Audio Book Review: Visitors by Orson Scott Card - DNF

I've never not finished an audiobook before. I'm usually much more patient with that version. And even more surprising, this is the third book in the series, and I enjoyed the first two.

Visitors continues the story of Rigg, Ram Odin, Loaf, Umbo, and Param. They are kind of all going their separate ways for different reasons. Oh, and there's a new character, a duplicate of Rigg, who calls himself Noxon.

Their goal is to keep a spaceship from Earth from coming and destroying Garden. They've been into the future, so they know this is going to happen and are trying to figure out how to prevent it.

Rigg is visiting every one of the wallfolds. It's probably the most boring part. Maybe there will end up being a purpose, but it just seems like a bunch of side stories. With each miniscule step forward, we are subjected to every nuance of thought and debate about how this will work, will it change the past, will it create multiple copies of things, and how are they going to learn to do all the things they  need to do time travel-wise. This goes on and on ad nauseam, even more so than in the first two books. Then we get about a paragraph of actual action, and then back to the debate.

I'm to the point (after 5 of 14 discs) that I couldn't care less about the outcome. The narrators are excellent, as they were in the first two books in the series, but I'm moving on to something else.

If you are a time travel fanatic and enjoy thinking about all the complications it would entail, then you would enjoy this book (and the series.)  The first two books are Pathfinder and Ruins and you must read them in order.

Published by Simon Pulse, 2014, Brilliance Audio
Audiobook obtained from the library
5 of 14 discs (36%), 217 of 608 pages

Rating: DNF

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Book Review: The Third Twin, by CJ Omololu

The Third Twin is an exciting book, as long as you can believe that teens could be this stupid.

Ava and Lexi are twins that made up an imaginary "third twin" when they were young and called her Alicia. No one knows that they still pretend to be this twin sometimes now that they are in high school. Mostly Ava. She'll go on a few dates with a guy, and then sometimes Lexi will take over and pretend. Lexi wants to stop after having a bad experience, but Ava continues to lead a double life.

When a guy they have dated turns up murdered, the police come to their house looking for Alicia. Then they get stupid. The bad decisions just keep piling up, and, given that these girls are pretty smart, it was hard for me to believe. They just get in deeper and deeper, and while it does get exciting, I just couldn't help rolling my eyes.

Ava and Lexi are adopted; literally left on the doorstep. The title of the book and the hints the reader gets during the story make the "surprise" not that surprising. I didn't figure out who the murderer was though, so that was positive. Although I found the motive to be rather weak.

So, I was entertained while reading The Third Twin. I think it might be more appropriate for younger teens because of the simplicity of the story. It's a pretty quick and easy read that is worth the time.

Published by Delacorte, February 24, 2015
eARC obtained from NetGalley
336 pages

Rating: 3/5

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Stacking the Shelves - One for the Fun of It

Happy Weekend! And if you are from the United States, I hope you enjoy your 4th of July. I only acquired one book this week and here it is:

From the Library:

China Dolls, by Lisa See

I have a long list of books to read "someday" so once in a while I go pick one up, or in this case, check out the ebook from the library. I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls so really looking forward to this one.

How about you? What am I missing? Leave me a link so I can check out your haul. Also, make sure to visit our hosts, Team Tynga's Reviews. Thanks for stopping by.

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Book Review: Taking Pity, by David Mark

While I enjoyed Taking Pity, it is my least favorite of the Detective Sergeant McAvoy novels simply because McAvoy isn't in it enough!

Taking Pity follows the familiar path of these books, in that there are two seemingly unrelated crimes being investigated that somehow become entwined. Aector has been pulled from his medical leave to investigate a multiple murder that occurred in the 1960s. The perpetrator admitted the crime and has been in a mental institution ever since. He's never been tried and the authorities want to know if they should have a trial.

Pharaoh is investigating a group of vigilante criminals who have gone rogue. Apparently they can't even control their own people and are murdering not only bad guys, but each other.

There are a lot of characters and the scenes switch rather quickly. Aector is struggling with the devastation caused at the end of the previous book, Sorrow Bound.  Although his wife and baby are safe, they are in protective custody and Aector feels guilty and misses them terribly.

