The Game of Lives (Mortality Doctrine #3) by James Dashner 4/5 stars

Hey, guys!  This'll be a quick review.

I finally finished the Mortality Doctrine series by James Dashner.
Previous Books: Eye of Minds, Rule of Thoughts (review)
Reading Ready Player One inspired me to finish a different video game/ alternate reality series.  I loved this series, but I think I lost the plot sometime between when I read book 2 and book 3.  I still enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, but it was harder to get through than the previous books were.

The Cover:

The title is kind of neat.  A play on words of both game (strategy vs video game) and lives (real vs video game lives). I don't think this cover shows any scene in particular.  Just something mildly tech-y with Michael jumping in the background.  It's not a very relevant cover, but it'll do.  B cover

Official Description:
Michael used to live to game.
Now the games he was playing have become all too real. Only weeks ago, Sinking into the Sleep was fun. The VirtNet combined the most cutting-edge technology and the most sophisticated gaming for a full mind-body experience. And it was Michael’s passion. But now every time Michael Sinks, he risks his life.
The games are over. The VirtNet has become a world of deadly consequences, and Kaine grows stronger by the day. The Mortality Doctrine—Kaine’s master plan—has nearly been realized, and little by little the line separating the virtual from the real is blurring. If Kaine succeeds, it will mean worldwide cyber domination. And it looks like Michael and his friends are the only ones who can put the monster back in the box—if Michael can figure out who his friends really are.

My Review:
The Game of Lives was a fitting end to the series.  
The plot surprised me with its twists and the relationships between characters felt organic.  
A crazily unbelievable happily-ever-after was not pushed onto the reader at the very end, which I appreciated.  The series had a nice ending that finished the story arcs and left me satisfied.
The plot was interesting, but it dragged on a little too long.  
If you've read the previous books, you should definitely read this book to finish off the series.  It's a good and satisfying conclusion to the series, but it won't blow you away.

Phrase:
Going off on a Tangent

Happy Reading!

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The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) by Patrick Ness 5/5 stars

Hey, guys! I just finished listening to the audiobook of The Knife of Never Letting Go.  I'd seen it referenced before and thought I'd give it a shot.  It was fantastic!  I'm so glad I read it!

The Cover:

This is a really cool cover.  Before I go too far into it, let's talk about the title.  It fits this book perfectly.  Todd's hunting knife is a huge part of this book, plus the title's symbolic.  The edges of the cover has various jumbled phrases, resembling the Noise (more on that later).  It works really well for this book.  Obviously a lot of thought was put into it! A+ cover

Official Description:
Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.
But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

My Review:
I loved it.  It's definitely the best book-in-a-series that I've read in months.  Just wow.
That being said, look at the formatting before you read it.  Not often, but at certain points, Patrick Ness characterizes the Noise by having a jumble of unimportant phrases (like those of the edge of the cover) or different fonts.  If that worries you, check out the preview at Amazon before reading it.  It gives you a good feel for the style.  I thought it added to the book, but if that sort of thing bothers you...

I loved the characters.  They were not perfect in any way, but that's what made them neat.  The character development was the best thing about them though.  Todd completely changed as the book went on.  As much as I liked the protagonists, I will admit the villains were a bit undeveloped, though I think that's the whole point.

The plot was interesting and engaging.  There were plenty of mysteries to solve.  Some of them were predictable, others took me completely by surprise.  I didn't find myself becoming bored with the storyline at all.

The best part about this book was its writing style.  It was different and refreshing.  It was serious and funny and made me think.  The writing was really hooked me, and I could tell by only a few pages in that I'd love this book.

I'd recommend reading The Knife of Never Letting Go if you are up for something a bit weird but mostly great.

Audiobook Review (read by Nick Podehl):
Nick Podehl did a great job bringing life to this story.  The Knife of Never Letting Go works particularly well as an audiobook because of the style of the book, as well as the speech patterns (basically southern accent) of the narrator.  I really enjoyed it.  At the segments where I earlier mentioned the format, the audiobook talked over itself to give a really neat perspective of the Noise. Overall, one of my favorite audiobook interpretations.

Phrase:
Ow, Todd.

If You Liked This Book, You May Also Like:
Books by Neal Shusterman

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Of Poseidon (The Syrena Legacy #1) by Anna Banks 3/5 stars

Hey, guys! I listened to the audiobook of Of Poseidon and finally finished it.  I was excited to be done with the book, only to discover it was the first in a series (The Syrena Legacy series).  It's safe to say that I will not be reading the rest of this series.  That's not to say it was all bad, but I wouldn't recommend reading it.

