as the novel goes on, she gains great strength. Despite her insecurities and small stature, however, you can see the rebellion in her from the beginning, just from her constant use of “words that’d draw my father’s hand across my face like lightening.” Every time she rebelled against her father, I mentally routed for her and then cringed when she was punished for it. As terrible as it was, it was a good thing because it made her that much stronger. 

I love Circ. He was such a good friend to Siena. It was obvious that he would do anything for her. I don’t know about everyone else, but I could kind of see that he was interested in her as more than a friend from the beginning. I think it was something about the lengths he seemed to be willing to go for her and their interactions with each other that screamed more than just close friendship. Maybe as “todders” or “midders” these things would be strictly friendship, but not as “youngling” and “pre-bearer”. 

Siena’s father is such a cruel and selfish man and is way too hard on Siena and her mother. Siena says that he wasn't always that way; that there was a time when he taught her things and played with her and was happy. 

"This man is but a shadow of the father I once knew; the father who sat me on his knees and bumped them up and down while I squealed with laughter; the father who smiled bigger'n the desert when I came home from Learning holding the Smooth Stone, awarded to the best Midder student; the father who held my hand and confronted Midder Vena when she struck me in the arm. No, the man standing 'fore me ain't the man who did any of those things"

Somehow I have a very hard time picturing the man described here. The man portrayed in this book is power-hungry, egotistical, and self-centered. Some the secrets that he and the other Greynotes (the oldest members of Fire Country) have been harvesting did not seem all that big at first, but the more that is revealed, the meaner and selfish Siena father becomes. 

Even though this is not the first novel I have read with a society that dictates when a young girl should marry and have children and/or allows men to have multiple wives or child bearers, I still am angry and appalled with every such novel I read. In Fire Country, the Law states that girls become "bearers" at age sixteen (which is middle age considering that, on average, the life expectancy for men is 30 and for women is 32) and they have a ceremony called "the Call" where a mate is selected from a list of eligible boys (18 years or older, which Siena finds unfair). Then they are to immediately conceive a child and continue to have one child every three years thereafter. A "full family" is one that consists of one man, three "Calls" and nine children. Men are allowed more than one Call, but women are to remain with their Call, unless they die in which case a new call is selected. The main purpose for this is to keep their people from dying out. Considering how short the life expectancy of the people due to their environment, it is reasonable to try to ensure that their population remains stable. However, women get the short end of this deal, which Siena's "learning-mate" Lara points out. 

"They pick a guy, they pick a girl, stick you together, and nine full moons later out pops a kid. Sounds like breeding to me." 

Breeding, a word that Siena feels implies that they're animals or hunks of meat. She's definitely not a piece of meat. But even if they are not meat, the women are still being used. They are not allowed any say into who their call is, even though they will be forced to be intimate and share a life with that person for the rest of their short life. They are forced to bear children at 16, whether they want to or are ready to or not. The amount of children and how often they have them is dictated. Men are allowed more than one "Call", but women are not even allowed male friends after their Call, which means Siena and Circ can no longer be friends. It's amazing how people who are so essential to their population have the least amount of rights. 

I greatly recommend this novel to dystopian/apocalyptic fans. I look forward to the next installment to the series Ice Country next month. 

The Other Side by Tyler Terry

The Other Side by Tyler Terry

Kindle Edition, 310 pages
Published May 16th 2012 by CranuimXPublishing

Goodread Summary 

Decision time. Left or right? Mr X, or Mr Z? 

Imagine being able to find out what would happen if you chose the other path...

Would you make the same decision?

...and, if you could, would you go back and change all the mistakes you've ever made in the name of love?

"The Other Side" tells of four lives, all so different. 

Glamorous Katya is certain she can ‘have it all’, but forgets that some people have long memories...

Cathy is trapped in a tedious marriage with the in-laws from hell – but why did the rock-chick marry Mr Pipe and Slippers? 

Alexa fears that a ‘friend’ is trying to steal away her perfect life – everyone dismisses her fears as paranoia...

...while Sandie struggles with a drink problem, a life spiraling downwards – which came first, the drink or the problems?

Four very different stories – but they are all connected.

"The Other Side" travels backwards through time to unravel the decisions of the past and their influence on the present lives of everyone concerned - for better or for worse.

