Review: The Diamond Thief by Sharon Gosling

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Publication Date: 1 October 2014
Publisher: Capstone Switch Press
ISBN: 9781630790028
Age Group: Young Adult, Teen
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Romance, Steampunk
Source: NetGalley
Lootability: ****

No one performs on the circus trapeze like 16-year-old Rémy Brunel. But Rémy also leads another life, prowling through the backstreets of Victorian London as a jewel thief. When she is forced to steal one of the world’s most valuable diamonds, she uncovers a world of treachery and fiendish plots.
Meanwhile, young detective Thaddeus Rec is determined to find the jewel and clear his name. Will Thaddeus manage to rescue the jewel? Or is it really Rémy that he needs to save?

Review: The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera,

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Publication Date: 8th July 2014
Publisher: Hachette
ISBN: 9780349139500
Age Group: Adult readers
Genre: Coming-of-age, adventure
Source: NetGalley
Lootability: ****

Prudencia Prim is a young woman of high ideals, intelligence and achievement, with an extensive knowledge of literature and several letters after her name. But when she accepts the post of private librarian to a wealthy bibliophile in the secluded village of San Ireneo de Arnois, she is unprepared for what she will encounter there. Her employer, a philosopher and intellectual, is dashing yet contrarian, always ready with a stinging critique of her beloved Austen and Alcott. And the neighbours are also capable of charm and eccentricity in equal measure, determined as they are to preserve their singular little community from the outside world.
Thoughtful, gentle Prudencia might have hoped for friendship in San Ireneo but she didn't expect to find romance - nor did she expect the course of her new life to run quite so rocky, to offer challenge and heartache as well as discovery, joy and delicious regional pastries. The Awakening of Miss Prim is a delightfully unusual and entertaining tale of literature, love and the search for happiness.

The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins

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Publication Date: 29th October 2013
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
ISBN: 9780373778195 
Age Group: Young adult/Adult
Genre: Romance
Source: eBook shelf
Lootability: ****

Honor Holland has just been unceremoniously rejected by her lifelong crush. And now—a mere three weeks later—Mr. Perfect is engaged to her best friend. But resilient, reliable Honor is going to pick herself up, dust herself off and get back out there… or she would if dating in Manningsport, New York, population 715, wasn't easier said than done. 
Charming, handsome British professor Tom Barlow just wants to do right by his unofficial stepson, Charlie, but his visa is about to expire. Now Tom must either get a green card or leave the States—and leave Charlie behind. 
In a moment of impulsiveness, Honor agrees to help Tom with a marriage of convenience—and make her ex jealous in the process. But juggling a fiancé, hiding out from her former best friend and managing her job at the family vineyard isn't easy. And as sparks start to fly between Honor and Tom, they might discover that their pretend relationship is far too perfect to be anything but true love….

--Goodreads summary

Honor Holland is the sister who lives up to expectations, the daughter her Father can rely on to look after the vineyard. She’s sensible, practical and hard-working, has been in love with her best friend for the last fifteen years, and can hear her ovaries shrivelling.
When the man Honor loves overlooks her, in favour of her best friend, she throws herself into the search for love, marriage and babies. Offered a green card marriage of convenience with English Man Tom Barlow, Honor decides she’s ready to move on from Brogan, and have a family.

What I Liked: I was wary going in to Perfect Match, after reflecting on her character in The Best Man. She was prickly, grumpy and somewhat unsympathetic until the end of Best Man, and I was concerned she wouldn’t become any easier to like.
I don’t know what I was worried about. Kristan Higgins wouldn’t throw an unlikable heroine at me, all her characters are wacky, quirky and remarkably likeable. Honor is stiff, confident and demands respect from everyone she encounters. She loves her family, loves her work, and loves her terrible terrier.

Tom was charming, if incredibly goofy, with a big heart who is perfect for Honor, forcing her to let her hair down and take a chance to have fun. He has his flaws, drinking, jealousy, and an inferiority complex.

