Review: After the End by Amy Plum

Title:  After the End 

Author: Amy Plum 

Publisher: HarperCollins 
Publishing Date:  May 6th 2014  

Pages: 352
Genre:  YA Sci-Fi 

Series:  After The End #1
Source: Audio

  

She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future.

World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

This book wasn't quite what I expected. There was a slow start and there were times I wasn't so sure I would keep reading but after a bit, half way or so the book did get interesting for me and and I followed through to the end and I am glad I did. It was quite good at the end and I enjoyed it as a whole. I really liked the story more than I did the characters but they character did end up growing on me too. Like I said not what I expected but in the end it was a good read. 

Juneau has grown up believing that the rest of the world didn't exist. It was her little village that survived WWIII and that was that. She lived a very simple life and she and her village survived on basics, hunting, fishing, farming, sewing, and so on. Everyone pitched in and they all worked hard very day. The only difference between the way her village lived now and the old days, the magic that existed inside of them. When her village is attacked and she the only one that was not taken, she embarks on a journey to find the rest of her people and discovers the world is not gone, there was no world, and no one is like her or her people.On top of all that is new she finds out her life is full of betrayals and lies. Even though nothing is as it seems she insists on rescuing those who lied to her, with the help of a boy named Miles, they set out to fight the bad guys.


So I felt I went into this book blind. The summary really doesn't do any good for this book.  I really wasn't expecting a magical element. I didn't mind I just wasn't expecting it. The book was almost a cross between sci fi and fantasy and the fantasy felt old but the sci fi felt modern. Oh and a bit of dystopian too.  I think this book may have a bit of thriller to the story as the main characters are on the run from something unknown, but it didn't really feel like a thriller. It also had a bit of a contemporary feel. The book started off a dystopian with a fantasy feel, went into contemporary, and ended on a sci fi note. That is the way the book read at any rate. I would classify it more of a sci- fi. I think. Its really hard to categorize. I think this may have been the issue with my rough spots. I liked the sci-fi aspect and the fantasy aspect. I didn't like the contemporary feel in the middle. It just didn't fit. So tone of the book and the feel of the book was really hard to get into. 

The characters lacked a bit for me. They did grow after the middle and I liked them for the last part of the book. Well I liked Miles pretty much from the beginning. I liked his attitude and his snark even when his selfishness got in the way. He was a big douche in the begging but he ended up hero of the hour. Juneau was very self involved too. I understood her need to rescue her village and the fear from losing them. I understood her betrayal, I understood her hurt. I did not understand her wallowing and self pity. Grow a pair and do what you got to do or don't. I didn't like the selfless act being followed by whining. Again, she grew and in a way got over it but it took a while. 

What I liked about the book. The story, the actual build up, the back story, the unknown, and the questionable good guys vs bad guys.... .which is which. I liked the suspense. It didn't have much but there was just a bit. I liked the romance too. Believe it or not I think that is what changed the characters and my feels for them. Once they went from hate, to annoyance, to friends, to romance, they were pretty cool. The romance was fast but not really insta love. 

The story really was good and in the end I was so confused... I mean in a good way. I didn't know who to believe or who to trust, or what would happen. It did end on a what happens now, you can't just end it. But in this case it was a good thing. I will want to read the next book when it comes out pretty quickly. I really want to know how it all will end. 

This book had some rough spots for me but I ended up enjoying the read. 

Amy Plum is the author of the International Bestsellers DIE FOR ME (Indie Next List pick, Romance Times top pick, and recipient of a starred review from School Library Journal), UNTIL I DIE, and IF I SHOULD DIE. The books have been translated into eleven foreign languages. The trilogy is accompanied by an eNovella entitled DIE FOR HER.

Amy grew up in Birmingham, Alabama before venturing further afield to Chicago, Paris, London and New York. An art historian by training, she can be found on most days either daydreaming or writing (or both) in a Parisian café. Visit her at http://www.amyplumbooks.com and check outhttp://www.youtube.com/user/revenantc... for videos and extras.

After being raised in Birmingham, Alabama, in a rather restrictive environment, AMY PLUM escaped to Chicago to an even more restrictive environment at a university that expelled people for dancing. (And where she was called to the dean’s office for “wearing too much black”.) After all of that restrictiveness, she was forced to run far far away, specifically to Paris, France, where she only wore black and danced all she wanted.

After five years in Paris, she ventured to London, where she got an M.A. in Medieval Art History, specializing in Early Sienese Painting (1260-1348) mainly because it promised almost no hope of finding a paying job afterward.