My Review

This review is going to be short, more summary than real review, because I don’t want to give too much away.  At one point or another in our lives we sometimes wonder how our lives would’ve turned out if we hadn’t made a particular decision. What if I didn’t go to college? What if I chose a different one? What if I chose this job instead of that? What if I haven’t met Mr. X? Things like that. This story goes into the lives of four women, going backwards into time to explore the decisions that lead them to where they are today. 

Katya Fox has very high hopes and standards. She is determined to have it all: a successful career as a writer or a journalist, a successful academic or artist husband, an apartment in London, and a summer cottage. While in college she and her friend Maggie devised “the plan” for their perfect lives. Katya’s high goals has left her in her 40s and alone, while Maggie, who dismissed “the plan,” has a husband, kids, a nice home, and a series of novels under her belt. Yet, Katya swears that she ended up better than Maggie. Just look what settling for Clive and abandoning “the plan” has done to her. She got married and had children before the age of thirty (at the prime of her youth), bought an antique shop instead of pursuing a serious career, and published a series of “chick lit” novels instead something of literary substance. Sure they had a house on the seaside, but what good is it if you have to rent it out in order to pay for it? Maggie had let her looks go as well; now she had big hips and behind and could stand for a good facial and a professional coloring. At least Katya had a successful job as manager of the Flowers Gallery and she looked pretty good for a woman in her forties. Nope, she didn’t envy Maggie’s life one bit, except that Maggie had a husband and friends, while Katya spent most of her time alone; and at least Maggie was published, while Katya hadn’t been able to write anything in years nor land a column in a reputable paper or magazine. But if Katya kept her standards high and stuck to “the plan”, she’ll eventually have all…right?

Cathy is married with two sons. Yet she is nowhere near happy. Her husband is incredibly predictable and is too attached to his family and his routine. She is smothered by her mother- and sister-in-law and yearns for spontaneity with her husband and family. After one act of rebellion against her husband and his family, she starts to wonder how she got to where she is and what could’ve been if she were with the man she previously let slip through her fingers. 

Alexa has a great life as co-owner of a café in Scotland with her loving husband Charlie and her young daughter Freya. That is until Janey came along. From the time Alexa meets Janey, she is convinced that Janey is out to steal her husband, her best friend, her life. Janey swept into town with her jerk boyfriend to run a deli, charming everyone in town, particularly her husband and best friend Leona. When her boyfriend leaves her high and dry with an unsuccessful deli, she turns to Charlie for advice. Charlie suggests that she work at the café so Alexa could spend more time with Freya. Charlie feels that it is the best solution for everyone, but Alexa knows Janey’s game. The more Janey gets settled in with the café, Leona and Charlie, the more obvious her true motives become to Alexa. 

And finally there is Sandie, who lives in communal house owned by a hippy and inhabited by a bunch of lazy hipsters and musicians. However, when she was there with Toby she was happier. Now that he has left her, she has turned to the bottle for comfort, getting extremely drunk every night and having no memory of what transpired in the morning. 

I got into this book because I could relate to these four women in various ways. Everyone knows someone who is similar to at least one these women. At the end of Part One of the novel, you are left on the edge of your seat both wondering how they got where they are and what will become of them. At first I had issue with the factor that the author dove right into the stories of these four women without a real introduction as to their connection to each other or why we’re looking into them in the first place. By the time you reach the epilogue, however, you see just how the lives of these women are connected and you come away with a very important message. The connection between the stories of these women is the major plot twist in the story and before there is true clarity, you’re left scratching your head. Having the book separated into six year intervals and the variety of different characters does cause you to have to go back a few chapters remember who everyone is and how they’re related. But the stories are compelling and witty and it is very easy to get hooked into them.

Destroy Me (Shatter Me #1.5)

Destroy Me (Shatter Me # 1.5) by Tahereh Mafi

ebook, 103 pages
Published October 2nd 2012 by Harper
ISBN: 0062208195 (ISBN13: 9780062208194)
url: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Destroy-Me-Tahereh-Mafi?isbn=9780062208194

Goodreads Summary

Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.

Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me, Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.

My Review

Although Destroy Me is a short 42 page novella, I feel we are given a lot of insight into Warner's thoughts and world. Most of what Mafi reveals about Warner comes as no surprise to me, but I was blown away by the way it was written. You can almost feel what Warner feels, almost like you are experience everything with him. 

