Book Review: The Body Electric

The Body Electric by Beth Revis

Release Date: October 6th, 2014

Format of Novel: E-book/On the Nook

Publication: I think it was self published? Not sure.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: The future world is at peace.

Ella Shepherd has dedicated her life to using her unique gift—the ability to enter people’s dreams and memories using technology developed by her mother—to help others relive their happy memories.

But not all is as it seems.

Ella starts seeing impossible things—images of her dead father, warnings of who she cannot trust. Her government recruits her to spy on a rebel group, using her ability to experience—and influence—the memories of traitors. But the leader of the rebels claims they used to be in love—even though Ella’s never met him before in her life. Which can only mean one thing…

Someone’s altered her memory.

Ella’s gift is enough to overthrow a corrupt government or crush a growing rebel group. She is the key to stopping a war she didn’t even know was happening. But if someone else has been inside Ella’s head, she cannot trust her own memories, thoughts, or feelings.

So who can she trust

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Recently, I've been trying to expand my reading tastes and try stuff that I'm not normally into like science fiction. Beth Revis is a very popular author and I do enjoy her Paper Heart series since it was very honest and enjoyable to read. So as a result, I figured why not try out her other books. I've had this one on my nook for a while and gave it a whirl. Meaningless to say that I fairly enjoyed it. The characters were interesting to say the least with each of them having their own goals following this sudden take over of the upcoming battle between the government and the uprising rebel group. Etta sparked by interest because she is a stubborn one and has that powerful passion to go out of her way to save her mother and uncover the mysteries of her father's death and this unknown group. The other characters were cool as well, but at the same time, I didn't really connect with them. They were there for one second, then they weren't, especially during the action packed scenes. And the main guy character, Jack, was annoying as heck. I wanted to deck him in the fact for Etta. He was annoyingly set on being with Etta and at times I wanted him to be more mysterious and cunning instead of 'oh here you go, I screwed up your past!' to Etta.

As for the plot, it was the typical dystopian plot with the world going to shit and the main female protagonist is the source of saving the shitty world. I enjoyed the idea of Revis' world building and the scientific elements for this book. However, I felt that it was lacking and the pacing and the short chapters made it a little difficult to the overall concept of this book. I'm not sure if this was because I didn't read her Across the Universe trilogy before I picked this one up or what. Who knows.

Even though I wanted something more from this book, it was still an generally decent book to read. It was filled with action and passion. The characters were easy to follow and enjoyable and the plot was on point for a person that enjoys books within the sci-fi genre. I wish I can that I fell in love with it, but I didn't. But, I did enjoy it.

What are your opinions about this novel? Let me know in the comments below. :) Bye for now my fellow wolves!

Book Review: Nirvana

Nirvana: Written by J.R Stewart

Release date: November 10th, 2015

Publisher: Blue Moon Voices/Publishers

Format of Novel: ARC from netgalley/Nook

Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary (from Net galley): When the real world is emptied of all that you love, how can you keep yourself from dependence on the virtual?

Larissa lives in a world where the real and the virtual intermingle. After the supposed death of her soul mate, Andrew, Larissa is able to find solace by escaping to Nirvana, a virtual world where anything is possible – even visits with Andrew. Although Larissa knows that these meetings are not real, she cannot shake her suspicion that Andrew is indeed alive. When she begins an investigation of the Hexagon, the very institution that she has been taught to trust, Larissa uncovers much more than she ever expected. Her biggest challenge, however, remains determining what is real – and what is virtual.

(I received this arc on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

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Hey fellow wolves, I'm back! So wanna hear my lame excuse for not reviewing before we start?.. No.. (it involves work..) Okay. Let's get started. Nirvana by J.R Stewart was a book that I never lean towards because of the sci-fi elements. Normally, I'll read sci-fi books if it has another significant genre to it, but not when its alone. I'm not a fan of it, but I try to get into them. Unfortunately, this is not one of those books that will spark a love of the genre for me. Especially if it takes me almost three months to finish...

While this book shows promise because of the idea of the Nirvana's virtual world, the overall execution was lacking in my opinion. The characters were at a stand point, which annoyed me. I didn't enjoy them, but yet I was pulled into them because of Nirvana and how Larissa was going to find her soulmate Andrew. Sreg was someone I enjoyed the most out of the rest of them because he had a development that stood out more than Larissa's or the other characters. I felt sorry for him in certain parts, but like the others, I almost lost interest in him in the middle.

The major problem I had with this book was the plot. I wanted it to have more drama, more action from Larissa and the 'antagonists', but I almost didn't finish the book because I got so bored with it. I wanted more and perhaps the next two books will develop further on, but this book had the debut blues where the idea was fantastic, but lacking in character development and plot growth.

