There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them

 

Purchase the book:

Barnes & Noble = http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/nobody-jennifer-lynn-barnes/1110503726

Amazon = http://www.amazon.com/Nobody-Jennifer-Lynn-Barnes/dp/1606843214

Indiebound = http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781606843215

 

I have never read anything by Jennifer Lynn Barnes before. I’ve heard that her Raised by Wolves series is off the charts amazing, but if you could see all the books piling up in my frontroom and bedroom you would understand why I just don’t have time. I was offered Nobody by Egmont USA in return for a review and giveaway to be posted on the blog.

I tried really, really hard to like Nobody, but I found it to be very……weird. The idea of writing about “nobody’s” was interesting, but it lacked the spark it needed. It was obvious to me that Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a fantastic writer. There was really nothing wrong with the writing style or the creativity, I just found the storyline to be very odd and I was not drawn in.

I ended up skimming a lot of this book because not only did I not enjoy the story itself, but I was not a big fan of the characters either. I am not a fan of books written in multiple perspectives, so that was an obvious turn off for me. Also, I found it really difficult to attach to either Nix or Claire. I understand that the book is called Nobody and that that’s what they are in the book, but I felt like they just did not exist.

I don’t have much to say about this book, because I found it very difficult to stick with it for long. I am giving it 2 stars, because I truly believe that Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a good writer. Looking at Goodreads, I also noticed that a lot of people are giving it higher ratings than I am. So maybe it’s just me. I didn’t like this story, but maybe some of you guys will. Make sure to enter the contest below. And make sure, if you have read the book, that you come back and let me know what YOU thought of it. Maybe we think the same or maybe we have totally different opinions! Let me know!

 

Pages: 400

Publication Date: January 22nd, 2013

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Source: Finished copy provided by publisher

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: “I am everything. I am nothing. I am powerful. I am forgotten.”

 

The Nitty Gritty:

Contest will run from February 12th, 2013 to February 20th, 2013.

Contest open to U.S. and Canada residents only

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sixteen-year-old Ren is a daredevil mobile racer who will risk everything to survive in the Ward, what remains of a water-logged Manhattan. To save her sister, who is suffering from a deadly illness thought to be caused by years of pollution, Ren accepts a secret mission from the government: to search for a freshwater source in the Ward, with the hope of it leading to a cure.

However, she never expects that her search will lead to dangerous encounters with a passionate young scientist; a web of deceit and lies; and an earth-shattering mystery that’s lurking deep beneath the water’s rippling surface.

Jordana Frankel’s ambitious debut novel and the first in a two-book series, The Ward is arresting, cinematic, and thrilling—perfect for fans of Scott Westerfeld or Ann Aguirre.

 

The Ward revolves around a sixteen-year-old girl, Ren, who loves to live life dangerously. Ren and her sister, Aven, live in The Ward, which is pretty much where the poor and the sick live. To help provide for her little family, Ren races each month to get money. But that’s not all. Ren also works for the government as a spy. Her job is to constantly be on the lookout for a fresh water source.

This dystopian novel is placed several years in the future. There is a deadly illness that passes from person to person known as the HBNC virus, or the Blight. There is no cure for the HBNC virus. What it does is it creates a bunch of tumors on various parts of the body, and then it slowly kills off the carrier. Ren’s little sister, Aven, eventually catched the HBNC virus, and Ren must find a way to help her.

 

The Ward started off a little confusing during the first 2-3 chapters, but it picked up soon after that. Once the book picks up, you’re placed in a racing zone, watching Ren and her competitors fight to be the champion. That part of the book was really awesome and exciting to read about. I wish that more of the book had actually been about the racers and the competitions. The whole experience has let me know what kind of book I want to see published and read about. The racing aspect of the book was a definite plus.

I wish that the book hadn’t been centered around finding a cure for Aven and this whole disease taking over New York. I love dystopia novels. I think that there is something special and wicked cool about creating a world unlike our own, and I dig reading them. But it bogged me down a bit in this book. The main character, Ren, was constantly upset and whining. Obviously she had a good reason to be upset. Her sister was dying and she was stuck working for the government and lying to her friends, but when I’m reading about a main character who is always upset or depressed, then that also weighs down on me. Not to mention that I didn’t really like Aven’s character. I know that we don’t get to see much of her in the book, but she bugged me whenever she made an appearance. So I got the concept of the book, and I knew what was happening, but it was just really weighing down on me.

Almost every girl who reads knows that it is all about the boys. If an author creates an amazing male character, that can really amp up how amazing the book is going to be. But if an author creates a male character that’s unattractive and unappealing, that can really bring the book down a few notches. Unfortunately, I hated both of the main male characters. I found Callum to be overly sensitive, annoying and weak, and I found Derek to be rude, stupid and also annoying. When you add in the fact that I wasn’t an overly huge fan of the main character, Ren, you’re in for a disaster. There was not one character that I really liked in this 465 page book and that killed me.

