This is the kind of book that you want to read when you need cheering up. It is light-hearted, fun, and will make you laugh at times. It's kind of theThis is the kind of book that you want to read when you need cheering up. It is light-hearted, fun, and will make you laugh at times. It's kind of the odd-couple story of two very different people (well, one is an alien), coming together and learning to mesh their very different cultures. Cara, the main character, is funny and very imperfect, which is great because the alien, Aelyx, thinks that earthlings are barbaric and distasteful creatures. Her quirkiness completely takes him by surprise and he finds himself charmed by her personality, along with her loyalty towards him. There is no insta-love, but eventually they do fall in love, almost too late. I seriously need to get my husband to try this alien ritual with the pulse-taking thing with me later because that sounded pretty intense~ ;).
It's a bummer that we have to wait so long for the next book!!...more
Xmen in Pride and Prejudice form? How cool! If I had known that this book was a sci-fi P&P, I would have read it a long time ago, since that is my favXmen in Pride and Prejudice form? How cool! If I had known that this book was a sci-fi P&P, I would have read it a long time ago, since that is my favorite book ever! But, I was thrown off by so many negative reviews and the fact that nobody seemed to mention it. I had a great time finding all of the Pride and Prejudice nuggets in the book. Such as:
The names: Main Character - Zelia Benson. Zelia is an anagram for Eliza - Elizabeth Bennett. Sister - Dylia - Anagram for Lydia, Elizabeth's sister in P&P Love Interest - Cy, short for Cyrad - Anagram for Darcy. They also have a nickname for him, Mr. Fix Himself, or "Fix-William", since William is his last name. Lol! Fitzwilliam is Darcy's last name in P&P. Then of course, there is Michah Kw - his last name is actually Kw. Very convenient so that the letters can be an anagram to make the word Wickham.
References: When Wilbert is showing Zelia the school, she walks up to the bookshelves and tries to pull out a copy of Pride and Prejudice, but it is just a hologram.
Later, when Zelia hears Cy reading a book to Ana, it is an excerpt from Pride and Prejudice, Darcy's monologue where he talks about his dissatisfaction with the world. (pg 170) His sister says, "That's like you... you don't like anybody"
Story similarities: Upon meeting, Zylia and Cy have a bad first impression and Zylia overhears him talk bad about her.
"I don't know why Marka dragged her here. She's worse than ordinary."
But, then she goes on to prove that she is smarter and stronger than he had thought. Next, they are going out to a club to dance. She invites him along.
"I don't dance," he blurts. The words are heavy in the air, hiding more than he lets on. As if he meant to say "I don't dance with girls like you."
When Cy tells Zylia about Micah, it turns out that they had lived together when they were younger and were best friends, but Micah ran off with his sister.
There is another very Darcy monologue toward the end, but I don't want to give that one away.
Obviously, my point is.... this book is sooooo Pride and Prejudice! I had a lot of fun reading it. I do know that a lot of people had criticism over the fact that the main character seemed to slut-shame, but I didn't really see it that way. It seemed like she was more like self-conscious of her under-developed body and wanted to cover it up. It didn't seem like she was looking down on the girls who were dressed in less because she was always complimenting them and saying that she wished that she had a body like theirs. It's Vera, lying on her back on an outdoor chaise. There is nothing but green skin, green breasts, and a white thong. I'm speechless. And envious. Geez, she looks like a lingerie model.
Anyway, I really loved the book and can't wait for the next one! I hope it still goes along with the P&P theme because there were many other characters that never made it into this book (Mr. Collins would be funny). But, it would also be cool if it changed over to Sense and Sensibility or Emma, or something else Austen! :) ...more
If you couldn't get enough of those old cheesy The Twilight Zone television shows, then this is your kind of book! You know, the kind of story where tIf you couldn't get enough of those old cheesy The Twilight Zone television shows, then this is your kind of book! You know, the kind of story where the main character suddenly finds himself in a strange place and everyone is acting like it's normal, but it's not. Then, weird things keep happening until the ufo/alien/robot/this was all a dream/you were already dead plot twist happens and then it makes it so much worse.
*Dramatic music* Dun Dun Dun!!!
This is bad enough (or good enough) to be made into one of those 1960's Twilight Zone episodes. Perspective....more
**spoiler alert** Mancheeeeeee!!!! Why? Why? In a book where hardly anyone seems to stay dead, no matter what the hell you do to them, the author sees**spoiler alert** Mancheeeeeee!!!! Why? Why? In a book where hardly anyone seems to stay dead, no matter what the hell you do to them, the author sees fit to kill the talking dog. As I sit here, with my three dogs, whom I talk to all day long and am currently resting my feet on. I have nothing further to say about this book. Good day, sir. I said, "Good day!"...more
This book tried too hard to do too many things. Was it a dystopia with a corrupt government that basically had slaves, a robots-becoming-self-aware anThis book tried too hard to do too many things. Was it a dystopia with a corrupt government that basically had slaves, a robots-becoming-self-aware and uprising, a dysfunctional family with incest as a secret, teenagers stuck in "paradise" who become junkies, an insurrection, a love story, a struggle for identity? What? There were all of these things that never felt real or fluid - just very forced. But, the main problem with this book was the way in which the subject of rape was treated. It was written in as something for shock value, but didn't make sense. None of the events around the rape were true to the rest of the story in how the character had been acting the whole time, or in the fall out....more
Whew! I finally finished this series. It was a test of my patience because the story, as a whole, moved at a slower pace than I like. But, the idea waWhew! I finally finished this series. It was a test of my patience because the story, as a whole, moved at a slower pace than I like. But, the idea was good and I liked the basic storyline and the characters. I would recommend this series to people who don't mind a slower pace and a lot of inner thought while the character tries to figure things out.
The good news is that the dreaded love triangle resolves quickly and the author resolves the book in a satisfactory way. Take note on how to end a series, Ms. Roth!...more
Why love triangles, why???? Are teenage girls really getting this many gorgeous teen boys to fall in love with them immediately that love triangles arWhy love triangles, why???? Are teenage girls really getting this many gorgeous teen boys to fall in love with them immediately that love triangles are a natural occurrence? (never happened to me!) Because, according to most of the books these days, this is what every young lady should expect in their life! (Lesson to you girls out there: maybe you aren't pretty, thin or special enough!)
The second thing I really had a problem with in this book was how much time was "down time", where the characters are just having the same argument over and over again. (I could go to my parents house if I want to hear that). Or, how many pages are spent with them talking about other books! (seriously? book club while you are running for your life? where's the wine?)
But, I do like the idea of the story and the characters are strong. I just wish the pace was better. Will I drag myself through the last two books? Probably, because I am a glutton for finishing a story, and these books end in cliffhangers....more
The dreaded love triange is completed in this book and the three of them are awkwardly together. It is about as fun as Thanksgiving with your family. The dreaded love triange is completed in this book and the three of them are awkwardly together. It is about as fun as Thanksgiving with your family. So, Althea, Pax, and Lucas set off to get Deshi, because maybe he will fall in love with her too and they can REALLY party. But, Deshi has been captive for a very long time. Does he have Other Stockholm Syndrome?
I was interested in this book because it reminded me a bit of The Host, which I loved, but it turned out to be nothing like it. There are aliens who hI was interested in this book because it reminded me a bit of The Host, which I loved, but it turned out to be nothing like it. There are aliens who have taken over the planet, but they have do not inhabit the humans. Instead, they use mind control on them and control every thing in their entire lives. Any human that somehow "breaks" through the mind control is immediately picked up and taken away - never to be seen again. Everyone else lives happily as some sort of Stepford Wives with smiles on their faces at all times, happy with their alien overlords.
Althea alone is not under this mind control and she has to hide this fact by acting like everyone else and trying to blend in. Adding to that, she does this strange time traveling between families, living with a different family during different seasons of the year. Except summer. For some reason, she has never been in summer. Each family does not seem to notice that she is with them for only certain times, or that she comes and goes, and she is never sure how long her stay will last. This leaves her feeling alone and miserable. All she has is a note in a locket that tells her that she is different and must hide her difference from the others.
In Autumn, she meets up with Lucas, who seems like he is different too and she thinks she finally might have met someone like herself. The problem is that things are getting crazy and she has the distinct feeling that the aliens are noticing her presence and looking for her.
