Review: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Publication date: August 1st, 2013
Number of pages: 362 pgs
Format: Paperback
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

Em is locked in a bare, cold cell with no comforts. Finn is in the cell next door. The Doctor is keeping them there until they tell him what he wants to know. Trouble is, what he wants to know hasn't happened yet.

Em and Finn have a shared past, but no future unless they can find a way out. The present is torture - being kept apart, overhearing each other's anguish as the Doctor relentlessly seeks answers. There's no way back from here, to what they used to be, the world they used to know. Then Em finds a note in her cell which changes everything. It's from her future self and contains some simple but very clear instructions. Em must travel back in time to avert a tragedy that's about to unfold. Worse, she has to pursue and kill the boy she loves to change the future.

Cristin Terrill's debut novel is nothing if not outstanding. It bridges the lines of dystopia, sci fi and time travel. It begins with a girl and a list.
The list is something not to think unimportant because it is very significant, more than you may know.

There are many themes that this novel consists of. From romance to friendship to assassination attempts and war. From love to hate. To many timelines. To making things right.

It all begins with Em and Finn, who are are in joined cells together. In the past, Marina lives next door to her best friend, James, who is as smart as a scientist. James, who she loves. A time machine named Cassandra is what connects Em and Marina. The present and the past. What has done and what needs to be done.
After Em discovers a list in a drain in her cell, with things crossed off the list minus one remaining sentence. In her own handwriting.  Em understands it's the only thing that can work and she needs to obey.
If not, then Em and Finn will most likely end up dead sooner or later. There is no time to waste.

This story is narrated by both Em and Marina explaining their stories, and how they connect to one another. How one comes to be the other.
This is a complicated story of time travel, what one may do to save your future and the lines blurred to how someone was, to who they may or may not become.
Cristin does a great job at showing how both Marina and Em came to be in the positions they find themselves in. How the relationships between Em and Finn, Marina, Finn and James, and Em and the doctor are. What exactly is it between these characters and what does it mean for the overall plot.

You could say this story is definitely driven by plot, but with the narratives, you can understand Marina and Em, their reasons for the things they do, and how each of them end up the way they do by the end of the story.  Marina in particular got on my nerves from time to time, but as I went through the story, I began to understand what she had to go through to become the person she had to be.

I absolutely loved the romance portrayed in this book.  I admit though, I at first was a tad hesitant to read this book because after reading the blurb, I was a little confused and wasn't sure if I would like it. After hearing a friend of mine that she loved it, I took the chance and bought the book for myself.  I'm glad I did because I would never had the pleasure of discovering such a unique and fascinating story, with compelling characters who I adored.  It was an addicting story and I can't wait to see what comes next.
I thought there was going to be some sort of triangle between Em, Finn and James, but how it turns out,  once I understood the scope of what was going on, I could not have been more wrong, and I was thankful.  The love story is something that spans lifetimes. It was beautifully written, so natural and honest. 

5 Stars.

Review: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon
Publication Date: July 1, 1992
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 743
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Add to Goodreads

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones...about a love that transcends the boundaries of time...and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his ....

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire's spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ...in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising...and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves....

The second Outlander book picks up not only right after the first one ends, but also twenty years in the future. That doesn't sound possible now does it? The beginning picks up twenty years later. Claire has returned to the land that she had once fell in love with, Scotland with her grown daughter. At some point Claire had returned to her time, back to Frank pregnant. Frank made Claire promise that as long as he lives she won't tell their daughter, Brianna, who her real father is. Now it wasn't made clear to me if Frank ever believed her story or not. Just that he's not the biological father of the baby. But with the passing of Frank, Claire knows it's time to tell Brianna the truth.

Claire seeks out Roger, the adopted nephew of the Reverend, the close friend of Frank's in the first book. She wants him to find out what happened to a list of Scottish warriors. In their search, Claire makes a devastating discovery that could change everything. She then reveals the truth to her daughter, and tells her and Roger her journey through time. This is where the book picks up from the last one. Jamie and Claire are in Paris pretending to be Jacobites to prevent the Highlanders from going to war. 

Although I did love this book, I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one. I've heard many complaints about how long the book is, and how a lot of it could be cut out. But that's one of the things I love about these books. We get to see their everyday lives, and it seems more realistic. Like you are right there with them. I do have to admit the beginning with them being in Paris kind of moved slow. Maybe it's just my bias towards Scotland, but the scenes placed there were my favorite.

I didn't think my love for Jamie could grow after the first book. But once again I was wrong. We saw Jamie and Claire grow as a couple. They weren't perfect, they had their ups and downs, arguments, and then there was even a few situations you weren't sure they could work through. Their love is realistic. You don't just fall in love and then happy ever after, you have to work for it.

