YA Fiction Book Review

Magic Harbor: Review & Giveaway

/ Riot @ Absidity Art - Sarah Fairbairn / 7 Comments

Magic Harbor
Kristen L. Jackson
(Keeper of the Watch, #2)
Publication date: October 10th 2019
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

When Alyx Eris convinced him to become a keeper of the watch, Chase Walker knew he gained the ability to traverse the twelve dimensions.

He knew there were others—the hunters—who would do anything to put an end to the watches’ existence.

He knew his status as a keeper was completely binding until his nineteenth birthday.

Most importantly, he knew he’d be spending the year by Alyx’s side.

What he didn’t know was that in this dimension resides a ruling mage that poses more of a threat than the hunters ever could.

He didn’t know that magic-born hybrid beasts lurk in every corner of the surrounding forests.

And he didn’t know that nothing—and no one—is what it seems in the mystical world of Dimension 8.

Magic Harbor kicks of with a really strong start that had me hooked. The book was action packed and fast paced throughout – never was their a dull moment, but never did anything seem too rushed. I certainly didn’t feel that starting at book two hindered my enjoyment or understanding in anyway.

I loved the premise – Twelve parallel worlds, the existence of which remained hidden from most people within those dimensions. The keepers being granted the ability to jump to a new dimension each month of their eighteenth year, visiting all twelve by the end of it. Of course they have tasks their are suppose to carry out in each dimension, defeat the hunters and find the last Keeper. But after their year is complete, so long as they survive it, they can then pick a dimension to live out the rest of their lives in.

This book is set in the 8th dimension, with the previous book being set in the 7th dimension. Early on in the story the keepers, Chase and Alyx, get separated. The story bonces around between Chase and Alyz, and later on the POV’s of some other characters that we meet along the way. Sometimes swapping multiple POV’s can get confusing, but this story and the writing flowed well and I never once found myself muddled. I especially liked getting visit the past through Liz’s memories as it rounded out the characters and the world building.

This book is filled with action, adventure, magical beasts and waring dark mages. The story is about consequences, dimension jumping magic, the bonds of family and friendship and doing what you feel is right.

I really enjoyed reading this book and am keen to see what happens in book three and the 9th dimension.

Author Bio: Kristen L. Jackson been a teacher for over twenty years, and lives in Reading, Pennsylvania with her husband, two grown sons, and three large-breed dogs. Books inspire her. From children’s picture books to adult literature in all genres, she has loved reading all her life. Becoming a published author has been her dream come true, and she loves to share her stories with readers of all ages. Sign up on her website to follow her blog to stay up to date on what she’s working on now! Kristen loves writing, reading, and spending time with her family and dogs at their cabin in the Poconos…her favorite place to escape and write!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Amazon / Instagram / Pinterest

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

XBTBanner1

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂
Advertisement

The Quiet at the End of the World: YA Review

/ Riot @ Absidity Art - Sarah Fairbairn / 2 Comments

32716442The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Publication: March 7th 2019
Publisher: Walker Books
Source: Review copy from Publisher – Thank You
Add to Goodreads
Rating: ✵✵✵✵

How far would you go to save those you love?

Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking for artefacts from history and looking for treasure in their once-opulent mansion.

Their idyllic life is torn apart when a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity’s entire existence. Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at the end of the world, they must decide who to save and who to sacrifice . . .

Oh, Lauren James you’ve done it again. “A boy and a girl, living on the outskirts of a collapsed civilization, watching their species go extinct.”

The Quiet at the End of the World is a YA Sci-Fi mystery that follows Lowrie and Shen, the last teenagers on earth, as they live in the aftermath of a virus that caused global infertility.

I love that Lauren’s leading ladies are always strong, smart and sciencey. Lowire is an adventurous and spirited young lady with her engineering mind always whirling and a backpack full of tools always ready to go. Lowire identifies as bisexual and there are also Bisexual and Transgender side characters, so yay for representation. Ultimately Lowire ends up with her childhood bestie, a boy and the only other teen, the intelligent and thoughtful Shen. It’s more than a romance of convenience though, as the two complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses magnificently.

A highlight for me was the interlaced life of Maya in the past with Lowrie’s present, via Lowrie reading Maya’s posts on old social media servers – It really created a depth, relatability and realness to the story. AND Mitch the robot was awesome! a handy pal and he made for a little humorous relief at times.

