Book Review: Daughter of Dreams by Marshall Miller

Daughter of Dreams by Marshall Miller
Genre: Distopia
Pages: 636
Acquired: 08/26/11
Book of Your Shelf? No
Why I read it: Review Copy
Series: None

Jared and his daughter, Serda, are in danger. He has stumbled upon a scientific breakthrough that people would kill to have. Jared has set up an elaborate warning and escape system, and when it goes off, all seems to be working as planned. But when only Serda makes it out of the city safely, Jared finds himself trapped and hunted. Serda makes her way to a place known as the Communes where she begins to rebuild her life, only to have it come tumbling down again. She once again falls into a terrible dream and no one knows if they can bring her back.

The storyline has sooo much going on that I'm afraid to say to much more even though the previous paragraph really doesn't do the story justice. This has to be one of my favorite dystopia books yet. It has a deadly disease, government out of control, and cutting edge science that can be used for great or terrible things. The only real downfall was the attempt at romance. While it helped many of the characters grow or show their softer side, it all seemed a little forced to me. Also, since the book was very in depth with so much going on, I often wondered if it would have been better if done as a duet or trilogy. There were several natural stopping places that still left the story as a cliffhanger, and would have given my arms a much needed break.

4/5

Giveaway Link: Thread Reckoning by Amanda Lee

Bookin with Bingo is hosting a giveaway for Thread Reckoning by Amanda Lee.  Isn't that cover gorgeous! 

For more info and to enter click HERE.

Book Review: All Good Children by Catherine Austen

All Good Children by Catherine Austen
Genre: Distopia, Young Adult
Pages: 312
Acquired: 09/07/11
Book of Your Shelf? No
Why I read it: LTER

Series: NoneMax, Ally and his mother live in a city called Middleton. Middleton is one of the few places left in the US with a decent school system, safe streets, healthy people, and little crime. But the administrators of Middleton think it could be even better. What if they found a way to get rid of misbehavior in children. Now, we're not talking about just the big ones like arson and fighting, but even the little ones, like giggling in class and expressing an opinion. As this is slowly taking effect on the children of all ages, few seem to speak out against it. Max's mother is one of those few and they begin to hatch a plan to escape from the city.

While, our main character is Max, I fell in love with his little sister Ally. Not the brightest in the bunch, she makes up for it in pure personality. Max, a fantastic graffiti artist, seems to be going through a fairly typical teenage angst stage that didn't seem overly original. The supporting characters tended to remain fairly flat throughout the book until they were effected by the new behavior "cure". Then they just turned into what Max calls zombies....a very appropriate name.

The plot centers around Max and his family and a few of his friends, especially his best friend Dallas, and their lives as they make plans to escape without being zombified. The plan they hatch is intricate and simple at the same time and keeps the story moving as we watch the town slowly become more and more suspicious of the family. There were times when the story seemed to drag a little, but perhaps that was done on purpose to show you how hard it was for the family to make it through. As a concept the story was amazing.

3.5/5

In My Mailbox (9)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.  I'm really excited about the books I won this week.  They look like so much fun.

Contest wins:

The Arranger: A Futuristic Thriller by L.J. Sellers

The year is 2023 and ex-detective Lara Evans is working as a freelance paramedic in a new bleak world.  She responds to an emergency call and isnearly killed when a shooter flees the home.  Inside she finds the federal employment commissioner wounded, but she's able to save his life.

The next day Laraleaves for the Gauntlet - a national competition of intense physical and mental challenges with high stakes for her home state.  She spots the assailant luring at the arena and soon after, she lands in deep trouble.  Who is the mysterious killer and what is motivating him?  Can Lara stop him, stay alive, and win the Gauntlet?

Descended by Blood: A Vampire Born Trilogy, Book One by Angeline Kace - signed along with a signed bookmark and some awesome nail polish

Brooke Keller's a high school kunior who never spent much time living in one place.  She's finally in a town long enough to almost snag the boy of her dreams, until her life is threatened by a fanged man in his attempt to kidnap her.  Brooke begins a dangerous  journey to find out who is after her and how to stop them.  Thrown into a world with powerful and prejudiced vampires, Brooke must tap into the side of herself that she never knew existed, at the risk of losing her life in order to save it.

From librarything:

B-Sides and Broken Hearts by Caryn Rose

Lisa Simon, age 37, still loves loud punk rock and hates Dave Matthews with an all-consuming passion. April 15, 2001 should have been just another Sunday night. But a news headline landing in Lisa's email inbox changes everything: "Joey Ramone is dead." The death of one of her teenage heroes serves as an long-overdue wake-up call causing Lisa to examine her life and how she's lived it, from her youth as a poet on the streets of the East Village to 10 years later, all grown up with a career and a fiance. Add to the mix Jake McDaniel, lead singer of million-selling, critically-regarded Seattle band Blue Electric, known better to Lisa as the starving renegades who lived next door to her when she first arrived in Seattle. In the midst of an unexpectedly heated argument with the fiance over the historical relevance (or not) of the Ramones - which forces Lisa to face the truth about her relationship - Jake writes and invites Lisa to LA. Throwing what seems like half her cd collection in the car, along with a wardrobe consisting of high heels, jeans and t-shirts, Lisa starts driving from Seattle to LA in the middle of the night, accompanied by music, memories, and the ghosts of the past. Arriving in LA, she finds refuge, but also collides with her past, present and future; decisions need to be made, and this time, Lisa stands her ground.



Giveaway Link: The Light of Burning Shadows by Chris Evans

Bookin' with Bingo is now hosting a giveaway for book 2 in the Iron Elves Trilogy, The Light of Burning Shadows: Book Two of the Iron Elves.  This looks like it's going to be a good one.

For more info and to enter click HERE.

Giveaway Link: Button Holed by Kylie Logan

Bookin with Bingo is offering a copy of Button Holed by Kylie Logan up for one lucky winner.  This is the blogger that changed my mind about mysteries!  She reads and gives away such wonderful mysteries compared to what I had been reading and now I enjoy them quite a lot.

For more information on this giveaway and to enter click HERE.

Teaser Tuesday (6)

Ok, so I'm a little late this week and I apologize.  I had things all ready to go and then just didn't get them typed out in time to make it on Tuesday.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

 My teaser this week comes from Seducing the Vampire by Michele Hauf pg 57.

 

"The vampiress is out on the prowl."

Vacillating whether or not approach, Rhys decided he must attend his own neglected hunters, or meet the full moon with a raging madness he could not abide.

"Time to find a donor," he muttered, hating the act as much as he needed it.