review

Fast and Loose by Nicholas J. Johnson

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25374404Fast and Loose by Nicholas J. Johnson

Published: 1st July 2015

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis mk3Joel Fitch used to be a con artist.

That is, until his scam paid off but his life went belly up. Now, two years later, at the ripe old age of 22, Joel has a mattress full of cash and no idea what comes next. The movies never tell you what to do after you’ve walked into the sunset.

Besides, Joel’s past is catching up with him. One of the victims from his con artist days has hunted him down. Far from exacting revenge, though, he wants Joel’s help. Danny Hemming is a TV journalist on television’s trashiest current-affairs program and he’s looking for someone to give him the inside scoop on the latest scams. And he’s not taking no for an answer.

Once again, Joel finds himself in over his head as he enters the murky world of tabloid television. Blackmailed into helping Hemming uncover and expose the country’s biggest swindlers, Joel is making more enemies than ever.

Goodreads-Button-with-Shadow My Thoughts mk3

I liked this book and the fact that I enjoyed it even though it wasn’t filled with forbidden or unrequited love, fantastical creatures or other worlds, like the books I normally read, for me shows how good a story teller Mr Johnson is.

The main characters; Joel Fitch a 22 year old millionaire ex-con-man and Danny Hemming TV “Journalist” with his eyes on the top producers’ job – Neither character is really all that like-able, but they don’t need to be. This book is fast paced, easy to read and flows well. It is set in Sydney, so it’s just down the road from me (kinda). I found it interesting taking a peek into a criminal world that goes on every day under all our noses. Now I’m not stupid, I know this stuff goes on, but obviously not everyone does as the Con-men out there are still thriving.

I mainly read stories that let me escape the world we live in – this story is the world we live in!! Even though I wasn’t glued to the pages, it was well worth the read and I’m looking forward to reading more from Mr Johnston.Three Stars

Author’s Links mk3

Nicholas J. Johnson knows scams.

After decades of rubbing shoulders with fraudsters and liars, he now works as a performer, writer and consultant, educating the public about the tricks of the con artist’s trade.

His live shows have featured at corporate events, schools and private events simultaneously entertaining and educating audiences about con artists and scams.

As an expert on fraud and deception he has appeared on A Current Affair, The Project, Sunrise, Kid’s WB, Today, Radio National, Triple J and more. He has consulted with everyone from magician David Blaine to Circus Oz.

A critically acclaimed comedian, Nicholas has performed at Edinburgh Fringe, Adelaide Fringe and the Melbourne Comedy Festival where he was nominated for the Golden Gibbo award for best independent comedy.

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/NicholasJJohnson

Website – http://www.conman.com.au/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/countlustig

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/TrickyNick79

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/honestconman

BATGIRL: ‘The New 52’ DC Comic Book Series

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Batgirl_Vol_4_10_Solicit

Synopsis mk3

The daughter of Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, Barbara Gordon was raised in Gotham City, knowing firsthand the dangers inherent in living there. A classic overachiever and determined student, she struck out on her own as Batgirl in an attempt to help both Batman and her father in their mission to protect the citizens of Gotham. Quickly reined in by Batman and trained to be a more effective hero. Batgirl became a valued member of his team along with the first Robin, Dick Grayson. Tragically, Barbara’s life was forever altered when the joker shot her while she was in her civilian identity, while he was attacking her father. She was paralyzed from the waist down, and it seemed as if her time as Batgirl has been ended permanently. But Barbara did not give up. Working herself to the absolute limits of her physical and mental abilities, in time she regained the ability to walk. Taking things a step further, she made the daring choice to retrain herself and return to patrolling Gotham City as Batgirl.

My Thoughts mk3

I’d forgotten Batgirl was Commissioner Gordon’s Daughter, so that was a nice surprise.

I like Batgirl; she has a cool motorbike that can ride up walls then para-shoot back down, oh and she’s a strong, independent female kicking bad guys asses.

I started this whole thing backwards; the first Batgirl comic I read was #39, then going on to read #39’s story continuation in Secret Origins #10. I decided at this point that I really should stop and start at the beginning.

I’m still getting used to how short comic books feel – they end and I just want to keep reading.

So let’s start at the beginning:

batgirl 0

Batgirl #0: in this Issue we get to see the First time Barbara puts on the cape and becomes Batgirl. We get a glimpse at her first year as a crime fighting vigilante. I really enjoyed this prequel issue setting up what I am sure to be an action packed and entertaining series. I’m looking forward to following Barbara Gordon through this series. I can definitely see myself becoming addicted to Batgirl’s world, which my husband is not too happy about lol.

