Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

Pages: 400

Genre: Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic

Series: Under the Never Sky #3

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: Jan 28, 2014

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.
The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.
Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.
Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

M'kay, this is a pretty hard review to write, as all sequels are for me, but oh gosh. This just...

I was torn between being excited for this book and absolutely wary. The wrap up of a series has to be absolutely perfect for me, or it just sort of ruins the rest of the books for me and with Under the Never Sky being one of my favorite series...well.
But honestly, I had nothing to worry about. I absolutely loved Into the Still Blue and I just...I loved the wrap up of this trilogy! Aaahhh!

Seeing all the characters together after all the chapters they were separated in was heartwarming and wonderful, but that feeling doesn't last long. Book three was the most action packed of the series, and throughout the story our characters are either hurt, lost, or betrayed, and it was just heartbreaking. All the open plot holes are finally wrapped up with a neat little bow and I honestly think Veronica Rossi did an absolute fantastic job with it! Even with two books with as many twists as characters, Into the Still Blue still managed to shock me with a new and surprising turn that I should've expected but just didn't.
The only thing I do wish was that the ending had been a little less rushed. Almost done with only about 20-40 pages left, I was worried how the ending would play out, and while I found it satisfying, it was...sudden.

I honestly don't think I need to say anything about our wonderful cast of characters, except that a new major player is added, and that Roar's attitude was heartbreaking in the least.
Speaking of Roar, his and Aria's friendship was...beautiful. They depended on each other to keep each other sane and they had a special sort of bond that I loved, especially since it wasn't romantic in any way, shape or form. They had a familial air around each other and their light teasing provided a bit of comic relief when needed.
Perry and Aria's romance wasn't that focused on, but their stolen moments in between the ongoing war was sweet and just made me fall all over again with the both of them!

Into the Still Blue is an amazing wrap up of a brilliant series, and I have to say, I had a few heart attacks throughout the story. Definitely a way to end the series with a bang!

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Severed Tower by J. Barton Mitchell

Goodreads Blurb

Holt, Mira, and Max have fled Midnight City with Zoey after watching her repel an entire Assembly army. Zoey's powers are unlocked, but who and what she is remains a mystery. All she knows is that she must reach the Severed Tower, an infamous location in the middle of the world's most dangerous landscape: The Strange Lands, a place where the laws of physics have completely broken down. But the closer they get to the Tower, the more precarious things become. The Assembly has pursued Zoey into the Strange Lands. Among them is a new group, their walkers and machines strangely bereft of any color, stripped to bare metal, and whose agenda seems to differ from the rest. To make matters worse, the group hunting Holt are here, too, led by a dangerous and beautiful pirate named Ravan. So is Mira's first love, Benjamin Aubertine, whose singular ambition to reach the Tower threatens to get them all killed.

Then there's the Strange Lands themselves. They have inexplicably begun to grow, spreading outwards, becoming more powerful. Somehow, it all seems tied to Zoey herself, and the closer she gets to the Tower, the weaker she becomes.

It's been a while since I read Midnight City, but I remember being so absolutely in love with the story and the characters! And guys, after reading the sequel, I can not recommend this series enough to sci-fi and dystopian/apocalyptic fans.

Yeah yeah, moan all you want about how alien invasion books are becoming typical and the norm for YA. This series, the worldbuilding, the plot, its all so original! I can't get over it at all.
So something that wasn't quite in the last book is that this series is seriously sci-fi. You don't see as much as you usually would in the first half of the book, but towards the end, the sci-fi makes a definite appearance. I'm still unsure exactly what happened, but I'm pretty sure Mitchell managed to weave together parallel universes, dark matter, and a whole bunch of other things I can't think about. (ALSO. There was totally a Doctor Who moment in this.)

I'm so in love with our wide range of characters too. They were all quirky, flawed, and absolutely badass, in their own ways. We're introduced to so many new characters, Ravan, Avril, Ben, Gideon, and the White Helex and Menagerie crews. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to remember all of them and their roles, and I couldn't help but love all these new characters as much as I loved Holt, Mira, and Zoey. Because they were unbelievably unpredictable and unbelievably scarred in some way. They were all brave, in different ways, and it's just impossible not to be touched by some of their sacrifices.
Also the White Helix? I love them. Is creepy, but is cool.

