Jess Peters's Blog, page 30

Break by Clare Littlemore

This is the second book in the Flow series.

It’s been three months since Quin transferred to Patrol and discovered the terrifying truth about the community she lives in. Citizens of The Beck are disposable and those in charge are capable of terrible cruelty. Vowing to protect those around her, Quin has joined the Resistance. But she knows she is risking everything.

Rebellion of any kind must be secretive and clever. Gathering enough people to fight seems like an impossible task. When those closest to her are directly threatened, Quin knows she has to act. But time is running out. Governance will stop at nothing to protect the world it has worked to build. In the end, Quin must decide how far she is prepared to go to rescue the ones she loves.

I absolutely loved reading this book. The plot developed well and the characters are great. I feel like I’ve been on a journey reading it.

Quin is just great. She has such a good heart and is so strong and brave to continue on with everything when she keeps learning and seeing new horrors unfold within The Beck.

Cameron is also a good character. I’m glad he finally gave in to his feelings towards Quin. He does so much for everyone, and particularly the resistance and giving up on his feelings shouldn’t be one of them.

I liked getting to know all the other characters. Jackson, Taylor, Mason, Will, plus the others. They all add to the story.

The ending had me on the edge on my seat. It was incredibly fast paced and exciting to read.

I’m really looking for to the next book and would definitely recommend reading this series.

My rating: 5/5*

Flow by Clare Littlemore

This is the first book in the Flow series.

A world in tatters. A society where rebellion is not tolerated. A girl desperate to discover the truth.

Sixteen year old Quin lives in The Beck, a saviour society. Her community has risen from the ruins of a land shattered by Mother Nature. But Beck law is tough. Quin knows that the rules must be followed in order to sustain life in a place where floodwaters constantly threaten existence. A single violation could land her in Clearance.

But some laws are harder to follow than others. And as Quin discovers the horrifying truth, she knows she cannot stay silent forever.

I enjoyed reading this book. The story was great and the plot developed well, and at a good pace with good characters.

Quin was a great main character. She was just a normal citizen trying to survive, but she also had a strong side to her which wanted to do the right thing. She wanted to protect her friends by any means possible, but ultimately, going along with the way society is, is the way to do so.

Cameron was a good character. He came across as someone Quin could trust at times, but also as someone who followed the rules. I liked gradually getting to know him, and learning why he came across as he did at times, and enjoyed seeing his relationship with Quin grow.

All the other characters were also good.

The way The Beck worked was interesting to read. It was a hard place with strict laws, and ultimately, the truth isn’t a good one. I’m looking forward to reading the next book and seeing how the story develops.

I would definitely recommend it.

My rating : 5/5*

Blood of the Chosen (Children of the Prime Book 3) by T. C. Edge

This is the 3rd book in the Children of the Prime series set in the Enhanced world.

The Trial of the Chosen has come to an end, leaving Amber stunned by the result. Though her loss to Elian hurts deeply, another, more profound pain begins to dwell inside her – having met the Prime, will she ever feel the same way again?

Now, she finds herself lost, not knowing what path to take. Until, at her lowest ebb, fate comes calling, and a brand new road opens up before her.

One that will take her on a far more dangerous journey…and perhaps even to war.

I enjoyed reading this book. The story developed well and moved at a good pace.

Amber continued to grow as a character. This book saw her hit some lows, as well as some highs. She’s finding herself in situations she could never have imagined, and gradually liking this new life she’s been given. Her powers have continued to grow and she really has become a strong character.

We also started to get to know more of the other characters more. Namely the Herolds and the Chosen’s. Perses in particular was one we saw more of. He comes across as a good character with more to him than meets the eye. It was interesting reading more about him.

I liked the mentions of previous characters and events in books from The Enhanced series. They tie in well to the overall story.

It’s probably worth saying that I’ve read these books a little bit backwards in regards to where this series ties in with the Enhanced (Conquest and Fractured) with Brie and Kira, so I do know where this is all heading. I’m enjoying seeing everything from Amber’s perspective though and I’m planning on reading the finale in the correct order!

Overall, I definitely recommend this series. It’s a great addition to The Enhanced world.

My rating: 5/5*

Trial of the Chosen (Children of the Prime Book 2) by T. C. Edge

This is the second book of The Children of the Prime series.

Amber’s true nature has been revealed to the people of Olympus, and in spectacular fashion.

What will happen to her now? And what of Lilly and Jude, their fates still unknown.

Continue Amber’s adventure as she falls deeper into the world of Olympus, and comes into contact with some of the most powerful Children of the Prime. To save those she loves, she might have no choice but to fulfil her own destiny. Even if that means forgetting everything she once believed in…

I enjoyed reading this book. The storyline continued and developed well, the plot moved at a good pace and I like the characters.

Amber’s character developed in this book. She has been thrown in to the deep end and made to take part in the trials, whether she wants to or not. She has had to learn about her abilities, all why living somewhere where she doesn’t believe in what they do or how they live. It was interesting to read how her feelings gradually changed.

