Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Avalon by Mindee Arnett

eARC received from Harper Teen

Release Date:  January 21, 2014

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

The Sisters Say:  Great setting, but disappointing plot and characters

A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon's cult hit show Firefly.

I started out excited to read this one because the reviews had been great.  Plus, I loved MIndee's debut, The Nightmare Affair.  Unfortunately, I just didn’t see what everyone else saw in this book.  While I enjoyed the space setting and the macabre events that started the book, the characters and slow plot ruined it for me.

I’ll start out with what I enjoyed—the setting.  Mindee did an amazing job describing the creepy hollowness of space.  When they enter the dead zone (the part of space that seems creepily supernatural—she calls it something else, but I can’t remember what at this point), the eeriness really starts to go into overdrive.  I loved the murderous and mysterious scenes that we see in the lost spaceship, and the strange anomalies that keep occurring were fantastic.  If you are a big sci-fi fan, you might enjoy this book just because of the great details in the setting.

Still, even though I loved that part of it, I couldn’t get past the flat characters.  I tried and tried to relate to one of them, but I just couldn’t.  The dialogue seemed very young (middle grade, really), and the little romance that I did see (I stopped at 67%) was dull and really seemed to detract from the rest of the story.

I also couldn’t make it past the slow plot.  I’ve heard that it picks up in the second half, but after a month of trying to read some every day, I got to the point where I just didn’t think anything could bring me back into the story.

Overall, this wasn’t a book for me, although it might be one that big fans of sci-fi love.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised since the blurb says it's for fans of Firefly, which I hated.  If you plan to read it, I hope you are able to enjoy it more than I did.

Cover Reveal/Blog Tour Sign-Ups: THE APOLLO ACADEMY

Okay friends, so here at the YA Sisterhood we've loved multiple YA Sci-fi Books (like Across the Universe by Beth Revis) and plenty of New Adult Books (like Wait For You by J. Lynn), and now we're glad to help out an up and coming author that is bringing both of these worlds together. 

That's right... New Adult SciFi is about to blast off and we want YOU to join the launch team! We're looking for bloggers to participate in a Cover Reveal (which is going to be AWESOME) and the blog tour.  Here's what you need to know: 

The Apollo Academy by Kimberly P. Chase

Releasing August 6th, 2013 in Paperback and eBook

As  heiress to Titon Technologies, eighteen-year-old Aurora Titon can have whatever she wants—clothes, expensive gadgets, anything money can buy. All she really wants is to escape her pampered, paparazzi-prone life for the stars. Becoming the first female pilot to train as an astronaut for the Apollo Academy is exactly the chance for which she has been waiting. Everything would be perfect if it weren't for her unreciprocated crush on a fellow student, the sexy astronaut bent on making her life hell, and the fact that someone keeps trying to kill her.

The first in a four book new adult science fiction series, The Apollo Academy, is an action packed story of love, discovery, and survival.

"I am obsessed with this book! Suspenseful, sexy, and just a great read!" -Cora Carmack, New York Times Bestselling author of LOSING IT. 

Add it on GoodReads here. And when The Apollo Academy gets to 500 adds, Kimberly will be giving away a free flight lesson!!!

If you'd like to sign-up for the cover reveal or blog tour, please use the Google form below.

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

ARC received from Macmillan Kids

On Shelves Now

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

The Sisters Say:  First Half:  Exhilarating  Last Half:   Disappointing

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.

I was so happy when I got my ARC of Unremembered—a plane crash, an unknown girl with amnesia, and an alluring boy with all the answers.  It had so much going for it, and I was sure I was going to love it.  Unfortunately, by the end of the book, I found myself sorely disappointed.  There was so much potential, and it started out so great, but once answers started revealing themselves, it just fell flat for me.

This book starts out with a bang, and I was immediately hooked.  We see “Violet,” who has been rescued from a plane crash.  She is in a hospital for amnesia, but otherwise, she is perfectly fine.  Not a scratch on her.  Add to the fact that she can’t be identified by anyone and we have the makings of a perfect mystery thriller.  I really enjoyed the parts where Seraphina (her true name) is trying to find out who is she and where she came from.  I loved how the puzzle pieces just weren’t adding up, and the only one with answers is the strange boy, Zen.  These parts were full of mystery, and I found myself really enjoying them.  Seraphina was strong and, although broken and lost, she was still full of a strange type of confidence.  I really enjoyed this side to her. 

And then there’s Zen.  He didn’t really blow me away, but I still enjoyed him.  He truly cared about Sera, and you could see how much he wanted her to remember him.  You could see the love written all over his face.  Plus, there’s a mystery behind him, too, and I enjoyed trying to figure it out.  So, overall, I enjoyed the characters, although I doubt they will be memorable to me in a few months.

So what bugged me?

I really can’t pinpoint what it was that turned me off, but about half-way through I just lost interest.  The answers were starting to unravel, and I just didn’t like where the plot went from there.  I can’t say much about it because of spoilers, but I just felt like there was so much potential.  She could have been anyone, and I had high hopes that she would be more than what she ended up being.

I wanted for there to be some amazing explanation for the amnesia and Zen, but it just seemed like it wasn’t original.  I’m really struggling with pinpointing what it was that made me lose interest!

I also wanted more romance.  It felt dry and unbelievable to me, almost like Sera couldn’t feel.  I wanted to hear how her heart was aching for him, even though she didn’t know who he was, but I never got that emotion from her.  She was strong and kick butt, but everything else about her felt off.

From the reviews I’ve read, I’m in the minority.  Lots of people are loving the twists and turns, but I guess this book just wasn’t for me.   Sorry for the lack of eloquence in this review!

Overall, the first half was great.  I was immediately hooked and I couldn’t wait to find out all the answers, but somewhere along the way, the action slowed down, the mystery and romance dwindled, and the truth became a bit boring for me.