As I Wake

Author: Elizabeth Scott

Series: Stand Alone

Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Romance, Young Adult

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Released: 15 September 2011

Summary: courtesy of goodreads.com Ava is welcomed home from the hospital by a doting mother, lively friends, and a crush finally beginning to show interest. There's only one problem: Ava can't remember any of them - and can't shake the eerie feeling that she's not who they say she is.
Ava struggles to break through her amnesiac haze as she goes through the motions of high-school life, but the memories that surface take place in a very different world, where Ava and familiar-faced friends are under constant scrutiny and no one can be trusted. Ava doesn't know what to make of these visions, or of the boy who is at the center of them all, until he reappears in her life and offers answers . . . but only in exchange for her trust.

For Fans Of: The Predicteds, Frost and Between

My Review: As I Wake is one of those novels that you either love or you hate.  Unfortunately although I am a huge Elizabeth Scott fan I had an incredibly hard time with this one.

Scott relies so much on the idea of parallel universes without really explaining hers.  In every novel I feel that if the author is going to introduce a new, or at least new to the novel concept they should at lease try to explain it.  However, reading As I Wake is like walking into the mid season finale of a show that you’ve never seen and trying to catch yourself up on the past three seasons.  I kept waiting for a big reveal scene that never came. 

As I Wake is definitely more of a science fiction novel than anything else.  And it left me wondering why Scott had left behind her Sarah Dessen-like characters for something like this.  It was hard to understand and when a book comes in a not even three hundred pages it makes you wonder, if Scott had time to explain things why didn’t she?  Why didn’t an editor tell her to? 

Honestly, I picked this book up because I liked Scott’s past work, and because the cover was really gorgeous, but after reading it I felt confused.  I would definitely pass.

Girl in the Arena

Author: Lise Haines

Series: Stand Alone

Genres: Action, Adventure

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

Released: October 13, 2009

Summary: courtesy of: goodreads.com It’s a fight to the death—on live TV—when a gladiator’s daughter steps into the arena.

Lyn is a neo-gladiator’s daughter, through and through.  Her mother has made a career out of marrying into the high-profile world of televised blood sport, and the rules of the Gladiator Sports Association are second nature to their family. Always lend ineffable confidence to the gladiator. Remind him constantly of his victories. And most importantly: Never leave the stadium when your father is dying. The rules help the family survive, but rules—and the GSA—can also turn against you. When a gifted young fighter kills Lyn’s seventh father, he also captures Lyn’s dowry bracelet, which means she must marry him...For fans of The Hunger Games and Fight Club, Lise Haines’ debut novel is a mesmerizing look at a world addicted to violence—a modern world that’s disturbingly easy to imagine.

For Fans Of: The Hunger Games

My Review: Oh where to begin? Yes I know! This book was terrible. I thought this was a self-published book at first. My biggest reason for disliking this book? There are no freaking punctuation/quotation marks!

Example: -Don’t you dare- I said viciously –this is ridiculous- I thought to myself.

And this went on and on throughout the whole book! I had no idea where the thought started and ended and when she was really saying anything out loud. It was to tedious to read trying to figure that out and I eventually gave up half way through the book. Why try to read something you can’t even read? Way to frustrating.

The mom bugged the crap out of me-she acted younger than Lyn and was all ‘me, me, me’ the entire time. Lyn bothered me too. She was too willing to give in and help her mom-which she called by her first name which bugged-and even put her life on the line so her mom didn’t have to remarry.

The reason I started reading this was the cover art. And it had gladiators’ in it. But that’s all the good this book has going for it. If the author went back and actually added quotation marks and made it a real book, I might give it another go.

When the Sea is Rising Red

Author: Cat Hellisen

Series: Stand Alone (for now)

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Dystopia, Fantasy

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Released: 28 February 2012

Summary: courtesy of goodreads.com After seventeen-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend, Ilven, kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven's death has called out of the sea a dangerous, wild magic. Felicita must decide whether her loyalties lie with the family she abandoned . . . or with those who would twist this dark power to destroy Pelimburg's caste system, and the whole city along with it.  

For Fans Of: Slice of Cherry (I only say that because that book was also terrifying, in my opinion, and I didn’t like it at all.)

My Review: This book wasn't really my cup of tea, it was very well written and the plot was well established. It held with the same ideas through the entire thing and I felt that all of the characters were justly motivated I just didn't really like any of the characters.

Dash can basically be caught as a player from a mile away.  He’s a drunkard and a drug addict that likes to sleep around, and while Jannix is quite devoted to Firell (Felicita) he is still a vampire, and pretty open about what a bad guy he is.

Felicita (known throughout most of the book as Firell) is kind of a pansy, never really stepping up to the plate until she absolutely has to, and even then she kind of fails miserably.  This got off to a good start, which is why I kept on going, but it quickly tapered into something that I didn’t find very appetizing.

I guess my problem isn't with the author, because the book is quite well written, but with the publisher. This book is marketed as a paranormal love story, and whilst they got the paranormal part correct this is in no way a love story. None of the Firell's (Felicita’s) relationships are particularly healthy at all and that was hard for me to deal with. I felt so sorry for the main character the entire time that it was impossible for me to like the book.