Top Ten Tuesday #93 - Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful gals cover at The Broke & The Bookish. This week's topic is -

Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession

Having been away from home for a few weeks there's more than ten books that have come into my possession all at once! I love coming home to book post...

An Inheritance of Ashes - Review

Read the synopsis for this on Edelweiss and was hooked, can't wait to get started on it!  

Sorcerer to the Crown - Review Copy

Have seen this mentioned everywhere so jumped at the chance to review it. This is my sort of fantasy!

Ink & Bone - Bought

It's about books, it's by Rachel Caine, no more to be said... 

Birdy - Review Copy

Love books about friendships, especially ones that aren't all they appear to be! Hoping to start this one this week!

Nest - Won

I've seen this one mentioned a lot recently recently so was thrilled to win a copy from Viv at Serendipity Reviews! 

Blood Song - Audiobook

I have read this as a hard copy although Goodreads says I haven't... Giving audiobooks another try (they always send me to sleep) so this is one for the train.

We'll Never Be Apart - Review Copy

Love YA pychological thrillers and this one features twins! Another book for the read soon pile.

Uprooted - Bought

Even though I own a review copy on Kindle I had to buy a hard copy! Probably a contender for book of the year, everyone should read this.

The Wanderers - Review Copy

Having really enjoyed Dark Days I've been stalking Edelweiss waiting for this one to go up!

Letters To Zell - Kindle

Letters To Zell was my Kindle First freebie for June through Amazon. Already read it and loved it! An interesting take on fairy tales.

Review & Giveaway (US Only): The Unhappening of Genesis Lee

The Unhappening of Genesis Lee - Shallee McArthur

Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Release Date: November 18th 2014

ISBN - 

Seventeen-year-old Genesis Lee has never forgotten anything. As one of the Mementi - a small group of genetically-enhanced humans - Gena remembers everything with the help of her Link bracelets, which preserve memories perfectly. But Links can be stolen, and six people have already lost their lives to a memory thief, including Gena’s best friend.

Anyone could be next. Which is why Gena is less than pleased to meet a strange but charming boy named Kalan who claims that they’ve not only met, but that Gena knows who the thief is.

The problem is, Gena doesn’t remember Kalan, she doesn’t remember seeing the thief, and she doesn’t know why she’s forgetting things - or how much else she might forget. As growing tensions between Mementi and ordinary humans drive the city of Havendale into chaos, Gena and Kalan team up to search for the thief. And as Gena loses more memories, they realize they have to solve the mystery fast.

Because Gena’s life is unhappening around her.

The Unhappening of Genesis Lee is definitely one of the most original books I've read in 2014! Genesis Lee is one of the Mementi, a group of people who remember everything through their links, beads made of wood, iron & other materials which contain all their memories and ensure that nothing is ever forgotten. The Mementi live in Havendale, a town created by Mementi but in recent years people known as Populace have moved in too. Populace are people who still have their memories in their brains and like us mere humans forget things over time.

Gena gets caught up in the mystery of the Link Thief after her best friend Cora is targeted and a strange boy calling himself Kalan approaches her the next day. The only problem is, Gena can't remember meeting Kalan even though he seems to know a lot about her. The Link Thief is stealing links and people are losing whole swathes of memories, some to the point where the trauma is too much they end up permanently damaged. Gena realizes that she can't have been a victim of the thief as she has no links missing, this means only one thing though... Someone is deliberately siphoning specific memories from her. What follows is a race to find out who the Link Thief is and who is siphoning her memories before it's too late - for everybody...

It's hard to talk about Genesis Lee without giving away too much of what happens but suffice to say I didn't figure out what was going on or who who was doing what until quite close to the end. Gena seemed to be different to a lot of the Mementi, she was trying desperately to break out of the mould and Kalan was only too happy to help. The budding romance between them was sweet, it didn't take over the storyline but became an integral part of it. One thing I didn't like was the way Genesis was called Gena, I kept wanting to call her Gen or Gene but that is a personal niggle!

There was so much going on but essentially The Unhappening of Genesis Lee is a mystery with a dystopian setting, well developed characters (some of whom I liked more than others), a unique premise and some wonderful writing. I'm looking forward to seeing what Shallee McArthur does next!

Follow the FFBC The Unhappening of Genesis Lee and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Shallee McArthur originally wanted to be a scientist, until she discovered she liked her science best in fictional form. When she’s not writing young adult science fiction and fantasy, she’s attempting to raise her son and daughter as proper geeks. A little part of her heart is devoted to Africa after volunteering twice in Ghana. She has a degree in English from Brigham Young University and lives in Utah with her husband and two children.

She is represented by Hannah Bowman of Liza Dawson Associates. Her YA sci fi novel, THE UNHAPPENING OF GENESIS LEE, debuts from Sky Pony Press Nov. 4, 2014.

And because people always ask, her name is pronounced "shuh-LEE." But she answers to anything that sounds remotely close.

Giveaway is open to US/CAN Only | Must be 13 or older to enter 

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In the quote teasers/cards you'll find a word in yellow and that's the secret word you have to enter in the rafflecopter.