The Quiet at the End of the World has plenty of twists and turns, plenty of moments that make you ponder life, the future of the human race and what it means to be alive, what it means to truly live!

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bravo Lauren James.

 

Lauren’s links: Web | Twitter | Amazon | Booktopia | Bookdepository | Walker Books

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Player’s Game: YA Review

/ Riot @ Absidity Art - Sarah Fairbairn / Leave a comment

37704117Player’s Game by Desirae Clark
Genre: YA Romance
Publication: December 25th 2017
Publisher: BLVNP Incorporated
Source: Review copy from Publisher – Thank You
Add to Goodreads
Rating: ✵ ✵ ✵

And when I turned around, I expected to see my annoying little sisters but was instead greeted by a familiar face. In the threshold stood Parker Brady with a devious smirk on his face and the looks of a god. 

Samantha Valentine’s life turns upside down when she finds out her family is returning to her old town, Scottsdale. It took her a while to make the city her home, and now all of that is for naught, as she has to learn to settle in a quiet town again.

Parker Brady is perfectly happy to make a mess of his life after his best friend, Samantha, left him. He felt betrayed by his most trusted friend, and now he doesn’t care about anyone anymore. The only thing that matters to him is getting girls.

The two are not so thrilled when they meet after years of being away. Old grudges resurface from the past.

Will Samantha and Parker restore their broken friendship? Or will something else rise from its ruins?

Player’s Game is a funny and heartwarming story about young adults learning to come into terms with their past. If you’re up for a light read that will leave you smiling, grab your copy now!

Player’s Game is a short and sweet read that I devoured in one sitting. It was a story on Wattpad before being published by BLVNP Inc. I think it’s pretty cool when books gain enough popularity to get picked up by a publisher. I’m sure it brings hope to all the other Wattpad (and other such sites) users who are actively trying to get published.

Samantha is a spunkie, no holds barred young woman, and she made for an easily likable protagonist. This light and fluffy romance follows her as she deals with moving back to a town she left as a child – this means facing her old best friend and all the heartache their friendship ending caused her.

There’s all the angst and drama you’d expect from a fluffy YA romance including; a mean girl, school yard drama, ex-boyfriend popping up and a school field trip. Ultimately Samantha doesnt have too much trouble transitioning to a new school, this is in part to Parker, the ex-bestie turn love interest, who’s friends take Samantha into their group immediately.

Even though the story was predictable – you knew going into it that they were going to end up together – it was still an enjoyable read and I would happily read more books by Desirae Clark.

LINKS: Twitter | Instagram | Amazon AU | Amazon US

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Stuck On Vacation With Ryan Rupert: YA Review

/ Riot @ Absidity Art - Sarah Fairbairn / 5 Comments

30167247

Stuck On Vacation With Ryan Rupert (Ryan Rupert #1) by P.S. Malcolm
Genre: Contemporary YA
Publication: June 30th 2016
Publisher: Self-Published
Source: Review copy from Author
Add to Goodreads
Rating: ✵ ✵ ✵

Aubany Winters’ life soon becomes a nightmare when her Mom gets cancer and has to leave for California with her Dad. Left with her neighbours, the Ruperts, and to her displeasure, their son Ryan, she finds herself forced to tag along on their family vacation to Nula Island. There’s just a few problems, like her fear of the ocean, her and Ryan’s mutual hatred for each other, and the psycho girl who is trying to kill them.

Will Aubany overcome her fears? Will she and Ryan ever stop hating each other? Or will their flaws and disagreements lead them right into the enemy’s hands?

Ryan Rupert is a typical immature rude superfishal teenage douchebag when we first meet him, but it was actually his parents that drove me nuts. They are rather negligent in my opinion. Serisily! Who the heck lets two teenage kids’ room together for six weeks unsupervised. Even once they find out a nut job has been on the loose tormenting their kids, they still leave the teens unsupervised! But hey, maybe i’ll feel different once my eldest reaches seventeen – yeah maybe not.

It was at about the 50% mark I realised I was thinking about the book all wrong. I wasn’t reading a book that was trying to change the world or teach me a lesson. I was reading a book that just wanted to entertain me. I had a Disney movie light bulb moment and really started to enjoy the book and appreciate it for what it was.

