Review: Renegades

Read if you like: fascinating superpowers, characters you fall hard in love with, and thrilling, multi-faceted plots.

Renegades | Marissa Meyer

Series: Renegades

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Superhero
Released: April 5th 2018
Pages: 576
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

I did not predict how much I'd LOVE this book. A secret underground group of villains? A goody-two-shoes hero love interest who can draw things and make them REAL? A kickass ensemble cast, where everyone is interesting and stands out? PLUS a villain-t0-hero character arc? THIS IS EVERYTHING.

Not to mention Adrian's dads are adorable, I love his little brother, and the plot is just outstanding. And THAT ENDING. You need to read this book, seriously. I can't wait for book 2!

5 stars

Review: Blackout

Read if you like: queer main characters, high-stakes plots, tension and romanctic sci-fi.

Blackout | Kit Mallory

Series: Blackout

Genre: Young Adult Dystopia, Science Fiction
Released: May 8th 2018
Pages: 350
Format: Ebook
Source: Author

After the Board came to power the world changed the way a hunter stalks its prey: all paranoia and imagined flickers of shadow, so that while you were being torn to pieces you were still wondering whether you were overreacting.

For 16-year-old Skyler, fear is a way of life. For three years, since the Wall split the UK in two, her survival as an illegal Northern refugee in the South has been a perilous balancing act between staying in the shadows and clinging to her reputation as the South's best hacker.

Fellow refugee Mackenzie is a ghost from her past she'd rather ignore. But when their paths collide unexpectedly, Skyler sees an opportunity to exact revenge on the brutal regime that destroyed her home and family - even if it means she goes down with them.

Forced, with extreme reluctance, on the run together, Skyler and Mackenzie, along with enigmatic contract killer Angel, must find a way to outrun not only the Board and the South's most sadistic crime lord, but their own personal demons. If they can manage to not end up murdering each other in the process, that'll be a bonus.

But more is at stake than any of them realise. And Skyler, who has long believed she has nothing left to lose, is about to discover just how wrong she is.

Shortlisted for the 2016 Mslexia Children's Novel Award, Blackout is a story of resistance, friendship and survival.

I thought this was a stand alone and then THAT ENDING, so I'm pretty glad it's a series.

I started off not sure about this, but honestly I loved the characters quickly. Mackenzie is an utter sweetheart (protect him, my precious, anxious child) and I love how equally badass and vulnerable Skyler is. I'm still not sure about Angel, but I like her relationship with Skyler, and love the inclusion of a f/f romance. I LOVE the friendship between Mackenzie and Skyler, though. It's so dynamic and I honestly just want them to be besties.

As for the story, this is epically dystopian without being too overbearingly sci-fi (to be fair I love sci-fi so this wouldn't be an issue, but if you like your dystopia light, this book is for you!) The Board is a huge part of this book and influences everything directly, but the more urgent threat are criminals, thugs, and enforcers. In short, it's pretty damn exciting and thrilling and edge-of-your-seat stuff. I haven't read a dystopian book as good as this in years, and I can't wait to continue the series!

High-stakes, action-packed yet full of heart, emotion, and humanity. If you're looking for an original science fiction book, I can't recommend this enough!

4.5 stars

Review: The Rest Of Us Just Live Here

Read if you like: books that are so good you can't actually explain them.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here | Patrick Ness

Genre: YA Contemporary/Science Fiction/Fantasy/Awesome
Released: October 6th 2017
Pages: 317
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

What if you aren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable.

THIS is everything I wanted. Why did I take so long to read this? Unforgettable characters and friendships, emotions so strong and raw it's impossible not to feel them, fantasy subplot, anxiety rep, an indie kid chosen one called SATCHEL who is constantly mocked. Honestly, there's nothing not to like about this and I loved every page. (I read 70% in one sitting.) I wish there was more book!!

5 stars

Review: Spare And Found Parts

Read if you like: sci-fi without the heavy world building, quiet stories of love and courage, books where the friendships and family stand out.

Spare And Found Parts | Sarah Maria Griffin

Genre: YA Science Fiction
Released: October 4th 2016
Pages: 384
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

Nell Crane has always been an outsider. In a city devastated by an epidemic, where survivors are all missing parts—an arm, a leg, an eye—her father is the famed scientist who created the biomechanical limbs everyone now uses. But Nell is the only one whose mechanical piece is on the inside: her heart. Since the childhood operation, she has ticked. Like a clock, like a bomb. As her community rebuilds, everyone is expected to contribute to the society’s good . . . but how can Nell live up to her father’s revolutionary idea when she has none of her own?

