Review: Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Book: Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Series: No

Released: March 11, 2014

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 336 (ebook)

Stars: 1.5 stars

Goodreads

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

*I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an open and honest review*

From Goodreads:

 Contemporary teen fiction with romance, secrets, scandals, and ESP from the author of Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have).
We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.

So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

Snore. I was so bored with this book. Especially the beginning. It was just so vague. It kept alluding to SOMETHING that happened, but it seemed like it took forever to get there. Not that I'm opposed to mystery and intrigue, but it felt like every other page ended with a sentence that was basically saying "I'll tell you more later, I can't be bothered to tell you anything now."

There are some girls. And some guys. They have some names. Like Mackenize and Tess and a boy named Cooper. They live in New York and are quasi-rich. That's about all I remember. There were a lot of characters discussed and named. Honestly they pretty much all ran together.

So the high school students are all in the same homeroom. They develop the power to read minds. From a FLU SHOT. Then one of the girls (Mackenzie maybe?) freaks out because now her boyfriend (Cooper) will find out she cheated on him last summer. And that's pretty much the main part of the story. There may have been a few other minor things that happened, but yeah, that's about it.

So here's the deal. I know I should review the book how it was written, not review it over what I wanted to or thought should happen. But then the review would pretty much be blank, because NOTHING happened. There were a couple of minor conflicts, but nothing really worth noting. The worst thing that happened really didn't end up being that big of an issue. I feel like it was such a missed opportunity to really explore what people hide. Maybe something worse than a girl cheated on her boyfriend. Something like one of the girls had an eating disorder that no one knew about. Or one of the guys had been abused and had never told anyone. A REAL secret. But it was all so fluffy and had very little substance. Granted this is the first book I've read of Mlynowski's so maybe she tends to keeps things lighter? I don't know.

Also causing a problem was there were so many people. Maybe had the story focused on two or maybe even three, it would have had more of an impact. But as it was, they all kinda mixed together and I didn't really connect with any one particular character.

I probably would not rec this to anyone. In case you haven't figured that out by the rest of the review.

Review: Deviation by Christine Manzari

Book: Deviation by Christine Manzari

Series: The Sophisticates #1

Released: August 9, 2013

Publisher:CreateSpace

Pages:  430 (Paperback)

Stars: 4.25

Goodreads

**I received this book from the author in exchange for an open and honest review.**

From Goodreads

Being a Sophisticate of the Program seems like it’d be a pretty sweet deal: a little genetic alteration and anyone can be smarter, faster, and stronger. It’s a dream come true. All you have to give up is your freedom.

Cleo is a Sophisticate and she has a bright future in the Program. But she has a secret. When she gets upset, bad things happen. Explosive things. Things she can’t control.

When her secret is discovered, she’s sent to the Academy to train in the military branch of the Program. She’s destined to be a human weapon in the war that’s been going on since Wormwood occurred nearly 30 years ago. She soon learns that although her ability is unique, there are others like her — other Sophisticates with lethal skills and odd code names like Archerfish and Mimic Octopus.

Immersed in a dangerous game of supernatural powers and dubious motives, Cleo doesn’t know who to trust. Ozzy, the annoyingly attractive cadet who has perfect aim in weapons class and deviant lips behind closed doors, begs her not to use her powers. He’s the golden boy of the Program, but can she trust him? Or will she find herself a target, caught in his crosshairs?

I quite enjoyed this book. It's an interesting take on the dystopian genre where there are a select few who develop super powers. There's also some fabulous code names (more on those in a minute), and I rather enjoyed the love interest (and the fact that there was not a love triangle to be found).

Clementine "Cleo" Dracone is a normal Sophisticate. At least until she makes her room explode. I liked Cleo. She's super smart, and capable of more than she gives herself credit for. She gets thrown into a situation that she wasn't prepared to handle (5 mile run every morning? No thanks). And due to her crazy intelligence, she's also a hacker, which I thought was a nice touch.

Cleo has some awesome friends. Her friend Cassie is the first one we're introduced to in the book. While she doesn't play a huge role in the first book, other than to help with some plot points, she's set up for a rather major role in book 2, and I look forward to learning more about her.

When Cleo arrives at her new school, she is immediately introduced to Sterling. My "love interest" radar started going off, and you'll just have to read the book to see if I'm right or not. ;) But Sterling is great. He's snarky, which is one of my favorite character traits. His snarkiness comes out even more when talking to Arabella. Arabella packs a lot of character in a tiny little package. She might be one of my favorite people in the entire book. She is FEISTY.

And then there's Ozzy. It was hard for me to get a read on Ozzy. I read such conflicting accounts of him from the other characters, which piqued my interest. And Cleo's too apparently.

Of course, not everyone is great in Cleo's world. Quinnie is rather evil. She has the power to electrocute people, and uses it to her advantage.

The Sophisticate Program was created approximately 30 years prior to the time period occurring in the book. The Sophisticates were created by the government to be faster, stronger, and smarter than the "normal" population. They receive special privileges and all the best jobs. The only downside? They're property of the government. They have very little freedom. The Sophisticates are divided in to two groups: the Vanguards a/k/a "the brains" and the Mandates a/k/a "the brawn."

The book starts off with Cleo and her best friend Cassie at University. Cleo gets super upset and incinerates her room. With no warning, no reason given, and much to Cleo's surprise, she is sent to St. Ignatius, which is the training school for Mandates. Cleo should have been a Mandate. She'd been training for it for most of her life, plus she's brilliant. It's here that Cleo learns the truth about herself, and that there's others like her. Namely, the Deviant Dozen (I love this name). The Deviant Dozen have totally awesome code names: a few are Archerfish, Hummingbird, Electric Eel, Tiger Moth, Horror Frog, and my personal favorite, Indonesian Mimic Octopus.

I really appreciated that there was no insta-love or even a love-triangle, even though it could have been very easy to go that direction. I really enjoyed Cleo's relationship with her guy (and no, I'm not telling you which one). They challenge each other and don't let the other one have the easy way out. The development of the relationship felt organic and real, never forced.

One of my favorite things in books is a strong friendship between the female MC and her best friend. We get to experience two such relationships in this book, with Cleo and Cassie, and the developing one between Cleo and Arabella. I'll be interested to see if there's a change in dynamic in the 2nd book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who liked paranormal books such as the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi and Pivot Point & Split Second by Kasie West. There are some similar aspects to each one, without being the exact same.

 I approve.

Review: The Seers by Julianna Scott

Book: The Seers by Julianna Scott

Series: The Holders #2

Released: February 14, 2014

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Pages: 430 (Kindle)

Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads

*I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an open and honest review*

 

 From Goodreads:

After nearly being drained of her ability and betrayed by a man her father trusted, Becca Ingle was left with one clue — Ciaran Shea. He holds the key to the downfall of the power-mad Holder, Darragh, and can ensure the safety of both Holder and Human kind alike... but is he willing to help?

Becca, Alex, Jocelyn, and Cormac set out for Adare Manor to meet with the Bhunaidh, an aristocratic group of pure blooded Holders of whom Ciaran is a rumored member. However, when Becca discovers that they might not be the only ones after the information Ciaran has, everyone begins to wonder if Bhunaidh might not be as uninvolved with Darragh as they claim.

A race to uncover Ciaran’s secrets begins, where the line between friend and foe is blurred, and everyone seems to have their own agenda. Becca will have to call on every ability at her disposal to uncover the truth, all the while knowing that sometimes the answer is more dangerous than the question.

I'm going to try something different for my reviews for a while (or now on, depending on how it goes). I need a better way to sort my thoughts, instead of just rambling on, and on, and on... Let me know if you prefer this format, or the old one.

 Note: As will all series continuations, this review will contain spoilers for the first book. Ye be warned.

I rather enjoyed this book and its predecessor, The Holders. It's a good combination of paranormal and contemporary, all set in one of my favorite places that I've never visited, Ireland. The Seers picks up directly where The Holders left off. Which, if you've read my reviews before, you know I enjoy. I despise missing scenes between books. I don't like being left out of the action. I hadn't heard anything about it until I received it from Netgalley, which is rather a shame, because I liked it and I think others will as well.

Becca is back in full force. I love her as a MC. She's intelligent and snarky. I love her wit, and her fierce protectiveness over her friends and family. But she's not perfect by any means. She's stubborn, sometimes almost to her detriment. But she's strong, and willing to learn. She tries not to show weakness, even when I felt like she should. So basically, she's a fully-realized character, and I adore her.

Then there's Alex. How could anyone not fall in love with Alex? He's quiet and strong. Caring and protective. He's insecure and loving. He's most definitely a perfect match for Becca. I particularly enjoyed the back and forth in his relationship with Becca. Are they perfect? No. But they do compliment each other nicely. They have their ups and downs, talk about it with each other (YAY!) and come out better for each other in the end.

Also making appearances are Chloe (who I would really, really like to learn more about her in the 3rd book, okay?), Jocelyn (whose relationship with Becca is improving but still complicated. I'm enjoying the back-and-forth between them), Cormac (who is awesome and please tell me more about him, kthanksbye),a as well as a few of the other characters from the first book.

We're introduced to Bastian, whose parents are the leaders of  the Bhunaidh, an aristocratic group of pure blooded Holders. I couldn't get a read on Bastian at first-probably because Becca couldn't either. But by the mid-part of the book, holy moly, do I like him. He's great. There's lots more characters we meet while at Adare (Bastian's home), but no one really of consequence, other than his brother who does become a major factor.

The group from St. Brigid's head to Adare Manor to talk to the Bhunaidh to see if they will help them locate Ciaran Shea. Shea is, of course, the key to finding Darragh and thwarting his diabolical plans. While some places of the story were a bit slow, it still maintained a nice pace leading up to each twist and turn. To tell you more would be all kinds of spoilery, so you'll just have to read it for yourself.

There were definitely a few surprises, which I rather enjoyed. I love when I am legitimately surprised in books, as it doesn't happen as often anymore. If you read it, by all means, PLEASE tweet me or leave a comment. I desperately want to talk to someone about this book.

Absolutely. I would suggest this book to anyone who likes Harry Potter, the X-Men or any other book with a bit of supernatural flair to it. I can't wait to read the next one!

Happy dance