When I read Shatter Me, I hated Warner, but I also felt that there was more to him that what he portrays. I felt that if we were to have an opportunity to look at Warner's world we may have difficulty hating him. Destroy Me proved my prediction. Although Warner's thoughts and mannerisms all scream psychosis (particularly obsessive-compulsive disorder), when we meet his father, you have no choice but to think "Ahhh, so that's where he gets it." Warner's father makes Warner look wimpy (which is exactly how his father views him).  He's manipulative, cruel, and controlling. For example, when Warner was in bed recovering from his injuries, his father visited him. However, it was not for the reason a normal parent would check on their injured child, to make sure they're okay. His father actually seemed to think Warner was milking his injury. I have to quote some of the text because it's just so well written. 

"Sit up, son. You should be well enough to function now. You were too stupid to rest when you were supposed to, and now you've overcorrected. Three days you've been unconscious, and I arrived twenty-seven hours ago. Now get up. This is ridiculous."

Not an ounce of sympathy to be found. And when he didn't get a response from Warner (which is really the only amount of control Warner can keep), he decided to take the time to point out Warner's failures, and didn't seem to think the timing was inappropriate. 

"It's funny...because I told myself I'd wait to discuss this with you. But somehow, this moment seems so right doesn't it? ...To tell you just how tremendously...disappointed I am. Though I can't say I'm surprised…"

My favorite quote from the novella was when Warner says in reference to his father "torture is not torture when there's any hope of relief". In otherwords, one cannot be truly tortured if there is any chance of escape or physical or emotional relief. Many times, true relief in the face of torture equal death. What makes this quote so powerful is that it describes Warner’s father concisely. Warner's father gets great pleasure out of torturing and intimidating everyone around him, particularly Warner. As much as Warner would hope that his father would give him relief (namely kill him), he knows that will never be the case because it would mean Warner has won. And his father's torturous and controlling ways have caused Warner to be obsessed with having control. 

"I have an extremely low threshold for disorder; it offends my very being. I shower regularly. I eat six small meals a day. I dedicate two hours of each day to training and physical exercise. And I detest being barefoot."

Warner’s biggest obsession is still Juliette. He can’t stop thinking about her. He has dreams of her that feel too real. During patrols he thinks he sees her. The more he learns about her, the more connected he feels to her.  He insists that if given the opportunity she will realize that her proper place is with him and not with Adam Kent because Warner believes that he is the only one who can truly understand her, and vice versa. Like Juliette, Warner has never had a true friend. He hates his father and believes his troops want him dead. The closest thing Warner has to a friend is Delalieu, his servant, who outwardly fears him even though he’s considerable older than Warner. Although Warner finds Delalieu's fear and obedience both amusing and bothersome, Warner still does not feel comfortable confiding in him. It wouldn't be right given his rank. Like Juliette, Warner lives a life of solitude, never truly entrusting or befriending anyone.

With this information, it could be difficult to view Warner as an evil villain in Unravel Me, as I predicted. And we still don’t know why Warner and Adam are the only people who seem to be immune to Juliette’s powers. We learn that Warner’s interest in Juliette is not what it seemed in Shatter Me; but Warner also does not reveal what his true intentions are.  

This novella serves as a great bridge between Shatter Me and Unravel Me. I highly recommend this to Shatter Me fans. Destroy Me also includes two chapters of Unravel Me. After reading those two chapters, I greatly look forward to reading Unravel Me. 

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

   

Paperback, First Edition: 340 pages
Published: October 2nd 2012 by Harper Collins (first published November 15th 2011)
ISBN: 0062085506 
ISBN13: 9780062085504

Goodreads Summary

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

 

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war– and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

 

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

My Review

I read this book over a year ago and decided that since I had recently read the novella Destroy Me, which follows the villain Warner, that it would make more sense to post a review of Shatter Me first. You need to know the plot of Shatter Me in order to understand the significance of Destroy Me.
 

I picked up Shatter Me because it was the monthly read for a book group on Goodreads. When I first started reading it, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. There are a lot of crossed out lines within the text and Juliette seems to have obsessive thoughts and is rattled with anxiety. As I began to learn Juliette’s circumstances—her ability, her parents sending her away, her incarceration—it all began to make sense.  And the once the action and romance came into play, I was definitely hooked. This book is most definitely a page turner.