The story is somewhat gruesome and compelling. These men aren't just murderers, they insist that their victims suffer before their deaths. If you are interested, you should begin with the first book in the series, The Dark Winter (still my favorite).  The best thing about the series is that the characters have unique personalities, and the sleuthing is always surprising.

Published by Blue Rider Press, July 7, 2015
eARC obtained from NetGalley and the publisher
336 pages

Rating: 4/5

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2015 EBook Challenge - Post Your July Reviews Here

Here's the sign up page for the 2015 EBook Challenge if you're interested.

You can see my progress for the year on my 2015 Challenges Page. I'm at 40 at the halfway point, so on track to make my goal of 75 for the year.

You can link up your June reviews HERE.

You can link up your July reviews below:

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Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell @rainbowrowell

Finally a contemporary book that I can sink my teeth into. I've been DNFing or not even starting many contemporaries lately, but I should have known that Rowell's characters would win my heart. I thoroughly enjoyed Fangirl.

Cath and her twin sister Wren are leaving for college and they are going to live in separate dorms. They will be apart for the first time. Cath is nervous, especially when her roommate shows almost no interest in getting to know Cath, and Cath is to frightened of everything to put herself out there.

All Cath wants to do is write her fanfic, which has a huge following on the internet. About the only thing she's excited about is her fiction writing class that she managed to get in as a freshman.

I think what makes Rowell's characters so easy to love is that they have multiple aspects to their lives. They are well rounded. I don't want to say too much but there are issues besides surviving their freshman year at college. Their father has some mental health issues, and Cath is worried about leaving him alone....since their mother left them when they were eight years old. Mom has suddenly decided she wants to be a part of their lives, much to Cath's dismay. Wren takes a different path through her freshman year, partying too much and paying the consequences. And, of course, there's a romance. A really sweet romance that melted my heart.

Cath has problems getting her priorities straight, as is common for freshmen in college, and following her through this process is both frustrating and satisfying.

I'm not sure I have anything negative to say. It did take me a while to immerse myself in Fangirl. But I think that's more of a personal thing -- only reading in short spurts. I do better if I can get a huge chunk of reading time all at once. That's not always possible, of course.

I was starting to think I shouldn't try any more contemporaries (maybe I'm too old for teen situations?) but Fangirl has renewed my faith. I'm going to have to start pushing this one to my teens. It's been nominated for our Abraham Lincoln High School Book Award, so that will help.

Published by St. Martin's Griffin, 2013
Copy obtained from the library
435 pages

Rating: 5/5

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DNF Book Review: The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman

It's been a rough week for me book-wise. This is the second book I haven't been able to finish. So, is it me? Maybe. But they were very different books and I quit for different reasons. The first one, I'm not even going to review because it was one of those "just not for me" books. Nothing wrong with it, just too cute and predictable for me.

The Waking Dark, however, I'd like to say a few things about. Mainly that I read so many reviews that said this is a page-turner, and I found it to be totally the opposite.

We are introduced to several settings and characters very quickly as twelve people are murdered in one day in the town of Oleander, Kansas. Then we skip ahead to follow the lives of the people who witnessed these killings and survived, as well as the only surviving murderer.

Some other bad stuff happens to the town, including a tornado. And then they are quarantined by the government but no one knows why. And that takes 200 pages. You get bits and pieces of plot progression. Like, the murderer isn't being held in a normal prison or a mental hospital; something is weird about that.

But I waited and waited for some breadcrumbs, and honestly I got tired of these characters interacting with each other without any progress or even the beginning of an investigation into what is happening. They are just living their lives, trying to survive. Ok, but for how long? Are they ever going to even get suspicious? Throw me a bone!

I did skim the end of the book, so I know the basic premise of what is going on, but I just didn't enjoy the meandering around without any build up of tension. The Waking Dark has been compared to Stephen King -- uh -- just, no. And King writes some really long, overly descriptive books, but he ratchets the tension and hooks you and Wasserman did not.

Since many reviews found The Waking Dark to be a page-turner, you may too.  This is only my opinion, so take it for what it's worth.

