Paradise Found

For readers of A Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games comes an epic new series.

The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life. She will become a Seeker. This is her legacy, and it is an honor. As a Seeker, Quin will fight beside her two closest companions, Shinobu and John, to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand for light in a shadowy world. And she'll be with the boy she loves--who's also her best friend.

But the night Quin takes her Oath, everything changes. Being a Seeker is not what she thought. Her family is not what she thought. Even the boy she loves is not who she thought.

And now it's too late to walk away.  

My Teaser:

'And though she thought he was "beautiful" – her word; he'd heard her use it – his beauty to her was like the beauty in a painting, something you admire but do not want to touch. It was the worst kind of beauty, he thought.'

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Synopsis: At almost thirty years old David Moore is living the unremarkable life he always equated with failure: instead of going on book tours and giving readings he’s scraping to pay his bills; instead of meeting with producers and selling the movie rights to his breakout novel he’s arguing with his girlfriend about whether they should get a dog. When an unexpected visit from his deadbeat dad upsets David’s fragile financial balancing act it sets in motion a series of domestic disagreements and ill-advised reactionary reprisals whose compounding repercussions threaten to unmake the tenuous structure of David’s mundane life: the life that David, focused only on that life’s disappointments, may not appreciate or fight to salvage until it’s already too late… 

The publisher provided me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My thoughts: Boy, did this book surprise me. I don’t read many contemporary novels but now I’m happy I decided to give Bummed Out City a chance.

I think the main reason why I liked this book is that it was honest and I could relate to the situations that certain characters found themselves involved in. Not necessarily because I once went through situations like those, but because they were life-like and I can imagine them happen to me or to anyone around me.

Virtually there is no plot in this book. Our protagonist, the not so successful writer, David Moore, is struggling to find his place in the world, to find his goal in life and to find answers to his questions. He thinks his life is already over, even though it hasn’t even started yet.

Bummed Out City is a coming of age novel. This statement might sound weird after you find out that the main character is 29 years old, but this fact makes it no less true. David hates the idea of responsibility and since he cannot deal with any amount of it, he’s stuck. He rather sinks in self-pity than lift a finger in order to move forward. And of course as a result of his behaviour things go wrong: his girlfriend is mad at him all the time, he finds himself without a job and thus he runs out of money; he’s drifting.

To be frank, I can’t say I liked David in the first half of the book. I felt sorry for him, yes, and wanted to be on his side, but most of the time his inability to change things, his negativity and passivity annoyed me. However, later, when everything fell apart around him I started rooting for him and wished he would make it. The ending didn’t disappoint, I liked how realistic it was.

With Bummed Out City I stepped out of my comfort zone, but I didn’t regret it for a moment. I recommend this novel to everyone who would like to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

What's Next is a weekly meme hosted by IceyBooks.

Click here to read more about the meme and go here to participate.

Here are a few books I want to read soon. Which one should I pick up first?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Rêves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire.

Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs - the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter's daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer's apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love...
  


Love and rivalry. Can one survive the other? I'm dying to know.

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) 

by Cassandra Clare

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? Clary would love to spend more time with her best friend, Simon. But the Shadowhunters won't let her go--especially her handsome, infuriating newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil--and also her father. When the second of the Mortal Instruments is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor suspects Jace. Could Jace really be willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

I read City of Bones a while ago and loved it very much. I hope the second book will be even better (if that's possible at all...).

Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin

Freed from jail, Anya hopes that things will get back to normal. But life on the outside is even more dangerous than life behind bars. Some of her gangland family want revenge for the crime for which she has done time: the shooting of her uncle. Forced to flee the country, Anya hides out in a cacao plantation in Mexico. There she learns the secrets of the chocolate trade, a trade that is illegal and deadly in her native New York. There too she discovers that seemingly random acts of violence carried out across the world have a single target: her family. As innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire Anya must act fast and decisively to stop it, no matter what the danger to herself.

I started the Birthright series ages ago, so probably I should re-read All These Things I've Done before starting Because It Is My Blood to relive the events of the first book. I feel it's time to marathon these two books and then get the third one and read that as well.

Ophelia by Lisa Klein

He is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark; she is simply Ophelia. If you think you know their story, think again.