I liked Juliette as a main character. I really felt for her. She has been treated like a monster because of her ability, something which she is unable to control. Even her own parents wanted nothing to do with her, which is always sad. The reality of it is that Juliette is far from a monster. She doesn't want to hurt anyone. The fact that she makes a point never to touch anyone proves that. What I find the most amazing is that despite her history of being shunned and feared, she never took Warner’s promise of revenge. She knows that using her abilities to elicit fear and to gain power will not make her feel better. I also think Juliette may have more control over her powers than she truly realizes and I think that she will learn and develop it more as the story progresses in the rest of the trilogy.

Warner is the villain in this book. He is a head solider of the Reestablishment, the rulers of their world after people started dying from the effects climate change and global warming (e.g., heat, animals dying, famine). Warner is egotistical, arrogant, selfish, and out for only himself. He wishes to use Juliette and her powers as a weapon. He tries to convince Juliette that he holds the key to her getting revenge on all who have wronged her. As good of a villain as Warner is, however, I think there is a lot more to his story than meets the eye, which would explain why he is the way he is. I actually like that we don't know much about his story right now because I believe that if we did, we may have difficulty disliking him.

“You are the only good thing left in this world.”

This leads us to Adam Kent. Adam is a solider in Warner’s army and is assigned to watch over Juliette while she’s held captive by Warner. He knew her as a child in school and it turns out he is the only one who did not view her as a monster. 

I love the relationship between Adam and Juliette. I love the passion that lies between them. Adam is able to see Juliette for what she truly is (which isn't a monster) and he seems to want to protect her. He also provides the love and friendship that she's been missing and yearning for her entire life. In turn, Juliette is the confidant he has always needed. He has always been the one that serves and protects others, never having anyone to admit his fears to. With Juliette, he is finally able to admit his fears when he is at a loss without fear of being viewed as weak. 

“I don’t know what to do,” he says, and it’s like a confession that costs him much more than I can understand. Control is slipping through his fingers and he’s desperate to hold on. 

Up until this point, he has been the one with the plans and solutions. This type of confession is very difficult for him to make and Juliette is probably the only person in the world to which he can let his guard down. 

“There will be a bird today…It will fly.”

There is a bit of symbolism in the novel…the white bird. In this era, it has been a long time since anyone has seen an actual bird fly by because of deterioration of the ozone layer. However, in Juliette’s dreams, she sees a white bird. 

“I've dreamt about the same bird flying through the same sky for exactly 10 years. White streaks of gold like a crown atop its head.”

She soon learns that the bird in her dreams isn't just a dream when she sees a tattoo on Adams chest of the same bird. Although we don’t really know just yet what the bird tattoo means, I think there are some things that can be taken from it symbolically.  Juliette speaks of the bird flying away, which is truly what she wishes to do, so obviously the bird flying represents freedom. It also represents a better time in their society, before the world climate became completley unstable, before the Reestablishment took over. For Juliette, a bird flying in the sky represents a brighter future for their society. Finally, the tattoo of the bird on Adam’s chest is a part of their special connection. If that particular bird means freedom for Juliette, it being on Adam is sign that he will be her savior, her ticket to freedom. 

One issue I have is that I have a hard time really visualize this world because they don't go into very much detail about it. We know that the Ozone layer disintegrated, that climate is unpredictable, and many of the creatures that we know of are unable to survive within it. The rest is a bit up in the air. Unlike many other dystopian/apocalyptic novels, this book doesn't really seem to be centered on that. I hope that we learn more in the later books, because I would like to have a better grasp of the situation. 

I highly recommend this book. It is well written, the language is almost poetic, there is some good character development, symbolism, and it has a lot of action and romance. The route the book takes at the end wasn't entirely surprising to me, but it was kind of cool because I've never read a book that went that route. The book doesn't end in a clear cut cliffhanger, but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered which make me excited to read the rest of the series. 

Evermore (The Immortals #1) by Alyson Noel

Evermore (The Immortals #1) by Alyson Noel

Paperback, 1st Edition, 301 pages
Published February 3rd 2009 by St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 031253275X (ISBN13: 9780312532758)
url: http://www.immortalsseries.com/
literary awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Favorite Book & Young Adult Series (2009), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2011)

Goodreads Summary

The first book in Alyson Noel's extraordinary new Immortals series. Enter an enchanting new world, where true love never dies...

After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact to suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school — but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.

Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head - wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is - or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

My Review

I read this book a couple of years ago, but after noticing all of the negative reviews on Goodreads about it, I decided to write my own review of it. Another reason for this review is that I read a newer book of Noel's (or I should say tried to read), Fated, back in January and in my review of it I praised Evermore and the Immortals series over Fated. I first considered writing one review of the whole Immortals series, but decided against it because I didn't feel the same way about the entire series. 

First, I want to say that I feel that many of the negative reviews about books like this are negative because sometimes readers go into them with the wrong approach. I feel that sometimes readers read these books looking for a literary masterpiece of some sort. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of YA novels out there with great literary substance (i.e., good plot, word usage, character development, etc.). In this day and age, however, we as readers have to accept the factor that many times you are not going to get a literary masterpiece when you pick up something like this. I say view it the way you would drug store romance novels: take away the location, characters, and situations and you pretty much have the same novel written over and over again.  I agree that this is sad, but we have to face the reality of the situation. Writers write towards specific audiences, in this case teens and young adults. Teens and young adults that read and swoon over books like this do not do solely based on literary content. What they want is something light and fun and a break from the real literary works they are required to read for school that they find boring (but are likely appreciate more as they get older). You can call them dumb, lazy, or whatever you want. I personally don’t view it that way; I know some really intelligent pre-teens, teens, and young adults who genuinely love reading for the sake of read and read of a variety of books from the mind-numbing to the scholarly. So rather than going into books such as this with the anticipation of great literary substance, we should take them for what they are and anticipate something light, fun, and quick way to pass the time. If you can’t do that, then pass these books by like you would a drug store romance novel. 

Taken in this context, I enjoyed Evermore. At the time when I was reading the series, I was totally engrossed in it (until the latter books, an opinion I will save for a later review). Now looking back on it, I truly see it for what it truly was (as I did the Twilight series) and I can still say I enjoyed it. Some things were very much predictable (namely the growing attraction between Ever and Damen) and other things, at least for me, where a bit of a surprise (namely what Damen is). Even looking back on it after reading all of the YA fiction I have since, what Damen turns out to be is still somewhat of  surprised to me compared to the very predictable Angel/Demon, Vampire, Werewolf revelations of other novels. The revelation here, which I’m obviously not going to disclose, is a bit more scientific and fantastic than that, which is strange to me considering that I don’t always seem to see science and fantasy going together in such a way. Those who have read the entire series already know what I mean. If you've read only this book thus far, what I mean by this will be a lot clearer further in the series. 

In the beginning, one may think that Ever’s abilities are just the crazy delusions of a grieving girl. She lost both her parents and her sister in an accident and was uprooted to a new town to live with her aunt Sabine (her father’s twin sister lawyer who is single and has no experience raising children). These changes are hard enough for any teenager, but Ever also has to deal with her sudden ability to see auras, read others thoughts, and of seeing ghosts, particularly her sister, Riley. She also claims to have gone through a near death experience where she witnessed the aftermath of the accident outside of herself and watched her parents and sister cross a “bridge” to the afterlife, but was unfortunately unable to join them. So she goes through her new school in hoodies, listening to her Ipod and avoiding all contact with others except her friends Haven and Miles, causing the popular girls to call her a freak, tease her, and make her life even more miserable. As depressed as all of this makes Ever, she has accepted it because she lacks the strength and desire to do anything about it in her grief. 

Given all of Ever’s troubles, however, one can’t help but deem Ever a little ungrateful. Her Aunt Sabine didn't have to take her in, even though Ever thinks through family and moral obligation she had no choice but to. Even if that were so, Sabine definitely did not have to purchase a huge house and provide Ever with a convertible and a room with luxuries such as a flat screen TV, a walk-in closet, a bathroom with a Jacuzzi, a balcony, and a private den. A private den for cry sakes! How many teenagers do you know have their own private den?! I'll bet not many, if any at all. Yet, Ever can’t seem to allow herself to be grateful.

"It’s funny how before I would've given anything for a room like this.

