Tag: dystopian

ARC, dystopian, Five Star Book, LGBT, review, Sci-Fi, ya

🪒 Girls With Razor Hearts ARC Review 🪒

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

🪒 Title: Girls With Sharp Sticks
🪒 Author: Suzanne Young
🪒 Publisher: Simon & Schuster
🪒 Publish Date: March 17, 2020
🪒 Book Form: E-ARC
🪒 Pages: 400
🪒 Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
🪒 Dates Read: Apr 4 – Apr 5
🪒 Rating: 🪒🪒🪒🪒🪒

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s time to fight back in this second novel in a thrilling, subversive near future series from New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young about a girls-only private high school that is far more than it appears to be.

Make me a girl with a razor heart…

It’s been weeks since Mena and the other girls of Innovations Academy escaped their elite boarding school. Although traumatized by the violence and experimentations that occurred there, Mena quickly discovers that the outside world can be just as unwelcoming and cruel. With no one else to turn to, the girls only have each other—and the revenge-fueled desire to shut down the corporation that imprisoned them.

The girls enroll in Stoneridge Prep, a private school with suspect connections to Innovations, to identify the son of an investor and take down the corporation from the inside. But with pressure from Leandra, who revealed herself to be a double-agent, and Winston Weeks, an academy investor gone rogue, Mena wonders if she and her friends are simply trading one form of control for another. Not to mention the woman who is quite literally invading Mena’s thoughts—a woman with extreme ideas that both frighten and intrigue Mena.

And as the girls fight for freedom from their past—and freedom for the girls still at Innovations—they must also face new questions about their existence…and what it means to be girls with razor hearts.

– Goodreads

I adored jumping back into the world where Innovations Academy is real. Guess what? It’s still just as scary as before.

Mena and the rest of the girls are trying to figure out how to stop the corporation – without knowing who is actually on their side. The book is over and honestly, I still don’t know who is good and evil.

The girl friendship and love was still very forefront in this book. I don’t think this series would work any other way. The girls disagree, yes, but they have a friendship and bond that cannot and will not be broken. While reading this novel, I kept envisioning me and my friends. I think it is so important, especially in times like these, for girls to see other girls loving, lifting each other up, and fighting back.

Another huge theme in this book was misogyny. Mena and Sydney enroll in a prep school where they think one of the investors has a child. The boys at this school are disgusting. Always touching without permission. Getting in personal space. They should be GLAD they are doing this. They never face any repercussions. It’s horrible and unfortunately true. It was great to see how the girls fought back against this type of behavior. The book also shows that there ARE good guys out there – and encourages them not to stand idly by.

Again in Girls With Razor Hearts, there were secrets, twists and turns. The story moved at a great pace and kept me guessing. I was so enthralled by the journey of these girls. I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up late reading and finished it in under 24 hours! That is a feat for me!

I definitely recommend the sequel to Girls With Sharp Sticks. If you haven’t picked that one up, I urge you to do so! You won’t be disappointed!

Have you read Girls with Razor Hearts? How did it stack up to Girls With Sharp Sticks? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, dystopian, Five Star Book, ya

The Grace Year ARC Review

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You
  • Title: The Grace Year
  • Author: Kim Liggett
  • Publisher: Wednesday Books
  • Publish Date: October 8, 2019
  • Book Form: E-ARC
  • Pages: 416
  • Genre: YA, Sci-FI, Dystopian
  • Dates Read: Nov 23 – Nov 27
  • Rating: ★★★★★

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

A speculative thriller in the vein of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Power. Optioned by Universal and Elizabeth Banks to be a major motion picture!

SURVIVE THE YEAR.

No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.

In Garner County, girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, to drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.

Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for a chance to grab one of the girls in order to make a fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.

With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between. 

– Goodreads

Oh man. This book. Top 5 reads of 2019 for sure. It blew me away with all the emotions and feels and I just loved it. I have recommended it to everyone.

The Grace Year was a beautiful, tragic and desperate tale of female empowerment and fighting back when you know the way you are living is wrong.

Each year when girls turn 16, they are released in the wild to let out their ‘magic’. They only have each other and have to find a way to live this long, long year. The girls’ magic makes men do terrible things – or so they say. Not all the girls will make it home alive, and those that do are forever changed.

This is a story about sticking together, building women up, and the knowledge that female friendships are the strongest bonds. The girls went through a lot during their Grace Year. They were tricked, manipulated, turned against one another. No one expected them to turn toward each other. Bit by bit they try to change the way of life and make it better for their future girls.

There was romance involved, but it was really the backdrop. The story had twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. The ending had twist after twist after twist. It was wrapped up in a beautifully tragic way.

There is no happy ending here, however, there is hope that there might one day be.

I recommend every girl and woman read this. It really rings true in times like these.

