The Fire by James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown

Series: Witch & Wizard (bk. 3)

Genera: Fantasy, dystopian, sci-fi, paranormal

Subjects: Brothers and sisters, magic, plagues, abilities, totalitarian dictatorships

Length: 328 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

Summary/ product description: “YOU WANT A FAIRY TALE, DON'T YOU?
Whit and Wisty Allgood have sacrificed everything to lead the resistance against the merciless totalitarian regime that governs their world. Its supreme leader, The One Who Is The One, has banned everything they hold dear: books, music, art, and imagination. But the growing strength of the siblings' magic hasn't been enough to stop the One's evil rampage, and now he's executed the only family they had left.

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FIND ONE HERE.
Wisty knows that the time has finally come for her to face The One. But her fight and her fire only channel more power to this already invincible being. How can she and Whit possibly prepare for their imminent showdown with the ruthless villain that devastated their world-before he can truly become all-powerful?

THERE IS NO HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
In this stunning third installment of the epic Witch & Wizard series, the stakes have never been higher—and the consequences will change everything.”

My Rating: ê ê ê ê ê

My Review: James Patterson certainly know how to mix humor, fast-paced action, and magic with a horrible evil, and a scary society. This dystopian story has some thing in common with other ones, but is still vastly different in how it’s executed. This 3^rd book it just as good as the 1^st two. It’s in present tense, so how feel like it’s happening and you don’t want to stop because you got to find out what happens next. I’m a huge fan off James’ Maximum Ride series, and this series seems to pull some of the best stuff out of both MR and Daniel X, but with a dystopian twist and magic.

I love how JP changes the names of book series, TV shows, Celebs and other stuff in pop culture just slightly that it’s easy to guess who or what he means. In the back of the book they have all the banned thing and It’s fun to read those. It’s scary to think one guy could just take over the country and take away everything we ever loved. I doubt that could really happen, but you never know. This guy is worse than Communism or Hitler. This guy is against art and culture, not just one people, but all.

Read this series. You won’t regret it. Especially if you love dystopian fiction.

Cover Art Review: Not to fond of the big letters, but like the fire and the girl even if the are on a big F for failure. lol

~Haley G

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Title: Sweetly

Author: Jackson Pearce

Series: (Companion novel to Sisters Red)

Genera: Paranormal Romance

Subjects: Witches, werewolves, candy shops, brothers and sisters

Length: 310 pgs. Hardcover

Rating: ê ê ê

Summary: Gretchen’s twin sister was taken by the “witch.” Atleast that’s what she thought when she was little. Now Gretchen and her brother Ansel are kicked out by their step mother and end up driving from Washington to North Carolina, where the car breaks down. Live Oak is a very small town and the locals aren’t welcoming. They end up having to stay with Sophia Kelley, a young woman who owns a chocolate shop. They start helping her and growing to like her. Ansel actually is falling for her. And the locals blame her for the disappearance of 8 girls in the last two years because of her chocolate festival. What is going on in Live Oak? Gretchen finds out from Samuel, who she starts to like.

So, it was kind of interesting because it kept me guessing. It had mystery behind the plot. I just wasn’t too interested in the characters. Gretchen was obsessed and depressed about her sister, even though that happened like 12 years ago. Ansel was kind of dull, and Sophia was confusing. I honestly liked the characters in Sisters Red better. I did like Samuel Reynolds because he was the character that connected this book to the last one. He is Silas’s older brother, and he was kind of awesome.

Well, not much else I can say. I do recommend both this and Sisters Red. Interesting take on werewolves that I definitely saw more of in the 1^st book.

Art Review: Interesting illustration with the trees looking like a witches face. But the cover looks too childish.

~Haley G

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Title: Blood Red Road

Author: Moira Young

Series: Dustlands

Genera: Sci-fi dystopia

Subjects: Kidnapping, Hand-to-Hand fighting, Brothers and sisters, Twins, Coming of age, Orphans

Length: 459 pgs

Rating: ê ê ê

After a dust storm, men know as Tonton show up in Silver lake and kidnap Saba’s twin brother Lugh, and kill her dad. Saba must save Lugh, so she and her sister Emmi leave Silverlake and set out on a journey across Sandsea to a place called Hopetown. Saba doesn’t realize just how much danger lies ahead, and how much danger Lugh is in. Saba’s not such a nice girl, and is real mean to her sister, especially after Emmi ends up following her rather than staying with Mercy for Crosscreek.

This book was different. Bad different. There are now quotation marks for the dialog, so I was never exactly sure what was being said out loud unless followed by I say or something. Even worse, it was written (all of it, cuz it‘s in 1^st person) in a very southern/western dialect. I thought I was reading True Grit (I only saw the new movie) when I started it. I wish I listen to the audio book instead. It was all ain’t and caint and git…..Oh, and the chapter….there are no chapters. They’re more like parts. One is about 30 pages, another is over 100 pages. I prefer the James Patterson like short chapters, so the length of these made in not very fast pased for me.

The few things I did like about this book? One, Nero the crow! What a great companion Saba has. Crows are smart, but Nero acts like he’s at least 2% human (at least….Maximum Ride reference)…or like he’s got the brain of a 6-8 year old child. Very smart for a bird. (Smarter than my budgie). Two, I like the humor. It was pretty funny at times, even with the westernish talk. Three, I like the desterty dystopia feel.

Well, I do recommend this to people I they liked Hunger Games, Enclave, or Maze Runner. And, if you don’t mind books out of the normal form.

~Haley G