Amy managed to find work in the world of art and antiques in New York. But after almost a decade of high-pressure lifestyle in the Big Apple, she swapped her American city for a French village of 1300 inhabitants.

After signing with HarperCollins for the DIE FOR ME series, Amy left her job as an English professor at Tours University to write full-time. She now lives in Paris with her two kids and big red dog Ella.

She is a huge fan of Edward Gorey and Maira Kalman (and collects both of their books/art), as well as David Sedaris, Amadeo Modigliani, and Ira Glass.

Delightful Discoveries #76

Delightful Discoveries are books that I have discovered recently... old, new, just released... from blogs, Goodreads, libraries, friends, or bookstores. 

All The Right Places by Jennifer Niven

  

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the "natural wonders" of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It's only with Violet that Finch can be himself-a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who's not such a freak after all. And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink.

Inherit Midnight by Kate Kae Myers

The Competition:

Outlandishly wealthy Grandmother VanDemere has decided to leave her vast fortune to the family member who proves him or herself worthiest—by solving puzzles and riddles on a whirlwind race around the globe, from the mines of Venezuela to the castles of Scotland. There will be eight competitors, three continents . . . and a prize worth millions.

The Players:

Seventeen-year-old Avery is the black sheep of the VanDemere clan, the ostracized illegitimate daughter. Finally, she has a chance to prove herself . . . and to discover the truth about her long-lost mother.

Marshall might be Avery’s uncle, but there’s no love lost between the two of them. He’s her main competition, and he’ll do anything to win—including betray his own children.

Riley is the handsome son of Grandmother VanDemere’s lawyer. As the game progresses, Avery falls hard for Riley. Suddenly, losing the game might mean losing him, too.

As the competition takes treacherous turns, it becomes clear there can only be one victor. Who can Avery truly trust? And is winning worth her life?

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story.

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now.

Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden.

I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden.

I really don’t.

Dream Boy by Mary Crockett and Madelyn Rosenberg 

  
Annabelle Manning feels like she’s doing time at her high school in Chilton, Virginia. She has her friends at her lunchtime table of nobodies. What she doesn’t have are possibilities. Or a date for Homecoming. Things get more interesting at night, when she spends time with the boy of her dreams. But the blue-eyed boy with the fairytale smile is just that—a dream. Until the Friday afternoon he walks into her chemistry class.

One of friends suspects he’s an alien. Another is pretty sure it’s all one big case of deja vu. While Annabelle doesn’t know what to think, she’s willing to believe that the charming Martin Zirkle may just be her dream come true. But as Annabelle discovers the truth behind dreams—where they come from and what they mean—she is forced to face a dark reality she had not expected. More than just Martin has arrived in Chilton. As Annabelle learns, if dreams can come true, so can nightmares.

Say Her Name by James Dawson 

Roberta 'Bobbie' Rowe is not the kind of person who believes in ghosts. A Halloween dare at her ridiculously spooky boarding school is no big deal, especially when her best friend Naya and cute local boy Caine agree to join in too. They are ordered to summon the legendary ghost of 'Bloody Mary': say her name five times in front of a candlelit mirror, and she shall appear... But, surprise surprise, nothing happens. Or does it?

Next morning, Bobbie finds a message on her bathroom mirror... five days... but what does it mean? And who left it there? Things get increasingly weird and more terrifying for Bobbie and Naya, until it becomes all too clear that Bloody Mary was indeed called from the afterlife that night, and she is definitely not a friendly ghost. Bobbie, Naya and Caine are now in a race against time before their five days are up and Mary comes for them, as she has come for countless others before... A truly spine-chilling yet witty horror from shortlisted 'Queen of Teen' author James Dawson.

Review: The Fire Wish by Amber Lough

Title: The Fire Wish
Author: Amber Lough
Publisher: Random House Children's
Publishing Date: July 22nd 2014
Pages: 320
Genre: Historical Fantasy / Mythology
Series: Jinni Wars #1
Source: Audio

  

A jinni. A princess. And the wish that changes everything. . . . 

Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad—which she’ll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form—as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered—enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love.

I really didn't know much about this book. The Summary sounds very intriguing but it doesn't give too much away. A book about genies, how fun. Something new and fresh for me. I am so glad I gave this book a try. I loved it. There was a bit of pacing issues for me at the very beginning but once it grabbed me it grabbed me. I adored the characters and I loved the story. It was pretty amazing. 

