Review: Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau

Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau is the conclusion to her Testing Trilogy featuring Malencia Vale, a 16 year old University student. That age is not unusual for students to be attending University in this dystopian world.

First, a word. These books are best read in order. Otherwise the horror of the Testing isn't at all clear until later in this book.

Graduation Day pretty much picks up where the last one left off. Cia aka Malencia also has an internship with the President's office. In the beginning of this book, she rides to tell the President that one of her employees has been killed by the rebel leader Symon. In return, the President gives Cia a list of people that need to be killed in order for there to be an end to the Testing and a code to get resources from a room on the fifth floor.

Cia realizes that she can 't accomplish this all on her own, but she agonizes over who to trust and how she will know they are trustworthy. The only one she knows for sure is Tomas, her love.

Will she be able to go through with killing the people on the list? Who can she trust to help her if she does? Will this really end the nightmare of the Testing? And what really happens to all of those that fail in some way?

This book ties up loose ends from the other 2 books. That's good. A lot of the what happens this time was internal. Not so good. Definitely important to the plot, but it makes for a slower read. The other 2 books had more action in them. Also, a lot of the action in this book was Cia and her friends discussing the issues of who could be trusted and how would they accomplish the deaths needed on the list. Since Cia isn't a fan of killing, it was a little surprising that she agreed to take on the task.

The action in the book was good and fast paced once it gets started. The ending seemed a little strange to me, but you need to read it yourself to judge.

In spite of tying up a lot of the loose ends from the other books, it still left open the possibility to further exploration in this world.

You can read an excerpt from this book at the website for the book.

I gave this book 3 stars because even though I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was quite as good as the first 2 in the trilogy. The writing is still good, but a lot of it was passive thoughts. The action was good, but there was a lot less of it than in the first 2 books. There were definitely enough twists to go around though.

If you enjoyed the first 2 books, you should read it to finish off the trilogy. It is not a standalone.

I borrowed my copy from my local library.

Waiting on Wednesday #93: Hunter by Mercedes Lackey

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. 

Expected publication: September 1, 2015
by Disney-Hyperion

This week the book that I am waiting on is Hunter by Mercedes Lackey. 

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:
Centuries ago, the barriers between our world and the Otherworld were slashed open allowing hideous fantastical monsters to wreak havoc; destroying entire cities in their wake. Now, people must live in enclosed communities, behind walls that keep them safe from the evil creatures constantly trying to break in. Only the corps of teen Hunters with lightning reflexes and magical abilities can protect the populace from the daily attacks.

Joyeaux Charmand is a mountain girl from a close-knit village who comes to the big city to join the Hunters. Joy thinks she is only there to perform her civic duty and protect the capitol Cits, or civilians, but as cameras follow her every move, she soon learns that the more successful she is in her hunts, the more famous she becomes.

With millions of fans watching her on reality TV, Joy begins to realize that Apex is not all it seems. She is forced to question everything she grew up believing about the legendary Hunters and the very world she lives in. Soon she finds that her fame may be part of a deep conspiracy that threatens to upend the protective structure built to keep dark magic out. The monsters are getting in and it is up to Joy to find out why.

Why am I waiting on this one? I've enjoyed the author's adult works and this is both the first one in a series as well as the first book by Mercedes Lackey that is being marketed to YA readers. I'm curious as to how it will be. I wonder if it will be as good as say The Heralds of Valdemar series. It's definitely a different direction. It appears to be a combination of dystopian and fantasy. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday - Omega by SM Reine

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, just do the following:

• Grab your current read and open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and the author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

Omega  (War of the Alphas Book 1) by SM Reine was released April 2, 2015 by Red Iris Books. Book 2 in the series, Beta, was just released April 22, 2015.

I know it's more than two sentences, but it needed to  be more to paint the picture more accurately.

"Is he dead?" Deirdre asked.

"Probably not. Nightmares are hard to kill." Gage thumbed the switch on the battery pack off. "But I don't think he'll be bothering you again any time soon." The timer on the oven dinged. He grinned. "Can I stay for dinner?"

Omega is a dystopian urban fantasy. The world ended and people were reborn. Those that were reborn often had special abilities. Deirdre became a shapeshifter that can't change into whatever animal she's supposed to be. And she can't be coerced by any Alpha to do so. She is known as an Omega, the weakest member of the pack. She becomes a key figure in a war between two Alphas and maybe the only chance that one of them has to win.

