Review: Plus One by Elizabeth Fama

Title: Plus One
Author: Elizabeth Fama
Genre: YA, alternate reality, romance
Publisher/Publication Date: FSG / April 8, 2014
How Did I Get It? Gifted
Format? Hardcover

Synopsis from Goodreads: It takes guts to deliberately mutilate your hand while operating a blister-pack sealing machine, but all I had going for me was guts.

Sol Le Coeur is a Smudge—a night dweller in an America rigidly divided between people who wake, live, and work during the hours of darkness and those known as Rays who live and work during daylight. Impulsive, passionate, and brave, Sol deliberately injures herself in order to gain admission to a hospital, where she plans to kidnap her newborn niece—a Ray—in order to bring the baby to visit her dying grandfather. By violating the day-night curfew, Sol is committing a serious crime, and when the kidnap attempt goes awry it starts a chain of events that will put Sol in mortal danger, uncover a government conspiracy to manipulate the Smudge population, and throw her together with D’Arcy Benoît, the Ray medical apprentice who first treats her, then helps her outrun the authorities—and with whom she is fated to fall impossibly and irrevocably in love.

Set in a vivid alternate reality and peopled with complex, deeply human characters on both sides of the day-night divide, Plus One is a brilliantly imagined drama of individual liberty and civil rights—and a compelling, rapid-fire romantic adventure story.

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After months of wanting and hoping to get my hands on this book, it finally happened! I was eager to get started, to see if it would measure up to 1) my expectations, and 2) that gorgeous, drool worthy cover. And… I’d have to say yes and no to those questions. Judging by the first half of the book, it’s a definite no. But the second half is really where the magic happens, and it made my forcing myself to read the first 150 pages all worth it. So in the end, I give this book a 3.5 – not quite the mediocrity of a 3, but not quite the “ooohhh that was fab” of a 4.

I have one big issue with the book that lowered the rating so much: the pacing. I’m sorry I keep using this quote in my reviews, but IT APPLIES EVERYWHERE OKAY?? I felt like I was “on a roller coaster that only goes up.” That tension and waiting of “what’s going to happen” just took forever, and it really started to drag after a while. I couldn’t find myself to care about Sol just yet, and the whole baby thing was a wee bit far-fetched for me. Normally I’d forgive it, but with the suspension of belief AND the slow plot put together, I got a bit grumpy after a while.

But! After I got over my griping and pushed past the halfway mark, that’s when things really picked up. I’d say I started to settle in and truly enjoy it once they got out of the city – that’s when it all started heating up. Gone was the senseless arguing (for pages upon pages) about WHAT to do with the baby, and in moved the tension and politics and romance-on-the-run. It sucked me right in and the last half flew by without me even noticing that I had reached the end of the book. AND THAT END. DAMMIT. I WAS NOT PREPARED. The high-brow reader in me was cheering for the realism and logic of the entire ending, but the sappy reader in me was shouting NO STAHP IT’S NOT MEANT TO END THIS WAY.

But the logic in me is winning out and so I say: well done with that ending! It was hard, but it was real, and it was bitterly hopeful at the end. I think it’s honestly the best way it could have ended, and I’m almost wishing there was just one more book – just a duology – so I can see what happened maybe a few years in the future. Maybe just a novella?? SOMETHING. And I think that shows how much I grew on these characters – by the end I was latched on to their fates, and couldn’t handle it if something went wrong. *shout out here to D’Arcy – nerdy dude who saves the day through intelligence and scheming rather than suddenly growing a set of biceps*

So while I’m glad that I was gifted this book, since I’m not over my head in love with it, I still think it was worth a read. I may even read it again someday, when I’m feeling really patient and can focus on unravelling the slow build of the explosiveness. If you’re on the fence about it, I’d say wait for an ebook deal or a few months for the paperback. In the end, my thoughts can be summed up in this way:

UNEXPECTED FEELS

My Final Rating:

ARC Review: Paradigm by Ceri A. Lowe

Title: Paradigm
Author: Ceri A. Lowe
Genre: YA, dystopian, post-apocalyptic
Publisher/Publication Date: Bookouture / June 13, 2014
How Did I Get It? NetGalley
Format? eARC

Synopsis from Goodreads: What if the end of the world was just the beginning?

Alice Davenport awakens from a fever to find her mother gone and the city she lives in ravaged by storms – with few survivors.

When Alice is finally rescued, she is taken to a huge underground bunker owned by the mysterious Paradigm Industries. As the storms worsen, the hatches close.

87 years later, amidst the ruins of London, the survivors of the Storms have reinvented society. The Model maintains a perfect balance – with inhabitants routinely frozen until they are needed by the Industry.

Fifteen-year-old Carter Warren knows his time has come. Awoken from the catacombs as a contender for the role of Controller General, it is his destiny to succeed – where his parents failed.

But Carter soon discovers that the world has changed, in ways that make him begin to question everything that he believes in. As Carter is forced to fight for those he loves and even for his life, it seems that the key to the future lies in the secrets of the past…

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Let me put up a little disclaimer right here: the average rating for this book on Goodreads is 4.0. So everything I say hereafter is my personal opinion, and I’m most likely pulling a black sheep in my lower rating of this book.

