Review: "The Bodies We Wear" (The Bodies We Wear #1) by Jeyn Roberts

Synopsis:

A streetwise girl trains to take on a gang of drug dealers and avenge her best friend’s death in this thriller for fans of Scott Westerfeld and Robin Wasserman.

People say when you take Heam, your body momentarily dies and you catch a glimpse of heaven. Faye was only eleven when dealers forced Heam on her and her best friend, Christian. But Faye didn’t glimpse heaven—she saw hell. And Christian died.

Now Faye spends her days hiding her secret from the kids at school, and her nights training to take revenge on the men who destroyed her life and murdered her best friend. But life never goes the way we think it will. When a mysterious young man named Chael appears, Faye's plan suddenly gets a lot more complicated. Chael seems to know everything about her, including her past. But too many secrets start tearing her world apart: trouble at school, with the police, and with the people she thought might be her friends. Even Gazer, her guardian, fears she's become too obsessed with vengeance. Love and death. Will Faye overcome her desires, or will her quest for revenge consume her?

(*summary courtesy of Goodreads)

 

 

My Review:

 

When first reading the premise, I had envisioned a Kill Bill-esque, teenage book. I love a good, old testament story, where the protagonist is a total alpha female! Unfortunately this book wasn't as good as I had hoped.

 

The story just dragged on and on; the only thing that kept me from putting the book down was the anticipation of the "revenge" part of the plot actually jumpstarting. Every single time Faye mentioned revenge and killing, I kept thinking "put up or shut up!" All I seemed to be reading was either: a) Faye was training; b) Faye was at school; or c) Faye was interacting with Gazer or Chael. Those were basically the main scenarios throughout the story.

 

Speaking of Chael, every time I heard this name, I thought of Chael Sonnen LOL. He seemed like a nice guy who really cared about Faye; the situation of how he was able to take possession of another body was a bit freaky though. Also, I find it amusing that I was able to guess who he really was before Faye. Strange, seeing as she is supposed to notice every minute detail and recognize familiarity- I mean, she is a supposed "assassin". Faye was an okay but average character. I didn't really feel any particular way about her. Although at times, I did admire her bravery and pride. I did enjoy, albeit more than I should have, how she could kick some butt! I would have to say that Gazer was my favorite character; he was realistic about wanting revenge and just seemed like someone I would want to be my dad.

 

While reading, it was unfortunate to learn of how they, the fictional characters, treat Heam users. I did feel like it was an injustice, almost like the whole civil rights issue but not as worse. There's a romance element to the story between Chael and Faye, which felt unnecessary. It basically felt forced and threw the story off track. Maybe I will see the whole point of the romance aspect by the next book. It also seemed to me that every scene Chael and Faye shared, the former was trying to talk the latter out of killing. It makes me wonder if the author was trying to bait those interested in revenge/killing stories, and the talk about forgiveness in a "I'm shaking my finger at you reproachfully, while reprimanding you on your behavior" way.

 

Never the less, I still generally liked that there was a lesson to learn about the power of forgiveness, and I am glad Faye finally learned it. I was pleased that, for the most part, things worked out for Faye. I can't this book was exceptional, but it wasn't horrible either.

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

"I've made more hateful," he argues back. "All I wanted to do was give you confidence. Help you grow stronger so you'd be prepared if you were attacked again. Until you can let go of that hate, only then will you be ready." - Gazer

 

368 pages

Expected publication: September 23rd 2014 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Rating:  🔔🔔🔔

Recommend:   It was okay. Possibly would recommend.

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Review: "Fool's Assassin" (The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb

Synopsis:

'Fantasy as it ought to be written' GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
Tom Badgerlock has been living peaceably in the manor house at Withywoods with his beloved wife Molly these many years, the estate a reward to his family for loyal service to the crown.

But behind the facade of respectable middle-age lies a turbulent and violent past. For Tom Badgerlock is actually FitzChivalry Farseer, bastard scion of the Farseer line, convicted user of Beast-magic, and assassin. A man who has risked much for his king and lost more…

On a shelf in his den sits a triptych carved in memory stone of a man, a wolf and a fool. Once, these three were inseparable friends: Fitz, Nighteyes and the Fool. But one is long dead, and one long-missing.

Then one Winterfest night a messenger arrives to seek out Fitz, but mysteriously disappears, leaving nothing but a blood-trail. What was the message? Who was the sender? And what has happened to the messenger?

Suddenly Fitz's violent old life erupts into the peace of his new world, and nothing and no one is safe.

*(summary courtesy of Goodreads)

My Review:

Admittedly, I have not read nor heard of the Farseer books until coming across this one. It does leave something to be desired when you haven't read the previous books. Although this is a new trilogy, the main character, Fitz, has been a long standing protagonist throughout the Farseer books. Therefore, I didn't have a clue as to what the characters' backstory was; especially with a character oriented book such as this. Despite my initial confusion, I found this novel to be marvelous.

The biggest draw for me was the characters. I admire Robin Hobb's ability to write her characters with such brutal honesty and depth. It's been a while since I've read a story that actually made me feel for those characters. There is so much emotion conveyed in each chapter, it sort of devastates you; these characters aren't just killed off- for death would be too easy- they suffer through their trials and tribulations.

The is more of an adult perspective rather than young adult, so expect too see read some adult situation if you catch my drift. It isn't a action packed story, but more of a slow paced one; perhaps its more of a lead in book to something much m,ore grand in the future two novels. I  like where this book is heading, and just might read the previous books to get the whole feel of this fantastical world the author has created.

667 pages

Published August 12th 2014 by Harper Voyager

Rating:🔔🔔🔔🔔

Recommend?  If you read the previous Farseer novels, then you will like

                              this one

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Review: "Midnight Thief" (Midnight Thief #1) by Livia Blackburne

Synopsis:

Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs.

But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.

Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.
When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

*(summary courtesy of Goodreads)

My Review:

When I first heard about this book, I was so ecstatic;  it had everything I wanted to read about. Thieves? Check. Assassins? Check? Kick ass heroine with a love interest? Check and check.

 

The high expectations I had just weren't met in this book.  Don't get me wrong, it is an imaginative medieval-fantasy that attracted my attention in the first place; "It's so Assassin's Creed," was my first thought.  Except the game is a quite bit better written than this, because Assassin's Creed can do no wrong in my eyes.  However I was definitely engrossed in this book, as I was rapidly flipping the pages to find out what happens next.

 

The action was probably my favorite part besides the whole assassin/thief theme.  I'm glad the female lead could hold her own in a fight. Kyra seemed to be a little naive (maybe because of her age) and kind of flighty at times.  Sometimes Kyra even confused me as to which side she was really on.  Tristam was just, bland.  He was missing a certain "je ne sais quoi".  He was just uninteresting to me. I hope in the future books he develops a personality; he's like the Tin Man. The POV shifts in first person between Tristam and Kyra. 

 

I wasn't expecting the whole supernatural element to the story.  It was kind of out of left field, but it didn't exactly ruin it for me.  The ending was unsatisfactory to me only because it left me with unanswered questions like: Who are Kyra's parents? Will we see the shapeshifters again? etc. But then I realized that this is a series so....yeah.  I'm going to give the author the benefit of the doubt because it is the first book.  It's not easy finding the right rhythm in the first book of any series.  I'll tune in for the next book to see how it goes. I hope it gets better.

368 pages

Published July 8th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion

My Rating:  🔔🔔🔔

Recommend?  It's worth a read, I suppose

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