The Reading Rose: April 2015

Tuesday 21 April 2015

Review: What's Left Of Me

Title: What's Left Of Me (The Hybrid Chronicles #1)
Author: Kat Zhang
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genres: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopia
Release Date: September 18th 2012
Pages: 343
Where Acquired: Amazon Kindle
Buy at Amazon Here
- Best Book Price: £2.81 Kindle Price: £1.99 (as of when posted)

UK Cover:
11043618

A Cover From Elsewhere (Italy):
17449344

Goodreads Description:
I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

My Review:
I do like the idea of two souls struggling to find a place in one body ever since I first read Meyer's The Host. However this book takes it to a whole different level. First of it could have done with a little more world building on the history. How did humans come to having two souls in one body? I mean, that doesn't just happen out of no-where but maybe they cover it in later books (does anyone know?)However it is a very interesting world that had me compelled from the start. I really like Eva but disliked Addie a little for her resentment of Eva. However you could never dislike her too much as it must have been an extremly hard situation to live in for the both of them. All of the characters in this book are so compelling and strong. Hallie and Lissa and her brother Devon and Ryan were very lovable and helped you understand the world a little bit better. This book is so original and the idea so fantastic you can't help but love it. I especially enjoyed the lack of resolution at the end. They managed to escape but were still stuck in the same body with the complication of Eva getting stronger and her love for Ryan. I removed one star for the confusing origins and the slow start but it is still a fantastic book and worth reading.

Quotes:

“I was terrified. I was eleven years old, and though I'd been told my entire life that it was entirely natural for the recessive soul to fade away, I didn't want to go. I wanted twenty thousand more sunrises, three thousand more hot summer days at the pool. I wanted to know what it was like to have a first kiss. The other recessives were lucky to have disappeared at four or five. They knew less.”

Rating:

3 Similar Books You May Enjoy (Goodreads):
The Lost Girl

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-The Reading Rose

Labels: 4 Star, Dystopian, Hybrid, Sci-Fi, YA, Zhang

Review: The Goddess Test

Title: The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1)
Author: Aimee Carter
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Romance
Release Date: April 19th 2011
Pages: 293
Where Acquired: Amazon Kindle Store
Buy at Amazon Here
- Best Book Price: £2.81 Kindle Price: £4.19 (as of when posted)

UK Cover:
9681214

A Cover From Elsewhere (Australia):
11938582

Goodreads Description:
Every girl who had taken the test has died.
Now it's Kate's turn.
It's always been just Kate and her mom - and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld - and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he's crazy - until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess.
If she fails...

My Review:
This story begins as very sad. Kate's mother is slowly dying and Kate believes she is seeing her last days. School becomes difficult and she withdraws herself from the world. Other than one friend James she makes at her new school she struggles to connect with anyone else and your heart goes out to her. But just as her mother is deteriorating further a dark and mysterious stranger named Henry walks into her life claiming he is Hades god of the underworld. He makes a deal with her to keep her mother alive as long as she goes through the goddess test that everyone has failed before her. I loved the idea of the tests that reminded me a little of The Selection. She was challenged on all seven sins in a sneaky way and the twists in the book had me astounded.
SPOILER ALERT!
The first shock twist was that all the staff and James were Greek deities as well as Henry but the most shocking twist of all was when Kate's mother turned up at the end and revealed she is the goddess Diana. Her and Kate's reunion was heart breaking and bittersweet to see and that was one of the reasons I enjoyed the book so much.
It was a brilliant book and I can't wait to read the next book. At first I felt like the book was wrapped up well and didn't need a sequel much but when I read into it the sequel gives a new perspective on the world that was created as we see the Greek Mythology in more depth that before. So I can't wait to read it now. I love anything to do with Greek Mythology so thee is no surprise that I gave this five stars.

Quotes: