Book Talk: February Wrap Up

In retrospect, February felt long. It did feel a little slow during the month, but looking back, it's as if the books I read at the beginning of the month were books I read a year ago. I've been so immersed in all these adventures that it feels as though I've lived all their lives. Collectively, that's a lot of lifetimes. I am very happy with the books I chose to pick up this month. I think I got a good mix of everything and every book hit its mark. If you want to find out more about these fantastic books, keep on reading!

Stats:

• Books Read: 6
• Genre:
• Alternate History: 1
• Science Fiction: 2
• Mystery: 1
• Dystopian: 2
• Page Count: 2,334

Books:

Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin 

What if the Axis Powers won? If that question does not invoke terrible images of totalitarian control, you must be delusional. Thankfully, we aren't living in a world where Hitler emerged victorious but unfortunately, the characters in Wolf By Wolf have to suffer. To showcase the pride of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan, there is an annual race across the lands conquered by the Axis, spanning from Europe to Asia. Five of the best racers from Germany and Japan ride in a vicious competition for the Iron Cross. Backing up for a moment, our protagonist is Yael. As a young Jewish girl, she, along with many others, were shipped off to a concentration camp during the war. Nothing particularly set her apart from anybody else until she was selected for experimentation. Yael was able to escape her imprisonment but the damage has already been done. Now she's part of the Resistance and she has one goal: kill Hitler. Thanks to the Nazis, she now has the ability to do so. That's karma, I guess. 

From the moment I heard the premise for this book, I was sold. There's nothing like alternate history to get me going. They answer they "what ifs" of life. The book starts out in the past, back when Yael was first heading for the concentration camp. Reading this, I didn't know if I would be able to make it through the whole book. That wasn't what I was expecting (and thankfully that isn't the story, just Yael's memories for exposition) and it's always difficult to read about the Holocaust. Even more so when it's in a world where it didn't ever end. In the present, Adele Wolfe was the first female winner of the Iron Cross and she snuck herself in by impersonating her twin brother, Felix Wolfe. When she won, she was close enough to Hitler to kill him. Now Yael plans to enter, impersonating Adele Wolfe to finally deliver justice but there are two unexpected, potentially dangerous hitches. Their names are Felix Wolfe and Luka Lowe. Luka aka Adele's secret former love interest. Nobody plays fair in the Axis Tour so Yael needs to watch her back and convince these two boys that she is who she says she is. That's a tall order. I loved this book with all the different stops across the three continents and the interesting interpersonal relationship dynamics and the glimpses we get into Luka's character and the things we learn about Yael's past (even if a lot of it was hard to read). The entire book had me on the edge of my seat and I am so excited to get the next book, Blood For Blood. Thank goodness we have Iron To Iron, a novella telling the story of the Adele's first Axis Tour from Luka's perspective coming out next month. I need to know everything about these characters and the fate of this world.

Winter by Marissa Meyer

When I first caught wind that Winter was going to be over 800 pages long, I did a double take. Although it's super long, the length is completely necessary and definitely worth it. The pacing was flawless so there was never a dull moment, which made the hundreds of pages fly by. If you haven't picked up the Lunar Chronicles yet, I highly suggest you do so (so much so that I included it in my Companion Recommendations). I won't bother explaining what's been going on in the series up until this point because spoilers and I want you to read it if you haven't already. I want you to experience the epic adventures in this science fiction fairytale (retelling) world. Now that we've reached the final chapter, so to speak, of the Lunar Chronicles, the tyranny of Queen Levana is coming to a head and Cinder and the rest of the crew are ready to form their rebellion. Most of the book is spent planning the rebellion and developing the relationships the characters have with each other. We also learned more about Wolf and his backstory, which only made it so much more painful when he was tampered with.  I'm so glad he has Scarlet. Another one of my favorite moments was when Cress and Thorne finally began opening up to each other. I keep squee-ing because they're so good together. And [SPOILER] when he asked her to be part of his crew it was like a proposal and I am so happy. [END SPOILER] Don't even get me started on Cinder and Kai's final moment. Oh god. I'm going to hyperventilate thinking about it. I've already included one minor spoiler in this post, I won't risk another. Despite my undying love for the couples we've already gotten to know, I didn't fall in love with Winter and Jacin's romance as hard as I did for the rest of them, possibly because I didn't have as much time with it, but then again I was instantly smitten with everybody else's relationships so... It could also have been because Jacin was very stoic so he didn't give me much to work with and from Winter's side, it seemed a lot like puppy love more than true love. I don't know. I still enjoyed reading their relationship, but it felt more like an older brother and a younger sister type of relationship. Oh, and I cannot write about the Lunar Chronicles without mentioning Iko. My sweet, sassy Iko. Her character really shined in this book and she has developed to be such a character, not just any old android. She's so smart and loyal and terribly sassy. If I had to choose one character to be my ultimate favorite, it just might have to be Iko. It'd have to be by an extremely slim margin, though, because I love them all way too much.

