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Review: Until Midnight by Melissa Landers

June 15, 2015June 17, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Alienated #1.5

Cara and Aelyx only have one day to spend together before he returns to earth and she travels to Aelyx’s home planet, L’eihr.

Homesick and worried about the upcoming year apart, Cara is desperate to make these final hours count. Worst of all, Cara is missing Christmas, stuck on board an alien spaceship.

When Aelyx learns that Cara is forgoing her favorite holiday, he tries to recreate Christmas in space by researching traditional earth customs…but a few things get lost in translation.

3 Drink Me Potions

As I am about to read the awaited sequel to Alienated, I found this delightful short story that ties the mini gap between the first book and its sequel Invaded.

Until Midnight was longer than I thought it would be, considering it’s just a novella and a way that publishers can exploit more investment into a series without having to publish full-length novels. BUT, I am a sucker for these mini stories and I found this one satisfactory.

Satisfactory being the key word here. It was in no way amazing. Maybe it’s because it’s been over a year since I read Alienated. I may not have forgotten everything in the book but the characters’ chemistry wasn’t fresh on my mind. Seeing Aelyx’s attempt to make their last moment on the spaceship memorable was sweet. It truly was.

I just didn’t feel bittersweet to start with. In my head, it pretty much sounded like this. Oh, Cara and Aelyx are getting separated? Cool. I do remember that was to happen. Okay. Now what?

You see? Apathy at its finest.

That’s not to say this story wasn’t a cute little tie-over until the sequel was released (for those people who actually knew about this story before the sequel was actually released). It could’ve been. If only I still recalled the chemistry, my rating may be different and greater than 3 stars. A small consolation was that it did help refresh my memory on major events that had occurred and managed to slip through my mind.

Overall Recommendation:
This little novella was sweet and provided a great way to get back into the world that Landers had crafted with her alien exchange program. It managed to both remind of what occurred in the first book while hinting at what was to come for our loveable characters in the sequel. Having forgotten a little too much about the characters’ chemistry may have skewed this rating, but all in all, it was handy to have read it, though not absolutely necessary.

Review: From a Distant Star by Karen McQuestion

June 9, 2015June 10, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Seventeen-year-old Emma was the only one who hadn’t given up on her boyfriend, Lucas. Everyone else—his family, his friends, his doctors—believed that any moment could be his last. So when Lucas miraculously returns from the brink of death, Emma thinks her prayers have been answered.

As the surprised town rejoices, Emma begins to question whether Lucas is the same boy she’s always known. When she finds an unidentifiable object on his family’s farm—and government agents come to claim it—she begins to suspect that nothing is what it seems. Emma’s out-of-this-world discovery may be the key to setting things right, but only if she and Lucas can evade the agents who are after what they have. With all her hopes and dreams on the line, Emma sets out to save the boy she loves. And with a little help from a distant star, she might just have a chance at making those dreams come true.

2.5 Drink Me Potions

A copy of this book was given by Netgalley for an honest review.

The cover’s gorgeous. Too bad the story itself couldn’t match that.

To be honest, the whole story felt way too slow. It was understandable at the beginning because it took time and skill to catch us up to what happened to Lucas and to get a glimpse at his relationship with Emma. After that though? Not so much. It really tried my patience.

And this may seem like a spoiler – but honestly, you’ll figure out what’s so “different” about Lucas pretty quickly. Think a cross between The Host and E.T.. Did you guess it? That’s right. An alien has crawled his way into Lucas and is using him as a host body. Think that’s freaky in a cool way?

Guess again.

If there were more exciting moments, this would’ve been an interesting premise. If this story wasn’t just solely based on Emma’s journey in getting the alien – his name is Scout – back to his home planet, I would have definitely upped my rating. As it stands, the whole “journey” was rather predictable….and slow . I swear the driving part was where I was really contemplating putting this book down. And I NEVER really give up on books. So I’m serious when I say it was slow-paced.

But obviously, there were certain things that saved the novel too, in a way. After all, I managed to get through the rest of it, right?

