Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer is told by two people--Tessa and Corrick. Tessa is a young girl who wants her kingdom to take better care of the poor people. She wants things to change. Corrick is a young man who rules his kingdom with his brother. They have a bond between them and both have a desire to improve things for their people.
This book is really good! I loved both of the main characters and it has good action as well with a great story line including an early surprise that my wife nor I saw coming! I look forward to book 2 in this series. (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)
Karen's review, Oct. 27, 2021:
Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer was an enjoyable read for me. It is a fictional read about Prince Corrick and his brother who rule over the land of Kandara. People are dying from an illness that is throughout the land and medicine is scarce and hoarded by the elite. Tessa mixes the ingredients that Wes brings to her to make medicine and together they deliver it to the poor in need during the night. Wes saved her life once and she loves him. When a revolution breaks out, everyone is in danger!
I liked this book because although it is primarily character driven, there was enough action to keep it interesting. I really liked the two main characters, Corrick and Tessa. Corrick is the king's justice who is fighting his own personal battle. (4 stars)
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Wicked Fox by Kat Cho centers on Miyoung who has a secret that is better kept. One day she saves a boy's life and the secret is revealed to only the boy. Will he keep this secret? Will they have a relationship? I give this book a solid 4 stars. it is inspired by Korean folklore. Once I got the Korean down, I was able to follow it better. Looks like a book 2 is on the way.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)
Teaser from page 25: The dokkaebi's legs flailed as if the girl were choking him instead of the other way around. Her eyes were unblinking, dark, and depthless.
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My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite centers on two sisters. The older sister is Korede and the younger sister is Ayoola. Ayoola is the killer of some men that she has a relationship with. Korede cleans up the mess. Now a man Korede is in love with is going out with her sister. All bets are off now! This book had a lot of hype so I wanted to read it. I found it to be okay. The story line kept me involved and the sisters were good characters. This is the author's first book.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)
Teaser from page 6: "It's not my fault, you know." But I don't know. I don't know what she is referring to.
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The Last Straw by Ed Duncan is adult fiction with several story lines and several main characters. First is the story line of why a Chicago crime boss is ordering a hit on a teenage girl who witnessed a car jacking in which the driver was killed. The other is about the relationship between Paul (a well-respected lawyer and friend of the witness's family) and a hit man named Rico. There is a lot of killing and action from the get-go in this dark adult fiction book. It has racketeers, hit men, a prostitute, an inter-racial affair, murder and suicide.
I got this book in exchange for a review and that's really the only reason I finished it. There are a lot of characters in this, to which most I could not relate. Rico was a hit man with a conscience which to me made him the most interesting character; however, this book is mostly about action and killing. I felt the characters could have been developed more. This book was just too dark for my taste with the only wholesome thing about it being the teenage eyewitness who was willing to testify.
(Karen's review, 2 stars)
Teaser from page 13: Jerry was the closest thing he had to a friend. Yet when he found out about his death, he had felt nothing akin to grief. Indeed, what he felt was almost nothing at all, except that he might be next.
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In The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, Jude was only 7 when she saw her parents killed and was taken to the High Court of Faerie . Ten years later, Jude wants to belong, but being a mortal, she is looked down on. Jude has seen a lot of killing, but know she wants power. However, the risk is great, can she do it?
Teaser from page 6: "You were stolen from me," he told her. "I have come to take you to your true home, in Elfhame beneath the hill."
I thought this book was very good. It kept me engaged throughout. I really enjoyed watching Jude grow up through the book. I was going to give it a 5 star rating, but the ending pushed it to 5++ stars! I look forward to book 2. (Gerard's review)
Karen's review 1/30/18: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is the first book in a fantasy trilogy. There is a lot of bullying of Jude, a mortal who was stolen along with her twin and older Faerie sister from our world by her mother’s former husband, a general in Faerie land. Jude really wants to fit in to Faerie land and desires to be a knight, but General Madoc, the guy who killed her parents and brought her to live with him, puts the kibosh on that. Jude becomes a killer and a spy for Dain, one of Cardan’s brothers. Carden and his friends are the ones bullying Jude, but Jude gets revenge. There is a lot of political betrayal and intrigue in this first book.
