Review Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Title: Vanish

Author: Sophie Jordan

Published: September 6th, 2011
Pages: 294

Source: for review
Series: Firelight #2

Rating: 4 / 5

Synopsis from Goodreads: To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love? 

After revealing herself to the hunters Jacinda must return home. First of all, she doesn't really want to be there, but when no one is nice to her anymore, with the exception of Cassian, she really wants to leave as soon as possible. But she isn't sure what to expect there. Since she doesn't know if Will remembers her. When things start to turn a really wrong way, the pride threatens again to clip her wings. This time Cassian is the one to save her, but does she want him to? 


I thought the first part of this series was really good and the second is just as good. In this part you learn a lot more about draki and the world Jacinda lives in. That makes the story more interesting. 
She has to make some difficult choices. Now that her sister is no longer the person she was before, she can't turn to her. Also her mother and best friend Az are turning away from her. And Jacinda has to choose between a save life with Cassian or the one she truly loves, Will. This book is a real page turner. 
The style of writing is really good and it's hard to put the book down. Even after finishing it! 
Part three in the series, Hidden, will be published in September and I'm curious how it's going to end. 

Review Sevenster by Alexandra Penrhyn Lowe

Title: Sevenster
Author: Alexandra Penrhyn Lowe

Language: Dutch 

Published: April, 2012 (A.W. Bruna)
Pages: 335

Source: for review
Series: De Laatste Wachter #1

Rating: 4 / 5 

Synopsis from Goodreads: Because this is a Dutch book, the synopsis is also in Dutch. In short the story is about Eveline. When she tries to summon a ghost, she begins to see them everywhere. and not only ghosts, but worse. She learns she has a gift, which was shielded before, but now she has to learn to live with it. 

Eveline heeft maar één zorg deze zomer: een echt leuke jongen vinden met wie ze voor het eerst kan zoenen. Maar dan roept ze geesten op tijdens een feestje – tegen de waarschuwing van haar pleegmoeder in – en nu ziet ze plotseling dingen die andere mensen niet zien.
Doodsbang dat ze bezeten is door een kwade geest, probeert ze een manier te vinden om alles terug te draaien. Maar dan hoort ze van een waarzegster dat ze de eeuwenoude gave van De Wachters heeft – een gave die was afgeschermd, maar nu is wakker gemaakt. Een gave waardoor ze geesten en demonen kan zien.
En zij zien haar ook.
Eveline heeft maar één zorg deze zomer: in leven blijven.

It’s hard to believe but Alexandra Penrhyn Lowe is the very first Dutch YA author. So normally I review books that are (also) published in English, but for this one I’m going to make an exception.

So it’s not only the very first Dutch YA title, it’s also pretty good. The reason I read most books in English is because I just like those books better than the books published here. But that could also have something to do with the fact that until now there weren’t any YA books published here.

Finally, that’s changed. So that brings us to Sevenster, the first book in a trilogy.

Before I started this book, I was afraid it would be disappointing since I expected so much from it. But it didn’t. I thought it was really good. The story had just one tiny downside: the age of Eveline, the main character. She turns fourteen somewhere halfway through the book. And that made her a bit childish at times. For example: she’s really preoccupied with never been having kissed before. I now it was a big deal for me too at that age, but now it feels a bit far away.  

But the story made up for that big time. Once I started it was hard to put the book down. The story gets scarier with every page, so it kept me on the edge of my seat.

After summoning ghosts on a party she starts seeing ghosts for real. She can communicate with some of them. When she tries to save one, she nearly dies herself. She sees her grandfather in the between world and  he tells her she needs to guard the family secret and where she can find it. During her research she discovers she’s not the only one after the secret

The writing style is good and that made me flip the pages even faster.

If you can read Dutch, I definitely recommend this one. You don’t want to miss out on the first Dutch YA!

My bookshelves (1)

In My bookshelves I discuss the books I got or want to have. For the first one I want to place one of my all time favorite series in the spotlight: Stravaganza by Mary Hoffman. The sixth book is coming out this summer and I can't hardly wait! 


Every book has a different main character. At the beginning of the book they discover an object with which they can travel in time and place. They all travel to sixteenth century Talia, similar to our Italy. But every talisman brings the owner to a different city in Talia. In their city they have to fulfill some kind of assignment. They never know what exactly it is, but it's always dangerous and enemies are everywhere. 


So, finally, the sixth book in the series is almost here. I've been waiting for two years and I'm so curious. 
I already love the cover. It's just so beautiful!

Title: City of Swords

Author: Mary Hoffman

Published: July 5th, 2012 (Bloomsbury)
Pages:368
Series: Stravaganza #6

Synopsis from Goodreads: Desperately unhappy, Laura has resorted to secretly self-harming. But Laura is a Stravagante, somebody who can travel in time and space. When she finds her talisman, a small silver dagger, she stravagates with it to sixteenth-century Fortezza, a town similar to Lucca in Italy, where she meets her Stravagante, who is a swordsmith. But Laura also meets the charming and attractive Ludo, and falls for him. Their love for each other is tested when Ludo lays claim to the crown of Fortezza, and Laura finds herself fighting on the side of the Stravaganti opposing him.

Upcoming (2)

In Upcoming I talk about the books that I will read and review. So you know what you can expect on the blog in the upcoming days / weeks. I hope you enjoy it!

This week

 

Review of Vanish by Sophie Jordan

An impossible romance.
Bitter rivalries.
Deadly choices.

To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

Synopsis from Goodreads

Review of Sevenster by Alexandra Penrhyn Lowe

Because this is a Dutch book, the synopsis is also in Dutch. In short the story is about Eveline. When she tries to summon ghosts, she begins to see them everywhere. And not only ghosts, but worse. She learns she has a gift, which was shielded before, but know she have to learn to live it.  

