Tag Archives: YA

Book Review: Green-Eyed Pursuit by Victoria Bastedo

by in Book Review and tagged , , ,

Green-Eyed Pursuit by Victoria Bastedo

A YA Mystery novel published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform (05/04/2015)

Summary:

“Sometimes a thing has more value if it doesn’t come easily. And if you know your father before you know his history, you’ll have to judge him by his face and actions rather than by the trouble associated with his name.” (Kindle Locations 141-143).

Lucien, after discovering a letter written by his late mother detailing the existence of a father he never knew about, journeys to Seahaven with his best friend Rutherford and their schoolteacher Miss Pansy. After a 6 hour coach ride, they search all over town trying to find Amani Peale, Lucien’s father. They plan on matching eyes from father to son to prove parentage as both have startling green eyes. Eventually, the three are able to find Amani, but that is not all they discover in Seahaven. Lucien’s mother left the port town for good reason, to protect her son from the dark cloud of evil that surrounded Amani. There were those in the family and town who wanted to take over Amani’s inheritance and before Lucien was born, thugs roughed up Amani and framed him for murder. For 17 years Amani lay in wait, expecting the rogue to make a misstep so that Amani’s name could be cleared for good. Lucien gets caught up in Amani’s past as they work to create a new future together as father and son.

 

Keywords:

1905, Sea town, schoolteacher, absent father, inheritance, green-eyes, chase, family, love, loyalty, setup, suspense, stubbornness

 

My Review:

I adore Bastedo’s characters. She gives us a diverse assortment of them. You have Amani Peale, the estranged father who didn’t know he had a son and is valiantly trying to clear his name whilst building up his own fortunes outside of the family inheritance. Bremen is his loyal and trusty right hand man. Lucien is the boy who discovers he has a father as a near-adult and sets out to find him. Rutherford is his best friend. Miss Pansy is the schoolteacher who mothers them all. Beamish is the misunderstood upward-crawling family member whose opinions of Amani are less than nice. Finally, there is Clinger: the presumptuous bully from the docks. Bastedo’s characters are all very different in their personalities and their actions, although she has set some similarities between Amani and his son Lucien and between Bremen and Rutherford, the two buddies.

 

Though Bastedo sets her story in 1905, the writing style is lively if a bit dry. Her characters are stoic and don’t always admit to how they’re feeling. For Lucien, it’s his stubbornness that holds him back and keeps him from letting his feelings free. He lost his mother after all and doesn’t care to be mothered, subconsciously pushing away Miss Pansy’s attempts to care for him because she is in a way replacing the role of his late mother. Lucien is a fun character. Every time he is given new information that involves him and his future, he shows his aptitude for business and summarizing family legalities. His lengths at remaining stoic are hilarious, though he does display emotions when they are called for.

 

Though the writing and setting were somewhat dry to begin with and the action was slow to get the ball rolling, the story naturally found its stride and the secrets kept pouring out until the very end. I believe the slow to action start is quite appropriate for the setting of the story as 1905 was such a different time. Halfway through though, you won’t be able to put the book down as the drama accelerates and the action gets too exciting to let go.

 

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform 05/04/2015 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

On the web

SnoValley blog

Victoria Bastedo blog

Book Review: The Cure by Stephanie Erickson

by in Book Review and tagged , , , ,

The Cure by Stephanie Erickson

A YA Sci-fi/Dystopian Novel published on amazon.com (11/27/2013)

 

Summary:

“I gladly sacrifice my life for the good of others. One life will make the difference, and that life could be mine. For this reason, I’m devoted to finding the cure.” (Kindle Locations 59-60).

In a world that is on quarantine from a disease that kills 75% of the population, the push for the cure also lowers life expectancies. It is only through human trials that the government thinks a cure can be found. “Sixteen was a big birthday, though. The year everyone got their date— the day when you would live or die, the day when you would endure the experiments to find a cure. Everyone was given a date that would not precede their twentieth birthday. The date was then effective for the rest of your life. Every ten years, you would endure the testing on that date, until your sixtieth birthday— if you lived that long.” (Kindle Locations 457-459).