Fans of lots of love and romance in books will also be disappointed. Sure, Ren had a crush on Derek and paid more attenion to Callum later in the book, but there really was no romance. I expect to see maybe a little bit more of it in the second book, but that department was a little bland.

When reading dystopian novels, one must understand that there are going to be some things that are just totally unrealistic. However, there has to be some semblance of reality when you’re not looking at a world full of paranormal activity. There was a lot of detail in this book that either made absolutely no sense or just didn’t add up as time progressed. I also found myself reading sections and not really understanding what was happening. Things were jumping around a little too fast and things would happen without the right support. Like my creative writing teacher said. If there is a gun introduced at the beginning of the story, that gun needs to be used before the ending. Some things were not clarified. Other things jumped without having something to balance it out.

The Ward was a great start for a 2013 debut novel, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. I have been dying for this book, and I really expected a lot more from it. The last 20 pages, I was just dying to put the book down. I don’t want to feel that way with books. I will say, though, that my copy is an ARC. I received this book several months before you guys will be able to read it, so some of the stuff that I have complained about really might be better executed in the final copy. However, I do think that dystopian fans will be a little let down.

 

Pages: 465

Source: ARC provided by publisher

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: April 30th, 2013

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: I’m pounding against the glass, now wishing it would crack. Water splashes inside the mobile, all around me. Grimy, icy slush finds my mouth. I close my eyes, struggling to get out through the roof, pushing against it. My Rimbo drops into the sunken city. I open my eyes despite the cold and the water. Beyond the roof, giant-sized buildings loom, towers of brick with the windows crashed in. I can’t stop looking- I can’t stop trying.

It takes less than a minute for the water to reach my neck. (51.)

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible…again.

At the end of Touch of Power, Avry and Kerrick were forced to separate. In Scent of Magic, we pick up with Avry infiltrating Estrid’s army and Kerrick returning to Alga to finally deal with his own country. The separation is brutal. The two were finally together, only to be immediately torn apart. While Kerrick readies his troops and seeks allies for battle against Tohon’s army, Avry prepares Estrid’s troops by teaching them how to move silently through the forest and how to kill Tohon’s dead soldiers. Keeping her identity a secret becomes impossible when she’s reunited with Prince Ryne, Quain, Loren, and Belen. When Tohon finally mounts his attack, he once again comes for Avry and, again, she finds herself alone.

Let me start off by saying I thoroughly loved and enjoyed Scent of Magic; it’s an excellent sequel. With that in mind, I had difficulty with the first third of the book. I think the difficulty stemmed from Avry’s separation from Kerrick. I just wanted the two to be together and my frustration mirrored Avry’s on every page. This only proves how excellent Maria Snyder is at creating characters we care about and relationships that jump off the page. But the frustration was very tough to deal with and often led me to put down the book after a few chapters, just to pick it up again in an hour.

After I got used to the separation, I was impressed by a lot of the elements Snyder incorporated into this book. The plot is continuously fast-paced; each chapter advances the conflict. The plot is intricate and completely unpredictable, with multiple cliff-hangers that forced me to speed through the pages. I especially appreciated the inside look at war strategies and tactics. Watching Avry become a part of Estrid’s group was one of my favorite aspects of this book; she’s so tough and willing to put herself in the line of danger over and over again. In my opinion, she’s one of the most admirable female heroines in YA right now.

I also enjoyed seeing Kerrick take on more of a role as King of Alga. It’s interesting to watch his relationship grow with Danny, as we get to see more of the kind, caring Kerrick that previously only existed with Avry. Speaking of developments, we also see new sides of Quain and Loren, which just further characterizes them as realistic, believable people. All of Snyder’s characters feel like people you could potentially or already have met. They’re just so vibrant.

Of course, Snyder once again delivers a fair share of heartbreak, but she doesn’t wait until the very end to do it. This book is full of a lot of hard moments and Snyder doesn’t sugarcoat the consequences of war. Tohon is as frightening and despicable as ever-a true villain. Snyder further explores the mystery of the Death and Peace Lilies with surprising results-this aspect of the plot never fails to completely capture my attention; I’m completely enthralled by the Death Lilies and, like Avry, I really want to figure them out. As with her previous novels, Snyder’s writing is poetic, concise, and utterly enrapturing. The Healer series is just as compelling as her Study series and worth every minute spent reading. Fans of Snyder will not be disappointed.

Pages: 414
Publication Date: December 2012
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Source: NetGalley
Rating :

Teaser Quote:
“We don’t take orders from you, Sergeant,” Quain said. “Your man tried to assassinate-”

“He isn’t mine. My man has eyes that change color with the seasons.”