To sum up my thoughts: I felt neutral. Really, I didn’t actively dislike the book, or actively love the book. I just felt very bland about the whole thing. And really, I was… bored. I hate saying that, but I just couldn’t connect with the story at all. The best way for me to do this is by itemizing it all – bullet points save the day!

The Bad: 

• I’ve already said this, but let me elaborate: I couldn’t connect with the story. It just seemed a bit flimsy, and it progressed without enough detail. As far as the plot, I felt like I was Gus Waters – “I’m on a roller coaster that only goes up.” It was this building and building of tension and foreshadowing and nothing really happening until the last 75%. The first 50% was the worst; it was all exposition that really didn’t even give me a good idea of what the setting or problem was. And maybe that works, since this is a trilogy, so there will be a lot of open ends to deal with later on, but at least for Paradigm, I was uncomfortable and moderately irked.
• Paradigm is written in dual POV, 3rd person. I struggle with dual POVs in general, but can adapt to them if needed. But throw in the 3rd person narration, and I was completely disconnected. I just didn’t care for either of these characters – Alice or Carter. The only impression of Carter that I got was that he was really arrogant, so I definitely liked Alice a bit more.

There isn’t much else that was negative, but those two hold so much weight for my final rating that it really sunk everything down. But here’s what was good:

• The concept. I’m always for a good dystopian, despite the whole “the genre is dead” thing. Lowe had a great idea going – pondering the question of surviving versus living. It’s a personal favorite question of mine, and I really liked seeing it brought about the way it was.
• I was a bit blind-sided by the ending; I didn’t see it coming. Kudos to Lowe for leading me on with a red herring and ripping it all out at the very end!

Overall, I just couldn’t get into the story. It was less of a “something really bugged me” and more of a “it’s not you, it’s me” sort of situation. In this case, with Paradigm, I definitely recommend reading it for yourself, or at least reading some other reviews before making your final decision. Like I said – I have a feeling I’m black sheeping over here!

My Final Rating:

ARC Review: Essence by Lisa Ann O’Kane

Title: Essence
Author: Lisa Ann O’Kane
Genre: YA, post-apocalyptic, dystopian
Publisher/Publication Date: Strange Chemistry / June 3, 2014
How Did I Get It? Netgalley
Format? eARC

Synopsis from Goodreads: Autumn escaped a cult, but now she realizes she’s fallen into another.

Growing up in San Francisco’s Centrist Movement, sixteen year-old Autumn Grace has always believed emotions—adrenaline, endorphins, even happiness—drain your Essence and lead to an early death. But her younger brother’s passing and a run-in with a group of Outsiders casts her faith into question.

Ryder Stone, the sexy, rebellious leader of the Outsiders, claims Essence drain is nothing more than a Centrist scare tactic — and he can prove it.

Autumn follows Ryder to his Community of adrenaline junkies and free spirits in Yosemite National Park, and they introduce her to a life of adventure, romance, sex, drugs and freedom. But as she discovers dark secrets beneath the Community’s perfect exterior, she realizes the more she risks in search of the perfect rush, the further she has to fall.

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From page one, I had this sinking feeling that Essence and I weren’t going to be best buds. And then by page 50, I was just hoping we could be acquaintances. Up and until 90%, we could have been classified as mortal enemies. To say finishing this book was a struggle would be an understatement. BUT – that last 10%, that redeemed the novel, even if only a little bit. It’s going to be easiest for me to bullet point this review:

The Bad:

• Autumn jumped out of one cult, but then fell into another cult, one that was merely the counter-movement to the Centrist cult. You would think that if this girl had run from one manipulative leader, she would have learned to at least watch for another. But, she fell right in, turning on all of her friends and falling headlong into the new theology.
• I can handle a love triangle. Truly, I can. But not when it’s done this way. Autumn fell hard for one boy, who was, I have to say, an awesome dude. How often do you read about a YA guy who will stop a girl’s sexual advances when she’s drunk? Not often! But it was really the other guy that had me grumbling most of the way. He was clearly manipulative, he purposely got Autumn drunk,  then gave her MDMA when she had no idea what it would do, then they had their little moment and fireworks went off. Um, hello – what happened to sober is sexy? He was redeemed slightly in the end (thank God he figured out that he was blindly following the leader and stood up for himself), but I still distrust him, and don’t like how their relationship was romanticized when it was really unhealthy.
• The second half was basically glorified tight-roping. There was other stuff going on, but I read a lot about Autumn’s progress on how far she could walk and if she would make it over the cliff where if she fell it was certain death.
• The timeline was really unclear. The characters kept mentioning the Great Quake in San Francisco, which made me think of the 1900s quake. But they all had really advanced technology for the 1900s, and I couldn’t figure it out at all. Finally, a character, about 40% into the book, mentioned that it was 2033. After that, it all made so much sense.
• This part was a personal issue, and maybe it was just me interpreting it wrong, but I felt like the author was really down on a certain character. The girl was a talented tight-roper, she had blonde hair, was friendly with everyone, and was “too nice.” Every time she was mentioned, it was with a really negative tone, as if being blonde and friendly equates to witchy and distrustful.

