Category Archives: reviews

In The Afterlight (The Darkest Minds #3)

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TITLE: In The Afterlight
AUTHOR: Alexandra Bracken

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★
Appearance: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (5)

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
Ruby can’t look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government’s attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. Only Ruby can keep their highly dangerous prisoner in check. But with Clancy Gray, there’s no guarantee you’re fully in control, and everything comes with a price.

When the Children’s League disbands, Ruby rises up as a leader and forms an unlikely allegiance with Liam’s brother, Cole, who has a volatile secret of his own. There are still thousands of other Psi kids suffering in government “rehabilitation camps” all over the country. Freeing them–revealing the government’s unspeakable abuses in the process–is the mission Ruby has claimed since her own escape from Thurmond, the worst camp in the country.

But not everyone is supportive of the plan Ruby and Cole craft to free the camps. As tensions rise, competing ideals threaten the mission to uncover the cause of IANN, the disease that killed most of America’s children and left Ruby and others with powers the government will kill to keep contained. With the fate of a generation in their hands, there is no room for error. One wrong move could be the spark that sets the world on fire.

Buy it HERE on Amazon!

THE CRITICAL POINTS

WRITING: minor editing issues peppered throughout the book, just like the first two, but editors are only human. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where there weren’t at least a few editing issues. Bracken is a wonderful writer, and minor editing issues can’t distract from that.

STORY: I loved book one… I enjoyed book two… but, I think this one is my favorite. I was on the edge of my seat reading the whole time. I cried. I was shocked. I was afraid for the characters. Bracken made me care about the characters so much that I was afraid for them. On page 417 was when I knew something terrible was going to happen. I won’t tell you the what happened just before or even after but lets just say my world turned upside down on page 417 and it wasn’t until much later that what I anticipated came true. Well done, Bracken.

CHARACTERS: Being the third book in the series, Bracken has already fully fleshed out the characters for us. We know them well enough to guess how they will react in different situations and to feel their hesitation, fear, pain, excitement, and sometimes – not often – their joy almost before they do.

APPEARANCE: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again now, Bracken’s covers are beautiful. I wish I knew who designed them because I would hire him/her to do mine. My favorite part of all the covers is the second full-color cover with the character quote. The quote for this book, “They don’t burn, do they? Not like us.” It was an unexpected character who said this one… and I loved it.

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review here… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

https://youtu.be/xe-Cu1MRVfw

I am still new to this YouTube things, so please be patient with me while I figure it all out. I promise my videos will get better. lol

My 2 Cents… The Post

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The PostThe Post – A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country’s first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between the press and the government.

WOW!!! As always, Meryl Streep (as Kay Graham) and Tom Hanks (as Ben Bradlee) blew me away. They were perfectly cast and flawless in their performances. The whole cast was incredible, down to the smallest of parts.

Director Steven Spielberg brought this true story to life in a way that made you feel like a voyeur eavesdropping in on private conversations.

The pacing of the film kept me engaged without feeling rushed. I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation to find out what they would do at every roadblock. I highly recommend seeing The Post, if you haven’t already.

 

See the official trailer here:

 

Never Fade (The Darkest Minds #2)

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Never Fade

TITLE: Never Fade (The Darkest Minds #2)
AUTHOR: Alexandra Bracken

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★
Story: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Appearance: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★ (4.25)

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
Book two in the hit series that’s soon to be a major motion picture starring Amandla Stenberg and Mandy Moore–now with a stunning new look and an exclusive bonus short story featuring Vida before she joined the League.

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby ‘Leader’, but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future and who now wouldn’t recognize her.

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

Buy it HERE on Amazon!

THE CRITICAL POINTS

WRITING: Just like with book 1, I cannot stress enough how good of a writer Alexandra Bracken is. Obviously, her English and History studies at William & Mary in Virginia suited her well. She is a well-deserved #1 New York Times best-selling author.

STORY: Bracken does not disappoint with book 2 of The Darkest Minds series. This one doesn’t start exactly where the first one ends, so your left with unanswered questions and an eagerness to find many of the characters who have seemingly been left behind. However, it isn’t long before Bracken pulls everything together and you feel like the story is back on track with a new mission and new character motivations pulling (or pushing) you forward to keep reading.