Then she finds a mannequin hand while salvaging on the beach—the first boy’s hand she’s ever held—and inspiration strikes. Can Nell build her own companion in a world that fears advanced technology? The deeper she sinks into this plan, the more she learns about her city—and her father, who is hiding secret experiments of his own. 

This was sweet. I never had a huge I'm-in-love-with-this moment but there were lots of things I liked. I like the post-technology world and the fear around even mention of the internet - this was really interesting. The world stood out, but the writing and world building itself is so subtle and well done. Sci-fi for people who hate heavy writing. I really like the characters too, and I'm pretty sure Nell is bi and ace? Or I read her that way at least. There's no romance for folks who prefer their books that way, too. I admit I really loved Oliver though, and I want him to be happy so badly (sequel pls?) Artificial intelligence came out of nowhere but it just worked. The whole story worked, from character to friendships to family issues and secrets. A really good book.

3.5 stars

Review: Blight

Blight | Alexandra Duncan

Published by: Greenwillow Books, May 30th 2017

Genre: YA, Dystopia, Science Fiction

Pages: 528

Format: Ebook

Source: Greenwillow, via Edelweiss

Seventeen-year-old Tempest Torres has lived on the AgraStar farm north of Atlanta since she was found outside the gates at the age of five. Now she’s part of the security force guarding the fence and watching for scavengers—people who would rather steal genetically engineered food from the company than work for it. When a group of such rebels accidentally sets off an explosion in the research compound, it releases into the air a blight that kills every living thing in its path—including humans. With blight-resistant seeds in her pocket, Tempest teams up with a scavenger boy named Alder and runs for help. But when they finally arrive at AgraStar headquarters, they discover that there’s an even bigger plot behind the blight—and it’s up to them to stop it from happening again. A fast-paced action-adventure story that is Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake meets Nancy Farmer’s House of the Scorpion.

I thought I would love this more. As it was, I did like it, and there were parts that really drew me in, but overall I just didn't have that holycrapthisisawesome moment I did in Salvage. Which makes me kinda sad. But there's still some awesome bits:

- AgraCorp is SO COOL. In a totalitarian, never wanting to get involved with them kinda way. They are such a compelling, dynamic threat, and I wanted to delve deeper into their gritty agriculture, army world. Which was why I was a bit frustrated to detour into the shiny, glitzy bits of the world.

- I liked the main characters, their utter differences in upbringing and personality.

- No romance, if you're into that thing!!!

- There's so much to this world that works, from the soldiers to the farming to the blight which was quite frankly horrifying (but I REALLY REALLY wish we'd seen more of that in the second half because it just kinda ... vanished.)

- There's so many secrets in this, especially revolving around Tempest's family, and those actually managed to shock me. I'd JUST started to suspect when the huge plot twist was thrown down but I only saw a tiny part of it coming not the Giant Shock. This worked so well.

-The first half was SO GOOD, the second half ... meh. I lost a bit of interest, to be honest, and there's so many bits of the world I wanted to explore that I was disappointed when the book just didn't go there

-I wanted a big showdown with AgraCorp in the end, that final battle between the old Tempest and the new, but instead it was a fight with a gang which ... eh, it was cool but I still wanted her to fight AgraCorp.

Overall: a really unique, interesting take on the future.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

Review: Shade The Changing Girl, Volume One

Shade The Changing Girl: Volume One: Earth Girl Made Easy | Cecil Castellucci, Marley Zarcone

Published by: Young Animal, July 4th 2017

Genre: YA, Comics, Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Pages: 144

Format: Ebook

Source: Publisher, via Netgalley

Part of Gerard Way's new imprint, DC's Young Animal!

Far away on the planet Meta, Loma's going nowhere fast. She's dropped out of school, dumped her boyfriend and is bored out of her mind. She longs to feel things. That's where her idol, the lunatic poet Rac Shade, and his infamous madness coat come in. Loma steals the garment and makes a break across galaxies to take up residence in a new body: Earth girl Megan Boyer.

Surely everything will be better on this passionate, primitive planet with a dash of madness on her side and this human girl's easy life. Only now that she's here, Loma discovers being a teenaged Earth girl comes with its own challenges and Earth may not be everything she thought it'd be. Megan Boyer was a bully who everyone was glad was almost dead, and now Loma has to survive high school and navigate the consequences of the life she didn't live with the ever-growing and uncontrollable madness at her side. Not to mention that there are people back on her homeworld who might just want Shade's coat back.

Written by Cecil Castellucci (The Plain Janes), drawn by Marley Zarcone (Effigy) and overseen by Gerard Way, Shade, the Changing Girl starts a whole new chapter in the story of one of comics' most unique series.