Elian is an interesting character too. She seems arrogant, yet makes loads of valid points, and comes across nice at times. I’m interested to see how his relationship with Amber progresses.

The Prime are a wierd mysterious being. I was surprised by their decision at the end of the book when the Overseer was so sure otherwise.

Overll, I’m enjoying this series and look forward to the next book. I would definitely recommend reading this in conjunction with the Enhanced series.

My rating: 5/5*

 

The Chosen (Children of the Prime Book 1) by T. C. Edge

This is a spin off of The Enhanced series and the first is The Children of the Prime series.

Amber’s life on the Fringe is simple. Serve those above her, keep her highly unpopular opinions to herself, and above all…don’t stir things up.

Unfortunately, for a girl with fire in her blood, that’s not easy.

On the day of Collection, when all towns across the Fringe give tribute to those they serve, Amber’s world turns upside down. A dark secret from her past is revealed, and her sister taken into a life of slavery.

Suddenly, Amber finds herself setting off on a perilous journey she never anticipated, venturing to the heart of the ruling city of Olympus with her best friend, Jude, to get her sister back. Facing great odds, and men and women of strange and mystical power, Amber must quickly adapt to survive.

And, more importantly, save those she loves.

Will she succeed in reuniting her family, or fall into darkness?

This book was a brilliant addition to The Enhanced world. The storyline was great, the plot developed well and I like the characters.

Amber is an interesting character. She’s so stubborn which has ultimately, gotten her into the position she found herself in. She doesn’t agree with worshiping those of Olympus, and so speaks out about it without meaning to and knowing it will get her in trouble. She doesn’t think before she speaks. I think she is learning the hard way though and I’m interested in seeing her character develop.

Amber’s relationship with Jude was nice to read. They both wanted to protect eachother. Jude is a very brave character, especially since he knows it’s Amber’s fault they end up where they do. His love for her though is more important and so, he sticks with her.

Overall, this book was enjoyable and I’m looking forward to the next. I would definitely recommend reading it.

My rating: 5/5*

Harley Merlin and the Challenge of Chaos by Bella Forrest

This is the 8th book in the series.

If what is hidden is found, the mighty shall fall…

Time is running out. For the final ritual, Katherine will sacrifice twelve magicals with rare abilities.

Harley has already lost so much, and she can’t bear to sacrifice anything more. She will protect her friends at all costs—even if that means flying solo against the greatest evil the world has ever known.

With her parents’ Grimoire, Harley finally has a weapon capable of overpowering Katherine. If only she could figure out how to reveal the hidden pages within, to perform the spell Chaos itself has written. And the spell may reveal more than she’s bargained for…

All Katherine wants is to be Queen of Everything—is that so much to ask? Her little niece has been a real thorn in her side, but that’s all about to change. Pity she can’t kill Harley just yet, since the girl is still useful. There’s also the matter of that too-handsome Necromancer, Davin Doncaster. From personal experience, Katherine knows one should never trust a pretty face.

I absolutely love this series. It’s just brilliant. This book was enjoyable, it moved at a good fast pace and the storyline developed well.

Harley continues to be a brilliant character. After everything in which she has been through, she continues to fight on and do what must be done.

There were some nice touching moments in this book relating to he past with her parents which were great to read. They were a good comparison to the rest of the pace throughout the story.

All the other characters are also great. The change Finch has gone through has been brilliant to read. He has turned into the brother Harley really needed in comparison to who he was in the first book. It was a shame to see Harley try and push everyone away.

It was interesting to see Katherine’s point of view. It’s not often you get to read what the bad guy is thinking in books and it made it interesting. I’m glad her big secret of Imogene finally got figured out. She is a clever villain, which has made her all the more dangerous.

The events at the end of the book really have taken a turn for the worst. I’m looking forward to reading the last book.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this series. It’s simply amazing.

My rating: 5/5*

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

This is the first book in the series.

A fragile young teenage girl is held captive. Locked in a cell by The Reestablishment – a harsh dictatorship in charge of a crumbling world. This is no ordinary teenager. Juliette is a threat to The Reestablishment’s power. A touch from her can kill – one touch is all it takes. But not only is she a threat, she is potentially the most powerful weapon they could have. Juliette has never fought for herself before but when she’s reunited with the one person who ever cared about her, the depth of the emotion and the power within her become explosive .

I enjoyed the storyline. The characters were good and the plot developed well. The world portrayed in the book was an interesting one, and these interesting ‘powers’ or ‘gifts’ that have come about are interesting.

Juliette is a good main character. She starts of vulnerable, scared and weak, but as she escapes and becomes free, she develops in confidence and learns more about who she is. She’s actually quite a strong and brave character when she puts her mind to it.

I liked Adam as well. He liked her, and tried to do everything to help her. Juliette couldn’t quite believe it, which made it all the bit sweeter to read.