My teaser from page 83: "It's shocking," he says, as though he's giving me some great compliment. "I know humans can lie, but to watch you do it is incredible. Do it again." I have mixed feelings about Jude. I liked her in the beginning, but by the end, I really don’t like her much. She has become manipulative, mean and bloodthirsty like the general who she hated for killing her parents. I must admit, it is an interesting novel. The ending was not exactly like I expected, but came close. I probably will continue with this series. (3 stars)
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In Scythe by Neal Shusterman, there is no war, no disease, and nobody goes hungry in the world. The only problem is overpopulation! That is where being a scythe comes into play. You fix that problem. Citra and Rowan are both picked to try to be a scythe, but do not want any part of it! However, to decline is not in their best interest.
This book was way better than I thought it would be. Citra and Rowan are both really good. The story flows well and the twists and turns are well done to say the least! Do not miss this one--it's a must read! I look forward to book 2.
(Gerard's review 10/30/17, 5++ stars)
Teaser from page 29: But a perfect world needs no improvement. Like most everything else we do, education, from grade school through the highest of universities, is just a way to keep us busy.
We both also liked Unwind by this author too and also recommend that one.
(Karen's review, 5 stars: LOVED THIS BOOK! SO GLAD I READ IT!) Scythe by Neal Shusterman is about a utopia future where humanity has overcome disease, aging, crime, and natural death. Government has been replaced with the Thunderhead that makes sure everyone in the world has what they need. It watches everything that happens and stores people's memories. (Anyway, guess we'll find out more about the Thunderhead in book two.) People can still get hurt, but what normally would kill someone like falling 12 stories from a window now makes them "deadish." They can be taken to a revival center where they get good as new in just 2-3 days and get delicious ice cream when they wake up. Since there is a problem of overpopulation, a special group called Scythes do the service of "gleaning" people on a random basis. Gleaning is just a nice word for legalized killing. The Scythdom have their own set of laws they must follow. When Citra and Rowan are chosen by Scythe Faraday to become his apprentices on the road to becoming a scythe, both reluctantly accept for different reasons. Scythes have power not only to take life, but also to grant immunity from being gleaned to people and Scythe's families have immunity as long as the Scythe lives. I was very intrigued by this book. It is well written and very thought provoking with several twists tossed in that really shocked me! I loved this book so much, I think I will actually re-read it just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Citra and Rowan come from very different backgrounds but are both smart, moral and find themselves in difficult situations. I also liked all the humor, some of which made me actually laugh out loud, and really cool things in this book like being able to "turn the corner" and go back to being any age you want, having years named after animals, and having healing nanites so wounds can heal themselves. I highly recommend this to older teens or adults who like thought provoking books about the future. This is one of my top 2 favorites of the year, the other being Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst.
SPOILER ALERT - STOP HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T YET READ THIS BOOK. IF YOU HAVE, I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THESE QUESTIONS:
(1) Exactly how did Scythe Faraday fake his own death and how did Scythe Curie know about it?
(2) Why did Citra's fingers turn really cold when Scythe Faraday let her try on his ring, but when Scythe Goddard gave his ring to Rowan to take over giving immunity to the loved ones of those they gleaned, nothing happened. Nor did anything happen when Rowan put it on after decapitating Scythe Goddard (which I really liked by the way). I thought it was funny he put it in the dirty water bowl at the monastery.
(3) I thought the ending was fantastic and was so happy it didn't end with a cliffhanger as to which one was chosen or stop before knowing if the winner gleaned the loser. What did you think about the ending?
One of Us –The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway by Asne Seierstad is a true story of Anders who went on a killing spree one day. The first part of this book tells the story of Anders growing up with his mom and his friends. He did not really have a relationship with his father. The second part of this book is when he goes on the killing spree. This is told very well and it is gripping to say the least! The last part deals with the aftermath of what he did and how it affected the people he shot.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)
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In Zero World by Jason M. Hough, we meet Peter Caswell who is a skillful assassin. He also has the ability to forget day to day who he has killed. Just as he is about to go on vacation, he gets an assignment unlike any that he has ever received. He will have to be at his best to complete this one!
As long as long as this book focused on the main story, it was really good. However, when it went off down a "rabbit trail," I had problems with it. The last 75 pages were page turners for sure. It is over 400 pages so takes a commitment--worth reading.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)
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