Novel Review: After the End (After the End, #1) by Amy Plum

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Dystopian Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: May 2014

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

"I have no idea what is truth and what is fiction. I'm all I've got now. I can't trust anyone."
World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.
At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.
When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.
Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

The Cover:

I like this cover. It definitely shows the dystopian aspect well, showing the isolation with a city just on the other side. And I like that it shows a girl and two dogs, both of which are important in the story. I think it represents the book well, and it's rather nice to look at.

Review:

"'Doubt everything, Juneau. Doubt everything at least once. What you decide to keep, you'll be able to be confident of. And what you decide to ditch, you will replace with what your instincts tell you is true.'" (Hardback, pg 224)

After I loved Plum’s previous series so much, I’m surprised it took me so long to get to this one. I’m also surprised that I haven’t heard more about it.

I really like the premise, that Juneau has lived in a commune thinking that the rest of the world is war-ridden and scarce, only to find out that there never was a war. I do think she should have freaked out a bit more when she found out, because she took it all in stride, like it was no big deal.

I’m really glad there are alternating chapters, because Miles and Juneau have lived through very different environments, and their points of view and voices really show that.

I liked Juneau, and I liked Miles. They don’t hugely stand out to me, but I liked them, and I enjoyed their journeys and developing relationship. Their romance is just simmering right now, and I look forward to more of it.

The plotline is interesting, and I am enjoying finding it out as I read, and look forward to seeing more developments in the next book. The cliffhanger was really horrible, and has me wanting the next book soon so I can find out what happens to Miles. Because that’s just mean.

Overall I rather enjoyed this novel. It was fast, the alternating points of view was very nice, and the romance is sweet so far and progressing nicely. I’m enjoying this, and look forward to picking up the next book when it releases.

Teaser Tuesday[125]: After the End (After the End, #1) by Amy Plum

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

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

-----------------------------

After the End (After the End, #1) by Amy Plum

Genre: YA Dystopian Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: May 2014

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

 "I have no idea what is truth and what is fiction. I'm all I've got now. I can't trust anyone."
World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.
At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.
When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.
Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

Excerpt:

“She talks in her sleep. She mentions a couple of writers—Beckett and Neruda—and some other names I don’t recognize, just kind of mumbling like people do in their sleep. She talks about ‘brigands,’ like she’s afraid of them. Then she says something about her dad, and in a tortured voice she moans, ‘Why?’

And she looks so vulnerable—so normal—for a second, despite her tragic haircut, that I actually feel like hugging her.” (Hardback, pg. 102)

What are you reading right now?

Novel Review: If I Should Die (Revenants, #3) by Amy Plum

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Genre: YA Supernatural Romance

Publisher: HarperCollins/Teen

Publish Date: May 7th, 2013

Spoilers?:  Mild, nothing major, not the ending.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

What Will I Miss?:

I'm going to miss the characters in this series, the world it's set in, their version of Paris and how they explore it. I'm going to miss the surprises, however big or small they were. I'm definitely going to miss Kate and Vincent's relationship.

The Cover:

This cover, as well as the other covers in this series, and just generally pretty. They're fitting to the setting of the books, they give the feeling of love, which is a big part of the series. I just like them; they're not a favorite, but they're not really embarrassing, and I really don't mind looking at them.

Review:

This was a very good book, and a very good ending to the series.

So, Vincent is dead. Only not really, because he’s a ghost, invisible to the eye, but pretty clear in Kate’s head. Violette killed him, and is now trying to suck his Champion powers inside her, but it’s not working. Kate is sure that she can find a way to save him, to bring him back, and is determined to save him. And so she talks to her psychic friend, Bran, and then Jean-Baptiste’s old friend, Mr. Gold…

And that’s all I’m going to say about that. I don’t want to give away too much.

This was very good. Kate is fantastic, and Vincent is so sweet, and them together is just adorable and heart-warming. What happens with them in this book is very good, in many ways, and I think it turned out very well. What happened with Kate, in particular, was very good; I guessed at some of it, and was very happy to find out that I was right, and how exactly those guesses turned out.

I don’t want to get into too much detail about the big plot, because a lot happened, and it was very exciting, some of it surprising, some of it just plain good. It progressed well, and it ended very nicely, in my opinion. My only real problem with the progression is that, at times, it’s very slow. There’s stuff happening with the characters, sure, and it’s very easy to keep reading, but the big plot seems to come to a standstill a lot. For instance, when Vincent is stuck as a ghost and everyone is trying to find where he is being kept/where Violette is hiding and a way to bring him back, it just takes forever for anything to happen. They take so long discussing it and doing stuff close to home, which is smart, yes, but there is just so little action pertaining it, that there seems to be no rush and they have all the time in the world to find the answer, when they really don’t. That bothered me.

I like the romance in this series a lot. It’s just so sweet, and seems so honest, and is very believable, and the progression of it is done very well. Kate and Vincent are fantastic. I felt really bad for Jules, really bad at one point, and was surprised with what happened with him. I’ve never really seen that happen in a book before, and I liked the surprise of it. There was also a small romance for Kate’s sister, Georgia, and that was very nice as well.

I liked all of the characters—some of them I have a hard time remembering the personalities and characteristics of, but overall I like them. They’re fun, and they have their parts in the story that are needed. I like that there are so many people there to help them with everything. Also, Kate’s Mamie and Papy take part in a lot of the stuff, in taking care of the girls, making sure they’re okay, and even searching for answers, and I really liked them. So often in YA, the parental figures are never present, that it’s refreshing when they are part of everything, especially when it’s because they’re helping.

So. I was pleasantly surprised with this book, I really liked it, I thought it was a great conclusion to the series. And I look forward to anything that Plum releases next.

Teaser Tuesday[54]: If I Should Die (Revenants, #3) by Amy Plum

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

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

-------------------

If I Should Die (Revenants/Die for Me, #3) by Amy Plum

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Publisher: HarperCollins/Teen

Publish Date: May 7^th, 2013

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

Excerpt:

“‘We should probably inspect this initial passageway before you enter. I’ll give it a go,’ he said gallantly. As he stepped into the black tunnel, a bright light flashed before his head. He leapt back, yelping in pain, and rubbed his face frantically.” (Hardback, pg. 114)

Reading anything good right now?