This book is like a Disney channel teen movie. Not deep and meaningful. But super cheesy and at times preposterous. It’s light, fluffy, fun and extremely entertaining – if you’re in the right mood.

The stories redeeming qualities: Aubany’s fighting spirit. Aubany’s fear of the ocean and her overcoming it. The murderous twist. The writing being easy to read and the story flowing well. Heck even with the issues my mummy brain had with Ryan and the parental units in the story, I still couldn’t help but enjoy the story.

Stuck On Vacation With Ryan Rupert is a hate to love YA romance set on an island paradise with a murderous twist and I can see myself reading and enjoying the sequel to once it’s released.

Who would like this book: Younger YA readers, as i’m sure they’d love it if their parents abandoned them on an island OR someone fed up with everything having to have a deeper meaning and that is just after a fun read.

Stuck on Vacation with Ryan Rupert is P.S. Malcolm’s self-published debut. Pagan did a guest post on The Adventures of SacaKat a little while back talking about how the story came to be – View the post HERE.

P.S.Malcolm links: Goodreads | Twitter | Website | Amazon | Wattpad

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

The Bogan Mondrian: #LoveOzYA Review

/ Riot @ Absidity Art - Sarah Fairbairn / Leave a comment

40661456

The Bogan Mondrian by Steven Herrick 
Genre: Contemporary, #LoveOzYA
Publication: September 3rd 2018
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Source: Review copy from UQP – Thank You
Add to Goodreads
Rating: ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵

‘There are worse things than school.’

Luke sleepwalks through his days wagging school, swimming at the reservoir and eating takeaway pizza.

That is until Charlotte shows up.

Rumour is she got expelled from her city school and her family moved to the Blue Mountains for a fresh start.

But when Luke’s invited to her house, he discovers there’s a lot more going on than meets the eye.

Woop woop! The Bogan Mondrian, another contemporary #LoveOZYA title from Steven Herrick. Whether he is writing a Prose or Verse Novel, he excels at both and is a brilliant storyteller. One of my favourites. SO, as you can imagine I was super excited when I heard he had a new release coming up, and I was over the moon when I got a copy for review from UQP.

I was heartbroken that I didn’t adore The Bogan Mondrian (prose novel) the way I adored The Simple Gift (verse novel) or Slice (prose novel), but I still really liked it and it is still a Herrick masterpiece.

Herrick’s stories always deal with heavy issues, but leave you with a feeling of hope. I think that’s why I didn’t love this one as much. It didn’t leave me as heart-warmed as all the others have. But within a story dealing with domestic violence, I guess that was always going to be the case. I wanted a more severe punishment for the perpetrator of the domestic violence (and animal murder). I felt he got off lightly. But that is the real world, and this is a contemporary novel. They don’t get locked up when they should. They continue to roam free.

Herrick writes his male leads with such heart and compassion. He writes his teenage boys behaving the way I want my boys to behave once they hit their teens, loving and respectful. Yeah most of them muck up at school, so what, they are always loving and respectful to the women in their lives and their elders. The world needs more men like Steven Herrick. The world needs more books like The Bogan Mondrian shining a light on the way boys/men should behave. And the best part is, the kids wouldn’t even realise that Herrick’s characters are teaching them good morals and values because his stories are so compelling and entertaining.

The Bogan Mondrian deals with friendship, grief and domestic violence. It follows 17-year-old Luke as he grieves the loss of his father to cancer and struggles to figure out how to help a friend in need. Luke is a fantastic character and I warmed to him immediately.

Thank you, Steven Herrick, please keep writing more books. You make the world a little bit better place each time.

Trigger warnings. Domestic Violence, Animal Abuse.

 

Herrick’s Links: Twitter | Goodreads | Website | Blog | Facebook | UQP
Amazon AU | Amazon US | Bookdepository | Booktopia

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Mini Reviews: Between the Lives + Gemina + Fence-4

/ Riot @ Absidity Art - Sarah Fairbairn / Leave a comment

Between the LivesBetween the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

Sabine isn’t like anyone else. For as long as she can remember, she’s had two lives. Every twenty-four hours she “shifts,” living each day twice. In one life, Sabine has everything: popular friends, perfect grades, expensive clothes, and the guy everyone wants. In the other, Sabine’s family struggles financially, and her friends are considered rebels. But then she meets Ethan. He’s gorgeous and challenging, and he makes her feel like she’s never felt before.

