'Exodus in Confluence' by Bryant A. Loney

Book details

Genre: YA

Publisher: Verona Booksellers

ISBN: 978-0-692-24564-4

Synopsis

"NO PLACE IS EVER GOING TO BE SAFE."

Exodus in Confluence is a glimpse at what can happen to people when they are put under truly adverse circumstances -- struggling to hold onto their moral values in the face of almost certain death. It's a blend of narrative and commentary on the human condition. It's about people struggling to be human beings.

Five months into the zombie apocalypse, seventeen-year-old Stephen Hart lived in a society where rules and humanity had left him for dead. The remaining survivors clung feverishly to whatever hope remained -- maybe it was a family member, or a religion, or a destination. But in less than one week, everything changed. (And so the cycle repeats.)

A year later, his ramshackle settlement has been compromised, as evidenced by the hordes of the undead swarming inside the gates... and Stephen is to blame. Instead of running, he takes to the airwaves, using the transmission in the now-abandoned radio station to broadcast his story via speakers to his fleeing citizens. This way, maybe he won't look like such a total monster.

With the clock running out, venture into Stephen's post-apocalyptic world, where circumstances can make us become something other than ourselves.

[From Goodreads.]

Review

When I initially sat down to read Bryant A. Loney’s novella, I have to admit that I was a little hesitant.  Generally, novellas aren’t really my thing (I like my books big and complex – anything under two hundred pages leaves me feeling unfulfilled and grumpy), but I was also concerned that my expectations of the author had skyrocketed after I read his novel To Hear The Ocean Sigh. Long story short, I didn’t want to be disappointed.

I needn’t have worried.

Loney’s novella is dark, haunting, and thought provoking. As in To Hear The Ocean Sigh, I was in awe of the author’s incredible writing style – his ability to weave such wonderfully gripping stories without sacrificing eloquence and elegance is quite frankly astounding, especially considering that he only wrote Exodus in Confluence at sixteen. Plot-wise, Loney is a genius, but that’s all I’ll say for fear of ruining the adrenaline rush that will leave readers reeling.

But these elements were not even the best part about Loney’s novella. Lurking beneath his story is a highly insightful commentary on modern society’s departure from its own humanity, and it’s enough to send shockwaves through any reader’s system. I loved it, especially because it serves both as an observation of the futile violence that is obliterating our world, and as a warning of what is to come if we don’t prevent it.

This is a phenomenal story that everybody needs to read.

~Thank you to Wes Florentine from Verona Booksellers for providing me with the opportunity to review this novella.~

(Not really, but you get the idea.)

Rating: 5/5

Recommended to: Anybody and everybody.

The Last Word

If all that wasn’t enough to convince you that you should read this novella, I have three more reasons:

1.   It’s amazing.

2.   It will only take you 90 minutes to read.

3.  Zombies.

'The Raven Boys' by Maggie Stiefvater

Book details

Series: The Raven Cycle, #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Scholastic Press

ISBN: 9780545424929

Synopsis

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

[From Goodreads]

Review

This is the first time I’ve ever dared to delve into Maggie Steifvater’s world, and I have to say I’m struggling a little to keep my emotions in check. I have a headache. It feels like all my thoughts about this book are spilling out of my ears because my brain is hyperventilating and throwing around furniture.

What a marvelous story. Stiefvater’s writing is magical. There’s really no other way to describe it. Right from the opening line, Stiefvater began weaving this intricate and electrifying spell that made me dizzy. It may have started off slowly, drawing on more and more of my energy as the story built itself up, but ten pages in I was already entranced. By the time I reached the halfway mark, the world around me felt like it was buzzing with electricity, but for the life of me I couldn’t draw my eyes away from the pages. The final few chapters were an explosion – Blue’s world and my own seemed to shatter into a billion pieces, and then it just… ended.

Note to the author: That is not okay. You broke me. You can’t just drop a bomb like that with such nonchalance, and then skip happily on to the acknowledgements.

The only negative point I have to mention about The Raven Boys is with regards to the characters. While charismatic Gansey and eccentric Blue seemed so enchanting and otherworldly in the beginning, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed in them by the end. They seemed to become increasingly two-dimensional as the novel progressed, whereas Adam, Noah and Ronan did the exact opposite. It was a strange scenario, but I’m sure Stiefvater will rectify it in The Dream Thieves.

Overall, though, this was an incredible novel. I love Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style, and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

Rating: 4/5

Recommended to: Everybody. Everybody. Everybody.

The Last Word

The Noah twist:

Well played, Stiefvater.

‘To Hear The Ocean Sigh’ by Bryant A. Loney

Book details

Genre: YA

Publisher: Verona Booksellers

ISBN: 9780692415528

Available via  Amazon (& Kindle), Barnes & Noble (& Nook), IndieBound, Kobo, Google Play.

Synopsis

Jay Murchison believes he is a nobody at his high school in Oklahoma. Coming from a conservative family of affordable luxury, Jay has an overwhelming desire to become something great. After a mysterious girl named Saphnie in North Carolina mistakenly texts him, an unlikely relationship develops that affects Jay’s self-perception and influences the rest of his sophomore year. This correspondence leads him to a group of thrill-seekers who provide a grand departure from the quiet life Jay is familiar with and eye-opening experiences to witness first-hand the truth behind the loose morals his fellow classmates have come to know.

