Legend (Legend #1) Book Review

Legend (Legend #1)
Author: Marie Lu
Published by: Speak
Released: April 16th, 2013
Genre: Fiction, Dystopian, Young Adult
Pages: 305
Format: Paperback
Characters: June, Day, Tess, Thomas, John, Commander Jameson,…

 

Synopsis (Goodreads):

From different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths…
Until June’s brother is murdered, and Day becomes the prime suspect.
In a shocking turn of events, the two uncover what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths to which their country will go to keep its secrets.

My Review:

First of all, I just wanna say: It was not easy owning all the books in this trilogy! I’ve been searching high and low to complete this trilogy. I even had to buy another copy of Prodigy just so that I am able to own a copy of Legend. And I’m happy to say that it was all WORTH IT! I’ve heard so many good reviews on this trilogy and so pumped to start it. It’s safe to say that Legend was not a disappointment at all.

As we all know, dystopian always has this same pattern and concept. The idea always revolve around a government and the small cities, which mainly lived by the poor ones and they are controlled by the government. There will be this syndicate and secrets that the government held on to in order to rule the poor ones. Then, we have the rebels a.k.a the main characters, the heroes of the story. Despite of this repeating concept, I’m surprisingly very excited for each and every dystopian book I read. There is some sort of excitement and thrill in getting to know what’s going to happen next, the way everything is going to get revealed.

For Legend trilogy, Legend had started off the story extremely well. The world building was not explained explicitly like some other dystopian, but I loved it. I loved how the author kept talking about the Republic(government) and how things going in the Republic and as well as the sectors(cities ruled). It was more about the events and happenings in those places.

This first book of the trilogy also didn’t talk much about the rebel and instead it started off with the misunderstanding between two main characters and how they got to know each other, from enemies turned into possible passionate lovers. The writing style was also a plus point of the book. I enjoyed reading back and forth in June’s and Day’s perspective and got to know what they were thinking and doing.

I liked how everything is explained vividly, from what a character was wearing to the expression they were having.  When it comes to characters, I think June and Day’s relationship was so adorable! I mean there were times when things got complicated, but the moments when they got together, I really adored their chemistry. Other characters such as Metias, Thomas, John all were described and was given clear personality and you can easily identify their roles in the story.

The ending was directly leading readers to read Prodigy, yet it did have a settled ending. So, readers afford to delay a little bit and not getting confused even though they start reading the second book later. But hey, why wait since you just cannot stop wondering what will happen next once you finish Legend? *winks*

Rating: 5/5 stars!

 

I Want Superpowers Book Review

Have you ever wanted a superpower? What would it be? Caitlin has been waiting for her whole life to be manifested and to join the Supergenics. But what if it turned out she is just another mere dreg?

I Want Superpowers
Author : Steven Bereznai
Published by: Jambor
Released: November 26th, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Dystopian, Young Adult
Pages: 260
Format: Paperback
Characters: Caitlin, Bradie, Normand, Trenton, Liliane, …

Summary (Goodreads) :

The Genetic Wars that turned most of the planet into a wasteland are over. The so-called “dregs” (short for “DNA regulars”) and superpowered “Supergenics” now live separately from each other: the Supergenics in the shiny towers of Jupitar City, the dregs across the river in the squat concrete buildings of the boroughs. But Supergenic children are still born to dreg parents, and under repressive laws must be sent to live with their own kind. To find these special few, every teen faces their Testing Day. When her turn comes, socially isolated Caitlin Feral is determined to Manifest superpowers. If she fails, she faces a lifetime of loneliness and drudgery in the boroughs. But how much is she willing to sacrifice to be the supergirl she’s always wanted to be? And when she uncovers dark secrets kept by both sides, does she dare start another war to reveal the truth?

My review :

First of all, I wanted to thank the author for sending me a copy of his book in return for an honest review. Trust me, I’m being totally honest and unbiased when I say that I loved this book to death!

This book is described as The Hunger Games meets X-Men and when I was like about 50 pages into the book, it was indeed felt like The Hunger Games. But the more i dug into it, oh man, it was so genuine and so eventful. There was also a concept of comics that was used in the book and I think it was quite interesting how things revealed in the end and the significant of the comic drawings to the story. Also, this book is hilarious and the writing style is easy to be read and not confusing at all.