I've already written an essay's worth and none of it has been about the excellently written rebellion. Of course, a lot of this relationship and character development was happening amidst and as a result of the formation of the rebellion but the plan itself was so awesome. There were times when their chances looked bleak and I appreciated those times because it only made the good times so much better. The hand Maha had in coming up with the plan and putting it into action was very admirable. She accepted them all without question and moved everything in the right direction. I was also very impressed with how Winter was able to use her sway over the people to rally against Levana. AND KAI oh my goodness Kai. The poor thing went through so much. I mean, obviously others went through a heck of a lot more but none of them had to kiss Levana. I think that speaks for itself. The plan wouldn't have worked at all if they all didn't work as a team, even when they had no idea what was happening on the other side of Artemisia, let alone in other sectors across Luna. They just had to trust each other. Even when one has to shoot another's fingers off. The climax was so chaotic, I can't imagine it was easy to write. With so many parts, Meyer still managed to make every person's part clear and showed each part of the action throughout the palace. I would love to go on forever about how much I loved this book, but I'm going to leave some to the imagination... just until you get around to picking up the book yourself. ;)

Saga, Volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples 

I'm gonna go ahead and say that escalated quickly. This volume told the story of Hazel's parents' split and it almost felt detached from the story arc that we've been working with with thus far. I'm not complaining though because it indisputably furthered the plot. It wasn't so much departing from the main arc as taking a detour. Some of the storylines felt stagnant in this one, such as Gwendolyn and The Will's and those two reporters' that were introduced in the previous volume while Prince Robot IV's was rocketed forward. As Hazel grows older, her parents' relationship is falling apart as it's not the easiest thing to maintain one when all the odds are stacked against you. Since they're separated a lot more and have somewhat settled down in this volume, we get a better feel for who Alana and Marko are as individuals. I'm afraid to say too much but I haven't revealed anything about Prince Robot IV's storyline so I think I'm on the right track. That's where all the juicy stuff is. I'm excited to pick up Saga, Volume 5 because we're probably getting more of the neglected storylines and I miss them already. It's an ongoing graphic novel, though, so I have to pace myself. I'd hate to be left with a cliffhanger, especially since this is such a saga, as the name suggests. 

See How They Run by Ally Carter

I love me a good mystery. See How They Run picks up a week after the events of All Fall Down and Grace is still in shock, but what we learn next leaves both her and us reeling. Right from the start a secret is unveiled and I could not have asked for more. It's a big plot point in the story so I won't reveal it, and it's not my secret to tell, either. I wouldn't want to be hunted down. This whole book is twist after twist, turn after turn. Just when you start to think you got your finger on it, we get a new piece to the puzzle and have to reevaluate everything we've learned thus far. Sometimes when I read a mystery novel, I try to guess who the culprit is at the beginning to see if my guess is right but I didn't even have time to give it a thought because I was so thoroughly sucked into the story. I'm glad I didn't this time because this unsolved case is part of a much larger picture that we'll complete in a year. Since I can't talk about the good stuff, I'll do my best to work around it. We learned a lot more of Adria's history in the installment, which is nice since it's a fictional country in our real world. It also really tickled my fancy because I'm a history buff myself and one of the reasons why I love history so much is because you can literally see how events in the past have shaped the present. In See How They Run, we get a very clear picture of how history (with the help of the secret) has guided Adria. If it wasn't clear from the bulk of my Winter Wrap Up, I love characters and the relationships they have with each other. To be honest, I didn't remember Alexei from the previous book but we were quickly caught up and I might be in love? If not with him then with him and Grace together. It isn't just the (possible) romantic relationships that get me going. I also really love how protective Jamie, Grace's older brother, is of her as well as Dominic's role in her life. Everybody is always trying to keep her safe, which is admirable since it's not the easiest thing to do, considering she's Grace. As the cast of characters are trying to get to the bottom of this mystery, the reader is brought along on adventures with Grace and with all this new information, it makes exploring Adria that much more fun. I'd highly suggest you pick up this series if you haven't gotten around to it yet because you really can't go wrong with Ally Carter. The ending was a cliffhanger and I need to know what comes next. Join me in uncovering Adria's hidden secrets. 

