Folsom (End of Men Book 1) by Tarryn Fisher and Willow Aster: Book Review

The nation as we know it is a thing of the past.

With the male species on the verge of extinction, a society called the End Men is formed to save the world. Folsom Donahue is one of twelve men whose sole purpose is to repopulate the Regions. The endless days spent having sex with strangers leaves Folsom with an emptiness no amount of women, money, or status can fill.

Until Gwen.

Gwen has wanted a child for as long as she can remember, but when she finally gets a chance to have her own, she uncovers a long hidden truth. The injustice she sees moves her to help save the men whom no one else believes need saving.

A forbidden love, grown in a time of despair, ignites a revolution.

Folsom and Gwen, torn between their love for each other and their sense of duty, must make a choice. But some will stop at nothing to destroy them.

Folsom is book one of the End of Men series.

Date of Publication:  May 29, 2018

Date Read: June 2018

No. of Pages: 276 pages

Setting: Post Apocalyptic USA

Genre: Romance, Dystopia

Get Your Copy here: Amazon

 

 

Folsom, where do I even start? I am really on the fence with this one. A part of me tried really hard to like it, a part of me finds the whole premise obnoxious but clever at the same time and a part of me just wants it to be over. It was a post-apocalyptic setting where men go extinct, and there are only 12 men left to impregnate as much women as possible to be able to repopulate. I know, me too, I had to process all that and I was more skeptical than hopeful. I was scared how will the authors pull off something like this. But I went ahead and read the book.

And oh my goodness, Felicia.

Let’s just say it isn’t my cup of tea (anymore). I’m not the right audience for this. It is with this sad realization that I don’t find joy in reading too much smut in a book anymore, or maybe it was just this one time, or maybe not. I hope this is just a one-time thing. Don’t get me wrong I love romance books with alpha-male and all that jazz, but this one didn’t do it for me. I was cringing half of the time. Maybe it is the way everything was presented, it was too literal, too right in your face (if that even makes sense), there’s just a little room for imagination, like everything was served in a platter and you’re given no choice but to devour it as is. Oh goodness, I hope I am making some sense here.

The characters, those unbearable, annoying characters. We have Folsom, the most sought after End Man. I was equal parts disgusted of his character and at the same time pity him for the hand he was dealt. Yes he was basically the Society’s highest paid prostitute. And believe me this doesn’t sit well with me. THERE WAS SOMETHING PROBLEMATIC but I shrugged it off and read on. I KNOW, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME. Believe me I was so tempted to DNF it, but I had to give it the benefit of the doubt, and so here we are. Then we have this love-sick puppy Gwen. She was too smitten I want to rip her hair off. Her character was this poor attempt to be noble, but failed miserably (at least for me). And can I just say how frustrating the women in here, they were like deprived, crazed sex addicts. And just nope, we don’t need that kind of portrayal. The world has doled out too much of it as is, thank you very much.

The book’s attempt to be unique, was just that, an attempt. It failed to sustain the obnoxious yet clever premise it promised. The delivery wasn’t as solid as I expected it to be. It could have been better, oh boy, it definitely could. I can’t pinpoint exactly what is wrong, and because of this it overshadowed any good aspect of the book, and believe me there were few as well. You just have to see past the cringe-worthy parts and the too smitten characters. In summary, the book was a dystopian, post-apocalyptic, erotica that could have been better if the cards were played right. I was looking for more, something that could redeem itself, a silver-lining perhaps, but found nothing.

And yes, I find it hard to believe it was by Tarryn Fisher – an author I love so much. As per Willow Aster, I can’t say much since I have not read anything by her until Folsom. I felt like Tarryn let me down, it is with a heavy heart to say and accept it. What is happening? This is definitely not the kind of book that made me fall in love with her writing. It was just sad. But what I’ll do is just stick around and wait for that book that will make me say “Oh yes, this is the Tarryn Fisher I loved.”, but until then I am not having any more of this End Men series. Folsom is enough I think.

“It was the truth! For the truth to make a difference, it needs to be said by one person at a time, until there’s a noise loud enough to make a difference.”
― Tarryn Fisher, Folsom

 

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Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard: Book Review

 

Synopsis: This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart …

Date Published: February 10, 2015

Publisher: Harper Teen

No. of Pages: 384

Date Read: February 7, 2016

Source: I bought my own copy.

