Showing posts with label Dystopian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dystopian. Show all posts

Thursday, 25 January 2018

Review: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's TaleThe Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire – neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs.

Brilliantly conceived and executed, this powerful evocation of twenty-first-century America gives full rein to Margaret Atwood's devastating irony, wit and astute perception.

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

Review: Ink And Bone by Rachel Caine

Ink and Bone (The Great Library, #1)In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.…

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn…

Wednesday, 29 June 2016

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent (Divergent, #1)
Sixteen-year-old Tris is forced to make a terrible choice. In a divided society where everyone must conform, Tris does not fit.
So she ventures out alone, determined to discover where she truly belongs. Shocked by her brutal new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her.
The hardest choice lies ahead.

Thursday, 2 June 2016

Review: Flawed by Cecilia Ahern

Flawed (Flawed, #1)
You will be punished…

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation where she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found flawed.

In her breathtaking young adult debut, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society where perfection is paramount and flaws lead to punishment. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.


Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Review: Beyond The Fence by Jen Minkman

Beyond the Fence (The Dartmoor Chronicles #1)
"People turn their heads when I walk past them. They know where I’m going. My feet almost stumble on the uneven pavement of the cobblestoned street when I sense Mark’s gaze on me. This is the only time he takes notice of me, and it’s for a reason I wish didn’t exist. All the other times I want him to see me, his eyes skip right over me. I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothes to these people. A potential threat.
I already know what will happen once I get to the Clinic. I’ll have to talk to that clueless psychiatrist so he can measure my possibly violent tendencies. Because that stigma has been on me ever since I turned twelve and the person I loved most in the whole wide world was Purged from this city.
My name is Sarah, and my father was a violence offender."
Return to the world of the Island series and meet Sarah, resident of Dartmoor City. She's bitter, she feels trapped, and she wants nothing more than to venture beyond the fence that's keeping her in. She just has no idea how to. But when she discovers a secret that President Jacob would rather keep under wraps, Sarah is forced to make a move for freedom - because she meets a guy who is even more of a prisoner than she is, and he desperately needs her help.

Wednesday, 2 March 2016

Review: The Deep by Jen Minkman

The Deep (The Island #3)
‘The world is never-ending.
I never realized just how much space there is – how far and wide the water around our island stretches out. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I may have believed that a second Wall ran around Tresco, containing the infinite waters so we wouldn’t all wash over the edge and plummet down into the depths.’
Leia and Walt are on their way to the Other Side, where the legendary land of Cornwall awaits them. Tony, their new friend, has told them that all wars of the past have been forgotten and the citizens of Bodmin and Dartmoor live in peace. People adhere to the tenets of an old religion that preaches forgiveness and non-violence.
However, Walt and Leia soon discover that even a peace-loving, ideal society like this one may have its flaws. While on a forbidden trip to Exeter, the old city of their ancestors, the two Islanders discover more about the new world than they ever bargained for.
Secrets run dark and passions run deep in this thrilling conclusion to the Island novella series.

Tuesday, 23 February 2016

Review: The Waves by Jen MInkman


The Waves (The Island, #2)The first memory I have of my grandfather is of a moment that we share together.I’m sitting on his knee looking out over the harbor. Grandpa is smoking a pipe. He points at the horizon. “Look, Walt. Our ships are out there. And one day, another even more beautiful ship will appear at the horizon. A mighty ship to take us all away. And Annabelle will be at the front deck with open arms, inviting us all to join her on board.”“Why don’t we sail to her ourselves?” I want to know.“Because she promised she would come,” granddad replies. “And in that promise we trust. It’s only the Unbelievers who think they can do everything themselves. They have no faith in the Goddess.”
Walt lives in Hope Harbor, an island community that has put its trust in salvation from across the sea. The townspeople wait patiently, build their ships to sail out and welcome the Goddess, and piously visit the temple every week. Horror stories to scare their children are told about the Unbelievers on the other side of Tresco.
But not all is what it seems. Walt has questions that no one can answer, and when his best friend and cousin Yorrick is killed in an accident, he digs deeper to find out the truth about the origins of Hope Harbor’s society… and the secrets of the temple.
Return to the world of The Island and discover what Walt's life was like before and after he met Leia!


Tuesday, 16 February 2016

Review: The Island by Jen Minkman



I walk toward the sea. The endless surface of the water extends to the horizon, whichever way I look.Our world is small. We are on our own, and we only have ourselves to depend on. We rely on the Force deep within us, as taught to us by our forefathers. If I were to walk westward from here, I would come across a barrier – the Wall. Behind it, there are Fools. At least, that’s what everyone says.I have never seen one.
Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors.
But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?
Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?

