Unchanged by Jessica Brody

Series: Unremembered (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi/ Romance

Subjects: times-travel, futuristic, genetic engineering, identity, love, memory, scientists, experiments

Setting: The year 2117, in Nevada, California and various states

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Sera

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 417 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover 

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Macmillan: Farrar Straus Garoux

Summary/ product description: “So many secrets are buried within these compound walls.

I used to be one of those secrets.

After returning to the Diotech compound and undergoing an experimental new memory alteration, Seraphina is now a loyal, obedient servant to Dr. Alixter and the powerful company that created her. Happy and in love with Kaelen, another scientifically-enhanced human designed to be her perfect match, Sera’s history with a boy named Zen is just a distant memory from a rebellious past she longs to forget.

But as Sera and Kaelen embark on a nationwide tour to promote Diotech’s new product line—a collection of controversial genetic modifications available to the public—Sera’s mind starts to rebel. She can’t stop the memories of Zen from creeping back in.

As more secrets are revealed, more enemies are uncovered, and the reality of a Diotech-controlled world grows closer every day, Sera will have to choose where her true loyalties lie, but it’s a choice that may cost her everything she’s ever loved.”

My Review:  What an astoundingly epic finale. It was pretty awesome even with the few disappointments. I love sci-fi with some mystery and lots of twists. I also like it when a character has to overcome brainwashing or a secret organization. What’s really great about this book is that we get to see the time period that Sera and Zen are from.

2117 is a world with hoverpods and other things that hover with magnets, synthetic meat, genetic modification and nanotechnology. Gas power is obsolete, as well as today’s standard medical equipment since they have nanoscanners. 2117 is not a post-apocalyptic world or a world with an oppressive government. It’s not truly a dystopia, but there is Diotech. And Diotech want to control people and they are using Sera and Kaelen to launch a line of products that can make people better, yet control them. Dr. Maxxer has told Sera this. And Sera doesn’t believe it.

Unchanged starts off with Sera now thinking that Diotech is good and that she loves Kaelen and she’s got all her memories back. She feels guilt forever betraying the objective and she think that Zen never loved her. We know that’s not true. Zen definitely loved her and Sera’s just being brainwashed with some sort of memory coding or something. It just takes her time to see the light again. There’s just not enough Zen in this book. I read the novella before this and one was from Zen’s POV. I suggest reading the novella before this final book. Anyway, Zen doesn’t come back into the picture till more that halfway through the book. I’m not a big Kaelen fan to say the least.

The things that Sera finds out about Diotech and herself make this book awesome, but the ending resolution was not what I had hoped for. I’m still giving the book five stars because I’m a loyal fan and loved the previous books. The plotting that this series took must have been a massive undertaking and I think the author pulled it off even if there were a few bumps in the road.

If you haven’t read Unremembered, then you really should. It’s becoming on of my favorite sci-fi series. You should read it if you like any of the following: Altered by Jennifer Rush, Renegade by J.A. Souders, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, False Memory by Dan Krokos, Crewel by Gennifer Albin, Maximum Ride by James Patterson.

Cover Art Review: The girl in the cover looks more like Sera. I love the blurry effect and the title being sharp and clear.

Angel Fever by L.A. Weatherly

Series: Angel Burn (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Apocalyptic Dystopian Sci-fi/Paranormal Romance

Subjects: angels, supernatural, love, psychic ability

Setting: Various states, mostly Nevada, and also Mexico

POV/Tense: 1^st person, past tense: Willow, 3^rd person past tense: Alex, Seb and Raziel

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 489 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover and now in Paperback

List Price: $17.99/$9.99

Publisher: Candlewick

Summary/ product description: “As half-angel Willow strives to save the world from her parasitic otherworldly kin, romance and tension heat up to a climactic finale.

In the devastated remains of the world, millions of people live in "refugee" camps provided by the angels who have all but enslaved humanity. As this angelic stranglehold tightens, Willow and Alex are recruiting and training new Angel Killers while struggling to hold ground on the celestial battlefield. But Willow continues to have feelings for Seb, and her love and resolve are tested as a shattering revelation sends Alex on a separate journey. Now that the final battle versus the angels is about to begin-and the fate of the world hangs in the balance-each of them must face the consequences of their own choices. Will love endure? Will the human race survive?”

