The Masked Truth - Book Review

The Masked Truth
by Kelley Armstrong

What is it about:
Riley Vasquez is haunted by the brutal murder of the couple she was babysitting for.

Max Cross is suffering under the shadow of a life-altering diagnosis he doesn’t dare reveal.

The last thing either of them wants is to spend a weekend away at a therapy camp alongside five other teens with “issues.” But that’s exactly where they are when three masked men burst in to take the group hostage.

The building has no windows. The exits are sealed shut. Their phones are gone. And their captors are on a killing spree.

Riley and Max know that if they can’t get out, they’ll be next—but they’re about to discover that even escape doesn’t equal freedom.

What did I think of it:
I usually stick to Fantasy, Paranormal and SF, but once in a while a contemporary story sounds so intriguing I want to give it a try.

And this book is so good!

This book is full of suspense and action. Once I started reading I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. I kept trying to guess where things would lead to. There were some clues along the way that I picked up on, but other events came as a shock. All in all this is an intense and cool read.

The story is told from both Riley's and Max's viewpoint, and I liked how it gave insight in both of them. I really liked both of them, and cheered both of them on. Armstrong doesn't make things easy on them, but that is what makes this book such a gripping read.

The book has a very satisfying ending, and you can bet I'll be rereading it in the future. I wouldn't mind at all if Armstrong decides to write more contemporary suspense.

Why should you read it:
It's a really intense and cool, Suspenseful Contemporary YA read.

Teaser Tuesdays - Alien in Chief

"Why can't our allies make it easy on us ever?" Jeff asked.
"It would make life too calm?" Kyle suggested.

(page 132, Alien in Chief by Gini Koch)




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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!

Zom-B Underground - Book Review

Zom-B Underground (Zom-B #2)
by Darren Shan

What is it about:
Waking up in a military complex, months after zombies attacked school, B has no memory of the last few months. Life in the UK has turned tough since the outbreak, and B is woven into life- and battle- in the new military regime quickly. But as B learns more about the zombies held in the complex and the scientists keeping them captive, unease settles in. Why exactly was B saved? And is there anyone left in the world to trust?

What did I think of it:
Immediately after finishing Zom-B I started on Zom-B Underground.

And Zom-B Underground is just as cool as Zom-B.

The issues of bullying and racism that made Zom-B an intense read, were less present in this book. Instead it focuses on humanity and how far you can go in the name of scientific progress and understanding before you go too far. I like how Shan introduces such touchy subjects and makes them part of the story. It doesn't feel like a lesson or lecture.

B was still a bit of a bully at times, but she's also trying very hard to change and to do what feels right. Then a scary and weird event shakes up the compound she's in, and she's fighting for her life again.

This book ends again with a cliffhanger, but less urgent than the first book. Still I am eager to find out what's next for B, because there's tons of cool things that could happen next in B's zombie filled world.

You can be sure I'll be picking up the next book soon.

Why should you read it:
It's an awesome zombie read


Zom-B Underground:



Zom-B Chronicles (contains Zom-B & Zom-B Underground):

TBR Orphans Update - October

In October I again read only one TBR Orphan
Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep

How did your challenges go?

Zom-B - Book Review

Zom-B (Zom-B #1)
by Darren Shan

What is it about:
Zom-B is a radical new series about a zombie apocalypse, told in the first person by one of its victims. The series combines classic Shan action with a fiendishly twisting plot and hard-hitting and thought-provoking moral questions dealing with racism, abuse of power and more. This is challenging material, which will captivate existing Shan fans and bring in many new ones.

As Darren says, "It's a big, sprawling, vicious tale...a grisly piece of escapism, and a barbed look at the world in which we live. Each book in the series is short, fast-paced and bloody. A high body-count is guaranteed!"

What did I think of it:
I got a signed copy of book 11 in this series from Beanie, so I decided to try to get the other books of this series as well, so I wouldn't fall into the story at the eleventh hour. I got hold of Zom-B Chronicles I, II and III, which contain the first six books of the series. I'll be reviewing the books that are combined in these chronicles separately.

On to my thoughts on Zom-B!

