Shutdown

Goodreads Summary:
The battle is all but over, and hope seems to be lost. Zoe and her fellow Resistance fighters are on the run, having lost their home, their protection, and their leader. They are outnumbered and outmatched by the powerful corporation that controls the world, and the cruel Chancellor is inches away from completing a scheme that would kill most of humanity. Zoe's only remaining option is to chase the impossible dream of upending the Link system, freeing the world from the hardware that controls their thoughts and emotions, and hope it will trigger a revolution. 

The plot requires a nearly impossible mission to infiltrate the dangerous Community, and it is a task that Zoe must unfortunately complete alone. With challenges and surprises at every turn, nothing goes according to plan. Adrien's visions of the future now show two possible outcomes: one in which they succeed, and one in which humanity falls. It all lies in Zoe's hands. 

Full of romance, high-adrenaline action and shocking twists, Shutdown is a heart-pounding conclusion to an exciting sci-fi adventure trilogy for young adults. 

The thrilling conclusion to an action-packed sci-fi trilogy

Title: Shutdown (Glitched #3)
Author: Heather Anastasiu
Release Date: July 2nd 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Rating: 5 Stars

Review: 
The stunning conclusion is what this book should be remembered as. A series that gets better and better, unlike common and typical run on series that are just trying to bleed readers dry, this story fully grows and develops along with each passing novel. Finally after the twist of a lifetime in Override, we still have Zoe, trying to save the world by saving humanity and shutting down the Link System once and for all. 

It was great to see how strong Zoe became and how she truly became the YA heroine that we all wanted her to be. The plot was riveting and drew me in. If it has been a while since you have read Override then I recommend you reread it before you pick up Shutdown, otherwise the story will be hard to follow. But reading Glitched and Override would be worth it to reread a million times to read Shutdown, it has become one of my favorite books of 2013.

This is the kind of book that will stick with you. I don't want to give anything away about the plot, I want you to read it, you will not be disappointed. I thank Itching for Books for allowing me to be on this blog tour and I thank Heather Anastasiu for giving out e-arc's to us lucky bloggers. 

This is the kind of series worth investing your time in. I love the unique dystopian world. Written with a beautiful imagination and crisp, refreshing writing. 

Rating:

Recommended reads based off of Shutdown:
Under the Never Sky and Partials

Culture Shock by Jeanette Pekala - Book Blast

CULTURE SHOCK is a witty tale of mystery and romance with a large helping of southern hospitality.

Macy Holmes is a seventeen-year-old socially-isolated introvert since her best friend's death a year ago. When her family decides to move from Manhattan to the quaint country town of Bougainvillea, Florida, Macy finds she's in a completely different world. Macy is no longer the outsider hiding behind designer clothes when she is sought out by three strange students, one of whom she is particularly interested in. The more time she spends with Chad the more things don't add up. When his true identity is finally revealed, Macy is pulled into a supernatural society with its saturation of inhabitants residing in Bougainvillea. 

You would think she has enough on her plate, but no, then her dreams become infiltrated by an external magical force, Macy and her band of supernatural misfits must find the culprit behind the magic-induced nightmares. They must dodge zombie assassins, shifty shape-shifters and high school bullies in order to stop this perpetrator before Macy, her friends or her parents pay the ultimate price. Especially when Macy has the sneaking suspicion that these dreams are reality...

Excerpts from Culture Shock by Jeanette Pekala

There were two guys and one girl. The girl had severely long red wavy hair and flawless fair skin. She was supermodel skinny. Heroin-addict supermodel skinny. Her back was to me so I couldn’t get a good look at her face. 

The first boy was sitting next to her. His back also to me, but when I first caught them spying, I noticed something peculiar about this boy. He was wearing a black hoodie, with the drawstrings tied so tight, the hood was covering nearly his whole face. He had dark aviator glasses on and gloves. Seriously, it’s like ninety-something degrees outside. Why on earth would you wear gloves? His skin, what was showing of it anyways, was even paler than the girl’s. 

***

We found a spot over by the water free of sawgrass. It was a beautiful view. On the back end of the lake was a dense forest. It was dark just beyond the first set of trees. That was the only end of the lake that had remained uninhabited. There was a syrupy mist rising slowly off the surface of the water. It was creepy, but romantic in a sinister way. The sights, sounds, and smells all mingled together to create a scene an artist would love to capture with the stroke of his brush. 

About the Author

After finishing her degree in Sociology from the University of Florida, Jeanette Pekala had no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

While her husband was deployed overseas, she focused on what she loved to do, write, where she has finally found an outlet for her overactive imagination. 

 She lives a not so normal life just a wee bit north of Bougainvillea where she resides with her husband and two children working on Shock Wave, book 2 in the Culture Shock Series.

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Sliver of Hope

Goodreads Summary:

My twin sister was the only person in the world I thought I’d known inside and out. Apparently, I was wrong.

Twin sisters share a unique bond, one that can't be broken by miles, time, or even death. Hannah and Hope Morton are no exception. When Hope takes her own life, Hannah loses a sister and a best friend, a catastrophe she isn't sure she'll survive herself.
With her family in ruins, Hannah is slowly disappearing, drowning in a sea of misery. Even her wild, energetic best friend can't pull her out of her grief. Desperate to help Hannah, her brother comes home from college, bringing his best friend Julian along, the first boy to break Hannah’s heart. None of their efforts are enough to pull Hannah off her self destructive path, though. Julian is the only one who can get through to her, working his way into her frozen soul with cocky remarks and genuine love that warms her from the inside out.
As Hannah works to find answers, she continues to uncover new secrets and people that reveal a side of Hope she had never shared with her twin. Alone now, Hannah must make a decision of her own: move on and start a new life with the people she has left, or let the weight of her grief drag her down with her sister.

