Review: Scorched by Mari Mancusi

Title: Scorched
Series: Scorched
Placement in Series: 1/?
Author: Mari Mancusi
Format: Hardover
Blurb:

Trinity
Don’t leave me here... It starts with a whisper. At first Trinity thinks she’s going crazy. It wouldn’t be a big surprise—her grandpa firmly believes there’s a genuine dragon egg in their dusty little West Texas town. But this voice is real, and it’s begging for her protection. Even if no one else can hear it...

Connor
He’s come from a future scorched by dragonfire. His mission: Find the girl. Destroy the egg. Save the world.

Caleb
He’s everything his twin brother Connor hates: cocky, undisciplined, and obsessed with saving dragons.

Trinity has no idea which brother to believe. All she has to go by is the voice in her head—a dragon that won’t be tamed.

Review:
I must admit, I'm a sucker for dragons. Scorched had a very interesting mix of contemporary, fantasy, time travel/futuristic, and semi-apocalyptic. Each genre is lightly incorporated, which I think worked well. There were a few parts that fell flat for me, but I put that blame in the fact that I let myself put the book down for a while once I got partway through, and so I became disconnected. I started reading Scorched in early fall and put it down for a while because I started to get lazy, then picked it up again a few days ago, so I didn't get as into the story as I would have liked. However, I still loved the story, and can't wait for the sequel. I'm curious to see the direction it will take (and what the cover will look like, because this cover was absolutely gorgeous!).

I don't think I'm the biggest fan of the love triangle in this one, but at the same time I myself am not sure which brother I like more. I think I prefer them as friends to Trin than as more, because I wasn't sold on the romance. It doesn't take away from the story, however, so I'm okay with it.

I'm very interested in seeing the brothers' relationship develop. Trying not to spoil here, but I do want to see how they get along/don't get along in the sequel, and how everything that happened affects their siblingship. I foresee some forgiveness, but lots of hostility and lack of trust, and am looking forward to reading how that all plays out.

Overall, a very fun book with quite an interesting premise

Rating: 4/5

Review: Mortality by Kellie Sheridan

Title: Mortality
Series: The Hitchhiker Strain
Placement in Series: Book one.
Author: Kellie Sheridan
Format: e-galley

Quick Synopsis:

The first book in the Hitchhiker Strain series, Mortality tells the story of what happens when a virus wipes out most of the population, turning humans into zombies. It is told from two very different perspectives. We are first introduced to Savannah, who is living in her school with what is left of her community. The virus has already wiped out the city, and those who survived are doing whatever they can to fight back against the new strain of zombies - ones who seem to be capable of intelligent thought. When Savannah and her friends are sent on a mission for medical supplies, their 'camp' is attacked my a zombie hoarde, forcing the four teens to track down their friends, families, and neighbours. Zarah's story starts from the beginning, showing how the zombie strain began, separating her from everyone she loves. She and her school crush are surviving on their own until they hear of a cure, and seek it out, only to be separated (and I will leave it at that because spoilers). Savannah's and Zarah's stories intertwine as they both seek out the rumoured new cure to the virus.

My Thoughts:

This book is seriously amazing. It really drew me in right from the start. The POV switch worked really well as the stories of Zarah and Savannah slowly (but greatly paced) intersected. I did not realize how attached I was to the characters until the spoilery spoiler spoils I will not detail because spoilers. ;)

Savannah's story took up a good chunk of the book as she and her friends fight zombies, track down their community, and are separated a few times. I really enjoyed her character; Savannah is first introduced to us when she is bored of being stuck in the school, and wants to put her training to use. She is a very strong character with incredible loyalty to her friends. What drives her throughout the book is her attempt to find and save one of her friends. Though she could be incredibly impulsive, I really admired her determination and her focus. She never allowed herself to be swayed from what she wanted. She stuck to her plan, even if it went against what her companion wanted.

Zarah's story was equally interesting. I don't want to talk too much about hers, because it is very spoilery. Her character was great as well, though. She was not as impulsive or as kick-butt as Savannah, but when things got tough, she did everything she could to fight against forces out of her control. I really felt for her, and felt myself drawn to her story slightly more than Savannah's. Her story took a turn I did not expect, and I commend the author for the direction Mortality went towards the end. It was amazing, and very well-executed! I'm intrigued to see where book two takes us.

Definitely a book I would recommend! Especially if the whole apocalyptic/ zombie/ virus strain medley of genres is something you enjoy. Lots of suspense and action in this one, and the pacing and writing was fantastic! I look forward to reading the second Hitchhiker Strain book!

Fun fact: Mortality is a self-published book by a new Canadian author, which I found out after I read the book. So, bonus!
Thank you to Kellie Sheridan and Netgalley for providing me with an e-galley for review.

Rating: 
5/5 - Full of suspense, adventure, and action. The well-executed ending twist and cliffhanger has me looking forward to the sequel!
Recommended for anyone who loves post-apocalyptics - especially the zombie/virus types.

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You can visit Kellie Sheridan's website here.

Buy the e-book and paperback of Mortality on Amazon here or the Kobo e-book here.

Review: Yesterday

Title: Yesterday
Series: Yesterday
Placement in Series: 1/?
Author: C.K. Kelly Martin
Format: Hardcover
Blurb:

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas's life. Until that world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother blames it on the grief over her father's death, but how does that explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy? When Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can't get him out of her head. She's sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they've never met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths, the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days may be numbered. Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her visions, and the time and place they really came from.

Review:
(Only slightly spoiler-y -- nothing that would ruin the book or anything major with the plot, I promise)

A mix of time-travel sci-fi, apocalyptic, and Canada (!!!!), Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin was a fascinating read. It opens up with a prologue that pulls the reader right into the action, with the main character, (futuristic) Freya, in serious distress (her brother has just been taken from her through sickness, and she is being taken somewhere unknown with her mother for protection).
The book then takes us to the life of 1985 Freya, who has just moved from Australia to Canada to start over after her father died. Except nothing feels right to Freya; she has all of these memories from her past, but feels no connection to them. Then on a trip to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum, for all of you non-Canadians/Torontonians/GTA'ers), she catches sight of someone who seems very familiar to her, someone who she is sure she knows, but cannot place her finger on how or why or from where.

The first few chapters take us through Freya's mind, as she seemingly becomes crazier and crazier - getting headaches, passing out, stalking a familiar-looking guy... But once she musters up the courage to confront the guy, things take a tail-spin downhill as Freya is forced to go on the run just as everything is finally clicking into place.

I found myself pulled so far into the book that one minute I would look at my clock and it would be 11pm (I'm a night reader), and what would feel like only a few minutes later I would look again and it would be past 2am (I didn't mean to be a morning reader!). The action and suspense of Yesterday dragged me in. Though I was certain I knew what had happened to Freya (I don't think it was supposed to be much of a secret to the reader), I found myself gripping the pages wanting to know what would happen to Freya, how she would remember, if she would remember, and how she would convince Garren (the aforementioned familiar-seeming guy) what she felt was true.

This book was an interesting mix of suspense and action and mystery, with just the right amount of romance. Yes, there is romance (Of course!). The relationship between Garren and Freya is gradual, which made it entirely believeable (no insta-love here!). And a nice plus for those of you sick of romance in YA - it far from overshadows the rest of the story. Natural, gradual relationships are always the best (and most believeable), and Yesterday has just that (because let's be honest: who doesn't want a little - or a lot of - romance in their reads?).

What I found most interesting was the future C.K. Kelly Martin dreamed up for this book. It is not until the midpoint of Yesterday where the reader finally learns (and Freya remembers) where she came from. While it is all thrust upon the reader at once, I enjoyed the few pages of world-building. They were well-written and intriguing, and since they were thrust upon Freya, it made sense they were thus thrust upon the reader. I have seen reviews where other readers did not enjoy the dumping of information all at once, but I found no issue with it, for it made sense with the story. The future world the author built seemed entirely realistic (although I pictured this future being a lot more far off then under eighty years, but you never know!) and threatening, which is what I love when it comes to dystopias and (post-)apocalyptics.

There is one small thing I want to mention/point out that really impressed/pleased me with this book. One character (Garren) has two moms (married to each other), and it was written in in the best way. There was no special mention, no paragraph or anything about how this was unnatural to some or anything. It just was. He has two moms and Freya and every other character accepted it without question. I admit I was waiting for the paragraph I assumed would follow the mention of his moms to say something about the fact that he has no dad or how this happened or anything (especially considering that part of the book took place in what used to be the USA before the UNA-United Nations of America) was formed, and gay marriage is still not legal/accepted everywhere in the States yet. If there's one thing we can hope the future takes from this book, it's that amount of acceptance. And I just wanted to point that out because I thought it was awesome.

And of course I have to add in a little bit about the book taking place so close to where I was born, raised, and still live. I have read some books that take place in Canada, but this is the only I've read that's taken place so close. And even though I did not exist in 1985, it was fun reading about street names and subway stations and places (Eaton Centre and The ROM most specifically) I've been to/know of. That's something I'll miss when it comes to the sequel (date TBA, title: Tomorrow).

Rating: 4/5
I recommend this book for: Highly recommended for those of you who love action, sci-fi, and apocalyptics. Heck, even if you only like 2/3 of those elements.

Where you can buy this book:

In Canada:
Indigo/Chapters/Coles

In the USA:
Barnes and Noble

Internationally:
Amazon
Book Depository (free shipping world-wide)
For your e-reader:
Kindle
Kobo
Nook