For setting, it was almost like any other dystopian book, where there are boroughs for the dregs and Jupitar City for the Supergenics. (THG much? Districts for the people and the ones at the Capitol live luxuriously controlling the people in the Districts). But there were more areas to be discovered in I Want Superpowers, and the world built up for the story is simply brilliant!

The characters, they are amazing, the personality given to them are authentic and you can never expect how each character would end up in the end of the book. However, Caitlin didn’t appear to me to be the daring or rebellious girl, everything she did was initiated or encouraged by someone else, she’s just a doer honestly. She might have the thoughts and imaginations and all, but most of the time, she was scared and felt inferior. She broke some of the laws, was also because of the people around her. But I still love Caitlin for who she is and I loved Bradie and Normand too! They were both so cute to be honest. Oh, it’s not a triangle love, no worries! 😉

What I loved the most about this book is the plot twists. It was mind blowing and so insane, so many unexpected twists happened. Even the unimportant characters suddenly appeared to be so, so important towards the end. I even cried during one part of the book (SPOILER! A character died *sobs*). It was so genuine and touching(or maybe it’s just me being a crybaby, Idk *shrugs*).

The ending is killing me and I need a sequel! I really hope that there would be a sequel to this amazing book because I am dying to read more of this story and of this world.

Overall, this book is simply awesome. It could really be a start of a series that is as good as The Hunger Games, or even better! It talks about friendship, freedom, love, loyalty. Also being a superhero doesn’t mean you need superpower but it means to be yourself and fight for a great cause and this is what lacking in our community nowadays, this book just portrayed that message so perfectly. So, yea, please, go get your copy now! Especially the dystopian lovers out there! YES YOU! This book is perfect for you. ❤

Rating : 5 /5 stars!

New World: Ashes (New World #2) Book Review

New World Rising (New World #2) 

Author: Jennifer Wilson
Published by: Oftomes Publishing
Released: June 7th, 2016
Genre: Dystopian, Fiction
Pages: 277
Format: Kindle Edition
Characters: Phoenix , Triven, Mouse, Ryker, Fandrin, Gage, …

Synopsis :

After Phoenix, a 17-year-old orphan rogue, sacrifices herself for her loved ones, her world again takes an unexpected turn. She may have forgotten her past, but it hasn’t forgotten her. A war is coming and her role in it will be pivotal. (Source: Goodreads)

“The worst part about silence is that there’s nothing to distract your mind.”
– Jennifer Wilson, New World: Ashes

My thought on the book? :

Reading the second book of this spectacular dystopian series was an enjoyable experience for me. I was so happy on how close this second book related to the first one. The connection between these two books was perfect and it gave the readers a fair justification to whatever is happening in the series. I really hope that New World: Inferno (book 3) will follow the first two books closely too because it is one of my favourite element regarding this series. The flow was really amazing and it was fun to go through this series.

“Hope gave you strength when all else was lost. Hope gave you a glimpse of a future even when there might not be one to be had.”
– Jennifer Wilson, New World: Ashes

This second book basically was about how Phoenix changed from a tough and badass fighter and survivor to someone that was so fragile and broken. And after that, she rose and became a fighter again, but this time, she was not alone anymore. It wasn’t solely about her own but also the people she cared. ‘Ashes’ revealed Phoenix’s past and as well as her possible future in the series, which was something that I really liked about this book. The telling of the past and the possible future was engaging and relevant.

“The mind is a dangerous place. When left alone too long with our own inner demons, we can easily fall prey to their deception.”
– Jennifer Wilson, New World: Ashes

As I read along, I stumbled the phrase ‘face of their rebellion‘. At this point, again my mind automatically related this book to Hunger Games. I didn’t want to compare this two series, but that phrase really triggered me to do so. Like the first book, again I compared Ashes with THG. But as usual, what happened after that phrase totally didn’t sound anything from THG. The journey towards gaining the people’s freedom was totally different and it was surprisingly captivating as well. I loved how opinionated Phoenix was in this series and her character definitely is one of my top favourite female character of the year.

There were also some new characters introduced in this second book, such as Ryker, Fandrid and also a few people from Phoenix’s past life, along with new allies and friends. Ryker’s importance in the book wasn’t shown much until towards the ending. I assumed he is going to be pretty important in the third book. (just a prediction of my own, it can be wrong!) Fandrid, on the other hand, was a very significant character in ‘Ashes’. He was the one that tied everything in this book and as much as I hated him, I liked how the author had created him. One of the best antagonist created with a great background and motive.

