After reading [intlink id=”7629″ type=”post”]Pure by Julianna Baggot[/intlink], I pretty much dread post apocalyptic novels. I hope I never come across anything that graphic and disturbing again. So when Lisa, Krista and I were trying to figure out the book club books for the first few months of this year and Fragments by Dan Wells hit the radar, I knew I would have to go and get myself a copy of Partials so I knew what I was facing and if I could hack it.

Not only could I hack it. I tore through this book, cover to cover, in under 14 hours. I was able to close the book, go to sleep and not have horrific nightmares.

Now this is not to say it’s a sugary sweet tale of romance, love and devotion. It is raw and heart breaking and scary… mainly because, as with so many post apocalyptic novels, it is not totally outside the realms of possibility.

The goodreads blurb says…

“The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials–engineered organic beings identical to humans–has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what’s left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them–connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.”

I could really feel the heat of frustration from Kira through her inner dialogue and her actions. I found myself wanting to throw the book more than once. I didn’t even mind the minor foreshadowing that occured a few times through the novel, I guess some of it was a little predictable, but only because you learn which characters to expect the worst from and they certainly didn’t disappoint in their grrrr factor.

Being a young mother myself, the thought of having the government telling my daughter she has to have her children at an even younger age than I had her, made my blood boil. Then the fact that the infants would ALL die was beyond the highest level of despicable. As far as tropes* go it has to be the worst one to be used in such an effective way. I forgive Dan for using it, mainly because the whole point of the book was to stop it from happening.

Dan has woven a wonderfully eerie world for his story to unfold. His characterization is in in-depth and believable. Kira was suitably intelligent and kind hearted and she’s going to evolve like crazy in Fragments. I am thoroughly looking forward to April to see how Kira continues to kick some serious butt.

*explanation of this Trope

http://www.thedanwells.com/

Paperback,International First Edition, 470 pages

Published March 1st 2012 by HarperCollins (first published January 1st 2012)

ISBN 0062135694 ISBN13: (9780062135698)

How lucky were we to have 2 books of the Soul Seekers series by Alyson Noel on our shelves in 2012?

Where the cover of Fated was all about the warm yellows and the earthy tones, Echo is all about winter. Snow flakes and a girl in a flowing white dress with really full skirts draws you in, only to have you look a little deeper and notice an ominous looking tunnel leading to god knows where.

Here’s the blurb from goodreads.com

“She inherited a magical destiny—and a mission to stop a powerful family of dark sorcerers. She never expected to fall in love with one of them.

There’s still so much Daire Santos has to learn about being the last Soul Seeker….and about herself. As her magical training becomes more intense, so does her relationship with Dace. But when she learns that his connection to the evil Richter family goes far deeper than she ever imagined, she begins to question if love really can conquer all.

Dace is painfully aware that he wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the Richters’ dark magic—and now his brother Cade is determined to use his love for Daire against him. Dace is willing to sacrifice anything to protect the girl he loves —including his own life. But will Daire allow it? And what if defeating Cade costs not only his life, but his soul too?”

I giggled with anticipation when I got this book in the mail (my mail lady thinks I’m nuts) and I couldn’t wait to turn to that first page and re-immerse myself into the world of Enchantment.

Darie’s circle of friends grows and I love to see forgiveness rather than gullibility in my hard-ass heroines. It’s also refreshing to see Daire’s Mum still being treated with respect by the author. It would have been way to easy to just throw her in the ‘parental units must fail‘ basket and be done with it.

The disturbing bits are extremely effective and the action sequences are well mapped out and easy to follow.

For those of us who love a bit of romance, there’s ample mush and kisses to keep us happy, but not so much that it’s the main focus of the plot line.

As I keep repeating, it’s always a good idea to read the series in order, to get an accurate grasp of character development and story arcs. It is with good reason that the third book, Mystic, is on my most anticipated books of 2013 list.

http://www.alysonnoel.com/

Paperback,352 pages

Published November 13th 2012 by St. Martin’s Griffin

ISBN: 0312575661 (ISBN13: 9780312575663)

Under the name Zoe, a girl pens letters to a Texan inmate on death row. Living in a different country to him, dealing with a family that is full of fights and secrets and navigating the perils of British high-school, she is worlds apart from him. In one respect, though, they are the same. Both of them have killed. The difference is that she has gotten away with it.

