#BooksRead2017 – Page 4 – Cindy's Love Of Books

Review: Crazy House by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

Posted on June 6, 2017June 5, 2017 by Cindy

Crazy House by James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet
Published by Hachette Book Group on May 22nd 2017
Pages: 368
Goodreads

No one gets out alive.
Seventeen-year-old Becca Greenfield was snatched from her home and thrown without reazon into a hellish prison known as the Crazy House. To avoid execution, she’s told to shut her mouth and keep her head down.
Becca was never really good at either.
Her only hope for survival is for her sister, Cassie, to find her—that the “good twin” will stop following the rules and start breaking them, before it’s too late. Because the jailers at Crazy House soon discover they made a mistake that could get both sisters killed…

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

When I was first pitched Crazy House I admit my first instinct was that I had to read it because a) its a James Patterson book and he never disappoint and b) because it sounded it like it was going to be a wild and crazy read and I have to say it was crazy and a page turner.

Crazy House is a thrilling young adult read told in the perspectives of Cassie, Becca, Ms. Strepp, and Nathaniel.

Crazy House takes place in a world where teenagers are taken and imprisoned and forced to fight for their survival. The world of Crazy House is divided into cells and depending on what class you are dictates where you live and the Provost who is ruled by the governement dictates what happens. Teenangers go missing daily and no one seems overly concerned about this but Cassie is determined to find out what happened and where did Becca go to.

Cassie’s and Becca never had and easy life. The Provost took their mother a few years ago for “mood adjustment” and were told she would be back soon but she never returned. Their consumed with loneliness decided that he would kill himself but now he is in a hospital comatose waiting for death to take him. The SAS (system assisted suicide) has approached the girls numerous times to allow their father to go but the girls have refused.

Cassie wakes up one more to discover Becca is missing. She is determined to find her. Cassie is frantic at first because she doesn’t want her sister to get into trouble but when she questions her friends only one says that they spotted her crossing the boundry which is strickly forbidden and against the law.

Before Cassie realizes it she is expelled from school and labelled a bad citizen. Once again she is approached by SAS. Once you are labelled a bad citizen you are cut off from everything and that means her father’s care as well.

Mean while with Becca she has actually been kidnapped and put into a maximum security death row prison. This is not your typical death row prison because its housed with teenagers and everyone entering the prison is put to crueling test on various subjects and are trained to fight each other. The winners move on and the losers are killed.

Its during this process that the Ms. Strepp from the prison discovers they have taken the wrong sister and set out to make it right. What will happen when Ms, Strepp is determined to make it right? Can Cassie remain out of the prison or is she willing to risk it all for her sister?

I really enjoyed reading this and I was literally finished this within three days. The ending left off like there could be another book and if there is I would definitely read it.

Review: Humans, Bow Down by James Patterson & Emily Raymond

Posted on June 5, 2017June 5, 2017 by Cindy

Humans, Bow Down by James Patterson, Emily Raymond, Jill Dembowski, Alexander Ovchinnikov
on February 20th 2017
Pages: 373
Goodreads

In a world run by machines, humans are an endangered species.

The Great War is over. The robots have won. The humans who survived have two choices: they can submit and serve the vicious rulers they created, or be banished to the Reserve, a desolate, unforgiving landscape where it's a crime just to be human. And the robots aren't content--following the orders of their soulless leader, they're planning to conquer humanity's last refuge and ensure that all humans bow down.
The only thing more powerful than an enemy who feels nothing is a warrior with nothing left to lose. Six, a feisty, determined woman whose parents were killed with the first shots of the war, and whose siblings lie rotting in prison, is a rebel with a cause: the overthrow of robot rule. Her partner in crime is Dubs, the one person who respects authority even less than she does. On the run for their lives after an attempted massacre, Six and Dubs are determined to save humanity before the robots finish what the Great War started and wipe humans off the face of the earth. Pushed to the brink of survival, Dubs and Six discover a powerful secret that can help set humanity free, but they'll have to trust the unlikeliest of allies--or they'll be forced to bow down, once and for all.
Humans, Bow Down is an epic, dystopian, genre-bending thrill ride from the mind of James Patterson, the world's #1 bestselling author.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I am a huge fan of James Patterson books as you probably would see looking at my bookshelves. I think he can put together amazing stories that are super fun and quick to read. Whenever I read his books I literally breeze through them in a matter of a day or two because they are just that good and keeping me drawn in.

In Humans, Bow Down James Patterson has teamed up with Emily Raymond who you might recall worked together on First Love and The Lost from Witch & Wizard.

We all know as technology advances that we are capable of creating robots and actually have. Well fast forward there is a great war. Its humans vs robots and in the end the robots have won. Its a world that is now run by machines and humans are an endangered species. If you have survived you have two options you either have to submit or be banished.

