Review: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Title: The Hunt
Author: Andrew Fukuda
Age Group: Young Adult
Release Date: May 8th 2012
Publishers: Simon & Schuster
Available from: Amazon
The Book Depository
The Nile
Source: Simon & Schuster


Against all odds, 17-year-old Gene has survived in a world where humans have been eaten to near extinction by the general population. The only remaining humans, or hepers as they are known, are housed in domes on the savannah and studied at the nearby Heper Institute. Every decade there is a government sponsored hunt. When Gene is selected to be one of the combatants he must learn the art of the hunt but also elude his fellow competitors whose suspicions about his true nature are growing.

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Andrew Fukuda has created a chilling, violent world in The Hunt, where vampire like creatures are the norm and humans are on the verge of extinction. I really enjoyed The Hunt. The protagonist Gene is a human male living alongside these creatures and pretending to be one of them. He is constantly on his guard because if he slips he'll die. He has lived the last few years alone after his fathers death. He is so immersed in this persona he puts on that he almost doesn't seem human. He often refers to himself as a part of the whole, but then when something happens that he finds abhorrent he is separated from them. It's almost like he compartmentalises his personality. Gene is a likable character. I know if I lived like him I would have been eaten long ago. He is incredibly intelligent and a survivor. The Hunt is an event their leader puts on for a few randomly selected citizens to keep them happy. Gene is one of the one's chosen to take part in the hunt of hepers, the word the creatures use for humans. Most of the book is spent at the Heper Institute where the hunters learn everything they need to know about the hunt. It's here that we learn our protagonists name is Gene, when he meets with the hepers, and where Gene's life becomes more complicated than he ever thought possible. There are several times when you think he's going to be discovered and it puts you on the edge of your seat waiting to read how he's going to get out of each situation. I found a few things a little weird, like the wrist scratching instead of laughing and elbow-to-armpit make out's. I was a little o.O with them.The last 80 pages or so are when the book kicks into a higher gear and your left breathless by the end. If you're looking for a completely unique read then you have to pick up a copy of The Hunt. It's creepy, compelling and electrifying.

4/5.

Winner: Something Strange and Deadly

To entrant number #55, Laura F. You won the preorder of Something Strange and Deadly. The winner has been notified and has 72 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to everyone who entered!

Covered - Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick!

The cover for the last book in Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush series is finally here! I'm not 100% sure about the title but Patch looks HOT so who cares right! Lol. I really cannot wait until this is released. I absolutely adore this series. Patch & Nora are two of my favourite couples in YA. So what do you think?

Interview & Giveaway with Susan Dennard

Welcome to Worlds of Wonderment Susan, it’s great to have you here!

You’re book Something Strange and Deadly releases later this year. Can you give potential readers a rundown?

It’s 1876, and Philadelphia is hosting the first American World Fair. It’s also hosting rancid corpses that refuse to stay dead. When one of those decomposing bodies brings Eleanor--a 16-year-old with a weakness for buttered toast and Shakespeare quotes--a hostage note for her brother, she resolves to do anything to rescue him. But to face the armies of Dead that have him, she’ll need a little help from a rag-tag ghost-fighting team called the Spirit-Hunters.

Is Something Strange and Deadly going to be part of a series? If so, what do you foresee for the series?

Yes, Something Strange and Deadly is the first book in a planned trilogy. Book 2, A Darkness Strange and Lovely, leads Eleanor and the Spirit-Hunters to Paris, and book 3 takes them to Egypt.

Can you describe your main characters in five words?

Do you mean a sentence of five words? Or five adjectives? I’m going to go with the latter. ;)

Eleanor is brave, overly curious, too impulsive, hungry-for-carbs, and fiercely loyal. Okay, that was WAY more than five... Sorry!

What do you think sets Eleanor and Daniel apart from other YA couples?