CHARACTERS: Book two introduces the reader to a whole new group of characters. Although as a reader I wasn’t sure if I trusted them, or even wanted to trust them, I quickly became invested in their lives and their survival. Bracken beautifully weaves Ruby’s old life with her new life showing us both the mental and physical struggles she has to deal with and eventually overcome if she wants to survive.

APPEARANCE: The cover is again, beautiful. However, unlike with the first book, after reading book two I’m not sure how the cover relates to the story. When you pull back the cover this time, you’re no longer surprised, but instead eager to find the second full-color cover, to read the character quote, “I don’t want to just see someone’s face; I want to know his shadow, too.”

Check out my NEW YouTube channel and the video review here… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

https://youtu.be/j9KdE83MbXw

PS.. I’m still new to the YouTube things, so be patient with me while I figure it all out. I promise my videos will get better. lol

 

My 2 Cents… Cobra Kai

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Cobra 🐍 Kai – Set thirty years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, the series focuses on Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) reopening the Cobra Kai dojo, which causes his rivalry with Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) to be reignited.

Ok, if you liked the Karate Kid movies than you’re going to LOVE Cobra Kai. Believe me, I was skeptical at first but once I started the first episode I was hooked. I binge watched the entire series in just two days and it was a great way to introduce my love for the Karate Kid to my kids.

The writers do a great job bringing back the original characters in a way that you can believe their choices/life paths have brought them to where they are 30 years later. It’s the perfect combination of serious and comedy. If you give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7221388/?ref=m_nv_sr_5

The Darkest Minds (book 1)

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The Darkest Minds

TITLE: The Darkest Minds
AUTHOR: Alexandra Bracken

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★ 1/2
Appearance: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★ (4.625)

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
“Book one in the hit series that’s soon to be a major motion picture starring Amandla Stenberg and Mandy Moore—now with a stunning new paperback look and an exclusive bonus short story featuring Liam and his brother, Cole. When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control. Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. But when the truth about Ruby’s abilities—the truth she’s hidden from everyone, even the camp authorities—comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. On the run, she joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp: Zu, a young girl haunted by her past; Chubs, a standoffish brainiac; and Liam, their fearless leader, who is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. While they journey to find the one safe haven left for kids like them—East River—they must evade their determined pursuers, including an organization that will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. But as they get closer to grasping the things they’ve dreamed of, Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.”

Buy it HERE on Amazon!

THE CRITICAL POINTS

WRITING: Alexandra Bracken is a wonderful writer. She has a natural talent for describing things so perfectly that you can see, smell, hear, and feel everything as if you’re experiencing it firsthand. Her characters are fully developed, believable and relatable. Although there were a handful of typos throughout the book they weren’t distracting. Besides, as an indie author, I love seeing that even the big publishing houses have editing issues and types in the books they put out. We’re all just human and no one is perfect!

STORY: Bracken has taken an often-overused theme of ‘characters with powers’ and fashioned something completely new. The dystopian world she has created is terrifying and unthinkable. The story is gripping, leaving you eager to turn the page and find out what will happen next. With every twist and turn you become more and more invested in the characters and what their destiny’s hold.

As an author, I love a good cliffhanger, and Bracken does not disappoint. The heartbreaking cliffhanger at the end of book 1 will leave you wanting more! From page one to the end this book will keep you guessing and engaged.

CHARACTERS: In the beginning of the book we’re introduced to a number of characters and given just enough time to start feeling emotionally connected before they’re ripped away and out of the spotlight. Although irritated, and left with unanswered questions, the book’s fast pace and intense action doesn’t leave the reader disappointed for long. Ruby, one of the dangerous ones, and the primary character soon finds her tribe unlikely friends; Liam, Chubs, and Zu.

I’m a huge fan of back story, and for the most part The Darkest Minds delivers, but by the end of the book I was still left with unanswered questions and wanted to know more about each of the main characters. You’d think that was a bad thing but because I was able to go straight to the bookstore and buy the next three books in the series, I didn’t mind at all.

APPEARANCE: The cover is beautiful yet ominous. The mysterious glowing symbol on the front makes you wonder what to expect before you even break the spine. When you pull back the cover you’re surprised with a second full-color cover, and a quote from one of the main characters, “Time to carpe the hell out of this diem.” Very well done!

Check out my NEW YouTube CHANNEL and the video review here… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video. 

PS.. I’m new to the YouTube things, so be patient with me while I figure it all out. I promise my videos will get better. lol