Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken (with reference to her novella In Time)

Title: Never Fade

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Series: The Darkest Minds book 2

Genre: Young Adult, fantasy, dystopian, romance

Source: paper

Pages: 507 pages

Rating: 5 stars

Available at:

Amazon.ca • Goodreads • Amazon.com

Blurb: (via Goodreads)

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flash drive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her.

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

My Review:

I just want to mention at the beginning of this review that I did buy and read In Time, the novella that takes place between The Darkest Minds and Never Fade. So far, the novella has nothing to do with book two, but I have a feeling that it will be useful in understanding the events in books 3. If you have not read it, you can read my review of The Darkest Minds HERE.

Now onto the Review of this novel!

Alexandra Bracken has done it again! Book 2 was an excellent sequel to The Darkest Minds. Immediately at the beginning of the book we see the new life Ruby has agreed to live at the Children’s League. We get to meet a lot of new characters, including Liam’s notorious brother that we had only heard about in The Darkest Minds. I mention this because 1) we get insight as to why there is a rift between Liam and Cole based on Cole’s personality. And 2) because we get to see how much Ruby suffers with the decision she made at the end of The Darkest Minds. Also, we get to FINALLY meet a Red. I now understand why they are called Red’s; I now understand why they are placed as the most dangerous color. (My prediction was way off! But I should have guessed)

As always, the character development in this book was phenomenal. We see Ruby growing as a woman and as a leader while simultaneously trying to cope with accepting who she is as an Orange and continuing to master her ability. In addition, while we have just met a new set of secondary characters, almost all of them subtly, but gradually, develop through the novel. We get to understand these new characters and love them as much as we love Zu, Chubs, and Liam.

Do I even need to mention how great the writing is? Well, not really, because the writing speaks for itself. Alexandra Bracken is a master of words. There is barely any useless fluff thrown in to fill the pages and almost every thought, action, and description has a purpose. The writing was effortless and engaging and completely fluid throughout the novel.

In true Bracken fashion, the novel ends with tears that makes you want to scream and, of course, a killer cliffhanger. There is so much more I want to say about this book, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Take my word on it people. You WANT to read this series. Pick it up. Read it. Love it. I can’t wait to read book three!!! This was an easy 5 stars.

Damaged by Becca Vincenza

Title: Damaged

Author: Becca Vincenza

Series: Rebirth book 1

Genre: New Adult, Paranormal Romance

Source: ARC

Pages: 242 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Available at:

Amazon.ca • Goodreads • Amazon.com

Blurb: (via Goodreads)

There are some beings in this world, long thought to be extinct. Some seek to protect them, others want control, but some . . . some are hell bent on their destruction.

Audrey was taken from her father, hidden away from the world, and tortured for five years. She was rescued, but is she really safe, or is there someone else waiting to betray her? Can she trust those who saved her? Can she learn to accept who she really is?

Stone was on a routine mission to extract valuable information from a rival clan of paranormals. Instead, he and his team find something much more valuable: a scarred, damaged young woman who holds many secrets, and whose power is beyond anything they could ever have imagined.There is much more to Audrey than meets the eye and Stone is determined to protect her.

Audrey and Stone are about to find out it’s hard to know who to trust.

My Review:

I was immediately interested in this book when Becca Vincenza contacted me. The blurb had me enthralled right away and I couldn’t wait to read it.

This was a fairly short book, only 242 pages. I find that with short novels such as this, the plot tends to suffer a bit because everything is a bit rushed. This novel wasn’t an exception to this point. While there was a conflict, it was left on the back burner while the romantic aspect of the novel took center stage. The main characters easily escaped the conflict that was established and very few minor conflicts arose. What minor conflicts did arise was also easily disengaged or short lived as the characters found some semblance of peace within the ‘chaos’.

The main aspect of the story was almost entirely focused on the main characters romance. I would like to point out that while the overlying plot line did suffer a bit, the romantic factor did not in any way. It would have been nice to see more happening outside the romance, but what was happening inside it was engaging and exciting and overall, steamy. I found that because the romantic factor was so well done, it made up for most of the forgotten plot.