Warner is an interesting character. He is being portrayed as a villian, but I found that he wasn’t really. Yes, he wanted to use her which wasn’t particularly right, but he was also just doing his job. I’m interested to see how this progresses and whether he actually does become the bad guy he’s meant to be.

The only thing which was slightly annoying was the writing at times. Lots of repetition and crossed out phrases. Yes, it works, but it does get a little bit annoying at times.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

My rating: 4/5*

 

Surviving The Evacuation, Book 15: Where There’s Hope by Frank Tayell

This is the 15th book in the series.

Northern France is a frozen morass of mud and snow across which rampages a horde of the undead, a hundred million strong. That won’t stop Chester Carson and his comrades. Seeking a way across the Channel, they make for the coast, unaware that Britain has been abandoned, Belfast is a ruin, and that radiation is seeping into the Irish Sea. If they knew, that wouldn’t stop them either. They’re on a quest to save their family, their friends, and humanity itself; failure is not an option.

As they journey through war-ravaged ports and storm-wrecked beaches, a new truth becomes clear. The flotilla that found refuge on Anglesey wasn’t the only group of sea-borne refugees to have survived the outbreak. There are other survivors. Some good, some evil, some just determined to do their duty no matter the cost.

Danger lurks along the French and Belgian coasts. So do answers, and hope that humanity now has a future.

I enjoy following this series, and enjoy the storyline and characters, but this one was just that little bit slower than the previous books.

I felt this book rounded up where some of the previous books left off, which I liked. It was nice to see some of Nilda’s story, along with Bill’s and Chester’s. It’s made way for the future books nicely.

I like reading the different interactions between everyone. There is a huge cast of characters in these books overall, and they all started out in different places. It’s just nice when they all end up together.

There’s just the right amount of balance in these books of living people and interactions, politics, danger, and zombies.

I’m looking forward to the next book, and seeing where the story will head next. I would definitely recommend this series for anyone who likes a good zombie book, although ot definitely needs to be read from book 1 and in order.

My rating: 4/5*

 

 

Barriers (The Solar Flare Trilogy book 1) by Patrick Skelton

This is the first book in the trilogy.

In the near future, Barrier domes shield the planet’s wealthiest cities from catastrophic solar flares, but only the healthy elite are granted protection. Those who are unable to prove their ability to work are sent to live in the Sanctuaries — camps outside the Barrier domes where residents have little-to-no protection from flares. It’s brutal living there.

Nathan Gallagher is one of the lucky ones who lives inside a Barrier. But his luck runs out when his adopted son suffers a paralyzing accident. He’s taken from his parents and sent to the Sanctuaries where it’s only a matter of time before they kill him.

With only days until another flare is due to strike Earth’s Sanctuary cities, not only does his son’s life hang in the balance, but the fate of a quarter billion people.

I enjoyed this book. The storyline was good, the characters were good, the plot developed at a good pace and I liked the post-apocalyptic concept.

The world of the barriers and flares was an interesting concept and I found it different. I liked the dystopian factors behind it.

Nathan was a great main character. He wanted to do the best by his family and was willing to do anything for them, even without completly thinking it through.

The time travel aspect with space was also an interesting concept. It did take me a little while to get in to the flow of the story and to understand the two timelines at the start, but once I did, I enjoyed it. It was clever how everything came together and made sense at the end and the little twist at the end was very unexpected.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It had an interesting concept, storyline and good characters. The aspects of space, time travel and dystopian features were good to read.

My rating: 4/5*

Portals: Saving Earth (Into The Galaxy book 2) by Ann Christy

This is the second and final book in this series.

As the enormous spacecraft named Fluffy floats above a stunned Earth, humanity is again thrown into chaos. Humanity thought the Portal Invasion was over. The portals stopped as suddenly as they began, and Earth has barely begun recovering from the terror. Now, the sentient spacecraft and its crew tell humans how wrong they were…about everything.

As Hub waits in the deep, dark vastness of space, the crew of the stolen spacecraft races to stop the tragedy soon to befall Earth. If only they could get humanity to stop fighting each other long enough to help save their own necks. The galaxy can open to humanity, if only they can summon the bravery to step through the door.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was great and the plot developed well. The characters were great and the descriptions were brilliant and imaginative.

Lysa was a brilliant character. She was only human, but was brave, stubborn and determined to do the right thing. She was clever enough to find loopholes and go around the rules. I enjoyed reading her journey.

Jack and Drives To Hard were brilliant too. It was interesting learning about their original species, especially when Lysa’s mum came into the picture and reading about her experiences getting to know this new world. All the characters were brilliant including Esme and Heather.

Fluffy was brilliant. It was amazing how a ship could have so much personality.

The descriptions are what made this book great. They were vivid and imaginative. You could picture every character, world, species and portal.

I found that this book was better than the previous one. I think it was because it had more action and less of an information overload.

Overall, I enjoyed this series and would definitely recommend it.

My rating: 5/5*