More Gods, More Chaos

~The Chaos of Stars~
By Kiersten White
Amazon ~ Powell's

Isadora's family is seriously screwed up.

Of course, when you're the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that comes with the territory.

Isadora's sick of living a life where she's only worthy of a passing glance, and when she's offered the chance to move thousands of miles away, she jumps on it. But as much as Isadora tries to keep her new world and old world apart, she quickly realizes there's no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family.


A nice decompress from the super serious books I've been reading. The Chaos of Stars centers around Isadora, the mortal daughter of Egyptian Gods with a bad case of existential nihilism (aka life doesn't matter because it isn't eternal). So she's got quite the chip on her shoulder when it comes to other things that don't last forever, like love. Not only was her issue believable and justified from her background, but her growth was equally so. You could say she's a 'typical snarky teen', and yeah I do have a soft spot for those characters, but she's also motivated, afraid, and confused, which makes her all the more real, despite her fantastical upbringing.

Airborne, Nothing Frightened Me

~Airborn~
Matt Cruse
Book 1
By Kenneth Oppel
Amazon ~ Powell's

Sailing toward dawn, and I was perched atop the crow's nest, being the ship's eyes. We were two nights out of Sydney, and there'd been no weather to speak of so far. I was keeping watch on a dark stack of nimbus clouds off to the northwest, but we were leaving it far behind, and it looked to be smooth going all the way back to Lionsgate City. Like riding a cloud. . . .

Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. It is the life Matt's always wanted; convinced he's lighter than air, he imagines himself as buoyant as the hydrium gas that powers his ship. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies. It is only after Matt meets the balloonist's granddaughter that he realizes that the man's ravings may, in fact, have been true, and that the creatures are completely real and utterly mysterious.

A very fun read. Taking place in an alternate reality where blimp-like airships rule the skies instead of airplanes, it read much like a high-seas adventure with pirates, shipwrecks, and dangerous island encounters. I'd call it steampunk, but besides a different form of air transportation, there wasn't anything steamy or punkish about it. If anything, it reminded me most of Airman by Eoin Colfer mixed with Treasure Island.

It’s Time To Tie Up Loose Ends

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Virals, Seizure, Code, and Exposure, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Terminal~
Virals
Book 5
By Kathy & Brendan Reichs
Amazon ~ Powell's

The Virals are back—but they’re not the only pack in town anymore. Terminal finds Tory Brennan—grandniece of the famous forensic anthropologist (star of the hit show Bones)—and the rest of the Morris Island gang tracking a pack of rogue Virals who call themselves the Trinity. The new pack was infected by a strain of supervirus created by Tory’s nemesis and sometimes-crush, Chance Clayborne, who accidentally infected himself, too.

These red-eyed Virals have openly challenged Tory’s pack for domination of Charleston, bringing on the attention of a shadowy government organization intent on learning the secret to their powers. Surviving it all is going to test the limits of the gang’s abilities.


I couldn't have asked for a better ending to a great series.

Gamble Everything? Risk Exposure?

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Virals, Seizure, and Code, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Exposure~
Virals
Book 4
By Kathy & Brendan Reichs
Amazon ~ Powell's

Morris Island has barely had a chance to return to normality after the high profile trial of the Gamemaster, when two local students seem to vanish into thin air.

Tory Brennan and the Virals pack move quickly in their attempts to discover what has happened to their twin classmates. But the pack's canine powers are growing wilder, and it is becoming ever harder to conceal the secret which protects them.

When Tory and her friends find evidence of blood in the students' basement, they realize that the disappearance is no game.

But in order to save the twins, the Virals must risk the exposure of their powers, and in doing so put even their own lives in terrible danger.


I could not stop reading this book - it was sooo much better. The tug-of-war with boys wasn't nearly as bad! Tory wasn't a controlling/manipulative bitch! All other women were not considered stupid or shallow! Issues were finally talked through! I learned something!

We’d Opened a Puzzle Box and Cracked a Coded Message

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Virals & Seizure, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Code~
Virals
Book 3
By Kathy & Brendan Reichs
Amazon ~ Powell's

The Virals are put to the ultimate test when they find a geocache containing an ornate puzzle box. Shelton decodes the cipher inside, only to find more tantalizing clues left by "The Gamemaster." A second, greater geocache is within reach—if the Virals are up to the challenge.

But the hunt takes a dark turn when Tory locates the other box—a fake bomb, along with a sinister proposal from The Gamemaster. Now, the real game has begun: another bomb is out there—a real one—and the clock is ticking.


Maybe I'm getting too old for these, but I wasn't nearly as sympathetic to Tory in this book as I have been previously. I like Tory, and I get that she has a lot of drama and stress on her shoulders, but her relationships are getting awfully manipulative.

Seizing The Opportunity

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, Virals, or don't mind knowing spoilers for it.
SPOILER ALERT

~Seizure~
Virals
Book 2
By Kathy & Brendan Reichs
Amazon ~ Powell's

Lost treasure. Perilous adventures. Deadly foes.

Tory and her friends are just starting to get a handle on their super-heightened wolf-like capabilities—contracted during a medical experiment gone horribly wrong—when they find out funding is being pulled from the institute where their parents work. The pack now faces its greatest fear—separation. So when Tory stumbles across ancient lore hinting at a lost pirate treasure, the Virals devise a risky plan that pits them against fiendish traps, headless corpses, and deep underground tunnels. But they're not the only ones looking, and the competition could be lethal. They'll need to work as one mystery-solving canine force if they to hope to uncover the lost fortune, save the institute, and stick together!


Goonies with mutants. Ok, definitely more complex than that, but you get the gist.

It's Part of the Game When You're an Inquiry Agent

~The Inquiry Agent~
By William King
Amazon

London 1841: a city on the edge. Corruption is everywhere. The poor are starving in the streets. The wealthy fear an explosion of anarchy and insurrection.

Amidst the turmoil, a wealthy merchant and his spoiled, beautiful ward hire former Bow Street Runner Jack Brodie to recover incriminating documents from the lawless rogues that robbed them. It is no easy task even for a man with Brodie's criminal connections because an old and vicious enemy has returned from the penal colony of New South Wales seeking vengeance for the slaying of his brother. As Brodie hunts through the thieves dens hidden in the rookeries of Dickensian London, it is only a matter of time before their paths cross and murderous violence ensues.


Got this free on Amazon ages ago. Looking for stand-alone books to serve me in the middle of other series, I finally got around to reading it.

Maybe Love IS a Disease

SPOILER ALERT
These reviews are for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Delirium and Pandemonium, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Requiem~
Delirium
Book 3
By Lauren Oliver
Amazon ~ Powell's

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has transformed. The nascent rebellion that was underway in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight. After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven. Pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels.

As Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain of the Wilds, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena and Hana's points of view. They live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.


I think this was a greatly satisfying end to this series. Most of the major events happened at the end, so I can't go into too much detail, however I just want to say a couple things I didn't understand.