Najwa, the jinni and Zayele the human, switch places. Human forces a wish from the jinnie and the wish of course doesn't go right and it all goes down hill from there. All but the romance of course. So Jinni and Humans are at war. They have been since Najwa and Zayele were babies. They have been raised to fear, hate and fight the other. Now they are living each other's lives in a place full of the race they fear the most. They both must pretend to be the other, leaving no room for questions from the ones they must fool. Not only are they a place where their enemies reside but they are forced to spend time on a somewhat intimate level with the enemy. And of course they come to find its not all what was said, there have been secrets, betrayals, and lies. Oh and don't forget that they each begin to fall for the enemy. 

Oh how much I loved this book. It was a bit questionable for me in the beginning. The book started off on a bit of slow track for me. It did take me a bit to figure out who was who and what was going on.... it may have been an attention issues on my side because at some point I just couldn't stop and I couldn't focus on my job at hand. I was totally engrossed and in the end I was a bit breathless. 

There is so much good about this book and so little not so good, I will start with the not so good to get it out of the way. The issues I had were very minor. Besides the slow start, I felt the beginning was a bit confusing with all the names thrown in and back stories given so quickly and not throughly at first. This could have been part of the plan because there is a slight mystery with the story and maybe if all was thrown out right away it wouldn't have been such a mystery. Anyways I felt just a bit lost. I also had a very slight and I mean slight issue with the transition between the two main characters, Najwa and Zayele. I didn't realize it switched at times. There seemed to have been times, like at the beginning of the chapter where the POV name was mentioned but in the middle of the chapter it seemed to change without warning. Now I had an audio, so maybe there was a clear difference in the actual book. So this was a bit annoying but not enough to lose me. 

So that was the not so good now for the good... so much more good. I mentioned the POV transition issues and that may have been due to audio, I still think the audio was well worth it because I loved the narrator. She so brought the characters to life, her reading style, her accent, her tone, it made the story so authentic for me. I love it when the narrator does so well and brings the story to life. I was able to get totally lost in the book and find myself in the world of Najwa and Zayele. 

Speaking of Najwa and Zayle... loved, loved, loved these characters. They both had their flaws but were both very amazing, strong, female leads. I loved Najwa the most. She was my favorite out of the two, especially in the begging. She was a curious jinni. She wanted to know so much more about the human world and the humans, she thought it was all so fascinating. Of course this led her to trouble and discovery which led her to live the human life for a while. She was brave through it and never gave up finding a way out of the wish. She also had no problems making friends with her enemy. She was very kind and genuine. Even though she was loyal to her jinni, she felt that there was another way other than war, but she fought along side her kind and did whatever they needed her to do.

Zayle was more the trouble maker. She was very independent, very selfish at times, not as loyal to her tribe as Najwa was to her people. Najwa was selfless and Zayle was quite the opposite in that aspect of her personality. Zayele was a fighter, never bit her tongue, and was pretty up front with who she was. What you saw was what you got. In the end she really grew on me. She has some pretty strong points too and she definitely redeemed herself in the end. 

The story was just a good one. It had some strong friendships, a bit of romance, magic, adventure, and really awful evil bad guys. I found myself completely engulfed and on the edge of my seat. The romance wasn't the highlight of the story but it was there and it was sweet on both sides. A developing first love type of romance, devoted, unexpected, and strong. 

I enjoyed this story very very much and can't wait for more. One thing I did appreciated fully, no cliffhanger. The book is left open ended but the story for this particular volume had resolution and that made me so very happy. for a bit wasn't sure and thought it was gonna end with me angry. Nope, I was a little teary eyed but not angry. 

A wonder book with magic and mystery, fantasy and mythology, and just bit of historical flair. 

Amber Lough lives in Syracuse, NY with an astrophysicist and their two kids, Future CEO and Future Comedian. She spent half her childhood in Japan and the Middle East, but majored in Russian because she likes a challenge. She quit her job in the Air Force to write stories about maybe-possible worlds in which no one speaks English or "common." Her Middle Eastern fantasy, THE FIRE WISH, is due from Random House Children's in Fall 2014.

Genre Definition and Recommendation #73

Genre Definition and Recommendation is a feature where I will define a genre and a sub-genre definition and the make some recommendations.  

Science Fiction - Definition found on Wikipedia

Science Fiction- is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible (or at least non-supernatural) content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities. 