I think they’re different because they aren’t necessarily meant to be together. There is no love-at-first-sight, soul-mate love between them. In fact, they aren’t even remotely interested in each other at the start. Their romance is a gradual thing...but even in books 2 and 3, there’s a lot standing in their way--specifically themselves and their own emotional readiness for love.

What makes a swoon-worthy rogue attractive and why do think we swoon over these rogues?

Ah, it’s the arrogant charm. A good ol’ Han Solo or Howl makes me go weak in the knees. There’s just something about their self-confidence...and also their tendency toward sarcasm. The key is figuring out which rogues are actually worth being with and which are just self-centered jerks. ;)

Is there a song that you think encompasses Something Strange and Deadly? Why does it fit your book?

For Something Strange and Deadly, it would be “Septimus” from the Stardust score. It’s just full of tension, and I can so vividly see Eleanor and Daniel running for their lives as they flee a dynamite factory on the verge of exploding!

Was there one defining moment when you realised you wanted to be an author?

Well, I wanted to be a writer when I was growing up, but when I went to school to study creative writing, I wound up sidetracked by marine biology. But when my husband and I got engaged, we realized if I continued to pursue science and he continued to pursue engineering, then we would be apart for many, many, MANY years. At that point, I decided to re-examine that old life goal of mine. But this time, I was older and willing to approach it without the rose-coloured glasses of childhood. This time, I was going to approach it as a profession. And...well, that’s what I did!

What has your journey been like to become published?

It was definitely not what I expected! When I started querying, I was actually on vacation and barely had access to the internet. I figured I wouldn’t hear from any agents for a while, so I sent out my queries and then went to the south of France for a week…only to get my first offer of representation a few days later! I can’t explain to you how stressful  that vacation was.

A few weeks after I signed with the amazingly fantastic and astonishingly wonderful Nancy Coffey Literary, I became an official HarperTeen gal!! :)

Honestly, I feel like my luck with SS&D all boils down to two things: how much I revised the book before I even began querying (I totally over-revised! But maybe my perfectionism paid off…er right?) and timing. The premise for Something Strange and Deadly was exactly what my editor was looking for at that exact moment, so it was all very “stars aligning”.

Is there one thing you wish you had the talent for (besides writing)?

Oh goodness yes! There are so many things I wish I had a talent for--long-distance running, playing an instrument, promoting myself. ;) But if I had to choose one skill I really, really wish I had, it would be drawing. Being able to sketch the characters in my head or draw out a scene--that’s something I would love to be able to do.

I’m a 28-year-old reader, writer, lover of animals, and eater of cookies. I used to be a marine biologist, but now I write novels. And not novels about fish either, but novels about kick-butt heroines and swoon-worthy rogues (I really like swoon-worthy rogues).

I live in Germany with my French husband and Irish setter, and you can learn more about my crazy thoughts and crippling cookie-addiction on twitter, facebook, or Goodreads. Visit www.susandennard.com!

So who wants to win a pre-order of Something Strange and Deadly? Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My BEA 2012 wishlist

I wish I was going to BEA, there are some truly amazing books you can pick up, and I want them! Lol. I really wish they did something like this in Australia. It's also interesting to see how many of these will actually get released in Australia. This is a list of the title's I'd grab if I were there. Check out Publishers Weekly who posted the full list. Which one's do you fancy?

Beta by Rachel Cohn (Disney-Hyperion). The Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlistcoauthor delves into science fiction with the start of a new series.

The Blessed by Tonya Hurley (Simon & Schuster) launches a supernatural romance series that reimagines the martyrdoms of three saints, by the author of ghostgirl.

Crewel by Gennifer Albin (Macmillan/FSG) marks the first in a dystopian trilogy about a girl fighting her powerful destiny.

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (Disney-Hyperion). Ruby must escape from a government-run “rehabilitation camp” for teens with paranormal powers.

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes (Penguin/Razorbill). The paranormal romance and urban fantasy author Michelle Rowen takes a pseudonym for the launch of a high fantasy series.

