Sweet - Book Review

Sweet
by Emmy Laybourne

What is it about:
The luxurious celebrity cruise launching the trendy new diet sweetener Solu should be the vacation of a lifetime. But Laurel is starting to regret accepting her friend Viv’s invitation. She's already completely embarrassed herself in front of celebrity host Tom Forelli—the hottest guy ever!—and she's too sick to even try the sweetener. And that's before Viv and all the other passengers start acting really strange.

Tom knows that he should be grateful for this job and the chance to shed his former-child-star image. His publicists have even set up a 'romance' with a sexy reality star. But as things on the ship start to get wild, he finds himself drawn to a different girl. And when the hosting gig turns into an expose on the shocking side effects of Solu, it's Laurel that he's determined to save.

What did I think of it:
This is a really fun read.

I will confess I had expected the mayhem to start sooner, but even so I enjoyed this book from start to finish.

I very much liked Laurel. She's got a lot of insecurities, but I liked that her weight wasn't one of them. She went along with her friend for the luxurious cruise and not for the weight loss part of it. For a change it was the male lead who has a difficult relationship with food and his weight. I liked how Laybourne shows that both men and women can be insecure about their weight.

As I said the real mayhem starts quite late in the book, but I must say I enjoyed the events that lead up to the catastrophe. Laybourne knows how to combine humor, suspense, and horror elements and I was totally engrossed. The cruise ship is the perfect place for this story to play out. Nothing so scary as people starting to act creepy and no way to escape them.

All in all this is a very entertaining read and you bet I'll be keeping an eye out for Laybourne's next book.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun and suspenseful YA read


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Savage Drift - Book Review

Savage Drift (Monument 14 #3)
by Emmy Laybourne

What is it about:
The stunningly fierce conclusion to Emmy Laybourne's Monument 14 trilogy.

The survivors of the Monument 14 have finally made it to the safety of a Canadian refugee camp. Dean and Alex are cautiously starting to hope that a happy ending might be possible.

But for Josie, separated from the group and trapped in a brutal prison camp for exposed Type Os, things have gone from bad to worse. Traumatized by her experiences, she has given up all hope of rescue or safety.

Meanwhile, scared by the government's unusual interest in her pregnancy, Astrid (with her two protectors, Dean and Jake in tow) joins Niko on his desperate quest to be reunited with his lost love Josie.

What did I think of it:
I really liked the first two books in this trilogy, but somehow it took me a while to pick up the last book.

The viewpoint switches between Dean and Josie.

I must say that Josie's story was the most intense, and I was invested in it from the start. The camp where Josie is imprisoned is brutal, and I was scared for what might happen to Josie and her friends.

Dean's story got on my nerves at times. The whole Dean/Astrid/Jake drama, and Astrid's pregnancy didn't really interest me. The one character in that storyline that I could understand was Niko.

So I confess I at times skimmed Dean's dramatics to get back to Josie's perils.

Still I very much enjoyed this book, and I think Laybourne did a great job in bringing this trilogy to a relatively believable close. (Yup, there was one very convenient cop out imo)

All in all this is a cool trilogy that I will certainly put on my keeper shelves.

Why should you read it:
It's a mostly realistic YA Disaster read.

Top Pearls 2013 - part 1

Here are 12 of 24 books we read this year that we wanted to give a shout-out, because they're really cool.
I haven't included the books that (will) have their own shout-out and giveaway post (except one).

Click the titles to go to my review, and stay tuned for part 2!


Alliance Forged by Kylie Griffin
This is a wonderful Fantasy Romance with a swoonworthy hero according to Voodoo Bride.

Absolution by Susannah Sandlin
A Paranormal Romance with yet another awesome hero, and with a solid action storyline that made this a great read for both Voodoo Bride and me.

100 Days in Deadland by Rachel Aukes
This zombie retelling of Dante's Inferno is so cool I bought a print version after I finished reading the ebook.

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
An awesome Post Apocalyptic YA.