Macey questions the system of dates. Is there really even a disease or is the Cure a way to keep the people in line and the population in control? Macey is an artist about to enter her final year of schooling when she finds out her date will arrive two years earlier than anybody else’s has. She feels gypped, that her whole world and all that she knows is in chaos. She ponders quitting school and starting an artist apprenticeship. She ponders politically incorrect drawings. She ponders life as those around her come up on their own dates and may never return.

 

Keywords:

Post-apocalyptic, Dystopian, Controlling Government, Disease, Cure, Testing, Art, Questioning Everything, Romance, Family, Love, Saving Lives, Sacrifice, Routine, Tradition

My Review:

Stephanie Erickson is able to build her world from the very first sentence. She evokes the time and the setting with those first words. I was shown right away a totalitarian society in a post-apocalyptic dying world and I knew I was going to love this book. Erickson lays out all the important information in the beginning of the story, but layers it throughout the interactions the main character Macey has with her world and environment.

I enjoyed the fact that Macey had one skill and one activity she liked above others. She was an artist and her world revolved around her art and the way she creatively viewed herself and her world. I have never been much of an artist or understood having that kind of skill, so seeing it through Macey’s eyes was exhilarating and eye-opening. On top of a good story with emotional draw, Erickson gave me something else to take away from The Cure.

After the initial setup for the plot and showing the condition the main characters lived in and how their world was set up, the plot began to meander and you’re just waiting for the other boot to drop. It is Macey’s date. Her date is significant. Will the book just end? What will happen? The reader isn’t given much information, just like Macey isn’t until she gets there.

I like how Erickson crafted the ultimate difficult situation for her main character and showed how Macey thought through her decision and the supposed consequences of each decision and how they would affect her life. It’s always fascinating to watch someone struggle with an important decision and to feel their anxiety and watch as they choose their paths in life. Erickson captured Macey’s emotional struggle in this novel.

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform 11/27/2013 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Stephanie Erickson’s Website

Book Review: The Dead Room by Stephanie Erickson

by in Book Review and tagged , , ,

The Dead Room by Stephanie Erickson

A YA Dystopian Novel published by Pickles Press (03/10/2015)

 

Summary:

“Civilization had crumbled at its own hands, and the islanders were the only survivors.” (Location 131)

Far few books have accurate book descriptions and the Dead Room is one of them. You get exactly what you read with the summary. This is why I’m not including my own summary of the book and suggest you read Stephanie Erickson’s book summary if you want to know what the book is about.

 

Keywords:

 Apocalypse, Intrigue, Secrets, Inquisitive Main Character, Two Main Characters, Guarding Secrets, Survivors, Refuge, Political Subterfuge, Kept in the Dark, Jealousy, Power Hungry, Twists, Island, Mainland

My Review:

 

Right from the start, Erickson pulls the reader into her world. There are a plethora of post-apocalyptic books out there, but she puts her survivors on an island. The island is like the silos in Hugh Howey’s Wool, separate and apart from society in order to preserve humanity for future generations. Just like a silo, an island has limited space, creating tension and the necessity for law and order. The island is run by the elders who are not all men, thank you Erickson. Too many books repeat real life stereotypes and only place men in positions of power, but The Dead Room has several females as authority figures.

Erickson creates a unique world and describes it so that it is vivid in the reader’s mind. She sets up the plot efficiently and with tension between the main characters and what their goals are. “Questions were more Ashly’s department. Mason preferred a go-along-to-get-along attitude.” (Location 793). Ashley’s inquisitive nature immediately butts heads with the elders. Mason seems like he’s only along for the ride, until he’s pulled along by Ashley into a new world.

This story had a great hook and a great plot and solid storytelling…

But!

SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
What’s wrong with you Stephanie Erickson? The plot was plodding along steadily, the buildup to where Ashely and Mason leave the island leaves the reader in great suspense and on the edge of the seat and then Wham! You kill Ashley. No, no, and no. You cannot kill your main character and then attempt to promote Mason. Suddenly Ashely is dead and the book takes a twisted turn, but the pacing is thrown off kilter and you’ve killed a character unnecessarily, the main one at that! There were so few important people in the book and Ashley moved the entire plot along, she was the inquisitive mind and the do-it-yourself to get-it-done girl, she can’t be gone! This death was way too abrupt and the rest of the book is left hanging and the entire narrative is left to Mason. He is not up to snuff, though he does his best. The book was about Ashely, you cannot just get rid of her. I very much do not appreciate this turn of events and have docked the entire book’s rating down from a 5-star to a 4-star because of this jolting uneven pacing.