My favourite characters in the Blue Heron series, are Pops and Goggy. Their tough love, argumentative nature and the general stubbornness - recognisable in anyone over 60 who refuses to acknowledge the benefits of change - make them both adorable and frustratingly familiar.

 Also, John Holland’s new relationship? Saw it. Knew it. Love it!

What I Didn’t Like: Brogan and Dana. Yueck. Worst couple ever. Worst people ever. I don’t see what the appeal is there at all. Brogan is selfish, egotistical (one of my favourite words), and arrogant. Yes, yes, he’s all smitten kitten with his new love but she’s horrid and if he prefers her to Honor then he’s stupid as well. Does his ‘charming’ and outgoing personality make up for his seriously oblivious nature? No.

Then there’s Dana. There is something to be said for having a friend like Dana, someone who isn’t worried about sugar coating things, and always has a comeback to a bully. Unfortunately we’ve all had a friend like Dana, a toxic friend who will happily turn on you when your services as a friend are no longer necessary.

The Perfect Match was a sweet romance about finding your place, and embracing your true self. I look forward to the third instalment of the Blue Heron series.

Author Review: Kristan Higgins

Hello again, Raiders!

I've been neglecting the site shamefully all year. I finished University at the end of 2011, and have been trying to find work in my industry since I returned from my American holiday (that same year).

I spent a lot of last year working part time and trying to find work in journalism or publishing. Unfortunately, my priorities have been finding full-time work.

In March I completed an internship with Universal Magazines in Melbourne. I wrote articles for Complete Weddings Melbourne, Poolside Showcase, and Choosing a School Victoria.

In better news, I started fulltime work at the ANZ branch of Oxford University Press in July.
I'm working in the General division dealing with English Language Teaching, Dictionaries, Children's, Trade and PNG school books.
It's been great fun, and I've decided to go to night school next year to complement my work experience. To that end, I've decided to get back to blogging. I'm still reading like crazy, and I should share that love!

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Age Group: Yound Adult/Adult
Genre: Romance
Source: eBooks/Library
Lootability: ****

I've stolen Kristan's personal trivia from her website in lieu of a bio or book blurb. I follow Kristan on facebook and she's so quirky, I hope this will represent her better:

Nickname: Mrs. Jeter
Favorite drink: Iced coffee,  heavy on the half-and-half

Phobia: Birds, especially hummingbirds. It's a phobia; it doesn't have to make sense.
Met husband while standing in line; engaged six weeks later, married within the year. Some say trollop, some say true love.
Daughter is named for famed American author and Provincetown bar. Son is named for Irish saint and the coolest 80s pop icon ever.
Favorite book of all time: Gone With the Wind. I've read it 14 times. Twelve of those times were in a row. 
Secret talent: Whistling. Well, I guess it's not so secret any more, is it? I also make excellent toast.

ARC Review: Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

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Publication Date: December 18th, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
ISBN: 0778314189
Age Group: Young/New Adult
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Source: Provided by the publisher through NetGalley
Lootability: ****
Buy the Book

Hunted, Killed—Survived?
As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.
Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.
War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

About the book – beware, spoilers from Touch of Power

Scent of Magic is the second book in Maria V. Snyder’s  Healer series. Avry, the last healer in the Fifteen Realms, was kidnapped and forced into service in order to save Prince Rynn – except, somewhere along the way Avry and her kidnappers formed a comradery and Avry volunteered her healing powers in an effort to save her world.

