Review: The Rules by Stacey Kade

The Rules (Project Paper Doll, #1)
by Stacey Kade
Published: April 13, 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:
1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

Review:
I really loved how this story started off. It doesn't try to fool us into thinking the Ariane has a great life among the humans, or that it's easy for her to follow 'the rules' her adoptive father has established for her. She's part alien and there's nothing sexy or glamorous about it. For me that is the best thing about this. Other alien books I've read have managed to make the aliens hiding among us to be highly attractive with superpowers galore.

Ariane definitely has some super powers, but there's also a physical downside to being an alien, such as the mention that her bone break easily due to their lower density levels and the grayish tinge to her skin. It was these little differences that made Ariane believable in her role as E.T. and stops this from being another alien story. Kade manages to keep some of the scary alien stereotypes while mixing it with a more sympathetic alien.

I ended up reading this through in one sitting and enjoyed the story. There were parts were I felt it lagged, but the story would quickly get back on track,  and I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.

 

Review: Midnight City by J. Barton Mitchell

Midnight City (A Conquered Earth Novel)
J. Barton Mitchell
Published: October 30, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:

Earth has been conquered by an alien race known as the Assembly. The human adult population is gone, having succumbed to the Tone---a powerful, telepathic super-signal broadcast across the planet that reduces them to a state of complete subservience. But the Tone has one critical flaw. It only affects the population once they reach their early twenties, which means that there is one group left to resist: Children.

Holt Hawkins is a bounty hunter, and his current target is Mira Toombs, an infamous treasure seeker with a price on her head. It’s not long before Holt bags his prey, but their instant connection isn’t something he bargained for. Neither is the Assembly ship that crash-lands near them shortly after. Venturing inside, Holt finds a young girl who remembers nothing except her name: Zoey.

As the three make their way to the cavernous metropolis of Midnight City, they encounter young freedom fighters, mutants, otherworldly artifacts, pirates, feuding alien armies, and the amazing powers that Zoey is beginning to exhibit. Powers that suggest she, as impossible as it seems, may just be the key to stopping the Assembly once and for all.

Midnight City is the breathtaking first book of the Conquered Earth series.

Review:

Midnight City is a complex tale that weaves together a post-apocalyptic story with aliens and magic. Barton does an amazing job of focusing on both world building and character development, not sacrificing one for the other.

Holt is a great main character. He has a depth to him that is continually exposed in increments through out the story. His personal experiences with the Tone have left him jaded, without turning him into a complete jerk. He comes across as very real with his fears and insecurities mixed with his strength and determination. Mira was also very interesting. She had a sassy, tough side to her, but it didn't define her. She also came across as caring and vulnerable without ever seeming weak. I loved how she was constantly planning and never felt like there was no way out of a bad situation.

The chemistry between Holt and Mira is obvious from the first meeting, but it doesn't consume the story. This is not a romance novel. It is a Science Fiction book with a bit of romance thrown in. And despite being a romance addict, I was perfectly all right with that.

The biggest issue I had with Midnight City was that the alien technology was pretty much exactly like War of the Worlds. It's extremely hard not to notice the sticking similarities, even if you're like me and have only seen the Tom Cruise movie.

Ultimately, what I love about this book and had me putting aside the WotW similarities is that Midnight City is a story for boys and girls. One of the biggest complaints I hear about YA books is that there aren't enough books that appeal to boys. Midnight City is one of those that I think has the potential to do so.

Review: The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

The Power of Six (Lorien Legacies Trilogy #2) 

by Pittacus Lore

Published: August 23, 2011

Publisher: HarperCollins

Available: Amazon

Synopsis:

I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us.

Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us-if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?

They caught Number One in Malaysia.

Number Two in England.

And Number Three in Kenya.

They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio - and failed.

I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.

And I'm ready to fight.

Review:

From the synopsis this book sounds as if it were going to follow Number Seven through the entire story. Instead the book alternates between Number Seven and Number Four. This changing view point is part of what I liked about the book, but also part of why I didn't like the book. The transitions between view points is abrupt and very confusing for most of the book. There is no signal that it is changing, and considering both perspectives are told in first person I sometimes had to read an entire page for clues to the setting and mentions of other characters in order to figure out the perspective had changed. Although it did get easier to notice the changes as the story progressed.

The change in view point however did let us back into the mind of Number Four (John Smith), and pick up on where he, Sam, and Six left off. There was a good continuation to their storyline and it meshed well with that of Number Seven.

Number Seven's plotline was really interesting and I liked how she was having a completely different experience on Earth than Four and Six. We get a few more clues about what happened to all of them after landing and how they managed to survive. Through Number Seven we also get to find out what happened to the second vessel Four saw leaving Lorien.  

