Review - Golden Son

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

5/5 Bloodydamn brilliant

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! (aka the sound I made when I finished reading.) that ending... What a real kick to the head/twist of the knife right to the heart.

The story picks up two years or so later then the last book and shows you just how far Darrow has come. He’s great at infiltrating the Gold society. He is firmly immersed into the world of the Golds and you see what craziness he goes through.

Intrigue, spies, mystery, allegiances, there is plenty to go around. Twists and turns abound. Plus if you’re like me and love spaceships and battle scenes, then this is definitely the book for you.

The characters I already loved continue to be intriguing and there are new characters too that really shine. The Telemanuses are my new favorite characters, especially Kavax Telamanus.

These characters are so conflicted and their world is in need of change desperately. This sequel shows the horrors of war and that some people will do anything not to change.

This story goes all out into warfare. There are even more deaths than I thought there would be. It shows that just because you have a plan does not mean that it’s going to work out.

For a lot of the book you’ll feel really bad for Darrow and well pretty much everyone he knows. The scheming is this story gets turned way past eleven. The key seems to be that you have to figure out who to trust and it’s not as easy as you’d think it would be.

You have to truly wonder which side is going to win and even if a revolution is going to be possible.

I truly have no idea what to expect from the final book, I just know that I want to read it ASAP

Outgoing Outpost

Outpost by Ann Aguirre

* ARC provided by the publisher via the Shelf Awareness Newsletter

5 out of 5 gnomes

Now, this is what I call a superb sequel.  It looked like the group was headed into a safe place after all the trouble in the first book.  The safe place they are in now might not stay safe for long.  The people on the surface live a much different life then Deuce, Fade, Striker, and Tegan are used to.

Deuce is a Huntress but in this new place that kind of title holds no sway, especially since she’s a woman.  The other problem is that before she was considered an adult and ready to make her own decisions but now in the town of Salvation, she’s considered a child.  She was taken in by a family and now has to go to a traditional school.

Deuce is not so good at making friends but she slowly begins to understand people and I think herself too throughout this book.  She has to come to terms with the two ways that she sees herself.  She is afraid to just be the girly version of herself and feel feelings, the Huntress version of herself seems to be a lot more comfortable for her.  

The freaks are made, if it’s even possible, more truly scary.  These aren’t just your run or the mill mindless zombies either, they are even creepier in this book.  There is one singular spoilertastic type thing that you find out that may just change your outlook on these creatures.  I know that the more I read about them the scarier they became.  Thinking about all the scenarios that could have led to this world and why everything is like it is may just keep you awake and contemplating.   

There is an overwhelming palpable tension throughout Outpost that will leave you freaking out waiting for everything to boil over.  The tension doesn’t just abound while fighting freaks either, the attitudes of others are extremely problematic.  This feeling of foreboding makes this book even scarier than its predecessor.

The ending is pretty darn perfect.  It leaves it in a place where there’s the group dynamic again but you also have even more people and responsibilites to worry about.  Caring about a place and even more people adds a real edge to everything.  I am looking forward to the next book Horde because I can’t wait to see how this series ends.

Sizzling Scorch

Scorch by Gina Damico

* ARC read via Around the World Tours

* Spoilers highlighted like so :)

5 out of 5 gnomes

Wowsers, I don’t know how it’s possible but this book was even more intense than the first one.  Let’s just say that the author is not afraid to kill off characters and if you’re a cryer, you’ll definitely shed some tears.

Lex’s life really went into a tailspin at the end of the first book, Croak, she now has a plethora of problems to solve and revenge is definitely on her mind.  

The beginning of the book sees her returning to Croak uncertain of the welcome she’ll receive.  She’s very different compared to just about any other Reapers and her differences and the end of the previous book mean that inadvertently or not she is one of the reasons they are all in danger.  

There are some new Junior Reapers introduced and they are quite the interesting duo.  Bang and Pip make an awesome team and I hope we learn even more about these new recruits in the next book.  They both have some interesting skills and make a superb addition to the group.

The relationships in this book are surprising and a lot of fun.  Lex and Driggs and all their interactions are always good for a laugh.  You can tell how much they really care for each other.  It gets rather interesting with them living in the same house and trying to find alone time where Mort won't catch them but they are nothing if not inventive.  

There’s such a crazy good twist in this book, it so came out of nowhere but the clues are all there.  Wrong versus right and doing the right thing and knowing when to break the rules are themes that are strong throughout the story.  Most of the characters have their own shades of gray, I know some developments were truly surprising.

There is so much chaos in this book and the reader actually gets to see more than just the city of Croak.  Many a tragic event occurs, prepare to be floored by some of these outcomes.  Here are some things I may or may not have yelled while reading, "AHHH, no not Kloo, Driggs!!!!, and WTF just happened..."

Definitely a suspenseful sequel well worth reading.  The ending looks to be setting up for one heck of a finale.

Check out some of these awesome adjective icons, I'll be using in my reviews. I bought them from Parajunkee Design:

 
Favorite Quotes/Lines:
“Everyone knows how impos-sible it is to get zestfully clean without assistance.” (pg. 109)

“To hell with chivalry.  Your idea, you die first.”(pg. 124)

Soaring Suns

A Million Suns by Beth Revis

* Book will be released January 10, 2012
* Read ARC via a tour put together by Megan and Mindy at the Secret of the Stars blog

5 out of 5 gnomes

So much awesomeness in this book.  The secrets revealed in this book are crazy and lead all the characters in quite interesting directions.  In the very first chapter you learn that a very important truth is really a lie.  That turns out to be only the first truth that's not exactly true.

Complications of the personal and social variety abound throughout the ship.  Elder is now in charge and it seems that rebellion is in the air but also a hint of anarchy.  It's very hard to know who exactly to trust because with everyone being essentially wide awake now instead of dulled, this really reveals more of the problems with this society.  Every person on the ship except Amy may look homogeneous but there are a lot of class differences that boil to the surface.  Elder's leadership is questioned and at first he's not sure how to answer the challenge.

Once again the dual perspective of having the chapters switch off between Elder and Amy is very well done and adds greatly to the tension.  It is great how organically their relationship is growing.  Slowly but surely they seem to be growing closer.  There's no insta-love here and there are still questions on both sides of how exactly this relationship could even work.  I will let you know that one of the most interesting scenes in this book between the two takes place when Elder's not wearing pants.
This story will have you wondering if the characters are doing the right thing.  There are some characters with questionable motives and some that I'm thinking maybe the main characters should have trusted.  It also brought some major regrets again when thinking of what Harley did and why, it may have made sense in his mind at the time but so much happens that he would have wanted to be a part of.  There are just so many questions and so many different motives on the ship from those just trying to stay alive and those trying to make a power grab. 

The ending, wow, some lines are definitely drawn in the sand here.  There are some hard separations and the future has never been so hopeful yet uncertain.  I have a feeling that there will be massive changes in the next book and that Amy's people the frozens may have a much larger part to play.  I'm really looking forward to the conclusion of this series because it looks like it's shaping up to be a heck of a finale.