False Memory by Dan Krokos (Disney-Hyperion). Miranda wakes up on a park bench with no memories, but discovering that she possesses terrifying powers.

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole (Simon & Schuster). The first YA novel from the author of the Immortals After Dark series (and the first in the Arcana Chronicles) concerns a wealthy Louisiana girl whose life is upended by an apocalyptic event.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic Press). Mystery, romance, and the supernatural suffuse the first in a new four-book series from the author of the Shiver trilogy.

Wake by Amanda Hocking (St. Martin’s Griffin) focuses on three modern-day sirens who cast a spell over the seaside town of Capri.

(no cover)

Deviants by Maureen McGowan (Amazon Children’s Publishing). Book one of the Dust Chronicles is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which a 16-year-old orphan with mutated DNA must protect her younger brother.

Waiting on Wednesday - Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that showcases upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. 

                                                                                      
Stormdancer - The Lotus Wars book 1


A DYING LAND 
The Shima Imperium is verging on the brink of environmental collapse; decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshippers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, land choked with toxic pollution, wildlife ravaged by mass extinctions.

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of the imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger—a legendary beast, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows thunder tigers have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.

A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a hidden gift that would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.


How awesome does Stormdancer sound? It's billed as 'a dystopian Japanese-inspired Steampunk fantasy'. Sounds like it has something for everyone. Add this one to your TBR I'm sure it's going to be huge! Stormdancer releases in September. Follow Jay at www.misterkristoff.wordpress.com Let me know what you think.

Review - Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Obsidian (Lux book 1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Age Group: Young Adult
Release Date: November 29th 2011
Publishers: Entangled Publishing
Available from: Amazon
Amazon UK
The Book Depository
Source: Amazon

Starting over sucks. When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbour, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up. And then he opened his mouth. Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. The hot alien living next door marks me. You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. If I don't kill him first, that is.

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I’ve heard plenty over hype over the last few months about Jennifer L. Armentrout. People have been gushing over her books…and now I understand why. Obsidian is amazing! To say I was impressed is an understatement. I bought Obsidian on my lunch break at work on Thursday, which wasn’t the best idea as I had to keep sneaking in a couple of pages on my phone when no one was looking! I’m surprised my manager didn’t confiscate my phone. I came home and continued to read it on my Kindle and could not put it down!

I loved the first impressions of both Katy and Daemon. Your drawn immediately into their world and they sparks fly instantly. They’re like an explosion, they burn hot and fast and leave you breathless. I can say I haven’t read many YA books where there has been such an intense reaction between two characters. I loved every scene that Katy and Daemon were in. The good and the bad. Katy thinks of herself as rather bland and unassuming, but doesn’t realise she has a hidden feisty side; which Daemon constantly draws out of her. She gives as good as she gets. Then there’s Daemon. Ahh Daemon, Daemon, Daemon. This guy is beyond arrogant, overbearing, cocky, narcissistic and any other similar adjectives you can throw in. So why do we love him? I can’t seem to explain it…he just owns every page. He’s hot, seductive and even though he is all those adjectives, you begin to understand why he is the way he is. He pushes Katy away because he can’t protect his family and her. For him it can only be one or the other. They push each other’s buttons like nobody’s business.

There aren’t many alien books out there and I am always wondering if they can make it work. This is definitely one book where it does. Obsidian is a little like I am Number Four in a couple of ways, but Obsidian is about 500 times better. I loved the whole storyline; aliens from a distant planet trying to make a new life for themselves on a new planet. The action is exciting, the romance scorching. Enthralling and compelling, Obsidian has a powerful and irresistible effect on you. I don’t know what more I can say I just hope I’ve done it justice. Go and buy a copy and lose yourself in the magnificent world Jennifer L. Armentrout has created. You’ll be joining the Daemon Black band wagon once you’ve read it, I’m sure.

5/5