Random House Children's Books

Book Review: Firefight by Brandon Sanderson (The Reckoners #2)

January 17, 2020 Yvonne Leave a Comment

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson
Published by Random House Children's Books on January 12, 2016
ISBN: 9780385743594
Genres: Young Adult, Action & Adventure, General, Boys & Men, Dystopian
Pages: 464
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

four half stars - Book Review: Firefight by Brandon Sanderson (The Reckoners #2)

The #1 New York Times bestseller and sequel to Steelheart--a novel that James Dashner called "fantastic." Brandon Sanderson, the author of Words of Radiance, coauthor of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn trilogy, presents the second book in the Reckoners series: Firefight. And don't miss Calamity, the exciting conclusion to the Reckoners series available now!
David Charleston has lived for one purpose: to kill Steelheart, the supremely powerful, seemingly invincible Epic who murdered his father. Now Steelheart is dead and David is beginning to question everything that he--and the world--understands about the superhumans they call Epics.
David's suspicions are the reason he follows Prof to the flooded city once known as New York. But what he finds there could be what ultimately ends him. The truth might just burn deepest of all. . . .
Praise for the Reckoners Series:
#1 New York Times Bestselling Series
"The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive." --James Dashner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series
"Another win for Sanderson . . . he's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Name of the Wind
"Action-packed." --EW.com
"Compelling. . . . Sanderson uses plot twists that he teases enough for readers to pick up on to distract from the more dramatic reveals he has in store." --The A.V. Club

Our favourite assassins are back in a break-neck, punch to the throat journey, Firefight. David has finally fulfilled his destiny and his father’s firm belief- that the heroes would come. Steel heart is dead. They are all intact, just. Life goes on and the trouble in this dystopian world is that a new epic will only take over and create a new empire of destruction and trauma. David never rested until Steelheart was nothing…what is his purpose now? Megan is gone, her betrayal still feeling hot in his chest. Move forward and aim for the next bad guy…

My name is David Charlton and I kill people with superpowers.

David is now a fully immersed member of killing group, The Reckoners. He’s proved himself worthy. His research and knowledge of The Epics weaknesses has proved invaluable and it could all be the vital key to taking them all down. There is just one sticking point behind that line of thinking. Are all Epics inherently bad? Do they have any capacity for holding back their destructive nature? If they can, what damage is it doing? Before killing Steelheart, he truly believed that all Epics must die. They killed his father, they also destroyed everything that they had known. Megan aka Firefight, changed his thinking. He was smitten with her. Her attitude. The love affair with her weaponry. Her banter. But, she wasn’t everything she portrayed.

“I hadn’t been a nerd, mind you. I’d just been the type of guy who spent a lot of time by himself, focused entirely on a single consuming interest.”

David is now a living breathing celebrity. He’s gained the nickname Steelslayer. He had defied everything that shouldn’t have been possible. He killed Steelheart. One of the most powerful High Epics there is. No-one knew his weakness. He was a paranoid Epic who did everything to remain in the shadows. This Epic was taken down by a mere mortal, a boy. A boy called David.

So now they need to move forward and deal with the next biggest threat to the world. Welcome to Babylon Restored, formally known as New York City. Epic Regalia rules over the dominion and she might not lay down without a fight. She has the added bonus of having other Epics being her muscle. One such Epic is the utterly frightening, Oblivion. This dude isn’t going to be easy to get rid of. He has obliterated several cities and has the added bonus of being able to teleport when he senses he’s in danger.

The Reckoners have another cell team based in Babylon Restored carrying out surveillance. David, Prof and Tia join them, and they work to overcome Regalia and her goons. Can they take care of the threat or will they rue the day they left Newcago?

“Reckoner Super Plan for Killing Regalia…

Step One: find Regalia, then totally explode her. Lots and Lots.

Step Two: put Val on decaf.

Step Three: Mizzy gets a cookie.”

Firefight is the perfect continuation in this dystopian series. It’s got everything a fantasy lover could dream of. Superpowers. A forbidden love. Bad decisions. Death. Layered betrayals.

Brandon Sanderson has a white-hot imagination. You wouldn’t be wrong if you could imagine this on the big screen, fighting for the top spot with Marvel. He’s a crazy scientist that has created the compulsive formula for creating a multi-layered world that leaves you transported into an unknown world searching for clues to how it might end. The writing as always is flawless.

Steelheart Review

Review: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

August 22, 2019 coycaterpillar 13 Comments

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Published by Random House Children's Books on May 7, 2019
ISBN: 9781524720988
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, General, Action & Adventure, Romance
Pages: 496
Format: Hardcover
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

five stars - Review: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

From the New York Times and internationally bestselling authors of the Illuminae Files comes a new science fiction epic . . .
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch . . .
A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasmA sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates A smart-ass tech whiz with the galaxy's biggest chip on his shoulderAn alien warrior with anger-management issuesA tomboy pilot who's totally not into him, in case you were wondering
And Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem--that'd be Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler's squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
NOBODY PANIC.

We the Legion,

We the Light

and burning bright against the night

Aurora Rising is dangerously dark, action packed, and an addictive kick off to Kaufman & Kristoff’s Trilogy Aurora Cycle. For someone that is a virgin to this dynamic duo’s writing – I was blown away into outer space. I’m going to miss the draft – intriguing opening line, who doesn’t love a bit of angst on the opening page? This awesome tale reminds me of a Guardians of the Galaxy X Battlestar Galactica – Be still my geeky heart!

Tyler Jones – Alpha of the squad, general hotbod and all-round good guy.

Aurora Lie-Jin O’ Malley – Frozen cryogenically, Crazy as a mofo superpowers, half Chinese, feeling like a fish out of water trying to get used to life 200 years in the future.

Scarlett Jones – Tyler’s older twin sister by mere minutes, badass extraordinaire, hot mama and could flirt with a cardboard box get it turned on.

Kaliis “Kal” Idraban Gilwraeth – Could start a war in an empty room but not really because he’s a freaking softy really…belongs in middle earth or my hot dreams – the things he can do with his wrists!

Zila Madran – Uber cool space scientist, mega jealous of her gravity defying earrings.

Finian – bisexual alien, gorgeous personality, exoskeleton weirdness.

Cat- My favourite character, badass warrior goddess. Think Lagertha in Vikings (at least that’s how I imagine her), can handle herself in any fight. Fucking impressive phoenix tattoo on her throat.

Straight away we know we aren’t in Kansas anymore. We meet Tyler the alpha of the squad who has answered an SOS call out and finds himself in the unprecedented situation of saving a 220-year-old cryogenically frozen girl. He’s running out of oxygen, he’s missing the fucking draft and is more than damn sure he’s going to die out there. Almost like magic both him and the mysterious girl are back on the ship and even more magical is the fact his lungs are full of oxygen and not deflated and pulverised from the abyss of space.

This book has everything I adore about Sci-fi (and I do have a love hate relationship with the genre because I have read so many that just annihilate the premise of space and shit over something that should be an amazing fucking world building opportunity). Kaufman & Kristoff nail it to the fucking floor. The Aurora interstellar training camp, heists to reclaim artefacts, creepy plants that remind me so much of those creepy AF creatures in the Alien Franchise. Want Aliens? This novel has it by the motherload.

I enjoyed reading the POV’ from all the main characters. I loved Cat’s, Kal’s and Aurora’s the most. Kals POV was fucking awesome. I love a torn character and his was obvious and heartbreakingly painful. He struggled with his ascension to joining the Aurora Legion (A modern space idea of The United Nations). He was a war breed and it was his natural instincts was to be stoking the fire of conflict. His people ended up obliterated during the war and Kal struggles with the internal battle of wanting to end people and wanting to bring peace to the outer reaches of space.

The hilarity in the story had me full on belly laughing. The references to The Lord of The Rings were the best though – high five to Aurora being able to confuse these aliens with the best one liners. The technical descriptions were believable but intelligent enough to flummox me at points. I loved the diversity in this book and I have it on very good authority that Kristoff is the King of inclusion. I think there is going to be a LGBQT+ relationship and it’s going to be a slow burn into the next two instalments. Finnian seems to be bisexual and is happy to have flirtatious thoughts for both the Jones twins. Interested to see just how this plays out.

Aurora Rising is a fantastic YA fantasy that fires into hyperdrive and doesn’t stop. If you want a book with the thrills, the aliens, the drama and humour then look no further. Kaufman & Kristoff bring the squad goals.

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

May 11, 2019 Yvonne Leave a Comment

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus
Published by Random House Children's Books on January 8, 2019
ISBN: 9781524714727
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Social Themes, Friendship, Thrillers & Suspense
Pages: 336
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

four stars - Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

"A must-read YA thriller" (Bustle) from the New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying!
Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.
The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone has declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.
Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous--and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself.
Praise for Two Can Keep a Secret 2 STARRED REVIEWS!
"Tightly knit and well-placed plot elements...keep pages turning until the revelation of the murderer's identity and motivations, as well as some other secrets that turn out satisfyingly well." --Bulletin
"[A] twisted mystery...[that will have readers] speeding their way to the end."-Booklist
Praise for Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is LyingA New York Times BestsellerAn EW.com Best YA Book of the Year A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of the Year A Popcrush Best Young Adult Book of the Year
"Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club....so make room for One of Us Is Lying in your bags, because this is one carry-on you won't want to put down." --EW.com
"You'll tear through this juicy, super-fun (if murder can ever be fun?) thriller." --Bustle
"A whodunit with a Breakfast Club twist...following four unique voices on a chase to find the killer, this one will keep you guessing until the very, very end." --Popcrush
"This is no ordinary whodunit...surprising and relevant."--USA Today

Ellery and her twin brother Ezra arrive in Echo Ridge after their mother, Sadie has a mental breakdown. Their introduction to the town is somewhat foreboding of what is to come after discovering a dead body on the road. Ellery discovers that the town is drowning in secrets, several murders and disappearances of girls. The one things in common is that they are all homecoming queens or in the present day scenario, voting into homecoming court. Ellery is especially interested in the dark history of the town as her Mother’s twin sister, Sarah disappeared around twenty years ago in similar suspicious circumstances.

Lacey is the next victim who is found dead by strangulation. Fast forward 5 years and Ellery is caught up in the re-emergence of chilling messages, another girl gone missing. The events that take place seem on the surface to be unrelated but are they?

I gave this book a solid 4 stars out of 5. I really enjoyed this book, when I really emersed myself in the story I couldn’t put it down. This was my first outing with this author and can categorically say that I will read others by her too. I enjoyed the two perspective takes in the chapters and it gave us a useful insight too the multicomplexity of the themes used throughout.

It was a suspenseful book and it had me gripped especially in the second half. The plot was well developed and the flow just worked beautifully in my opinion. I enjoyed the character arcs of all the intertwining personalities – it just WORKED. I had estimated a guess at who was responsible and I was completely wrong (and usually I’m not too far off). It was a shock!

If you enjoy Young Adult and thrillers then give this a go, you will not be disappointed.

Random House Children's Books

We the Legion,

We the Light

and burning bright against the night

Aurora Rising is a fantastic YA fantasy that fires into hyperdrive and doesn’t stop. If you want a book with the thrills, the aliens, the drama and humour then look no further. Kaufman & Kristoff bring the squad goals.

Footer