Sky on Fire (Monument 14 #2) by Emmy Laybourne
Series: Monument 14 #2
Published On: May 28, 2013
Genres: Dystopian, Post Apocalyptic, Young Adult
Source: For Review

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The Short, Sweet, and Spoiler-Free Blurb:

In this sequel to MONUMENT 14, the group of survivors, originally trapped together in a superstore by a series of escalating disasters, has split in two. Most of the kids are making a desperate run on their recently repaired school bus for the Denver airport where they hope to reunite with their parents, be evacuated to safety, and save their dying friend.

But the world outside is dark and filled with dangerous chemicals that turn people into bloodthirsty monsters, and not all the kids were willing to get on the bus. Left behind in a sanctuary that has already been disturbed once, the remaining kids try to rebuild the community they lost. But when the issues are life and death, love and hate, who can you really trust?

Spoiler free even if you haven’t read the first book in this series. 

Sky on Fire was definitely more intense than the first book in this series and there was a lot less humor.  I mean, there was plenty of snark and bitterness coming from Alex that was kind of funny, but for the most part it was one non-stop nail-biter. It felt like I was really living through the end of the world because of the little practical details like how they could eat with gas masks on, how they would deal with the chemicals in the air etc.  And as I’m living this experience with the characters, I’m crossing my fingers that the worst won’t happen.  But of course it does like something from your nightmares.

The writing felt like reading a movie script (which I think really worked for this story).  The plot is driven a lot by the dialogue of the characters.  I love the characters.  They have very distinct personalities that makes this story all the more chilling because I really care about all of them – even that bratty girl.  Part of what makes this book truly terrifying for me was the fact that the end of the world is being shown through the eyes of kids.  Max (who is one of my favorite characters) is a young boy who brings toy cars with him on the road to probable death and is playing with them and making car noises. Like my boys do daily.  That little detail brought the story very close to home for me. Don’t cry, don’t cry.

The one thing that didn’t work for me was Josie’s story line.  I found it to be too out-of-tune with the world that the author created for me to believe it.  What happens to Josie just felt a little too convenient.  It’s not a major part of the story line, so it didn’t bother me too much.

The ending felt strange to me.  The story felt like it could be finished after this book.  There’s really only one storyline left open and I wonder if it’s enough to keep the whole next book going.  I’m stil going to read the next one because I’m curious what could happen next.  If anyone can pull it off, it’s Emmy!

Overall, this was a book that I couldn’t put down ( I read it in one day).  It was intense and chilling with characters that I loved.

Content Rating: Medium for a brief, non-graphic sex scene, disturbing scenes and violence.  I don’t remember there being any swearing, but if there is it’s very mild.

I received this book for review from the publisher, Macmillan, in exchange for an honest review. I was not told what to say, I was not paid to write this review and all the opinions expressed are my own.  I read an Advanced Reading Copy for this review. 

Asunder (Newsoul #2) by Jodi Meadows
Series: Newsoul #2
Published On: January 29, 2013
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Source: Library

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The Short, Sweet, and Spoiler-Free Blurb:

In this second book in the Newsoul trilogy, Ana discovers the truth about reincarnation and will have to find a way to embrace love and make her young life meaningful. Once again, Jodi Meadows explores the extraordinary beauty and shadowed depths of the soul in a story equal parts epic romance and captivating fantasy.

I was not planning on reading this book.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the first book in this series (Incarnate), but the ending had a lot of burning acid and death that left a lot of interesting questions so when I saw the second book staring at me at the library with it’s pretty flowers and rainbows, I decided to take it home.

Another reason I decided to read this book was because I had a theory and I wanted to see if I was right.  I was convinced that newsouls came from animals because that’s the first thing you think of when you think of reincarnation.  Turns out I was wrong.  Where newsouls really come from is even better. I love it when authors do that.  I read this book in 2 days and I couldn’t put it down.

Even though I read book 1 in January, I for the life of me couldn’t remember who Sarit was as well as some of the other minor characters.  Sarit is a friend of Ana.  She keeps bees.  Wait is she a she in this lifetime? That is all I know about Sarit.  I still think Sam is boring.  I do not like that Sam-I-am.  He’s unnaturally perfect and completely predictable. I mean when something completely devastating happens, he just lays in bed moping.  Cris was much more interesting.  He’s a new character in this book who is flawed, selfless, and has been trying to achieve a dream for lifetimes but he can’t quite get there.  I just wanted to hug him.

The plot is still pretty slow, but I liked the interesting questions that were brought up.  Some of them were pretty deep that delve into life, death, fear, and immortality.  Ana goes on a quest for answers that is sometimes metaphorical and sometimes more like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  It’s very bittersweet because along this journey Ana starts to realize how different and truly alone she is.  She has to deal with constant rejection and trying to build her self-esteem despite what others think about her.

Also, I hope we get to see more of the creatures mentioned like trolls, centaures, phoenixes, and, of course, dragons.

Overall, I thought this was much more addicting to read than the first book. It answered a lot of questions from the first book which, of course, just brought up tons more to be answered in the next book.  And it delves into some interesting and deep topics that left me thinking long after I finished.

Content Rating: Medium, for one mildly gory scene.

Bullies (Urban Hunters #5) by Gary Taaffe
Series: Urban Hunters #5
Published On: February 1, 2013
Genres: Fiction, Young Adult
Source: For Review

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The Short, Sweet, and Spoiler-Free Blurb:

The son of the mongrel old man who Billy speared wants revenge. Billy could lose the pups. A bloody battle ensues but Diesel doesn’t count on Amber; or Larry, Curly and Moe for that matter.

Another fun short story in the Urban Hunters series.  I really liked how we got to learn a little more about Billy and Amber and their personalities.  We get to see their relationship grow in little, adorable ways.  But I really struggled with the conflict in this one.  It just didn’t feel real to me that an adult, no matter how angry, would actually try to physically harm young kids.  I mean it was cool that we got to see Amber and Billy take care of themselves, but if I’m supposed to see this guy as a sympathetic character afterwords, it just didn’t work for me.  But way to go girl power for Amber! And there was some great humor at the end.

Overall, there’s some cute moments at the beginning and fun humor at the end, but the conflict just didn’t work for me this time.

Content Rating: Medium, mildly descriptive violence.

I received this book for review from the author, Gary Taaffe, in exchange for an honest review. I was not told what to say, I was not paid to write this review and all the opinions expressed are my own.