Review - Divergent by Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. 

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her...

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Wow. Just, wow. This book had been recommended to me a couple of months ago, and I only got around to reading it now. My only regret is this: I should have read it ages ago!

This is another YA dystopian novel, set in a world where society is divided into five Factions based on personality traits: Abnegation (the selfless), Erudite (the geeks), Candor (the honest), Amity (the peaceful) and Dauntless (the brave). On your sixteenth birthday you have to choose your Faction, which decides where you spend the rest of your life. 

Here is where Beatrice comes in. She has grown up in Abnegation, learning to be small, plain and unnoticeable. Abnegation is the type of Faction where selflessness is praised, vanity is scorned and you're not allowed to look in the mirror for more than a couple of seconds every three months - when you're getting your hair cut. Beatrice hates it there, so on the Choosing Day, she transfers to Dauntless.

Dauntless initiation is the hardest one around. Everyday life includes: jumping on/off buildings and moving trains, combat training, target practice, and mastering your fears. That's without taking the less...amicable members into account. Oh, and another thing? If you fail your initiation, you get kicked out and become Factionless, which roughly translates as homeless. 

So Beatrice changes her name to Tris and gets her head in the game. She makes some friends (and enemies) along the way, and she just happens to snag the hottest instructor in the series. *sigh*

Tris is a well-rounded character. She is flawed enough to make her three-dimensional, but not so much that you hate her guts. She is relatable and tells a great story, and it's very easy to get caught up in her life. Also, she just happens to be Divergent. I will explain:

Most of the "state exam" thingies and the "official stuff" are done on Simulators. That means that you get injected with this serum and your transported to a dream-like world. Then the people in the control room make up these scenarios (great for the fear mastering!) and measure your reactions. The thing is that, like in most dreams, you don't know you're dreaming....unless you're Divergent. Being Divergent means that you know you're in a Simulation and you can manipulate the scenarios - meaning you can control the "dream".

For some top secret reason, the government are all about eradicating the Divergent, which is dangerous for Tris, and interesting for us readers. 

Anyway, I loved this book. It was an effortless read, with just the right amounts of mystery, plot, comedy and romance. I connected with the characters and enjoyed the story - and I can't wait to read the sequel! I give it:

 Four hats! It was magical!

Rant - Of Triton by Anna Banks

In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

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This book let me down. Of Poseidon had it's issues, but overall it was a good YA novel. The sequel, however: ugghhh.

This book picks up immediately after Of Poseidon ends. Emma's mother has been found out and has, quite frankly, gone off the deep end. Is it possible for an author to write their own characters "out of character"? Because that's what it looked like to me. 

Emma's mother - long lost Princess Nalia - suffers a complete personality change. Gone is the somewhat oblivious, caring mother from the first book. She is now replaced with this bratty, selfish woman who puts her own needs before her daughter's, and damn the consequences. Maybe it's but me, but I thought that it's a parent's prerogative to put their child first. After all, they're the one's that had the child. Nalia made her choice when she ran away from her responsibilities and had a baby - mistake or no. 

Another things I just couldn't wrap my head around: Nalia's "mating circumstances". Nalia has been living on land for about twenty years now. She is forty years old, because on land, the mermaid people age faster. Now Grom, her One True Love, has been living in the water, so he hasn't aged much at all. Add to that the fact that he is Emma's boyfriend's brother and I get all sorts of disgusted and creeped out. Seriously, on top of everything else, we are now going to add pedophilia to the novel??? If my mother was dating my boyfriend's brother - no, wait, she wouldn't. Because it's weird and freaky!

Also, Emma. I liked her considerably less in this book. While I would be super supportive if she were to, I don't know, hold an Intervention for her mother, or excommunicate her, or even GET ANGRY - she doesn't. All we get is this inner monologue of brattiness and self-hatred. The only thing "bratty" about her is that she's not rejoicing to the heavens that Nalia and Grom have found each other, like everyone else is. And then she hates herself because she's "not being happy for her mother". Seriously. 

I guess I just felt very alone reading this book. It was very frustrating and I felt like screaming "Does nobody else find this weird!!!??"

I would give detailed synopsis, but the whole book is pretty much Nalia-related politics. There is some action and revolutionary overhauling, but the plot doesn't make much sense and the characters suck.

This book gets:

 One hat. Not even Galen's hotness could save this thing.

Am I right? Wrong? What did you think? Let me know. :)

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks - Review

PREMISE

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen — literally, ouch! — both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . . 

Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

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This book was actually pretty good. It starts when Emma runs (literally) into this handsome guy on the beach and they are both all "Ooh, damn you is hot!". As things turn out, he's the prince of the Syrena (mer-people) and thinks that she is one of his subjects on the run. Of course, she doesn't have a clue about any of this, and it doesn't help matters when said prince keeps getting distracted by her pretty face and the shocking heat they feel when they touch...

In addition to believing she is a secret mermaid, he thinks she has the long lost "Gift of Poseidon". (It let's her talk to the fishies, basically.) This would make her a mermaid princess of his arch enemy and....political scheming ensues. He takes on the responsibility to keep an eye on her (which is no hardship, really. He does think she's hot.) Then PLOT happens and everything goes BAM!

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It was good and well paced, with some romance thrown in for good measure. There was also a surprising amount of plot (in a good way!) and some twists that I, for once, did not see coming. However, it was chock full of grammatical mistakes and it kept alternating points of view. One chapter would be written in Emma's POV and the next in Galen's, but Emma's would be written in the first person and Galen's would be written in the third. After awhile it gave me a headache.

It was, in many ways, a typical YA read: light, romantic, mysterious and fun. It would be a great book to bring to the beach and I enjoyed it enough to read a sequel. I give it:
 Three hats. The mermaid's made it magical.

Rant - Wrecked by Shiloh Walker

PREMISE

In the nineties, Abigale Applegate and Zach Barnes were the most beloved sitcom child stars in the world. Then they grew up and left Hollywood behind…

Whatever happened to Abigale Applegate?

She’s been wondering the same thing.

With her Hollywood dreams long gone, Abigale now has a nice, neat, uncomplicated life—until the day her perfect fiancé needs to talk. Dumped, a little more than shattered, and totally confused, Abigale turns to Zach, her best friend since forever, to help her pick up the pieces. He does it with a gift—a copy of Wreck This Journal. She can vent her frustrations, and sketch out a new plan. Zach just hopes he’s part of it. Because he’s been in love with Abigale his entire life.

When the journal falls into Zach’s hands, he discovers Abigale wants a new man. And fast. Nothing more than a hot distraction. Zach has a strategy, too. He’s going to be that man. It’s his last chance. Abigale might be out to shake up her life, but Zach’s out to reinvent it. Now, all he has to do is convince Abigale that life can go as planned.

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Looks good, right? Which is why, even though I'm not one for contemporary romance, I was really looking forward to this. In fact, I got so hyped up about this that I pre-ordered it for my Kindle and got up at 12.01 to read it!

..... and I think I've wasted my time. 

Don't get me wrong, it starts out pretty well. The tension between Zach and Abigale is absolutely delicious  and it was fun being in Zach's head. However, this book is supposed to be about "getting the girl" after waiting so long for her, right? 

Well, they have sex at the beginning of the book - and spend the rest of the book having sex. 

Seriously, where did the synopsis go? I must have completely misinterpreted it because I was waiting for this big build up and then a BOOM! at the end, when she discovers that her best friend like likes her and vice versa. Instead, Zach kind of bypasses the whole "friend" thing and head straight to "lover" almost as soon as the book starts. I know that the synopsis says that he wants to be the guy she has an affair with, but they way it was written just didn't ring true. Also, even though they are "Best Friends Forever" who are having sex, he keeps hiding his love for her in case it scares her away. Meanwhile, she tries to figure out:

1. Whether or not she loves him.
2. Whether or not he loves her.
3. Why she's so whiny.

Oh, wait, sorry. Number three was one of the things I was trying to figure out. Which brings me to my next point: I just didn't like Abigale.

As I mentioned above, she was really whiny. She practically fell apart if she didn't have a "plan" to follow. Now that I'm thinking about it, she actually might have had anxiety issues. If she did, I'd probably be more sympathetic. I think that the author was trying to show the contrast between her and Zach, who is supposed to live life on the edge. Which is funny, because apart from owning a tattoo parlour (oooh! Danger, danger!) he seems like a pretty normal guy.

I don't know. I just didn't feel it. I think it deserved:

 Two hats. It was a spell gone wrong.

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Thoughts? Have I completely lost my mind? Do you like it, love it or go "Eh."? Let me know!