Thus begins a tale as mysterious as it is riveting. Through eloquent, poetic and sometimes funny letters, Zoe lets her deepest secrets unfurl; revealing to a man who is set to die the guilt that keeps her from living. It is a tale of love, lies and betrayal.

Ketchup Clouds is beautifully written and lyrical, without being too heavy. Because of the nature of this book, it is quite difficult to write an expansive review without giving too much away. At heart it is a tale of two boys who want the same girl. On a surface level it is a story that has been told since time immemorial; it is in the writing of Ketchup Clouds that Annabel Pitcher makes this story her own. She layers mysteries and family politics to build a tale that will stay with readers long after the last page has been turned.

Like Pitcher’s first novel, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, the themes in Ketchup Clouds have a depth and darkness to them not often found in teen fiction. The voice it is written in is sweet, confused and naïve though, very much in line with a typical teenager’s reasoning abilities. While this book could easily become far too heavy, it is written with a degree of humour that negates that.

The family dynamics, as always, provided me with the main reason to keep turning pages here. Zoe’s relationships with her two younger sisters are delightful. The girls are very different to one another in age as well as in behaviour, and Pitcher’s writing takes that into account; giving Zoe’s family life a depth and poignancy not found often enough in novels. Friendships too, are accurately drawn rather than being reduced to power politics. Zoe’s friend Lauren is as rounded a character as the others. While she’s loyal and supportive, she also has her own personality and motivations.

From the first paragraph, Ketchup Clouds pulls readers in. It is a bittersweet tale of loss and redemption that will resonate with people well outside of the target age group of the novel. Zoe’s voice and the portrayal of the people around her make a perfect read for a rainy day.

Ketchup Clouds – Annabel Pitcher

Orion Books (December 27, 2012)

ISBN: 9781780620305

Anne Bishop has held my attention for many years. She’s had me giggling, crying and just completely enthralled by her Black Jewels series. So you know the drill… see a new series coming out and HAVE to read it.

First impressions of Written in Red are quite good. This is a lovely thick book. Cover art in black and white, with a red title. The image of a girl with her head bowed is set within the shape of a howling wolf and placed against a white backdrop. Very effective.

Meg Corbyn is a Cassandra Sangue or a blood prophet. With each bloody wound she is able to see events in her future. When she escapes from the institution, where she’d been held all her life for the financial gain of her ‘owners’, the search is on to find her and put her back in the institution to keep the profits coming (pun intended).

Finding herself in the book shop, Howling Good Reads, within the Courtyard run by Simon Wolfguard, Meg seeks employment and a safe place to stay. Simon agrees and an odd relationship blooms between this sheltered young woman and the ‘Others’ in the Courtyard. Heaven help the people who come to retrieve Meg, because nobody else will.

Because I am so used to Anne’s writing being set in alternate realities, but more a dark ages time frame, I was pleasantly surprised to see this one is set in a more contemporary era. I think this allows for familiarity, and still gave the room to spin fantastical tales of were animals and elementals.

There is only so much searching through dusty old books by candle light to research werewolves that one can take before you’re begging for a scene change. Using the internet for one character to research another makes the story flow better.

I found the banter to be extremely witty, and yes I did it again, snort-giggling on the bus makes for some rather odd looks from fellow commuters. Not that I cared. Two words for you “Stag” “Stick”. Yup, you’ll understand soon enough. Dare you not to laugh out loud.

The historical back story, espionage and the current political tensions in Thaisia are woven neatly into the story. Romance is kept to non essential characters, and the cultural misunderstandings make for even more giggle-worthy pages.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 4 days it took me to finish the book. There’s just something about the mental image of a grown werewolf playing tug of war with a box of dog biscuits that tickles my funny bone.

The ending is a brilliant lead into book two, which I hope is already in the pipeline, because I’ve fallen head over tail for Meg and Simon’s story.

http://www.annebishop.com/

Trade Paperback 434 Pages

Published March 1^st by Harper Voyager

ISBN: 9780732296810