 

REVIEW

A mixture of Hunger Games, X-men and a little bit of Selection. In short, something we already have seen before.

This book has been sitting on my shelf for a year now. I bought it during its release date back in 2015, and since I am not one to join the hype I didn’t read it immediately. Yes I waited a whole year, the perfect timing I guess since Glass Sword comes out February 9, 2016 and Victoria Aveyard will be having a signing here in the Philippines.

So what did I think of it? Hmmm. The first 100 pages gave me the whole Hunger Games vibe and a little bit of The Selection series feel to it that I just couldn’t quite shake off. (I haven’t read the Red Rising by Pierce Brown, so I couldn’t really compare it to that, as most of the people do). I was imagining District 12 as the Stilts. The similarity is really palpable, what with Mare having a little sister just like Primrose, and Kilorn as Gale, one cannot just simply ignore it. There was also the feel of Cinder to it that I could not point exactly but it is there. Add the fact that there was also some XMen element to it. It was truly a mixture of every YA dystopian/fantasy novel rolled into one book, and I don’t know how to feel about it – the originality itself was compromised. Now I understand the mixed reviews, I was so ready to give it a lower rating, I was waiting for something to happen, something to capture my interest more, because I have to admit they are waning when I was past the 150 pages mark. I need something to hold on to, something MOREEEE! And then bam! It hit me like a wrecking ball! THAT TWIST!!! WHAT IS THAT TWIST!?? The twist won me over. Now that got my freaking attention!

I think it was the twist that saved the whole book, if it weren’t for that, the whole book will be another mediocre and forgettable one to add to the pile of all the YA books that tried to be different, but ultimately failed. It was also the reason I gave another star for it. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming, I knew there was going to be a twist, but I didn’t expect it to be what actually transpired. I knew from the start of the book that there was something shady that has been going on with the characters involved. There was this unease that I’ve been having towards the big reveal, I knew something was off, i’m just not sure which was it exactly, (I’m trying this to be as spoiler free as possible so forgive me for being vague), how everything was convenient and too good to be true, my suspicions came to fruition, just not what I had expected. I commend the element of surprise, I wish that was the case in the beginning, – surprising the readers one event after another, maybe then this book could have a solid approval amongst the book lovers.

Another issue was the ever present predicament of love triangles, a character torn between two people. Ugh, why can’t we just do away with it. Is it possible for YA not to have this kind of concept? LOVE TRIANGLES are the bane of my existence! Haha! or anyone for that matter, I never actually met someone who loves love triangles, so why do authors keep on incorporating it on their books? I just don’t understand. Anyway, this book even there was a love triangle, the romance was played out in a subtle way, not too overwhelming or annoying to a fault. For someone who is a sucker for romance, this is one of the few books that I was thankful that the romance was played into a minimum.

Next issue was the lack of back story about the war, that as what the book repeats all the time – the war that has been going on for centuries. I mean I wish there was more explanation as to how the war came about or as to why there was this kind of war and why it just doesn’t end. Why there was a division between the Reds and the Silvers. I have so many questions, that I wished someone had the answers to. The back story was not really well executed, if for anything it adds up to the confusion. But I would like to commend the foreshadowing, how the events led into the big reveal. How each event was linked to the end, I thought that was well played. I cannot discount such fact. I hoped the book was more polished. Plus it annoys me that there was so much repetition. For an instance, whenever Cal does something, Mare will say Cal, the soldier, doing something something, or Cal the prince, the general… and this will go on and on. We know, for crying out loud, we know, we know he is the prince, he is the soldier, he is a general. Or when Mare does something, she will say to herself, “the Red, the liar, or how lying came out so easily ahhh. That was tiring to read. It’s like every action needs justifying, needs explaining, I just don’t like that in a book.

Now let’s talk about Mare, our heroine, she’s not ultimately likable, I had issues with her, but these are more on the tolerable side of things. She can be annoying at times, and she can be mature if she wants to, so all things considered, she was still a good character, maybe I was looking for more depth. Cal on the other hand stayed consistent until the end, out of the all the confusing characters in this book his character was the one I liked most and the one I was constantly rooting for. He has a strong character yet there was soft side in him too. Now Maven, had more character growth, he was the wolf in sheep skin. Despite what he did, I liked his character, he was made to toy with the readers’ emotions, which was a plus for me.

