To be fair, I have a lot going on in my own life right now so I didn't really get into a good rhythm on this one. Which is a shame because I absolutely love this series.
But I completely saw coming Luce's role and her...lets just call it 'history' so as to not spoil things.
And I feel like this book was just really about Luce. Daniel played a minor support role in this book, which was disappointing since the reason I love this series is the dynamic between the two of them. I mean, don't get me wrong, there is plenty of good relationship stuff here but it got a little dare I say...boring.
Okay, perhaps boring is too strong a word. I loved that Luce & Daniel's relationship had matured. I really did. But I'm beginning to think that in order for a series to really stand the test right to the last installment, the couple needs to be constantly facing challenges that threaten the very existence of their relationship.
So maybe the complete erasing of all time would actually have done that. But whatever it was, and I just can't put my finger on it, I was just a bit 'meh' about Rapture.
I think Ms. Kate could write a whole other book on Cam. He is far more intriguing and I'm sure there was at least one or two lifetimes where he and Luce were more than friends (present lifetime not included).
So, yeah I haven't really been blogging as of late. I've had a lot on my plate and had some rather time-consuming (in a totally good way) developments going on.
However, I was encouraged to get back on the horse so to speak. So here I am, writing a little interlude and trying my best to remember how to link from goodreads to this blog!
I'm sure it will all come back to me :)
So I actually read this a while back, but didn't blog about it back then coz I was on a bit of a reading blitz. Now that the dust has settled I couldn't resist writing about this book - it's just so awesome.
The story is told from the perspective of Juliette, a girl who has a strange ability and has been kept locked away from the world as a result ... and is understandably a little messed up by that. Her voice reflects the mental state of someone who has been kept in an asylum for 264 days.
Can I just say that Tahereh Mafi is a genius to be able to bring this to Juliette's character in a natural and balanced way. It's not over the top so much so that it turns you off or confuses you (unlike some other book I didn't appreciate a.k.a. Catcher in the Rye). The ruminating and numbers are all so accurate, and I should know since I had a family member with these issues and Mafi nails it.
The development of Juliette and Adam's relationship keeps you on the edge of your favourite reading spot - so uncertain and sweet to start off with, but there is fire lurking and yes it is shatter-worthy. As for Warner, the deluded psycho running that ward of the evil Reestablishment, his sights are dead set on Juliette and things are getting way worse than uncomfortable.
I love how Mafi allows the story to evolve so effortlessly. And I absolutely love reading it through Juliette's slightly unhinged mind.
Action...romance...and where is it all heading? Well the final pages of this book deliver on the X-men comparison, setting the scene for an interesting second book...which is now very firmly on my to-read list!
For any YA / romance fan, and every dystopia fan, this book is an absolute must.
Now YA is my usual genre, though I normally go for paranormal stuff because I thought I found regular drama just a bit, well, regular.
How wrong was I.
I read book one "She's So Dead To Us" a few weeks back and thought...how could it end like that!? Well, you'd have to times that reaction by a hundred and to get an inkling of my reaction at the end of this book!
Now, it's not a bad ending - not at all. It sets up a really juicy third book for sure as you try to imagine how Ally, Jake, Hammond, Chloe, Annie and all the other Cresties and Norms are going to interact and behave after that final page bombshell :)
The reason I love this book, and this series, is that it is so realistic. These kids are not unexpectedly mature for their age, as often happens in paranormal YA. The author, Kieran Scott, portrays the flawed and responsibility-challenged thought processes and behaviour of the characters to total perfection.
I also find the chapter intro's, in this book Annie's observation journal entries (and in book one it was text conversations between unknown Norm students at Orchard Hill High), to be really clever and insightful - providing a sneaky third perspective on the story. I get the feeling Annie's going to play a big part in book 3, in particular her friendship with Ally.
Again I love being inside both Ally and Jake's head. I think Cooper, the guy Ally meets down at Long Bay Island, is a total douche-bag. All the characters are frustrating in their own ways, but act as typical 17 year olds do, which makes this very entertaining.
I'd recommend reading book one first because that sets the foundation for the relationship drama's in this book. I'm looking forward to reading book three to see where this goes.
I knew it! I knew it! I just so badly knew it!!!
I really loved this book (i.e. sequel to Delirium), that the twists all fit nicely into place, the clever way in which it is written - Oliver is a master crafter of a story.
