I think I went a little Dystopian/Utopian crazy this October #Oops. Also rather excitingly, I completed my GoodReads goal of reading 30 books by the end of 2013!
Fearsome Dreamer | Laure Eve
Fearsome Dreamer is set in a society of two clashing worlds with clashing people and clashing cultures. There’s Vela Rue, a hedgewitch in training from a land called Angle Tar and it’s simplistic, rural ways of thinking and living. She is living with some troubling, rich and sometimes terrifying dreams that may be a clue to a exceptional type of power residing within her.
There’s White, a teenage boy running from the society called World, he too has extraordinary power that could tear this world apart.
White finds solace in the mysterious Frith, a man holding more secrets than he lets on. Part teacher, part government spy, he seeks those with gifts just like White and takes him under his wing. A boy prodigy but also a powerful weapon, White may be the very person he’s looking for. But when Rue thrown into the mix, Frith is unprepared for the explosion that comes from these two worlds, Rue and White colliding.
I did a full review of the book on Blogger’s Bookshelf, so check out my full thoughts there! In short, really enjoyed it and thought it was pretty good for a debut author. Not to mention Laure Eve herself is an absolute sweetheart!
Under The Never Sky | Veronica Rossi
Aria knows nothing of the world outside of the dome of Reverie and the virtual Realms her society prefer to escape to, but when her mother goes missing, she’s forced from the comfort of her home and into the wasteland. The reality is hard to cope with but she soon meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s as wild and terrifying as the Aether sky that damages the land around them but Aria is left with few choices to stay alive.
Perry is also searching for someone and he’s not afraid to leave Aria behind to get him to his goal quicker. That’s just the start. There are secrets all over this book and the two soon find they can only trust each other to survive.
I honestly thought I’d hate this but found myself utterly engrossed! Despite the formula for the book being pretty standard for a Dystopian novel, the characters themselves felt fresh and for the first time ever since The Hunger Games I loved the female protagonist. My only let down is that, after the distinct lack of romance for the majority of the book, I could feel it forced in a little heavily right towards the end. I’m hoping the sequel will balance this out a little – the cliffhanger is certainly intriguing!
The Handmaid’s Tale | Margaret Atwood
Offred is a young woman living in the Republic of Gilead. She’s a Handmaiden and serves only one function in this society: to breed. The price to pay if she chooses to break free from the oppressive state? Death. Either by hanging or sent out to the Colonies to die of radiation poisoning. She’s not the only one suffering though and there are many rebelling all around her in the smallest ways possible. Not even the government can suppress human desire.
As much as I loved the premise of this book I found this really hard to get into. Admittedly the writing is stunning, the plot itself (once it gets going) is really good, but there was something about this that I couldn’t quite get my head around. I did however love the world Atwood’s built in this book. It’s so rich and deeply layered, not to mention terrifyingly realistic. This is probably one of those books that warrants a re-read!
Make sure you check out Blogger’s Bookshelf’s First Birthday giveaway to win a copy of Fearsome Dreamer and Earth Girl by Janet Edwards! The giveaway ends soon so get your entries in quick!