Polaris (ARC Review)

Avalon: Polaris | Mindee Arnett

Published by: Balzer+Bray, January 20th 2015

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Space

Pages: 432

Format: Ebook

Source: Balzer+Bray, via Edelweiss

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of mercenaries are pulled into one last high-stakes mission in this breathtaking sequel to Mindee Arnett’s fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi thriller Avalon.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew are on the run. The ITA, still holding Jeth’s mother in a remote research lab, is now intent on acquiring the metatech secrets Jeth’s sister Cora carries inside her DNA, and Jeth is desperate to find the resources he needs to rescue his mother and start a new life outside the Confederation. But the ITA is just as desperate, and Jeth soon finds himself pursued by a mysterious figure hell-bent on capturing him and his crew—dead or alive.

With nowhere to run and only one play left, Jeth enters into a bargain with the last person he ever thought he’d see again: Daxton Price, the galaxy’s newest and most fearsome crime lord. Dax promises to help Jeth, but his help will only come at a price—a price that could mean sacrificing everything Jeth has fought for until now.

The conclusion to the story Mindee Arnett began in her acclaimed novelAvalon, Polaris is a dangerous journey into the spaces between power and corruption, life and death, the parts of ourselves we leave behind, and the parts we struggle to hold on to. 

I loved Avalon, LOVED it, so I heaped a bunch of expectations on this book. I think that's why I put it off for so long. And Polaris actually wasn't quite as good as the first book. But I did still love it, for the characters, the spaceships, and the plots. 

What I loved:

- The romance, oddly enough. I was never overly fussed on Sierra in Avalon but I really liked her in this book, and I loved her and Jeth's relationship, his she was a kind of moral compass for him.

- Avalon and Polaris themselves. I think they're probably my favourite ships in all YA sci fi.

- The relationships between all the crew and how they grew

- The high octane plot, the crazy high stakes, and the plot. Everything was action packed and thrilling and felt totally life or death. This series is one of the most exciting I've read.

What I didn't like:

- Empyria and the Pyreans. I mean, like, what the fuck? This was just so bizarre and weird and I didn't know what to do during those chapters. It just didn't fit in with the rest of this serious sci-fi series. It cheapened the ending for me.

- Marian. I'm not a fan of her at all and preferred everything when she was gone.

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world-building ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★☆

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Reading Round Up (86)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week. 

10th August

I read 28% of A Riddle In Ruby by Kent Davis, finishing it, and this was fricking awesome. Can't wait to see where the next book takes Ruby!!

I also started Polaris by Mindee Arnett, sequel to my fave ever Avalon!!! I read 30% and I love it so much.

11th August

Today I read another 30% of Polaris, which is awesome. But I had some spare time to read and wanted a break from all the angst of Polaris, so I started Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics (20% read.) Kinda thought she was going to be pregnant with the devil's child for a few chapters there but that's not the case. Shame.

12th August

I finished Polaris (40%), and wow that went bizarre with the alien thing. Loved everything else but that totally undermined the rest of the story. 

I also read 13% of Daughters Unto Devils, which is fairly okay. I'm not a hundred percent sure this is a horror novel, as I was led to believe. I'm a third in and the only horrific thing to happen is the treatment of women in this era.

13th August

Today I decided I wanted to finish Daughters Unto Devils, and since it's fairly short, it was achievable. I read 82% and the ending was a thousand times better than the rest of it. I did get bored, but that's because nothing happened for a while, but that seems to be par for the course with YA horror.

Oh, and I also read 5% of Cities and Thrones by Carrie Patel. Mostly I wanted to start this because I know it'll be slow going for the first third until I proper get into it and I want to finish it by the end of the month.

14th August

I started This Monstrous Thing (26% read), which is not as good as I'd expected. And I read another 5% of Cities and Thrones, which seems to be the most amount of book I can read before my mind wanders.

15th August

Okay I read like 16% of This Monstrous Thing and I'm just not feeling it at all. It's slow and I don't care about anything that's happening so DNF.

16th August

*major grumbling*

I started Undertow by Michael Buckley, which I thought would be awesome but turned out to be not. I hated it within 9% and DNFed. Which makes two, in two days, consecutively. Yay~~~

Failing that, I started The Unquiet by Mikaela Everett (27%), and I'm having much better luck with it. Thank God.

Books finished this week: 3
Books DNF'd this week: 2

For review:

This didn't sound terrible and it's LGBT inclusive so I thought I'd give it a shot. It's pretty short too, so it shouldn't be so bad. I hope. I don't historically love alice in wonderland retellings, though, and the publisher has been hit or miss for me. Hoping this hits.

