Torn by Alexa Kim

The Basics:
Torn by Alexa Kim
Science Fiction Erotic Romance
Book One in the Master Trooper series
Published January 13th, 2016
Source: Received from Tasty Book Tours Library in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I liked the cover, I liked the blurb, I though I'd give it a whirl!

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

The Basics:
The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
Margaret K McElderry Books
YA, Science Fiction
Book One in the Prisoners of War series
Published September 22, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I got the feeling this book could be the next 'big thing' and I wanted in on the ground floor. So, good job hype!

Blog Tour: Prophet of the Badlands by Matthew Cox

I've really enjoyed some of the fantasy and science fiction put out by Curiosity Quills Press over the last couple years. As it happens, I managed to attend the Facebook release party for Prophet of the Badlands by Matthew Cox, and I found Cox and his cohorts to be quite a fun group! When the opportunity came up to participate in the book review tour for this book, I leapt. And whoa, this one is a doozy!

Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

The Basics:
Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton
Delacorte Press
Book One in the Seeker series
YA Fantasy/Science Fiction
Published February 10, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

That gorgeous cover promises all kinds of fantasy-goodness.

Cinderella Week: Cinder by Marissa Mayer

The Basics:

Cinder by Marissa Mayer

Feiwel & Friends
Book One in The Lunar Chronicles
Science Fiction, YA, Romance
Published January 1, 2012
Source: Purchased ebook
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Cinderella Week:

One of the first books I considered when I decided I was going to do a Cinderella themed week of reviews. This has been sitting on my TBR shelf for far too long.

Blog Tour: Fifteen by Jen Estes

It's been ages since I've hosted a YA book tour - so let's change that today! I'm happy to be hosting a stop on Jen Estes' Fifteen tour. This science fiction - YA - urban fantasy story will be released on January 15, 2015 by Curiosity Quills Press.

Blog Tour: Zhukov's Dogs by Amanda Cyr

Today I'm spotlighting Amanda Cyr's Zhukov's Dogs, a New Adult, science-fiction tale from Curiosity Quills Press. Released on October 27th, 2014, I absolutely love the gorgeous cover on this book. Let's take a closer look at what's on the pages beyond it...

Frozen: Heart of Dread, Book One by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston

The Basics:
Frozen: Heart of Dread, Book One by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston
Orchard Books
Book One in the Heart of Dread series
Science Fiction, YA
Published Originally September 17, 2013
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

I was intrigued by the dystopian feel of the blurb, and I liked the cover.

Fairytale Apocalypse by Jacqueline Patricks

The Basics:
Fairytale Apocalypse by Jacqueline Patricks
Crazy Bird Publishing
Book One of The Verge
Fantasy, New Adult, Kind of Science Fiction?
Published September 22, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo

Why I picked up this book:

The cover is terrible, but I couldn't resist the title. I was on a bit of a fairy tale request binge at the time....

BLOG TOUR: Broken Forest by Eliza Tilton

Released on May 1st, 2013 by Curiosity Quills Press, Broken Forest by Eliza Tilton is a Young Adult, fantasy adventure that sneaks in some wonderful, colorful science fiction details!

Swing by Love in Every Page Promotions to check out the other tour stops!

Curse Breaker: Guild Assassin by Berley Kerr

The Basics:
Curse Breaker: Guild Assassin by Berley Kerr
Curiosity Quills Press
Book One in the Curse Breaker series
New Adult, Steampunk, Fantasy
Published July 28th, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

The cover had a steampunk vibe and I'm really into steampunk these days. It's a really gorgeous cover!

Queen of Wands by Katee Robert

The Basics:
Queen of Wands by Katee Robert
Entangled: Select
Book Three in the Sanctify Series
Romance, Science Fiction
Published June 24, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Why I picked up this book:

I liked the implication of the tarot theme as well as the romance and science fiction meld.

Some Fine Day by Kat Ross

The Basics:
Some Fine Day by Kat Ross   
Strange Chemistry**
Book One in a planned series.
Science Fiction/YA
Publication Date Unknown
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

** Strange Chemistry is now defunct, but this book was awesome so please stop by Kat Ross' blog and show your support. I hope she can find a home for this book ASAP.

I debated about posting this review, but I wanted to express my support for the author!

Why I picked up this book:

A badass sixteen year-old who has been lied to by the government? I'm in.

Burn Out by Kristi Helvig

The Basics:
Burn Out by Kristi Helvig
EgmontUSA
Book One in the Burn Out series
Science Fiction, YA
Published April 8, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

I was trying to expand my horizons with some YA science fiction.

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

The Basics:
The Here and Now by Ann Brashares
Delacorte Press
YA, science fiction, romance
Published April 8, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

I loved the idea of time travel to save the future.

Blurb:

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.

But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves.

My thoughts:

The Here and Now delivered on time travel conundrum-y goodness, but didn't quite give me what I wanted on a few other fronts.