Trying to change history isn't an easy task. And with a few surprising discoveries, they aren't sure if they can. But  with a twist of turns of events we discovered why Claire went back to her own time. I thought that at some point the story would go back to the present time and Claire and Brianna would venture back to Jamie's time, and was kind of disappointed that they didn't.

Like the first book, I thought this was just amazing. The same conflicts show up in this one as well, violence and rape. If you can't handle those subjects this isn't the series for you. Also the Scottish dialect is used and sometimes took me a few times to read a sentence to understand.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris

Unbreakable (Unravelling, #2) by Elizabeth Norris
Publisher: Harper collins
Publication date: June 6th, 2013
Number of pages: 416 pgs
Format: Paperback
Purchase: Amazon | Kindle | The Book Depository

24 meets the X Files in the amazing follow up to Unravelling.

Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but civilisation is slowly rebuilding, and life is finally starting to resume some kind of normality. Until Interverse agent Taylor Barclay shows up. He’s got a problem, and he needs Janelle’s help. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring – kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths. And Ben, with his unique abilities, is the prime suspect. To make things worse, Janelle learns that someone she cares about – someone from her own world – has become one of the missing.

Now Janelle has five days to track down the real culprit. Five days to locate the missing people before they’re lost forever. Five days to reunite with the boy who stole her heart. Can she uncover the truth before everyone she cares about is killed?

In this heart-pounding sequel to Unravelling, author Elizabeth Norris explores the sacrifices we make to save the people we love and the worlds we’ll travel to find them.

I absolutely loved Unravelling. I thought it had amazing mythology. Romance and mystery. Fantastic lead characters and sub characters. It was one of the better YA sci fi books I have read.
In Unbreakable, it has been four months since Ben left to go back to his own world. He said he would return but Janelle has yet to hear from him.
When Barclay suddenly turns out and tells her he needs her help in a mystery of disappearances, and that Ben is the prime suspect, she will do anything to help and clear his name.

Janelle couldn't understand when she discovers that Ben is back in her world but has yet to contact her. She also knows that there is no way he could do something like he is now accused of doing. The only thing she can do is believe in him and track him down.
But what will she find when she does locate him? Will he be the same Ben she knows and loves, or will he be someone differently that she hardly recognizes? So many questions and not enough time, as there is a race to the clock with only days to sort everything out.

This was a great book. I love how this series is so thrilling and exciting. As the time ticks down, you can't wait to see how these characters will solve the crime as the clockdown starts to tick down to the last second.
I admit, it's not what I thought this book would go down as, I probably liked it a little less than Unravelling, but it was still good enough. There just was not enough Ben, though I guess I can understand why, it just sucks.
I was glad I read Ben's novella not too long before this, so I know little bits of what transpired to get to this point and what happened to Ben while he was gone.

I really came to adore Barclay. I hated him in the first book, though I suppose he was not meant to be liked back then, but in Unbreakable, he became much of a prominent character and we came to understand him so much more than we ever did before.
The direction of his character was interesting, yet sad and heartbreaking. I liked the teamup with Jannelle. They were pretty good friends in this book, and that's where it ended for me. I could not see anything romantic between the two of them, her heart belonged to Ben, no matter what might or might not happen. There was parts of this book that I screamed at, or cried or wanted to shake some characters.

Ben and Janelle didn't have the perfect relationship. They had issues, as evident in this book. The way it ended for them, I was definitely happy with, but it wasn't how I thought it would have ended originally, but hey, who am I to complain?

In the end, I was sad this is to be the last book in the duology, because I felt there could be so much story to tell, but maybe one day....
I loved this series from start to finish, and definitely a recommend read for those like Sci fi + time travelling + mystery.

Rating: 4.5/5

Teaser Tuesday 27

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Want to play along?

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share 2 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers
• Share the title and author

I know, I know, it's been months since I've done one of these. I always remember the day after. To make up for lost time I will post a few teasers.

The first one comes from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, the second novel in her Outlander series. I just finished this one today, and I absolutely love me some Jamie Frasier.

“I will find you," he whispered in my ear. "I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you - then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is the one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest."

This next one comes from On the Edge by Ilona Andrews. I've only read the first book, but I can't wait to read more of the series.

"Go brush your teeth, comb your hair, put on dry clothes, and get the guns. We're going to Wal-Mart.”

 

Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon
Publication Date: June 1, 1991
Publisher: Delta
Number of Pages: 627
Format: Paperback
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Add to Goodreads

Unrivaled storytelling ... unforgettable characters ... rich historical detail ... these are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon's work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured millions of readers.

Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and history that combines exhilarating adventure with a love story for the ages....