Goodreads

Bob’s Burgers

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Bob's CoverBob’s Burgers Volume 1 By Chad Brewster, Jeff Drake, Justin Hook, Rachel Hastings and Mike Olsen

Published Apr 7 2015 by Diamond Book Distributors / Dynamite Entertainment

I received a copy to read and review through Net Galley, so thank you to the Authors and Publisher for allowing me this opportunity.

Synopsis mk3

Now you can read about the Belcher family (parents Bob and Linda, and their children Tina, Gene and Louise) with brand-new in-canon stories created by the TV show’s producers, writers, and animators!

That’s right, all-original stories that expand upon the fan-favorite animated series, including hilarious installments of “Louise’s Unsolved Mysteries”, “Tina’s Erotic Friend Fiction”, “A Gene Belcher Original Musical”, “Letters Written by Linda”, “Bob’s Burgers of the Day”, and much more!

Bob see and read

My Thoughts mk3

I’ve only every managed to catch a few episodes of Bob’s Burgers the show and I liked what I saw. I decided to give the Comic book version a ago and I’m glad it did as it was a really fun and quick read.

‘Volume One’ contains the first Five issues. Each issue is set up with each Belcher getting their own sections to show off their quirky wonderful selves. My favourite throughout was Tina’s erotic friend fiction, it gave us everything thing from a Frankenstein Jimmy Jr with a perfect butt, to Tina as a super hero horse with some zombie apocalypse thrown in for good measure. I also really enjoyed Louise’s fort inspired shanty town and giggled out loud when it imploded on itself. Linda’s letters were amusing and Bob’s burgers of the day were delicious. I couldn’t really get into Gene’s Musicals, although the farting frog pied piper was a goofy bit of fun – I felt everything else transferred to the page from the screen really well.

I’ve gone and got myself some Bob’s Burgers DVDs now 🙂 time to give them a go.

Four Stars

If you like Bob’s Burgers and you like comic books then you’ll be in Belcher Burger heaven with this.

Bob Dahli

Goodreads

Outcast by Robert Kirkman

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Outcast by Robert Kirkman

Published 10th February 2015 by Image Comics & Diamond Book Distributors

I received a copy to read and review through Net Galley, so thank you to the Author and Publisher for allowing me this opportunity.

Synopsis mk3Outcast Bio

My Thoughts mk3

Thanks to The Walking Dead Robert Kirkman would have to be one of the biggest names in the comic book industry at the moment. Outcast has only just put out it’s first six issues and it’s already been picked up for a TV show.

I don’t normally read things labeled as “Horror” but am happy I gave this a go. I am still rather new to the comic book world but am loving it (don’t worry I have no intention of giving up my YA Fantasy’s or any other books for that matter).

I enjoyed Outcast. I liked Kyle, I felt for the bloke. When we first meet Kyle he is living out his days in filth as a hermit, stuck in his own personal hell. Through a series of flash backs we learn of the major events in Kyle’s life and it quickly becomes evident that there has always been some sort of demonic force behind his downfall.  His mother was possessed when he was only a little boy. His wife becomes possessed, sending his little girl to hospital clinging to life and he is blamed for it. The Demons seem drawn to him. Kyle ends up with the local Reverend carrying out an exorcism, and we see him come to life again with the passion to discover the truth. That’s where this volume ends, with Kyle Vowing to discover the truth.

I intend to follow this series, I actually liked it that much. I want to see if Kyle can clear his name and get his little girl back. I want to see what happens with the big bad demon that was threatening the Reverend. And I want to find out why the demons all keep calling Kyle ‘Outcast’. I’d say i’ll wait until they do volume two rather than individual issues, so i’ll probably be waiting another six months (I’m going off of the fact that Saga a issue comes out once a month and every six they do a ‘volume’ combining the six). I don’t think I’d get enough substance in one issue, I fly though one volume as it is.

Anyway I’m rambling – five stars.

Five Stars

Author’s Links mk3

Robert Kirkman on Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12425.Robert_Kirkman

OUTCAST Picked Up as a TV series – http://www.skybound.com/outcast-pilot-officially-picked-up/

Robert Kirkman with Skybound – http://www.skybound.com/about-us/

In Search of Lost Dragons

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In Search of Lost Dragons by Elian Black’Mor and Carine M

Published 3rd Febuary 2015 by Diamond Book Distributors & Dynamite Entertainment

I received a copy to read and review through Net Galley, so thank you to the Authors and Publisher for allowing me this opportunity.

Synopsis mk3

On the trail of dragons forgotten, an intrepid illustrator and reporter journeys from Europe through the Middle East and finally to Saigon in search of the dark caverns and mountaintop perches where the elusive winged serpents dwell.

