A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

On the night of Skye’s seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites—like fire and ice—Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye’s life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move—only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.

In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can’t help falling for, and Devin, who she can’t stay away from, the consequences of Skye’s choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine.

(Picture and Summary from Goodreads)

 

 

 

 

 

It happened at night. I woke to the sound of the wind blowing my curtains back. I opened my eyes but saw nothing. Not even moonlight. Not even shadow.

And in the morning, the window was closed.  A feather rested on the floor beneath it, the only reminder that I'd woken up in the night at all.  In the shadow, I couldn't tell if it was light --- or dark.

-Excerpt from A Beautiful Dark

 

 

REVIEW

 

So normally I'm not in to love triangles.  I just hate having to choose sides and I hate when I've chosen a side but the main character keeps going back and forth causing me to have anxiety attacks.  Buuut I put that aside and read A Beautiful Dark anyways.  Really the way it's set up I didn't feel too much like Skye was torn between the two.  To me it seemed like she was obviously into Asher and was just at moments confused by Devin and his attitude.  Of course that could also be because right now I am Team Asher, which actually surprised me because going into it I was for sure I would be Team Devin. 

 

The story is well developed and moves along at a decent pace.  I loved Skye's little group of friends; Cassie, Dan, and Ian.  We can tell pretty much from the start that Cassie and Dan have some chemistry going on and I must admit that I feel a little badly for Ian; part of me wished Skye would of had more feelings for him.   I was disappointed that Skye put her friendships and schooling on hold when Asher and Devin entered the picture, I hope that she realizes that's not the way to be in the next book. 

 

There were plenty of moments where I found myself laughing and other times when I was desperately turning the pages to find out what would happen next, there was never a dull moment.  I am eager to start the next book, lucky for me it's on my shelf right now!  I highly recommend you check it out or buy it before reading the first one, otherwise you may die of anticipation.

 

 

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"Waiting On" Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine.  It features books we are eagerly anticipating getting our hands on.   The book I'm waiting on this week is:     Allegiant By: Veronica Roth Expected Publication Date: 10/22/2013  

 

One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

-Summary and Picture from Goodreads

 

 

 

I have been waiting for this book for sooo long! I'm dying to get my hands on it.  It's been so long in fact that once I do have my hands on it I will probably have a whole Divergent Read-a-thon before cracking Allegiant open.  Eeek! I'm so excited!

 

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The Program by Suzanne Young

 

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

(Picture and Summary from Goodreads)

I look back at James one last time, and he gives me his signature smile, wide and cocky.  But it's not real.  Sometimes I think it's never real.

James is the best at hiding the pain, disguising the feelings.  He knows what it takes to stay out of The Program.  He'll keep us safe.
 

He promised.

-Excerpt from The Program

 

 

 

REVIEW

This book finished where it started, seriously frustrating.  You may think you know what that means.  You don't.  Or maybe you do...


If you didn't pick up on it from the overview The Program has a deep undercurrent of depression running through it.  Having never dealt with depression I don't know what it is like to be suffocated by dark thoughts and emotions, to not have a reason to live anymore, but a lot of the characters feel that way.  Suicide has become an epidemic and the world has come up with a cure "The Program".  Funny thing is I think the solution is what is helping suicide numbers to increase.  Imagine not being able to express yourself for fear of being turned in and having your memories erased.  This forces you to keep everything in, not being able to tell anyone how you really feel.  I suppose that would be enough to make you want to end it.

Our main character is Sloane.  After the sudden, unexpected suicide of her brother Brady the only thing keeping her from falling apart is her boyfriend James and good friend Miller. After a series of events (none of which I really want to mention due to possible spoilers) it becomes impossible for Sloane to hide her emotions and it's not long before her parents ship her off to The Program.  The ultimate betrayal.


I really loved the fact that the author took us through the program with Sloane.  Some authors may have flashed forward past it but instead we are there with her as she shares her beloved memories and we're there when she realizes they have started to disappear.  Suzanne develops a scary world where emotions are the enemy and you can't trust anyone, not even the people closest to you.  I also feel like Suzanne shows us why it's best not to rely on someone else for our happiness.  That we need to be able to find the strength inside of ourselves.  The idea was well developed and Suzanne threw in some impressive twists keeping readers on their toes.  There is something fishy about the program, I can't wait to find out what's going on.