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

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Publication Date: February 8th 2005
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing
ISBN:  0689865384
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Adventure/Action/Dystopian
Source: Borrowed
Buy The Book
Lootability: ****

Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

I've really gotten into dystopian literature in the last year or so, and while I've been searching for more, I kept hearing about Westerfield's Uglies trilogy. Having read his novel So Yesterday a few years back, I decided to give it a try.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

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Publication Date: 18th October, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic Press
ISBN:  054522490X
Age Group: Young Adult/New Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Folk Lore
Source: Bookshelf
Buy The Book
Lootability: ****

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen

The concept of the waterhorse fascinates me and I was greatly appreciative to learn of the Scoprio Races.  Generally, the waterhorse is just one small facet of a story of the otherworld, and I never expected them to feature so heavily in a novel.
It's a delightful change from the infinitely long line of vampires, werewolves, zombies and pixies featuring in Young Adult literature. Not that Stiefvater didn't tackle werevoles well in The Wolves of Mercy Falls.

The Gathering Darkness by Leigh Bardugo

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Publication Date: 7th June, 2012
Publisher: Indigo
ISBN:  1780621108 
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Source: Bookshelf
Buy the Book
Lootability: ****

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.
Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?
The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.
But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

For the longest time this book felt like it was the book on everyone’s lips, and it was so out of my reach! I recently decided I’m only buying books on sale (my bank account bleeds books) and since I couldn’t find it at any of my local book shops, I was going to have to wait.

Last week however, something interesting happened. I saw The Gathering Darkness on the shelf at Dymocks. Noticing it was by Leigh Bardugo (and under the impression she’d only written one book), I picked it up and…viola!

I’d been looking for Shadow and Bone, while the Australian edition was published under a different title.

Spy in the House by Y.S Lee

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Publication Date: 6th April 2009
Publisher: Candlewick
ISBN:  0763640670
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Crime/Mystery/Adventure
Source: Bookshelf
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Lootability: ****

Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan (and thief) Mary Quinn is surprised to be offered a singular education, instruction in fine manners — and an unusual vocation. Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls is a cover for an all-female investigative unit called The Agency, and at seventeen, Mary is about to put her training to the test. Assuming the guise of a lady’s companion, she must infiltrate a rich merchant’s home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the household is full of dangerous deceptions, and there is no one to trust — or is there? Packed with action and suspense, banter and romance, and evoking the gritty backstreets of Victorian London, this breezy mystery debuts a daring young detective who lives by her wits while uncovering secrets — including those of her own past

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

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Publication Date: October 25 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN:  1599906449
Age Group: Children
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Source: NetGalley
Lootability: ****

Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie's favorite days. That's because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it's up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle's never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom. This delightful book from a fan- and bookseller-favorite kicks off a brand-new series sure to become a modern classic

Moonglow by Kristen Callihan

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Publication Date: August 1st 2012
Publisher: Forever
ISBN:  1455508586
Age Group:
Genre: Young Adult/Adult
Source: NetGalley
Lootability: ****

Once the seeds of desire are sown . . .Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy's door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors . . .
Their growing passion knows no bounds . . . Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her own startling secret, and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul,

Timepiece by Myra McEntire

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...
Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?
Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results. 
Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

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Publication Date: 12 June 2012
Publisher: Egmont USA
ISBN:  1606841459
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
Source: ARC provided by Netgalley
Lootability: ****

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

One hour to rewrite the past . . . 
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back. So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

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Publication Date: 14th June 2011
Publisher: Egmont USA
ISBN:  1606841440
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
Source: Library
Lootability: ****

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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Publication Date: October 1st 1986 (first published 1860)
Publisher: Arrow
ISBN:  0099419785
Age Group: Young Adult/ Adult
Genre: Classic
Source: Bookshelf
Lootability: ****

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

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Publication Date: May 1st 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN:  0007442912 
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian
Buy the Book: 
****

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

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Publication Date: February 27th, 2007
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN:  0786839171
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Epic Fantasy/Adventure/Supernatural
Source: Library
Lootability: ****

Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high-schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts. Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: He is Weirlind; part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At the head of this magical society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game. A magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death, The winning house ruling the Weir. As if his bizarre magical heritage isn't enough, Jack finds out that he s not just another member of Weirlind, he's one of the last of the warriors at a time when both houses are scouting for a player. Jack's performance on the soccer field has alerted the entire magical community to the fact that he's in Trinity. And until one of the houses is declared Jack's official sponsor, they'll stop at nothing to get Jack to fight for them.

