Review: Renegade by J.A. Souders

Renegade by J.A. Souders
Series: The Elysium Chronicles #1
Publisher: Tor Teen
First published: November 13th, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Format: eARC
Pages: 364

Goodreads Summary:

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie.

Her memories have been altered.

Her mind and body aren’t under her own control.

And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

First thoughts:

Presenting us one of the most unique dystopian settings I have encountered so far, Renegade is a very interesting story. While I'm not completely happy with the characters and would have wished to be able to connect with them more, I liked the overall premise and its execution.

My thoughts about...

... the plot:

With dystopian novels flooding the YA market, it's hard to find a refreshing approach. But luckily Renegade's setting is incredibly unique, with a society that still has typical characteristics of the dystopian elements we know: oppression, brainwashing, manipulation, and rebellion. In addition to that, Renegade is wonderfully fast-paced and, especially during the second half, action-packed, which turns it into a book that's very hard to put down.

... the characters: 

I'm not really sure what to think of Renegade's main character. Evelyn sadly doesn't even know herself very well thanks to the alternation of her memories, which made it hard for me to truly understand her feelings and motivations. At times she was naive, but later it felt like her decisions were made too rash without being well thought-out.

Her love interest, Gavin, comes from the Surface and is thrust into a world that's completely different from what he's used to. In Elysium he is the bad guy, someone who should be murdered on sight. Meeting Evie saves his life and when they get to know each other better, they soon fall in love. Sadly it felt like a case of instant-love to me and even during the later course of the story I couldn't see why they had such strong feelings for each other. This lack of connection to the main characters is what made me enjoy Renegade a lot less than I would have otherwise.

There are a few but not too many secondary characters and while some of them were great to meet, others I'm definitely not looking forward to be confronted with again. At times Renegade's world is painted only in black and white - there were too few elements for me that would have made me feel sorry for the "bad guys", which is a very important aspect of stories for me though.

... everything:

All in all, I ended up liking Renegade even though it didn't completely live up to expectations. Its narration is very easy to follow and despite my lack of connection with Evie, I felt like she is a great narrator - seeing the world from her eyes is definitely interesting. So far I'm definitely curious about how this story will continue and I hope I will get to love these characters more.

Challenge(s):

Debut Author Challange 2012

Buy this book:

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Are you still a fan of dystopian stories or have you read too many? What do you think about the premise of Renegade? Are you curious about this book? Or, if you have read it already, what did you think about it?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Carina

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Publisher: Tor Teen
First published: August 30th, 2011
Source: Won
Pages: 316

Goodreads Summary:
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

My Rating: 4.5 / 5

First thoughts:

It didn't take long for me to fall in love with Anna Dressed in Blood. This novel has amazing characters, a unique storyline and an ending that leaves me wanting more. Kendare Blake has conjured up a perfect Halloween story that can be read all throughout the year. You should pick up this book, because you won't be disappointed.

More detailed:

Usually I don't read novels that might be too scary or can be classified as horror stories. But all the positive reviews made me want to read Anna Dressed in Blood and I definitely wasn't let down by the hype surrounding it. It is a very lovely and at some points a quite gory story that will stay with me for a long time.

Anna Dressed in Blood is told from Cas' point of view and it was really refreshing to read a novel from a guy's perspetive. A few months ago this probably wouldn't have appealed to me, but now I love to read a book written from a male perspective from time to time. Cas is a wonderful character and I really enjoyed to see the world from his angle.

Anna was a very interesting character as well. It's amazing to realize that as a reader you're feeling sorry for a character who has murdered many people brutally and that you're hoping that they will get a happy ending. Just like her, the secondary characters like Thomas and Carmel were awesome and I hope to see much more of them in the sequel.

The one thing that made me not give this a five star rating is the fact that Cas and Anna's relationship is developing very slowly. While it works like this very well with the basic storyline, I was a little bit disappointed by the lack of romance at some points and hope that this will change in the second novel.

All in all, Anna Dressed in Blood is a novel which is creepy and gory, but won't cause nightmares. It has wonderful characters, a great storyline and is very well written. I'm dying to see how the story will continue and I'm crossing my fingers for Cas and Anna to be happy. If you haven't read this novel yet, you should do so soon.

Following novel of the series:
2. Girl of Nightmares (2012)

Have you read Anna Dressed in Blood? What did you think about it?
Carina