My Review:  Why did I wait over a year to read this? I put it off because I was afraid of how it would end. I loved the first two books despite their lengths. These books take a while to read, but I love the characters and the story. I just feel sad that it’s over.

It’s kind of sad that this series wasn’t more popular. It’s the craziest mix of sci-fi and paranormal ever. These angels are nothing like the angels you know other than having halos and wings. They feed on people. They’re inter-dimensional beings and their world’s ether is dying. Willow and Seb are the only half-angels alive and this gives them special abilities. They’re helping to train Angel Killers in aura work in the Nevada compound. Willow has Alex as her boyfriend, but Seb still pines after her. He tries to date a girl named Meghan.

Just when they think that they have a chance at defeating the angels, something happens to destroy their plans and they start feeling hopeless. They still train and kill angels because every dead angel could mean the life of a human is saved. Alex discovered another way to destroy the angels and sets out to find it. Something happens that breaks Willows heart.

Angel Fever was a very emotionally stunning read. I almost found myself crying in some parts. I just love the relationship between Willow and Alex. Seb is also a great guy, but he wasn’t there from the start. Alex is practically my dream guy and I felt like I was there, right along side Willow, feeling her pain and love for Alex.

There’s just some much action, adventure and romance packed into this book. It’s thick (but less thick than Angel Fire) with content. It didn’t drag on because it was boring, but because I just wanted to savor the story and not miss anything. I hate when I feel like I have to skim, but I didn’t do that here.

This is definitely in my top five angel series. It’s the most unique one. It reads like an alien-apocalypse story. I have a hard time finding the right comparison, but if you like Angelfall by Susan Ee or the series on SyFy called Dominion, then you should check out this series.

Cover Art Review: Consistent with previous covers. Love the fiery hair image.

Undeadly by Michele Vail

Series: The Reaper Diaries (bk. 1)

Genera: Paranormal Romance (set in a semi-dystopian/alternate hist. world)

Subjects: Supernatural, necromancer, reapers, mythology, Egyptian mythology, Anubis, gods, magic, boarding schools, zombies, ghosts

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 267 pgs.

HC/PB: Paperback

List Price: $9.99

Publisher: HarlequinTeen

Summary/ product description: “The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird...
Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper—and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she's shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite boarding school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath.
Life at Nekyia has its plusses. Molly has her own personal ghoul, for one. Rick follows her there out of the blue, for another...except, there's something a little off about him. When students at the academy start to die and Rath disappears, Molly starts to wonder if anything is as it seems. Only one thing is certain—-Molly's got an undeadly knack for finding trouble....”

My Rating: êêê

My Review: This book was different than I expected. There was not much Romance as I wanted. I really liked Rath. Rick reminded me too much of Heath from House of Night. A lot of other people agree that this book is similar the House of Night series. I feel like this book dragged out the beginning too much. I would have rather had more boarding school stuff. There were a lot of clichés, but out of all the clichés left out, why no love triangle? There was no depth to the story.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it for the most part. I think the world building is interesting. An alternate history of Necromancer and Zombies being known to everyone. All the different hekas and parts of the soul. It was very interesting. It reminded me of the Shade series and House of Night series put together, except with Egyptian stuff. I liked Molly’s voice, even with the outdated slang. The book could just use some tweets. I could have been better if it was about 100 pages longer, with a steamy romance. Seriously, more Rath. My favorite Reaper is Todd from the Soul Screamers series. The hot reaper really needs to be played up more. I just felt like some stuff was rushed/forced. It needs more build up. This is the first book in a series, so I’m sure book 2 will be better. There is a cliff hanger at the end.

Cover Art Review: The cover is kind of generic for paranormal romance. I do like the lace, though. I’m pretty sure I could have made a better cover than this one.

 

~Haley G