In a story filled with injustice, hope, hatred, love, grief, and understanding, readers will ask themselves what it truly means to hear the ocean sigh and learn of the dire consequences that come with its responsibilities.

[From Goodreads]

Review

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my opinion on the novel or its author.

I was a little bit hesitant to pick up a coming-of-age novel in my final months of high school. To me, coming-of-age has always seemed a little too realistic to be enjoyable, if that makes any sense. When I was fourteen, I didn’t want to read about pimples and popularity paranoia because I was living it. These days, I’m far happier to pretend those dark times never happened – I don’t need a book to stir up all those dark memories I’ve shoved into a bottomless pit in the recesses of my mind.

Nonetheless, I am so glad I decided to read this novel.

Like all coming-of-age novels, To Hear The Ocean Sigh deals with real issues that real teens face. Unlike most coming-of-age novels, it’s genuine. Heartfelt. Loney isn’t necessarily using his novel to uplift teens or warp their struggles into a cringe-worthy comedy – he’s sharing a story that most teens have either witnessed or experienced firsthand, and he does so without romanticizing or undermining his characters’ problems.

I loved most things about this book. It’s an almost perfect representation of real life in high school, from the difficulties of identifying personality disorders, depression and broken backgrounds underneath picture-perfect facades, to the struggle of trying to fit in when you don’t even know who you’re supposed to be, let alone how you should get people to like you. The characters were extremely well developed, and their tendency to irritate the hell out of me was really just a result of them being so similar to actual sixteen-year-olds. Nobody really likes you when you’re sixteen – you’re annoying and whiny and care too much about what other people think about your hair, or whatever. But you’re just beginning to develop your own opinions, which brings about such delicious confusion and conflict that it drives everybody crazy. Jay, Lily, Ethan and Saphne were exactly that: they were real and they were diverse and they were interesting and they were beautiful in their brokenness. And that was perfect.

Loney’s writing style was also stunning. He managed to find the ideal balance between simplicity, accessibility and delicate detail – perfect for a coming-of-age novel.  Although I got a bit restless in the last fifty or so pages on account of the pace slowing down significantly, the ending completely made up for it. The last few pages were heartbreaking, and all of a sudden Loney’s style transformed into this fragile and bittersweet masterpiece. I don’t think I breathed from page 258 until I turned the final page.

A wonderful story as moving as it is unique.

Rating: 4/5

Recommended to: Pretty much all teens in their awkward phase.

The Last Word

Please can more teenagers write coming-of-age novels like this one? I needed more of this when I was drowning in angst at fifteen, not endlessly condescending “these are the best years of your life” novels written by those who've forgotten how confusing it is to be stuck in the in-between phase of old-child. Teens don’t have the benefit of hindsight (or foresight), so it’s helpful to have a novel written from the perspective of somebody who still remembers what it feels like to doubt that life even carries on, let alone gets better. 

~Thank you to Wes Florentine from Verona Booksellers for providing me with the opportunity to review this book.~

‘The Accident Season’ by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Book details

Genre: YA, Magical Realism

Publisher: Corgi Childrens

ISBN: 9780552571302

Synopsis

It's the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.

But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?

[From Goodreads]

Review

This novel is flawless.

I feel like Moira Fowley-Doyle grabbed my hand tight and led me through the darkest shadows of myself to rediscover the wild part of my soul. Reading The Accident Season made me feel alive – it was like she wove a spell through her words that made me want to read and live recklessly. All at once, I wanted to run outside and look for the magic in the world, because finishing her novel helped me to believe it was out there somewhere.

No other book has made me feel that way in a very long time.

Darkness seems to pulse through Fowley-Doyle’s characters. They are dangerous, they are broken, but they’re also so real. They are lost, tearing up their own lives in a misguided attempt to find their place in the world. Although Cara narrates the entire novel, I felt as though I knew each and every character personally, and in part that’s what made this novel so utterly haunting. Charming, wild Bea who radiates energy and fire; calculating Alice whose past clutches onto her present; quiet Sam, afraid of himself and hiding in the shadows; and Cara, who chases after nightmares. And their relationship is also just brilliant. Despite their striking differences and individual problems, they never fail to link arms and march on through their pain.

Oh, and the pain they suffer through… Cara, Sam, Alice and their mother Melanie become accident-prone every October. Nobody understands why, but the accident season can be deadly, and this time Bea’s tarot cards have predicted an outcome even worse than the usual cuts, bruises and broken bones. Initially, I found this premise enthralling, but the author weaves in contemporary, mysterious and paranormal features that made my head spin in the best way possible. I’d never delved into Magical Realism as a genre before, but it’s delightfully bizarre – a dark and twisted reality is created by treating magical occurrences as the norm. Cara catches glimpses of her own imaginings in the real world, but the author writes as though they are actually there. Paranormal creatures come out to play in the dark of the night, but while they could simply be metaphors there’s a suggestion they’re real. The effect is exhilarating.