Overall, The Power of Six was a good solid transition book in this trilogy. It had enough new info and action to keep it from feeling like filler, answering some of the questions raised in I Am Number Four, and building even bigger mysteries to be answered in the final book. This is a book though that needs to be read after reading I Am Number Four (not just watching the movie).

Blog Tour ~ Caterpillar by Kate Oliver Review and Give@way!

I am so excited to be hosting the next stop in the Caterpillar by Kate Oliver Book Tour! After checking out my review and entering for a chance to win a copy of Caterpillar, click the banner to visit other stops along the tour and read interviews, guest posts and more reviews, along with other chances to win a copy of Caterpillar!

Caterpillar by Kate Oliver

Published: April 10, 2012

Publisher:MAB Books

Available: Amazon

 

Synopsis:

In a small college town in northern California, a lonely young man is working himself to the bone to solve a sixty-year-old problem ... a stranger with a will of iron and eyes the color of ice is searching for someone he can't identify ... and a girl who loves plants is about to grow roots of her own.

When Cara Gallagher's parents are transferred overseas again, she's off to spend her senior year of high school living with her sister, a graduate student at the famed McNair University. Cara, a girl with a passion for science and an indifference to people, hopes this move will be her first step in claiming the independence she craves. Cara has her future planned down to the letter: her college, her major, her career.

Then she saves Will Mallory's life, and both of their futures are completely rewritten.

The last years of Will's life have been spent shifting from one identity to the next, dodging the FBI, and trying desperately to find a way home. But Will's home is forty-four light years away, and to reach it he'll have to outwit the man who's hunting him--and leave behind the only love he's ever known.

Review:
 I love paranormal romance, and Caterpillar did not disappoint. Oliver has done an excellent job it creating an alien that is unique and bringing to life his world. 

Cara is an earthy, natural kind of character, almost a tree hugger type, without the activism. Her constant moving has left her with no friends and she isn't sure she wants to change that. Even when she does make a few friends they are more of a group that latches on to her and she can't shake them, despite wanting to. Though she doesn't really like them, she still suffers the feelings of peer pressure and it's easy to understand why she doesn't drop them completely. But it's Cara's interactions with Will, where I found myself liking her even more.

Will is an alien who has been stranded on Earth for sometime. He is becoming desperate in his search for a way home, and while he thinks he may be on the verge of discovering that, he struggles with the consequences of leaving, namely leaving Cara behind. Put of the book is told from his point of view and it was interesting to see how he was dealing with his life on Earth and possibility of returning home.

Alien romances have always confused me in their simplicity. In movies and other alien books I've read, aliens fall into two different categories: monsters or humans with super powers. Either they're going to eat you, or there's no reason why you can't be with them. Oliver though has created an alien where there are problems. Although Will is in a human form, he doesn't experience things the same way as them, and he can't do everything they can. This made the romance angle of the book even more interesting.

Caterpillar is a fast paced read for paranormal lovers, and is a great start to a new series.

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Review of I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Published: August 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN: 9780061969553
Available: Amazon


GoodReads Blurb:


In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next.

I Am Number Four is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth. 


***


So, this was an interesting one to review. I probably never would have picked it up if it hadn't been for the movie. When I did finally, I went for the audio book. Well, that was just a plain disaster (see my post titled Audio Hell). Since I've had the pleasure (and suffering) of watching, listening and reading this book, I figured I would review all three.


The movie:
I think the casting directors made an excellent choice in casting Alex Pettyfer. Not that he's am amazing actor, but he's definitely not hard to look at :) I also think that in order to appeal to a larger teen audience they had to made him a bit older. Having a main character of fifteen is much less appealing to teen viewers than one of seventeen or eighteen. The effects were good and they kept the story moving at a clear and quick pace. Things move a bit faster than in the book, but the story doesn't feel lacking with parts of the book missing. The Mogadorians also look much cooler than they sound in the book, and I love the way the movie shows how they are able to conceal themselves within the human population.



The audio book: 
Avoid this at all costs! It was absolutely dreadful. I've only listened to one other audio book, but if they are all like this one I don't think I'll ever like them. The narrator sounded like a middle-aged man and when it came time for the female characters to speak, it was the same middle-aged man suddenly trying to sound like a fifteen-year-old girl. The voices continued to go down hill from there and it didn't help matters that the narrator sounded like he was reading the book for the first time, pausing in the wrong spots, weird intonation. I made it to chapter seven before I couldn't handle any more, and I almost didn't go for the print version. 

The book: 
This was much better than I thought it would be after suffering through part of the audio book. There were certain elements in the book that I liked much better than the movie, such as Henri having an accent. In the movie there wouldn't have been a natural way of explaining why he portrayed himself as French, but in the book we get the background. That is really what made me like the book and movie equally. The book's pace was a bit too slow for me, while the movie missed some of the depth in the world building.


My recommendation would be to read the book, then see the movie and don't even bother with the audio book.