Omni by Andrea Murray

Spend anytime here at SweetEnd and it won’t be hard to tell that we are AVID fans of Sci-Fi and fantasy. No surprise there, who doesn’t enjoy those genres? Well this time I bring you an amazing book, Omni by Andrea Murray, a sci-fi, dystopian novel sure to knock your socks off and cause to either get up and applaud for characters or for it to become the biggest book worm that becomes stuck in your head since Hunger Games.

Without further ado let’s get the analyzing to begin:

Title: Omni (Book 1 of the Omni Duology)

Author: Andrea Murray

Publisher: Booktrope

Publication Date: April 28, 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi

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Synopsis: They will risk everything, even challenging the all-seeing eye of the Omni government. But will the prize be worth the cost?

Seventeen-year-old Pierce is a Drudge, the lowest social stratum in society.  For over two years, he’s hoped—prayed—that his upcoming aptitude test will finally free him from his virtual slavery and give him a chance at a better existence.  When he rescues Harmony, an Artist and member of the most successful stratum, his life takes an unbelievable twist.

With his gallant act and good looks, he becomes a media sensation.  Every stratum in society seeks his membership for their publicity, but as he becomes closer to Harmony, Pierce realizes what fame in Omni is truly like. His choices will not only affect him but Harmony as well. The life Pierce thought he wanted may not be worth the cost to either of them.

(Taken from the actual description of the book so you know it’s legit. :) )

Opinion:

You’re here for honesty so here’s my take on this book: at time I felt like the book was very rushed and didn’t allow time to the reader to actually take a breath and calm down making it a binge-readers best best, but despite that you can tell early on that Andrea Murray, the wonderful author of this book, is a master at character development and within a few pages of just meeting a character you can a real tell of what that character is like without having to play the guessing game. You should also know that Omni is a modern/futuristic retelling of the relationship of Helen of Troy and Paris (trust me, Paris is a wonderful guy who in this story is known as Pierce.)

I was inthralled with this book from beginning to end because frankly the plot is so interesting; a boy who has everything to lose saves a complete stranger from a really abusive guy and gets rewarded for his kindness but frankly people are dicks, and it isn’t long before people start to beat and threaten him over this. Pierce is what I would imagine to be perfect guy, that he has no second thoughts about sacrificing his happiness so others can be happy. He’s pretty amazing that way. Now I would tell you more but I feel like I would just ruin this precious jewel of a book so trust me on this and get your hands on this book immediately. If you're anything like me you will love it.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Credits:

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A Cold Legacy by: Megan Shepherd

Title:  A Cold Legacy
Author:  Megan Shepherd
Genre:  Horror, Thriller, Retellings, Romance, YA/Teen
Age:  13+
Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars

Summary:

(no summary due to spoilers)

Reaction:

I've waited so, so long for this book that I nearly popped a vein when my brother picked it up for me at his school library.  Thanks baby bro for that, by the way!  Anyways...I thought this was a really good end to the series.  There were no cliffhangers and I was satisfied about what happened to Juliet and her "band of misfits" (because, let's be honest, that's pretty much what they are)  There was a lot of death, but this book didn't have as much gore as the other books in this series.  I really liked the retelling of Frankenstein and thought Megan Shepherd really stayed true to the original tale, but while making it her own story at the same time.  Seriously, please pick up this series if you haven't already (I've reviewed the other books in the series as well, if you want to go check them out).

Characters:

(I'm not going to talk about individual characters due to spoilers, read the series if you want to find out more)

All these characters went through some serious character growth!  Especially Juliet and Lucy. 

Overall:

This book was fantastic!  Pick it up, read it, cry over it, repeat.  If you are still alive and breathing, I don't know why you haven't read this series yet!

And that's the end -Terantum

Zodiac by Romina Russell

On a scale of 1 to 10 how willing are you to cry your eyes out? Keep in mind one means no crying whatsoever, you don’t believe in emotions, and ten means give me a sob story and I’ll take it like a crying babe. If you said 5 or more then stay tuned and seriously consider this book if you want your eyes to water.

Synopsis:

A long time ago the 12 Zodiac signs were united and at peace. Together the 12 houses protected the universe. That was until the 13th house came along and played with that trust and broke it; now no one can trust anyone else besides their own house. That is until Rhoma Grace comes along and is named the next Guardian of Cancer despite her idea of self worth of this position. War is coming, beware the 13th sign.

Opinion:

For months I’ve had all my friends raving to me about how cool this book was and that I should read it, mind you at the time we originally had an ARC for it through our school library, and I never took the time to actually grab it and read it. I actually regret not reading this book sooner. Its so cool and I can guarantee you will enjoy it. It puts you through so much emotional trauma but the end is so satisfying that you could be happy just reading it as a standalone, not that I suggest it because you got plot to finish! It also deals with a pesky love triangle and solves that issue by the end instead of having to wait a few books.

The best thing about this book though was Rhoma Grace. She’s like every other teenager out there, she doesn’t think she is as amazing and worthy as she truly is, and for that I commend the author for not romanticizing that about teenagers or for people in general. Everything in the story seemed genuine and actually considered, not just added to be cool, but had a purpose.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars. If you want a genuine book that means something PICK THIS BOOK UP AND ADD IT TO YOUR TBR LIST!!!.