Rhapsody: Child of Blood by Elizabeth Haydon

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Publication Date: 1999
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associations
ISBN:  0812570812
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Source: My bookshelf
Lootability: ****

Rhapsody is a woman, a Singer of some talent, who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half-breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhapsody soon finds herself dragged along on an epic voyage, one that spans centuries and ranges across a wonder-filled fantasy world-- a world so real you can hear the sweet music of Rhapsody's aubade and smell the smoldering forges deep within the Cauldron.

Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce

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Publication Date: October 1st, 2010
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
ISBN:  0545136059 
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Source: Library
Lootability: ****

Digger thrives as a spy and sneak-thief among the feuding religious factions of Gerse, dodging the Greenmen who have banned all magic. But when a routine job goes horribly wrong and her partner and lover Tegen is killed, she has to get out of the city, fast, and hides herself in a merry group of nobles to do so. Accepted as a lady's maid to shy young Merista Nemair, Digger finds new peace and friendship at the Nemair stronghold--as well as plenty of jewels for the taking.But after the devious Lord Daul catches her in the act of thievery, he blackmails her into becoming his personal spy in the castle, and Digger soon realizes that her noble hosts aren't as apolitical as she thought... that indeed, she may be at the heart of a magical rebellion.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

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Publication Date: November 2nd, 2012
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN:  0316090530  
Age Group: Young Adult - Warning - Mature Content
Genre: Coming of Age
Source: Library
Lootability: ****

Some schools have honor codes.Others have handbooks.Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.
Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

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Publication Date: February 28th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN:  006197806X
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian/Romance
Lootability: ****

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, push, push, push, like Raven taught me to do.The old life is dead.But the old Lena is dead too.I buried her.I left her beyond a fence,behind a wall of smoke and flame.

What a frightening thing love can be, whirring and swirling around us, throwing off our judgement and hitting us when we least expect it. It's scary to be so vulnerable - terrifying even. Lauren Oliver captures this fear and turns it into a nightmare where love is a highly infections and highly dangerous disease. The moment you turn 18 you receive the treatment.

In Delirium Lena discovered that life was not worth living without freedom and was willing to sacrifice almost anything to get it, in Pandemonium she must accept the only sacrifice she never wanted to make and build a life for herself in the Wilds.

What I Liked: Once again the science of Oliver's world calls for recognition. She has created an arena for mass hysteria while creating an ideal well worth fighting for. In Delirium, I loved the way romances were twisted to turn the sweetness into selfishness, and the way attraction is frowned upon; it's a very puritan, adult society. In Pandemonium further emphasis is put on the Book of shhh! and the DFA feature heavily in Lena's new life, in one of her new lives. The DFA tell us what we need to know about this new world and Lena's new life. It continues the propaganda and takes it to the stage, trumpeting the need and the necessity of receiving the cure. 

I liked best of all the alternating chapters between then and now, between Lena picking up the ragged pieces of her life in the Wilds after the events of Delirium, and the new, polished 'cured' life she lives. 

What I Didn't Like: I feel like the Julian bandwagon missed my stop because I had to run to catch up. It took a long time for me to like him in his role as political icon and in his role as a love interest, and I hadn't liked Alex much so I'm not sure why he couldn't step into that role. A book like this needs a love interest. Then just as I caught up and was getting a leg up, the whole bloody wagon crashed into a brick wall. 

It took a long time for Julian to blossom and I still think it had more to do with Lena's devotion to him, than his character, that bought me around. 

I'm not sure how I felt about the cliff hanger ending. I kind of saw it coming, and the cliche hurts me, but Oliver has been so creative so far that I don't want to doubt her now. Requiem will tell me what I need to know.

Raiding Bookshelves Rating

Cover Conversations: Not great, it doesn't really catch my eye or any particular essence of the story.