Eveline heeft maar één zorg deze zomer: een echt leuke jongen vinden met wie ze voor het eerst kan zoenen. Maar dan roept ze geesten op tijdens een feestje – tegen de waarschuwing van haar pleegmoeder in – en nu ziet ze plotseling dingen die andere mensen niet zien.

Doodsbang dat ze bezeten is door een kwade geest, probeert ze een manier te vinden om alles terug te draaien. Maar dan hoort ze van een waarzegster dat ze de eeuwenoude gave van De Wachters heeft – een gave die was afgeschermd, maar nu is wakker gemaakt. Een gave waardoor ze geesten en demonen kan zien.
En zij zien haar ook.

Eveline heeft maar één zorg deze zomer: in leven blijven. 

Synsopsis from Goodreads

Next week

Review of Slated by Teri Terry

In a world where young people who turn bad are being slated, Kyla has to find out why she’s different than all the other slated kids.

Review of Hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I love books about fallen angels. I’m currently reading it and I really like it so far.

Hope to see you soon!

Review Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Title:Vrees

Original title: Fever

Author: Lauren Destefano

Published: April 20th, 2012 (Van Holkema & Warendorf)
Pages: 349
Source: for review
Series: The Chemical Garden Trilogy #2

Rating: 3 / 5       

Synopsis from Goodreads: Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.
Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.
The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.
In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

I read this book in the Dutch translation, so it's possible that some things might be different in the original version. 

In a World where women do not get older than twenty and men die at twenty five, people live different lives. Women are taken from the streets to be sold to the highest bidder, often someone from the First Generation, the only people who do get old.

At the end of Wither Rhine flees with Gabriel from her husband and sister wives. In Fever they try to find her twin brother, but it isn’t easy. The world they end up in is dangerous, and her father-in-law, Vaughn, is closing in on them. Time flies by and that is frightening for more than one reason.

I picked up the first part because of its beautiful cover and they did a great job at this cover too. I wasn’t really enthusiastic at first about part one, but the world it is set in kept me thinking about it, so I liked the book a lot more in the end and that’s why I wanted to read part two.  It didn’t let me down. The story picks up where Wither ended, so you’re right back in the game. In the beginning I had to get used to the world and storyline again, but the story is really exciting, so I really enjoyed it.

The dystopian world is well set and you learn more about it in this book. I like the style of writing of Lauren DeStefano and because of that it was sometimes really difficult to put the book down. The end asks for more, so I can’t wait for part three.

Review Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Title: Glow

Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan

Published: September 13^th, 2011 (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Pages: 307
Source: ARC
Series: Sky Chasers #1

Rating: 4 / 5

Synopsis from Goodreads: What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?
Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...
Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.
But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.

     

When I read the synopsis I decided I definitely wanted a copy of this book. And I wasn’t let down by the story! It’s well-written, which I thought was a real accomplishment since space isn’t one of the easiest subjects to write about. She even included the different aging-aspects in space. It just gives me a headache thinking about it, forget writing about it.

When the girls get taken the chapters are divided in viewpoints between Waverly and Kieran. I liked the parts from Waverly better, I could relate more to her.

I loved Ryans writing style and the story has a beautiful plot, so I was really sad when the story was over. Luckily there will be a book #2 Spark.

The lead characters, Waverly and Kieran, are realistic. Waverly is a strong girl, she thinks everything through, but she also had a soft spot. She doesn’t really want a save life with Kieran on board their ship. She wants more. When the girls get kidnapped by The Horizon she is the first one who questions a lot of things about what they’re told. She a fighter, she stands up for what she believes in, in this case getting the girls back to their ship, but she also cares about other people. When she hears about the destruction of the Empyrean she is angry. But she doesn’t blame the wrong people aboard The Horizon. Her “foster” parents take good care of her and she becomes friendly with them.

In the beginning I liked Kieran. He sounded like a nice guy, who had the best at heart. I didn’t understand at all why Waverly wouldn’t want to marry him, and chose Seth above him. But further on in the story I began to understand. Seth kind of takes over the ship, after most of the grownups die in and after the attack. And he’s really mean to Kieran. But then Kieran takes over and he gets the same ideas that the people on the Horizon are spilling. At that moment I totally understood why Waverly would fall for Seth. He became more and more likeable. Seth is in most way like Waverly. He’s strong, but also cares about people. He saw the danger in Kieran and acted upon it.

The world around it all is so beautifully build. Like I said before space isn’t one of the easiest subjects and Ryan really put some work into it. And it’s not just they’re in space. It’s much more than that. It’s also about not being able to go wherever you want to. The girls can escape, but where to? So the plan Waverly has to come up with, since most of the girls believe the stories told by The Horizon people, has to be really good and well thought out. There are some aspects that make it really difficult. But everything is connected to the being-in-space-aspect. I don’t know much about space and I was really impressed by all the details Ryan put into the story.

So overall this story was really good. I really enjoyed reading it and I would definitely recommend it to people who like dystopians and want to read something slightly different. You will enjoy this!

Upcoming (1)

In Upcoming I talk about the books that I will read and review. So you know what you can expect on the blog in the upcoming days / weeks. I hope you enjoy it!

This week

 
Review of Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Review of Vrees (original title:  Fever) by Lauren DeStefano

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever. 

Synsopsis from Goodreads

Next week

Review of Sevenster by Alexandra Penrhyn Lowe

Alexandra Penrhyn Lowe is the first real Dutch Young Adult-author. So I'm really looking forward reading this book.

Review of Vanish by Sophie Jordan

I've been looking forward to reading the sequel of Firelight. I'm reading this book at the moment and I'm really enjoying it.

It's possible that there are some changes in my plans, but there will be some reviews on the blogs in the upcoming weeks.

Hope to see you soon!