So the good:

Our future is really messed up and this makes for an interesting story as travellers come from the future to our present to try to fix it all.

There's some excellent twists in this book - some I saw coming and still enjoyed and others I didn't entirely foresee and enjoyed. The plot is solid, I think, and I'd really like to know what happens beyond the end of the book.

I loved the way Ethan was with Prenna. So understanding and gentle and almost... grateful? Also, I liked that he wasn't just a romantic hero, he did act like a teenage boy some of the time!

The enh:

Ethan seems like a big nerd, which is fair, but he's presented as being this really popular guy. This is all part of the isolation of the story - Prenna doesn't interact with many people, and she doesn't have to. I would have liked to have seen a bit more action in the high school, a bit more evidence that somehow the kids from the cult - er - community are assimilating okay?

The bad:

The adults of the community, the leaders, are vicious for no apparent reason. How did these people end up in control of things? Really - how did that happen?  I needed them to have both more of a comeuppance on page as well as to know how the heck these people got into power.

There's a definite didactic tone through the novel, messages about both the future of our planet and making sacrifices to protect it as well as about questioning the status quo. Because it was all necessary for the plot, I'm going to give the book a pass, but it's a very near thing.

Side note, I don't think the cover is doing this book any favours. It wouldn't have made me pick it up at all. Poor book.

Bottom line:

I enjoyed this story, but I didn't love it. I do want to know what happens next - both immediately and to the distant future.

Success?

3.5 stars
For fans of time travel stories, YA romance

The Wicked We Have Done by Sarah Harian

The Basics:
The Wicked We Have Done by Sarah Harian
Intermix
Book One in the Chaos Theory Series
New Adult, Science Fiction
Published March 18, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

The blurb intrigued me with the mix of criminal and love.

Lockstep by Karl Schroeder

The Basics:
Lockstep by Karl Schroeder
Tor Books
Science Fiction
Published March 25, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

The cover reminded me of the urban fantasy series by Rob Thurman - the same artist, I imagine. I also love and trust Tor as a publisher of fantasy and science fiction, so this seemed like a safe bet.

Awakening the Warriors by S. E. Gilchrist

The Basics:
Awakening the Warriors by S. E. Gilchrist
Escape Publishing (Harlequin Enterprises Australia)
Erotica, Science Fiction
Published May 1, 2013

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb:

Fran must have been crazy to leave her ordinary (and safe) life and volunteer as a colonist to terra‐form a new earth. Now she is trapped in a prison cell on an alien planet a zillion miles from home and bound for a hideous death in notorious research chambers.
She has one chance of escape. Awaken the long dormant sexual urges of the Darkon Warriors shackled in the next cell.
A desperate job, but someone has to do it.

Why I picked it up:

I picked this up on the strength of the blurb alone. I liked the idea of this prisoner needing to awaken the desires of multiple men also held as prisoners.





What worked for me:

Awakening the Warriors has a lot of potential.

There's a rich universe to learn about - Gilchrist has published previous works set in it, and it looks like she has another coming out in February 2014. There's enough detail about it in this novella to make me curious, but not so much that I feel like I could really strongly describe what makes it tick.

I liked Fran, and I liked that she knew that a fair amount of the pull she felt for the two warriors was related to biology rather than simple lust or some sudden onset of love. I wanted to know more about her, and how she and the Darkon warriors related to each other. The warriors themselves felt less detailed but were still intriguing enough that I want more of them.

The escape was well-written - Gilchrist is clearly comfortable writing action scenes. I could easily picture what was happening and was rooting for *everyone* to make it out alive.

What didn't work for me:

There's too much happening in this novella for me to really sink my teeth into anything - and boy did I want to do that to those Darkon guys. They sound quite lovely, but I didn't feel like the erotica got enough screen time. For one, it takes no effort on Fran's part to awaken the Warriors: being present is apparently enough to turn the guys on, despite their wounds. Then there's a whole escape and travel time afterwards that's virtually void of anything steamy. Which on the one hand is fair enough - these characters have other things on their mind. But on the other hand, when they do come back together, it's pretty jarring.

I think I would have been happier if the erotica had been a little dirtier, grimier to fit the setting, and if there was only the barest implication of an emotional bond - perhaps one entirely based on having saved each other's skins, or one set off by the aforementioned biology. This easily could have been/could be the novella prologue to a more science fiction-based story featuring the same three characters with a menage flair.

Bottom line:
This erotic novella is muddled by having to do too much with too few words. There's a lot of universe lore to fit in so that we have a frame of reference, there's an escape plot, there's what seems like set-up for another novella or novel in this universe, and there's the erotica itself.

I think it would have benefited from another 25 pages or dropping one of those elements. Didn't love it, but there's so much here that I *want* to love, I'll look for Gilchrist's other work.

3 stars
For fans of science fiction erotica, S.E. Gilchrist