Book Review: Hope's Daughter by Melanie Cusack-Jones

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 602 KB
• Print Length: 314 pages
• Publisher: BookBaby; 1 edition (1 Dec 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
• Language English
• ASIN: B006KLYIAG

Life should be simple for Cassie. 

For the small population of Earth survivors who live on the Space Station Hope everything they do is planned and scheduled, down to the cyclical food menus, their roles in the station, even how many children they have. 

Despite rigid controls directing her life, Cassie feels more out of synch than ever and worries she won’t find a place for herself within the station community. Perhaps that’s because she’s hearing things inside her head that can’t possibly be real. Or maybe it’s the regular elopements of her peers, heading off to a romantic future in the Married Quarter of the space station, whilst she’s never even been attracted to a boy – no matter how hard her best friend Ami pushes them at her. Then there are the odd questions her work placement partner Balik keeps raising. His questions are just as troubling for her as his distracting smiles and eyes that seem to see inside her.

As Cassie draws closer to Balik she finds that everything else in her life begins to shift. He tells her things that call into question the system they live within. She can't believe he is right, but at the same time she finds it hard to deny the sincerity of his ideas. Could there be a connection between Cassie’s problems and Balik’s questions? The truth will drag them both to a terrifying and deadly conclusion beyond anything they could have imagined.

Hope’s Daughter took me totally by surprise. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but what I got was so, so much more.

The world Cassie lives in is totally different from ours. It is set in the future after Earth has been destroyed, and the surviving humans live on a space station called Hope. The story starts with Cassie as she is sitting her exams when a boy across the room catches her eye. She has known Balik for years, has noticed he is very reserved and doesn’t say much. Except today, when he draws her into conversation and Cassie can’t help but take him all in.

Cassie and Balik are together for work placement and Cassie finds herself looking forward to the time they get to spend together. At first she doesn’t notice the subtle changes in her feelings, how Balik can seem to see straight inside her and his soft questions probe her mind. It seems the more time she spends with Balik, the more curious her parents become of him.

It isn’t until Cassie’s best friend elopes to the Married Quarter that she begins to really question what is going on around her…and if they dreams she has been having, and the voices she hears, are really true after all.

Hope’s Daughter had me on the edge of my seat from…oh, page two. I loved the way Cassie slowly fell for Balik, how it wasn’t a sudden eruption of feelings and instant love. The book is written in soft, dreamy prose that enchant the reader and lull them into a false sense of security. And then the author rips the rug out from under us.

In the best possible way, this book creeped the heck out of me. All the hairs on the back of my neck stuck up and I almost felt like I was being watched, that somehow I was being observed through my Kindle, my reactions recorded for data. Yes, I have a very active imagination. But also the author deserves one massive round of applause for making my imagination run away with itself.

This book had me constantly guessing what was going to happen next. It had more than enough plot twists and turns, and beautiful character development. I fell head over heels for these characters, and Balik, I simply adore you.

Read this book and love it. As far as YA dystopians go…it’s up there with Divergent. Seriously. 

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Book Review: Screaming Snowflakes by Amber Tesia

Format: Kindle Edition File Size: 461 KB Print Length: 235 pages Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. Language English ASIN: B0077JMQWW With an unprecedented alliance between a human and the epitome of darkness can a pure, forbidden love conquer all? Fresh from a break-up the thoughtful and witty Eleanor moves half-way across the country to study at a London university. Staying in her recently deceased great great grandmother’s house, Eleanor knows there is more to the crumbling property when she discovers a mysterious locked room. A century old tragic secret risks being unearthed by Eleanor, who reluctantly settles into her new surroundings. The last thing Eleanor wants is to be distracted by boys and she is initially dismissive of Raphael, an enigmatic loner with no real friends or family. Forced to work together, she discovers Raphael to be a pensive, compassionate and intriguing friend. Their friendship is pushed to the limit when Raphael divulges his terrible unworldly secret. Eleanor is the antithesis of the rebellious Raphael, whose damned and tainted soul threatens her very existence. Unseen supernatural forces conspire to keep the lovers apart, yet nothing can harm Eleanor as she remains under Raphael’s protection. As the boundaries of good and evil become blurred and transgression becomes inevitable, this gripping, thought provoking tale will engage all who have ever questioned love and humanity.

Screaming Snowflakes follows Eleanor as she embarks on a new journey in her life. After moving to London for university, she has to get used to not only a new city, but starting her courses and making new friends. She falls in with a new crowd and she soon enjoys a fun social life.

Then she meets Raphael. After a rocky start to their friendship, Eleanor and Raphael quickly become great friends. They are often found studying together at their homes or eating out in delicious restaurants. Eleanor adores his friendship and always looks forward to the time they spend together.

She knows Raphael is hiding something from her, something important about who he is. But Raphael is scared to let her in and show her his true nature…in case she should run screaming in the other direction.

Eleanor being the open minded person that she is, accepts Raphael as he is – even though he threatens her very existence.

I really liked the lovers’ interactions and watching them slowly fall for each other. The premise was an interesting on, and even though this is a subject that a lot of people would say has been beaten to death, the story was fresh and original and had intriguing characters to keep things moving along.

The only negative thing I would say about the story, is that a lot of it could have been cut down. A little ‘fat trim’ with unnecessary information would have helped the story move along a lot quicker, giving it a faster pace. That said, I enjoyed this read, and would recommend it to friends. 

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Book Review: Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers (12 Jun 2012)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 0385742010
• ISBN-13: 978-0385742016

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

Every spring, Calder White feels the call – the urge to return to Lake Superior and his sisters. Calder is the only boy in a family of murderous merfolk. They prey on unsuspecting humans, dragging them to the lake’s bed and drowning them to absorb their energy. Calder’s sisters don’t understand him – don’t understand why he waits as long as he does before feeding. Where they live for the cold and murky depths of the lake, Calder has fantasised about warmer waters…and his freedom. At last, his sisters have promised him his freedom. All he has to do is help them exact revenge on the man they blame for their mother’s death.

Calder’s job is to seduce Lily, daughter of the man in their sights. But when Calder starts to fall for Lily, and Lily knows there is more to Calder than meets the eye, the pair attract the attention of his sisters.

Lies Beneath was as eerie and ominous as Lake Superior itself, with Calder, the unlikely hero at its centre.

Calder was a complex and entertaining character. He longs to be something better, something other than the merman he is. In Lily he finds peace and serenity and above all, acceptance. In the middle of his tumultuous world is a place filled with poetry and soft caresses.

Lies Beneath is as much a horror story to be read with the lights on as it is a bittersweet romance with doomed characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the review copy.  

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