“Life is always complicated. It doesn’t matter which side of The Wall you’re standing on.”
– Jennifer Wilson, New World: Ashes

The concept of the book was authentic and different. The first book talked about going inside The Sanctuary but the second book was totally the opposite and what they needed to do was even more impossible. The mission was getting bigger and came with greater responsibility this time. I am really keen to know how ‘Inferno’ (book 3) ties up these two world (outside and inside The Wall) together and how the rebellion is going to be be like. The ending of this book for me was as good as ‘Rising’ (book 1), it was surely going to make the readers stick with this series and keep reading it until the last book.

Also, many thanks to the author, Jennifer Wilson for sending me the e-book copies of Rising and Ashes. I definitely enjoyed and adored them a lot.

With that, I surely would recommend this series to my fellow readers. It is going to be a great dystopian read for you guys! 😉

Rating: 5 / 5 stars!

New World : Rising (New World #1) Book Review

New World Rising (New World #1) 

Author: Jennifer Wilson
Published by: Oftomes Publishing
Released: January 5th, 2016
Genre: Dystopian, Fiction
Pages: 351
Format: Kindle Edition
Characters: Phoenix , Triven, Mouse, Arstid, Arden, Asher, etc…

“There is no good or evil here, it all depends on what side you’re standing. Nor is it about wrong or right, it’s about surviving.”
― Jennifer Wilson, New World: Rising

Synopsis :

Since witnessing her parents’ murders at the age of eleven, Phoenix’s only purpose in life has been to uphold her mother’s dying words- to be strong and survive. But surviving outside of The Walls- outside of The Sanctuary- is more like a drawn-out death sentence. A cruel and ruthless city, Tartarus is run by the Tribes whose motto is simple, “Join or die.”

Refusing to join and determined to live, Phoenix fights to survive in this savage world. But who can she trust, when no one can be trusted? Not even herself. (Source: Goodreads)

“There is still good in people. Sometimes It’s hard to see past all the pain and cruelty, but there are still good people out there. I saw good in you.”
― Jennifer Wilson, New World: Rising

 

My thought on the book? :

First of all, thank you to the author of this amazing series for giving me an ebook copy in return for an honest review. For me, this book definitely has all the criteria of dystopian genre. The set up and idea has mirrored that concept clearly. New World Rising had definitely surprised me with the characters and the plot itself. I like the idea of the book. It wasn’t just about escapism, but it also involved entering an old life, entering somewhere that started everything. It was also about discovery and mysteries and secrets.

“Mostly you learn to cherish those moments that are good. Like these. Nothing in the world is permanent, so you have to make those good moments count.”
― Jennifer Wilson, New World: Rising

The plot for me was pretty intense and fast paced. It started from Phoenix surviving by herself and being discovered and got captured by the people that she couldn’t put a label on, they did not belong to any Tribe. Everything was confusing for her at first, then she turned out to be one of the keys to lead the people to their goal and it had also become her goal as well later on. The story went on very fast and it was a pleasure reading it. The chapters were easily to go through and the writing style was understood without any difficulty. The flow of the story was smooth as well. The ending of the book also made you want to read the sequel ASAP because .. (Well, you gotta read it to find out yourself *winks*)

“Even the most gentle people have a dark side you know.” I was trying to warn him.
“I know,” he said handing me the other bowl of soup.
“It’s how you control that darkness that defines you.”
― Jennifer Wilson, New World: Rising

There were not much characters that really stood out in the book as the story mainly revolved around the main character, Phoenix. It told a lot about Phoenix. Phoenix is this badass girl and skillful as well. Her character later on may appear to be annoying to some people as she was indecisive in her love life. However, her badass side made me forgave her indecisive personality. I also found that Mouse is a very interesting character. You need to read this book to know about this little girl. I think her character was significant to the changes happening in Phoenix and also crucial to the book.

Overall, I loved reading this book and can’t wait to start the second book. I predict this series is going to be one of my favourite dystopian read this year. So, I recommend all of dystopian lovers to get this series and start reading it!

Rating : 4.5 / 5 stars