 

Title: A Sliver of Hope

Author: Karla J. Nellenbach

Release Date: March 25th 2013

Publisher: Booktrope

Buy Links: Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, Chapters

Rating: 5 Stars

 

Review:

My initial thoughts- This book is great! The story really draws you in and keeps you there. Such a sad story that really shakes you to the core. Written in diary format, the style is different than what I'm used to, but after only a few chapters I found myself immersed in Hannah's story. You feel her hurt and her want to just understand. If only she could grasp just a sliver of her sister Hope (<-- you see what I did there) she could realize what has happened and move forward.

 

This is a really fast read. I finished in only a few hours. As the story unfolds you just have to keep reading, you want to know what's going to happen next, and you need to know how Hannah is doing. Hoping that she is getting better and praying she will be able to move on. I have never had, nor lost a twin, so I can only imagine the pain it would cause to lose your other half, and I feel Nellenbach did an excellent representation of it in this story.

 

By the end my emotions were worked, from the end of one love, to the beginnning of a new/old one. Through the twisted lies and hidden secrets, Hannah emerges from the shadow of her lost sister and into her own light. She ends with a new beginning and an understanding of how little others show their true selves and how to trust again.

Characters-
Hannah: Seeing as we are reading this story from her diary, I have to say she is an excellent story teller *wink,wink* Even though I don't have any actual experience with this kind of incident, Hannah was very relatable. The girl that lived in her sisters shadow, the girl that was always second best, or an add-on in everyone elses lives. Now she is the main focus, but they still only see her lost sister Hope. It would definitely suck to be identical twins and lose him/her, so that everyone that looks at you is clouded in pain of seeing a person they loved dearly, only it isn't your twin, it's you. I feel for Hannah, that would have been terrible. The story was told so well through her eyes. I feel her struggle.

Hope: I kind of hate her. She seemed to have everything she wanted, but she was depressed and sad underneath it all. Her character honestly seemed unrealistic to me, but then again that depth of depression is hard for me to even comprehend. Overall, I just feel for everyone that was a part of Hope's life, she was adored and loved by so many and she decided to take her life before it really even started.

Julian: Swoon worthy man alert. Hannah and Julian used to be in a relationship, they were the IT couple. Everyone loved them together and I have to say I was loving them together as well. Julian is very supportive to Hannah, he is probably the closest person to her after she loses Hope, and the only one that can truly comfort her in this time of grieving and confusion. He is without a doubt a yummy hearthrob. Can't get enough of him! The book was too short, I need more Julian.

Doug: Is such a good older brother, so sweet. I really enjoyed his part in the book. He had a strong sense of family. He may not have known what to do to help, but he did the best he could.

Overall-
Definitely worth the read! You will go through it fast, so if you were on the edge before you mind as well just dive on in! You really get a great story with good character development. The book has stayed with me long after the last page was turned. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Take Me There

Goodreads Summary:

Dylan has a bad-boy past and a criminal record. He knows that rich, beautiful Jess is way too good for him—but she has always been the one person who sees through his tough exterior and straight to his heart, and he has been hopelessly in love with her from the first time they met. He would change his life for a chance with her.

But trouble follows Dylan wherever he goes, and a deadly mistake soon forces him to hit the road and leave his dreams behind. He’s on the run and in search of answers—answers to questions he wishes he’d never asked.

Title: Take me There

Author: Carolee Dean

Published: July 20th 2010

Review:

Knock, knock...enter a male POV, love story, that does not make me want to throw up. Yay! Take me there was an original. I got more of the bad boy feel that I read in the Perfect Chemistry series. With the sensitive, I am a softy underneath, loooooove connection. You see, Dylan's been loving Jess for forever. She has been a little piece of life in his shitty messed up world. A lot of people mention how they read this for the love story, that they wanted Jess, Jess and more Jess. She was there for a lot of it, but they are right this book does not move day and night with love story. There is more to it than that. It is largely based off of his father, and why he is the way he is. 

I loved that this book did not follow the normal paradigm of YA. But I will not sing praises about it well "execution"(<--- if you read it you will get it.) There is a lot that could have been better about the story. For one, we could have had a major turn around on the ending. This is not your happy go lucky fairy tale, where the bad boy shits roses at the end of the tunnel. On the contrary this is a very real story about how the nice guy finishes last, and justice, is served... but poorly. 

I would have loved to give this story five-stars but I just couldn't bring myself to do it, when the ending brought the novel down terribly. My recommendation is that you read this book. I really enjoyed it and I think it is worth it, it will be a change of pace for whatever you have been reading. Maybe, even make you appreciate what you have been reading a little more. Don't read this book if you only like happy endings where everything is peachy clear in the end, because in this novel Romeo certainly sucks his poison. 

That is all I can really tell you without giving away anything. It was hard enough as it is. One thing that bothered me through this book is...was google not invented, because Dylan certainly could have figured out a lot about his dad if he had just bothered to type his name in a search engine. Anyways, carry on with your day. Reliving this book has me sad again and I need to go eat a Butterfinger or something.

Rating:

Ahh, I wish I could give it more, but that would require a complete rewrite of the ending.

Recommended reads based off of Take Me There:

Playing Hurt and Perfect Chemistry