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looseleafellie's reviews
250 reviews
Specials by Scott Westerfeld
3.0
A satisfying conclusion. Maybe not as good as the previous two books in the series, but everything was wrapped up nice and neatly, so I liked it.
Tainted by Alexandra Moody
4.0
First off, let me say that I genuinely liked this book. I found the story compelling, and it always drew me on to read "just one more chapter". I think the premise was interesting, even though it's not vastly different from many other dystopias out there. I also liked how Elle (the heroine) was not a stereotypical female action hero -- she has a lot of weaknesses, but she is willing to fight for the ones she loves. Honestly, she reminds me a lot of Lena from [b:Delirium|11614718|Delirium (Delirium, #1)|Lauren Oliver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327890411s/11614718.jpg|10342808], except that she isn't as annoying as Lena. Fortunately.
There are two reasons why I didn't give this book the full five stars. Firstly, I felt that the editing was perhaps not the best. There were a few run-on sentences, and the writing felt clunky at times. Secondly, you would have thought that, having grown up in the ARC, Elle would have gotten used to it, and not be so sensitive to the feeling of being underground. Despite this, she feels constricted a lot, and has trouble going into small spaces. The fact that she's not comfortable with the only life she's ever known seems unlikely to me.
My verdict? Take a chance and get this book. If you read it and you find that it's not for you, then no harm done. If you like it, buy the next one. As for me, Talented (book 2) is the next thing on my wish list.
There are two reasons why I didn't give this book the full five stars. Firstly, I felt that the editing was perhaps not the best. There were a few run-on sentences, and the writing felt clunky at times. Secondly, you would have thought that, having grown up in the ARC, Elle would have gotten used to it, and not be so sensitive to the feeling of being underground. Despite this, she feels constricted a lot, and has trouble going into small spaces. The fact that she's not comfortable with the only life she's ever known seems unlikely to me.
My verdict? Take a chance and get this book. If you read it and you find that it's not for you, then no harm done. If you like it, buy the next one. As for me, Talented (book 2) is the next thing on my wish list.
Talented by Alexandra Moody
5.0
I downloaded the first book in the ARC series, [b:Tainted|23519286|Tainted (The ARC, #1)|Alexandra Moody|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415533583s/23519286.jpg|42990016], for free off of Amazon, and I liked it enough that I went ahead and bought this book. I'm very glad I did.
In Talented, we see what goes on after you get taken out of the ARC. Without revealing too much, most people on the surface have superpowers of some kind. However, Elle doesn't, because she faked her test results and escaped the ARC when she wasn't supposed to. And not only that -- she somehow has to find her friend/love interest, Sebastian, in this gigantic city.
The plot was absolutely gripping. I read this whole book in less than two days. I was thrilled by the inclusion of superpowers (major superhero fan here), and all the new dilemmas which were introduced kept me turning pages over and over again. As for the characters, I felt that Elle grew more throughout the story, becoming more willing to take risks. I was also charmed by the new characters who were introduced -- Lara, the spunky empath, and Hunter, the loveable rogue. I normally end up wanting to strangle any new friends or love interests which show up in the second book of a series, but these guys were perfect, and I have to congratulate the author for this.
On the negative side, there are a few typos and grammar mistakes in this book ("faint" vs "feint", etc). The first book had the same problem, which was why I rated it 4 stars. However, I felt that I had to give this one a 5, because it is so much stronger than the first one.
If you've read Tainted, and you're considering reading this one, definitely go for it. The ARC series just gets better.
In Talented, we see what goes on after you get taken out of the ARC. Without revealing too much, most people on the surface have superpowers of some kind. However, Elle doesn't, because she faked her test results and escaped the ARC when she wasn't supposed to. And not only that -- she somehow has to find her friend/love interest, Sebastian, in this gigantic city.
