Book Review: Star Wars: Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston!

Star Wars: Ahsoka
Author: E.K. Johnston
Publication Date: October 11,2016
Published: Disney/Lucasfilm Press

My Rating:

Fans have long wondered what happened to Ahsoka after she left the Jedi Order near the end of the Clone Wars and before she reappeared as the mysterious Rebel operative Fulcrum in Rebels. Finally her story will begin to be told.
Following her experiences with the Jedi and the devastation of Order 66, Ahsoka is unsure she can be part of a larger whole ever again. But her desire to fight the evils of the Empire and protect those who need it will lead her right to Bail Organa - and the Rebel Alliance.

Ahsoka is a well written YA novel that gives us some insight into the missing pieces of Ahsoka's life between the end of The Clone Wars series and her appearance on Rebels.

Book Review: Alight by Scott Sigler! (@scottsigler)

Alight (The Generations Trilogy #2) 
Author: Scott Sigler
Publication Date: April 5, 2016
Published: Del Rey

My Rating:

If it’s war they want, they messed with the wrong girl.”
M. Savage—or Em, as she is called—has made a bewildering and ominous discovery. She and the other young people she was chosen to lead awoke in strange coffins with no memory of their names or their pasts. They faced an empty, unknown place of twisting tunnels and human bones. With only one another to depend on, they searched for answers and found the truth about their terrifying fate. Confronted by a monstrous enemy, they vowed never to surrender—and, by any means, to survive.
The planet Omeyocan may be the sanctuary Em and her comrades seek. But the planet for which they were created turns out not to be a pristine, virgin world. Vestiges of a lost civilization testify to a horrifying past that may yet repeat itself. And when a new enemy creeps from the jungle shadows, Em and her young refugees learn there’s nowhere left to run. They face a simple choice: fight or die.
In the midst of this desperate struggle, their unity is compromised from within—and a dangerous zealot devoted to a bloodthirsty god moves to usurp Em’s command, threatening to lead them all down a path to violent doom.

I mention major spoilers in my review.

Usually the second book of a trilogy is so-so, but I enjoyed Alight.

Book Review: Morning Star by Pierce Brown! (@Pierce_Brown)

Morning Star (Red Rising Trilogy #3)
Author: Pierce Brown
Publication Date: February 9, 2016
Published: Del Rey

My Rating:

Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society's mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within.
Finally, the time has come.
But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied - and too glorious to surrender.

So much happens. It's a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I laughed, was nervous, touched, and sometimes sad. I could not put it down. After having a headache on a Friday and a Saturday I wanted to catch up on those lost days. So I read 100 pages on a Sunday and another 100 pages on Monday (Presidents's Day). By Monday night my right eye was bloodshot. I finished it on February 18 and I still have a book hangover. I am going to fall behind on my Goodreads goal.

The character development was well done and the evolution of the plot was seamless. Not just from beginning to end in Morning Star, but the whole trilogy.

One critique was that I would have liked to see more scenes with a few minor characters from the previous novels.

The action was great and heart pounding, but some of my favorite moments were the quieter ones between Darrow and his friends. So much emotion is felt. Particularly Chapter 22 and Chapter 50. I feel it is difficult to describe my feelings without spoiling the whole book. I like giving examples and quotes.

4.5 out 5 Broken Chains

Check out the spoilery review below the cut!

Guest Book Review: Stars Above by Marissa Meyer! (@marissa_meyer)

Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: February 2, 2016
Published: Feiwel & Friends
Reviewer: Lametria

My Rating: 

The enchantment continues....
The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?
With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

I usually hate prequels, because they’re so predictable and boring. Especially after the cliché and really annoying Fairest novella, that told the tale of how evil Queen Levana claimed the throne. However, this prequel was far from annoying, because all the beloved characters from the Lunar Chronicles are back, and we finally get to find out what happened before the events in the series.

Guest Book Review: The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher! (@longshotauthor)

The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Series #1)
Author: Jim Butcher
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Published: Roc
Reviewer: Stephanie

My Rating:

Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.
Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predatorto its fighting glory.
And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake…

Guest Book Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer (@marissa_meyer)

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Published: Feiwel & Friends
Reviewer: Lametria

My Rating:

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

Guest Book Review: Scripted by Maya Rock

Scripted
Author: Maya Rock
Publication Date: February 5, 2015
Published: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Reviewer: Stephanie

My Rating:

Reality TV has a dark future in this thought-provoking thriller
To the people suffering on the war-torn mainland, Bliss Island seems like an idyllic place. And it is: except for the fact that the island is a set, and the islanders’ lives are a performance. They’re the stars of a hit TV show, Blissful Days—Characters are adored by mainland viewers, yet in constant danger of being cut if their ratings dip too low. And no one really knows what happens to cut Characters.
Nettie Starling knows she’s been given the chance of a lifetime when a producer offers suggestions to help her improve her mediocre ratings—especially when those suggestions involve making a move on the boy she’s been in love with for years. But she'll soon have to decide how far she's willing to go to keep the cameras fixed on her. . . especially when she learns what could happen to her if she doesn't.

Guest Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer (@marissa_meyer)

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Published:  Feiwel & Friends
Reviewer: Lametria

My Rating:

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.

Guest Book Review: Alive by Scott Sigler (@scottsigler)

Alive (The Generations Trilogy #1) 

Author: Scott Sigler
Publication Date: July 14, 2015
Published: Del Rey
Reviewer: Stephanie

My Rating: 

A young woman awakes trapped in an enclosed space. She has no idea who she is or how she got there. With only her instincts to guide her, she escapes her own confinement—and finds she’s not alone. She frees the others in the room and leads them into a corridor filled with the remains of a war long past. The farther these survivors travel, the worse are the horrors they confront. And as they slowly come to understand what this prison is, they realize that the worst and strangest possibilities they could have imagined don’t even come close to the truth.

Guest Book Review: Golden Son by Pierce Brown (@Pierce_Brown)

Golden Son (Red Rising Trilogy #2) by Pierce Brown
Publication Date: January 6, 2015
Published: Del Rey
Reviewer: Stephanie

My Rating:

With shades of The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and Game of Thrones, debut author Pierce Brown’s genre-defying epic Red Rising hit the ground running and wasted no time becoming a sensation. Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom.
As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he faithfully served was built on lies. Darrow’s kind have been betrayed and denied by their elitist masters, the Golds—and their only path to liberation is revolution. And so Darrow sacrifices himself in the name of the greater good for which Eo, his true love and inspiration, laid down her own life. He becomes a Gold, infiltrating their privileged realm so that he can destroy it from within.
A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love—but also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind’s destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution—and strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo’s principles of love and justice to free his people.
He must live for more.

Guest Book Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown (@Pierce_Brown)

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Published: Del Rey
Reviewer: Stephanie

My rating:

The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.
Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.
Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.