All Sabine really wants is the chance to live only one life. But when this finally becomes possible, is she willing to risk everything – including losing the one person who might actually believe her – to make it happen?

Published: 1st May 2013. #LoveOzYA Reading Source: Local Library.

My Thoughts: I LOVED loved loved Shirvington’s Disruption duology, so I had extremely high hopes for the quality and my enjoyment for this book – and it lived up to them. I found this book to be super cute and easy to get into. I easily connected with Sabine and felt for her plight. The love interest was to die for, or rather to live for (you’ll understand that if have you read the book) Between the Lives is the story of a young woman literally living two lives. *WARNING it’s a Tearjerker* Oh how I cried!! But the ending did make up for the tears, leaving me warm and fuzzy inside.

29236299Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff, (Illustrator) Marie Lu

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminaecontinues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

Published: 18th October 2016. #LoveOzYA Reading Source: Purchased Paperback.

My Thoughts: Bloody Brilliant! I LOVED it! No surprises there, I loved Illuminae. I’m only sorry it took me so long to read book two. The positive is that I don’t have long to wait for the third book, Obsidio 🙂 YAY! It’s out next month (13th March 2018).

I love the way The Illuminae Files story is told, the way the books are set out. I think it makes them stand out from all other YA sci-fi. They are textual masterpieces. 

In this book we get to meet some new characters (I ship Hanna and Nik, and think Ella is the bomb) and catch up with some old faves (woop woop hello again AIDAN, Kady and Ezra). The BeiTech baddies continue their debauchery and the ending leaves you NEEDING the final book.

Fence #4 (Fence #4) by C.S. Pacat (Author), Johanna the Mad (Illustrator)

Nicholas begins to overthink everything as he struggles to prove he deserves his place at Kings Row.
Published: 21st February 2018. #LoveOzYA Reading Source: Purchased eComic.

My Thoughts: Damn I love this series! Four issues in and I’m beyond hooked. Some of the boys are so sassy and snarky, I LOVE it. I’ve always been a sucker for an underdog story, but who would have thought I’d be a fan of fencing? I really enjoy “watching” the fencing as well as the character interactions/relationships. Thank you C.S. Pacat – Awesome stuff.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
It you want to make my day, just Like this post, simples.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Review: To Betray My King by Kayla Lavan

/ Riot @ Absidity Art - Sarah Fairbairn / Leave a comment

34109142To Betray My King by Kayla Lavan

Genre: YA Romance/Fantasy

Release Date: May 1st 2017

Summary:

Would you choose to save your kingdom or follow your heart?

Brave and kindhearted, Arianna is a princess of a kingdom that nobody wants. The magicless. Marrying the charming, flirtatious, and egotistical Prince Roland was the last thing either of them wanted, but for the sake of their people they agreed. War breaks out with the neighboring kingdom, forcing the prince’s hand to join in the fight. He leaves his new wife with the only man he trusts, his childhood friend, a dutiful, strong, and handsome knight.

A sweet romantic tale of forbidden love in a dark fanatical world.

I enjoyed stepping into Ms Lavan’s medieval world of Sol and meeting the magic weavers she has filled it with. I struggled a little with the male leads at first. While I really enjoyed the playful banter and friendship between Prince Roland and his bodyguard/best friend, Conrad, it took me a while to warm up to either of them as love interests for Princess Arianna. Princess Arianna was easily likeable. She was kind hearted and always looking to improve herself, be it mentally or physically (e.g. learning to sword fight).

The story starts off following Roland, Conrad and Arianna. Their day to day lives, before, during and after the arranged royal marriage. But when Roland goes off to war we are left behind with Conrad and Arianna. I wish we could have followed Roland into War!!!

The whole time I was reading it felt as if Ms Lavan was preparing Arianna for something big. We kept being given tastes of Arianna’s archery skills and magical status/abilities and it felt like this was building to something bigger. Well, she did get to kick some butt in the end.

This felt like the first in a series, if that makes sense. A lot of set up with a dramatic actioned packed ending propelling you on to read the next book. There even is a Twist at the end that I didn’t see coming and the ‘betrayal’ goes down not as you expect.

Even with his man-whore start to the story, Prince Roland ended up being my favourite character and I am looking forward to reading more from Ms Lavan and finding out how he handled becoming King.

