Amanda's Review: Dark Parties, by Sara Grant

ISBN: 9780316085946
Released: August 3, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA, Dystopian

Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield "protects" them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there's nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says...

Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a "dark party" to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she's ever known, including the people she loves the most.

**Note: This is a DNF review. Therefore, there will be no rating, and my opinion is based solely on the first few chapters of the book.

                I didn’t finish Dark Parties, so I really can’t form an opinion based on the book as a whole. I did read the first eight chapters, though, and this “review” will be based on that. 

                In the first chapter, I didn’t really see any world-building. It opens at one of the dark parties, which makes sense, given the title. However, this is a dystopian, right? I would think the first chapter would give us some sort of idea of their world. I personally saw very, very little of that. Second chapter, a few more things about this world started to trickle in, and I found them to be unbelievable. I just couldn’t buy into the Protectosphere.  The government’s control, I could see, but the literal bubble they’re living in? Not so much.

                Another issue I had is that within the first chapter, there has already been not one, but two make-out scenes. Even worse, they’re with two different guys. I haven’t read enough of the book to know where either of these “relationships” go, but I did read enough to realize that our narrator isn’t very honest, omitting some serious info from her best friend. A few chapters into the book, I still don’t care about the narrator.

                And then she makes things worse, going from not-so-great-friend to doesn’t-even-deserve-the-title-friend, and at this point, I gave up. I just can’t read a book that doesn’t catch my attention with the story, and makes me dislike the main character less than halfway through.

                As a huge fan of dystopian novels, this one failed to grab me.


--Amanda

Reviewer Wanted

I've been making a few promises as of late, which include:

• an updated blog look by January 1st, 2012;
• consistent/frequent updates and reviews within the next month;
• a new reading challenge for 2012 (which will be happening, and which you will be learning more about later in December);
• a potential film review day once a week.

As I sat wondering how else I could make Book Faery more appealing to readers, I realized that, instead of adding more memes and weekly events, maybe book reviews would be a better option. After all, this is a book review blog, and reviews are what most people want, right?

Feb 2012 will be BF's 2nd blogoversary... and because of that, I figured it's time to expand a little bit more.

While we've got a number of awesome guest reviewers on the blog, I'm in search for someone who is interested in potentially becoming a more frequent reviewer for Book Faery.

{Requirements}

1) Must be able to produce a well-written, thoughtful book review. 
Plot summary is a no-no. We like it when people expand on their thoughts. No author bashing allowed by any means. 

2) Not presently running your own book review site. 
I am greedy and want your pretty little reviewer-ness all to myself.  

3) Able to read and review a minimum of 3-4 titles per month. 
  
4) Must be able to post reviews in a timely manner. 
ie: ARC reviews before the book's release date (if you attain an ARC), book reviews within a few weeks of attaining the books sent to you. In other words, meet deadlines for the books you receive.

And of course, you have to love the book genres we review here!


What do you get from all of this, aside from getting your name on the blog? Free books!

Cover Wars: Swear vs Crave

Cover Wars

(inspired by Kate's Throwdown Thursday at The Neverending Shelf)

Cover Wars is a weekly post occurring every Monday at Book Faery.
Two covers will have a "face off," and it will be up to the readers to
decide who is the victor and who is the loser.  This is a great way for
readers to have their voice be heard, while also promoting new/old books
in the process.

---

Last week we had a showdown between For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund and Arise by Tara Hudson.

The Winner:

  Arise by Tara Hudson!

---

Swear VS Crave

 

Love both of these covers. Which gets your vote?

--Amanda

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you've all had a wonderful turkey day!

Hehe... that was so me earlier.

No pumpkin pie or turkey for me--I had lots of bread sticks, an arugala salad, steak and potatoes, and a yummylicious apple crumble with some chocolate chip gelato for dessert. Plus lots of wine and amaretto :D Suffice to say, I thought I was going to explode LOL.

What did you all feast on today?

Tori's Review: The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams

Released: October 25, 2011
Paperback: 320 pages
Price: $7.99
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Publisher
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: McKenzie Lewis
Buy: Amazon

Add this book to your Goodreads shelf

There can only be one allegiance. It’s her time to choose.

Some humans can see the fae. McKenzie Lewis can track them, reading the shadows they leave behind. But some shadows lead to danger. Others lead to lies.

A Houston college student trying to finish her degree, McKenzie has been working for the fae king for years, tracking vicious rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn’t her only secret. For just as long, she’s been in love with Kyol, the king’s sword-master—and relationships between humans and fae are forbidden.

But any hope for a normal life is shattered when she’s captured by Aren, the fierce and uncompromising rebel leader. He teaches her the forbidden fae language and tells her dark truths about the Court, all to persuade her to turn against the king. Time is running out, and as the fight starts to claim human lives, McKenzie has no choice but to decide once and for all whom to trust and where she ultimately stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.

My Rating:

This book has received the Faerie of Honor rating (what's this?)

My Opinion:
Sandy Williams is a talented author with a wonderful imagination that I am both thankful for and envious of. She has taken an overused concept in YA literature (the love triangle) and has done something extraordinary with it in the adult genre.... And with a heroine who is in my age group, to boot!

I won't go into the details regarding the plot, but I will say that the driving force in this novel is the love triangle's conflicts. Some may find this to be obnoxious--particularly the jaded love triangle readers--but I think that most, like me, will appreciate that for once, the love triangle was done right.

I, for one, was just as torn about which hero I wanted to "win" as McKenzie was. Both men had their strengths and weaknesses, and they each summoned different reactions in our heroine that either made me swoon, or made me scowl (depending on the situation).

Each man was as realistic as a human being vying for the affections of someone they wanted to be with, and I never, at any point, believed that McKenzie was leading the guys on. I could feel that she was genuinely torn, and I appreciated the realistic element more than I could ever explain in words.

TSR is a unique story overflowing with rich world building, characters that get under your skin, and a plot that kept me glued from the first page all the way to the last. It is one of my absolute favorites that I have had the pleasure of reading in 2011, both in the adult genre, and out of all my favorite YAs. I highly recommend that all readers--whether you are an adult fiction junkie or a YA fan who adores love triangles done right--to check out Williams' story... You will not be disappointed.


Book Order:
1. The Shadow Reader