The Scorpion Rules

By: Erin Bow

Summary:

(From Goodreads)

A world battered by climate shift and war turns to an ancient method of keeping peace: the exchange of hostages. The Children of Peace - sons and daughters of kings and presidents and generals - are raised together in small, isolated schools called Preceptures. There, they learn history and political theory, and are taught to gracefully accept what may well be their fate: to die if their countries declare war.

Greta Gustafsen Stuart, Duchess of Halifax and Crown Princess of the Pan-Polar Confederation, is the pride of the North American Precepture. Learned and disciplined, Greta is proud of her role in keeping the global peace, even though, with her country controlling two-thirds of the world’s most war-worthy resource — water — she has little chance of reaching adulthood alive. 

Enter Elián Palnik, the Precepture’s newest hostage and biggest problem. Greta’s world begins to tilt the moment she sees Elián dragged into the school in chains. The Precepture’s insidious surveillance, its small punishments and rewards, can make no dent in Elián, who is not interested in dignity and tradition, and doesn’t even accept the right of the UN to keep hostages. 

What will happen to Elián and Greta as their two nations inch closer to war?

Review:

      Right off the bat, this book had me gripped. This book had such a fresh idea that had never done before, and I just had to get my hands on it. In order to become a ruler, you must give up one of your children or grandchildren under the age of 18, although usually they are very young. Your child/grandchild is then held hostage at one of the many preceptures around the world. If you decide to go to war with another country or region, a swan rider will kill your hostage and the hostage of the country you are going to war with.
     
      The prologue told a story with such brutality and the narrator told it as if killing people was nothing. It was really disturbing. Later you learn more about the narrator. His name is Talis. Talis basically took over the world. People view as some sort of god, but just by reading some of the things he said and the rules that he made, you can tell that he is twisted and cocky.
      
       In the first chapter, all of the children of the rulers were standing in a class room and saw dust in the distance coming towards them. Although none of the characters admit it (they think they have to keep the image that they are royalty or children of leaders), There is this feeling of terror, because they know that a swan rider is coming to kill two of them. The hostages don't even know what happens to the hostages that are killed. They are just taken into the "grey room" and they never come back. The hostages are sent home 3 times a year to keep up relations with their parents. It wouldn't be good if their bond with their child went away. If it did, then Talis couldn't manipulate the leaders anymore. The hostages are monitored 24/7 by AIs (artificial intelligence robots) and by a tower called the Panopticon, which is kind of like an all seeing eye.
     
      I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I thought I would. You know how when you hear about a book and you are so excited for it because you already have an idea of what could happen in your head? That was how it was for me. The book went in a different direction then I thought it would. Although there were all of these horrific things happening, Greta and the other hostages didn't really react. I think it was because they have had the idea of not fighting hammered into them so much, that they almost separated themselves from what was happening, which made it really difficult to connect with them. I did really like Elian though. I think he was the  most human character in the book. He is constantly fighting and rebelling, but he was still himself after all the things that happened to him. I also liked the goats. I know, I know. Its kind of a weird thing to bring up, but the goats were really funny. Their names were absolutely hilarious and I loved how Greta kept making dialogue for the goats. It made them really entertaining.
   
      Another thing that I didn't really like about this book was the fact that in the beginning, there wasn't that much description. One example is when they introduced the Abbot. I imagined him as a normal human being, but later I found out that he had a face screen and all of these pieces of technology in him, and I had to completely change the way that I pictured him. Also there wasn't much description of the precepture its self. I am the kind of person who likes to be able to imagine everything perfectly, and when there is no description, I have to imagine it on my own. Then later down the road, I read that the garden was on the right and the animals were on the left and I have to switch how I imagined it to make it right.
     
      Despite the flaws in this book, I did enjoy it. Did it blow me away? No. But I really loved the moral of the story and how easily this story could become reality. I feel like books have to have some darkness to it in order for it to have any real depth and for us to learn anything from it. It was an eye opening book that everyone should read. If this book sounds interesting to you, give it a try!!! Maybe you'll like it more than I did.     

Disclaimer: I received a free arc copy from Goodreads in a giveaway in exchange for an honest review.







     

Obsidian 

By; Jennifer L Armentrout

                                                   

                                     

Summary:

(From Goodreads)

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring… until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something… unexpected happens. 