 

This novel was published by Pickles Press 03/10/2015 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Stephanie Erickson’s Website

Book Review: Hourglass by Pauline C. Harris

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , ,

Hourglass by Pauline C. Harris

A YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novel published by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books (03/11/15)

 

Summary:

“A planet isn’t big enough for me. I need space and stars and nothing for light-years around.” (Kindle Locations 312-313).
“You know, it’s a shame. Growing up. I bet you regret it now.” (Kindle Location 1632).

Jude “Judy” Sprocket hates planets. She has to get off Earth. When her dad dies and wills her his ship “Hourglass” she decides to take it and get out of there. There is only one problem. She’s only 17 and without an adult present cannot legally take off. Her crew is full of underage and excited kids. Jacob Holden is her chief engineer at 16. Angelica Rivers is the Assistant Engineer and Salvager. Gregory Miller is a Salvager. Jacobson Keith is a salvager. Sylvia Smith is the medic. Judy is the Captain.

Nothing will stand in the way of the stubborn captain, they are pirates after all, and they don’t exactly follow the rules. Not far from Earth, though, they encounter an uncharted planet. There is no way a planet this close to Earth would remain unknown, but the crew disregards any common sense they might have regarding an unmarked planet, and set down to investigate. Then all nightmares break loose.

 

Keywords:

 Space, travel, teens, kids in charge, Captain, exploration, nightmares, unknown past, sinister planet, leadership, friendship, loyalty, pirates, salvagers, dangerous, haunting past, vague memories

 

My Review:

I loved the concept of this book. Harris cleverly disguised the connection of the book to a well-known children’s story, but brought this connection to light in her before chapter quotes. Her usage of elements of the well-known story was intriguing and kept me hooked and searching for more similarities. But, this story was unique and all its own, even with the comparison story and similarities present.

The idea that there are space pirates who steal unwanted floating space junk is cool, especially when it is considered illegal. Harris took the hilarity of regulation and ridiculous government rules into space. Harris basically extrapolated what we know about travel and Earth and regulations and applied it to space.

Harris kept up the tension and intrigue throughout the novel and kept her twists and turns within the realm of possibility. The story was exciting and the descriptions were great. Judy was a good, solid main character with her own set of flaws and fears, but she had backbone when it counted.

The book also had an uncanny ability to translate the sense of creepiness, horror and dread the characters felt at times.

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this story in exchange for my honest review.

This novel was published by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books March 11th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Twitter

Book Review: Don’t Call Me Kit Kat by K.J. Farnham

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , ,

Don’t Call Me Kit Kat by K.J. Farnham

A YA Teen Drama Novel published on amazon.com (05/15/2015)

 

Summary:

‘I’m the “kind of sick” that makes you not want to go to school and fake being happy every day. The “kind of sick” that is caused by having your best friends practically disappear from your life—sort of like the way dad up and disappeared when I was little. The “kind of sick” that results from hearing your mother say that your dad never wanted you in the first place. The “kind of sick” that Orchard Hills types of girls with perfect families, clothes and bodies don’t get.’ (Kindle Locations 1538-1541).

Does anybody remember middle school fondly? Certainly Katie Mills aka “Kit Kat” won’t. Unfortunately her problems at school aren’t forgotten when she gets home. Katie has another whole set of personal issues that have nothing to do with school. If only she can be like the OH girls. If only she can be like her older sister Kelsie. If only she could have new clothes, better dance moves, a thinner body, a dad who is there for her, a mom who won’t criticize, and on and on.

Katie is stuck in the middle of her problems with no way to get herself out of them. And then she discovers a way to fix some of her problems, but what will it ultimately cost her?

 

Keywords:

 Teen drama, middle grade, 8th grade, girl problems, bullying, bulimia, eating disorders, hiding problems, evading issues, getting help, friendships, family, body image, recovery

 

My Review:

I like to read books that I can take something away when I’m done. Don’t Call me Kit Kat is more than a story about a girl working through her problems. It is more than plot and structure. This book delves deep into what it means to have an eating disorder. What does it feel like to want to binge and purge? What does it feel like to be so unhappy with yourself that you’ll go to extreme and unhealthy measures to change? What is day to day life like for a bulimic? How can one get better with an eating disorder? K.J. Farnham answers all these questions and more in her book. I got a lot out of reading this novel.