Parallel Universe Definition found on Wikipedia 

A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical or (fictional) self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality. While the terms "parallel universe" and "alternative reality" are generally synonymous and can be used interchangeably in most cases, there is sometimes an additional connotation implied with the term "alternative reality" that implies that the reality is a variant of our own. The term "parallel universe" is more general, without any connotations implying a relationship, or lack of relationship, with our own universe. A universe where the very laws of nature are different – for example, one in which there are no Laws of Motion – would in general count as a parallel universe but not an alternative reality. The correct quantum mechanical definition of parallel universes is "universes that are separated from each other by a single quantum event."

My Recommendations: 

One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington 

Name of overseas edition of Between The Lives. 

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.

Until now, that is... 

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted... But just what - and who - is she really risking?

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris 

  

Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.

And that was before she died... and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.

Delightful Discoveries #75

Delightful Discoveries are books that I have discovered recently... old, new, just released... from blogs, Goodreads, libraries, friends, or bookstores. 

Storm Siren by Mary Weber 

  

In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse—and the girl—can be controlled.

As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn’t merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth — meaning, she shouldn’t even exist.

Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the weapon Faelen needs to win the war, or be killed.

Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she’s being prepared to fight . . . not to mention the handsome trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons.

But what if she doesn’t want to be the weapon they’ve all been waiting for?

Set in a beautifully eclectic world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win.
.

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

Sometimes, there are no words… 

The youngest of six talented sisters, Elyse d’Abreau was destined for stardom—until a boating accident took everything from her. Now, the most beautiful singer in Tobago can’t sing. She can’t even speak.

Seeking quiet solitude, Elyse accepts a friend’s invitation to Atargatis Cove. Named for the mythical first mermaid, the Oregon seaside town is everything Elyse’s home in the Caribbean isn’t: An ocean too cold for swimming, parties too tame for singing, and people too polite to pry—except for one.

Christian Kane is a notorious playboy—insolent, arrogant, and completely charming. He’s also the only person in Atargatis Cove who doesn’t treat Elyse like a glass statue. He challenges her to express herself, and he admires the way she treats his younger brother Sebastian, who believes Elyse is the legendary mermaid come to life. 

When Christian needs a first mate for the Cove’s high-stakes Pirate Regatta, Elyse reluctantly stows her fear of the sea and climbs aboard. The ocean isn’t the only thing making waves, though—swept up in Christian’s seductive tide and entranced by the Cove’s charms, Elyse begins to wonder if a life of solitude isn’t what she needs. But changing course again means facing her past. It means finding her inner voice. And scariest of all, it means opening her heart to a boy who’s best known for breaking them .

Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee

Eighteen-year-old Carr “the Raptor” Luka is an athletic phenom, a rising star in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing. Training and competing aboard the lunar orbiting city-station of Valtego (where It’s More Fun on the Dark Side TM), all he’s ever wanted is to win the championship title.

His talent and marketability don’t go unnoticed by the top brass of the Zero Gravity Fighting Association. They assign him a brandhelm; after all, anyone who wants to be anyone needs a dedicated personal marketing strategist. Beautiful and ambitious, Risha is one of the genetically engineered Martian colonists that Earth dwellers view with resentment and suspicion. It isn’t long before she’s made Carr into a popular celebrity, and stolen his heart along the way.

But success could be the worst thing that happens to them. As his fame grows, Carr must come to terms with the fact that he’s become an inspirational hero on Earth, a once-great planet now angry at falling into the shadow of its more prosperous colonies. When Carr learns of a far-reaching criminal scheme, he becomes the keeper of a devastating personal secret. Not only will his choices place into jeopardy everything he holds dear, they may spill the violence from the sports arena out into the solar system.

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver 

  
Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late.

In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.

Woven by Michael Jensen and David Powers King

Two unlikely allies must journey across a kingdom in the hopes of thwarting death itself.

All his life, Nels has wanted to be a knight of the kingdom of Avërand. Tall and strong, and with a knack for helping those in need, the people of his sleepy little village have even taken to calling him the Knight of Cobblestown.

But that was before Nels died, murdered outside his home by a mysterious figure.

Now the young hero has awoken as a ghost, invisible to all around him save one person—his only hope for understanding what happened to him—the kingdom’s heir, Princess Tyra. At first the spoiled royal wants nothing to do with Nels, but as the mystery of his death unravels, the two find themselves linked by a secret, and an enemy who could be hiding behind any face.

Nels and Tyra have no choice but to abscond from the castle, charting a hidden world of tangled magic and forlorn phantoms. They must seek out an ancient needle with the power to mend what has been torn, and they have to move fast. Because soon Nels will disappear forever.