Raging Star: Review

Synopsis:

Saba is ready to seize her destiny and defeat DeMalo and the Tonton...until she meets him and he confounds all her expectations with his seductive vision of a healed earth, a New Eden. DeMalo wants Saba to join him, in life and work, to create and build a healthy, stable, sustainable world…for the chosen few. The few who can pay.

Jack’s choice is clear: to fight DeMalo and try to stop New Eden. Still uncertain, her connection with DeMalo a secret, Saba commits herself to the fight. Joined by her brother, Lugh, anxious for the land in New Eden, Saba leads an inexperienced guerilla band against the powerfully charismatic DeMalo, in command of his settlers and the Tonton militia. What chance do they have? Saba must act. And be willing to pay the price.

***

No, I'm totally not impressed by Raging Star. Sorry Dust Land fans.

Like, seriously, there's just no way I can like this book. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate this book. And I don't think it's a bad book. I'm just not impressed. Especially with the characters. I mean, I just don't understand the whole bitter thing with Lugh. What the hell is wrong with him? Is he that possessive that he just can't understand one day Saba will be on her own? Speaking of Saba, I have to talk a little about her. She's pretty insecure in the book, and so very helpless. Yes, it's a grim situation, but at least act like you will find a way to end this one way or another. Don't just go all "oh my god what can I do now". And then there's Jack... who I like in Blood Red Road, but don't anymore. I don't even want to explain this.

And then there's this thing about the plot - I just don't understand why the slow pace at first and the rush at the end. The fight scenes are cool, sure. And there's a betrayal (tease!). But seriously, the first half of the book bores me to tears. And the supposedly cool part is just not enough. I don't understand. There's also this thing about the language -- the accent in the book. I used to like it because I thought it was really cool. But now it's becoming annoying, especially with my distaste towards the characters.

I don't know what else to say about this book. But for me, the ending is not as satisfying as I originally thought.

Rating: 5.5/10

Cover Reveal: Raging Star by Moira Young

The third book of Dust Lands by Moira Young has a cover! Woohoo!

Here:

Saba has her long black hair back! Finally! I don't like her short-haired look. And the boy... Is that Jack? I'm surprised the cover is green. I mean, it's a dust land. Or is it?

Synopsis:

When the star reader, Auriel Tai, challenged Saba to seize her destiny and defeat DeMalo and the Tonton, Saba was so confident in her purpose. Then she met DeMalo and he confounded all expectations with his seductive vision of a healed earth, a New Eden. DeMalo and Saba had an intense and passionate encounter - physical, emotional and psychic - that changed her life, and now he wants Saba to join him, in life and work, to create and build a healthy, stable, sustainable world…for the chosen few.

Jack’s choice is clear: to fight DeMalo and try to stop his dangerous New Eden project. Still uncertain, her connection with DeMalo a secret, Saba commits herself to the fight. Joined by her brother Lugh, anxious for the land in New Eden, Saba leads an inexperienced guerilla band against the powerfully charismatic DeMalo, in command of his settlers and the Tonton militia.

What chance do they have? Saba must act. And be willing to pay the price.

***

Raging Star will be released on April 15, 2014

Rebel Heart: Review

Synopsis:

Nothing is certain and no one is safe in the second book in the highly praised Dust Lands trilogy.


It seemed so simple: Defeat the Tonton, rescue her kidnapped brother, Lugh, and then order would be restored to Saba’s world. Simplicity, however, has proved to be elusive. Now, Saba and her family travel west, headed for a better life and a longed-for reunion with Jack. But the fight for Lugh’s freedom has unleashed a new power in the dust lands, and a formidable new enemy is on the rise.

What is the truth about Jack? And how far will Saba go to get what she wants? In this much-anticipated follow-up to the riveting Blood Red Road, a fierce heroine finds herself at the crossroads of danger and destiny, betrayal and passion.

***

(This might contain spoilers of Blood Red Road and even Rebel Heart)

Blood Red Road is a great book. It's full of action scenes. This book is also like that but... not as much as in Blood Red Road. That's kind of a let down because I expected so high on Rebel Heart (esp. with a cool name like that). It's actually pretty good in ways. But this just can't get to my heart like Blood Red Road does. 