Credits:

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by: Sarah J. Maas

Title:  A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author:  Sarah J. Maas
Genre:  New Adult/YA/Teen, Romance, Fantasy, Retellings
Age:  15+
Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

Summary: 

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.  (Taken from the Goodreads website)

Reaction:

Before we start this thing I need to give my appreciation for two things:  #1 the beautiful cover of this book, which so happens to perfectly represent what happens.  #2  how amazing of a writer Sarah J.  Maas is.  I am not even exaggerating when I say that she is my second favorite author of all time (the first being J.K. Rowling, duh)  I've read everything Sarah J. Maas has published and all of it is fantastic!  Now, let's begin...THIS BOOK WAS SO AMAZING, GO OUT AND READ IT NOW!!!!!!!!!  Sorry, *cough, cough*, I overreacted there for a second.  This book is just that good.  The romance, action, and fantasy are just so on point!  And the retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" is both original and beautifully done without being overbearing.  Now, onto the characters.

Characters:

Feyre:
Sarah J. Maas always writes the best strong willed, kick-butt heroines.  Feyre is not afraid to stand up for herself and for what is right.  She also isn't a whiner; she always puts herself last and her friends and family first.  Can I please just meet Feyre?  She is just so cool.

Tamlin:
Swoon!  I love you Tamlin!  Tamlin is also a strong character who knows what's right and what's wrong.  He has lived a long time (a hard long life) and doesn't let that influence his actions.  He is flawed, but...it just makes him a more perfect character.  Tamlin and Feyre's relationship is not insta-love, but develops over time and over trust.  I just love these characters!

Overall:

Why haven't you read this yet?  Please go to your local bookstore or library and pick this up.  If you are interested in strong heroines, romance, fantasy, or retellings, I guarantee that you will love this book.  I seriously just don't have any words for how good this book is, so you're just going to have to go by instinct and by my ranting. 

17 days of school left  -Terantum  

The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski

FINALLY!!! I’ve been waiting to read this book for about 6 months now, and finally was I able to put my hands on the long awaited sequel to my favorite series based off of a scientific hypothesis.

Synopsis:

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction according Newton’s Third Law of Motion and the actions of Kestral and Arin are no exception. When we see our character’s again Kestral is doing all she can to postpone her marriage to the emperor’s son and Arin is trying to prevent his people from starving. If our lovely character’s want to succeed in anything then they will have to play their cards the correct way and not mess up, otherwise the emperor will gladly have their head on a stake for everyone to see.

Opinion:

If you want to compare the book to the last book then I will admit the first book is better than this one. Truly my opinion is that this book is just setting it up for the next book because we, as the readers, receive a lot setup and new characters being introduced who we expect to play a bigger part in the book to come.

About the actual content about this book, character’s pop out of nowhere to surprisingly be best friends with some character or enemies of another and important characters like Arin’s cousin are basically rendered useless. This became a pet peeve of mine. With the introduction of brand new characters the story becomes less about the plot and more about finding a reasonable excuse of why they’re there.

Update on the Arin and Kestral romance: all they needed to do was talk to each and get their ego’s out of the way and then everything would have been perfectly fine, but NO that’s not going to happen. Ughhh.... sometimes character’s confuse me. If you love the person you should tell them things! Also if you wanted romance you will be disappointed.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Credits:

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The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige

Welcome to the second book in the series that ruined my childhood!

Synopsis:

Welcome back to the story of Amy Gumm as she continues to fight against Dorothy for the freedom of Oz. If you know anything about the first book then you remember the gore. Expect high tension battles that will leave you distraught, deaths that will leave mourning, and romance scenes that will leave you wanting to take bits and pieces of the fictional world into real life. The stakes are higher this time around and war will come to those who wish nothing more then no part of this morbid bloodshed. Dorothy vs. Amy you decide this time.

Opinion:

No matter how much this series continues to ruin my childhood I retain and standby the fact that this series is beautifully crafted with it’s complexity that any reader who likes the nonchalant will love. The tides are always turning and the story begins to weave it’s own original tapestry of Oz. Good isn’t always good and bad isn’t always bad, and that’s why I love it. Amy is forced to do things she morally thinks is wrong but does it because she distinctly has to if she wants to help anyone. Characters throughout the story are like a layered cake, they are so complicated yet so DELICIOUS. This book managed to beat the last book if that is even possible yet here it is.

Rating: 5.5 out of 5 stars. If you like a story that can be morbid and is complicated in who is good and who is evil then stop reading this review and PICK UP THE GUSHY BOOK!

Credits:

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Maximum Ride Graphic Novel

Title:  Maximum Ride
Author:  James Patterson and NaRae Lee
Genre:  Graphic Novel, Urban Fantasy, YA/Teen
Age:  11+
Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

Summary:

Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride, better known as Max, knows what it’s like to soar above the world. She and all the members of the “flock”—Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel—are just like ordinary kids—only they have wings and can fly. It may seem like a dream come true to some, but their lives can morph into a living nightmare at any time... like when Angel, the youngest member of the flock, is kidnapped and taken back to the “School” where she and the others were experimented on by a crew of wack jobs.

Her friends brave a journey to blazing hot Death Valley, CA, to save Angel, but soon enough, they find themselves in yet another nightmare—this one involving fighting off the half-human, half-wolf “Erasers” in New York City. Whether in the treetops of Central Park or in the bowels of the Manhattan subway system, Max and her adopted family take the ride of their lives. Along the way Max discovers from her old friend and father-figure Jeb—now her betrayed and greatest enemy—that her purpose is save the world—but can she?  (Taken from the Goodreads website)

Reaction:

Well, this is a first for me.  I never read graphic novels, but I am happy to say that I am pleasantly surprised with this one.  I feel a lot for the characters because they are going through a lot of difficult things in the story.  I also love the art form in this novel; it is very well done and clearly took a lot of time to draw and put together.  I really love this story and the book is a quick read.  This is a very action packed novel with some "gore" and swearing, but it is infrequent.  

Overall:

This was a great read and I actually already read the second one as well, which was just as good!  This series has a lot going for it and I totally recommend reading the Maximum Ride graphic novel series!

Happy Mother's Day!  -Terantum