Overall, I gave this book 3 stars on good reads because of the concept and the potentinal I see growing when the other books come out. If you are a fan of virtual worlds in books, then I recommend this to you. If not, then try something new like I did and read it for fun. Happy Howling guys, I'll be back with another review for you tomorrow.

Book Review: Scarlet

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2): Written by Marissa Meyer
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Format of Novel: Paperback
Summary (from goodreads): ~Second book to the series~ Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner
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~Warning; there are some spoilers if you haven't read the first book yet~

As promised, this is the review for the second book of the Lunar Chronicles. Upon reading this, I got into more than the first book for a couple of reasons. One-- I love the red riding hood fairy tale and two, I loved Scarlet and Wolf. Both of these characters shined and they truly took everything to the next level to the series in my eyes. Now before I give my intake on how much I enjoyed these two, allow me to go about the other parts of the story.

In the exciting sequel to the Lunar Chronicles, the story takes place right after Cinder is arrested for her crimes in the palace and in a brand new location (fictional Paris/France). By doing this, readers were allow to experience the continuation of older characters with their struggles and see the beginning parts of how the newer characters are forced into Cinder's now longer quest to defeat the Lunar queen. Unlike the previous story, I thought that in terms of pacing, Scarlet was faster in some areas because of the increased action with Wolf and Scarlet as they go to rescue Scarlet's grandmother. And because of it, it made me enjoy the concept of the two newest characters as a whole along with Captain Throne and how they are now a part of the action. This book in general was a enjoyable read and it makes me really want to go buy Cress right now! Any who, speaking of the new characters, let's talk about them.

Since the story was based on the concept of the Little Red Riding Hood, Marissa Meyer focused on the developments of Scarlet (red riding hood) and Wolf (the big bad wolf) as key characters for the series. I truly loved these two as characters because of how much different they yet she kept their roles as those specific characters in check. I loved Scarlet for being spunky yet gentle and passionate about everything in life. She made me want to hug her and connect with her so she wasn't so alone in her quest since you know... (For those who read this will get what I mean here). Yet she also made me feel like I should run away from her since I don't want her shooting me with that gun xD. As for Wolf, man he is one handsome cutie pie. He's strong, angry, passionate, yet so shy and unsure about everything. I loved him more than Prince Kai and Throne. Wolf in my eyes is exactly want Cinder and her rag-team of awesomeness needs to get the ball rolling so I was in awe to see him becoming a key member of the group.

In general, this story was an excellent installment for the Lunar Chronicles. It will keep you wanting more, the character are very memorable, and writing is beautiful. If you haven't picked up the first two books of this series, please do so if you are looking for new stories to read. Happy Howling!

Book Review: Cinder

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1): Written by Marissa Meyer
Release Date: January 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Fewiel and Friends
Format of Novel: Hardcover
Summary (From Goodreads): ~Book one to a four book series~ Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

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Before I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, I never knew there was another modern 're-telling' of the epic fairy tale Cinderella, until I read this book. At first I wasn't too keen about the sci-fi concept towards this novel, however once I did a little research and read the book after it was release, I fell in love with the story. The story is about a young teenage mechanic named Cinder and her quest to figure out the mysterious lunar queen after encountering the young and very handsome Prince Kai. In her world, you get to experience it in different sectors, but in this first book, the story focuses on New Beijing and the current plague that is hurting the majority of the population. The setting in the story was told a very interesting way. In my head, it felt like i was dealing with a sci-fi world with all of the mentioning of the futuristic technology, but when I read this, I quickly fell in love with the narrative and the characters. Those couple of things made the story more interesting and entertaining.

Out of the characters so far in the series, I have to say that Cinder is really one of the main favorites in my heart. I loved how she is a outsider to many people, yet she is willingly to do anything to fulfill her younger sister's dying wish and figure out the meaning behind the Lunars. She shows the qualities of a female protagonist with intelligence, bravery, girly awkwardness, but she is also sensitive, emotional and so forth. 

One of the only things I didn't like about her was the way she let people abuse her verbally. I mean, yes I do understand the idea that she has to muster the hidden courage and get that push out of her, but I think by the time she does take action where the climax in the story takes place-- she is already a weaker character in my eyes and things are deadpan towards the end. However, its also makes sense since we do get to Cinder becoming a even more stronger character as the series progresses. Sometimes I just don't enjoy the concept of the first book to a series being at odds with the climax and falling action, but in the end I had to remember that this story is based on a different idea of Cinderella so your gonna see the missing shoe, the epic escape and everything else that is related to the story.

Over all, I enjoyed Meyer's debut and I just read the second book, Scarlet. I recommend this series for those that really enjoy these particular modern fairy tales. Marissa Meyer is a powerful, energetic, and talented writer. You will learn how to feel inspire with her amazing world building and crave more as each page is turned.

Stay tune for tomorrow for my review on Scarlet! Happy Howling my fellow wolves.