Though it has been some years since I’ve been a teenager, I believe Farnham captures the moodiness and insecurity of being a teenager in a world full of unrealistic expectations. Katie felt very real and the character seemed more than plausible. Her reality was very realistic.

I never thought about food the way Kit Kat does and it opened up my eyes a bit more to a different person’s experience growing up. “The funny thing about food, though, is that I love it as much as I hate it. I love that I can choose what to eat and how much to eat, or even not to eat anything at all. It’s the guilt I feel after a binge that I can’t stand. Because of the guilt, I sometimes find myself wondering if I control the food or if the food controls me.” (Kindle Locations 1516-1518).

The gradual downhill slide Katie fell into was told so well and captured the essence of how any of it could happen in a way someone without any experience with an eating disorder could understand. This book will really make you empathize and understand a world you may not and never be privy to.

Warning to those who read this book: As the narrator of her own story Katie’s experiences may be so close to reality that they cause their own type of trauma. Katie is very body negative, especially in the first half of the book where she gets no help or support. She is very down on herself and quite pessimistic and her feelings are very hard hitting.

 

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform 05/15/2015 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

K.J. Farnham’s Website

Miscellaneous Mondays: My Favorite Indie Authors 6 – David Estes

by in author platform, Miscellaneous Mondays and tagged , , , , , , , ,

The Moon Dwellers The Moon Dwellers 16047633 17678661

 

I’ve had David Estes’ The Moon Dwellers on my TBR list for a while. I think I found his book on a promo day and was intrigued by the back page summary. I love dystopian and YA, so the Dwellers Saga was a good looking fit for me.

Check him out on my Indie Stars Page here.

From the first few pages I was hooked. David Estes is one of my new favorite authors and I had a hard time putting down his books. I have read the first three books in his Dwellers Saga and have been waiting to read the Country Saga and finally the Earth Dwellers after giving some attention to some other authors, but I know that I will love each and every new book I read of Estes. He is phenomenal. He is my author hero. He has done something that is difficult to find in YA books. He has balanced the narrative between two main characters, one is a female and the other is a male. Both characters are equally important. Both characters have something to say. Both characters are strong yet vulnerable. Both characters are uniquely different. For this reason and more David Estes is a great writer. His story is compelling and fits nicely into the YA Dystopian genre. There is action and fighting and romance in his books. There is struggle and perseverance. There is death. There is survival. I look forward to all the other books David Estes has written.

download (1) download

Book Review: The Star Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 2) by David Estes

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Star Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 2) by David Estes

A YA Sci-fi/Dystopian Novel published by David Estes (09/24/2012)

 

Summary:

The Star Dwellers continues Adele’s and Tristan’s stories within the impending uprising against the Sun Dwellers. Adele rescued both her sister and father in the first book (The Moon Dwellers) and now must find and rescue her mother in the Star Realm below. With the help of the friend she made while in the Moon Dweller prison, Tawni, Adele ventures down into the deepest depths of the Tri-Realms. Meanwhile, Tristan and his trusty best friend Roc must convince the Moon Dwellers to unite with the Star Dwellers against the Sun Dwellers. The Star Dwellers continues revealing secrets about the rebellion and war as well as the unique romantic relationship developing between Tristan and Adele.

 

Keywords:

Post-apocalyptic, underground, uninhabitable earth, romance, segregated society, class system, unequal power, dictatorship, in the dark, secrets, power-hungry leaders, corrupt government, fight the power, resistance, escape, kick-butt female, friendship, survival

 

My Review:

This second book in the series, like most seconds, was not quite as exciting as the first book, but I loved it just the same! It had all of the great elements I saw in the first book and continued the story I fell in love with in Moon Dwellers.

David Estes has a way with dialogue and describing action and setting the scene. His second book, much like his first in the series, is full of lovely quotable passages and great lines in the dialogue. The book is full of uplifting quotes, such as “Speak from your heart, and everything else will work itself out.” (Page 209) and “The only way to make things better is to fix the bigger problem.” (Page 219).

We are given a little more information on the overall plot regarding the inequality between the Tri-Realms as well as more intrigue into the now blossoming romance between Tristan and Adele. Roc and Tawni also continue with the story and we are given a few new characters. At this point in the series, Elsey, Adele’s younger sister, shows how wise she is.