The Good:

• The last 10% brought about a really important theme and realization for Autumn. It was highly satisfying to see her come to terms with the polar opposites of the two cults, and trying to find a balance between neutrality and abundance.

Ultimately, this book was a struggle to get through. If it hadn’t been focused so much on the romance, and the main character used a bit more logic, I think it would have gone a lot better. The concept was really intriguing though, and I almost wonder if O’Kane will write a sequel. There were a lot of open ends (both for plot points and characters) that I would have loved to see resolved. Ultimately, I wouldn’t say don’t read it, but for me personally I just couldn’t settle into the story and fully enjoy it.

My Final Rating:

ARC Review: A Girl Called Fearless by Catherine Linka

Title: A Girl Called Fearless
Author: Catherine Linka
Genre: YA, dystopia, romance
Publisher/Publication Date: St. Martin’s Griffin/May 6, 2014
How Did I Get It? Netgalley
Format? Ebook

Synopsis from Goodreads: Avie Reveare has the normal life of a privileged teen growing up in L.A., at least as normal as any girl’s life is these days. After a synthetic hormone in beef killed fifty million American women ten years ago, only young girls, old women, men, and boys are left to pick up the pieces. The death threat is past, but fathers still fear for their daughters’ safety, and the Paternalist Movement, begun to “protect” young women, is taking over the choices they make.

Like all her friends, Avie still mourns the loss of her mother, but she’s also dreaming about college and love and what she’ll make of her life. When her dad “contracts” her to marry a rich, older man to raise money to save his struggling company, her life suddenly narrows to two choices: Be trapped in a marriage with a controlling politician, or run.

Her lifelong friend, student revolutionary Yates, urges her to run to freedom across the border to Canada. As their friendship turns to passion, the decision to leave becomes harder and harder. Running away is incredibly dangerous, and it’s possible Avie will never see Yates again. But staying could mean death.

From Catherine Linka comes this romantic, thought-provoking, and frighteningly real story, A Girl Called Fearless, about fighting for the most important things in life—freedom and love.

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Where do I even begin… I can sum up my experience with this book in one word: disappointment. Linka had such a stunning, mind-blowing concept that I just about danced when I was approved for the egalley. But as soon as I got to reading, I had this sinking feeling in my stomach. It just didn’t go where I was hoping, at all. Rather than a thought-provoking exploration of sexism and womens’ rights in a unique dystopian world, as I was hoping, I read a shoddy attempt at a Romeo and Juliet type story. The focus was almost entirely on the romance after the first 15%, and that’s where it all went downhill for me.

Basically me after 50%

When Avie is bought Contracted by an asshat-who-shall-not-be-named, she immediately rebels and refuses to be brought under his sadistic, sociopathic control. To which I thought: “HELL YES GIRL YOU TAKE HIM DOWN.” And then Avie considers running, at the urging of Yates — AKA “he who thinks with his other brain” — and whoosh there goes my hope for an actual rebellion.

Here’s what I had hoped for: Avie marries the bastard, pulls a Margaery Tyrell, and takes the Paternalists down from the inside. Trophy wife turned into a certifiable badass. Politics, seduction, manipulation, shadows and assassins and general sneaking about.

See those eyes? Take. You. Down. In a full skirt and flawless makeup.

Here’s what I got: 250 pages of pure selfishness on Avie’s part, complete and utter neediness, zero character development, and insta-love to the nth degree. Oh, and a somewhat love triangle with a country bumpkin who I actually kind of liked, but turned out to be a cardboard prop to provide some drama. Political standoffs and violent protests that actually gave me the flavor of rebellion I was hoping for, but were quickly forgotten as the romance and selfishness swept in again.

How is this girl called Fearless — that’s my question. The only fearless character was Ms. A; I would have loved to read this book from her POV, or even Sparrow’s (though she’s borderline crazy so I’m not sure if it’s fearlessness or just insanity).

Ultimately the plot became so convoluted and hard to follow, and yet nothing happened. Seriously. They sat in some hut in a frozen tundra and schemed pointlessly. The ending, meant to be heroic and inspiring, was really just an unexplained character 180 and a too-easy conclusion to the story. I’m not even sure it was a conclusion; I smell a sequel.

By the 80% mark, I was forcing myself to finish the book. If I wasn’t so close to the end, I would have DNFed. But I treated myself to dinner, sat in the restaurant, and didn’t leave until I had flipped to the last page. I’m sure I treated the patrons of Chipotle to a variety of disgruntled expressions, including but not limited to: puffed cheeks, pursed lips, furrowed eyebrows, eye rolls, and facepalms.

The dangers of reading in public: your face may look like this

I will say this, though: the Goodreads average for this book is 4.11, so it may just be me. Ultimately, it just wasn’t what I was looking for from this concept, but it may suit someone else’s desires perfectly. If you want a star-crossed romance in the middle of a misogynistic society, mixed with daring escapes and death-defying plans, then you may enjoy it. But for me, hoping for behind the scenes/in the shadows/subtler plot twists, it just didn’t work.

My Final Rating: