Review: The Heir

The Heir (The Selection #4)
By: Kiera Cass
Website: http://www.kieracass.com/
Release Date: May 5th, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: The Selection Series
Award: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2015)
Rating:


If you have returned to the Selection Series to find out more about the future of Illéa after America Singer, Aspen Leger and Prince Maxon had their chance to stir things up in the first three books, welcome back. If you haven’t read the first three books I suggest you go back and read them before reading this review or this book. Warning, major spoilers for the first three books and this book ahead.

Review: The One

The One (The Selection #3)
By: Kiera Cass
Website: http://www.kieracass.com/
Release Date: May 6th, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: The Selection Series
Award: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2014)
Rating:


In this third installment we see that America has finally decided where her heart lies, decided what she wants and made the decision to fight for Maxon’s heart. With rebel attacks increasing and everything, the entire country, on the line, we see how the choices of America and Maxon will change not only their relationship but also the fate of the country.

Review: The Elite

The Elite (The Selection #2)
By: Kiera Cass
Website: http://www.kieracass.com/
Release Date: April 23rd 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: The Selection Series
Rating:


The second book in this series, like the first, didn’t disappoint me. We continue with America Singer and the remaining contestants of the Selection as the women work to win the heart of Prince Maxon. America meanwhile is stuck between a rock and a hard place as her heart still pulls her to her first love, and palace guard, Aspen. Who will she choose? And, when she’s ready, will the one she chooses still be hers to claim?

Review: The Selection

The Selection
By: Kiera Cass
Website: http://www.kieracass.com/
Release Date: April 24th 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: The Selection Series
Award: Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2015)
Rating:


The Selection is one of the books I looked at with curiosity but hesitation. I’m not one for girls in pretty ballgowns, I prefer heroines battling their own enemies while wearing pants and having swords clash around them. Still, America Singer’s story pulled me in. I am well aware this is not everyone’s cup of tea (reviews on Goodreads will show that) but let me explain why I give this a high rating and why you should at least give it a shot.

#ThrowbackThursday Review – The Big Trip Up Yonder by Kurt Vonnegut

The Big Trip Up Yonder
By: Kurt Vonnegut
Release Date: January, 1954
Publisher: Original Publisher: Galaxy Science Magazine
Rating:


Happy Throwback Thursday! This week we read The Big Trip Up Yonder. This is a short story by Kurt Vonnegut which was originally published Galaxy Science Magazine. These days it can be found in a myriad of books and eBooks, sometimes coupled with other Vonnegut short stories.

Review: Champion by Marie Lu

Champion
By: Marie Lu
Release Date: November 5, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Series: Legend, Book #3
Rating:


Again, this time I didn’t tear through Champion. I was anxious to read this book and finish the series so once I got past the second chapter I went through it fairly quickly.

We open with Day and June apart, Day working within the military and June as the Princeps-Elect. As the Republic struggles towards a peace treaty with the Colonies a biohazard plague starts ripping through the Colonies.

Review: Legend by Marie Lu

Legend
By: Marie Lu @marielubooks
Website: http://marielu.org/books.html
Release Date: November 29th, 2011
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Series: Legend, Book #1
Rating:


I freely admit that sometimes I try to avoid new series. Not because I don’t love series (let’s face it, I adore series) but sometimes you aren’t ready to commit to a new series just yet. Every time I’d gone into Barnes and Noble I’d look at Legend by Marie Lu. I’d read the book jacket, the quotes from the New York Times review and other authors and I’d read a few lines on the first page. I just couldn’t commit to the series yet.

The fact is, I’m mad I waited to read this series! I know I’m a bit behind in joining the Legend fandom and if you’re waiting to join in and read the series please don’t wait much longer.

Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Prodigy
By: Marie Lu
Website: http://marielu.org/books.html
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Series: Legend, Book #2
Rating:


I will admit, right away, that I didn’t tear through Prodigy as fast as I did Legend. I’m willing to bet it’s more due to the circumstances of when I was reading this than the quality of the book. (There was a family emergency, and the book was put aside so that I could focus on helping. But enough about my life.)

We return to the alternating points of view of Day and June and, this time, the book starts off with our hero and heroine together. However, they don’t stay together for long as they are pulled apart by circumstance, as you would expect from any good novel.

Review – The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz

The Queue
By: Basma Abdel Aziz
Release Date: May 24, 2016
Publisher: Melville House
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


One of the best books I’ve read so far this year is The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz. This is a dystopian novel set in a nameless country in what is supposed to be somewhere in the middle east. The prose is utterly beautiful, a testament to both author and translator. And the story sucks the reader in right from the beginning.