Sunday, 31 January 2016

Spotlight and Review: Ultraxenopia by MA Phipps

Ultraxenopia (Project W.A.R. #1)Don’t stand out. Blend in. Remain invisible. Those are the rules I lived by—the rules I thought would keep me alive.

I was wrong.
Wynter Reeves is a law-abiding citizen of the State, a willing conformist whose daily life is haunted by terrorism and oppression. With the constant threat of death hanging over her like a shadow, she forces herself to live by a strict set of rules, all in the hope of ensuring she is never noticed. However, on her twenty-first birthday, as she prepares to take the placement exam that will determine her future within society, she begins to show symptoms of a rare and debilitating illness—ultimately attracting the attention of the State. Taken into the custody of the feared research facility known as the DSD, her worst nightmare becomes reality.
Ripped away from the life she knew, Wynter is forced to become the test subject of the mysterious Dr. Richter. Through him, she learns the true and terrifying nature of her condition: a disease called Ultraxenopia.

Monday, 16 November 2015

Review: Fire of Fryslan by Jen Minkman


Fire of Fryslan (Tales of Skylge, #3)Friend turns to foe,Light fades to darkness,but a new Fire is burning in the night.
Aska, Tjalling, Sytse, Enna, and Royce have fallen into the hands of Mayor Edison. The corrupt leader of Brandaris knows what they have done, but what he doesn't know is what motivated them. In a desperate attempt to regain power over the island, he uses the five rebels as bargaining chips to force the Skelta to reveal who is part of the Skylger resistance. Anglian girl Melinda and Skylger girl Dani team up to free their friends from prison, but their task won't be an easy one.
Meanwhile, some of the Sirens from the deep visit the indigenous Skylgers to help them to reclaim what was once theirs. And when Tesla and his assistant set sail for the island of Skylge to come to the people's aid as well, all bets are off. Edison will not give up his family's position of power without a fight, and his struggle will involve Anglians, Skylgers, and Sirens alike.
The War of Currents is about to be fought, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Wednesday, 3 June 2015

Review: Homecoming by Kass Morgan

Homecoming (The Hundred, #3)Weeks after landing on Earth, the Hundred have managed to create a sense of order amidst their wild, chaotic surroundings. But their delicate balance comes crashing down with the arrival of new dropships from space.

These new arrivals are the lucky ones - back on the Colony, the oxygen is almost gone - but after making it safely to Earth, GLASS's luck seems to be running out. CLARKE leads a rescue party to the crash site, ready to treat the wounded, but she can't stop thinking about her parents who may still be alive. Meanwhile, WELLS struggles to maintain his authority despite the presence of the Vice Chancellor and his armed guards, and BELLAMY must decide whether to face or flee the crimes he thought he'd left behind.

It's time for the Hundred to come together and fight for the freedom they've found on Earth, or risk losing everything - and everyone - they love.

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

Review:The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

The Forever Song (Blood of Eden, #3)
Vengeance will be hers.
Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.
Monster.
Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions - her creator Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost - the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, her triumph will be short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.
THE FINAL HUNT IS ON.

Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes
AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching and pulse-pounding read. Set in a rich, high-fantasy world with echoes of ancient Rome, it tells the story of a slave fighting for her family and a young soldier fighting for his freedom.

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.


Friday, 8 May 2015

M-Day by DT Dyllin Review

M-Day (M-Day, #1)
Before the day… before M-day… people used to read books and watch movies about zombies. They used to dress up as zombies; pretend to kill zombies… Basically, zombies had become a part of popular culture in a very unexpected way.
The highly anticipated zombie apocalypse never came.What did come was much worse than any city over run with shambling corpses after brains and flesh. A virus… a virus that only affected men. Nobody knew what caused it, or where it had come from, not that it really mattered. It's here and there’s no going back.Maxine was one of the lucky ones--she got out alive. She and her friends banded together to survive the new desolate conditions left behind by the virus. When a supply gathering mission goes awry, Max and company are left with no better choice than to trust a group of uninfected military men. No longer on the run from her infected husband, Max discovers there could be worse dangers for her on the horizon… Like losing her heart to her mysterious savior everyone calls Zee.

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Review: Light of Lorelei by Jen Minkman

Light Of Lorelei (Tales of Skylge #2)
There is no light without shadow,
no truth without sacrifice,
and no way to keep us all from harm.