About the Author

I’ve been writing half of my life, starting at the ripe old age of 13. Back then my favorite pass time was doodling in class, sleeping in class, and studying tests or homework that was due the next class period. But by night I lead a secret life. I would go home, turn on my computer, and get on my dialup Internet (which makes me sound really old) and I would write. At first it was for fun. I was brave back then and posted everything online. In the 14 years I have been writing, I have posted over 1.5 million words, all of which is still available to read for free. My most well known story being “Fun ‘N’ Games at Ouran”. A year or so ago I posted a one-shot that was 50k-60k in words. Afterwards, I looked at it laughing, and said to myself “I think I would like to get paid for this now” and then ‘To Betray My King’ was born. It seems so simple as I’m sitting here, typing this foryou to read, but it’s the truth. ‘Betray’ is my first book, but it won’t be my last. I love writing. I would never give it up for anything in the world.

The Betrayal Legacy

#1 To Betray My King (Available Now)

Add to Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

#2 To Betray My Kingdom (Coming Soon)

#3 To Betray Myself (Coming Soon)

Author Links:

Website│Twitter│Facebook│Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Blog Tour Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

Review: Fallen & Story Shorts by Lauren Kate

/ Riot @ Absidity Art - Sarah Fairbairn / 7 Comments

6487308What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?

17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross . . . only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart.

Get ready to fall . . .

My Thoughts: Fallen Angels masquerading as teenagers oh my. 

Reading from Luce’s POV I struggled to connect with any of the characters or buy into her and Daniel’s love connection.

While I quite enjoyed that last few chapters, which were more action packed, I nearly gave up at the half way mark of this book. I read the story shorts at that point and it gave me an inside into Daniel’s side of the story, which led me to bother to read the rest of the book. Nothing really happens until later in the book when Luce, with the help of her new friend Penn, start to piece together who/what Daniel really is. Seriously so much nothing. The synopsis pretty much tells you everything that is going to happen in this book, other than an age old good Vs evil war flaring up again at the end.

Daniel’s First Sighting (Fallen Shorts 0.1) by Lauren Kate Four ‘I really liked it Stars (GOODREADS). In this short we get to see Daniel and Luce’s meeting for the first time (in Luce’s current life time) through Daniel’s eyes. It was actually quite amusing and It made me warm to Daniel.

Daniel in L.A. (Fallen Shorts 0.4) by Lauren Kate Three ‘I liked it’ Stars (GOODREADS). In this short we get to see what Daniel was doing with himself before he ended up at Sword & Cross.

Daniel and Gabbe’s Fight (Fallen Shorts 0.6) by Lauren Kate Three ‘I liked it’ Stars (GOODREADS). In this short we get to find out what was really being said in the conversation between Gabbe and Daniel that Luce partly over heard in the dorm room hallway.

Fallen (Fallen #1) by Lauren Kate Two ‘It was okay’ Stars (GOODREADS). I just didn’t connect with this story and that saddens me ’cause forbidden love is my thang’.

I enjoyed the shorts more then the actual Fallen novel. I think that maybe if Fallen had been told in duel POV with Daniel or maybe if it had just been Daniel telling it, it could have been a real winner for me. I went hunting for spoilers and read a bunch of reviews on the other books to find out how the rest of the series plays out and i’m satisfied with that. I’m not sorry I read Fallen, but I do not intend to read the rest of the series.

Mini Reviews: Akarnae + Simon + Zim

/ Riot @ Absidity Art - Sarah Fairbairn / 2 Comments

23569787Akarnae (The Medoran Chronicles #1) by Lynette Noni

With just one step, sixteen-year-old Alexandra Jennings’s world changes—literally.

Dreading her first day at a new school, Alex is stunned when she walks through a doorway and finds herself stranded in Medora, a fantasy world full of impossibilities. Desperate to return home, she learns that only a man named Professor Marselle can help her… but he’s missing.

While waiting for him to reappear, Alex attends Akarnae Academy, Medora’s boarding school for teenagers with extraordinary gifts. She soon starts to enjoy her bizarre new world and the friends who embrace her as one of their own, but strange things are happening at Akarnae, and Alex can’t ignore her fear that something unexpected… something sinister… is looming.

An unwilling pawn in a deadly game, Alex’s shoulders bear the crushing weight of an entire race’s survival. Only she can save the Medorans, but what if doing so prevents her from ever returning home?