But now I’d give anything just to go back to before."

--p. 24, epub

Instead, Ever analyzes Sabine, assuming that because she works so much that she felt she needed to make up for it with all of these material things. She also analyzes why Sabine never had children. Was it because she works so much and “can’t schedule it in”? Was it because she just hasn't found the right guy? Or was it because she just didn't have the desire to? Not very nice things to think about someone who saved you from foster homes and provided you with things most teenage girls dream of. 

If things weren't complicated enough for Ever, Damen’s arrival in town adds even more questions. He’s gorgeous and although Ever tries to avoid it, she can’t take her eyes off of him. He’s also very mysterious, whenever he speaks to her or touches her, not only does her skin tingle, but all of the buzzing conversation from the thoughts of those around her seem to disappear, allowing her to only focus on him. He also seems to runs hot and cold; one moment he is having lunch with Ever and her friends, trying to get to know her, presenting her with red tulips practically out of thin air and the next he’s flirting with Stacia Miller, Ever's arch enemy. The oddest thing of all is that he doesn't have an aura. For Ever, the only beings she’s ever encountered without an aura were dead. 

One character I had mixed feelings about was Haven. On the one hand I feel sorry for her. She comes from a home with parents who are hardly ever there and who pay little attention to her, so she is eager for any love or attention she can gain. Ever calls her a “anonymous-group addict”; she goes around attending different twelve-step meetings for alcoholics, cyber addicts, overeaters, gamblers, shopaholics, codependents, and so forth even though she has none of these problems. She has a tendency to copy the personae of whomever she is trying to gain attention from and has gone through several phases (i.e., ballerina, J-Crew, goth). It is sad to see a girl who is so starved for attention go to such lengths to get it. On the other hand, there are instances where her desperation for attention turns her into a real witch and I can no longer sympathize with her. It’s almost like she adores you as long as she can gain something from you but the second she find someone better you’re beneath her. For example, as it becomes clear that Damen has eyes for Ever and vice versa, Haven treats Ever like she’s the worst friend and betrayer ever since she knew Haven was interested and claimed she wasn't interested. At the same time, Haven also plays it off like she doesn't care. Although they are friends, Haven is very much jealous of Ever’s blonde hair and good looks (although it’s hard to tell through Ever’s hoodies, baggy jeans, and lack of make-up). Deep down she knows it’s only natural for a girl with Ever’s looks to bag the hottest guy in the school, but she hopes that Ever’s antisocial behavior will give her more of a chance. Also, when she makes friends with Evangeline and Drina and their vampire crowd, Haven is all of sudden too cool for Miles and Ever. When Haven needs help, however, who does she instantly turn to and expect immediate sympathy…Ever and Miles. 

As I mentioned previously, when I first read this series I was very much into it, mainly because I’m a sucker for the romantic aspect. I still liked this book and most of the series looking back on it, but I can’t entirely say that I’m in love with it. I've read better (i.e., Fallen) but I've also read worse (i.e., Fated).

Teaser Tuesday #3

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

  

Here's my teaser for this week. 

Sunset Rising 

by S.M. McEachern

"I remained on the sofa looking at him. My head was starting to pound and the food I ate sat heavy in my stomach. I really didn't feel good. I really just wanted to go home"

Guardians of the Akasha by Celia Stander

Guardians of the Akasha by Celia Stander

Goodreads Summary

Eighteen-year old Keira Wilde has finished school and is determined to make her own plans for her future, thank you very much. She wants to be a photographer; not go to Oxford, like her parents want, or be a hero, like her aunt wants. But Keira’s plans go flying out of the window when she is attacked on the streets of London and she is forced to use her powers in self-defense.

Unfortunately, her actions attract the attention of a predator intent on using her...or destroying her. Preferring to be neither used nor destroyed, Keira takes charge of her destiny and enters the hidden world of the Guardians of the Akasha.

Fighting side by side with the battle-scarred Marco Santana, they race from London to Argentina and a castle in the forests of the Czech Republic to find the source of all knowledge and prevent the fabric of time from unraveling.

My Review

I read this book as a read & review. When I first agreed to the R&R, I wasn't sure if I was going to like the book. The plot seemed interesting enough, but something I couldn't quite put my finger on left me a bit skeptical. After reading it, I am happy that I gave it a chance and that I had proven myself wrong. 

