Review: Wolf Hollow

Read if you like: interesting worlds, stories with dystopia-survival elements, shifters and pack life.

Wolf Hollow | Nikki Jefford

Series: Wolf Hollow Shifters

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Post Apocalyptic
Released: October 23rd 2017
Pages: 415
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

A REBELLIOUS OUTCAST

Cocky. Coy. Wolf shifter. Tabor is the hollow’s only half-breed, scorned and forbidden to use his powers. Constantly overlooked despite his strengths, Tabor believes Sasha is as shortsighted as the rest of the pack until she proves there’s more to her than a blindly obedient lapdog to the council.

A DUTIFUL PUREBLOOD

Spirited, stubborn, and deeply loyal, Sasha feels the pressure from her pack to claim another pureblood, yet no one is brazen enough to defy the elders and toy with her . . . no one besides a sexy, hotheaded half-breed.

AN ATTRACTION THAT THREATENS THE FUTURE OF THE PACK

Bewildered by the deceptively proud and surprisingly sensual Sasha, Tabor would risk everything to claim her. Despite her vanishing bloodline, Sasha can’t resist the charismatic half-breed even as predators threaten their pack and the elders pressure her to breed with a pureblood.

In a fantastical post-apocalyptic world, where only the strongest survive, sometimes trusting the heart is the bravest act of all.

Ehhh I did not love this.

The beginning was pretty promising, though it was weird how it set up Aden as love interest and Actual Love Interest (I LITERALLY just finished and I can't remember his name) as antagonist. Pretty jarring. I didn't mind Sasha but never connected to her, and it was odd how she went from super against Love Interest to jumping his bones. Plus there was a LOT of gratuitous sex, which would have been fine if I liked the characters. The story itself ... there were so many of plot points one after another but even with so much happening, the book dipped in the middle. I just got bored, which was sad because I thought I'd love this book.

I guess this book and I were just a bad match.

2 stars

The Distance Between Lost and Found (ARC Review)

The Distance Between Lost and Found | Kathryn Holmes

Published by: HarperTeen, Feburary 17th 2015

Genre: YA, Survival, Contemporary

Pages: 320

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss

Ever since the night of the incident with Luke Willis, the preacher’s son, sophomore Hallelujah Calhoun has been silent. When the rumors swirled around school, she was silent. When her parents grounded her, she was silent. When her friends abandoned her … silent.

Now, six months later, on a youth group retreat in the Smoky Mountains, Hallie still can’t find a voice to answer the taunting. Shame and embarrassment haunt her, while Luke keeps coming up with new ways to humiliate her. Not even meeting Rachel, an outgoing newcomer who isn’t aware of her past, can pull Hallie out of her shell. Being on the defensive for so long has left her raw, and she doesn’t know who to trust.

On a group hike, the incessant bullying pushes Hallie to her limit. When Hallie, Rachel, and Hallie’s former friend Jonah get separated from the rest of the group, the situation quickly turns dire. Stranded in the wilderness, the three have no choice but to band together.

With past betrayals and harrowing obstacles in their way, Hallie fears they’ll never reach safety. Could speaking up about the night that changed everything close the distance between being lost and found? Or has she traveled too far to come back?

Were this book wholly contemporary, I don't think we would have gotten along so well. But the emphasis of the whole book is put on survival, and that really drives the story, makes it into something quite extraordinary when paired with the important issues it highlights.

The main character of this book, Hallelujah, is a victim of bullying and lies and reputation, and because of this she has retreated into herself, found comfort in silence even though it leaves her alone, vulnerable. This story is about a girl learning to trust again - to trust people, and herself, and her own judgement. It's about learning to accept what has happened, what you can control, and what you can't.

A major emphasis of this book is on how women silence themselves, and how a male voice will always be louder than a female, will always be heard. That this is in a YA novel is commendable.

This book is about how women are taught to analyse even their smallest actions when things go wrong and to place blame on themselves. Because we must have done something wrong, been in the wrong place, given the wrong impression. Hallelujah even says in the book that she shouldn't have been in the wrong place, that it wouldn't have happened if she hadn't gone to a guy's room to say goodnight, despite it being an innocent decision - she places the blame of a guy choosing to humiliate her and bully her for months on one action she made - importantly ON HERSELF. Because that is what a society run by men teaches women to do. 

And The Distance Between Lost and Found is not ashamed or afraid to call out that bullshit, to throw stark light on the reality of sexual reputation for women, on the damage that lies can do to young girls, on the damage that young girls can do to each other.

A piercing, atmospheric survival story that explores the silencing of women and the blame we place unfairly on ourselves.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world building ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★☆

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The Headhunters Race (RC Review)

Headhunters: The Headhunters Race | Kimberly Afe

Published by: January Sky Publishing, January 3rd 2014

Genre: YA, Dystopia, Survival Story

Pages: 196

Format: Ebook

Source: Provided by author in exchange for an honest review

Sixteen-year-old Avene was sentenced to prison at thirteen for a crime she didn't commit. Now she has a chance to win her freedom back – if she enters the Headhunters Race. Second prize isn't so bad either, an upgrade to the Leisure Prison if you make it to the finish line. To win either prize, Avene and the other prisoners must navigate one hundred and fifty miles of dense forest, desert, and worst of all, cannibal territory.

With a mechanical collar timed to strangle the prisoners if they're not back in nine days, Avene allies herself with seventeen-year-old McCoy, another prisoner that insists on helping her at every turn and a boy she's trying hard not to fall for. Together they battle nature, other prisoners, and the timed death collars to win the coveted prize. But when Avene is tested with one deadly conflict after another, she realizes there is more at stake than winning her freedom – first she has to survive.

When I started reading this, I expected more dystopia than survival story and I am extra happy that this book is what it is.

In The Headhunters Race Avene, the protagonist, is imprisoned with only one hope of getting out of jail - win a manhunt of prisoners organised by the governor, and capture a fugitive in return for her freedom. But she'll have to battle criminals much more deadly than her in order to return the fugitive to the governor - her sadistic stepfather.

The Headhunter's Race reads, quite unexpectedly, as a modern survivalist fairy tale. The imprisoned girl, the malevolent stepfather, the huge task she has to complete in order to achieve her goal - freedom. I loved all the different elements of this book. The transition from prison to wildlands is seamless, the threats and dangers piled on top of each other to create an impossible summit of conflict Avene had to overcome, and made for a compelling and at parts emotional thrill ride.

I had a couple issues with the middle of the book, where it seemed like threats were being thrown at Avene one after another for no apparent reason. I feel like this could have worked better had Avene made some real progress and then had set backs spaced at crucial moments - which actually did happen later in the book. But other than that, I enjoyed it.

The Headhunters Race is a fast paced, quick read to be enjoyed by fans of dystopia, post-apocalyptic, and contemporary thrillers alike.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world building ★★★☆☆

Writing Style ★★★☆☆