The plot was absolutely gripping. I read this whole book in less than two days. I was thrilled by the inclusion of superpowers (major superhero fan here), and all the new dilemmas which were introduced kept me turning pages over and over again. As for the characters, I felt that Elle grew more throughout the story, becoming more willing to take risks. I was also charmed by the new characters who were introduced -- Lara, the spunky empath, and Hunter, the loveable rogue. I normally end up wanting to strangle any new friends or love interests which show up in the second book of a series, but these guys were perfect, and I have to congratulate the author for this.
On the negative side, there are a few typos and grammar mistakes in this book ("faint" vs "feint", etc). The first book had the same problem, which was why I rated it 4 stars. However, I felt that I had to give this one a 5, because it is so much stronger than the first one.
If you've read Tainted, and you're considering reading this one, definitely go for it. The ARC series just gets better.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
3.0
I freely admit that I'm not a massive fan of romance, but this book was actually not bad. However, I did find the protagonist a bit annoying. She kind of rambled on quite a bit about things that were digressing from the actual story.
Also, I found the whole thing about how her mother escaped from jail a little bit far-fetched (I mean, how do you scrape a massive big hole in the wall of a high-security prison without anyone noticing?).
I don't think I'm going to carry on reading this series (at least, not in the near future), but I'm glad I took a chance and read this book, because despite my qualms with it, it's really quite beautiful.
Also, I found the whole thing about how her mother escaped from jail a little bit far-fetched (I mean, how do you scrape a massive big hole in the wall of a high-security prison without anyone noticing?).
I don't think I'm going to carry on reading this series (at least, not in the near future), but I'm glad I took a chance and read this book, because despite my qualms with it, it's really quite beautiful.
Fractured by Alexandra Moody
3.0
After enjoying [b:Tainted|23519286|Tainted (The ARC, #1)|Alexandra Moody|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415533583s/23519286.jpg|42990016], and practically devouring [b:Talented|25112217|Talented (The ARC, # 2)|Alexandra Moody|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1425981272s/25112217.jpg|44806108], I started reading Fractured right away. Unfortunately, I don't think it does the other two books justice.
First of all, there didn't seem to be much of a plot. For half the book Elle is stuck in hospital, and for the other half things are happening so fast that it was hard to keep track of what was going on. It didn't help that there were several new subplots introduced, as well as the old ones.
My pet peeve about this book was that it drove me crazy how little description there was of the numerous tests which Elle was subjected to. There were a couple of tests (an eye injection and an MRI) which were described in meticulous detail, but the rest of them had no other description than basically, "the doctors ran tests on me". This happened time and time again, and I just wanted a little bit of description about those tests. Were they blood tests? IQ tests? Math tests? Or what?
I also never really got the thing about Elle losing her memory. There didn't seem to be much point to it, except to confuse the reader.
On the positive side, though, I loved it how, thanks to her stay in the hospital,
Overall (and I hate to say this), I think Fractured was a let-down. But fortunately it's not the last in the series -- there's one more to come -- so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Book 4 will offer a satisfying conclusion to the ARC series.
First of all, there didn't seem to be much of a plot. For half the book Elle is stuck in hospital, and for the other half things are happening so fast that it was hard to keep track of what was going on. It didn't help that there were several new subplots introduced, as well as the old ones.
My pet peeve about this book was that it drove me crazy how little description there was of the numerous tests which Elle was subjected to. There were a couple of tests (an eye injection and an MRI) which were described in meticulous detail, but the rest of them had no other description than basically, "the doctors ran tests on me". This happened time and time again, and I just wanted a little bit of description about those tests. Were they blood tests? IQ tests? Math tests? Or what?
I also never really got the thing about Elle losing her memory. There didn't seem to be much point to it, except to confuse the reader.
On the positive side, though, I loved it how, thanks to her stay in the hospital,
Spoiler
Elle is no longer untalented. I love her freezing power (very fitting considering that her last name is Winters) and the fact that she can absorb other people's talents. I also liked her struggle with controlling her power -- maybe more than a little reminiscent of Elsa in Frozen, but I can forgive that.Overall (and I hate to say this), I think Fractured was a let-down. But fortunately it's not the last in the series -- there's one more to come -- so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Book 4 will offer a satisfying conclusion to the ARC series.