"Akasha literally means ‘space’…Everything around us, from the smallest atom to the biggest planet is connected through the Akasha."

What is the Akasha? That is the major question throughout this novel. The term itself comes from known religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akasha).  The easiest explanation for it is the quote above. For the basis of the novel, it is not an alternate dimension, but rather an area between dimensions that connects them. Since it connects all dimensions and realities, any manipulation of the Akasha can alter time and dimensions as they are currently known. Hence the need for the Guardians for the Akasha, to guard the Akasha from those intent on misusing it for personal gain. The Guardians are people who are born with the special ability to manipulate space and energy. This ability tends to run in specific families, why some members possess these powers while others don’t is unclear. 

Keira finds out that not only is she one of these special people with these abilities—not the lone weirdo freak that she had believed herself to be all this time—but that her powers are great and that she has a specific destiny within the Guardians. Keira's powers and her destiny are so crucial that Daemon, who wishes to use the Book of Knowledge--which holds all the secrets and history of the Akasha--to manipulate the Akasha to alter time, will stop at nothing to use Keira. 

Keira is a very likable protagonist. Her overall strength is seen from the beginning of the book. She has a rebellious nature and a desire to follow her own path. As she learns more about the Guardians and her destiny, there is a sense of obvious confusion within her, yet she still has the ability to make up her own mind and make her own choices. This puts her and Marco, the commander of the Draaken (warriors who protect the Guardians) who has sworn to Keira’s Aunt Victoria to protect her, at odds with each other constantly.

One thing I liked about this book is the setting. Even though its a fantasy that it includes supernatural powers, magic, and fairy-tale-like locations, its all within real-life locations like London, Argentina, and the Czech Republic. Many fantasy novels (and even some dystopian, apocalyptic ones) include made-up places that can never be located on a map. While the exact location of the castle and the Santana estate probably cannot be specifically pointed to on a map, their countries of origin can. This added a level of realism that I enjoyed. 

One issue that I have to mimic other reviewers on is that there is a lacking in development. Many times we’re taken from one place or situation to another without much explanation as to how we got there. Keira definitely went through a transformation as she learned about the Akasha and her powers, but there really was no development there. One scene she’s a typical human high school graduate, with no real understanding about the Akasha and her powers and the next she seems to understand and know everything and has morphed into the powerful girl. There is very little description or explanation of how she got to this point. As Keira describes it, the whole training felt like only days as opposed to weeks. It could very well be explained by the factor that the dimension she was in time seems to have slowed to almost a standstill, but still more development there would've been helpful. 

Also, there is one instance in particular that seems very much unrealistic. Without giving too much away, basically Keira and the Guardians go from one country to another to intercept a plane that is about to take off. I understand that this is a fantasy novel and in a fantasy novel almost anything is possible, but there still needs to be just at least some realism. This scene in particular seemed way too convenient for my taste. 

Besides Keira, Marco, and the Draaken, little Amber was by far the bravest character in the novel. She is a nine-year-old daughter of the cook and the groundskeeper of the Castle of the Guardians. Don’t let her age  and smalls stature fool you; she has a lot of spunk and courage for a young girl. Even though she's sweet and a bit talkative, she's definitely got a fire within her with flames as red as her hair. I don’t want to give anything way, so I’ll just say that by the end Amber was as much a savior as Keira, Marco, and the Draaken.

There are battle scenes, with the Draaken battling Dameon's forces to protect the castle, the Akasha, and Keira, but they sometimes fall short a little in their length and description. The revelation and resolution in the end is a bit rushed and could use a little more development. The situation with the Book of Knowledge in particular needed more development  It can't be a simple as Keira not knowing or understanding the Book one moment and then instantly knowing everything the next. 

This book was very intriguing, creative and a fun read. The world of the Draaken, the Guardians, and the Akasha was very different than many of the other fantasy YA novels I have read. However, because of its uniqueness, a little more explanation and development would definitely have been helpful. It is not listed on Goodreads or Smashwords as part of a series, but the ending does leave room for a least a sequel. If Celia Stander does come out with a sequel to this book, I would definitely pick it up to see how the abrupt cliffhanger turns out. I definitely recommend this book to YA fantasy lovers.