Review: Illuminae

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 599
Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads is illuminating): This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

My Thoughts: It took me a long time to read this novel. I'm not sure why. Kristen kept ranting about how great it was. They are like...crazy though, so I try not to listen to anything they say ever. In this case, they were...I can't say right but I will say they weren't exactly wrong. This book was fantastic! Okay, actually this book was terrifying. It was the scariest thing I've ever read. I can't even tell you. I'm trying, I swear. Basically, this AI and the disease...it's all the scariest thing ever. It's the worst. By worst, I mean the best. 

I thought that the format of the book would make me hate it. The typography was pretty weird. Yet, it was also perfect. With any other book it wouldn't have worked but it worked. The images gave it a personality, which is ironic in this case because of the crazy computer. 

The only problem I really had with this novel was that you get so little description of setting and the characters. You really get thrown into the action and don't get the time or place described to you so you are left wondering what the hell is happening. I wish I would have gotten a little bit more information. I'm not sure how it would have been written into the story as it was but it might have helped a little bit. Luckily, after a little while it didn't matter. I caught up enough. Some more description might have also made me care about the characters earlier in the story.

I'm sorry this review is poopy. I tried, I swear. It's just good. That's all I can say. You have to give it a chance.

Basically, this novel is fantastic and beautiful and written in such a cool way that you should run to pick it up right this moment. Do it before the crazy computer makes you. 

This review took me forever to write and that makes me very sad because this novel really is fantastic and you should check it out but don't read it before bed because it's actually scary.

The Lost Heir

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Andi O'Connor
Format: Paperback - The author sent me this book and requested an honest review
Pages: 392
Rating: 6.5 out of 10 (I'm not sure when we started adding .5's but they stand)

Summary (She's a Goodreads author!): Always a meticulous planner, Darrak Hunter leads a dull life until his dreams become plagued with visions of a peculiar and distant world. Waking up to a brilliant purple sun looming ominously in the sky, Darrak is met by a mysterious violet-eyed sorcerer who whisks him away from the struggling Earth.

Thrown into the clutches of a foreign world where magic is reality and not all is as it seems, Darrak embarks on a journey where he is forced to come to terms with his past and do what he can to shape the future. Accompanied by a talented swordswoman, a prince, and a beautiful young sorceress, he must overcome cunning plots of treachery and betrayal to discover the strength to stand against a destructive black magic and an enemy who is a master at deception.

Thoughts: Sooooooo, I'm having a hard time coming up with a good opening sentence for this review; let's just jump in. I love contractions. I'm a big fan of the vernacular. I like when I am able to connect with how the characters are talking. When they are very proper I have a hard time connecting. Of course, when they are supposed to be that way, it's different. In this case however, Darrak grew up on earth. He should talk like every other college student on earth. He distracted me. Also, the dialogue seemed rather forced at times. The dialogue was mostly in large paragraphs. There was lots of explaining. It was necessary but seemed off. The vocabulary, however, was awesome! I say that as mine is terrible, go figure!

The characters were all unique. I love the unique names and personalities. There were a lot of them though and at times it as hard to remember who was who. The only character that I had a problem with was Mionee. She started out true to who she was but as the story progressed I felt that she gave in to the pressure placed on her. Either that or she changed who she was too quickly. It was like character whiplash.

I think that since this was a series the beginning could have moved slower. Time could have been taken to make it seem more realitic. The extra time could have been used for Darrak to believe. He did believe but it was too quickly to be real. The ending made the book seem more like serial than a series. I feel like the next one is more to be continued than one after another. The books in this series will be very connected to one another. This is definitely not a stand alone novel if you begin to care for the characters like I did. 

I love that this took place somewhere not earth. I also love the magic aspect and the language because that shows real dedication to the story and world. This world is worth the read and it was easy and quick so it isn't real a waste of time. It's a fairly simple story to follow though it may turn out to be long.

In Conclusion: This is a quick and easy read. It was fun and I love great other worlds that I can get lost in. Characters in this story are their own people and are each special. I care about a lot of them now. Yay love for fictional characters!

Keep in mind that this isn't necessarily a love story so don't expect one (though there is some).