I make no secret of how much I adore Brigid Kemmerer’s Elementals series. It’s so difficult for me to act my age with the thought of the Merrick brothers being involved in another chronicle in the not so distant future. I have also been exploring the new world (for me at least) of ebooks.

What better way to lure me in, Brigid, than putting out Elemental novelettes that are only in eBook/ Kindle format. So after I’d charged my new tablet, downloaded the Kindle app, and sat my butt down in a coffee shop (I don’t have wifi at home) the very next thing I did was download, book 0.5 otherwise known as Elemental, book 1.5, AKA Fearless and signed myself up to receive Breathless, which just happens to be book 2.5. And then between review books I delved into the luscious lives of the magnificent Merrik boys.

We are treated to bits and pieces that happen between the physical books, and though they probably aren’t mandatory reading to have things make sense, I feel these eBooks add even more depth to an already rich picture for each of these young men, who do their best to make it in the world.

Elemental follows Michael Merrick and his exploring new ground (Ha, he’s an earth elemental, get it?) with fellow elemental Emily Morgan. Typical parental units cannot keep their noses out of things and you’ll have to read it to find out more.

Fearless allows us to view the inner thoughts of Hunter Garrity, who, though he isn’t a Merrick brother, doesn’t mean he isn’t smoking hot in the broodingly powerful department (you may remember him from Storm as the guy with the dog). And you guessed it, you’ll have to read more to find out how and why he is the way he is.

Breathless blew my mind with its twist. You will now be forced to go back and reread every section of Storm and Spark with Nick Merrick in it. I promise it’s worth it.

So now having read all these delicious bite-sized pieces of plot from the well crafted characters and amazingly vivid world these stories take place in, there is little for me to do but wait. Wait until Brigid can take pity on us fan girls and throw us a brand new book to rip through in a matter of hours, only to throw our hands up in frustration that we now have to wait until the next time we shall wander along with the Merrick boys.

Sigh!

Elemental

Kindle Edition, 1st Edition, 50 pages

Published March 27th 2012 by K Teen (Kensington)

ASIN B006MLKZAG

Fearless

Kindle Edition, 44 pages

Published July 31st 2012 by K Teen (Kensington)

ASIN B0085TK5A8

Breathless

Kindle Edition

Published April 30th 2013 by Kensington Teen

ASIN B00B1UVSAY

The Maze Runner Trilogy was always one that was recommended to me over and over again, by my friends, by different bloggers, and even by my school librarian. When I purchased the box set, reading these books was long overdue, and I knew it was time to finally see what everyone was raving about! Besides having this trilogy recommended to me well over thirty times, another thing that caught my attention was that readers compared it to The Hunger Games Trilogy!

“When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.”

Is it sad that until I actually started reading The Maze Runner, I had no idea what it was really about? I had never read a review, I was just always told how amazing the characters were and how unexpected the ending was. I never knew that the characters were all boys, or that these kids were just dropped into this unknown place with no knowledge of who they are, or why they were there.

The Maze Runner has a VERY interesting set of characters! While I usually like a strong female lead character, I didn’t find that in this story…I didn’t find any kick butt girls at all, expect for one who showed up at the Glades unconscious… so she wasn’t too kick butt.!Even though, the cast was filled with nothing, but boys, I actually really liked that. It made the story stick out, and unlike anything I’ve read before. It was what pulled me in and kept me reading!

Thomas’s journey of getting out of the Glades seemed never ending, whenever he seemed to get closer to the exit, somehow he always got farther away from it. As the reader, I felt like I was right there with him, trying to figure out what all this meant … why these boys and this one unconscious girl where put here, and how to get out. The Maze Runner had me wrapped around its finger, and wasn’t letting go; I loved it!

Just as I was told, what seemed a million times over and over again, the ending was something I would have NEVER expected! I couldn’t believe how things ended!! While The Maze Runner did leave us off with a bit of a cliff-hanger, but with such an unbelievable I didn’t really care!  All I care about is reading the next book and finding out what’s going to happen next!

It’s true, The Maze Runner is comparable to The Hunger Games; kids are thrown into a dangerous place to fend for themselves and survive. But other than that The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner are completely different. While The Maze Runner isn’t usually the type of book I grab for, James Dashner has sucked me in with his amazing story, characters, and cliff-hanger that left me wanting more! I’m really happy that I purchased the box set, so I can continue the trilogy right away! 

We are scared of the unknown. Death is just the beginning for Wren and the other kids with KDH (a horrible disease that almost wiped out the human race) in their systems who manage to ‘reboot’.

They come back from the dead and are bigger, better, stronger from the process. Once the Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation (HARC), steps in and offers to give the rebooted kids a purpose, it becomes standard practice for the kids to become super soldiers, keeping the human population safe from itself, and the spread of KDH.

But what happens when the kid who took the longest time to ‘reboot’ picks the kid who took the least about of time to ‘reboot’ as a trainee? Can they both survive his curiosity? Is this life with HARC all there is for them? Could the grass be greener on the other side?

The popping mint green and an eerie looking eye glaring back at you are just the beginning for design elements that stand this book apart from all the others. There are frames around every page, which, when the book is closed, create the image of the eye from the front cover on the page edges. It made me say holy cow.

With all this uber coolness going on even before I’d opened the book, I was curious as to just what lay in wait for me. I am over the moon to announce that the book was a-freaking-mazing. It made me question my habit of taking things for granted, and going with the flow because it’s easier, because it’s safer, because it’s all I’ve ever done.

Wren (178) and Callum (22) make a delightfully amusing odd couple. You really get the feeling that it’s them against the system. The adversities they must overcome, keep you on the edge of your seat and the tension has you turning pages so quickly that the last page jumps at you and makes you scream for more.