Until next time…

ARC, Four Star Book, Sci-Fi

Contagion ARC Review

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You
  • Title: Contagion
  • Author: Teri Terry
  • Publisher: Charlesbridge Teen
  • Publish Date: July 9, 2019
  • Book Form: E-ARC
  • Pages: 416
  • Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopia
  • Rating: ★★★.5

An epidemic is sweeping the country. It spreads fast, mercilessly. Everyone will be infected. . . . It is only a matter of time. You are now under quarantine. 

Young teen Callie might have been one of the first to survive the disease, but unfortunately she didn’t survive the so-called treatment. She was kidnapped and experimented upon at a secret lab, one that works with antimatter. When she breaks free of her prison, she unleashes a wave of destruction. Meanwhile her older brother Kai is looking for her, along with his smart new friend Shay, who was the last to see Callie alive.

Amid the chaos of the spreading epidemic, the teens must find the source of disease. Could Callie have been part of an experiment in biological warfare? Who is behind the research? And more importantly, is there a cure?

– Goodreads

This was a fast paced sci-fi mystery with some medicine elements that I loved!

The attire for most of the book. Thanks, giphy!

What I liked:

This was a page turner for sure. The chapters were short, which was also nice. I always like to stop reading at the end of a chapter, so this book made it easy to do that. I loved the medical aspects of the novel. The virus, how it started, how it spread, looking for a cure. As a nurse, I love a book with a good medical backdrop. There was also some suspense! Part 4 had my heart beating out of my chest!

What I didn’t like:

The beginning was hard to get into. Around part 2 it really picked up for me and had me reading quickly. This almost felt like two different novels meshed together – one where the focus was finding the lost girl and one with a killer flu like virus. It all ends up coming together, but the start didn’t mesh well for me. Some of the conversation didn’t flow very naturally. There was also a part about family lineage that I felt like was thrown in only for shock value? Maybe in the second or third book it will be explained. While I liked the medical aspects of the book, at times it was a little too science-y. She started talking about matter, anti-matter, particle accelerators and I was just as lost as could be. I do realize some people could feel this way about the medical aspect though.

All in all, it was a pretty solid read. Not a full four stars because I think it got too science-y and the start was hard to get into.

Thank you to Netgalley and Charlesbridge Teen for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Would I recommend?

I would! I actually included it in this month’s Book Battle recs for multi-pov! It was a good story with a solid start. I can’t wait to read the next books in the series!

Get this novel here:

| Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble |
| Kobo|

Until next time…

dystopian, Four Star Book, Romance, Sci-Fi, ya

The Program Review

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You
  • Title: The Program
  • Author: Suzanne Young
  • Book Form: Audiobook
  • Pages: 405
  • Publisher: Simon Pulse
  • Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Romance
  • Rating: ★★★★


Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Goodreads

I am ashamed to say how long this series has been on my bookshelf. The whole series. Years. It’s been years.

What prompted me to finally read it was our author chat with Suzanne Young!

This novel takes place in the maybe-not-so-distant future. The government has developed a program to “fix” teens with depression to try to curb the suicide rate. By fixing them, they basically erase their memories.

Sloane has been affected by suicide. First, her brother. Then her friend attempted, but was taken by The Program. It all spirals downhill from there.

I really enjoyed the story. It kept me captivated from the first chapter. I was on the edge of my seat to see if or when The Program would come for Sloane and her boyfriend, James.

The characters Sloane meets throughout the novel are highly interesting. I wanted to learn all of their backstories and how The Program affected them.

I can’t think of what I didn’t like about this book. I’m waiting for my scribd account to renew so I can listen to book two – The Treatment!

Until next time…

Uncategorized

Scythe Review

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Title: Scythe

Author: Neal Shusterman

Book Form: Audio

Pages: 435

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopian, Sci-FI

Rating: ★★★★★


Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. 

– Goodreads

So. This book. Had me ON. THE. FLOOR.

I just. The twists and turns. I can’t even.

Jordan at Words & Whimsy has been recommending this book since I joined back in September of 2018. I kept putting it off. I’ts one of those books where you finally read it and think, WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG!?

This book is about killing. Yes, you heard me correctly. Two teens had run-ins with Scythe Farraday on two separate occasions. He decides to take them both on as apprentices in the art of killing – or as they call it – gleaning. Then shit. Goes. Down.

Citra and Rowan, the two teens that were training under Scythe Farraday, get separated. Citra goes with Scythe Curie, who is compassionate. She brings families over after she gleans their loved one, cooks them supper, and listens to stories about the one they’ve lost. It truly is such a sweet, loving gesture from someone who has just taken someone’s loved one.

Rowan gets stuck with Scythe Goddard, who has much different ideals. I won’t go into too much detail, because I don’t want to spoil it, but his time is much different than Citra’s.

There were times I was reading and my jaw was on the floor. I wanted to cry in despair and sadness over some passages. I wanted to yell out in surprise or anger. You should have seen the messages I sent to friends who had already read the book. It just brought out so many emotions.

The sequel, Thunderhead, is on my TBR next month. No doubt.

This is another 5/5 star book for me. I can’t recommend it enough. There are so many plot twists and surprises. It keeps you guessing. Please read it. You won’t be disappointed.