Our main character Six has decided that she will never submit to the robots so she has been banished but is on the run in order to survive. Six is a kick ass character who takes nothing from anyone especially a robot. Six knows she has nothing to lose and possibly everything to gain. Can she unlock the secret that can save her and the other humans?

One thing that I wasn’t sure about was the graphics that are in the book but they quickly made sense and followed the storyline. Did the book really need them? I don’t think so.

I have to say that with the way the book ended I feel as though there could be another book because there is still quite a few loose ends that need to be tied up. Would I read it? More the likely.

Thanks Little Brown for sending the book to me.

Review/ Bubble by Stewart Foster

Posted on May 3, 2017May 31, 2017 by Cindy

Bubble by Stewart Foster
Format: ARC
Published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers on May 2nd 2017
Pages: 352
Goodreads

Wonder meets Mark Haddon in the poignant and uplifting debut novel about superheroes, super-nurses, and the beauty you can find in hope.
Eleven-year-old Joe has never had a life outside of the hospital, with its beeping machines and view of London’s rooftops. His condition means he’s not allowed outside, not even for a moment, and his few visitors risk bringing life-threatening germs inside his bubble. Then a new nurse offers Joe the possibility of going outside. But Joe doesn’t know if the nurse is serious—or whether he could survive the adventure.
Bubble is the touching story of how Joe spends his days, copes with his loneliness and frustration, and looks—with superhero-style bravery, curiosity, and hope—to a future without limits.

When I was offered Bubble to review by Simon & Schuster Canada I was intrigued by the book and instantly had to read it.

Bubble is about a eleven year old boy named Joe who suffers from SCID (Severe combined immunodeficiency) and how he lives his day to day live in the hospital, copes with his loneliness, and his frustrations.

Joe doesn’t remember his live outside his hospital room because that’s all he seems to know. He has never even left his room because of the life threatening germs that are out there that could kill him. His room is a sealed room that has machines that filter his air and checks his vitials. Everyone who enters Joe’s room has to scrub up wear a mask and overalls.

In the beginning of the book Joe is happy and content. He still holds out that there will be a cure and that he can live life outside the hospital. Joe keeps himself busy with watching super hero dvd’s, attending school online and talking to his friend, Henry on skype who is another book like Joe living in America.

Then one day Joe’s life gets turned upside down by a new nurse who is Amir. Amir is rather strange to say the least and even I thought he was a little weird and perhaps suffering from something that wasn’t diagnosed. Amir believes in aliens and that they are coming any day now. I wasn’t sure if he was legit at first but as the story progressed I thought he was getting weirder all the time.

Then out of no where Amir offers Joe a chance to live on the edge for a bit but Joe knows this could be dangerous for him. While Joe go with what Amir is offering?

I really enjoyed the book and thought the characters and writing were really good. This is Stewart’s first book for younger readers. I would be curious to read his other books in the future.

Review/ Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken

Posted on January 6, 2017January 6, 2017 by Cindy

Wayfarer (Passenger, #2) by Alexandra Bracken
Format: Hardcover
Published by Disney-Hyperion on January 3rd 2017
Pages: 532
Goodreads

All Etta Spencer wanted was to make her violin debut when she was thrust into a treacherous world where the struggle for power could alter history. After losing the one thing that would have allowed her to protect the Timeline, and the one person worth fighting for, Etta awakens alone in an unknown place and time, exposed to the threat of the two groups who would rather see her dead than succeed. When help arrives, it comes from the last person Etta ever expected—Julian Ironwood, the Grand Master’s heir who has long been presumed dead, and whose dangerous alliance with a man from Etta’s past could put them both at risk.
Meanwhile, Nicholas and Sophia are racing through time in order to locate Etta and the missing astrolabe with Ironwood travelers hot on their trail. They cross paths with a mercenary-for-hire, a cheeky girl named Li Min who quickly develops a flirtation with Sophia. But as the three of them attempt to evade their pursuers, Nicholas soon realizes that one of his companions may have ulterior motives.
As Etta and Nicholas fight to make their way back to one another, from Imperial Russia to the Vatican catacombs, time is rapidly shifting and changing into something unrecognizable… and might just run out on both of them.

Wayfarer is the sequel to Passenger by Alexandra Bracken and its just be released this past week so its available to purchase in bookstores and online.

I have to admit I was a little scared going into Wayfarer just because I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy it like I did Passenger and I have to say I loved it. It actually felt like I was just reading a continuous storyline and perhaps it helped having Wayfarer on hand after finishing up Passenger. I literally had just finished reading Passenger and grabbed some lunch and jumped right into Wayfarer.

