Title: The Selection (The Selection #1)
Author: Kiera Cass
Published: by
Pages: 327
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself- and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Final Thoughts: Initially, I had trouble getting into this one – and I mean A LOT of trouble. Right up until America gets into the palace, this book was dry and hollow. It was almost enough to make me want to put the book down then and there. However, I perservered, and while The Selection isn’t going to win any awards in my imaginary-personal-reading-competition, I was able to finish it and find myself wondering what was going to happen in Book Two.

Title: The Masque of the Red Death (#1)
Author: Bethany Griffin
Published: August, 2012 by Orion
Thanks: Hachette AU
Pages: 336
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Everything is in ruins. A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them. So what does Araby Worth have to live for? Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair — Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

Final Thoughts: Although well-written (Bethany Griffin knows her stuff!), her YA debut, The Masque of the Red Death never managed to pull me in completely. Despite 300+ pages, I wasn’t able to connect with Araby, Will or Elliot and their story. Still, Bethany Griffin should get a round of applause for injecting new life into the original Edgar Allan Poe short story.

Title: Fever (The Chemical Garden Trilogy #2)
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Published: February, 2012 by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 341
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago – surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous – and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion… by any means necessary.

Final Thoughts: Last year’s debut, Wither, absolutely blew me away, so when I went into Fever I was expecting greatness. Unfortunately, the second novel in The Chemical Garden series does not live up to the first. It wasn’t until the last third of the book that I really started to embrace it. Still, it’s a worthwhile read if you enjoyed the first installment.

Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Published: May 1, 2012 by Harlequin Teen AU
Thanks: Harlequin Teen, AU
Pages: 451
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Final Thoughts: Initially I wasn’t too happy with where I thought The Immortal Rules was going. I’m glad I stuck with it, though, as the book turned out to be an enjoyable ride. I found the second half to be more gratifying than the first, with some great character development and lots of action. While I don’t place the first in the Blood of Eden series higher than Julie’s Iron Fey, it’s worth looking into!

Title: Eve (The Eve Trilogy #1)
Author: Anna Carey
Published: December, 2011 by HarperTeen
Pages: 318
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust… and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

Final Thoughts: I had no expectations when going into Eve, but from the very first page I got the feeling that this simply wasn’t the book for me. Although I adore dystopians, Eve felt like a conglomeration of many of my favourites minus the heart that made each one special. While the middle of the book was somewhat redeeming – and the book proved to be a quick and easy read – it just wasn’t enough in the long run.

Title: Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Published: January, 2012 by Pier9/HarperCollins
Pages: 374
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland – known as The Death Shop – are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild – a savage – and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile – everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Final Thoughts: I can safely say that I was blown away by Veronica Rossi’s debut, Under the Never Sky. Unable to put it down, I read the book in one night without pause. Perfect pacing, characters and a fantastic dystopian setting! This is definitely a YA release that lives up to the hype.