Will Alex risk her entire world—and maybe even her life—to save Medora? Goodreads View.

My Thoughts: What a fast and fun read this book was! A really strong start to what I’m sure will be a entertaining and captivating series. I’ve already got book number two lined up ready to read :-). The main characters we easily likable and I fell for them immediately. The story was easy to read and flowed really well. FIVE “I loved it and would happily re-read it” STARS.

19547856Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met. Goodreads View.

My Thoughts: IMG_6732I had the biggest smile on my face when I finished this book. I had flip flopped over reading it because I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype. Believe the hype! Seriously it has topped my favorite reads of the year so far. I got lost in Simon’s world and would happily go back and get lost again. Simon is freaking adorable and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him struggle, fumble and come out on top. FIVE STARS for this must read adorable feel good story. Headless Simon even made it onto my Instagram >>

30860827Invader Zim #11 by Sarah Andersen

“A special one-shot written and illustrated by Sarah Andersen (Sarah’s Scribbles)! When GIR brings home a flea-ridden stray cat, ZIM is furious—until he finds out what the cat does to Dib. Dib’s sneezing and covered in hives—could the magical powers of this “”cat”” be harnessed and turned against all of mankind? Could the earth FINALLY be ZIM’s?” Goodreads View.

My Thoughts: Invader Zim, the Invader Zim from my childhood in a comic written by Sarah Anderson. How could I not read this! I love Sarah’s Scribbles.

The comic was a quick and fun read. I think Sarah’s humor came shining through in Zim’s use of kitty cats and puppy dogs to turn his arch nemesis Dib into an allergy ridden puss ball. THREE ‘I liked it’ STARS.

Review: The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina

/ Riot @ Absidity Art - Sarah Fairbairn / 2 Comments

13552764“There will come a day when a thousand Illegals descend on your detention centres. Boomers will breach the walls. Skychangers will send lightning to strike you all down from above, and Rumblers will open the earth to swallow you up from below. . . . And when that day comes, Justin Connor, think of me.”

Ashala Wolf has been captured by Chief Administrator Neville Rose. A man who is intent on destroying Ashala’s Tribe — the runaway Illegals hiding in the Firstwood. Injured and vulnerable and with her Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to the machine that will pull secrets from her mind.And right beside her is Justin Connor, her betrayer, watching her every move.

Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?

 * * * * *   MY  THOUGHTS   * * * * *

The last few Dystopian novels I’ve read have been let downs, so I was holding off starting this series as it is labelled a Dystopian. I saw it at my local library when I was there last and my interest in the Author’s Bio caused me to borrow it and boy am I glad I did.

The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf is the first book in The Tribe series by Australian author Ambelin Kwaymullina. Within the first few pages on a coffee fueled Sunday morning this story had reeled me. I didn’t put it down until I finished it later that night! Devouring a book in one sitting doesn’t happen to me very often.

This story felt fresh and exciting. The story is action packed, high danger with just the right about of young romance. Ashala is amazing, in fact so are all the Tribe members and Ashala’s connection to natural world is truly beautiful.

I think the dystopian world, set 300+ years into our future, that Ambelin Kwaymullina has created is brilliant and enthralling. I love the terrifyingly possible way the earth was destroyed by our toxic behaviors and the way humans have evolved because of it. In this future earth there isn’t enough humans left to be concerned with the colour of someone skin, but as we humans are horrible creatures who fear anything different from ourselves, the future government hunts down anyone showing any signs of extraordinary abilities; Ashala and her tribe all have these extraordinary abilities.

Thought-out this story we see the world as Ashala sees it. We meet allies and enemies and experience some vivid dreaming scenes and painful memories as she does.

While I was really enjoying the first half of the book, there was a twist half way though that I didn’t see coming that for me turned the second half of the book into a frenzy. I was running a mad race with myself to find out how the book ended.

Ambelin Kwaymullina writing flows beautifully and is filled with powerful energy. This book was a real pleasure to read. I’m off to get my hands on book number two!star.5

the tribe

Ambelin KwaymullinaAmbelin Kwaymullina loves reading sci-fi/fantasy books, and has wanted to write a novel since she was six years old. She comes from the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. When not writing or reading she teaches law, illustrates picture books, and hangs out with her dogs.  Links: Website | Goodreads | Amazon AU | Amazon US | Book Depository