With the gift of seeing the invisible, our explorer friend records each encounter in a journal of gorgeous, fully painted artwork, capturing every majestic and fearsome visual detail of the scaly behemoths, and accompanies his findings with snippets of local lore as evidence that these hidden beasts continue to shape the world in ways we may never expect!

Gorgeous full-color paintings, accompanied by a unique story of world-wide exploration and dragon encounters!

My Thoughts mk3

The book is written as a sort of personal journal/scrapbook. I loved the collaboration of photos, paintings, sketches, newspaper articles, scribbled notes and cut out mementos. I really enjoyed reading little bits about the different dragons and their habitats. There is an underling plot of the explorer searching for Dragons, but the writing is minimal.

The pictures are absolutely divine. I would suggest reading this book as the Hardcover visual delight it was intended to be. As I was reading a reviewer eBook I had to keep zooming in to read the words, then zooming out to fully appreciate the illustrations – but I enjoyed it never the less.

I do think I will buy a hardcover copy, as it think this is a book my son would appreciate when he’s a bit older. Four Stars.

Four Stars

Goodreads

Ignite (Ignite, #1) by Erica Crouch

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Ignite (Ignite, #1) by Erica Crouch

Publication Date: June 11th, 2013

Pages: 346

Age: Listed as 12+

A BIG thank you to Net Gallery & Patchwork Press for allowing me a copy of this book to read and review.

Synopsis

Penemuel (Pen) fell from grace over a millennium ago, yet there are still times she questions her decision to follow her twin brother, Azael, to Hell. Now that the archangel Michael has returned, threatening Lucifer’s vie for the throne, she begins questioning everything she has always believed.

As Hell prepares for war – spreading a demonic virus and pilfering innocent souls to build an army – the lines separating the worlds blur. Fates erase and the future is left unwritten. Azael is determined that he and his sister will continue to serve as demons together, but for the first time in her life, Pen is not ruled by destiny. She has the freedom of choice.

With choice comes sacrifice, and Pen must decide which side she’s willing to risk everything fighting for: the light, or the dark.

My Thoughts

This book is set in modern times with the POV character a the fallen angel named Penemuel (Pen) who now as a demon spends her time with her brother Azael (Az) killing and reaping the souls that they are assigned. We find Pen struggling with the demonic assassin life she leads and feeling that she doesn’t belong anywhere.

Enter Michael a newly born angel with an angelic past life set to hunt him down. So we end up with a demon that’s not pure evil and an angel that’s not pure goodness. Circumstances see them brought together and they awkwardly fall in love. For all Michael’s saying that he loves Pen and believes in her, he is quick to doubt her when it comes to the crunch – that annoyed me. But she never loses faith in him. And he wakes up to himself in the end.

We find out that the reason that Pen fell from Heaven was so she could stay with her brother who was always destined for Hell. We find out that Pen had always being alone in Heaven with a Az as her only friend. We see her struggle to cut the ties with her brother even though she knows she no longer belongs in Hell.

Oh and there is the drama with the half demons who can turn humans by biting them. Demi-Demons with werewolf abilities and vampirey desires. And then there is the small matter of Hell’s war on Heaven and the Apocalypse.

The story ends with the lines between the worlds erased; there is no Heaven or Hell, just an impending war on Earth.

It took me about the first 30% of the book to get into it. Nothing is black and white, just various shades of grey, various shades of right and wrong. There was one section near the end that frustrated the bajesus out of me, Michael and Pen are having a deep and meaningful when they’re about to get attacked. I was screaming in my head at them to “SHUT UP AND FLY AWAY NOW talk lovey dovey later”. So yeah I got into the story in the end.

I give it 4 stars. This novel is available now.

I’ve gone out and pre-purchased the 2nd book Incite, it’s released on the 17th Feb. The next book should be exciting, seeing what becomes of all the angels and demons stranded on earth. Michael regaining his memory of his previous life and Az being sent out to kill Pen and Michael on Lucifers orders. It’s written from duel POV, so as well as seeing into Pen’s Mind we see into Az. I didn’t like Az so it’ll be interesting to see how I find being in his head.

Goodreads

My tag line for this book; An action packed love story between a demon that’s not pure evil and an angel that’s not pure goodness

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More Info:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ericacrouchbooks

Twitter – https://twitter.com/erica_crouch

YouTube – http://youtube.com/moreerica

Blog – http://ericacrouch.com/

Contact – http://www.erica.patchwork-press.com/contact/

The Hunter’s Companion (Familiars #1) by Lori Powell

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Synopsis

Witches and hunters. Blood and magic. Heartache and lust. Will history repeat itself?