There are tons of good things. Like the whole fulfilling quests thing. Just as Saba and Lugh and Emmi heading to Big Water for a better new life, another danger is rising. And she must defeat anything that stands in her way in order to honor her quest. I love how Moira Young plot the storyline because there are times that multiple problems are rising at the same time in dystopian novels and it can get really confusing. Not this time. The path is clear. The intentions are clear. And it's all set.

Emotions are very strong in this book, even stronger than in Blood Red Road. Saba has to face the... can I say unstable emotions? of Lugh's. She also has to face betrayal and hurt and heartbreak. More than that, she encounters more confusion and passion that she doesn't really want. This book is so energetic emotionally, but not too emotional to make me choke. A really good balance here.

But there are major let down parts, particularly with the action part. In Blood Red Road there's fighting and fighting and fighting. But in this book... this element is lacking. And that disappoints me a lost. I mean, Saba is a good fighter and I assume that in this book she will have to fight harder for her life. Okay, maybe she does fight. But definitely not physically. Not even in the last few pages of the book. Call me vicious or anything, but things won't be exciting if there's no fighting.

Moira Young does a good job in summarizing up the book. Hurt. Betrayed. Deceived. Those are the three words that keep popping up over and over again. And truly, I felt them over and over again. Hurt. Betrayed. Deceived. I wonder how Raging Star will turn out.

Rating: 7.5/10

***

Info: (from goodreads, so I can't

Raging Star (Dust Lands #3)

Release Date: April 14, 2014 (What?! That's too far away!)

Synopsis:

When the star reader, Auriel Tai, challenged Saba to seize her destiny and defeat DeMalo and the Tonton, Saba was so confident in her purpose. Then she met DeMalo and he confounded all expectations with his seductive vision of a healed earth, a New Eden. DeMalo and Saba had an intense and passionate encounter - physical, emotional and psychic - that changed her life, and now he wants Saba to join him, in life and work, to create and build a healthy, stable, sustainable world…for the chosen few.

Jack’s choice is clear: to fight DeMalo and try to stop his dangerous New Eden project. Still uncertain, her connection with DeMalo a secret, Saba commits herself to the fight. Joined by her brother Lugh, anxious for the land in New Eden, Saba leads an inexperienced guerilla band against the powerfully charismatic DeMalo, in command of his settlers and the Tonton militia.

What chance do they have? Saba must act. And be willing to pay the price.

Cover: currently unknown.
 

Teaser Tuesday: Rebel Heart (Dust Lands #2) by Moira Young

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:

* Grab your current read

* Open to a random page

* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


Today's teaser is from Rebel Heart by Moira Young

 He runs with you now. The worlfdog an the crow. Fit companions fer a warrior.
 My crow. An now - it seems - my wolfdog.
 He won't be left behind. I was wrong to do it. I won't do it agin. I should of known he wouldn't be tied.

Review coming soon!

Blood Red Road: Review

Synopsis:

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.
Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.
Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.

***

I have to say, anyone who loves reading dystopian novel like me should definitely go for Blood Red Road. It's a freakishly nice read. One main reason is that it pulls me out of the state of reading slump, which is... getting nonchalant about characters or plots or anything, or just can't get into any books at all. And there are several other reasons why this book is perfect for YA readers.

Mostly, I love Moira Young's writing style. Usually when I read dystopian novels that are written in past tense (yeah, Divergent and Delirium are written in present tense, so they don't count), they are like somebody is reading a story to you. That's fine and nothing wrong to me. But reading Blood Red Road is like reading directly from one's memory (this time it's Saba's). And that's fascinating and... quite dreamy. It's more realistic because I feel like I'm actually reviewing scenes in one's head. But also more unrealistic because... well, they are memories. The words are different too. It's like those characters have got accents. That's really fun. Especially when it comes to sentences like this: " I ain't no coward." I love how the words are so different from other books and that makes the whole reading-one's-memory thing more realistic.

I have to admit there's one flaw in the plot. The book starts out really slow and enough to make me question if I should continue to read the book. But I have to say, things are really, really exciting afterward. Things get super twisted and it's like hell breaks loose. This is a story you will never forget, because they are epic. I also like how Saba grows up in this book. The Saba you know at the beginning of the book is hardly anything like the Saba at the end of the book. You will be astonished how fast she's grown up and become a kick-ass dystopian heroine.

I think I need to go read Rebel Heart right now. I hope that will be better.

Rating: 8.5/10