If you are undecided to read this one, I say you do, give it a chance. Maybe you’ll like it, or not. The thing is, you should judge it for yourself. Reviews vary, people’s tastes are different from each other – always always lay judgment after you already know the whole thing, that pretty works in books and hey in life too! Haha

I understand that some people hate it with so much passion, while some loved it. I am kind of in the middle. I am not that impressed, but as I have said the twist was the rope that was thrown in to save the book from completely sinking down. So in the grand scheme of things, I enjoyed this one and will still be reading the next book. Maybe we can see some progress, book 1 will always be a make or break, and Im sure Victoria Aveyard put a lot of effort into making this book.

Rating:  More like 3.5

“His lips are on mine, hard and warm and pressing. The touch is electrifying, but not like I’m used to. This isn’t a spark of destruction, but a spark of life. As much as I want to pull away, I just can’t do it. Cal is a cliff and I throw myself over the edge, not bothering to think of what it could do to us both. One day he’ll realize I’m his enemy, and all this will be a far-gone memory. But not yet.”
― Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen

Unwind by Neal Shusterman : Book Review

Synopsis: Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives. The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child “unwound,” whereby all of the child’s organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn’t technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

“Characters live and breathe; they are fully realized and complex, sometimes making wrenching difficult decisions. This is a thought-provoking, well-paced read that will appeal widely.” School Library Journal, starred review

“[A] gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller…could hardly be more engrossing or better aimed to teens.” Publishers Weekly, starred review

“[A] nail-biting, character-driven thriller.” Horn Book magazine

No. of Pages:335  ]

Publisher:\Simon & Schuster

Date Published: June 2, 2009

Date Read:December 2014

Source:I bought it

REVIEW

Holy Smokes! This book is really good! Caps-lock GOOD!

When I first saw this on booktube I got really intrigued by the plot, as you may know, I am not really accustomed to reading sci-fi and dystopian novels, it is the genre I felt was not my cup of tea or to put it mildly it is a genre I only was able to scratch the surface, to cut the long story short, I was hesitant starting this one. I wanted to end my year with something out of my comfort zone, and so I picked this one up and let it take me to yet another reading experience.

Shusterman built a world so utterly terrifying, a world a reader needs some getting used to. It is a plot so different yet so captivating, it is the kind of plot that will constantly send you at the edge of your seat. It was twisted at it was dark, it was fucked-up as it was engaging, it was gripping as it was suspenseful. And i wouldn’t have it any other way. It is the kind of book that will leave you uncomfortable most of the time and will leave you saying “what the hell” “oh no” “that’s nuts” among other things. It was action packed since page one up to the end! I love how everything progresses and how everything is necessary, not one bit of the book wasted. Each chapter is connected making a unison of different point of views. I love the writing style too. The whole story was well thought out. I also would like to point out the difference of the characters and how they gradually develop, everything they do adds up to the beauty of the whole book. The fact that the characters can toy the readers emotions, is a huge deal for me. For an instance Lev, I was so sure the first few chapters that I am going to hate the boy, but towards the end I found myself cheering for him. I love the fact that the characters were not who you think they are, solid example is the Admiral. The fact that each chapter posits yet another twist and yet another surprise was the icing on top of this wicked cake. I also love that there was tiny romance going on, which made the book even more exciting than it already is.

There was this one chapter that made me squirm, it was so unsettling, I cannot for the life of me take it off of my head. It is as if I was the one experiencing it, pretty sure I will be having nightmares about it, It was sad and terrifying all at the same time. I had to stop reading right after that chapter. Just, ugh, it was insane!

And yes, Humphrey Dunfee’s story seriously creeped the hell out of me!

Oh Neal Shusterman, you are one hell of a wicked man, I loved how fearless the whole book was, totally out of the box, refusing to be caged into one definite thing, and it was nothing short of amazing!

Now I understand all the rave about it ,the hype was so real. It is definitely not one to miss. To say it was disturbing would then be an understatement. I hope every dystopian novel I come across with will be at least be paralleled to this or even greater, because I could not think of a better plot than this.I don’t want to say much because I wanted to leave you with enough curiosity to make you want to buy it and read it. I highly recommend it to anyone, even the adult ones.

Rating:

““Stupid dreams. Even the good ones are bad, because they remind you how poorly reality measures up.”