Happy Memorial Day and review of Divided by Elsie Chapman

                First and foremost Happy Memorial Day everyone.  I hope you all enjoy your day and thank those who have fought so hard for us to enjoy our lives and freedoms. 

                It was my great pleasure to receive another sequel to read and review thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's.  It was provided to me for an honest opinion and as I enjoyed the first book I was eager to read book 2 which comes out tomorrow, May 27th. 

               

                Divided by Elsie Chapman is the sequel to the Dualed which I previously reviewed here.  A dystopian series about a world protected from the Surround, the only catch to live in the safety  you must prove yourself and be a killer.  Each person is born with an Alt, an alternate them which upon activation both Alts have 30 days to find one another and kill.  Only one can live if neither finishes both die.  Only the worthy can live and protect the city if the walls should ever fall.  A tough society.  Everyone who completes is considered worthy and accept for few acceptations, a killer.  Now from here there are spoilers for Book 1 so read on at your own risk.     
            In Dualed we left our main character West dealing with her completion and adjusting to what she did by becoming a striker, assassin for hire, to hone her skills and dull out the pain of losing the last of her family.  Some may not agree with her choice.  I personally look at it from an objective angle.  I'm not in that situation, thankfully, and enjoy the ride.  Besides if characters made decisions we wanted every single time there wouldn't be any story and wouldn’t be unique.  Now West is done with that life, only the nightmares and marks to remind her.  She has plans for her future with Chord, as a complete, making plans is more real and solid. 

                That is until a head honcho from the board, those who control everything, approaches West with an offer she can't refuse.  Become a striker again for 3 unworthies for a chance at something much more precious.  Is anything worth going back to that?  And is there really a choice?  What happens when she realizes she's been lied to and in order to secure her future she'll have to dig deeper to get to the bottom of things without endangering everyone she has left.

                Much like Dualed this book is not only about the action and violence as it may seem but more importantly it's about ones struggle of self worth.  West has been through so much and is just starting to get her feet on solid ground when the rug is ripped out from under her yet again.  Life is all about the choices we make and how we live our lives. 

It's not always this clear...

                As a character, West is different and I don't always agree with her train of thought sure but I can see her struggle with it and that back and forth with oneself.  Still I like her and root for her get through it.  See where she saw a choice given to her I didn't.  I saw a threat laid out like a choice which is how I looked at everything that happened and sometimes when she would go through her rationalizations though I might not agree I still enjoyed hearing her ideas.  Then you have the sturdy Chord who is her rock and you had to admit easy to love.  He struggles with the past like West and with everything she does now but he loves her and he wants to be there for her even when he struggles to accept some things. 

                In Divided we get a better understanding of the world itself.  Before it as about the Alts and the program to keep them all strong.  Now we see more into that and how it came about, which was really interesting and have much more dimension.  Seeing behind the curtain of the world and how it ticks and everyone works inside like bees of a hive.  I give Divided 4-4.5 Stars.  It had everything I expected in a sequel and I enjoyed it.  Share your thoughts and comments below, I want to know what you think about this series and/or premise. 

                 

                

Not hard to see why I fell for Love's Paradox by Laura Kreitzer

                So now that I'm not sleeping 19 hours a day, yes I was sick.  I knew it was bad, I love me some sleep like the next person and when I don't sleep well for days it's not unheard of for me to sleep 12-14 hrs once and recharge but that much for multiple days and feeling icky nope.  Two shots in the behind and another day to let the other meds kick in and I was much more me again.  Yes with my days of you'd think I could get so much reading done but sadly when I say I slept it was too hard to hold my eyes open for a good book or even a movie/show.  Serious business that is. 

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N 

                Now I'm catching back up.  I want to say thank you again to all of you who participated in my very first giveaway.  A very good friend and someone who entered herself asked me recently who won as I didn’t make an announcement.  My apologies to anyone who was waiting for a big announcement, I simply put the winner in the little entry contraption and contacted them personally to get the details for the delivery.  So a bit late but yeah the winner was Donna!  Who received her book and cookies and is enjoying them!  This is a learning process and next time I promise to make it clearer for everyone so any and all feedback, thank you. 

*****Update/Announcement type information finished onto Book Love*****

                Now the main reason for my post today is not only to say yes I'm still alive but because I finished two great books and I'm ready to review the first of which, Love's Paradox by Laura Kreitzer.  I received this book NetGalley and Revolution Publishing Inc. for my thoughts and an honest review.  This was originally an ARC but with being sick and all I'm a bit behind but bright side is you don't have to wait Love's Paradox is available now.

               

                Love's Paradox is a New Adult book and as such has more adult material inside as the characters are just past teenagers.  Just a warning for those who don't want any steaming love scenes, stronger violence/action/themes or yes language.  To each their own, I find the New Adult section to be a good progression of all the things I love about YA and just progressing further. 

                With that said I adored this book.  I started it at lunch one day and then accidentally stayed up until 3am to finish it.  Yes accidentally because I only meant to read for an hour before bed but the next thing I knew it was over and it was well past bed time for my early morning ahead.  I couldn’t put it down and had no desire to check my clock, aka phone, I was so immersed.  The book doesn't cover a large span of time really things happen pretty quickly and as a result you think, 'well I have to know what happens next' at every chapter end. 