Collecting: Shade, the Changing Girl 1-6

I liked this but it was weird as hell and I'm not a hundred percent sure what I just read. The story kinda lost me in parts but I like the main character and the friends she makes and it was interesting to see a possession from the intruders POV. But what even is this coat about? How was it in two places at once? How was she? None of this was explained. 

I did like it but ... I'm not sure if ill read the next volume.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

Review: Young Avengers, Volume Two

Young Avengers: Volume Two: Alternative Culture | Kieron Gillen, Kate Brown, Jamie McKelvie

Published by: Marvel, January 2nnd 2014

Genre: YA, Comics, Science Fiction, Superheroes

Pages: 112

Format: Ebook

Source: Purchased

Collects Young Avengers (2013) #6-10. Ever wonder what the super hero equivalent of a terrible soul-sucking, talent-wasting temp job is? Wonder what Tommy (aka Speed) has been up to? Wonder why mutant David Alleyne (aka Prodigy) hasn't been even in the background in any one of the eight thousand X-books? Discover answers herein! Then: existential horror turns cosmic horror as something emerges from the shadows of the past...and it seems that the Young Avengers have one more thing to worry about. The team races desperately across the multi verse in pursuit of their missing friend, but their road trip goes crazy as it reaches its desti nati on. Because its desti nati on is mainly excitement and heartbreak. Several Young Avengers decide what to do next. The question is, whether they stay Young Avengers! Plus: Are you ready for Mother's Day?

I swear I blinked and it was over. This is too good and too easy to read - I want more in each volume!!!! The characters, the storylines, the snark and bickering, EVERYTHING is perfect but these volumes are never anywhere near long enough. I love this whole gang and I want 1000x the amount of adventures we get.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★★

Review: Fourth World

The Iamos Trilogy: Fourth World | Lyssa Chiavari

Published by: Snowy Wings Publishing, December 28th 2015

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Time Travel

Pages: 338

Format: Ebook

Source: Author, via Netgalley

Life on Mars isn't all it's cracked up to be when you're Isaak Contreras. Ever since his dad disappeared two years ago, Isaak's been struggling to keep up in school, and he never seems to be able to live up to his mom's high expectations. But everything changes when he finds an ancient coin among his missing father's possessions. The coin makes him a target of both the Martian colonial government and a crazed scientist with a vendetta--and it leads him to a girl from another time named Nadin, who believes that Isaak might just hold the key to saving both their worlds. That is, if they can survive long enough to use it...

I really, really love the archaeology/geology bits of this book, and I wasn't expecting them at all. I thought it'd be a pretty typical space book (which, lets be fair, I love SO MUCH) so I was totally surprised to find all the excavation and the mystery (and the doorway/gate stuff, which made this book so much cooler!)

The first half of Fourth World is by far my favourite. I'm still not sure if I actually like the citidome parts - I was really wishing for more excavation, wanting to go back to that even though the sinister controlling forces of Iamos were really compelling and I liked Nadin's journey. I much prefer Isaak to Nadin, though (maybe why I prefer the first half...) and found it a bit hard to connect with her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this sci-fi thriller, and its inventive and creative colonisation of Mars!

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

Review: Dreamfall

Dreamfall: Dreamfall | Amy Plum

Published by: HarperTeen, May 2nd 2017

Genre: YA, Horror, Science Fiction

Pages: 288

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss

Cata Cordova suffers from such debilitating insomnia that she agreed to take part in an experimental new procedure. She thought things couldn’t get any worse...but she was terribly wrong.

Soon after the experiment begins, there’s a malfunction with the lab equipment, and Cata and six other teen patients are plunged into a shared dreamworld with no memory of how they got there. Even worse, they come to the chilling realization that they are trapped in a place where their worst nightmares have come to life. Hunted by creatures from their darkest imaginations and tormented by secrets they’d rather keep buried, Cata and the others will be forced to band together to face their biggest fears. And if they can’t find a way to defeat their dreams, they will never wake up.

This book is stand-out, gripping, utterly terrifying AWESOMENESS - but couldn't it have been a stand alone? For some reason I got it in my head that this wasn't the first of a series and that end left me disappointed; I wanted a solution. But I'm 100% gonna read the next book, no doubt about it.

I love how this is split into what's happening with the dreamers (i.e straight up horror) and the sci-fi experiment that put them in the nightmares in the first place. I had no expectations when it came to this book, so it was a total surprise when it blew me away. Eerie, creeping, dark fiction - I love this stuff. It reminded me in tone of A Drop of Night, which I ADORED, and I really want to read more sci-fi/fantasy horror - Dreamfall made me thirsty for more of the genre.

