FruityAhhLicious

SPOILER ALERT!

1:34 am 3 September 2015

Now doesn't that just sound creepy? A body institute. No less scary than learning that there are things such as Loaners and Reducers. Reducers who have their souls brainmapped into the Loaner's body and their job is to help them lose weight. The Loaner's soul is also brainmapped and held in a computerized system until their body has reached it's goal weight while the Reducer's body is left in an extended animation form. Morgan Dey is a Reducer and has just finished helping Shelby Johnson lose her intended fifty pounds in three months. Due to her family's financial situation she takes up the opportunity to help another Loaner lose weight and because she's such a promising young candidate for the program she's been given a challenge, to help Jodine Kowalczyks lose a hundred pounds in six months.

In six months time Morgan Dey will be in her own body again, able to help her parent's pay off her gramma's funeral costs and their debt while also able to put money away for tech school. In this high tech, futuristic world however, things are not always as they appear. There's the WHA, a group of concerned citizens outraged with the Body Institute's program and it's 'body-snatching' abilities who quickly escalate things to a violent nature. When the WHA's violence effects Morgan and Jodine, it's Morgan's duty to stop at nothing to not only try and stop them, but find out the truth of why Leo, the Body Institute's director in her city, has let things escalate to this level.

Despite still being in my usual read category, this was a bit of a different read for me. Futuristic, techy world with a pretty realistic topic of discussion, obesity. In this world obesity has grown so vast that the national Health Care Program was almost crippled and only due to the government's involvement were they able to slowly correct the problem. The book shows a racism not in the color of one's skin or in one's gender, but in how much someone weighs and the prejudices that go along with that. For someone who's familiar with that topic on my own, I could relate to the book in a different way and speaking on the subject helps enlighten it to others as well.

10:33 am 10 August 2015

Darkness Becomes Her (Gods & Monsters #1) - Kelly Keaton

Seventeen year old Ari has always known she was different with her freakishly pale silver hair and light teal eyes. Growing up as a ward of the state didn't make that any easier, but when she goes in search of her mom things become a bit stranger. She travels to her birth place New 2, the city once known as New Orleans before history's worst storms nearly destroyed it. New 2 is the haven for the odd and different and rumors often circulate that it's home to supernatural beings. There Ari stops at nothing to find out where she came from, why her mother abandoned her, and how to end a family curse.

I really enjoyed this fast paced, young adult, paranormal novel that's focused in New 2, a rebuilt New Orleans secluded from the rest of the United States. It was not what I was expecting at all and I was intrigued how it brought in old mythology with paranormal twists. The cover of the book inspired more of a Gothic theme, and New Orleans being more of a party town it elicited more of an exhilarating atmosphere, plus the descriptive details were very inviting. The characters were distinctive and intriguing and drew me in further. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this book for those that like more of a paranormal teen read.

8:53 pm 9 August 2015

This is one of those books that I'd love to see turn into a movie, the vivid detail Melissa uses to describe her world and the people and species in this book is beautiful and intriguing and I'd love to just see that visually displayed. I know nothing can compare to the book, but even someone else's interpretation of what the Avicen and Drakharin people look like would be astonishing. This book drew me in from the prologue and kept my attention throughout the whole novel.

Echo is a human girl, a runaway and a thief, who meets the Ala a seer and an Avicen, a species that has both bird and human features, when she is really young. The Ala takes her home and introduces her to her Nest, years later the Ala needs her to go on a quest for this legendary item, a firebird said to be the one item that can stop the war between the Avicen and the Drakharin, dragon-like people. Echo is faced with adversary at every corner but it doesn't deter her from her mission. I think this book has a perfect blend of action and adventure in a wonderful new world, as well as romance and deception.

The Girl at Midnight is perhaps one of my new favorites of the year! Recommended for those who read Cassandra Clare's City of Bones or Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone.