Published by Knopf BFYR, 2013
Copy obtained from the library
200/452 pages

Rating: DNF

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Book Review: The Leveller, by Julia Durango @julia_durango

I tend to like books about virtual reality games, and The Leveller is no exception.

Nixy has found a unique part-time job. Parents pay her to go into the MEEP, a virtual reality gaming world, and bring back their children. She's really good at it and has built up a reputation. It helps that both her parents are designers of this world, and Nixy has access to some things other players may not have.

When her parents' boss, the creator of the MEEP, comes to Nixy for help, she can't really say no. It seems the boss's son has run away -- into the MEEP. He's left a suicide note and whenever anyone has tried to go in a get him, they have met with such horrific obstacles that they have come back with some PTSD symptoms.

Nixy isn't worried too much about that. She knows it's just a game, but what she faces is pretty scary -- snakes, zombies, sharks -- and the descriptions will give you chills. Finally, after she reaches the son, Wyn, she finds out things aren't at all what she thought. And so the challenges continue.

The Leveller is action packed and features a kick-ass female character. It moves. It's short and easy and exciting. Great for reluctant readers who are interested in gaming. The characters are real enough to make you root for them, but The Leveller is really about the action. And there's a little romance too.

It would be fun to have another book about these characters in this game. I'm not sure if that is planned or not, since the ending of The Leveller is pretty resolved and satisfying. I recommend you take a couple hours and get lost in the MEEP.

Published by HarperTeen, June 23, 2015
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
256 pages

Rating: 4/5

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Stacking the Shelves - A Few

Happy Weekend everyone. Hope you are enjoying it. Here's what I acquired this week:

For Revew:

Trust No One, by Paul Cleave from NetGalley

Sometimes a book just jumps out at me. "Psychological thriller" gets me every time...

DaVinci's Tiger, by Laura Malone Elliott from Edelweiss

YA historical fiction. Can't pass those up either.

Velvet Undercover, by Teri Brown from Edelweiss

YA historical fiction

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff from NetGalley

That's what caught my fancy this week. How about you? Anything good I need to get my hands on? Leave me a link! Thanks for stopping by. Please visit our hosts, Team Tynga's Reviews.

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Book Review: The Young Elites, by Marie Lu @Marie_Lu

Marie Lu has created and exciting fantasy world in The Young Elites.

Ever since Adelina became very ill as a small child, she has been marked. These people are called "malfetto" by society, and they are discriminated against and sometimes even killed. Some of these malfetto have fantastic powers, and Adelina's father wishes she did so that he could sell her for a lot of money. But, no, it appears Adelina does not. Her father is terribly cruel, and eventually Adelina decides to run away.

She leaves her sister, sworn to secrecy, and escapes. But her father catches up, and Adelina uses her newly realized powers to kill him. Adelina is thrown into prison and sentenced to burn at the stake. She once again uses her powers to escape and is rescued by a member of the Young Elites, who will try to train her as one of them, if she's capable.

Enzo is the leader of these Young Elites called the Dagger Society. He is the crown prince and longs to take over the kingdom so that the malfetto can live a better life. The Dagger Society is working underground to make this happen.

Teren works for the king (and mostly the queen) and is out to destroy every malfetto he can find including those in the Dagger Society.

Adelina doesn't have it easy. She's attracted to Enzo, but can't be totally honest with the Dagger Society because Teren is dangling her sister's life above Adelina's head. So there's betrayal. I didn't think Adelina made very good choices in regards to Teren. She understandably doesn't trust anyone, but I think everyone would have fared better had she been honest. But then, there wouldn't be such an exciting tale!

I didn't enjoy The Young Elites as much as Lu's Legend Series (one of my all-time favorites) mostly because I just like dystopian books more than fantasy. The Young Elites is very engaging, but just relies too much on magic for my taste.

There are some twists and turns at the end, and some sadness too! There is an interesting epilogue which sets up the next book in the series, The Rose Society, nicely. I'll be looking forward to picking that one up in October.

Published by G. P. Putnam's Sons BFYR, 2014
Copy obtained from the library
355 pages

Rating: 4/5

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