Lora Smith’s life changes forever one day deep in the English fens. Caught up in the Witch trials of 1645, her life ends tragically early, yet her legacy lives on.

Regan White is a 21st century Brighton girl who loves to shop, party, and shop some more. Forced to relocate to her aunt’s crumbling old house in the fenland of West Norfolk, away from everything she’s ever known, Regan’s life takes a mysterious twist.

A box of old diaries tell of strange happenings, striking a chord with Regan’s own recent unnerving experience in the lingering fog of the fens and drawing her deeper into the mystery. Destiny is a big word but it seems that Regan’s is irrevocably entwined in this bewitching landscape.

How do the diaries, her band of new friends, and the captivating American Nate Hunter, all tie together? Will Regan find the link before it is too late, or will she share Lora’s fate?

My Thoughts

I received a copy of this book from the author, through the Goodreads Group “YA Lovers” in exchange for and honest review. So first up I’m going to say Thank you!

Straight up the book was filled with full on imagery. I really really wanted to like this book as the first half of it was brilliant. I loved Ms Powell’s take on Witches Familiars. I was fascinated learning about them as the main characters did.

The chapters alternate between Lora in 1645 and Regan in 2013, I came to care for both of female protagonists. The switch between times is done quite well and Ms Powell manages to capture both time periods beautifully.

The Regan character really grows throughout the first half of the book. We see Regan going from silly seventeen party girl to eighteen, adult with responsibilities and evil creatures to fight, which creates all sorts of drama. With Regan discovering some old family heirloom diary’s in the attic, we finally find out the connection between Lora and Regan (with help from the mysterious and delicious Nate).

We get a lot of information given to us in the book as it is the start of a series. The first half of the book is faced paced and fascinating, but after about the 60% mark it starts to get bogged down. The ending however picks back up and leads to a perfect opening for the next book.

I think that the next book will out do this one, as thanks to the first book we won’t need all the background info and it can all be action.

I did come across a few grammar and formatting issues in my copy while trying to read it, I know some people like to nit-pick at this, but I found it in no way detracted from the story, I’m just warning the picky people out there.

There were a few things later in the book that irked me; language I didn’t feel fit the characters (it just felt wrong) and the unnecessarily dragged out Regan / Nate love or not business. I breathed a sigh of relief when I’d finished reading it, as at around the 70-90% mark I was getting rather stressed out at how drawn out everything was becoming and I just wanted to know how it was going to end.

So to sum it up first half of the book was awesome, but up until the last few chapters is was rather Meh, but it definitely redeemed it’s self in those last chapters.

Goodreads authors website

For Better or for Worse by @IngridNickelsen

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20883236Synopsis

When one story ends, another begins.

Evangeline lived a long fulfilling life. Loving mother and wife, she had everything she could wish for…until a tragic car accident took it all away from her.

Awakening in a new world with the body of a young woman, Evangeline doesn’t remember anything about her life, not even her own name. Luckily she has godparents to help guide her in this new society of the dead. As she struggles to fit in, deep inside, she can sense something is missing, a part of her that she can’t recall. When a mysterious man claims he can help get her memory back if she agrees to keep their nocturnal meetings a secret, she can’t refuse. Everything about him screams trouble, but she can’t seem to stay away. Every moment spent with him makes her feel alive again.

Is she really prepared to unveil her past completely, from beginning to end? Everything is not as it seems in her new found home, and her new life may also end in tragedy.

Rest in fear, Evangeline.

My Thoughts

The story follows Eve (Evangeline) through her death and subsequent kind of life.

It starts off with an emotional scene between a teenage Eve and her boyfriend. We see Eve in her “safe Place” with the Boy she loves. It then changes and we realise that it was a flash back dream and 73 year old current Eve had fallen asleep on the couch reading an old diary. The first chapter went on to add the characters of her husband and daughter. Within the first chapter I already liked Eve and cared about her. And then she dies in a car accident – but I knew that was coming sooner or later anyway.

Things get a little bazar after that, Eve can’t remember who she is, she’s in this strange new world, thinking it’s some sort of heaven.  She guesses by her appearance she is about 18-19 years. She goes on to find out she’s been given a Godmother named Brielle.

Enter Will with his “dark and sinful beauty” – right away he sounds like my kind of fella. But I must have trust issues as I was immediately looking out for a bad guy in this book. I could say that the bad guys were the Midnight Hunters, but it’s really much more complicated than that.

I was really struggling, with this very bazar and trippy world for a while, Eve’s confused, so I’m confused – I feel her frustration etc. The frustration did push me to keep reading, as I wanted Eve to figure out what the heck was going on.

