Audiobook Review: Otherworld

Otherworld
Jason Segal & Kerstin Miller
Audiobook: 10hr 33min
Narrator:Jason Segal
Publisher: Delcorte Press
Rating: 4/5

I went in thinking this would be something similar to Ready Player One.
I was pretty off by that assumption. There is the common portion with having Virtual
Reality however that is where the similarities end.

Simon takes the fall for hacking a system even though it wasn`t him.
The start of the book is a little rocky both moving way to fast and then slowing way down.
The pacing needs work throughout the novel. From that point on though I enjoyed
the "In Game" parts. The real world portions seemed a little unrealistic with a timeline
that didn`t fit the books structure.

Otherworld is a VR game that a majority of the book is set in.
The normal players where what we use today, headsets and hand controls.
Then there are others who in the real world are in a comatose state. They get disks
put onto the back of their heads and now can enjoy the freedoms in Otherworld that
they no longer have in the real world. The disks are still in Beta and people are dying.
Those with disks don`t know they can actually be seriously injured in game.
Simon is on a mission to rescue to his best friend Kat. One of the beta disk wearers.
To reach her he must wear a disk himself and journey through the regions of Otherworld.
Risking his own to life to save a girl who doesn`t know she needs saving.

Otherworld is an action-packed, engaging book.
Perfect for gamers and conspiracy theorists alike.

~Ashley

Review: Legendary

Author: Stephanie Garber

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Published On: 5/29/18

Page Count: 416

Rating:4/5

We received an advanced copy off of Netgalley from the publisher. This does

not effect our opinion of this novel in any way.

Synopsis: (Found on Goodreads)

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna

has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous a

rranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free.

She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella

owes him no one has ever been able to deliver:

Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

Legendary isn`t a sequel per-say but it does happen directly after the events of Caraval.

The book is told in Tella`s point of view (Scarlet`s younger sister). She must finally pay

the debt she owes from Legendary. That debt is what Legend`s true name is.

This book takes you on a wild adventure through another game of Caraval.

I enjoyed Caraval but not as much as the rest of my family did. Collectively

they gave it 4.5/5 stars. I only gave it 3.5/5. When Legendary came up as a book

I could request I jumped on it knowing my family wanted to do another family read.

We had already pre-ordered our 5 copies to read in June. Since receiving this book

early I opted to read it out loud to them while on car rides.

Over the course of 5 weekends my entire family devoured this book. I enjoyed it so

much more than Caraval. Tella started out annoying (like most younger sisters are)

but learning about her past and everything she was fighting for made her grow so

much in my eyes.

The twists and turns kept me swiping through the pages. I want my own Deck of

Destiny but maybe one not quite as cursed as Tella and her moms. I highly

recommend this for fans f the first book as well as those who enjoyed the mystics of

Tarot reading and changing your own future.

~TTFN

Ashley

Strange the Dreamer

Title: Strange the Dreamer

Author:Laini Taylor

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 536

Synopsis:(from GoodReads)

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and

Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always

feared that his dream chose poorly.

Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic

lost city of Weep,

but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it.

Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero

called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he

has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

Rating: 5/ 5

I hadn’t read anything from Laini Taylor since I completed her

Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. And boy was I in for a treat when I

picked up Strange the Dreamer, in the trilogy, it was mostly Karou’s point

of view throughout the book. I LOVED THAT IT WAS MAINLY LAZLO’S

POINT OF VIEW IN THIS BOOK!! It did take me a bit to get through

Strange the Dreamer as I started my second semester right after picking up

this book as my current read. I love how Laini is able to give us such vivid

imagery with her words in all of her books that I have read so far.

I loved Sarai too, and Minya was not one of my favorites but I liked having her

anger towards the people of Weep compared to the rest of the godspawn.

It threw a nice little twist into the story. I cannot wait to pick up book 2, since it

is titled Muse of Nightmares aka Sarai.  

