REVIEW - The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Córdova

 TITLE: The Vicious Deep
AUTHOR: Zoraida Córdova
GENRE: paranormal, paranormal romance

PUBLICATION DATE: May 1st 2012

SOURCE: ARC from the publisher

BLURB:

For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave.

He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.

His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he’s heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he’s suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.

Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea…and now it wants him back.

REVIEW:

DON'T MISS IT! THE VICIOUS DEEP BLOG TOUR! On May 2nd come back for a fun interview with Zoraida AND a giveaway of the book!

Brilliant. Fun. Exciting. I can only find positive words to describe The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Córdova! With the recent flood of mermaid stories (Of Poseidon, Lies Beneath, Monstrous Beauty to name a few) I was a bit vary. I thought that it may be yet another dull love story with bland characters and lackluster plot.

Obviously, I was wrong. The Vicious Deep is Zoraida Córdova's debut novel and I can already that it's a great success!

What's different about The Vicious Deep is that the main character is not yet another 'strong female protagonist' who turns out to be a boring teenager with non-existent problems. Córdova shows us that male protagonists are cool too. And not only cool, she takes it to the whole next level of awesome. But I will talk about it later.

The title of the book suggest a deep, dark story. Nothing could be further from the truth! Although the story indeed progresses into something darker by the end of the book, it's mainly a fun ride filled with laughter.

Let me say this: I absolutely, totally and wholeheartedly adore Tristan Hart. He's one of the most likable male protagonists ever! A little selfish, a little too much in love with himself, witty but at the same time not the sharpest tool in the shed - that's our Tristan, whose heart is made of gold.

What is more, Tristan not only has parents, but he's on quite a friendly terms with them! I was absolutely delighted to learn that his parents are present AND participating in his life. I've grown tired of YA books getting rid of parents because it's easier to tell a story without them. See? You can write an amazing book without doing that.

There are many laugh-out-loud moments. I can't even count the number of times I burst out laughing when Tristan was reassuring himself how manly he is. Despite being a mermaid. Pardon. A merman.
He's good-looking and he knows it, and it makes it even more hilarious to see his pride hurt so much when somebody isn't attracted to him.

Other characters - especially Kurt, Thalia and Marty - make a team which the reader will find hard to forget. They are colorful, witty and very distinctive compared to other YA books I've read recently. Each one of them has their own voice, thoughts and traits.

As for the 'darker part' of the book... I didn't expect one of the characters to die, to be honest. Not telling you who did, but I must admit it made me really sad and that means that Zoraida Córdova  did a great job portraying the character. She made me care about all the characters, a little more that I would expect, actually.

When there's no action, The Vicious Deep is a light and fun ride, filled with great dialogues that make you giggle every other page and characters you fall in love with. Definitely recommended to everyone!

Overall rating:

5 out of 5 stars!

To prove that The Vicious Deep is filled from cover to cover with hilarious quotes, let me give you some! (warning: quotes are from ARC, the final version may vary)

"Wait. Is there a mermaid hell?"
"Yes." she says, "I call it humanity."

~**~

"Is there a way you can fix that? Make yourselves look different so you don't attract so much attention?"
"We do look different. We are glamoured," Kurt says indignantly. "It's a light spell to tone down our natural colors. We are no longer achingly beautiful. Now we're just exceptionally beautiful."

~**~

(a father-son conversation)
"Oh come on, son, your merbaby zygote didn't make itself."
Orange juice comes out of my nose.

~**~

There's something familiar about her, only I can sift through my mind fast enough. She bows lightly at me. Kurt looks up at her, wearing the same expression I am.
"Have we met?" he goes, Mr. Smooth Criminal.

REVIEW - Hunger (Gone #2) by Michael Grant

TITLE: Hunger (Gone #2)
AUTHOR: Michael Grant
GENRE: dystopia, post-apocalyptic, paranormal

PUBLICATION DATE: May 26th 2009

BLURB:

It's been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ.
Three months since all the adults disappeared. GONE.
Food ran out weeks ago. Everyone is starving, but no one wants to figure out a solution. And each day, more and more kids are evolving, developing supernatural abilities that set them apart from the kids without powers. Tension rises and chaos is descending upon the town. It's the normal kids against the mutants. Each kid is out for himself, and even the good ones turn murderous.
But a larger problem looms. The Darkness, a sinister creature that has lived buried deep in the hills, begins calling to some of the teens in the FAYZ. Calling to them, guiding them, manipulating them.
The Darkness has awakened. And it is hungry.

REVIEW:

I’ve read Gone, which is the first book in Michael Grant’s Gone series, quite a while ago. It left a deep impression on me and I was excited to read the second book!

Hunger picks up almost three months after the events presented in the first book. The kids, trapped in a big dome called FAYZ, are running out of food and it pushes them into decisions they would normally regret. But the hunger is bigger. Sam, who is assigned as a ‘mayor’ of the FAYZ, is falling apart just as everyone else. Can he bear the responsibility of starving 300 kids to death?

What I love the most about Gone series are the characters. As one of the characters, Quinn, noticed, FAYZ changes them for better or worse. Their true colors show, changing the good kids into cowards and the thugs into people everyone run to when in trouble, because they are so reliable.

My absolute favorite character is still Sam – he’s so human he almost feels real. He’s failing his friends, he makes a ton of mistakes but… but inside of that tough, responsible interior of a guy in charge is a 15 years old boy, as scared as everyone else.