The book premise is interesting and the characters are strong. The only problem I had with the book was how slowly it moved. There was a very long period of time where nothing much happened and I just never felt much suspense or danger until the last few pages. I hope that the next book moves along faster and that there is a lot more action and suspense because there is a great opportunity for it in this story....more
One of the best things about this book, and the first one, is the super fun and crazy way the people look and dress in the future. I find this very exOne of the best things about this book, and the first one, is the super fun and crazy way the people look and dress in the future. I find this very exciting. Before reading this, I thought we were all doomed to matching silver jumpsuits at some point, so this is very encouraging. Here are a couple of descriptions:
"One woman walked by with a hat shaped like a miniature merry-go-round. Another woman was wearing two mechanical birds from her ears. They chirped a tinny melody."
Fun, huh? And, that goes with extremely loud colors, dyed crazy hair colors, and daily face painting. I like this wacky, colorful view of future fashion!
As for the story, it was more from Taylor's pov this time, which I didn't care for at first, but I got used to her. She was very bitchy in the beginning and I missed reading more from Sheridon's pov. But, I did like Echo, and thought that he rounded out Taylor very well....more
This series is so original and amazing! I love it!
Jarra started off pretty annoying with her know-it-all attitude, but she changed and grew. Fian starThis series is so original and amazing! I love it!
Jarra started off pretty annoying with her know-it-all attitude, but she changed and grew. Fian started out pretty white-bread, but turned in to an awesome and strong leading man in this book. But, I think all of the side characters were also really compelling. I love Rono, of course, and wish the band played more. Raven was a great addition to this book and I wish there was a whole book dedicated to his story.
It's rare that I like sequels better than the first book, but this is the case in Earth Star. First, I know the main characters, and they get better wIt's rare that I like sequels better than the first book, but this is the case in Earth Star. First, I know the main characters, and they get better with age. Jarra is less perfect at everything and becomes more like a normal Earth girl in this book. The addition of her cousin, Drago, adds a some funny moments that I really liked, and his gf is awesome as well. Fian is the best, and most reliable, boyfriend ever, although it took until the end of the book to get more complexity out of him past liking an aggressive chick. But, the thing I liked best was that there was far less of the details of their digs, and more action. The whole alien probe thing was interesting. How would we handle something like that? I'm really looking forward to what comes next because the author kind of left us hanging......more
There are twists in a book, and then there are twists! This book had such a crazy twist in the middle of it, and I loved it!
Jarra, the main character,There are twists in a book, and then there are twists! This book had such a crazy twist in the middle of it, and I loved it!
Jarra, the main character, is stuck on Earth while most people are able to travel to other planets, because she is "handicapped," like 1 in every 1,000 people. Her people are looked down upon and she has some major anger issues. Her whole goal, in the beginning of the book, is to get revenge on all of those whom have looked down upon her by enrolling in a college that is attended by those who can travel, rather than one with other "handicapped" people like herself. But, after getting to know them, she realizes that she had also been prejudiced and things get crazy - I mean, literally crazy.
The characters in the book are pretty good, and varied. The thing that I didn't really like about Jarra, at first, was her arrogance and the fact that she was too good at absolutely everything. It was annoying! But, it was interesting to see how all of the characters developed from shallow, what you might expect, to deeper people with problems like everyone else. The world building was fun, but I would have enjoyed hearing more about the other planets and hope that we do in the future books. One of the best things about the book was how easily it flowed and the interaction between the characters. The worst part, for me, was when the descriptions of the excavations went on and on a bit too long. I would rather have had those pages devoted to more interactions between the characters instead of her listing which beams or pieces of concrete she decided needed to be moved. Despite that, it was a very fun book to read and I am looking forward to the next one....more
I did NOT expect to like this book as much as I did! I've seen plenty of those "sliding doors" type of tv and movies, and they are annoyingly redundanI did NOT expect to like this book as much as I did! I've seen plenty of those "sliding doors" type of tv and movies, and they are annoyingly redundant, so I put this book off for a long time. However, Kasie West did such a great job in writing two different possibilities, with having intersections without replays, and such different characters in each world that it never felt boring or repetitious to read. The stories each felt fresh and captivating, while still having a connection. So brilliantly done! ...more
Loading...