For you romance lovers out there? Don’t expect too much. I FINALLY found a YA novel that does NOT centre on it. That’s not a bad thing. A rather refreshing accomplishment as most books throw it in rather heavily. Emma’s love for Lucas, the true Lucas and not Scout who’s just using Lucas’ body, was steadfast. From a Distance Star is not a book where someone falls in love with the alien trapped in the human body (aka The Host). No, this is the kind of love that speaks of believing till the very end. No cheating or even slight temptation at loving some other guy in that way. She never gave up on him, even when his family seemed to think there was no hope left for him.

And by that, I do mean his parents practically had his funeral and everything planned out. Man, I hated his mother. Mrs. Walker literally demeaned Emma, barely standing her presence in the house while she stayed and comforted Lucas – who was in a deep coma, by the way. Absolutely detested her. She even explicitly told Emma she did not hate her, she despised her. My goodness, Emma was some strong girl to have stayed respectful towards that woman.

You’d think I really liked Emma from the sounds of that, don’t you? Well….I can’t say I loved her completely. She was the dependent person in the relationship, always letting Lucas decide everything for them. Where they ate, what movies to watch, etc. That irked me a bit. Girl, some backbone, will ya? But she did grow from the experience as Scout obviously didn’t know the ways of Earth so Emma had to take charge. That is what I appreciated. Character development.

The only other redeeming quality was a few of the characters. Lucas’ younger bro, Eric, was just lovely. He’s brilliant in his own way, yet their mother obviously favoured her golden boy and firstborn. He never let it get to him, and was the one who convinced Emma to help Scout out. Speaking of our resident alien, I couldn’t decide on what I thought about him at first. There are tiny chapters that look at the situation from his perspective, though not written in first person. It made understanding him easier and I found his shy and caring personality endearing. I almost wished Emma couldn’t send him back to his home planet. He had a childlike wonder at everything on Earth that reminds me of how much I take all this planet has to offer for granted. That’s oddly deep…from a book that lacks in pretty much everything else.

Overall Recommendation:
From a Distant Star had the slowest storyline and nearly no twists in its plot, but there was just something that managed to keep my attention. I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone. Maybe just for those who don’t mind a slower paced book. A few of the characters were solid and it was a refreshing look at teenage love that is based more on actual friendship than attraction and lust. At the end of the day, it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t all terrible either. Reading it is up to you.

Review: The Corridor by A.N. Willis

June 7, 2015June 7, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Corridor Series #1

Infinite worlds. Endless possibilities . . .

Stel Alaster has never known life without the Corridor. It appeared suddenly seventeen years ago, the only portal to a parallel version of our world—Second Earth. Everyone on First Earth fears Mods, the genetically modified Second Earthers who built the Corridor. They are too smart, too strong, and have powers that can’t be controlled. Any Mod found on First Earth is branded, then detained in the Corridor’s research labs.

Only Stel has a dangerous secret. She has a power, too: She can open a portal to Second Earth . . . and several other parallel universes she’s discovered. If anyone ever finds out, she’ll be imprisoned, no better than a Mod or common lab rat.

But when the Corridor starts to fail, emitting erratic bursts of energy that could destroy First Earth, Stel must risk everything to save the people and world she loves. With the help of an escaped Mod and an infuriatingly arrogant boy from a third universe, Stel sets out to unravel the mysteries of the Corridor and stabilize it before it’s too late. The fate of every world lies in the balance. . . .

3.5 Drink Me Potions

Thank you Netgalley and Alloy Entertainment for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

In some ways, The Corridor surprised my expectations from the synopsis. First, it’s only set in 2032? Really? Portals exist so close in the future? I was really thinking more like…at least a century past that. Also, having just read a recent novel on parallel worlds (Parallel by Lauren Miller), I wasn’t quite as mindblown by the concept in this book. Let me break down my thoughts into simpler categories.

The concept and overall world building
I’m a little picky when it comes to world building, especially for dystopian worlds where things can get a little confusing. And in this case, I’m still scratching my head at some things that were literally dumped on my head at the very beginning of the book.

#1. I’m still a little lost as to what exactly the Corridor Facility entails. It has a mall and residence buildings? But also house the lab and offices that look after this portal to Second Earth known as The Corridor? Uh, so it doesn’t just relate to the Corridor itself? Is it like some small community area that’s fenced in? Then why do they take a light rail train to get to some Peak to view the Corridor? So confused…

#2. How BIG is this Corridor? I know it has lights shining through and metal framework to hold it up. But I’m imagining a gigantic rectangular…doorway thing. I don’t know about you, but that’s the best my imagination could come up with

#3. Uh, I’m guessing their technology advanced only in a minor way from ours? A Panel seems to be akin to a tablet/iPad? But who knows ’cause we sure don’t get much of an explanation. And IF it’s practically a tablet – why the heck do we not just call it that?

Anyway, besides confusion at certain things to orient myself in this moderately futuristic setting, the world building wasn’t really solid enough. Besides the presence of the Corridor and genetically modified people (aka Mods) that came from Second Earth, it almost seemed like every day life as it is now. I guess 17 years can only change a community so much, huh?

The concept, however, was intriguing. Maybe the setting wasn’t as well thought out or anything, but the premise was still compelling to continue. With our protagonist Estele (aka Stel) immediately gaining her freaky portal-making powers right from the get-go, the plot is boom-boom-boom. She finds herself in another world that’s separate from First and Second Earth. Uh oh. How many parallel universes are in this book? The pace picks itself up after a while, though I will admit it was a little slow at first while Estele was trying to figure out what to do with her freaky new secret.

The characters
Stel made a decent protagonist, although she initially annoyed me. She did nothing about her situation, going about life as if everything was still normal for her. She entrusted this secret to no one, not even her bestie for life Lissa. So much for besties for life. And not even to her brother Justin, although he never seemed like a viable person to trust such a harsh secret to. She eventually gained some guts and I admire her spunk to stick up for her father, a scientist who had taken a reputation beating. Scratch that. A reputation that turned him into someone people didn’t believe anymore. I was glad she wasn’t going to let people attack her dad like that, even the criticism coming from his own son.

Speaking of Justin. Urgh. That boy. I want to strangle him. From the start, he was distant and only mildly polite to their father. He took the side of the one person solely responsible for his dad’s reputation downfall, who also happened to have usurped him from the prominent position as Chair of the research facility. Like, WHY? How could he do such a thing to his own DAD? Especially when it’s clear he was the victim. Anyway. I don’t know if the author meant for us to hate him so much, but I’m not sure I want him to be redeemed so easily.

And relating to that, the male protagonist was kind of an ass too. Initially at least. Why do all the boys seem so rude? When I first met Cohl, I honestly thought his much nicer, friendlier and overall cool guy of a brother was gonna be the guy Stel falls for. Talk about a strange introduction. Am I supposed to like him afterwards? He spied on his brother and Stel, for goodness sakes. I’m not sure I fully understand his 180 change in attitude towards her when he seemed to honestly despise her very presence at their first meeting. This makes for a weird romantic chemistry between them. Not sure I fully believe in it.

However, thankfully, Willis keeps the romance limited so it doesn’t take away from the central plot focused on the Corridor and its possible horrendous side effects for the people on First Earth. For that reason, the latter third of the book really built up and left me wishing there was more after the last words had come and gone. The Corridor may be many things, but it took the idea of parallel worlds in a different direction than most people may initially consider, and the hint of conspiracy tied it all into a book that is definitely worth checking out at least.

Overall Recommendation:
Although the world building wasn’t particularly strong for a dystopian novel, the concept behind the Corridor and travelling between parallel worlds made it an interesting read. Mildly well-paced, Stel makes for a headstrong protagonist as she steps into her role and accepts the abilities she received. Other male characters were not as fun to read about and romance is far and few between, but The Corridor holds enough substance to carry through a worthwhile read even with these minor annoyances.