The characters themselves were well-written and showed considerable development throughout the novel. I found that, considering the length of the novel, the author did a fantastic job of opening the characters (especially Audrey) up at the perfect pace that made their development believable and realistic. Going back to the love interests, Becca couldn’t have paired the two better. They were both broken and damaged (see what I did there… damaged… like the title ;)) in their own way that complimented the other. They were perfect match and a big reason why I liked the book so much. I would like to point out that the subtle development of another character (that shall remain nameless to avoid a spoiler) was EXTREMELY well done. It was so subtle that you didn’t really pick up the clues until you are thrown a curveball at the end. Well done.

Lastly, we come to the writing itself. I think that the book could have possible gone through one more draft before publication. There were a few distracting grammatical mistakes that you had to read over a few times to understand and a couple typos that caught my eye, but I am a little over observant that way… it is what I am going to school for. However, grammatical issues aside, I found that the writing was very fluid and intriguing. She did a great job of describing settings and people and an excellent job of showing the reader what was going on rather than just telling, which, I may note, I found refreshing. Authors that assume their reader is stupid and have to tell and explain every action are incredibly annoying. Thank you for not being one of them Becca!

Overall, Becca Vincenza caught my attention. I am told that there is going to be a book 2 (there better be after that ending!!!) and it looks like it is in a different character’s POV. I am looking forward to watching this author develop with her stories and I am excited to read what happens next. 3.5 stars!

Hope's Rebellion by Jade Varden

Title: Hope’s Rebellion

Author: Jade Varden

Series: N/A

Genre: Dystopian, Futuristic (ish), YA

Source: ARC

Pages: 169

Rating: 4.5 stars

Available at:

Amazon.ca • Goodreads • Amazon.com

Blurb: (via Goodreads)

Their friendship will test the fabric of tradition, duty and destiny...

There are only two seasons in Godenor: summer and winter. Weather brings the only surprises to a society where everything is planned, and everyone's status is determined at birth...by the color of their hair.

Rinna has the right hair, Drexi the wrong, and Prelly is almost too ordinary -- in every way but one. Small mistakes bring them together, creating ripples in a pond that knows nothing but serenity. If they reach their goals, they can't help but shatter the world they know.

Love of any kind, even the bond of friendship, isn't allowed in their world...but then, the heart can't always follow orders

My Review:

I want to start off by just clarifying a few things. First, while this book says it’s 169 pages, it must be longer than that. It seemed longer than that, but it was an ebook version so I can’t say for sure. Second, I am not sure I would classify this book as a Young Adult novel just because of the seriousness of the content and the writing style in general felt directed at an older audience. It was hard to classify what genre this book was in. It definitely had a dystopian feel to it, and there was a significant romance throughout the novel, but other than that, it was hard to say.

Now for the actual review! When I was originally asked to read Hope’s Rebellion, I was wary. It didn’t really seem like my kind of story, but I am so glad I finally read it. The writing in this novel was superb. It was sophisticated, and witty, and engaging, and incredibly eloquent.

The plot was flawless; I didn’t have a single problem with it. There was an excellent introduction of the characters, a critical conflict with several minor conflicts that were introduced along the way, the climax had me at the edge of my seat with my heart racing, and the ending was both tragic and beautiful all in the same breath. The part I loved the best was all the foreshadowing. It was so subtle that you didn’t even realize it was happening. I don’t think I have ever seen a plot or foreshadowing that was so thought out and so perfect in every possible way. This isn’t just me saying that either. I am a hard sell, I am incredibly picky and the smallest of things bothers me, and yet I have no words to describe how phenomenal this book was written. Every little tiny detail had a purpose, and it all comes together in such a way that, at the end, your mind is completely blown.

It should be noted that the character development was off the charts as well. You watch the characters grow up and you grow up with them. Every action, thought, and word spoken made sense. It was incredibly realistic, almost too realistic in fact. Everything in this book was 100% plausible and could potentially happen in the real world. That’s kind of a scary thought actually….

