Good afternoon, adored ones! I’m back with another edition of the mini reviews, but this time for Dystopian books! I received all of today’s titles in exchange for honest reviews, so A BIG THANK YOU! I have read them all last year, but a reason or another or several, I never got around to review them. NOT ANYMORE. I’m honestly tired of being so behind in reviews, so I’ll work harder to not get overflowed in read books anymore!
Just remembering that the mini reviews deal is a combination of inspirations from Cait, of The Paper Fury, and from Lindsey, of @thepagemistress, and that I do those with books that: a) I really liked, but the book didn’t change my life; b) regardless of my feelings, were too short for a complete review; c) regardless of my feelings, weren’t unforgettable.
In this post, you’ll find mini reviews for:
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Amy McNulty – Fall Far From the Tree
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Amy McNulty – Josie’s Coat
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Holly Sparks – Enrule (The Enrule Series #1)
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Jamie Morris – Melophobia
*~. Fall Far From the Tree.~*
From Amy McNulty
Rating: 3 stars
Reading period: Nov. 16th to 27th, 2016
Format: ebook
Source: received from the author in exchange for an honest review
Release date: Sep. 6th, 2016
Terror. Callousness. Denial. Rebellion. How the four teenage children of leaders in the duchy and the neighboring empire of Hanaobi choose to adapt to their nefarious parents’ whims is a matter of survival.
Rohesia, daughter of the duke, spends her days hunting “outsiders,” fugitives who’ve snuck onto her father’s island duchy. That she lives when even children who resemble her are subject to death hardens her heart to tackle the task.
Fastello is the son of the “king” of the raiders who steal from the rich and share with the poor. When aristocrats die in the raids, Fastello questions what his peoples’ increasingly wicked methods of survival have cost them.
An orphan raised by a convent of mothers, Cateline can think of no higher aim in life than to serve her religion, even if it means turning a blind eye to the suffering of other orphans under the mothers’ care.
Kojiro, new heir to the Hanaobi empire, must avenge his people against the “barbarians” who live in the duchy, terrified the empress, his own mother, might rather see him die than succeed.
When the paths of these four young adults cross, they must rely on one another for survival – but the love of even a malevolent guardian is hard to leave behind.
PROS
Definitely, the world building was fantastic. I was positively overwhelmed by the new and at the same time all too familiar sceneries and cultures. We can feel imminent tragedy since page one for all characters and I loved the thrilling feeling of the wait for disaster. I could have never saw that ending coming and I squealed a little in surprise, I admit HAHAHAHA!
CONS
My only solid complains about this book were: a) the slow pace – I’m not one to sit and wait for things to happen, not even on books; and b) the many different main characters that don’t seem to be connected until like 60% of the book. I think this is one of those cases in which telling the story “on the reverse” would have helped a lot to position the reader.
The author recently changed the cover for Fall Far From The Tree to better match the story and I can attest that IT TOTALLY FITS IT NOW. The model, the framing, the writings… Seriously, I don’t have one single bad word to say against this new cover. Which one do you guys prefer??
QUOTES
Exceptions lead to chaos. – Cateline
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No child was safe in the duchy, no matter who offered them shelter. – Rohesia
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Could evil love, and could evil in one’s eyes be good in another’s? – Rohesia
RECOMMENDED FOR
Fans of Dark and High Fantasy, YA and kick ass female characters!
*~.Josie’s Coat.~*
From Amy McNulty
Rating: 5 stars
Reading period: Nov. 14th to 15th, 2016
Format: ebook
Source: received from the author in exchange for an honest review
Release date: Sep. 9th, 2016
A woman with shoulder bones as sharp as an eagle’s talons – bones almost protruding from her skin – opens her mouth as wide as it’ll go, impossibly wide, consuming the pill that takes both of her arms to cradle. The nourishment makes her thin stomach pop out like she’s pregnant with a child so large it’ll burst through her stomach. She swallows slowly and licks her lips. Her eyes search around hungrily for more.
That dream again.
Josie is skilled at her job as an “unfortunate” who inhabits the bodies of her clients to perform their work while they sleep, but her coworkers’ cruel jealousy over her success leads to her enslavement and the loss of her dream-worker status. A YA sci-fi reimagining of the tale of Jacob’s favorite son Joseph, his dreams, and his famous coat.
PROS
This short story surprised me in all possible positive ways! I admit I get skeptical with short books and novellas, because there are only a handful of pages to develop a whole story, but if you want to know, Amy McNulty just gave us a lesson on how to do it like a boss. Josie’s Coat is intriguing, action-packed and extremely creative, with a perfect beginning, developing and ending in just a couple of pages. I’m swept off my feet with wonder and now I can’t help but want more books in this wonderful world setting *–*
CONS
That I want more? HAHAHAHA
I love the space-feeling of this cover. Emotions play a great role in this story and it’s something really hard to portray so loosely on covers. I think this cover does the job with perfection, using colors in a relaxing and mysterious way, intriguing the reader to take a look at the blurb. The stars and geometric forms also help to create the atmosphere of the story very well. Seriously, I loved it all. Even the writings and the colors used on the words.