Aska wants more out of life than being a temple girl in the St. Brandan Convent of Brandaris. Her life-long service to the Baeles-Weards is the only reason she wasn't killed immediately after birth – she is atoning for the sins of her parents. Her Anglian mother and Skylger father were never supposed to love each other and have children, and Aska is reminded of her low status and illegitimacy by her fellow temple girls every day.
But then she meets Tjalling, a young, mysterious, and charming Skylger fisherman who doesn't seem to care that he is not supposed to befriend her. Soon after they meet, the island falls prey to the largest Siren attack in the history of Skylge and Aska is beginning to doubt the wisdom of the priests. If the Light in the Tower really keeps the people from harm, why are the Shriekers taking more and more lives each day?
Adding to her inner turmoil is a secret meeting with Royce and Enna, who want to recruit her into their resistance movement, an unexpected confession from her best friend Melinda, and Aska’s realization that she likes Tjalling a bit too much for her own good.
Soon, she is going down a road there is no turning back from, forcing her to make choices that shake the foundations of her world.
For Aska, there is only one true choice – to bring the truth to light.

Friday, 30 January 2015

Graduation Day

Graduation Day (The Testing, #3)
Graduations Day by Joelle Charbonneau




Synopsis

In a scarred and brutal future, The United Commonwealth teeters on the brink of all-out civil war. The rebel resistance plots against a government that rules with cruelty and cunning. Gifted student and Testing survivor Cia Vale vows to fight. But she can't do it alone. This is the chance to lead that Cia has trained for - but who will follow? Plunging through layers of danger and deception, Cia must risk the lives of those she loves - and gamble on the loyalty of her lethal classmates.

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Independant Study

Independent Study (The Testing, #2)
Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau




Synopsis

In the series debut The Testing, sixteen-year-old Cia Vale was chosen by the United Commonwealth government as one of the best and brightest graduates of all the colonies . . . a promising leader in the effort to revitalize postwar civilization. In Independent Study, Cia is a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas—and though the government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal horrors of The Testing, Cia remembers. Her attempts to expose the ugly truth behind the government’s murderous programs put her—and her loved ones—in a world of danger. But the future of the Commonwealth depends on her.  

Thursday, 18 December 2014

Author Spotlight: Nadège Richards


About The Author

Born in New York and raised in Pennsylvania, Nadège has traveled to five other states and two countries, but aspires to travel the world someday. Forever a lover of art and all things Lit., she hopes to obtain knowledge from her writing, rather than popularity. She wrote her first novel about aliens and goats in the 8th grade and has had a passion for story-telling ever since. Her friends and family are her biggest inspiration, and the occasional cup of coffee. She enjoys being part of the Indie community and sharing her stories with the world.

Follower links


Thursday, 27 November 2014

ARC Review: Sound of Sirens by Jen Minkman

Sound of Sirens (Tales of Skylge #1)
An ancient land protected by a Tower of Light, its people ever tempted by Siren song, and a girl who falls for the wrong boy.
On the island of Skylge, electricity is only for the Currents – the rich ruling class who once came from across the sea and brought the holy fire of St. Brandan to Skylge. Ever since, the light in the Brandaris Tower has protected the islanders. Heeding the Siren's call will drown your body and steal your soul, but the sacred light in the Tower will chase the merfolk away.
When Skylger girl Enna welcomes her brother back from a long sea voyage, he gives her a special present from the mainland – an electronic record only playable on a Current device. The problem is that Royce Bolton, Current heartthrob and the town’s most gifted pianist, wants it too. After she stubbornly refuses to sell the LP featuring his favorite artist, he suggests sharing the record by secretly meeting up in his private summer house. Taken aback yet thrilled, Enna agrees – and discovers that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Current society and the history of Skylge. Why do the Sirens tempt the islanders to give themselves up to the sea? And where does the Currents’ monopoly on electricity really come from?

While struggling with these questions, Enna begins to fall for Royce, risking everything to be with a guy who is clearly wrong for her. She will learn that the sound of Sirens isn’t the most treacherous thing out there to haunt her dreams.
(The setting of Tales of Skylge is loosely based on the Dutch island of Terschelling, or Schylge in the island’s dialect. Although the names and places in this book will sound very familiar to people living on the island, the characters and events are, of course, entirely fictitious in nature.)


Saturday, 8 November 2014

Review: Day 21 by Kass Morgan

Day 21 (The Hundred, #2) No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -- until now.
It's been 21 days since the hundred landed on Earth. They're the only humans to set foot on the planet in centuries...or so they thought. Facing an unknown enemy, Wells attempts to keep the group together. Clarke strikes out for Mount Weather, in search of other Colonists, while Bellamy is determined to rescue his sister, no matter the cost. And back on the ship, Glass faces an unthinkable choice between the love of her life and life itself.
In this pulse-pounding sequel to Kass Morgan's The 100, secrets are revealed, beliefs are challenged, and relationships are tested. And the hundred will struggle to survive the only way they can -- together.