Eve then goes on a candle induced drug trip. She gets a glimpse of her husband at the age that he died and her daughter as a baby. Some might find it rather ludicrous, but it was needed to get the story going as the trip gave Eve the desire to find out if she in fact wasn’t alone when she died.

Now the story really starts to pick up pace as we find out danger is all around and nothing is as it seems. We learn that this strange world isn’t the afterlife but really a journey in-between. We find out Will is a wanderer being hunted by the midnight hunters. We find out about Brielle having a tainted past and get a closer look at some of the other background characters.

Eve learns Will looked for her, the first clue we get into deeper Will. Eve gets the chance to see a bigger part of the in-between world she’s ended up in and it’s not nice!  And after looking like all her attempts at finding the man she died with, the man who we as the reader know is her 73 year old husband Josh, She meets him, be it a teenage version.

Than Bam we get heavy scene with Eve finally remembering something (A big chunk of something) and we are sent back to the first scene in the book. I can’t say much more about this or I’ll give the big dramatic ending away. All I will say is the the last three chapters in the book are intense.  So full of emotions it makes up for any lows in the book. It made up for any moments when I went, what the!

So don’t be put off by afterlife’s and godmothers (which are more like guides), the Characters, the suspense & mystery and most of all, the love are worth it. Love shines out of this book.

(This bit won’t make sense unless you’ve read the book) I finished reading it and immediately had an argument with myself. My Mummy Brain was angry saying, if Eve had regained all her memory surely she would have stayed at the ceremony. But then the romantic soul trapped inside of me said, don’t be stupid you can’t give up a second change and then I decided that yes, I would have made the same choice as Eve, restored memory or not!

Also the Epilogue seems to be setting up for a sequel that I’d very much like to read 🙂

An absolutely fabulous debut novel from Ms Nickelsen.

Goodreads  

Allegiant

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Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth

Synopsis:

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

My Thoughts:

It’s been a few days since I finished reading Allegiant and I’m still sitting here like a stunned mullet trying to figure out what to write – I was that dumbfounded and disappointed in the ending.

I went out and bought Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant and Four all at once so I could read them as a whole. I hadn’t done any “research” on the series other than reading a few reviews on the first book and seeing a trailer on TV for the Divergent movie. I flew through the first two books and really enjoyed them, but am now regretting not reading Four before Allegiant. I suggest reading Four before Allegiant or it’ll be bitter sweet and feel rather pointless.

Now I suggest if you don’t want the ending spoiled you stop reading now, because I’m about to have a whinge about it.

Ok, Ok, so Ms Roth, you give me characters that I love (Tobias & Tris), you put them through hell and make them lose all their family and friends, then for no good reason you kill Tris, POINTLESSLY Kill Tris! Chicago could still have settled the same way, Tobias could still have gone into politics and Tris could have spent her time helping the fringe dwellers. There was no point to it, no lesson to be learned by her death. Her parents had sacrificed themselves for her, she’d saved her city, and she’d lost countless friends, so why kill her. We know life is unfair Ms Roth and you successfully showed us that by Tris losing friends and family, and by Tobias’s relationships with his parents – So why take her from us and Tobias, all this does is make it feel pointless. All it does is say that love DOESN’T concur all, which may be true in the real world, shouldn’t be in book land. Love that ends happily ever after gives us hope, Hope is extremely necessary in this less than ideal world. Up until the point that you needlessly killed Tris, I loved the series, so why couldn’t she just have been gravely injured and taken months to recover instead – Hmmmmmm.

Anyway rant over.  Seriously though I really enjoyed the series, Allegiant’s got all the action, adventure and drama of the first two books, I just felt that the ending (for lack of a better word) “Sucked” and didn’t to Tobias and Tris justice.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

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13335037Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

Synopsis:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, 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 alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are–and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. 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 unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

My Thoughts:

I’m actually halfway through the second book now and thought I better stop and write up something about the first, but I’m still at a loss as what to. I flew through Divergent then immediately went out and watched the movie, and that totally screwed with my head, I think. They changed a fair bit in the movie, but I think I would have enjoyed it if I hadn’t just read the book as I kept thinking to myself – It didn’t happen like that etc.

Anyway back to the book; so I read Divergent in two days, it would have been One if I hadn’t had to get some sleep to go to work the next day – So that shows what a gripping book it was. It’s quite easy to read and flows really fast. I know it’s been compared to the Hunger Games a lot, but I don’t think that comparison does it justice. So even if you weren’t keen on the hunger games don’t knock this one back as just another dystopian YA. We get a strong female lead, Friendship, Love, evil bad guys to hate on and standing up for what’s right all rolled up in this crazy fast engrossing story.