The setting is post apocalyptic Texas, and it works effectively to highlight the differences between the haves and the have nots. Amy’s description makes me completely positive I wouldn’t survive a day in Wren’s world.

I recommend reading Reboot if you are starting out in the dystopian/post apocalyptic genre, as it isn’t as brutal as others I have read; that being said, it is unflinching enough for a fan of Dark Angel to be able to read happily.

Book two is as yet untitled, but is expected hopefully at some stage in 2014. Which isn’t as far away as it sounds.

http://amytintera.com/

Paperback 384 pages

Published June 2013 by Allen and Unwin

ISBN13 9781743315507

Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards was on the top of my TBR pile. After completely falling head over heels for Black City, the first book, I just couldn’t wait to read the second instalment.

Black City was one of those books that made me wish I could jump in between the pages and become part of the story! The story itself was action packed, the cast of characters were interesting and partially “inhuman”, and the ending was mind blowing, leaving my brain as mush!

With all of these fantastic qualities, I couldn’t go one day without starting Phoenix. But just like any other amazing first segment, I was wary of middle book syndrome; a disease that occurs when the first instalment of a series is mind blowing, jaw-dropping, and nothing less than perfect, but sadly the second book doesn’t contain the same level of awesomeness, causing it to simply be a stepping stone to the next book.

Phoenix takes places almost exactly where Black City ends off. Natalie and her sister are now living with Day and her family. It’s Natalie’s birthday and Ash has the perfect gift for her; an engagement ring! Is that not the BEST way to start off a book??

But things aren’t going as well as planned when Ash is stopped and asked to step into a carriage, where he finds himself sitting across from Purian Rose. Purian Rose threatens him and Ash is unsure of what to do. Should he vote for the rebellion and risk losing Natalie? Or should he vote for Purian Rose, against all the people that have supported him, to save Natalie?

I usually like to go into a more detail summary, but Phoenix starts off real quickly and doesn’t take any time at all to throw the reader back into Ash and Natalie’s world and the adventure. I don’t want to give too much away, so I think my summary will have to end there! You’re going to have to read the book yourself to see what else happens, and who Ash decides to vote for!!

One of my favourite things about this story is the amazing set of characters. I loved each and every one of them in Black City, and couldn’t wait to see them change, shift and develop when the going got tough. I couldn’t get enough of Natalie and Ash together, and had high hopes to continue that in the second book. While I still enjoyed reading about each character individually, I loved the two of them together.

Unlike in the first book, there were one or two small things that did bother me this time around. Whether they were wearing thick winter coats or were stuck in the middle of a desert, Natalie still wanted to always cuddle and be close to Ash. If he wasn’t always holding her hand, or right by her side, she assumed that he was mad, or upset with her. Natalie was just a bit more … clingy in Phoenix than she was in Black City.

Phoenix had an explosive and unexpected ending!! After being kidnapped and dragged into an air-plane, Natalie is sacred and confused. But when she finally gets the chance to calm down, and see who pulled her into this aircraft, she can’t believe her eyes! Someone who I would have never expected came along and did the unthinkable!

Phoenix was everything I wanted and so much more, it was action-packed, filled with love, and an amazing group of characters. The beginning was enticing, the middle was heart-wrenching and the ending was unbelievable! Elizabeth Richards did it once again, and I can’t wait to see what she throws at her readers in the third book!

Bee is an orphan who lives with a carnival and sleeps in the back of a tractor trailer. Every day she endures taunts for the birthmark on her face—though her beloved Pauline, the only person who has ever cared for her, tells her it is a precious diamond. When Pauline is sent to work for another carnival, Bee is lost.

Then a scruffy dog shows up, as unwanted as she, and Bee realizes that she must find a home for them both. She runs off to a house with gingerbread trim that reminds her of frosting. There two mysterious women, Mrs. Swift and Mrs. Potter, take her in. They clothe her, though their clothes are strangely out of date. They feed her, though there is nothing in their house to eat. They help her go to school, though they won’t enter the building themselves. And, strangely, only Bee seems able to see them.

Whoever these women are, they matter. They matter to Bee. And they are helping Bee realize that she, too, matters to the world–if only she will let herself be a part of it.

This tender novel beautifully captures the pain of isolation, the healing power of community, and the strength of the human spirit.

Hardcover, 336 pages  Published February 12th 2013 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

When orphaned Bee is abandoned by her only guardian Pauline,she is stuck working the hot-dog stand with a travelling carnival. Because of Bee’s birthmark that covers a huge portion of her face, she has always been shy and bullied. It’s not long before her last and only friend also leaves the circus to take on a more steady job. When the owner suggests that Bee could be bringing in money for the carnival by becoming a part of the oddity exhibits because of her looks, Bee takes a stand and decides to leave and find herself a home of her own. With only a dog and a pig, Bee wanders off on foot looking for what she always imagined would be a perfect house.

Since she lost her parents Bee has always seen glimpses of a mysterious old woman. Until recently, she had never spoken to her and nobody but Bee could see the woman in the floppy hat. As Bee travels through a random town,  it seems that she is being guided by the woman. She is led to the house of her dreams and is soon introduced to Mrs Potter and Mrs Swift, who take her in. But when a nosy neighbour begins asking too many questions and Mrs Potter and Mrs Swift never seem to be around, Bee ends up having to grow up quickly, cooking and managing the house by herself. 

Beholding Bee is a very heart warming story and the companionship that Bee finds along the way is endearing. There are some similarities to the stories of Nanny McPhee, with a little less humour but a lot of heart. Bee eventually ends up attending school, making a great friend and building her life up to what she has always hoped it would be.

Set during the great depression, there is an emphasis on the history of women’s rights and a theme of learning how to take care of one-self and becoming a stronger person. As the saying goes “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”