Wayfarer picks up right from the ending of Passenger. Right from the get go it was action packed and I had a hard time putting the book down at times. This one was a much faster read then the previous book and that was probably because Alexandra had to build up the story line with details and such and I think that was why I appreciated the story line much more.

So as we know Etta and Nicholas get separated from each other and we find out that perhaps Etta and Julian (Nicholas’s brother) might not actually be dead like Nicholas thinks they are but just stick in time somewhere. They are struggle to get back together before all hell breaks loose so to speak.

I loved how new characters were introduced that made the story line much more and seemed to tie it all in together. Of course they are still traveling through various eras and places much more then in Passenger.

Wayfarer is told in Etta and Nicholas’s points of views which make the story so enjoyable in my opinion. As I was reading it all I kept asking myself is will Etta and Nicholas be able to meet up again before its too late? Both Etta and Nicholas don’t have an easy journey to find each other because along the way there is so many obstacles in their way.

I have to say that I truly do enjoy duologies more then a series and wish there was more of them out there.

I can actually say after reading this book that Alexandra wrapped up all the loose ends and gave the characters the ending that they truly deserved. She wrapped up this duology really nicely. I walked away knowing that there wouldn’t be another book and for me that is a great feeling knowing an author did that without you wondering could there be another book?

I highly recommend this book to any young adult who is looking for a fun and exciting read. Its nice that I took a dip into time traveling and fantasy but there is also a little romance and mystery thrown in which I think just add to the book.

I can’t wait to read more of Alexandra Bracken’s books.

Thank you Autumn for sending me this book to read and review.

Review/ Passengers by Alexandra Bracken

Posted on January 5, 2017January 6, 2017 by Cindy

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
Format: Paperback
Published by Disney-Hyperion on December 6th 2016
Pages: 512
Goodreads

"Expert . . . Passenger succeeds as an adventure, as a romance and as a comparison of cultural norms." -New York Times Book Review
"Riveting, romantic... Fans of Outlander will see so much of Claire in Etta, who holds a smart and headstrong lens to history. I can't wait to voyage through the next volume." -Victoria Aveyard, New York Times #1 best-selling author of Red Queen
"Ambitious and exquisite." -Sarah J. Maas, New York Times #1 best-selling author of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series
In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles, but years from home. And she's inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she's never heard of. Until now.
Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods-a powerful family in the Colonies-and the servitude he's known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can't escape and the family that won't let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, his passenger, can find. In order to protect her, Nick must ensure she brings it back to them-whether she wants to or not.
Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods' grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home forever.

Alexandra Bracken is the author of several young adult books and sadly this is the first one of her’s that I have read. Not sure why I haven’t read her previous books but after this duology I will definitely be checking out her other books.

Can I just take a moment to comment on how beautiful this cover is? You have the New York skyline in the top bottle and a ship in the bottom bottle. The silver font blends in well with the book. Its by far a favorite cover to date.

Before beginning my review I should tell you that its been awhile since I have read a time traveler book and I never got into them so I never continued as it just wasn’t something that interested me. I am not a historical fiction, fantasy kind of person but after reading this I think I’m hooked.

I thought Alexandra did an excellent job with the writing of each era and what was going on. You can see alot of research went into the book to make it feel real and authentic. It made you feel like you were actually there with Etta and Nicholas.

Passenger is the first book in the duology which I have to say I really liked knowing that it was just this book and Wayfarer.

There are two main characters in Passenger and that is Etta and Nicholas. Etta is from the present day and is a violin prodigy from New York City. Nicholas is a sailor who is from the 18th century, colonial America.

As you can probably tell Etta is thrown from her present world into a world and era she has no idea about which starts off on Nicholas’s ship in 1776. Throughout the course of the book Etta and Nicholas travel various eras and places in history such as 1776 the Atlantic and New York City, 1940 London, 1685 Angkor, 1880 Paris, and then finally 1599 Damascus. It was interesting to read that they could actually go back and forth in time.

In the beginning Etta has no idea what is going on because she has no idea or experience but quickly realizes and learns along the way that this is a matter of life and death and the stakes are high in order to survive.

I must admit that this wasn’t a fast read and it took me awhile to get through the first half of the book and I am happy that I stuck with it because I got to enjoy the book. I thought there was a lot of information at first but then I realized how important it was to the over all story line because clues and details were revealed that made it all work out and make sense.

I really enjoyed the book once I got past that little hurdle and found the book to pick up in pace and I admit towards the end I wasn’t able to put the book down because I needed to know what was happening.

Another thing I loved about Passengers was that it literally ended in a cliff hanger that I didn’t see coming and I think that its a good thing when I book leaves you hanging like that and thankfully I have Wayfarer sitting here so I was able to continue reading it without having to wait.

Check back later on for my review of Wayfarer.