In this reimagining of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, it is Ophelia who takes center stage. A rowdy, motherless girl, she grows up at Elsinore Castle to become the queen's most trusted lady-in-waiting.  Ambitious for knowledge and witty as well as beautiful, Ophelia learns the ways of power in a court where nothing is as it seems. When she catches the attention of the captivating, dark-haired Prince Hamlet, their love blossoms in secret. But bloody deeds soon turn Denmark into a place of madness, and Ophelia's happiness is shattered. Ultimately, she must choose between her love for Hamlet and her own life. In desperation, Ophelia devises a treacherous plan to escape from Elsinore forever . . . with one very dangerous secret.

Being a Shakespeare geek I'm always ready to put my nose in a book as this one. Hamlet is one of my favourite Shakespearean tragedies and I'm eager to read the story from Ophelia's point of view!

  The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashums. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir's choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.

I've only heard positive things about The Kite Runner. And come on, this is a book about friendship. Who doesn't love a book about friendship...?

Help me decide! Which one do you think I should read next? Please leave a comment below!

At almost thirty years old David Moore is living the unremarkable life he always equated with failure: instead of going on book tours and giving readings he’s scraping to pay his bills; instead of meeting with producers and selling the movie rights to his breakout novel he’s arguing with his girlfriend about whether they should get a dog. When an unexpected visit from his deadbeat dad upsets David’s fragile financial balancing act it sets in motion a series of domestic disagreements and ill-advised reactionary reprisals whose compounding repercussions threaten to unmake the tenuous structure of David’s mundane life: the life that David, focused only on that life’s disappointments, may not appreciate or fight to salvage until it’s already too late…

Goodreads link

Read more about the book on The Artless Dodges Press' tumblr blog

Synopsis: Planet Novo, nestled in space twelve hundred miles above the surface of the Earth, is the new home of 17 year old Cadet Ariana Skyee. Confused by the government-sanctioned memory erase and distressed at her impending forced marriage and motherhood, Ariana’s plans for the future are thrown into complete disarray.

As the traumatic events within her family life enfold, Ariana grows increasingly alarmed at the authorities apparent pre-occupation with her and feels progressively more isolated and alone.

Her growing feelings for fellow Cadet Cal Remus intensify as the recently announced pageant, ‘The Calling’, gets underway. Struggling to comprehend the continuous, inexplicable dreams of the mysterious Zane, discovering the past helps shape her future, with devastating personal consequences.

I received a free ebook copy of this book by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My thoughts:

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked it, but didn’t love it – couldn’t love it. I think the main problem was that the shadows of now popular YA books were cast on it: there was a touch of Hunger Games in it, some elements of Divergent could be detected, The Selection must have had a great influence on the writer (The Bachelor vibe is there without a doubt) and at some parts it even reminded me of Angelfall. I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it I guess, I shouldn’t blame the writer for sticking to popular themes, but I was so sad to see the original ideas getting stifled by the familiar elements.

Now that you know what I didn’t like in True Calling, I’d like to highlight all the things that positively surprised me in this novel, because there were quite a few of those too:

At last we have a female protagonist who is not afraid of showing her feelings or does not feel guilty for breaking down and cry in front of others. You go Ariana Skyee, never harden!

The story is gripping (sometimes a bit slow, but action packed in general); first we follow the events through Ariana’s eyes, then we have Zane in the role of the narrator, but towards the end of the book we switch back to Ariana. I think it’s always interesting to see what different characters think of the same situation, so I was happy with this kind of structuring.

I loved the popular culture references that appeared here and there in the book. Novo’s motto is Live.Love.Prosper which is obviously a strong reference to Star Trek’s famous phrase: Live long and prosper.

’It’s like ’The Bachelor’ meets ’Nightmare on Elm Street’ says Ariana at some point about the Calling – indeed, it was a bit like that.

There’s a mention of the movie ’Groundhog Day’ as well when she’s talking about her dreams about Zane. I liked these bits very much.

I was delighted to find a gay character in the book and it was heartwarming to see how his friends supported Ben. Of course the government wasn’t that understanding... Siobhan Davis depicted well the people’s attitude towards same-sex relationshps in our world today: the majority rejects, the minority supports.

And last but not least let me say how great it was to see a real father figure around… I mean, we rarely meet a loving father in YA books nowadays. Ariana’s father was a really nice guy.

All in all, True Calling is an enjoyable sci-fi novel and it’s very likely I’ll read the second installment when it comes out. It might even stand a chance of getting four stars instead of three if the storyline develops differently than that of the Hunger Games.

Goodreads link

She is young, beautiful, and desperately in love with a man who cannot return her affections without arousing suspicion. And so they meet in secret, embracing in stairwells and castle turrets, murmuring each other’s names in hushed voices, reaching passionately for each other under the cover of darkness.