QUOTES
I didn’t highlight anything during this read, oops!
RECOMMENDED FOR
Fans of YA, SciFi, twists and anyone who needs something to read in 15-30 minutes ❤
*BONUS*
Read here my reviews for other books by Amy McNulty/Joy Penny!
- MCNULTY, Amy – Nobody’s Goddess, Never Veil #1 (review here!)
- MCNULTY, Amy – Nobody’s Lady, Never Veil #2 (review here!)
- MCNULTY, Amy – Nobody’s Pawn, Never Veil #3 (review here!)
- PENNY, Joy – A Love for the Mistletoe, A Love for the Pages #0.5 (review here!)
- PENNY, Joy – A Love for the Pages (review here!)
*~.Enrule.~*
From Holly Sparks
The Enrule Series #1
Rating: 3 stars
Reading period: June 13th, 2016, to *insert major and ridiculous break here* Nov. 30th, 2016
Format: ebook
Source: received from the author in exchange for an honest review
Release date: Dec. 9th, 2015
I remember waking to the scream.
I remember calling my sister’s name.
I remember seeing the blood smeared along the staircase.
I remember the creature’s green eyes.
They say there’s a cure. They say there’s a way to stop this madness, a way to stop the hunger.
I think they’re lying.
My name is Ella, and this is my story.
In this exhilarating debut, Holly Sparks presents a horrifying dystopian world, a remarkable heroine, and an unforgettable adventure.
PROS
I really liked this new take on the end of the world and zombies. The system, the “academy” feelings and all the action and kicking of ass were great ❤
CONS
I didn’t like Ella as a protagonist. She was too over-power for my tastes and several interactions between the characters felt forced and/or unrealistic. If you’re just starting to read YA and zombie books, you might love it more than I did. This is one of those cases in which having read too much of a genre kills the vibe of certain books for you. They are good, but not outstanding.
Picture from Holly Spark’s Instagram account, @booksandskittles – if you’re there, make sure to follow her! Her pictures are breathtaking and inspirational *–*
I have no shame in admitting that Enrule’s cover is the best part of the package. Seriously, I loved it since I first saw it on the author’s Instagram account ❤ I love the writings, the position, the blue background with only the model and the sword in evidence. SERIOUSLY, I JUST LOVE IT TOO MUCH! /o/
QUOTES
I’ve read this ebook on my e-reader and it doesn’t allow me to highlight quotes, so no records to tell my poor panda brain if there were any that I loved =(
RECOMMENDED FOR
Fans of YA, Zombies, Action, Dystopian, Adventure and Survival =)
*~.Melophobia.~*
From Jamie Morris
Rating: 4 stars
Reading period: July 6th to 18th, 2016
Format: ebook
Source: received from the author in exchange for an honest review
Release date: Sept. 22nd, 2015
Melophobia: fear or hatred of music.
The time – now; the place – America, but in a world where the government controls all forms of art and creativity. Any music sowing the seeds of anarchy is banned – destroyed if found – its creators and listeners harshly punished.
Merrin Pierce works as an undercover Patrol officer assigned to apprehend a fugitive musician who threatens the safe fabric of society, only to confront everything she thought to be true – her values, upbringing, job, and future.
Can love survive in a world without music?
PROS
World-building for this universe was UNBELIAVEABLE. Seriously. I was blasted away by this dystopian take on a world without music. It was highly creative and risky, but Morris slayed it like the king he is. I was glued until the last page, needing to know how things would end, haha!
CONS
My only solid complaint about this book was my lack of connection with the book’s characters 
I didn’t give a crap for them, I just wanted the world to have music again, hahaha!
Intriguing is the first word that came to my mind when James told me he had wrote a new book and showed me this cover. I loved the simplicity and accuracy of this concept. There is a certain terror in the direct message of the cover that made me fall hard in love =)
QUOTES
“This secured area didn’t contain confiscated guns, knives or drugs. It contained something far more dangerous: ideas, portable and seductive.”
RECOMMENDED FOR
Fans of dystopian, mystery, action and thrillers!
BONUS: read here my review for James Morris’ other novel, What Lies Within!
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And we’re done! Phew, so many books and so little time!! Thank you soooo much for reading! Hope I could pick your interest for one or two of these babies =)
With love,
The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange 
Another wonderful batch of mini reviews!
I personally like the first cover for Fall Far from the Tree… for some reason the current cover feels a little odd to me… maybe because I haven’t read it. They should have put a tree on the cover #JustSaying because I have a thing about trees on covers.
“I admit I get skeptical with short books and novellas, because there are only a handful of pages to develop a whole story, but if you want to know, Amy McNulty just gave us a lesson on how to do it like a boss.”
I’m the SAME way with short stories. I tend to avoid them actually. Happy that you found one who can get it done in a short story lol
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