Review: A Dystopian Lovers Dream Set!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 27, 2014
So excited to get this set! It includes ten young adult dystopain novels at a bargain price!! Below are my reviews for each novel (updated as I read them):"Open Minds" by Susan Kaye Quinn"The Moon Dwellers" by David Estes...is book one of a seven book saga about the human race and their fight for survival. Adele Rose and Tristan Nailin come from two very different realities. Adele lives in the Moon Realm, has always known what it is to be poor, and when her parents are convicted of treason is sent to the Pen (a juvenile detention center). Adele's only goal is to escape and find her family. Tristan lives in the Sun Realm, the son of the president he knows only a life a luxury. Fed up with the rules of his father, Tristan with his best friend Roc leave to see if they can make a change.So I seriously loved this book! The author alternates first person POV between Tristan and Adele giving you a full picture of the world they live in. I'll admit that it was hard to follow for the first few chapters until I got use to the characters but then the story flowed well.Adele is a wonderful female lead character. She's strong-willed, independent, a fighter, and not afraid to go after what she wants, which in this case is her family. And Tristan....I love Tristan! When I was reading about Tristan, my mind immediately went to Prince William...you know born to rule, everyone knows his face, charismatic persona, yet no one really knows him. Tristan doesn't want his father's life though, and he has this natural self-depreciating humor, he just doesn't take his role in the Tri-Realms seriously. But the two main characters are not the only ones to make up this story. Adele's two friends Cole and Tawni and Tristan's best friend and servant Roc make our main characters' flaws and strengths known. Not to mention the constant banter between Roc and Tristan had me laughing out loud!This story is well-developed with strong dystopian themes, lots of suspense, a little mystery and an undercurrent of romance. The world-building is subtle yet believable and is explained/revealed as the story unfolds, rather than given to you all at once. I loved this! It was much easier to stay invested in the main plot, which was two-fold. First Adele along with her new friends Tawni and Cole escape the Pen to find her family. And second Tristan who after a chance glimpse of a mysterious Moon Dweller had a strange painful experience decides it's time to leave his father and find this Moon Dweller to discover the reason for the pain.Overall I highly recommend this book! It was a fast, easy read with an intricate dystopian tale, lots of suspense and action to drive the plot and just a hint of romance. I read this book in just under a day, and I can't wait to start the next one. If you like young adult dystopians, you don't want to miss out on this one!"Prison Nation" by Jenni Merritt"daynight" by Megan Thomason...is book one of the daynight series and lays the foundation for an excellent series! The story revolves around Kira Donovan and Blake Sundry, the latest SCI (Second Chance Institute) Recruits. Kira joins to escape the past that haunts her and Blake joined to bring the SCI down, but he will need Kira's help to do so. The problem lies in if he can trust her and if she should trust him.This review is really hard for me to write. There are so many twists and turns and surprises that come throughout the book I'm afraid to reveal too much and spoil the book for you! Let me break it down this way:*The Characters*There are really three main characters and the POVs alternate between the three giving you a much clearer picture of this new world and what the characters' think and believe. Kira Donovan is a type A personality and highly loyal to her friends and family. After an explosion kills her friends and most of her high school class she joins the SCI hoping that being away from her home will distract her from the memories that haunt her. Blake Sundry went to high school with Kira, and he has the bad boy kind of loser reputation. But he is anything except a loser. Blake knows what the SCI really does and he is there to bring them down, but with Kira as a partner he will need her help. Ethan Darcton is the son of the senior Ten (head of SCI) and briefly meets Kira before the explosion that killed her friends. Kira believes him dead, but Ethan has strict instructions to stay away from her. However he believes he loves her and wants her to be his.*Thera*Okay here's where things get confusing, or at least for me it was slightly confusing. Thera is the sister-planet to Earth. Basically it's like a reverse copy of Earth. Where there's land on Earth, there's water on Thera and vise versa. Thera is much hotter than Earth, to the point that Therans sleep during the day and work at night when temperatures are still 100-120 degrees. The SCI rules Thera and they are kind of like dictators with strict political rules. If the rules are broken, you are Exiled or killed. To be Exiled means you live off the land outside of the cities of Thera, which is basically a death sentence.*Plot*This story revolves around Kira finding out about the SCI, they're convoluted government, rules, and Thera. The more that is revealed the more Kira realizes how bad this government is and their reach on Earth. Kira must decide what to do. Does she side with Blake and his revolution or Ethan and keep the peace on Thera?That's really a dumb-downed version of the plot. Like I said there are so many surprises throughout the book I can't reveal much without spoiling it and I don't want to do that! There's a ton of action, surprises that I couldn't guess, and a little romance. Kira is actually quite confused by her feelings throughout the book, which means that yes there is the dreaded love triangle. And it really is dreaded in this book! You have Blake, who is her confidant and friend, her partner on this new planet. And then you have perfect Ethan, who is unavailable and seems to be lying to her. This triangle should not exist!!! It detracted from the main plot and made the characters kinda whiny. Hence the reason for three stars and not four or five.Overall there is a ton of action in this book, lots of surprises and like I said some romance which with that aside lays the groundwork for an amazing series. As soon as I finished book one, which let me tell you culminates in one finally big surprise and then abruptly ends!!!!, I rushed and bought book two and the bridge novella. Having already read them, I can tell you it is a very good series and I'm dying for book three! If you enjoy young adult dystopians with a little romance and a whole lot of action, I highly recommend this book!"Stitch" by Samantha Durante"The Annihilation of Foreverland" by Tony Bertauski"The Girls from Alcyone" by Cary Caffrey"The Narrowing Path" by David J. Normoyle"Virulent: The Release" by Shelbi Wescott"External Forces" by Deborah Rix***I received this ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.***