I must admit I did skim in some places - purely for selfish reasons (time poor). But I felt the romantic developments between the main characters happened as naturally as could be expected - I mean Alex has been dead for a year right? Lena is tough and endures a lot, and I liked how we got to see the "now" and the "then", because if we had to read it chronologically I think "then" would have been far too depressing and slow. I also like following Julian's intellectual journey through Lena's voice.
I like Raven and Tack, in fact Tack is my favourite dude in this book! She's all hard-mum on the surface, and he's all hard through and through...
It's a cleverly woven story of discovery revealing the cracks in this dystopian society where love is an illness. One of my favourite parts of the book is where Coin says (p273) "That is the mistake they make...they think that only certain people have a place....[or] belong. The rest is waste. But even waste must have a place. Otherwise it will clog and clot, and rot and fester."
It's not just a dramatic tale either, and is surprisingly action-packed.
I mean, just when you think you can breathe...whapang!).
My hopes for book 3 - that Lena's mum and Hana feature, in a good way, and that that Lena doesn't become alienated from love (hmmm read into that what you may but I can certainly see how it could happen given two things that happen in the latter part of this book, the last one being the final word of the book - go see if you absolutely have to know!).
With a recent partial-settlement on that big Apple eBook collusion case in the States, I've been asking myself: when it comes to selling eBooks, what is best for everyone?
Apple and 5 big publishers allegedly colluded to set ebook prices (that's illegal) using what's known as the agency model (that's not illegal), whereby the publishers set the RRP and Apple collected 30% (whoa! - that's a high commission).
Why did that all "allegedly" happen? Were publishing houses concerned about their dropping profit margins? I mean, surely since there was no longer the whole, I dunno, printing process, transportation etc ebooks would intuitively be significantly cheaper right? Unless maybe publishers saw an opportunity to have increased profit margin with ebooks because of the reduced costs of production? Maybe Apple was just ticked that the Kindle eReader / Fire tablet was encroaching on iPad sales? (not sure about the timing for that last point.) Or publishers were ticked that Amazon was driving down the price of ebooks and thereby reducing any possibility of increased profit margin?
So who are the parties in this debate and what pricing would be ideal:
authors - a high equilibrium price so that customers are happy with what they are paying but also maximises what the authors can get in royalties or whatever it's called
publishers - as above (maximising profit)
ebook sellers all over cyberspace - as above
book buyers everywhere - lowest price
Hmm, I see a theme emerging here.
But, is the lowest price really the best for the customer? If you look at the bigger picture, you should be willing to pay a fair price otherwise the product will go out of production because it's no longer worthwhile to produce...
Now don't get me wrong - I'm not predicting any end to the world of ebooks! I'm just talking about economics! (who knew that 1st year macroeconomics course would come in handy one day...or was that microeconomics?)
So what is really the best way to achieve this market equilibrium? Setting the price and annoying customers, or allowing the market (a.k.a. customers) to decide the price? And are those two options really the Apple v Amazon argument?
Okay I've become a bit sidetracked and I have done no research, but I'd be interested to know other people's opinions on this...
Pictures from ifunia.com and michaelhyatt.com
So I almost didn't read this - but that gorgeous cover got the better of me. And now that I've read it, I think the cover is cleverly done - a beautiful embodiment of certain aspects of the central characters, and a pretty theme that graces every chapter heading.
At first I thought I'd stepped into a Twilight remake - well I suppose there has to be similarities since this is about a guy with a secret and a girl at high school who fall in love but shouldn't really be together *pauses and shrugs*.
Don't get me wrong - this was much faster paced and more efficiently written. And I was completely intrigued by the fact that I didn't really understand what the whole concept of the carrier of the mark was about.
That was until about chapter 11 when there was a major information dump that gave me a bit of a headache (it was midnight - give me a break). And I found the concept to be very unique and refreshing - something I'd not read before in YA.
The story builds up to an exciting crescendo, and the development of Adam and Megan's relationship has its tender and spicy moments - thankfully both parts of the story (i.e. the romance and the action) are carefully combined so as to not outshine the other.
And the ending, which I love (did I mention that already?), sets the tone for an intriguing second book. What will Megan choose? What will the aftermath be? Who is betraying them to the Knox?
I also love that this is set in Ireland. Irish names, landscapes, colloquialisms - the voice in my head read with an Irish accent and it made the book so much more exotic and appealing *grins like a big git*.
I'm going to be adding the next books immediately to my "to-read" list. Fans of Twilight and Unearthly *waves both hands in the air* will enjoy this story, and those YA readers who like to read something with a new slant on the paranormal aspect.