I only had two small problems with the book. First, there were exactly three typos that were a bit distracting. I know the exact number because there wasn’t much else wrong with the novel. The other problem, and I can’t believe I am going to say this but Jade Varden assumes that her audience is a little too smart. It was hard catching up with the lingo of this world. Things like cultural references, titles, and terms were incredibly confusing and it took a long time to try and figure out what was what. I wish more information had given about each new term when it was first introduced to get a better handle of things. Or a glossary. A glossary would have been perfect. I still don’t know what an Argot is… This last point was kind of a consistent problem throughout the story, so it was a little bit of a difficult read and the only reason that this book is getting 4.5 stars instead of 5.

Overall, the story was a little dark and heavy. But, I still loved it and I am so glad I finally buckled down and caught up on my reading. A fantastic job done by Jade Varden and a must read for the dystopian lovers out there! A round of applause for Hope’s Rebellion everyone!

My Guest Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Hey guys! Look for my Guest review post on One Thousand Worlds at http://onethousandworlds.blogspot.ca/2014/01/V1.html

This is a truly fantastic book and I highly suggest you all read it!

Review: Grimnirs by Ednah Walters

Title: Grimnirs
Series: Runes book 2.5 
Author: Ednah Walters
Genre: Fiction/ Fantasy, YA, mythology, romance
Source: ARC Kindle
Pages: 348 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Available at:

Goodreads • Amazon (.ca) • Amazon (.com) 

Blurb: (via goodreads)

Straight out of the psych ward, Cora just wants her life to be normal. She doesn’t want to see souls or the reapers collecting them. The guy she’s loved from a distance for years moves away without saying goodbye. So yes, she’s nursing a serious heartbreak. It’s no wonder love is the last thing on her mind when Echo storms into her life.

The chemistry between them is mind-blowing.The connection defies logic. Even better, the souls leave her alone when he is around.

Too bad Echo is the poster boy for everything she hates in a guy—hot, beautiful,and cocky. He is also a soul reaper. A Grimnir.

The very beings she wants out of her life. Maybe normal is overrated because Cora wants it all. Answers. Love. A life

My Review:

You should all start off by knowing while this is kind of a novella, it is both full length and continues from where we left off in Immortals (which you can read HERE). If you are following the series, don't let the .5 next to the book number deter you. You want to read this, and you will need to read this to understand what is going to be happening in book 3 Seeress set to come out sometime this April.

Now onto the actual review. This story was completely in Cora's POV, and, unfortunately, extremely predictable. I think that was it's biggest draw back. It followed mud of the same pattern found in Runes and I found self getting a little bored. And poor Eirik... for a deity (god?) he sure does get the shortest straw over and over... doesn't he? My only other complaint is that the relationship between Echo and Cora seemed a bit unrealistic. Echo is kind of an ass... all the time, but Cora doesn't see much fault in him. Not even Raine saw much fault in him. The only time Cora was ever mad at him is when Echo plays the moral high ground and doesn't give her the attention she wants. I would have liked to see an instance where Cora had a series moral conflict about her relationship with him like we saw in Runes. 

Of course, the story wasn't all bad. It was far from bad because it did have a lot going for it. For example, we do get to find out a lot of whats going on in Cora's mind set and how she feels about things that are going on in the other world around them. We get to learn a bit about what happened while she was in PMI (like why she was there) and the after effect Maliina had on her. As an added bonus, we get to see Raine and Torin's relationship dynamic from another point of view, which I found very intriguing. The story does branch a little into the New Adult spectrum, because there is a little bit of mature content in there, but it is brief and is vague on major details, so it kind of hits a blurred line of where YA stops and NA begins. Saying that, seeing that type of dynamic and writing style in this series only benefitted the story and is probably the main reason the book received a 4 star rating rather than a 3.5 star one. 

Overall, Grimnirs is an obvious must-read for the Runes series lovers out there. It was well written, but the plot did suffer in its predictability. It was great to see the character development in this book that we might not have seen if it had remained in Raine's POV. From what I hear, Ednah Walters is going to continue with this new trend and post novellas (which will actually be full length books) in different POVs of the other secondary characters in the book following the release of a book in Raine's. I am both excited and wary of this. Excited to learn everybody's story, wary because I have a feeling that the same love story pattern might be put on repeat. Only time will tell!