Review: Ink by Amanda Sun

Release Date: June 25th, 2013

Paperback: 326 pages

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

I love when books are so innovative that they don't resemble anything that already exists. When Hunger Games or even Harry Potter came out, I had the same thought: here's something that is so original and mind blowing good, it will stay with me forever. And well, that's the same feeling I had when I was done with Ink, the first book and in a expectedly amazing series. 

Tomohiro can draw things so well, that the drawings start moving and having a like of their own. Amanda has a captivating way of leaving us readers guessing the whole story: Why can Katie manipulate his drawings? Why does Tomohiro have this ability? And the answers are interesting, indeed. I'm a mythology freak, and mostly I read Greek mythology like crazy, but it was even more fulfilling to read a book about Japanese mythology. I didn't know anything about it, so it was something completely new. Furthermore I loved the Japanese setting; I would daydream about going to Japan and after reading Ink, Japan has certainly made the list of top places to go.

Katie is a fun character, even though she has some difficulties and doubts about staying in Japan. And that's something I can relate to. I was also an exchange student, who went through the whole "I hate this place" phase but learned to adapt and even love my new country, but it certainly took some time. Tomohiro is also not the typical YA boy. In the beginning I didn't even like him that much, but later he showed me a better side to him.

There are many surprises and twists in this novel, you most certainly will never be bored while reading it. When I got my review copy, I read the whole afternoon through and was so sad that I didn't have the sequel to dive into. Amanda Sun has written an original and enthralling novel, that will make you leave everything and go to Japan to meet your own Tomohiro. I can't wait to see what the sequel has in store for these amazing characters!

Huge thanks to Harlequin Teen for providing me with a copy of this marvellous novel!

Blog Tour: Shutdown by Heather Anastasiu &Giveaway

Release Date: July 2nd, 2013

320 pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

The battle is all but over, and hope seems to be lost. Zoe and her fellow Resistance fighters are on the run, having lost their home, their protection, and their leader. They are outnumbered and outmatched by the powerful corporation that controls the world, and the cruel Chancellor is inches away from completing a scheme that would kill most of humanity. Zoe's only remaining option is to chase the impossible dream of upending the Link system, freeing the world from the hardware that controls their thoughts and emotions, and hope it will trigger a revolution.

The plot requires a nearly impossible mission to infiltrate the dangerous Community, and it is a task that Zoe must unfortunately complete alone. With challenges and surprises at every turn, nothing goes according to plan. Adrien's visions of the future now show two possible outcomes: one in which they succeed, and one in which humanity falls. It all lies in Zoe's hands.

Shutdown was a fantastic conclusion to this captivating series. One of the things that surprised me the most about this trilogy is that every book was so much better than its predecessor, you could really feel the development not only in the characters but also in the plot and in the author's writing as well. Even though I had already enjoyed Glitch a lot (it received a 5-star review), Shutdown was even more fun to read and I would give it a better rating in a heartbeat, if my rating system didn't only go to five stars.

The story picks up where Override left off. The plot keeps its pace throughout it, there was always going on that you won't want to read this during finals' week (like me!) since you won't be able to put it down. Seriously. However what captivated me the most wasn't the final battle, but the problematic with Adam. The end was really well-written and meant to be, I couldn't have imagined a better ending and also the way the last battle was resolved was also surprising (in a good way).

The characters have developed so much since Glitch. Zoe is a great main character, fierce yet emotional, but mostly she is realistic. But Adam was most certainly the show-stealer in Shutdown. I've never read a novel in which a character changes so drastically and that was most refreshing. I think I even enjoyed Adam more as a character after the kidnapping because he was just unexpected. He was something completely unique and less similar to all the other YA boys. And as I always say about Anastasiu's series, the side characters complement the story well in a x-men (awesome) kind of way.

I'm very happy that I was able to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this marvellous novel and also very satisfied with how things ended (you won't be disappointed!). My favorite scenes were those between Zoe and Adam, since it was very captivating to see the romance bloom again. I'll certainly pick up other novels by this author because Anastasiu showed me that she can write remarkably well with many unexpected and refreshing twists and turns. A great conclusion to an even great series!

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ARC Review: Rush by Eve Silver

Release Date: June 11th, 2013

352 pages

Publisher: HarperTeen

So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

Rush is a thrilling and original novel. I wasn't expecting it to like it so much, so maybe that's why it exceeded my expectations so much; or most probably, the novel just really is this good. The mystery surrounding the plot and the characters was also one thing that captivated me from the beginning, I wasn't sure what to expect and many twists and turns were completely unexpected, therefore this novel was like a small box of surprises.

You die and you get stuck in a game-like reality, in which you fight against aliens to protect the world; plus if you die there, you die in real world too, period. Let's just start by saying that this plot is completely unexpected, original and well, freaking awesome?! Furthermore, the author is a suspense-meister. There are so many secrets and mysterious details surrounding Miki's new reality, which makes the novel more alive and difficult to figure out. There are small problems that come with this territory, since the description of this reality wasn't so full of detail, therefore the world-building was a bit lacking. I do have higher hopes for the sequel, though.

The characters were the best part of the novel. Miki was a great heroine, kick-ass and strong, full of curiosity (even a bit too much) and intelligent, and I loved that she was half-Asian! But the show stealer was Jackson Tate. You don't know anything about this guy, but he just has this allure and you can't help but like him. It's a character full of unexpected secrets, and those are almost always the best to read about. The many other secondary characters were a bit obscured by my (and Miki's) obsession with Jackson, although they were fitting and complemented the story really well.

Rush was the novel that most surprised me in 2013 up until now. I read the whole thing so fast and now I can't get my hands fast enough on the sequel. That's the downside of ARCs, since I have an even longer wait till the next one comes out. But I'm certain that it will be worth it. The ending was a huge cliffhanger and I can't wait to see which direction the author will take regarding the plot and the characters. Hopefully it will also be a small box full of surprises.

A huge, huge thanks to HarperTeen for providing me with a copy of this worderful novel for review!