Estes continues alternating Adele’s and Tristan’s point of views each chapter, which is done amazing well and adds so much to the complexity of the story as we get both the main characters’ inner thoughts.

I think it is still amazing how equivalent Adele’s and Tristan’s roles are in the importance of the fight for freedom and justice from the oppression of the Sun Realm and President Nailin. I love series like Hunger Games and Divergent for giving me a kick butt female character, but Estes goes a step further and gives us both a male and female kick butt characters at the same time! This series is great for both males and females alike, not just creating a role model for one gender or the other. The characters are also physically diverse and personality-wise diverse. I love them! After finishing up the Dweller Series, I will look into other books by David Estes as I think he is a fantastically gifted writer with amazing books.

 

This novel was published by David Estes 09/24/2012 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating: 5.0

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

David Estes’s Website

Twitter

Book Review: The Moon Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 1) by David Estes

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Moon Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 1) by David Estes

A YA Sci-fi/Dystopian Novel published on amazon.com (06/27/2012)

 

Summary:

“Like I said before, you have no control over what situation you’re born into.” (Location 2151).

When a meteor is about to wipe out humanity as we know it on Earth, a select number are gifted the chance to live underground and continue the human race as natural disasters destroy everything aboveground. Decades after this decision, and the lottery to get a chance to survive below, there is a distinct segregation of class between the Tri-Realms: Sun Dwellers have all the power and most of the electricity and resources, Moon Dwellers live further down while the Star Dwellers live the furthest from the surface and suffer the most at the hands of those above.
The Moon Dwellers centers on two main characters, Adele from the Moon Dwellers and Tristan, the son of the ‘President’ from the Sun Dwellers. Adele is thrown into juvie after her parents are accused of treason against the government. Tristan is next in line to inherit the power to control the Tri-Realms, but he is disgusted by the inequality and finds his chance to rebel against his father when he first sees Adele. There is something that draws them to each other and for Tristan, finding out who she is brings him out of his comfort zone and into the plot of something much more sinister. For Adele, she is focused on escaping her prison and then reuniting with her sister and parents.

 

Keywords:

Post-apocalyptic, underground, uninhabitable earth, romance, segregated society, class system, unequal power, dictatorship, in the dark, secrets, power-hungry leaders, corrupt government, fight the power, resistance, escape, kick-butt female, friendship, survival

 

My Review:

I loved this book. It had a kickbutt girl character, a romance that wasn’t in the forefront of the plot, some dystopia and post-apocalyptic living, a corrupt government, the underdogs fighting for justice, POV change done well, subplots and characters with their own stories intertwined in the main plot, a good ending with a lot left open for the next book in the series, emotional highs, a good blend of action and story, excellent descriptions, etc.

I find it fascinating the reason for the apocalypse was a natural disaster (meteor). Humanity was saved by going underground, but not all of them could fit, therefore the world started over at Year Zero. The concept for the Lottery was well developed. The beginning of the book featured a brief history that was highly useful in getting an understanding of what was going on in the post-apocalyptic world. I really appreciated Estes putting this info in the very beginning of the first novel of the series.

Throughout the book Estes blended his action with his story to have a very well-spaced plot that moved along at a good pace. The descriptions the author used were excellent and stayed in character in the post-apocalyptic world Estes has created. The POV switching from Tristan to Adele from chapter to chapter was an excellent addition to the story and worked well. I thought it was excellent to make the two main characters have equal parts and equal abilities. It was a very balanced romance and I can’t say enough how much I wish more authors would make their main female and main male characters as equal as Estes has done.

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform 06/27/2012 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating: 5.0

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

David Estes’s Website

Twitter

Book Review: The Non-Zombie Apocalypse by Sechin Tower

by in Book Review and tagged , ,

The Non-Zombie Apocalypse by Sechin Tower

A YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel published by Siege Tower Entertainment (07/16/14)

 

Summary:

“So zombies just remind me that you only have to be afraid of what you don’t understand.” (Page 49).

The Non-Zombie Apocalypse picks up just weeks after the Mad Scientist’s Institute leaves off with Sophie continuing her education at the Mechanical Science Institute and learning how to be a college student at just 16 years old. Though this book could stand alone, it features many of the same characters as the first book.