~Michaela

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Character Names

Best Character Names

Ashley:

Lorelai- CJ Redwine`s The Shadow Queen

Inej- Leigh Bardugo`s Six of Crows

Elisa- Rae Carson`s Girl of Fire and Thorns

Karou- Laini Taylor`s Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Michaela: Britta and Finn-Erin Summerill’s Ever the Hunted

& Ever the Brave

Magnus- Morgan Rhodes’s falling Kingdoms

Sadja- C.J. Redwine’s The Traitor Prince

Percy and Felicity- Mackenzi Lee’s The Gentleman’s Guide

to Vice and Virtue

Mackenzie:

Amani- Alwyn Hamilton’s Rebel of the Sands Trilogy

Amarathine(Mare)- Audrey Coulthurst’s Of Fire and Stars

Ivory and Bone Review

Title: Ivory and Bone

Author: Julie Eshbaugh

Publisher: Harperteen

Pages: 371

Synopsis: (from GoodReads)

Two clans. Only one will survive.

The only life seventeen-year-old Kol knows is hunting at the foot of the Great Ice with his brothers.
But food is becoming scarce, and without another clan to align with, Kol, his family,
and their entire group are facing an uncertain future.

Rating: 4 /5 stars

At first I was very confused with this book. It was slow but still drew me into its story-line.
Kol and Mya both being groomed to be the next leader of their own clans but
Kol’s parents and Mya’s older brother have other plans. Both clans have a history
with each other. Another clan becomes involved and Kol has to make a choice between
Mya, the girl he’s falling for or Lo (a member of the other clan) claims. All before a
deadly war breaks out between two clans that used to be one. I like that there isn’t
any technology in this book since it’s set back to where smart phones weren’t a thing.
That the two girls have a past thats tangled together and Kol is caught between the two pasts.

~Michaela

I finished reading Ivory & Bone and jumped straight into Obsidian & Stars.
Look forward to that review a little later this month.

Review: Heartless

Title: Heartless

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publisher: MacMillian USA

Synopsis:(from GoodReads)

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—

she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.
Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of

the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker,

all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother,

such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman

who could be the next queen.

Rating: 3.5/5

Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite stories, so retellings of it tend to

peak my interest. I started reading this in February, and then set it aside to read I

book I had impatiently waited the release of.  Once I had finished that, and picked

Heartless back up.

It was a little difficult for me to follow along with everything that was

happening between Catherine and the other characters, but I still liked the story, after

all it’s hard for me to pass up magic, madness, monsters.

~Mackenzie

Scorpio Races Audiobook Review

Title: The Scorpio Races

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Pages: 409

Audio: 12 hrs 6 mins 45 secs

Synopsis: (from GoodReads)

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races.
Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.
Some riders live.
Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races.
But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance.

Rating: 4/ 5 Stars

I absolutely loved this book! This was the first audiobook I listened to and I
was still sucked into my own little world, the narrators were perfect! Since my
siblings and I spend a lot of our time riding, this story suits all three of us.
Puck reminds me so much of my-self it is kind of crazy, She enters the races- a
strictly male race and I am pursuing a male dominated career in Fire Fighting.
Puck is witty and stubborn and loves to take her pony Dove for rides. Then there
is Sean Kendrick and his Cappaill Uishce, Corr. OH MY GOD WHERE CAN
I FIND MY OWN SEAN KENDRICK!! I love Sean’s closed off personality
around all the other characters expect Puck and his horse. Pucks family relations
touch the feels greatly. Puck and Sean’s relationship, the backstories, the race itself,
just all of it is a wonderful read.

~Michaela

For Christmas Ashley got me a letter written from Sean Kendrick.
There is an etsy shop called bookified that takes main characters and
writes personalized letters to people from them.

Review: Pacifica

Author: Kristen Simmons

Published On: 3/6/18

Publisher: Tor Teen

Page Count: 378

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

When Marin and Ross meet in dangerous Shoreling territory he sees a way to get 

his friend back and she sees her ticket home. The ransom a president’s son would 

command could feed her people for years and restore her family’s legacy. But 

somewhere in the middle of the ocean, Marin must decide if her heart can handle 

handing over the only person who has ever seen her as more than a pirate.

More people need to be talking about this book. It's relevant to our climate and

issues we are having today. It has characters who have gone through things you

wouldn`t wish upon your biggest enemy. This is a tough book to talk about and

Kristen does such a phenomenal job. This is such a personal book for her to

write as you can see from having the authors note right at the beginning.

I devoured this book in less than a week. If it wasn`t for work I would have stayed

up all night to read. After reading this book i researched the Trash Islands that are

mentioned in the novel. It truly is scary to think that in real life we have these giant

trash icebergs floating out in our seas. Seas that we as humans have a responsibility

to take care of. The riots and relocation program that is the main plot of the story

really hits close to real life again in regards to how we treated Japanese-Americas

during WW2. The internment camps we made are similar to those in the book

that Ross`s father is pushing for.

We have Ross the rich boy whose dad is President and is trying to “solve” the

issues of his country. He is encouraging the relocation idea of the slum areas

of the area. Ross is this athletic star who befriends Adam when everyone else

is against the non rich guy going to their fancy school. Ross grows a lot as a

character in this one which was nice to see. It was this reality check for him

that people in real life should wake up and see.

Adam`s dad is the VP and is from those slums that Ross`s dad is so deadest

on getting rid of. Adam stands on the same side as his father. There has to be

another way to help people than just send them out to an island of doctored

photographs.

Marin Knows the truth as the synopsis says. She sailed during her childhood

and never once saw an island described the way the government says.

Nothing but water and trash for miles.

Corsario (Pirate) blood runs through Marin`s veins and she is now stuck

escorting the rich boy on a mission to rescue Adam after he screwed up

at a riot. See Ross wanted adventure, he wanted to go down and get up

and close and personal with the people rioting against the relocation program.

He drug Adam along and ended up losing him after trying to escape. Marin just

happened to be the girl in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Like I said in the beginning this is a hard book to write about but go pick

yourself up a copy. Then check out how you can help make a difference

in our world before something like this dystopian style book could

become our reality.

~TTFN

Ashley

Berserker Review

Title: Berserker

Author: Emmy Laybourne

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Pages: 352

Synopsis: (from GoodReads)

Are Hanne's powers a gift from the old Norse gods, or a curse?

Her brother Stieg swears their powers are a gift from the old gods, but Hanne Hemstad knows she is truly cursed. It's not Stieg's fault that their father is dead, their mother has left, and their brother Knut has been accused of a crime he didn't commit.

Rating: 5/ 5 Stars

Ashley handed me this book after she had recently finished it herself and I was bit confused at first. Hanne and her brothers flee Norway to the American Frontier, meet a cowboy, Owen who helps them along in the new country. (I loved Owen and wanted to be his friend) Owen and Hanne have an interesting relationship but I look forward to where book 2 takes them. I like learning about Norse mythology too. Hanne’s family relations are definitely like a normal family ( even if it is just the siblings). I loved the story, the action, the female badass even if she seems to hate what she can do. Book 2 keeps me waiting :)

Review: Heart of Ash

Author: Kim Liggett

Published On: 2/20/18

Publisher:Putnam

Pages: 278

Series: Blood and Salt Book 2

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads):

Ash may have escaped the immortal-worshipping cult that killed her mother, 

but the love of her life is still under its thrall. Dane has been possessed by 

his diabolical ancestor Coronado, a man who's fabulously wealthy, dripping 

with fame, and the leader of Europe's most dangerous immortal network. 

Dane begs Ash to join him at Coronado's castle in Spain, and swears that his 

blood bond with Ash is stronger than 

Coronado's hold over him. 

Beware Spoilers Ahead Since This Is Book Two

Finished this one in just under a day. It was a shorter read but it was nice to

go back and visit characters from the first book Blood and Salt. The pacing

did feel a little off and it wasn't quite the same as Book One. The bases of this

book is that Ash`s twin Rhys is missing and bodies have been turning up. She

believes her brother is connected to these events.

Ash`s blood has the power to heal while Rhys blood has the power to kill. Liggett`s

style of writing is so suspenseful so every chapter it was hard to stop and go eat.

The plot is slow paced in the beginning but once Ash has a run in with Dane the

story picks up. The two`s fierce passion as well as hatred for each other is tangible.

This story is dark and delves into the history of the ancestor`s possessing Dane

and who tried to possess Ash.

Coronado is the leader of Europe's most elected and dangerous group of immortals.

Now that Dane is filling those shoes he must convince them that Ash is

possessed by Coronado`s love and enemy Katia Larkin. Trickering this

criminals into believing it is only half the problem. Someone is killing the immortals

and all paths lead back to Rhys.

~TTFN

Ashley