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon — when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach — an "outlander" — in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord ... 1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life ... and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire ... and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

I only have one word...AMAZING! This book blew me out of the water. I had a friend that told me about the series a few years ago right after I discovered the Fever and Highlander series by Karen Marie Moning. It's been on my tbr list ever since, even though I have had others tell me how amazing the series is. I just never got around to reading it. Finally I made that my goal this year. And now I'm wondering why the hell did this book sit on my tbr list for three years?! I could smack myself.

Claire Randall and her husband Frank have pretty much been separated for the past six years during the war. Finally reunited they are taking a holiday in Scotland-where they got married. Frank is a historian of a sort and is trying to trace his family back, and learn more about Captain Jack Randall. Clare stumbles upon a mini version of Stonehedge, and walking through it she is suddenly taken back almost 200 years to 1743. The first person she runs into is Jack Randall, who she first mistakes for Frank. Before Jack could attack her, she is saved by some Highland warriors who take her back to their land, the MacKenzies.

The book takes some time getting used to, with it written in a lot of Scottish dialect and even how Claire phrases words since she is from 1945. And at the first it's a little slow, and really didn't pick up until about 100 pages in. But once I got past the hump, I couldn't put it down. Felt so realistic and like I could be reading someone's diary. Claire is determined to get back to the standing rocks and go back to her own time and Frank. But it proves to be a problem time and time over. But when Claire is forced to marry Jamie Fraiser, the nephew of the cheiftan of the clan and outlaw, she wonders if she will ever get back home.

It's not long before Claire actually starts to fall in love with Jamie, and her heart torn into two. And oh Jamie...along with Claire you will fall in love with him. Even has some funny lines. It was easy to forget that he's a good five years younger than Claire; a very unusual twist to the story.

I've heard complaints about abuse and rape in this book. You have to remember what time this book is set in. And the abuse, for the most part isn't really. That was how they discipline. And it's not like they beat the crap out of the women or children. These issues didn't really bother me because I'm aware of how it was back then. And how it is written, somethings it reveals it never officially confirms. You have to read between the lines.

I fell in love with not only this book, but Jamie and Claire. And ever since I finished I've been dying to get back to the bookstore and get the second book.

Rating: 5/5

 

Persistence of Vision by LK Hill

Persistence of Vision (Interchron #1) by Liesel K. Hill
Publisher:  Tate Publishing
Publication date: January 29th, 2013
Number of pages: 386
Format: E-book.
Buy: Amazon

In a world where collective hives are enslaving the population and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction, Maggie Harper, and independent 21st Century woman, must find the strength to preserve the freedom of the future, but without the aid of her memories.

After experiencing a traumatic time loss, Maggie is plagued by a barrage of images she can't explain. When she's attacked by a creep with a spider's web tattoo, she is saved by Marcus, a man she's never met, but somehow remembers. He tells her that both he and her creepy attacker are from a future in which individuals are being murdered by collectives, and Marcus is part of the rebellion. The collectives have acquired time travel and they plan to enslave the human race throughout all of history. The flashes Maggie has been seeing are echoes of lost memories, and the information buried deep within them is instrumental in defeating the collective hives.

In order to preserve the individuality of mankind, Maggie must try to re-discover stolen memories, re-kindle friendships she has no recollection of, and wade through her feelings for the mysterious Marcus, all while dodging the tattooed assassins the collectives keep sending her way.

If Maggie can't fill the holes in her memory and find the answers to stop the collectives, the world both in her time and in all ages past and future will be doomed to enslavement in the grey, mediocre collectives. As the danger swirls around her and the collectives close in, Maggie realizes she must make a choice: stand out or fade away...

Meet Maggie Harper. She and her brother are having a night out on the town in Vegas, that is until she then wakes up with the last 12 hours of her memory missing. Disappeared.
After unable to find out what happened during those hours missing. The police couldn't do anything either, so Maggie has no choice but attempt to move on with her life.  One thing she does remember is a flash of a guy.

Flash forward a year and Maggie doesn't like to form attachments especially when it comes to relationships. She can't explain why though.
She soon meets a guy, Marcus who saves her from an attacker. She somehow recognizes him from somewhere, but can't recall why or where from.
Maggie then finds herself in a world and a place she could never be able to explain. Something so out of this world that even she isn't sure she can believe it.. that is until everything starts to fall into place and she feels this is the truth.

I was gifted to be able to receive a copy of this book before release date from the author. I love dystopian stories, but this classifies as New Adult and that is not something I have experienced..  or at least when this genre formed.

I was pleasantly surprised how good this book was. It was definitely and unique from other Dystopian stuff out there, and I really adored Maggie and her journey to discover what happened to her.

If you have ever been to a place and thought your drink could have been tampered with, where you wake up and not know what happened the night before. This story takes on a whole new level in that field.

All in all, a great installment to a fresh story. Looking forward to see what is next for Maggie and her new group of friends.

Verdict: 3/5