Queen by Aimee Carter

I have mixed feelings about the Blackcoat Rebellion. On one hand, I love how dystopian the society is. Humans hunt humans for sport and there are all-out impostors and a legit rebellion lead by people who actually have some sort of power in society. The problem was I never really felt connected to the characters. I'm a big fan of character development and the development of relationships between characters but I think that's something that was lacking in this series. It was almost like the characters weren't learning from their experiences, which is deadly in the scenarios they find themselves in. The protagonist, Kitty, has gone from forgotten orphan about to be shipped off to clean sewers for the rest of her life, to America's (is it still called America?!) sweetheart in the blink of an eye. She's now in the very unique position of being caught between the greatest rags-to-riches story and the need to end all the misery she has experienced from her past life with all the power she now has. The first book, Pawn, was all about her transition to life as Lila Hart and the power plays involved with the maniac of a Prime Minister that also happens to be Lila's uncle. Convenient. The second book, Captive, essentially has one job. Teach us and Kitty about the Blackcoats and the rebellion they're planning. More politics, more impersonating. The secret revealed at the end of Pawn allowed for more exaggerated power plays and we are shown some hideous parts of society, culminating in an epic battle. Queen, the final installment, was where it all came to a head. It was action packed and there was no shortage of twists and turns. That being said, it was kinda frustrating how many failed assassination attempts there were. I mean there are only so many times you can escape fate. Just die already. I think it's fair that I'm saying this, because the villain is a corrupt, power-hungry, sadistic maniac. Maybe it was given to us earlier in the trilogy and I had forgotten but I would like to know more about the Prime Minister before this all began -- before this psycho took over. There are some gruesome scenes in this book. There were parts of this book that were hits and other parts that were misses. The string of failed assassination attempts was a miss, but the end was definitely a hit. I'm all for girls kicking butt and not needing a man to rescue her but I'd be lying if I said Knox's entrance in the climax wasn't the most bamf thing. And I'm glad he came in when he did because it was getting dire. While I'm satisfied with the ending, I'm not the biggest fan of how long it was dragged out. It was a short book but it felt like it could've been even shorter, and the events seemed less climactic than the events of Captive. The events in this book were more impactful to society but they felt distanced from the characters. The characters weren't amidst the big events for long if at all. I'm glad I read this series, but I wouldn't put this at the top of your to-read list. One thing I noticed about the covers was how in her eye, they show the tattoo on the back of her neck, respective to the rank she has in that book. I noticed the rank in her eye before, but I just now connected the dots. I'm clever. 

Guardian by Alex London

Guardian is the sequel to Proxy, which I read last summer, and getting into it was so confusing. Logically, I knew Guardian would have to take place in a society without the old system but I wasn't expecting to be thrown into it like that. We first meet Liam, who I didn't remember from the last book, only to figure out many pages in that he's a new character. He's Syd's bodyguard since Syd is now the symbol of the revolution and is always at risk. Liam is devoted to keeping Syd out of harm's reach but his overprotectiveness extends beyond his duty. I was hoping this book would be a lot more gay than it was but I'll take what I can get. I'm a sucker for the Lady and Knight with the built-in Bodyguard Crush trope. We have the same "problem" (it's a stylistic choice) as we did with Proxy where the storytelling was omniscient but only with Syd and Liam (does that still count as omniscient?). The POV was very fluid, going from Syd to Liam from sentence to sentence. This time, however, I felt that each boy's thoughts and emotions were more clear and removed from each other. It makes sense, since their dynamic is so different from Syd's and Knox's. In this post-revolution society, the datastream has been demolished and the biodata most people have flowing through their blood is beginning to turn on them without connection to the datastream for updates. This plague boils their blood and makes people itch themselves to death along with the fever and awful black veins. People are dropping like flies and Syd takes it upon himself to find a cure. I really would've given Guardian five stars if the plot hole wasn't so glaring. Not to spoil to book, so avert your eyes if you haven't read it, but [SPOILERS] how is everybody surviving?! I thought this was the plague to purge the corruption of the old system???? What miracle is making people overcome this disease?! This entire adventure was meaningless?! I mean, I guess it wasn't meaningless since it brought Liam and Syd together but where are the stakes?! [END SPOILERS] Other than that string of questions, I loved this book. It was a very enjoyable read and there were some really well developed relationships and characters. I almost wish there were more, but I fine with letting Syd and Liam live happily ever after. 

You wanna hear something funny? I went from reading a book written by Ally Carter to another written by Aimee Carter and in Aimee Carter's book, there was a character named Knox, which is also the name of a character in Guardian. Small world. Can I say that even though they're set in three different worlds? I don't know. What I do know is that I love to talk about books. Have you read any of the ones I read this month? I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have, and if you haven't, I'd highly suggest you pick them up. Guaranteed good times. As always (and because I'm nosy), I'd love to know what you've been reading this month! And if you have any good mystery recommendations, definitely let me know in the comments because that's kinda what I'm in the mood for right now. 

Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette