Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Although there are several elements in this story that are reminiscent of other YA favorites (Red
Rising, The Hunger Games, even Divergent), I feel quite strongly that Aveyard has made Red Queen strong on it's own.  There are many reviews claiming hatred and insinuating minor plagiarism, but can you honestly tell me that you can't see any equal similarities in The Hunger Games, Divergent, and even Red Rising?


Those who have nothing but disparaging remarks for this book are entitled to their own opinions.  I won't tell them they're wrong for not liking exactly what I like.  But we, as consumers of the written word, need to get over this "special snowflake" issue.  Yes, Mare is special.  So was Katniss.  And Katsa.  And Darrow.  And Percy Jackson. So was Jane Eyre, for that matter.  Books, series especially, would suffer greatly were the main character to not be "special."

The writing is strong here: the characters aren't quite what you expect, the plot is propelled by an excellent main character, the pacing and action are on point, and the ending is set up nicely for the next installment. Victoria Aveyard has given us a strong beginning to this trilogy.  I am looking forward to the next piece of it.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard: Love it or hate it, it's up to you.  But I encourage you to read it because I thought it was great.  Available now from libraries and booksellers.

Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Seeker is a bit slow and dull in the beginning.  And by beginning, I mean 200 pages or so.  I found the four narrations to be quite scattered from each other and had a hard time drawing everything together in my mind. 

Making cohesive connections between Quin, John, Shinobu, and Maude was difficult for most of the book.  As a reader you have to sort through four pasts leading up to the point of intersection, and then through four perspectives of events after they join to become the same story line.  I had a hard time relating to any of them, but I am a fan of books in which I don't particularly like the characters.  So I kept going.

There weren't really an plot twists that I hadn't already been anticipating.  The writing, however, is solid.  The characters might be hard to relate to, but they are all dynamic, evolving people who push the novel forward.  I do think that Seeker would have benefited from being shorter (i.e., not including every tiny detail of everyone's pasts, making readers wonder when this story is going to continue, never minding where it's going).  I did like it, though.

Yes, I did like it.  The action, when it finally happens, is intense and quickly paced leaving us on a cliffhanger and wondering where the story could go in the next installment.  I"ll be keeping an eye out for the sequel. 

Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton: Get through the slow parts and it's definitely worth it.  Available from libraries and booksellers now.

Deviation (Clone Chronicles #2) by Heather Hildenbrand

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

 

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this installment of the Clone Chronicles.  There were parts that were excellent and full of action.  And there were parts that didn't make a lot of sense, story-wise, and were overflowing with cheese-tastic dialog, characters that had been dynamic suddenly falling flat, and a sense of being rushed through the reading.

Ven really irritated me this time around.  She was whiny, irrational, and not herself.  Which sounds odd to say about a fictional person, but it felt almost as if the book were narrated by someone else posing as Ven.  Several scenes seem to be just tossed in for the sake of inclusion rather than any actual pertinence to the story line. 

Regardless, Deviation is still the second part of this series and I feel it necessary to read if only because you'll miss a few important things and might be confused during the third installment.  You might not be a fan of this one individually, but to get a sense of the encompassing plot of the entire set. 

Deviation (Clone Chronicles #2) by Heather Hildenbrand: A must if you're going to read the series.  Otherwise mass chaos and confusion will ensue.  Available from libraries and booksellers now.