7:44 pm 9 August 2015

When Mare Barrow's falls into the arena where royal Silvers from all over are courting and competing for the prince Cal, she learns that she's not like all the other lowly Reds. She has powers like the Silvers. But this is unheard of, impossible. Reds don't have powers, they are the equivalent to peasants -- slaves while Silvers are Godly and cruel. Mare is then forced to pretend to be a long lost Silver by the King, and forced to be betrothed to Maven, the second prince. Mare, now known to the world as Mareena, decides to join up with the Red rebellion, the Scarlet Guard. And there, with an unlikely ally she sets forth to pluck the Silvers from their pedestal. But the path is not easy, and Mare's heart is divided between her betrothed and Cal.

My coworker Mel read this book and adored it, and kept pushing me to read it. Everywhere I turn, all I heard was praise of this book so I finally sat down and dug in. I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't read this book sooner. And I'm so bummed I have to wait till next year for the second in the series to come out. But this is by far a great book, and if you like fantasy or young adult I definitely recommend that you read this. It's full of everything you could ever want in a book, it's fast-paced, action-packed, multiple plot twists and betrayals, love triangles that leave your head spinning. This is by far one of my top favorites of 2015 thus far.

SPOILER ALERT!

The Unexpected Road

6:26 pm 9 August 2015

The reader drops you off into Cassandra's cramped prison and you get a taste of the caged and always monitored suffering this teenager has gone through for eight long years. Gripping and suspenseful, Murphrey always keeps you interested and guessing what will happen next. I could barely put this book down! When Cassandra gets rescued rather unexpectedly and taken to live with an uncle she wasn't aware she had things become even more mysterious. Cass finds out she belongs to an evolved race of humans called Weavers and that the man who had her imprisoned is the equivalent to a soul eater, stealing the bodies of Weaver's to prolong his own life. She having been on the most recent menu. On top of that, not everyone is happy about the circumstances involving her rescue. The Weaver's Council has made it clear that she is on the outs and they are debating whether or not to keep her around and Cass isn't all that she appears. There are so many avenues where this story can be taken, I can't wait to read the next book in this series, Changeling.

8:14 pm 30 April 2015

(Warning: May contain slight spoilers)

To be fair I got this book as an advance and had to read it for work and the summary on the advance wasn't the greatest. It actually reminded me of a YA trashy romance novel, and I -hate- romance novels. So you can see where I'm coming from, figuring the book wouldn't be that great. In the beginning it was comparable to the Twilight series which I also really hate, with Adrian being 'untouchable and gorgeous' but that's about the only similarity aside from obvious vampire-ness that's in common.

I was pleasantly surprised by the turn of events in the book, unless you read the little blurb on the back of the book you didn't realize Adrian (the vampire-demon) was a vampire until about a quarter of the way through the book. The way in which Caitlin found about his otherness was intriguing as well and you were always waiting to see when the bad-guy would actually turn up.

Still comparing this to the Twilight series I feel this book did a far better representation of a vampire-human love interest. Adrian was far less creepy than Edward always made me feel and Adrian was more conflicted actually struggling with his responsibilities and interests in Caitlin where as Edward seemed all statue-controlling-asshole-ish to me. Caitlin was sassy and not as insecure and soft-spoken as Bella always seemed to be. Actually there was so much banter between Adrian and Caitlin that that alone made the story interesting.

I really liked this book and definitely recommend you to read this. Though - I'd wait till it comes out because the advance has a lot of spelling and grammar errors. <3

Thus far my favorite book of 2015!

7:29 pm 14 February 2015

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

This is perhaps my favorite book of the year thus far. It sort of reminds me of Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series but branches out in different, unique and exciting ways. It kind of compares to the beauty and the beast vibe but again takes a completely different avenue so you're not stuck with that same cliché. It's the world of fae, and has a darker fantasy feel. Personally, I believe this new series will be better than Sarah's Throne of Glass series and I can't wait for the next novels in the series to come out!

FruityAhhLicious

The Unexpected Road

Thus far my favorite book of 2015!

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