What's your teaser this week? Leave it or a link in the comments so we can check it out.

Happy Reading!

Quickie Review: An Etiquette Guide to the End Times by Maia Sepp

An Etiquette Guide to the End Times by Maia Sepp
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Olive has a somewhat tongue in cheek advice column on Etiquette to the End Times. The Core, government, wants to turn it into a radio program. The day after they approach her with what could be construed as bribes, they turn around and do things like take away the extra chickens she has. And they threaten to do more. More adventures follow not only to her, but also to her neighbor Camilla who is a loyal friend to her.

What I liked best about this novella is that there was a sense of humor about this dystopian story. It's by no means all fun and games, but there is still humor involved. And I thought Olive and Camilla were good characters and enjoyable to follow. I would read other books by this author. I would recommend this book for people who enjoy dystopian stories and scifi. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novella in exchange for my honest opinion.

View all my Goodreads  reviews

Teaser Tuesday - An Etiquette Guide to the End Times by Maia Sepp

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of 

Should Be Reading.

Rules:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t    give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR    Lists if they like your teasers!

Published June 6th 2014

This week's Tuesday Teaser comes from An Etiquette Guide to the End Times - a Novella by Maia Sepp released June 6, 2014 by Maia Sepp. 

From 33% through on my Kindle:

"I don't know, maybe the Apocalypse doesn't start with a plague," the man sitting in front of us says as he fans himself... "Maybe the Apocalypse is not enough water and power and no good jobs and no new Xboxes, ever."

"You're right," Camilla says, nodding decisively, a playful expression in her eyes. "Just because there's no zombies doesn't mean the world's not ending."

The novella is dystopian scifi, but there is humor to it as well. I am still reading it, so I can hardly give away the end. I really like the characters of Olive, the writer of the advice column, and her next door neighbor Camilla.

So what's your Tuesday Teaser this week?

Review: Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau

Independent Study is book #2 in Joelle Charbonneau's Testing Series. It was recently released on January 7, 2014 from HMH Books for Young Readers.

The setting is a dystopian future Earth after a big war and many natural disasters. The United States has reorganized under a new government. There is a much smaller area that is deemed safe to live in. People are working to make other areas safe as well and creating new technologies to help in that mission.

This is the continuing story of Malencia Vale and her friends and enemies as they find out that all is not as expected at the University. The advice her father gave her in book one that is mentioned again in this book, "Trust no one," seems at times to be particularly apt. Even her beau, Tomas, leaves her doubting his trustworthiness.

It is Year 2 at the University for Cia and her friends. They have finished with their general courses and are now placed into the fields that the teachers and administrators feel they are best suited for whether they agree or not. Cia would much rather work with mechanical things than spend her time learning things she would need to know to be a good political leader.

But something fishy is going on. The upperclassmen are supposedly hazing them, but it is like a brief repeat of the original testing. And there is word that an uprising is coming. All that is needed is proof that the testing is barbaric and not at all civilized. Will Cia and her friends be able to get the proof and get it into the right hands to insure a peaceful transfer of power instead of a bloody one? Who is really behind what is going on? Who will survive?

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It is a really enjoyable story, but it reads better if you have also read book one.

Review: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau is a YA dystopian novel told from Malencia Vale's point of view. This is  book one in a new trilogy.

It's after the Seven Stages War and the majority of the population is organized in colonies for safety. Cia and her family live in the Five Lakes colony which is the smallest colony and hasn't sent any graduates to the testing in several years. It's also a little more self sufficient than the other colonies giving the students lots of skills. Cia is a young student about to graduate school and wants nothing more than to go for Testing for University. But, is she ready for the Testing and all that it holds?

Ready or not she is selected along with a few others from her colony. Before they leave, her father gives her one last piece of advice based on his own shadowy recollections of his own testing, "Trust no one."

Tomas is her love interest. Everyday he seems to be more in love with her. But. should she trust him? Should she be ruled by her heart or her head?

I usually don't much like dystopian novels, but this one I did. I found myself turning the pages wanting to find out what happened next. I liked the characters especially Cia and Tomas. I liked the variety of action and the character development. People who enjoyed The Hunger Games or dystopian fiction in general will like this book. And I think if you like science fiction at all you will enjoy it. This book is expected to be available
June 4, 2013.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.