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

Review:

    I had such a fun time reading this book. There aren't many books that have made me laugh as much as this one did. First off, the main character is a book blogger!! I loved the parts where Katy got books in the mail and she flipped out. She had this consuming love for books that not many people understand. That alone made this series stand out to me. Katy and Daemon's bickering was so funny. The author tries to get you to hate Daemon, and yeah, I guess he was a jerk in the first book, but I never truly hated him. I understand that his feeling of responsibility for his family completely controls his life. And when Dawson disappeared it killed him and made him act like a jerk and put a wall up.

    It frustrated me that Katy and Daemon didn't admit their feelings for each other at the end of the book, but I also liked it. It seems that in so many books with a love interest, the characters fall in love so quickly. This book stands out. Katy and Daemon are so stubborn and they act like real people. Usually when people start having feelings for each other they deny it, especially if they are stubborn, which they are.

    Can I just say how much I love Dee? She is the best friend that we all dream of having. She's so bubbly and cute and brought so much life to this book. I felt so bad for her when I found out that she had next to zero friends, and I'm so glad that Daemon didn't scare Katy away.

    A lot of people say that this book is a lot like Twilight by Stephanie Meyers, and I get that. Throughout the book, I saw a lot of similarities in the plot. But this book isn't the same as Twilight. The book is completely different and the writing is so much better. I enjoyed this book way more than Twilight. I think the reason that a lot of people think that its a lot like Twilight is because, at least for me, Twilight was a huge part of my growing up. It was one of the first series that I absolutely loved. When the movies were in the theater, I always went to the movies with my mom and sister. I often find myself comparing books that I read to Twilight and other major franchises that I grew up with like Harry Potter. Its kind of  just something that we readers do.

    I loved this book so much  I couldn't even stop to wright a review, I just flew into the next one!!! I'll post my review for Onyx soon!!!

The Scorpion Rules Is Finally Here!!!

     I'm so excited!!! My arc copy of The Scorpion Rules just came in the mail!!!! Goodreads hosted a giveaway for this book and I was lucky enough to win a copy. This book sounds so amazing!!!!!! Here's the Goodreads summary of the book:

      A world battered by climate shift and war turns to an ancient method of keeping peace: the exchange of hostages. The Children of Peace - sons and daughters of kings and presidents and generals - are raised together in small, isolated schools called Prefectures. There, they learn history and political theory, and are taught to gracefully accept what may well be their fate: to die if their countries declare war.

     Greta Gustafsen Stuart, Duchess of Halifax and Crown Princess of the Pan-Polar Confederation, is the pride of the North American Prefecture. Learned and disciplined, Greta is proud of her role in keeping the global peace — even though, with her country controlling two-thirds of the world’s most war-worthy resource — water — she has little chance of reaching adulthood alive.

    Enter Elián Palnik, the Prefecture’s newest hostage and biggest problem. Greta’s world begins to tilt the moment she sees Elián dragged into the school in chains. The Prefecture’s insidious surveillance, its small punishments and rewards, can make no dent in Elián, who is not interested in dignity and tradition, and doesn’t even accept the right of the UN to keep hostages.

    What will happen to Elián and Greta as their two nations inch closer to war? 

    I can't wait to read this and I'll post a review once I've finished!!!

The Darkest Minds

By: Alexandra Bracken

                      

Summary:

           In The Darkest Minds, a disease sweeps america, killing the majority of the children. The ones that survive develop powers that no one can explain. The government put them in "rehabilitation" camps to keep them from harming anyone. 
           Ruby was thrown into camp Thurmond when she is ten. Six years later, she escapes with the help of a anti-government group, but she doesn't trust them. Ruby goes on the run with other kids who have escaped camps. Ruby and the others have to survive this new world where kids are no longer cherished, but feared.

Review:
           This book is absolutely amazing. Alexandra weaves together a story that is so heartbreaking and beautiful, and yet isn't lacking in humor. She explores a very real possibility of what could happen when we are afraid and what lengths people will go to to stop being afraid. I finished this book for the first time in two days and had to read it again right afterwards, it was that good. I've read it several times since and have loved it just as much as the first time that I read it.
   Spoilers:
           I absolutely adored Ruby, Liam, Chubs and Zu. There was something so real and relatable about them. I loved how each one of them has their own definable characteristics. Chubs made me crack up. He's so serious that its hilarious, but its also kind of sad that he had to grow up so quickly. I loved how Alexandra wrote the flashbacks. It was such a different way to get to know the characters. I really feel that it was the best way to learn about their past. 
           I loved Liam. He was such a great character. He was always looking out for their group and I love how he is with Ruby. He has a way of getting past Ruby's defenses and helping her heal. Oh and did I mention how cute they are together?? They are such a good team.
          The ending though!!!! That absolutely killed me. I understand why she erased his memories, but she should have let him have a choice. He is perfectly capable of handling himself in hard situations. He proved it during the entire first book. They could have helped each other at the Children's League. I feel like on his own, the Children's League could have changed him. Before he was with his brother, but Cole was a lone wolf and left Liam to fend for himself. But Liam wouldn't have been on his own. Ruby and Liam could have gotten each other through it.
          I absolutely HATE Clancy. He seemed sketchy from the start, but I really was hoping that he could help Ruby. But when he started secluding her and tricked her, it didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was how involved in the government he was and how he turned in the ENTIRE camp full of kids. He is so twisted  it surprised me. Not many books have a villain that dark, but it was actually good for the story. It really threw a twist on how I thought the story would go. 
         This series is absolutely amazing and I'll do a review on the other two books in the series. You should definitely check it out if you haven't yet.

An Uncertain Choice 

  By Jody Hedlund

                                                   

I won a free copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway, which I was super excited about.

Summary:(This summary is from goodreads) Due to her parents' promise at her birth, Lady Rosemarie has been prepared to become a nun on the day she turns eighteen. Then, a month before her birthday, a friend of her father's enters the kingdom and proclaims her parents' will left a second choice. If Rosemarie can marry before the eve of her eighteenth year, she will be exempt from the ancient vow.  Before long, Rosemarie is presented with the three most handsome and brave knights in the land. But when the competition for her heart seemingly results in a knight playing foul, she begins to wonder if the cloister is the best place after all. If only one of the knights the one who appears the most guilty had not already captured her heart.  Review: I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars, only because the beginning half was slow, but the last part really made up for it. This book was a really light read for me.  Its a clean romance, which is a breath of fresh air. Almost none of the romance books out there are clean. Jody Hedlunds writing style is a little different in this book. This is the only book of hers that I've read, so I'm not sure if this is her typical writing style or if it was changed to fit the time period that this book takes place in. ~SPOILERS~ ~SPOILERS~ ~SPOILERS~ ~SPOILERS~ When the courting starts, Sir Bennett and Sir Collins are very sweet, but almost unreal in the way they treated Lady Rosemarie. I think I liked them more when they weren't trying to impress her. I really loved how Sir Derrick didn't try to impress her and spent time with her doing the things she really cared about. I mean a fancy evening and gifts are great and all, but when it comes down to it, you spend the most of your time with your significant other just living everyday life, and for Rosemarie, helping her people was apart of her everyday life. I loved how real Rosemarie and Derrick were together and I absolutely adored their banter. It was so cute! To be honest, I saw the abbot's betrayal basically from the beginning, although not to the extent of what had actually happened. He was really the only one who advised Rosemarie, and was basically second in command. He seemed to guide her to do what he wanted. Once she entered the convent, she would be pretty much blind to the outside world, and he would be able to control everything. It was a genius plan, really.  This book had the perfect ending, and I can't wait to read the next one! Add this book on Goodreads:             https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22900446-an-uncertain-choice?ac=1 Buy this book on Amazon:          http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310749190/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0310749190&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

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My First Blog!!!

    Books are a passion of mine, and if you're here, its probably one of yours too. Books are a huge part of my life and I spend the majority of my spare time reading them. Recently I've discovered the booktube world and I thought, "Hey, I want in on that." But since I'm not that big into being in the spotlight, I felt blogging would be a better option to share my opinion on the books that I love.
                                                                           ~
    Now, a little about me. I live in Utah with my parents and 6 siblings. As a kid, my mom took my siblings and I to the library and is the main reason why I love books so much. THANKS MOM! My family thinks I'm way too enthusiastic about books, but I don't see why *sarcasm*. I mean, I only talk about books like EVERY day and I memorized our library card number which is 14 digits long, but I mean everyone does that.
    Right????
    Oh and did I mention that all of the workers at our local library know our family really well? So I'm probably not your average teenager, but I enjoy being a book nerd, and I guess that's what counts.