Tuesday, January 29, 2013

'Til the World Ends by Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre, Karen Duvall

Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa

Before The Immortal Rules, there was the Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden-as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What's worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems....

Thistle & Thorne by Ann Aguirre

After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside-in the Red Zone-is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they'll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside...for good.

Sun Storm by Karen Duvall

Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms-in the cosmos and beyond. And she's not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She'll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.
This is a dystopian anthology by 3 talented authors. I'll review each story, but give only one rating as a whole.

Dawn of Eden (Blood of Eden #.05) by Julie Kagawa

In this story we are given the prequel to Immortal Rules. This tale pulls together 2 different characters than who we meet in the first novel. So, there is no problem reading this one after the first. In this book Kylie and Ben meet up through a friend that has been bitten. Ben is reluctant to tell Kylie what has happened and in fact knows a bit more about the zombie like vampires preying on non-infected people. We know some of what is going on through the first novel and it pretty much stays on track with this one.

I do have to say I was a bit surprised by this story. I reads a bit more adult with a much more graphic scene of sex than we usually get with YA. In fact, I would have considered this prequel adult and had I read it before the novel, I would have thought the whole series was adult and not YA. Still, it works for this story. I do have to admit, I wasn't completely drawn into the romance between the two characters, but was not unconvinced either. Extreme circumstances can heighten emotions, but it just seemed that they needed more down time to really get to know each other to claim each other in a forever way. Still, it was an interesting addition to the series. 

Thistle and Thorne by Anne Aguirre

I have to admit this was my favorite of the 3. Mari is someone of skill and can kick ass when needed. Strong female protagonist? Oh yea, you know I loved that. She meets up with Thorne after a robbery gone all kinds of wrong. He saves her but uses her for his end game. However, since their end games meet up by destroying the bad guy who is in charge goes along with Thorne. Perhaps she even steals his heart, but we are never certain.

I really enjoyed Mari. A bit of an optimist despite the circumstances, you really have to admire how she takes care of her siblings and close friends. She has become a reluctant leader in her area and this adventure will destroy her ability to be covert. So, when the ending of unanswered questions happens, I admit I wanted to start tweeting Anne Aguirre and begging her to finish it or give me a novel of these characters! Don't leave me like this!! Think that would work? ;)

Sun Storm by Karen Duvall

With this story you will have to suspend things you know with the world she has created. The sun creates storms and has baked the world. How people survived such harsh conditions has me baffled (especially the frail and infirm)... but then suspension of belief comes in so I can go on with the story.

I also have to say that I didn't completely buy the romance in this one, but it had it's sweet moments. I think if it was longer it would have been easier for me to see the two become inseparable, but that is sometimes the problem with short stories. You have so much to share in such little space. Still, it was an interesting concept even if the ending was a bit contrived. Perhaps this would have been better at novel length.

In all I give this anthology 3 1/2 stars. If you want to get your dystopian on, this might just fit the bill. Although the situations are bleak, you will find the light within each of these stories.
I received this eARC from NetGalley and the publisher an no compensation for my review was given.

26 comments:

  1. Nice a lot of great authors in there!

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  2. Ann Aguirre just draws you into Mari's world doesn't she? I was hoping that this could be the start of a new series as well! Never a bad thing! :-)

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  3. Pretty much everyone so far wants to see Thistle & Thorne turned into a full-lenght novel. Here's to hoping that really happens.
    I'll read Katen Duvall's story purely out of politeness and a bit of curiosity, but I won't expect much. I read her urban fantasy and didn't really like it.
    Thanks for the review, Melissa!

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    1. I hope so as well. I don't think I've read Karen. I just think it was too short to really let it take off.

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  4. I really have to try a book written by Aguirre. I keep reading fantastic reviews for this short story and now I'm curious to give her books a whirl. Which do you recommend I start first?

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    1. Oh I know that I have all her books on my wishlist, but I've only read Enclave. I know that others would give you a better idea where to start. I think you'd love the short here.

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  5. Novellas for me are mostly meh, still...who knows

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    1. I actually think you'd like the second one... but then again, it still felt too short. Hm...

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  6. YAY! I'm so glad you loved Thistle and Thorne as much as I did Melissa! I have all my fingers and toes crossed that there might be a series for them in the future, I just adored them:) I was surprised by the more graphic sex scene in Julie's story as well, and then I realized this was not published by the teen imprint of Harlequin. Then it made more sense:)

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    1. LOL I didn't even realize that it wasn't by the teen imprint. Still would have been surprised since the book was YA and it still bears the serial number. Then again... it's not like I read only in my age group then either... ;)

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  7. Glad you enjoyed overall despite the issues. Sorry you weren't drawn into romance... wonder why. Kagawa's romance always seems to lure me.
    Happy reading,
    Brandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog

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    1. I just think it is because it was so short. I know I would have totally felt it if it were a novel. Still, it worked enough for me. :D

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  8. I haven't read a lot of dystopian books, but this year I'm participating in the Dystopian challenge. The goal is to read at least 6 dystopian books. Getting my swag on, or whatever. :) Not a big fan of anthologies, but maybe when there's a sale and this one has a huge discount I'll get. :)

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    1. Oh I hope you have lots of fun with the dystopian challenge. A lot of good ones out there!

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  9. Everyone is picking the Aguirre story as their favorite. I wish I had grabbed a copy of this one. It sounds so good. !

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  10. I'm especially looking forward to read the story from Kagawa, since I loved the Immortal rules so much. The other two authors are new to me and this might be a fun way to see their writing style. Nice review! :)

    Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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  11. I do remember hearing some good things about this anthology. I definitely will give anything by Julie and Anne a try. I'll have to try to remember it in the future. :)

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  12. I'm not that into anthologies and haven't read one so far, but if I pick one up in future, it will definitely be this one with Julie's story in it. Love her Iron Fey series. Thanks for your review:)

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  13. I'm looking forward to reading this one. I won a copy. I had thought all these three stories were YA because of seeing Kagawa's story, but I learned today that Aguirre's is not, and sounds the same for Kagawa too. Hmm. Interesting. But now you HAVE to read more of Aguirre's books. They aren't in this world, but they are AMAZING reads. :) See! lol.

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  14. I was not a big fan of the Julie Kagawa novella. I didn't know the other two series so I didn't have any preconceived notions but it didn't feel like Julie Kagawa wrote that one, at least the beginning. Anyway, I'd probably rate it about the same as you.

    Heather

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  15. A lot of great authors and I used the cover as My Cover of The Day, it's beautiful, indeed.
    Love the three stories, they sound so interesting but I feel like the third one is the most interesting.
    Adding this to my TBR
    GREAT review, Melissa
    Your reader,
    Soma
    http://insomnia-of-books.blogspot.com/

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  16. I think I need to read this one just for Thistle and Thorne! Everyone seems to love this one. Great review!

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