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Review & Giveaway: Dark Days by Kate Ormand

Dark Days
by Kate Ormand
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Release Date: June 3rd 2014

Synopsis:

The future world has been divided into sectors--each the same as the other. Surrounded by thick steel fences, there is no way in and no way out. Yet a cyborg army penetrates each sector, picking off its citizens one by one, until no one is left. Behind the sectors' thick walls, the citizens wait to die. Few will be chosen to survive what's coming; the rest will be left behind to suffer. A new world has been created, and its rulers are incredibly selective on who will become a citizen. They want only those with important roles in society to help create a more perfect future. 

Sixteen-year-old Sia lives in one of the sectors as part of a family that is far too ordinary to be picked to live. According to the digital clock that towers high above her sector, she has only fifteen days to live. Sia has seen the reports and knows a horrific death is in store for her, but she is determined to make the most of her final days. Sia refuses to mourn her short life, instead promising herself that she'll stay strong, despite being suffocated by her depressed mother and her frightened best friend. Just when Sia feels more alone than ever, she meets Mace, a mysterious boy. There is something that draws Sia to him, despite his dangerousness, and together, they join a group of rebels and embark on an epic journey to destroy the new world and its machines, and to put an end to the slaughter of innocent people.

I can't remember when I first heard about Dark Days but I do know that it was on the author's blog and I was hooked as soon as I heard the premise. Knowing you only have 15 days to live? Intriguing, and I couldn't wait to find out more.

Dark Days is the story of Sia and her family who live in a 'sector' of uniform housing where a giant countdown in red ticks down the days you have left to live. If you're deemed worthy a plane flies in and whisks you away to the New World, created by a man named Damien Hoist who only wants the best for his brave new world. Rather than just give up Sia creates a 'bucket list' which, being a teenager, includes 'kiss a boy/fall in love' along with things like climb the only hill in the sector and swim in the lake. Her parents both handle the imminent demise of their family in their own ways, her mother sits in front of the television watching the 'Reports' becoming more depressed by the day whilst Sia's father Len starts to disappear for hours on end every day. Thanks to this Sia is pretty much left to her own devices, banned from seeing her best friend whose father thinks her relationship will jeopardize their chances of being chosen she meets a boy, Mace, and makes a new friend, Lilly.

Dark Days moves at a swift pace, the book itself is quite short, so there is a lot crammed in and something happening on every page. Sia goes through the hideous bad luck of finding her mother dead a few days into the book, whether from suicide or wasting away from not eating or moving is unclear but this ultimately pushes Sis into making some of the extremely unwise decisions she makes. After meeting Mace that old chestnut 'insta-love' rears its ugly head, given that they only have 15 days left this is almost excusable but it was still a bit unbelievable for me. Mace seemed to be the wrong fit for Sia, there's another a bit further on in to the book who has known Sia all of her life and he seemed to have much better chemistry with her than Mace. I guess at that age though, knowing you're going to die, it's the thrill of the unknown. If I was about to become target practise for a cyborg I think I would be slightly irrational too!

Becoming involved in the Resistance Sia makes some startling discoveries, such as the identity of the leader of the small band of people who have decided to fight back rather than give up and she realizes how far she will go to stay alive by making choices that will ultimately cost people their lives. The action kicks up a notch towards the end of the book and there are some great fighting scenes, you know the confrontation is coming but until it actually happens you have no clue just how bloody it's going to be. Like one of my favorite authors who shall not be named but writes a series I think most of the world knows Kate Ormand is not afraid to kill characters left, right and center!

Ultimately, as much as I wanted to love Dark Days there were a few too many flaws for me. I loved the originality of the cyborgs with knives for fingers but I found it hard to believe a group of 20 men, women and teenagers could destroy a whole army without being slaughtered. I also found Sia's reaction to the death of her mother and a couple of other characters who I won't name so as not to spoil anything mighty strange. I get that they were all about to die anyway but it's almost like they were completely forgotten about seconds after their deaths were discovered. I don't think Sia would be able to process anyone's death let alone her mother's that quickly and so that didn't work for me. The big thing for me though was the lack of information, I wanted to know more about how the sectors came into being, what disaster or war had caused all this to happen and exactly whos was this charismatic man that people started blindly believing, to the point that he could get away with slaughtering the majority of the world's population. It's still a highly original story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, I'm hoping that there's going to be a sequel/prequel/companion novel which will maybe fill in some of the blanks which I would definitely read. If you like original dystopian fiction and can see past the almost reasonable case of insta-love then do read Dark Days, fast paced and well written it will hold your attention from page one.

 

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KATE ORMAND is a YA writer represented by Isabel Atherton at Creative Authors Ltd. She lives in the UK with her family, her partner, and a cocker spaniel called Freddie. She recently graduated from university with a first class BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art Painting. It was during this course that Kate discovered her love of reading YA books, prompting her to try a new creative angle and experiment with writing. Kate is also a member of an online group of published writers and illustrators called Author Allsorts. And she writes children’s picture books under the name Kate Louise. 

You can see more about Kate and her writing by visiting her website (www.kateormand.wordpress.com) or on Twitter (@kateormand).

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