                The story is about Rae who is getting over her abusive ex-fiancé  who has turned stalker.  She decides to send a clear message one night signing a song about their past and he doesn't take it well.  When he tries to stop her a strong, sexy, and somewhat intimidating hero comes to the rescue in the biker bar.  His violent intervention, while deserved doesn't sit as well with Rae but yet as they talk they have a connection.  Even as she attempts to ignore her attraction to him she can't win and their bond will be tested.  Her ex-fiancé's twisted mind and violent proclivities are not to be easily dismissed. 

                The cover was catchy, the title intriguing, and the summary made me want to learn more about Raw.  As per usual I'm all about characters.  Rae is a strong female character I can get behind but she is also someone who has a lot of issues that come through the tough exterior.  I liked her and I wanted things to work out for her.  Hearing about her past I felt like she was a good friend of mine and I wanted to take care of her.  Then you have Parker.  He is a contradiction to so many things but I fell for him.  He was easy to make into a sexy bad boy with a heart of gold book boyfriend, but he was more than a cliché.  There were some things about him that seemed 'too good to be true' at first but as you dig into the character it really worked.   

               

                It's clear from their first lines that there is something between these characters which I adore.  There is nothing worse than being forced to see how characters should be together because it's intended.  Rae and Parkers connection with all its problems and differences feels natural.  The back and forth banter between them had me giggling like a school girl with her first crush.  At one point I dropped my kindle (thankfully only onto the couch and it was in a case) because I was laughing so hard at some points. 

 

                And of course you have to consider the vindictive ex, who is a trip and very authentic.  There are people like this out there everywhere and he was just the right balance.  Or the best friends.  As someone who has a few friends who I would do pretty much anything for and don't know how I would survive without them just being there to keep me sane sometimes I can love a book friendship almost more than a romance if it feels like friends I would have.   I could easily see myself hanging out with Cherry and Hunter without fail.

                There were pop culture references for readers to enjoy and something that I LOVED the title tie in.  I'm all about a pretty cover and catchy title but if you can make it tie into the story, especially at a critical moment, it really hits home.  Love's Paradox, did it in spades.  Also something I greatly appreciate is valid information.  I know not everyone has my previous job history and might not catch onto some simple legal flaws but to know someone was able to put correct terminology in there is refreshing.   

               

                I easily give Love's Paradox 5 shinning stars.  It will make your day or night fly by.  Pick it up and enjoy the beautifully complex characters and the fight to find ones happiness when your past keeps trying to get in the way.  Tell me in the comments below your thoughts on love and romance.  Any crazy stalker ex's?

                Coming up next I have also just finished Divided by Elsie Chapman which I plan to post on Monday for Memorial Day! 

Dualed by Elsie Chapman

                Hello again my readers!  I have for you as the title might have given away a review for Dualed by Elsie Chapman.  This book I got courtesy of NetGalley and Random House Children's Books.  Thank you.

                This book takes place in a city of Kersh, a safe haven of sorts.  It's a safe haven from the war but it comes at a high cost.  Everyone has a genetic Alternate, a twin raised by another family, and to live in this safe haven you have to kill your Alt before your twentieth birthday, 30 days after activation.  So to live a life and have a life or even a family of your own as an adult you must murder a form of yourself in a way, 'You or Your Alt, Only One Can Survive' is the tagline and it is compelling.

                We follow the story of 15 year old West who has trained as a fighter, in her school classes and on her own but she is by no means able to afford the high priced schooling offered.  She prepares but a tragic misstep shakes her confidence.  Stricken with grief and guilt, she is no longer certain that she's the best version of herself and worthy to be the one to survive.  If she has any chance she has to stop running from everything, her life, her Alt, and love, because it has the power to destroy her.

                West is a strong female character for this story, she has strength but she is also very vulnerable.  She has a lot to deal with and she has very human and very natural emotions.  She's strong and fierce until her confidence is shaken and she is left questioning everything in her life.  That is some pretty heave stuff for a teenager, even if you grow up in this world and learn how to kill in school, it's still a harsh reality. 

                I've read some of the reviews and am shocked that some people didn't get as into it or felt it was too bogged down.  I read this book and really enjoyed it.  My main issue, only dislike, was that the chapters are pretty long and that's nothing against them just that I tend to like the shorter chapters as I can sit down for a spare 10 mins at work or while doing other things and say just one chapter.  Or my more likely, just one more chapter…8 chapters later…just one more really.  It's easier to do that with short 10 page chapters, but these not as easy and I was left having to leave off in the middle of things which is very unnerving for me.  This by no means too away from the story.  Just a reading preference of mine.

                The story in itself was compelling.  How do you cope in a world where you are forced to kill before the age of 20 or die?  What is right or wrong?  Who says the better one lives?  I liked the ideas in the book and I was compelled to read through it as quickly as my schedule would allow.  I wanted to know what was happening with West, would she face her Alt?  Would she survive?  Then you have the Chord who I adore.  How can you look at someone the same when their face is not only the friend you've known for so many years but now also the one that took away something precious?  On the reverse, how do you make up for it?  What is done because of a promise, what is done for ones own will?

                I loved being inside her head.  She has a very rational train of thought, it gets clouded by everything else of course but it starts off rational.  I know I have these moments all the time. I start with a clear and defined plan that makes perfect sense but then…well the things you can't account for mess with your game plan.  I liked seeing that, I'm also using it as proof that I'm not crazy.  So we have a good story, so great action that is thought out and very impactful.  I could see each move in my head as it happened like a mini movie. 

                Anyone who was a fan of sci-fi action YA enjoy this book.  There is major violence, if the blub wasn't clear enough but I give it a solid 4.5 Knives.  Dualed comes out February 26th, check it out and let me know what you think.  If you had an Alt…would you survive?