The other thing the book does amazingly, as well as the creepy, unsettlingness of the story, is the way the characters interact, keep secrets, and face their fears. There's inclusion of abuse survivors, a neuroatypical character, POC characters (one of whom is a pretty awesome scientist), and people suffering with insomnia, obviously, along with other sleep disorders. This all affects the way they keep secrets, and manifest their dreams in different ways. Plus, the monsters in their dreams are Messed Up which made reading them even better...

My only issue is Cata, a main character, sees another character without a hat (when they've always worn a hat before) and is suddenly like, oh she's a girl. This whole thing made me feel uncomfortable, especially the switch from the He pronoun (which the character in question raised no issue with, so was obviously okay with applying to them) to the She pronoun without any conversation, just a decision from Cata because a person suddenly appeared female. But other than that? Utterly dark, scary deliciousness. I want more!!!

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★★

Review: Harley Quinn, Volume Two

Harley Quinn: Volume Two: Joker Loves Harley  | Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, John Timms

Published by: DC Comics, June 27th 2017

Genre: Comics, Science Fiction, Superheroes

Pages: 144

Format: Ebook

Source: DC Comics, via Netgalley

Harley Quinn's punk-rock epic concludes with a BANG. Too deep and not covered enough, their undercover mission comes to an end as the gang takes on thieves and murderers. All the laughs and some of the quacks are all here.

Taking a break comes with unexpected woes when Harley and Ivy head to the Bahamas for sun-kissed beaches and ice-cold drinks.

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti continue their mammoth run on this New York Times best-selling title in Harley Quinn, Volume 2: Joker Loves Harley!

Collecting: Harley Quinn 7-12

(4.5, should be 5 but marked down because of one comic.)

Let me just say: great story, nice plot twist, awesome canon queer Harley and Ivy, incredible supporting cast, and fun as all hell writing.

K, now I'm gonna talk about something I LOVE about this comic. The non-sexualisation of Harley.

Bear in mind I've read Suicide Squad Vol 1 recently and got kinda pissed about Harley being a dumb, sexy blonde in that. But this series... Harley is smart and quirky and sex-positive WITHOUT being sexualised. In this volume, she wears a bikini without being presented as a sex object, and SHE'S NAKED without being overly sexified (which is a word now.) But in the Christmas comic in this volume (I forget the name, sorry!) this happens:

THIS. IS. RIDICULOUS!!! (and really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this 20-page comic)

Harley's boobs over-exaggerated for no real reason, super low cut top for no reason (she's going into a dangerous situation, why can't she wear the same thing she ALWAYS does???) Oh, and my personal favourite bit: the male scientist in the background looking at Harley's ass through binoculars. This just feels so male-gaze-y, when every other comic I've read in this series manages to avoid it.

This team can do better. I know they can. I was ecstatic and thrilled and surprised when, in the first volume, Harley was drawn and written as this real person, this real WOMAN. I hope this is a blip I can put in the back of my mind, I really do. I still love this series, but I'm honestly, disappointed (and shocked tbh - I never saw this coming.)

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

Review: Suicide Squad, Volume Two

Suicide Squad: Volume Two: Going Sane  | Rob Williams, Jim Lee, Stephen Byrne

Published by: DC Comics, June 13th 2017

Genre: Comics, Science Fiction, Superheroes

Pages: 144

Format: Ebook

Source: DC Comics, via Netgalley

From writer Rob Williams, superstar artist Jim Lee and Philip Tan comes the new Suicide Squad! 

The government has once again handpicked the worst of the worst for its Task Force X: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Katana and Killer Croc. Following their clash with the Justice League, the team faces a new challenge as the dark energy of the Black Vault starts to drive the prisoners of Belle Reve insane--except for Harley Quinn, who seems to be more rational and level-headed than...well, ever. 

Collecting: Suicide Squad 5-9

This was confusing. Awesome ... but confusing. I got lost so many times as to whether something was happening now or in the past, if it was real or not, and sometimes that mind trip is pretty cool, but with this comic I got frustrated. The story was just ... okay. And while Harley being suddenly sane was a cool plot device, super problematic handling of mental health there.

BUT the characters continue to be strong as hell. We got to see Harley in a less sexualised, more human-being light. It gives more backstories for the gang (which I loved) and cleverly uses this format to introduce a new character. My favourite part has to be June and Killer Croc though. O-T-fricking-P. They're so cute and wholesome and pure and I want them to stay together forever, which probably means one of them will die in the next volume... But I just loved this sweet little romance between a murderous monster and a girl possessed by a nightmare of a witch. In the middle of the crazy, the action, the confusion, I really needed that.

I did enjoy this, but I didn't 100% love it. Still gonna read the next volume though, because I'm a sucker for this team.

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★☆☆