I have friends that like it, and although it sounds too close to Angelfall for my liking, I'm assuming the non-post-apoc thing will set it apart. Plus it was on read now and I have no will power against that.

Night Owls (4.5 STARS) + a guest post from Jenn Bennet

This Monstrous Thing (DNF)

Undertow (DNF)

Reading round up (62)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week.

19th January

Finished Vicious by V. E. Schwab (read 98 pages) and I loved it!! Such a unique superhero tale. I also started My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent (162 pages) because I need a quick read after my disastrous last week.

20th January

Currently Reading: My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent

Current page/percent: page 375

Read today: 213 pages

Thoughts: Enough female rivalry in YA. Enough teaching impressionable teenage girls that it's right and expected of them to fight with their fellow girls over boys. We have to fight so damn hard for everything we do and have and say in life; we have to fight so hard to prove that we're as worthy and capable as any male; we don't need to be fighting each other too. We need to be supporting each other. (plus: have you seen teenage boys? they're gross. don't be fighting over those trashcans.)

21st January

Picking up Avalon again and hoping to finish it sometime this year. Read 25 pages in like 2 hours. It is taking me SO LONG to read this. I don't know why?? I love this book; it shouldn't feel like a chore!

I read a spoiler for Soul Screamers that KAYLEE GETS WITH TOD????? So I immediately bought If I Die from Kindle (it was hella expensive but hella worth it) and read 21%.

22nd January

Read 47% of If I Die and I AM SCREAMING BECAUSE TOD!!! MY BABYYYYYYY. I loved Kaylee with Nash but Kaylee/Tod is NEXT LEVEL.

23rd January

Finished If I Die (read 32%), and MY BABIES. I was so fricking scared in the end, there. 

24th January

I didn't feel like reading much today but I finally got my hands on Reaper by Rachel Vincent (64 pages). It took me three months to find a copy of this novella, and I read it in an hour. Kinda wishing I'd savoured it. Ah well. Tod is a huge sweetheart and I loved this glimpse into his life. It was really interesting to see him before he'd died and compare how he was with how he is. Loved it!

25th January

Failed at reading today because I got watching beauty bloggers on youtube and that ate up my reading hours. Ah well.

Books finished this week: 3

If I Die | Rachel Vincent

See above for the IMMEDIATE reasons I needed this book.

Vicious

My Soul to Steal

If I Die

Reaper

Reading round up (61)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week.

12th January

Currently Reading: Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Current page/percent: page 102

Read today: 68 pages

Thoughts: Too tired to read much. Hoping to read much more tomorrow!!

13th January

Currently Reading: Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Current page/percent: page 154

Read today: 185 pages

Thoughts: this is taking so long to read. See, this is why hardbacks and me don't usually mix. I read it so quick on the ebook!!

14th January

Taking a break from Avalon because I am in an awful mood and don't want to ruin the book by being shitty. I'm finally reading Vicious by V. E. Schwab, a book I got a 100 page preview of and loved.

15th January

Read 84 pages of Vicious and 56 pages of Avalon. I'm so excited to see where Vicious goes now that I'm past the pages I've already read. Loving both of these.

16th January

Read 98 pages of Vicious, taking me to 247. Was hoping to finish this today but the text is small, so there's more book in 100 pages than I'm used to.

17th January

I started, read, and finished Nimona by Noelle Stevenson in a day. Oh God it's so perfect. Stupid graphic novel. I need more.

I also read 19 pages of Vicious. Oop. It took a serious dive in my priorities when I started Nimona.

18th January

Having a crappy day, and crappy days affect my reading badly. I only read 45 pages of Vicious.

Books finished this week: 1
(oh boy this was a bad week for reading)

These are the books I got for Christmas - they finally arrived!! Forgive the grainy photo. 

Illusions of Fate (my baby), Suspicion, These Broken Stars (about time I read this!), Stitching Snow, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, Deception, After The End (my fave), Riot, Vicious, Skylark, The Goddess Test, Scarlet, Atlantia, Princess of Thorns, Rebel Spring, and Gathering Darkness. 

Nimona | Noelle Stevenson

I started reading this a year to two years ago, but I find it really hard to concentrate with online comics so I never really got far. I am thrilled that it's going to be published in physical form!!!! Although I started to read it and there are definite pages missing... :( 

The Retribution of Mara Dyer

Nimona (scheduled for 9th May)