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literarylunatic's reviews
51 reviews
Maps by Nash Summers
4.0
I loved this book. It was sweet and short. Maps is one of the most interesting and memorable YA characters I have read in a long time. I mean yes, there are many memorable and cool YA characters, but Maps' voice is especially endearing, cute, and most importantly, not annoying.
This is a short story about Maps gaining a new neighbor named Lane Rhodes. Yes, Lane Rhodes. And our hero's name is Maps. It's not as corny as it sounds.
Anyway, it deals primarily with their friendship and the development of their feelings. Maps is a geeky 16-year-old who loves to experiment. I love that his best friend, Benji, is a great partner-in-crime who is just as crazy as Maps. If you want a break from reading so many dark, heavy, thrilling books and just want a laid-back and sweet one, then this is a great story to pick up. I'll be sure to pick up more stories about Maps' life.
This is a short story about Maps gaining a new neighbor named Lane Rhodes. Yes, Lane Rhodes. And our hero's name is Maps. It's not as corny as it sounds.
Anyway, it deals primarily with their friendship and the development of their feelings. Maps is a geeky 16-year-old who loves to experiment. I love that his best friend, Benji, is a great partner-in-crime who is just as crazy as Maps. If you want a break from reading so many dark, heavy, thrilling books and just want a laid-back and sweet one, then this is a great story to pick up. I'll be sure to pick up more stories about Maps' life.
Somebody Killed His Editor by Josh Lanyon
4.0
I've read a lot of books by Josh Lanyon, but Kit Holmes is turning out to be my most favorite of Lanyon's protagonists. I guess I like his sense of humor and his relationship with his agent, Rachel, who is also a very interesting character. I hope she makes more appearances in the other series.
Kit as a character was so appealing that I had a hard time liking JX Moriarity, but after what Kit did in the past? Well, it seemed that JX had a reason. Anyway, if you're a fan of Agatha Christie mysteries, the protagonist falling in love (again) with his competition and ex-lover, a snarky accidental amateur sleuth fiction writer who has a lot of funny side comments, you'll love this book.
Kit as a character was so appealing that I had a hard time liking JX Moriarity, but after what Kit did in the past? Well, it seemed that JX had a reason. Anyway, if you're a fan of Agatha Christie mysteries, the protagonist falling in love (again) with his competition and ex-lover, a snarky accidental amateur sleuth fiction writer who has a lot of funny side comments, you'll love this book.
Skyworld: Volume One by David Hontoveros, Ian Sta. Maria, Budjette Tan, Mervin Ignacio
5.0
I loved this graphic novel! It featured ancient Visayan deities and even an epic prophecy that traced its roots to Jose Rizal and Lapu-Lapu. It also featured one of my fave characters, Alexandra Trese. Here, she is older and acts as a mentor to our reluctant hero.
All She Wrote by Josh Lanyon
5.0
This was a more emotionally invested book than the first one, which is why this deserves a 5-star rating. In here, you really get a feel for the characters and when the victims died, well, it was really heartbreaking.
Also, I love that it shows how real life could be so much worse than fiction. The secrets and betrayal here were heartwrenching, although I felt like there were some dangling storylines there that Lanyon just didn't explore, but would have added more surprise and intensity to the story if she did. Either way, the story was brilliant and I did not expect the actual ending. Before it happened, I was really thinking, That's it? What happens next? What about justice?
If you want an exciting story with many twists and with characters you'll sympathize with, then you'll love this.
Also, I love that it shows how real life could be so much worse than fiction. The secrets and betrayal here were heartwrenching, although I felt like there were some dangling storylines there that Lanyon just didn't explore, but would have added more surprise and intensity to the story if she did. Either way, the story was brilliant and I did not expect the actual ending. Before it happened, I was really thinking, That's it? What happens next? What about justice?
If you want an exciting story with many twists and with characters you'll sympathize with, then you'll love this.
Five Minutes Longer by Victoria Sue
3.0
This one was an enjoyable read. It reminded me of Charlie Cochet's THIRDS series. Instead of shifters, however, most of Victoria Sue's HEROs (you'll get it when you read the book) are Enhanced (like the mutants in X-Men).
The main protagonist is Finn (I have a soft spot for this MC because of this name), a human aka a "regular" who wants to join the FBI so bad. Actually, he really just wants to get away from his abusive mother and brother. He gets set up to join the Human Enhanced Rescue Organization (HERO) where he is to be paired with an Enhanced. Since this is still the first book, he's the only regular in the team.
I like that Finn is a person who's determined to succeed. He has dyslexia and had been keeping it secret for fear that he would be rejected from trying out for the FBI because of it. It just proves, though, how strong he is -- he will persevere to learn a lot and know more just to fulfill his dreams.
Talon Valdez, the head of the HERO unit, is the typical broody alpha male. Although he calls himself an ass, I don't think he's that bad. Certainly, he's not a douche. Also, he takes it on himself to protect the team (especially those with more extreme abilities who are more in danger of getting shipped to a lab), which meant trying to get Finn kicked out of the unit -- supposedly. Instead, he admires Finn's dedication and helps him out because he wanted to give Finn a chance to succeed.
All in all, it's a pretty good story with a lot of very interesting characters. There are rarely any women here, which is a bit eyebrow-raising. (Are all Enhanced males though? I don't think a female one was every mentioned in the book.) But the action scenes were fun and I liked that the characters didn't ramble or become preachy, which can be common in a book that has an obvious theme centered on discrimination and national security.
I think it fell flat with the mystery or case they were trying to solve, though. It felt like the action scenes just jumped out of nowhere to keep the reader from getting bored, although the CLIMAX -- Well, that was a really, really nice scene. I did not expect that about one of the character's abilities. Plus, what happened to Finn will add a pretty interesting dynamic to his relationship with Talon in the next books.
The main protagonist is Finn (I have a soft spot for this MC because of this name), a human aka a "regular" who wants to join the FBI so bad. Actually, he really just wants to get away from his abusive mother and brother. He gets set up to join the Human Enhanced Rescue Organization (HERO) where he is to be paired with an Enhanced. Since this is still the first book, he's the only regular in the team.
I like that Finn is a person who's determined to succeed. He has dyslexia and had been keeping it secret for fear that he would be rejected from trying out for the FBI because of it. It just proves, though, how strong he is -- he will persevere to learn a lot and know more just to fulfill his dreams.
Talon Valdez, the head of the HERO unit, is the typical broody alpha male. Although he calls himself an ass, I don't think he's that bad. Certainly, he's not a douche. Also, he takes it on himself to protect the team (especially those with more extreme abilities who are more in danger of getting shipped to a lab), which meant trying to get Finn kicked out of the unit -- supposedly. Instead, he admires Finn's dedication and helps him out because he wanted to give Finn a chance to succeed.
All in all, it's a pretty good story with a lot of very interesting characters. There are rarely any women here, which is a bit eyebrow-raising. (Are all Enhanced males though? I don't think a female one was every mentioned in the book.) But the action scenes were fun and I liked that the characters didn't ramble or become preachy, which can be common in a book that has an obvious theme centered on discrimination and national security.
I think it fell flat with the mystery or case they were trying to solve, though. It felt like the action scenes just jumped out of nowhere to keep the reader from getting bored, although the CLIMAX -- Well, that was a really, really nice scene. I did not expect that about one of the character's abilities. Plus, what happened to Finn will add a pretty interesting dynamic to his relationship with Talon in the next books.