Surprisingly, even with a ton of POV's and in third person, I didn't mind it. Which, guys, that's an Anomaly (Pun intended.)

The plot was as unexpected as the characters. Because holy crap. I didn't expect any of that at all. Explosions are more than a few and with all the Anomalies and Artifacts, things are sure to be...mind blowing (My punny side has revealed itself.) The ending especially! I just couldn't believe it and I can honestly say that it's one of the better endings I've ever read.

Ah the romance. Honestly, there's not too much to write because the romance honestly didn't show itself, despite there being to exes brought back into the picture. Like I'd hoped, romance was kept to a bare minimum, though you could clearly see Holt and Mira's, Mira and Ben's, and Holt and Raven's dynamics. All three pairings made brilliant teams and, to be frank, I think I was more in love with Ben than Holt. For me, I feel like Ben sacrificed the most for Mira, despite his misgivings.

A sequel to die for (Oh hey, hello pun), The Severed Tower surpasses the first, which already blew my socks off! I'll definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good sci-fi and a story where our narrator's not the only player in a game we don't understand. Yet.

Pages: 400

Genre: Post Apocaylptic

Series: Conquered Earth #2

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Release Date: November 19, 2013
Rating: 4.5 Stars

The End Games by T. Michael Martin

Goodreads Blurb

It happened on Halloween.

The world ended.

And a dangerous Game brought it back to life.

Seventeen-year-old Michael and his five-year-old brother, Patrick, have been battling monsters in The Game for weeks.

In the rural mountains of West Virginia, armed with only their rifle and their love for each other, the brothers follow Instructions from the mysterious Game Master. They spend their days searching for survivors, their nights fighting endless hordes of “Bellows”—creatures that roam the dark, roaring for flesh. And at this Game, Michael and Patrick are very good.

But The Game is changing.

The Bellows are evolving.

The Game Master is leading Michael and Patrick to other survivors—survivors who don’t play by the rules.

And the brothers will never be the same.

T. Michael Martin’s debut novel is a transcendent thriller filled with electrifying action, searing emotional insight, and unexpected romance.

The End Games was...completely unexpected. It was such a hopeless, bleak kind of book and really, really depressing. No matter what they did, it felt like Michael and Patrick would be running forever, and never really live without fear. 

Actually, I think depressing was sort of an understatement.

The plot and the writing were two of the top things for me (that, and the sort of twist on the zombie apocalypse.) Right from the beginning of the bat, we learn two things. A) just how dangerous the world is, and just how desolate it is now, and B) things are already changing and getting creepier. Their were so many action scenes and so many twists that had me gasping and stunned. And, waning, a lot of deaths. 

I rarely talk about voice in my reviews, but it was like you were in Michael's mind, not just as a narrator! The way the story was told is phenomenal and the writing was superb (I love that word.) You could just feel Michael's nervousness, his fear throughout the entire book.

The characters, though, were not my favorite. I'd say they annoyed me, but I mainly felt a bit impartial to them. If one died, I honestly didn't care. They weren't relatable to me, though they might be to some, and I got so irritated by all the lying. I mean, I could understand. The world pretty much ended, after all. But Michael kept lying all to raise hope, knowing it wouldn't last. It was horrible of him and I wanted to sock him in the face. 

And onto the zombies (I found it funny that people didn't call them Zombies. They did live in this century, but no one thought to call them zombies?). I loved discovering about the disease that brought them back to life, it's origin, and it's purpose. There was a lot of thought out into this worldbuilding and it was fascinating.

The End Games is a game of survival, and the rules are being broken. With twists or attacks around every corner, there's almost no one to trust, but all the more reason to take a chance. The ending was perfect for the book! I just wish we could've seen an epilogue!

Pages: 384

Genre: Post apocalyptic

Series: Standalone

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: May 7, 2013

Rating: 3.5-->4 stars