ARC Review: Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto

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Book summary:

The two-bit town of Rogue City is a lawless place, full of dark magic and saloon brawls, monsters and six-shooters. But it’s perfect for seventeen-year-old Westie, the notorious adopted daughter of local inventor Nigel Butler.
Westie was only a child when she lost her arm and her family to cannibals on the wagon trail. Nine years later, Westie may seem fearsome with her foul-mouthed tough exterior and the powerful mechanical arm built for her by Nigel, but the memory of her past still haunts her. She’s determined to make the killers pay for their crimes—and there’s nothing to stop her except her own reckless ways.
But Westie’s search ceases when a wealthy family comes to town looking to invest in Nigel’s latest invention, a machine that can harvest magic from gold—which Rogue City desperately needs as the magic wards that surround the city start to fail. There’s only one problem: the investors look exactly like the family who murdered Westie’s kin. With the help of Nigel’s handsome but scarred young assistant, Alistair, Westie sets out to prove their guilt. But if she’s not careful, her desire for revenge could cost her the family she has now.
This thrilling novel is a remarkable tale of danger and discovery, from debut author Michelle Modesto.

        I'm really having a bad luck with these new ARCs (bare in mind that I'm writing this in September). When they first appeared on Edelweiss I was over the moon as they all sounded so good and most of them unique. Revenge and the Wild seemed as the most unique one for sure. It was that, but with lots of issues.

        As promised in the blurb, this book is a mix of everything. It's a mystery, steampunk and above all fantasy. Set in Rouge City it tells about the girl Westie. A girl who has lost her parents long ago and ever since then trained really hard to revenge their death. With Nigel's help (her guardian) she became as many believe heartless killing machine. In the world where vampires, zombies, cannibals and what not it seems like a very useful skill. When she finally gets to face the killers, she will do anything to complete her task.

       That was the revenge part of the title, now we're coming to the wild part. This book is full of all sorts of creatures. Some of them familiar to us, while some of them not. But what they all have in common is that all of them are wild. Meaning no sparkling vampires or heartthrob zombies. That part of the story was the best for me. I never knew when the next creature will pop out and the next bloodshed begin.

      But another wild part here are love interests. More or less all of us hate love triangles, so I'm not sure why someone things that quadrangle is better. No, it's worse, much worse. It ruined the whole reading experience for me as every guy in this book seemed to be in love with Westie. I shall add that her character was actually really flat as all others in the book.

     Basically, this book goes on the good idea, but bad realization shelf in my library.

Rating: 2 stars. 

Until the next time,

*NOTE: Copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, via Edelweiss. Thank you!

ARC Review: This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

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Book summary:

10:00 a.m.The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.
10:02 a.m.The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.
10:03The auditorium doors won't open.
10:05Someone starts shooting.
Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

         To all of us who always complain that there really is no diversity in YA books, well I present you This is Where it Ends! This book contains all diversity you may ask for (different races and sexual orientations) and with that deliver a really strong story, real and heartbreaking. Basically, everything I could ask from it.

         It starts with four narrators and four different POVs. At the beginning it's a bit hard to connect all the dots and understand what's the connecting between all of them as the story progresses you get to understand it. We're in a high school here, ironically called Opportunity. It's your typical high school but with some unexpected event on a first day of school. It starts as each year with assembly where the principal is giving them her speech, which all of them already know by heart. Only when it ends there is no way out. They are trapped and suddenly there are gunshots. Terror starts in and out of high school.

         While some might complain that four different narrators might be too much here it really works out. Mostly as you get to be inside and outside of the school and with that get a full picture. Not only that, this book is real. When I say real I mean shocking as you won't believe that it's happening. There is no happy moments and love conquers all here. It's really straightforward and heartbreaking.

         I'm not sure that many will find this book appealing as it might even be controversial. Still I believe it's something that we all need to read. It's a great wake up call and it makes you think of everything that's happening around you, which is its greatest strength.

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,

*NOTE: Copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!