Horde by Ann Aguirre
The epic conclusion of an amazing Post Apocalyptic YA trilogy.

White Cat by Holly Black
A cool Paranormal YA about a boy who grew up in a family of con men.

Angelfall by Susan Ee
Who knew books about angels could be this awesomely gritty? A great Post Apocalyptic YA.

Elysian Fields by Suzanne Johnson
The third book in a really cool UF series that keeps getting better and better.


Alien Research by Gini Koch
A great addition to a SF series that is cool, funny, and a pleasure to read.

The Outside by Laura Bickle
Words are not enough to tell you how awesome this 2nd book in a Post Apocalyptic duology with Amish and vampires is.

Forsaken by the Others by Jess Haines
What makes an already amazing UF series even better: Zombies!

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
A really fun and suspenseful Paranormal YA.

Sky On Fire - Book Review

Sky on Fire (Monument 14 #2)
by Emmy Laybourne

What is it about:
Trapped in a superstore by a series of escalating disasters, including a monster hailstorm and terrifying chemical weapons spill, brothers Dean and Alex learned how to survive and worked together with twelve other kids to build a refuge from the chaos. But then strangers appeared, destroying their fragile peace, and bringing both fresh disaster and a glimmer of hope.

Knowing that the chemical weapons saturating the air outside will turn him into a bloodthirsty rage monster, Dean decides to stay in the safety of the store with Astrid and some of the younger kids. But their sanctuary has already been breached once. . . .

Meanwhile, Alex, determined to find their parents, heads out into the darkness and devastation with Niko and some others in a recently repaired school bus. If they can get to Denver International Airport, they might be evacuated to safety. But the outside world is even worse than they expected. . .

What did I think of it:
I will confess I had my doubts at the end of book 1.

I loved Monument 14, but when Alex and a group of other kids leave the superstore at the end of the book I could have slapped them. Leave a save place!? Why!!! Still, I expected Laybourne to go easy on them in Sky On Fire, because often I seem to see dangers where authors of Dystopian and Post Apocalyptic YA see none.

Luckily in Sky On Fire this wasn't the case.

Laybourne shows how cruel a post apocalyptic world can be and doesn't make it easy for her characters. There's lots of perils and the kids have to be smart and resourceful to stay alive. When they do stupid things, they have to deal with the consequences.

I really liked getting inside Alex's head. In Monument 14 you only get to see Dean's thoughts about Alex, so I enjoyed getting to know Alex from another angle.

As for Dean, I really don't get his feelings for Astrid, but I liked reading how he and the kids who stayed behind in the superstore are trying to manage.

Overall this is a really suspenseful, action-packed story that shows a gritty and harsh world. I enjoyed reading it very much and I'm already looking forward to the release of the last book in this trilogy.

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

Monument 14 - Book Review

Monument 14 (Monument 14 #1)
by Emmy Laybourne

What is it about:
Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

What did I think of it:
What's with all these older siblings who hover over their younger siblings and don't want them to make their own friends and explore the world on their own?! It seems to be a recurring theme in Young Adult books.

Apart from wanting to kick the main character Dean for his older sibling syndrome from time to time I really enjoyed this book though.

14 kids get stuck in a superstore during a disaster of apocalyptic proportions. I loved reading how they each reacted in their own way and about the group dynamics. I even really liked reading about the younger children and how they cope, and usually I don't really like the inclusion of small children in books.

With 14 kids it's difficult to give all of them enough screen time to get to know them, but I think Laybourne did a decent job at that. I think she managed to make the kids and the things they do realistic. Their problems and fights were interesting to read and I soon had my favorites who I rooted for. Dean as lead character was of course among those, but I also really liked Niko, a silent, but practical guy who turns out to be a natural leader.

Near the end of the book there are some developments that force the group to make an important decision and the book ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, but not annoyingly so. I will confess I did order the second book in this trilogy soon after finishing this book though and I hope it gets here soon.

Why should you read it:
It's a really cool post-apocalyptic YA read.