I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Seize Today by Pintip Dunn
Release date: October 3rd, 2017
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Genre: Young adult, science fiction
Format: eBook
Seventeen-year-old precognitive Olivia Dresden is an optimist. Since different versions of people’s futures flicker before her eyes, she doesn’t have to believe in human decency. She can literally see the path to goodness in each person—if only he or she would make the right decision. No one is more conflicted than her mother, Chairwoman Dresden, and Olivia is fiercely loyal to the woman her mother could be.
But when the Chairwoman captures Ryder Russell, a boy from the rebel Underground, Olivia is forced to reevaluate her notions of love and faith. With Ryder’s help, Olivia must come to terms with who her mother is in the present—and stop her before she destroys the world.
I can’t think of a better way to end a fantastic series! Seize Today was so much fun to read…it was fast-paced, full of adventure and all about the characters. What I absolutely loved about it was how it wrapped up all of the major storylines but also featured a new a fresh plot that kept me interested from start to finish.
This book focused on Olivia, which provides us with a different look at the world. The previous two books were told from the perspectives of Callie and her sister Jessa, but here things are not so straightforward. Callie and Jessa were all about saving each other, fighting the system, etc. Olivia is complicated and unsure. She’s been through so much emotional trauma that she’s not really sure who to trust. I loved getting to know more about her.
This book is shorter than its predecessors but it didn’t hurt the way that the story unfolded. The pacing was quick and there never was a dull moment. Absolutely no filler here! Ahh….it’s so difficult to write about a third book in a series because I don’t want to give anything about the plot away. But trust me when I say that this book was good, really good!
Now that the complete series is out, I really hope more people decide to pick it up. It should get a lot more love than it has been given so far! I’m so sad to see it end but can’t wait to see what Pintip Dunn has planned next!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Release date: January 30th, 2018
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Genre: Young adult, fantasy
Format: eBook
Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”
Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.
The Hazel Wood was creepy, mysterious and unfortunately very flawed. I was very excited to read it but ended up being disappointed. Perhaps I built it up too much in my mind before reading it? Like just look at that beautiful cover! And then there were the other reviews…other bloggers were just gushing with love for this book. I don’t know but it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I just hate when this happens.
The story is about Alice, a young woman who appears to be plagued by bad luck. When her mother is kidnapped, Alice goes off on a journey to save her and discover more about her family background. I wanted to like Alice but she came off as too aggressive, too blunt…too everything that turns me off of a character. And characters are extremely important to a story. If I don’t like the MC how am I going to care and become invested in their journey? So it’s best to say that I spent most of the book not really caring about what was happening. I skimmed over some sections and put it down quite often. Actually, I finished two other books and took a reading break before I finally finished this.
The writing style also didn’t do it for me. I usually like the lyrical writing style but here it felt like it was trying too hard. The pacing was also uneven with certain parts feeling unnecessarily long or slow. And the ending? Well, that’s what really let me down. The last 100 pages or so should have been the most important part of the book but ended up being a rushed and muddled mess.
So, while I like the idea of The Hazel Wood it never lived up to what I thought it would be. The characters and the writing let me down. I need characters that I can get behind. I need to care about the plot, feel caught up in it and never want the story to end. Sadly, I couldn’t wait to turn the final page and stop reading.
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Eamonn Hickson is an Irish author.
Time to confess all of my bookish sins! I saw this tag on Lila’s blog 
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