*spoiler warning*
There is one reveal late in the first book that I knew about before starting on this series. For the ease of talking about this book I will not dance around this reveal.

The lead character of this series is B.
B is not a very nice person. She (yup, that's the big reveal, B being a girl) is rude, a bully, and even though she tells herself she's not a racist like her father, his ideas did rub off on her.

Still I could understand B for a large part. Her father is abusive and a racist. His moods affect B and her mother big time. B knows in her heart he's wrong, but he is her dad. She loves him and wants to please him. This is what makes her do questionable things at times.

Most of this book is a set up for the rest of the series. It's meant to let the reader get to know B and what made her who she is. This book shows how wrong racism and bullying is, and how B struggles with her conflicting emotions on these subjects. It's powerful stuff. It's her struggle that made me like her just a bit in spite of all the nasty things she did. I rooted for her to speak out against her father, and to shake off his conditioning.

And then the zombies appear!

There is some major zombie mayhem near the end of the book. B and other teens have to fight for their survival. I was already hooked on this book, but from this point on I couldn't stop reading until I reached the end.

And the book ends with quite the cliffhanger!

You bet I immediately turned the page to start on Zom-B Underground.

All in all I think I'm going to enjoy this series very much. I will have to get hold of book 7 to 10 soon.

Why should you read it:
It's a really cool zombie read.


Zom-B:



Zom-B Chronicles (contains Zom-B & Zom-B Underground):

On McPig's Wishlist - Bluescreen

I'm reading the Partials trilogy at the moment and I'm really enjoying it. So I'm very curious if this book will be just as good.


Bluescreen (Mirador #1)
by Dan Wells

Los Angeles in 2050 is a city of open doors, as long as you have the right connections. That connection is a djinni—a smart device implanted right in a person’s head. In a world where virtually everyone is online twenty-four hours a day, this connection is like oxygen—and a world like that presents plenty of opportunities for someone who knows how to manipulate it.

Marisa Carneseca is one of those people. She might spend her days in Mirador, the small, vibrant LA neighborhood where her family owns a restaurant, but she lives on the net—going to school, playing games, hanging out, or doing things of more questionable legality with her friends Sahara and Anja. And it’s Anja who first gets her hands on Bluescreen—a virtual drug that plugs right into a person’s djinni and delivers a massive, non-chemical, completely safe high. But in this city, when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is, and Mari and her friends soon find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that is much bigger than they ever suspected.


Expected publication: February 16th 2016

Gaslight Hades (Beneath a Waning Moon) - Book Review

Gaslight Hades (part of Beneath a Waning Moon)
by Grace Draven

What is it about:
In GASLIGHT HADES, Nathaniel Gordon walks two worlds—that of the living and the dead. Barely human, he's earned the reputation of a Bonekeeper, the scourge of grave robbers. He believes his old life over, until one dreary burial he meets the woman he once loved and almost married. Lenore Kenward stands at her father’s grave, begging the protection of the mysterious guardian, not knowing he is her lost love. Resolved to keep his distance, Nathaniel is forced to abandon his plan and accompany Lenore on a journey into the mouth of Hell where sea meets sky, and the abominations that exist beyond its barrier wait to destroy them

What did I think of it:
This story is part of Beneath a Waning Moon, a book that also contains the story A VERY PROPER MONSTER by Elizabeth Hunter. I received an ARC of Gaslight Hades, so that's the only story I read of the two.

Gaslight Hades is a very nice story.

I really liked the Victorian/Steampunk mood and Draven's writing. The idea of the Bonekeepers (revived creatures who protect graveyards from grave robbers) was really intriguing. In fact I was a bit disappointed that the story leads away from the ghostly atmosphere of the graveyard and continues on an airship. I wanted more gloom and darkness. (And airships are a bit overdone in Steampunk imo)

The romance in this story was sweet and enjoyable. I liked both Nathaniel and Lenore. There's one romantic scene that made me snort, I'm still not sure if Draven meant it that way, or if it's just me though.

All in all this is a very enjoyable story, and if Draven writes more in this setting I will probably read it, depending on how many airships are in it. I will most certainly try other works by Draven as well.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice and enjoyable Steampunk romance


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