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Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Although I had never seen him before, I recognized him immediately. I'd have known his voice anywhere. This was the guy I'd seen on my last journey back in time.

Or more precisely, the one who'd kissed my doppelganger while I was hiding behind the curtain in disbelief.

Sixteen-year-old Gwen lives with her extended - and rather eccentric - family in an exclusive London neighborhood. In spite of her ancestors' peculiar history, she's had a relatively normal life so far. The time-traveling gene that runs like a secret thread through the female half of the family is supposed to have skipped over Gwen, so she hasn't been introduced to "the mysteries," and can spend her time hanging out with her best friend, Lesly. It comes as an unwelcome surprise when she starts taking sudden, uncontrolled leaps into the past.

She's totally unprepared for time travel, not to mention all that comes with it: fancy clothes, archaic manners, a mysterious secret society, and Gideon, her time-traveling counterpart. He's obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy she's seen in any centrury . . .

(Picture and Summary from Goodreads)

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It was nothing serious," he said.  "Love affairs between the de Villiers and Montrose families never work out.  You could say they were doomed to fail from the start."

"I'd call that an entirely superfluous warning, Uncle Falk," said Gideon, crossing his arms.  "She's definitely not my type."

By she he meant me. 
It was a second or maybe two before the insult sank in.  My first instinct was to say something like "Well, thank God for that!  I'm not too keen on arrogant show-offs, myself." But I kept quiet.

Okay, so I wasn't his type.  So what?  If I wasn't, I wasn't.

As if I cared.

(Excerpt from Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier)

 

 

 

 

Review

 

Oh dear me!  What did I just do to myself! 

 

When I read the overview of this book, I just knew I would love it; however when I started reading I had doubts about whether I still felt that way.  The book starts off slow which is probably due to the fact that the author had to give us a lot of information and backstory into the world of time travelers (gene carriers).  I was really impressed with how much Kerstin developed the backstory, not very many authors take the time to do it, but it did take up a big portion of the book.  Things started to pick up in the last half and it wasn't long before I was anxiously turning the pages and biting my nails.  Sadly though, when things started to get really interesting, the book ended.  I mean, I was completely unprepared.  I finished a chapter, turned the page, and BAM epilogue.  There are cliff hangers and then there are "I'm going to kill the reader by just stopping the book here, they'll never recover! Bwahaha".  Yeah it's one of those.  Luckily the next book is already out so I only have to wait till it gets here and make time to read it.

 

A unique twist for me is that the book is read with a British accent.  It has slang and everything which I found completely fun and it turns out my imaginary voice does a pretty decent british accent (or maybe it was Rose from Doctor Who that was reading to me..).  Buuut I almost couldn't stand Gwen, she is just so immature.  She really read more like a preteen compared to the 16yr old that she is.  Don't get me wrong,  I know 16yr olds can be very immature, there was just something about her that made me keep checking to make sure I had read her age right.  She has an awesome best friend Lesly, who I kind of feel bad for but at the same time love!  She does a lot of sleuthing to help Gwen get the facts about people and places from the past.  She's also an awesome support system for Gwen who gets no help from her family when they discover that she is the gene carrier instead of her cousin Charlotte.  There is some tension that we don't completely understand between Gwen's mom and the rest of the family, something to do with the past.  Of course they have no choice but to accept that Gwen is the carrier and move on, not that they are happy about it.  Then there is Gideon.  I can't really tell you how I feel about him, I'm still confused myself.  At the end of the book, when some characters make a surprise appearance, he has me thinking he may not be what I thought at all.  Hopefully the next book will help sway my decision, I really want to be pro-Gidean.

 

Once you get past all the information downloads the book is really very good.  I really expect the next book to be full of action and suspense since that was where the end of Ruby Red was heading.  I am disappointed that over half the book was used for background information and even more disappointed in how the ending just cut off but I still loved it and will definitely be reading the next book. 

 

 

 

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