But The Accident Season becomes a masterpiece because of its author’s writing style. The experience of reading it was simply intoxicating – I felt like I was drunk on a magical concoction of sadness and ethereal beauty. The story flowed as smoothly yet wildly as dancers in a trance. There’s really no other way to describe it. Fowley-Doyle’s words are raw with emotion, tumbling across the page recklessly and effortlessly, but simultaneously stunning in its poetic imagery. “Singed, singe, sing, sang, song. Our pain is a song. It opens us out and drops pebbles of truth inside us and then it sews us back up again.”

The Accident Season is wonderfully weird, with equal parts creepiness and beauty woven into its storyline.  Moira Fowley-Doyle’s writing is wildly addictive, and I can’t wait to read her next novel.

Rating: 5/5

Recommended to: Readers with a forgotten dark side.

The Last Word

I don’t know how this book doesn’t have a five-star average rating on Goodreads. It’s one of those novels I’m going to force all my friends to read. I’ll probably reread a billion times. It’s absolutely incredible.

I mean, look at this:

“Rain falls on the keys like it’s going to type out its own secrets. I would read them aloud but I don’t speak the language of the rain. I’m not even sure I can understand the river any more. It roars on beside me but it doesn’t whisper my secrets back at me, and it doesn’t call my name. Maybe it never really did.”

Just beautiful.

ARC: 'Shattered Blue' by Lauren Bird Horowitz

Book details

Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: The Light Trilogy, #1

Publisher: Skyskape

ISBN: 9781503949973

Release Date: 15 September 2015

Synopsis

For Noa and Callum, being together is dangerous, even deadly. From the start, sixteen-year-old Noa senses that the mysterious transfer student to her Monterey boarding school is different. Callum unnerves and intrigues her, and even as she struggles through family tragedy, she’s irresistibly drawn to him. Soon they are bound by his deepest secret: Callum is Fae, banished from another world after a loss hauntingly similar to her own.

But in Noa’s world, Callum needs a special human energy, Light, to survive; his body steals it through touch—or a kiss. And Callum’s not the only Fae on the hunt. When Callum is taken, Noa must decide: Will she sacrifice everything to save him? Even if it means learning their love may not be what she thought?

[From Goodreads]

Review

I received an advance reading copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my opinion on the novel or its author.

The first few pages of this book were like finding the rabbit hole that leads to Wonderland – tremendously exciting. I was so blinded by anticipation of what I might find at the end that I didn’t stop to check that my expectations were realistic. I dove straight in.

Then, just like falling through the White Rabbit’s massive dark hole, it began a downwards spiral. Not in a good way. The fall was long and boring – until big things, like chairs and tables, started randomly springing up and knocking the wind out of me as I tumbled through the air with nothing to cling to. And suddenly – BAM – I hit the bottom of the rabbit hole.

But I realised it wasn't Wonderland. Instead, I was sitting in a dark cave with piles of broken climaxes and snapped plot twists lying all over the place. And there was a funny smell in the air. Like rot and instalove.

I can understand why so many people love this novel as much as they do. Horowitz is a lovely writer, and her talent for world-building is exceptional – I really enjoyed the way she painted a vision of Aurora, the Fae world, without ever actually having her characters take the reader there. The way she developed Colour Fae and Clear Fae was intriguing, and such a creative twist on the faery legend. I was also mesmerized for the whole of Part One, drinking in Noa’s beautiful poetry and wanting to linger in her mind forever.

But when Callum entered the scene, things seemed to fall apart.

The first issue I had was that Noa seemed to fall in love with Callum mere seconds after meeting him. They literally had that horrid clichéd moment where their eyes meet and they fall into some love-trance. Not only that, but as soon as Noa enters Callum’s presence, she immediately becomes a damsel in distress. For somebody who showed such potential as a strong, fierce superhero at the beginning of her story, she really let me down.

This wouldn’t have put me off so much, except that things only got worse as the story progressed. Significantly less plotting seemed to go into the second half of the book, and then suddenly the author tore up her entire story at the end as if even she didn’t like the explanations she’d come up with in the middle. Everything was hastily torn apart and thrown back together in a single, clumsy final chapter, only to be destroyed once again in the epilogue. I had to read the last two chapters three times before anything made sense.

I would recommend giving Shattered Blue a chance, because there really are some charming aspects to it. But if you get itchy in the presence of love triangles, shaky plot twists, instalove and weak heroines, beware. 

Rating: 3/5

Recommended to: Readers of Wings by Aprilynne Pike, and lovers of badass fairies.

The Last Word

Spoiler Alert.

I don’t hate love triangles. After reading The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, I’ve made my peace with them, because sometimes it can actually add to the overall feeling of tension and excitement in a novel.

But love triangles between brothers?

That is so not okay. Firstly, if you picked the older one first but later decide you have feelings for the younger one, tough luck. I don’t care how desperately in love you are with both of them – you stick by the older one and don't even touch the younger brother, because you will cause some massive family feud (especially if there are already some massive unsolved issues regarding unrequited love in that family), which could potentially result in the end of your world, if you’re Noa.

I don’t even want to know who she’s going to end up with. I can’t deal with that amount of stress in my life right now.