Review of Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

(Add To your Goodreads Shelf)

After much grumbling about the sudden cover change so they could force people to buy second copies, I looked forward to reading Pandemonium. And then Hana arrived. It took me a LOT of effort to get this short novel but I wanted to read it a lot, Hana was an amazing best friend. But Lauren twisted her character into something bitchy and evil, which made no sense to me. And then I read some of Pandemonium and I wasn't impressed. Which is exactly why I'm writing this review months after the book has been released.

I got exactly what I expected from Pandemonium. Not much. The book didn't fit well with Delirium, it felt like a different book instead of another piece of the jigsaw and I did struggle with that a lot. I also kept getting the story mixed up with Matched slightly, different details kept getting meshed but not enough to completely confuse me!

Lena can't make up her mind about men. She moves on from Alex in a matter of months without trying to find him - she believes he isn't dead, so why wasn't she trying? She moves onto Julian very quickly, going through the crappy gasping and 'I shouldn't like him' crap that YA is full of these days. Girls, if you're gasping everytime a guy is near you, perhaps it's time to get yourselves checked for Asthma. She thinks about Tack a lot too, and would have probably got in his pants if given half the chance. Then there's Hunter, who's gay so doesn't get much of a mention. He's gay right? That's what I picked up anyway.

The story throws in loads of twists and turns - that we were all expecting. It was no surprise to me and I already guessed what would happen by the first 50 pages. Then Then and Now were interesting but the vital middle piece that connected to two was missing. It never bothered to mention how Lena ended up working for the resistance, which seems like a pretty big piece of the story to forget to write. Lena likes to remind us a lot that she's the NEW Lena, the old Lena is gone! She doesn't exist anymore! Over and over.

I'll definitely be reading the next book but I'm not exactly scraping my fingernails down Waterstone's doors yet.

3/5

Review of The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

Welcome to a future where water is more precious than gold or oil—and worth killing for

Vera and her brother, Will, live in the shadow of the Great Panic, in a country that has collapsed from environmental catastrophe. Water is hoarded by governments, rivers are dammed, and clouds are sucked from the sky. But then Vera befriends Kai, who seems to have limitless access to fresh water. When Kai suddenly disappears, Vera and Will set off on a dangerous journey in search of him-pursued by pirates, a paramilitary group, and greedy corporations. Timely and eerily familiar, acclaimed author Cameron Stracher makes a stunning YA debut that's impossible to forget.

(Add To Your Goodreads Shelf)

GAH. *Waves arms madly*

The Water Wars is exactly what I have been looking for in a Dystopian novel.It had everything - the world building was solid and everything made perfect sense. The people of that world acted how they should - some meek and compliant, some unwilling to accept the large corporations taking control of the water supplies. There was little to no romance, which felt really refreshing AND... the story was completely wrapped up in one book. Authors take note - this is how a real Dystopian novel should be done.

The story had a strong adventure feel to it as Vera is chasing after Kai, to try and rescue him and his father. Bit of a strange thing for a young girl to do, but she did it marvelously. I loved the brother and sister team that was Will and Vera. It was nice that the heroine wasn't stuck by herself for once!

There definitely was room for a sequel, but at the same time, it doesn't need one either. We can all imagine what might happen after in our heads, without wondering what happened after THAT cliffhanger, like with the rest of the new Dystopian novels. If Cameron ever writes more YA, I'll be getting copies for sure!

5/5

Review of Anathema by Megg Jensen

Forget prophecy. Make your own destiny.

Sheltered from the outside world with no hope for escape, slave girl Reychel dreads her fifteenth birthday - when her master’s symbol is burned on the back of her bald scalp. Her best friend disappears the night before, leaving her to face the branding ceremony alone. She soon discovers nothing is as it seems when people desperate for freedom beg for Reychel's help.

Can Reychel learn to believe in herself?

(Add To Your Goodreads Shelf) 

I decided to get a copy of this a little while ago, after seeing it around so often and seeing so many positive reviews of it. I can happily say I'm very pleased with my purchase! This short book is heaps of fun and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

The pacing in this was perfect. Didn't go too quickly, didn't drag on for hours. Everything was revealed at the right moments and the romance wasn't too intrusive either! I did find one element a little steretypical but I still enoyed it all the same.

The story is really unique, at the same time as feeling comfortingly familiar. I love books with lots of magic and castles and this really hit the spot in that aspect. I had a lot of the other covers and WOW! When I finish this series I'll be looking out for more books by Megg for sure.

5/5

Many Covers Monday - Ruby Red

Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

US and German covers. I know, no US/UK to start? Well Ruby Red was originally German and then translated you see. I like Germany's cover, she looks like she's going to poke his belly button.

Spain chose a lot of keys (grab yer broomstick 'arry!) and Italy went the a stereotypical YA Paranormal cover - a cover that will, in fact, be in another MCM post...

And here are UK's takes! Possibly. The first one may be US. I love the first cover, not a fan of the middle-grade look of the second to be honest.

Poland needs a hairbrush and Norway has some writing stuck to her nose... I do like Poland's though.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Which was your favourite?