The Professor is at it again, but with a different sort of doomsday device, a zombie-like ‘non-zombie’ infection that will control the minds of everyone it comes into contact with. It is up to Sophie and her gang of misfit scientists at the Institute, along with her firefighter turned dean uncle ‘Dean Squared,’ to figure out what’s going on and how to stop it and save everyone (again).

 

Keywords:

 Robot, zombies, non-zombies, DNA, Tesla, scientist, scientist heroine, Teslapunk, save the world, University, Mad Scientists, explosions, bad guys, misunderstood, danger

 

My Review:

I adore Sophie. She’s like the young adult version of Don in The Rosie Project by Graeme Simson. She is quirky and logical to a fault and in many social situations she misinterprets or misunderstands or can’t see social cues at all! Her interpretation of social interactions is adorable and hilarious at times. She is a character that everyone has met at one point or another in their lives and her perspective is fascinating.

Again, just like in Mad Scientist’s Institute, Soap displays her naïve/trusting behavior when she signs away her patent rights without a second thought to the consequences or ulterior motives from the same University president who tried to get her expelled just a month prior. Soap follows Creeper McCreeper into a dark and abandoned garage without too much suspicion. Even though now she’s seen some consequences of being trusting and naïve, she’s still unheeding of potential negative consequences.

It was quite clever of Tower to reintroduce all the characters and the setting in the first few chapters of this novel so that the reader didn’t have to read The Mad Scientist’s Institute before the Non-Zombie Apocalypse (I still recommend reading book one before book two). Tower used the same technique employed in the Animorphs series of describing the current characters and the current environment as a continuation of the story. This was done in a clever manner and I really liked how Tower handled making the second book in a series a complete standalone. Each book in this series is and will be conclusive and each subsequent book takes the same characters you’ve built a relationship with and continues with them on a different adventure.

This novel was published by Siege Tower Entertainment on July 16th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Sechin Tower’s Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Book Review: Mad Science Institute by Sechin Tower

by in Book Review and tagged , ,

Mad Science Institute by Sechin Tower

A YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel published by Siege Tower Entertainment (12/09/11)

 

Summary:

“that’s the fun part about science: there are always mysteries to unravel.” (Page 123).

Sophie grew up in a world where electronics were readily available and her failed science experiments were continuously cleaned up by her father. After destroying the science fair and her chances of getting into a top school like MIT, Soap accepts her application to the Mechanical Science Institute in small town Bugswallow, Minnesota. Her cousin, Dean is waiting to meet her there, as he just accepted a position as dean of the Institute, even though he’s really only a fireman. There’s more than simply hidden labs and secret inventions afoot at the Institute, there are thugs and evil scientists who want to take the Institute’s secrets and use them for nefarious and evil purposes. It is up to Soap and Dean to stop the unknown ‘Professor’ from stopping the world as we know it.

 

Keywords:

 Robot, college, creatures, Tesla, EMP, bad guys, Teslapunk, Doomsday, save the world, danger, Scientist Heroine, clueless

 

My Review:

Soap was so naïve it was cute. It was only through her ineptitude with the real world that the plot was able to proceed as it did. She allowed the bad guys to implicate her father, to get inside the Institute, and almost shut down the security systems for the entire building. Thankfully, her stupidity stopped her there. Tower almost took her naivety too far, but it is still barely believable. She’s only 16, though she is a genius, she has never really been involved in something nefarious and has no reason not to trust others. Soap is also adorably ignorant of social norms and her thought processes as she attempts to mimic normal interactions is hilarious. She creates charts to help her fit in, but of course, they don’t. Soap is like the girl version of a super nerd boy who can’t talk to boys. Or girls. She only fits in with other super science geniuses like those at the Mechanical Science Institute.

The villain and thugs were just short of being too stereotypical. Though it was easy to guess who the mysterious “professor” was behind the evil plans, I enjoyed how the plot thickened and the pacing quickened toward the end.

I really ejoyed Tower’s writing style. It was concise and witty and I loved Soap’s POV. I didn’t mind Dean’s POV and enjoyed the intertwining of the action between their two viewpoints.

This novel was published by Siege Tower Entertainment on December 9th, 2011 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Sechin Tower’s Website

Goodreads

Twitter