Graceling Realm Series by Kristin Cashore

This is a book series twitter has been fussing about so I decided to read it all straight through.

Graceling

Kristin Cashore’s best-selling, award-winning fantasy Graceling tells the story of the vulnerable yet strong Katsa, a smart, beautiful teenager who lives in a world where selected people are given a Grace, a special talent that can be anything from dancing to swimming. Katsa’s is killing. As the king’s niece, she is forced to use her extreme skills as his thug. Along the way, Katsa must learn to decipher the true nature of her Grace . . . and how to put it to good use. A thrilling, action-packed fantasy adventure (and steamy romance!) that will resonate deeply with adolescents trying to find their way in the world.

I did read all three books, Okay, Cashore's writing is really good, and the world building is fabulous. I did like the heroine, Katsa, she is so strong and fierce butt kicking warrior, reminds me a bit of Katniss from The Hunger Games but I find her to be just as annoying as Bella from Twilight. Katsa is the only strong heroine in the book, the other female characters are just weak. The beginning of the book just throws you into the action.  There are parts of the book that really bugged me. The author spends the majority of the book trying to sell these to the audience; dresses are the worst, femininity is wrong, men don't respect women, commitment ruins relationships, marriage is a tool of the devil. Katsa and Po, you really can't feel the love between them and the way Katsa treats her love interest is just horrible, like how she hits him then Katsa gives the cliche excuse how she's sorry? Don't abusers always say they are sorry and they won't ever do it again. You can't feel the romance between them, but then you also have the man hating feminist feeling when reading it. Po does change quite a bit in Fire and Bitterblue. This is suppose to be for young adults? This book series is not my genre.  

Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie

Matched 

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.






I decided to try reading another dystopian series. The Hunger Games was dark but showed an important lesson; the way our governments behave now, what makes you think we won't end up like that in the future, sending kids to fight to the death? I like the dystopian novels because it's not the same in every book, authors come up with such unique interesting plots. I prefer to wait to read a book series when the entire series is out.

This is not one of my favorite dystopian series mostly because it's pretty boring. Condie is a good writer but this story was so bland it took me ages to read.Condie's agent is also the agent of Meyer and Pike but this series did not have a good sales record compared to other dystopians. The government system decides who is paired with who. There was too much of the romance elements in this, and not enough of the dystopian of what it's like living in this government system. I felt like some elements in Matched were trying too hard to match up with the Hunger Games.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

I read The Host when it first came out. When Meyer was still growing as an author for her Twilight series. 

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed. When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

The book has a good plot. But it's the writing. Certain parts in the book tend to get bland. The book needed more editing, and the book was so incredibly long while reading it it felt like the story was just dragging on just to get the book to the 800 pages, and during those particular lagging pages, there were so many places that were bland, you find yourself skimming the book most of the time. Meyer's books the main characters lack personality. The fact that Meyer has a degree in English amazes me by how horrible her storytelling is. I heard this book is going to be a trilogy, so who knows how the next book will turn out.

Blog Tour: Colonization by Aubrie Dionne

Another wonderful blog tour for Inkspell Publishing! I have never really been much of a Sci-Fi person but I read the summary of this and I was immediately intrigued I wanted to purchase the book almost instantly.

Colonization
Finding a new home has never been so dangerous. Andromeda has spent all seventeen years of her life aboard a deep space transport vessel destined for a paradise planet. Her safe cocoon is about to break open as Paradise 21 looms only one month away, and she must take the aptitude tests to determine her role on the new world and her computer assigned lifemate. As a great-granddaughter of the Commander of the ship, she wants to live up to her family name. But, her forbidden love for her childhood friend, Sirius, distracts her and she fails the tests. The results place her in a menial role in the new colony and pair her with Corvus, “the oaf”.
But when Andromeda steps foot on Paradise 21, her predestined future is the least of her worries. Alien ghosts from a failed colonization warn her of a deadly threat to her colony. And when Sirius's ship crashes on the far ridge in an attempt to investigate, she journeys to rescue him with Corvus.

Andromeda now must convince the authorities of the imminent danger to protect her new home. What she didn't expect was a battle of her own feelings for Sirius and Corvus.Can she save the colony and discover her true love?

About the Author

Author Bio:  Aubrie Dionne writes science fiction fantasy with romantic 

elements. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, 

Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora 

Wolf. Her books are published by Inkspell Publishing, Entangled Publishing, 

Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. She’s also a professional flutist in 

New England.

Please visit her website: www.authoraubrie.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2964057.Aubrie_Dionne

Twitter: @authoraubrie

Blog: http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com

Interview with Author

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I'd always made up stories to go along with the music I played in orchestra and then later on in my flute lessons with my students. I'd written one book in high school, but I'd always wanted to be a concert flutist. Then, my flute students started telling me my stories were so good I had to write them down. I tried my luck at a YA epic fantasy called The Voices of Ire and had limited success. But, I loved writing, so I just kept turning out more books, getting better with each one and here I am today! 

What inspired you to begin writing?

Music and some of my favorite movies have inspired me the most. I grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over again and reenacting scenes in my backyard. I alos loved The Goonies, Star Trek The Next generation, Labyrinth-David Bowie rocks as the Goblin King, and The Last Unicorn-why she chose to go back to being a unicorn I can only guess. 

How do you get your ideas for writing?

They come to me while I'm doing boring stuff, like walking the dog, commuting to work, folding laundry, in the shower, doing dishes. Wow, I do a lot of boring stuff, huh? 

What made you come up for the idea of Colonization?

I had just finished writing Paradise 21, the first book in my New Dawn series, published by Entangled Publishing. I wanted to know more about what happened to the people on the ship when they reached the planet. But, when I started to write, it came out through a teen's perspective, so it couldn't possibly be book 2 in my adult series. So, I created a YA spin off that will be its own series. The Paradise Reclaimed series was born!

Are the character's based on people you know?

All of the characters are bits and pieces of me. Even the bad ones! As for people I know, I try to stay away from that in fear of getting sued. LOL

Will there be more books after Colonization?

Yes, there are two more books in the Paradise Reclaimed trilogy: Reconnaissance and Alliance. Recon. is told through Nova William's POV and Alliance is told through Lyra Bryan's POV. 

Any future projects you'll have being released?

Yes, I'm just finishing up a contemporary romance called My Maestro in which a flutist in an orchestra falls in love with the conductor. I submitted it to Entangled Publishing's Bliss line, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. 

Do you have an advice to aspiring writers?

Keep writing! I've gotten better with every book I've written. It took me four books to get an agent, so what would have happened if I quit after three?? Keep at it and write everyday. It's like practicing an instrument! 

Thank you Aubrie for the lovely interview and wishing you all the luck with your new release!