Hunger didn’t keep me on the edge of the seat just as Gone did; I’ve grown used to terrible things happening to the kids, which felt disturbing and new in the first book, but not anymore. After some time, you just become accustomed to monstrosities. Even though Michael grant surprised me a few times in this book too.

I am still a little bit iffy about some generic, non-describable ‘darkness’ being the big bad villain. I love every other aspect of the series, but I still can’t accept something like this as the plot device. Maybe the later books in the series will persuade me otherwise.

Because I am definitely picking up ‘Lies’ later!

Overall:

3.5 stars out of 5.

REVIEW - The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

 TITLE: The Hunt
AUTHOR:  Andrew Fukuda
GENRE: paranormal, dystopia,

PUBLICATION DATE: May 8th 2012

SOURCE: NetGalley

BLURB:

Don’t Sweat.  Don’t Laugh.  Don’t draw attention to yourself.  And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him.  He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood.  Gene is a human, and he knows the rules.  Keep the truth a secret.  It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him.  He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

REVIEW:

The world that Andrew Fukuda paints for us is terrifying. Humans (called ‘hepers’) are extinct and vampires rule the countries. And every time the support for the Ruler drops, an event is organized, called the Hunt. In the Hunt a few of the hepers, that were kept in captivity and safety, away from the vampires, are released. A few lucky vampires chosen in a lottery have to hunt them down and… eat.

Let me gush for a second over the cover. It's stunning! Everything I could have asked for when it comes to a dystopian book.

Our main hero, whose name we only learn in the later part of the book, is a human hiding among the vampires, a sheep among the wolves. He’s resourceful and sneaky, and paired up with Ashley June – his schoolmate – he’s almost invincible, having her brains and cool logic and his smarts.

I absolutely loved the hepers and their community. Sissy is one butt-kicking leader, and her group is an interesting mix of characters. I’d gladly read more about them in the later books.  

There’s a slow process of preparation for the Hunt itself; we get to see how the whole event is supposed to help the Ruler gain popularity and how the outcome is already known to some of the vampires, but not to the masses. It was carefully written and explained, so the reader didn’t feel left behind on some matters.

The author did a good job describing the vampire's customs and habits and making them totally different from us. It made the book (and the main character's task) all more believable, how hard it was for him to give up his own (sometimes involuntary) habits to fit in.

Although, I had a major issue with the book. I’m not a fan of black and white world, and that’s how the story is presented in The Hunt. Vampires are bad, humans are good (but not every one of them, because the ones kept by the vampires were no more intelligent than cattle, in the narrator’s opinion). As much as I liked the whole hepers idea, I didn’t really enjoy the fact that all the vampires were vile, animal-like creatures and even though Fukuda was making a point there, showing us a contrast between real animals and people, what really is humanity and how thin is the line… it didn’t really hit me.

Other than that, it’s a really good read. It keeps you at the edge of your seat almost the entire time. We are scared for our human character, who is so close to being discovered all the time, we cheer for him. And as I always say – a book that makes you care for the characters is a good book.

Not to mention a HUGE cliffhanger at the end of The Hunt – so big it will make you scream in frustration. Definitely reading the sequel!

Overall rating: 

3.5 stars out of 5

REVIEW #23 - Numbers by Rachel Ward

TITLE: Numbers
AUTHOR:  Rachel Ward
GENRE: paranormal, (soft) sci-fi
PUBLICATION DATE: November 8th 2008

BLURB:

Since her mother’s death, fifteen-year-old Jem has kept a secret. When her eyes meet someone else’s, a number pops into her head - the date on which they will die. Knowing that nothing lasts forever, Jem avoids relationships, but when she meets a boy called Spider, and they plan a day out together, her life takes a new twist and turn. Waiting for the London Eye, she sees everyone in the queue has the same number - something terrible is going to happen

REVIEW:

It's definitely darker and edgier than any YA book I've read so far. And just as definitely, it's not a read for younger readers. There's cursing, sex, drugs. I was quite shocked by the roughness and brutality the author presents the events in the book with.

I can't say I loved the characters. They weren't your typical YA heroes, the girl wasn't "just a normal girl who is so special every boy in the nearest vicinity can't take his eyes off her" nor was the boy "a dark man hunted by his own demons, who does everything to protect his love". No. Jem was... difficult. Terry was... even more difficult. Together they formed a duo of misfits that tried to reach a dream that was doomed from the start.

I didn't love them, but I cheered for them. I really wanted them to be happy, despite their complicated lives and shady past. 

My favorite scene was the one at the church, where Jem found a place to stay as a refugee. Her speech was no doubt the most moving scene of the entire book.

I think I wanted to know more about the Numbers. Why did Jem see them, why did they vanish, could she save anyone with her knowledge? Unfortunately, nothing was explained.

I loved and hated the ending. I loved it because the last sentence was one of the best punch-lines I've ever read in YA books.I hated it because... I'm not sure. I don't think teen pregnancy was something I'd expect from this book. Even if Jem showed signs of being pregnant (after, mind you, three days after sex scene. Hm.) I kept  wondering if that's really something the author wants to do with her book. I'm not sure I'd go this way, but then - I checked the other books of this trilogy (I didn't even know it's a trilogy) and I must admit they look a lot more intriguing than the first book. I think I will read them in future!

Overall:
3 out of 5 stars