The Cover:
It shows a girl, who I would assume is Emma (the main character), but the character has light hair. So I assume it's Reyna? Either way, the cover doesn't really make sense.  C- cover

Official  Description:
Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom...
Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view(only Emma's is in first person), here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

My Review:
Basically, this book was about a merman who falls in love with a girl who may or may not be a mermaid.  I know, it sounds a bit stupid.  Believe it or not, the bad part of this book had no relation to the actual storyline, which was as good as could be expected for a mermaid book.

The problem was  that it just wasn't realistic.  I'll excuse all of the mermaid stuff, but the regular life parts were unrealistic.  I understand that this book was made for younger audiences, but if a senior in high school avoided cursing by saying, "Oh my sweet goodness!" all the time, they would be made fun of.  Harshly.  

All of the interactions with Emma's mom were incredibly awkward.  Awkward to the point that if I was the mom, there is no way I'd allow my daughter to hang out with Galen. 

Speaking of their relationship, there is a scene when Galen confronts Emma and a guy.  His actions honestly felt like an abusive relationship.  It was out of character, but still if I was guy Emma was with, I would feel obligated to have a serious chat with Emma.

That being said, the dialogue was witty and natural feeling.  The situations they found themselves in were not so organic.  Of Poseidon was a fan of creating conflict through unclear communication and... That was it.  As well as unnecessary scenes such as Reyna Drives a Car!

Obviously, I was not a fan.  It wasn't all bad, of course.  There were fun scenes and a bit of drama.  I might've just aged out of it.  I could see all the plot twists coming a mile away, but there were still plot twists! I finished the book, so it wasn't horrendous.  This is more of a middle school book.  

I would not recommend Of Poseidon. 

Phrase:
Oh my sweet goodness!

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The Rose Society (The Young Elites #2) by Marie Lu 4.5/5 stars

Hey, guys! I just finished The Rose Society by Marie Lu.  It was great... once I figured out what was happening.  It had been about a year since I read The Young Elites (click for review of book one!) so I had forgotten quite a bit of the book, including the entire ending.  If you are reading this review and you don't remember, do yourself a favor and reread the last fifteen pages of book one.  The Rose Society will only explain it at page 250 or so.

The Cover:

The cover shows Adelina's codename (the White Wolf) looking over some water.  I'm not impressed with the image, but it's okay.  The name of the book, The Rose Society, is the same thing that Adelina names her secret society.

Official Description:
Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.

Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she flees Kenettra with her sister to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers who nearly killed her.

But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good when her very existence depends on darkness?

My (Super-Simplified) Description:
Adelina got kicked out of Raffaele's secret society, so she decides to make her own secret society.  All's fine, except her secret society is a lot bloodier and not opposed to fighting Raffaele's society.

My Review:
The purpose of this series is to watch Adelina slowly become the villain of the story, which is great.  She is not high and mighty, her sister is mildly afraid of her, and she takes what she wants without regard to consequences.  It's an interesting premise and is executed wonderfully.  

The plot was not the focus of the book, but it was good and engaging.  There were numerous action scenes as well as character development scenes.  The book went by quickly.  There were two main storylines, what was going on with Adelina and what was going on with the Daggers.  At times, one was much more interesting than the other, making the book go by a little slower.

My only real complaint was that Adelina's inner monologue became repetitive at times.  I get that it was an important part of the book, but there was a lot of repetition going on.

Overall, I enjoyed The Rose Society and would recommend it.  Be sure to refresh yourself on The Young Elites before you start it though.  It doesn't warm you up at all.  

Phrase:
Why did you kill him?


Happy Reading!

If You Liked This Book, You May Also Like:
Red Queen
The Young Elites
The Wrath and the Dawn

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Crystal Keepers (Five Kingdoms #3) by Brandon Mull 4.5/5 stars

Hey, guys!  I just finished Crystal Keepers by Brandon Mull.  It was great, just like the rest of this series.  If you haven't read any books in this series, here's book 1/ book 2.

The Cover:

The Cover:
It shows a robot attacking Cole and Constance in Zeropolis. It's not my kind of cover.  At all.  B-

Official Description:
Cole Randolph is trapped in a world where magic is powerful and dreams are real. He found his friend Dalton and has survived the first two kingdoms of the Outskirts. But none of that has prepared him for the magnetic highways and robotic bounty hunters of Zeropolis.
Ruled by Abram Trench, the one Grand Shaper who stayed loyal to the evil High King, the government of Zeropolis uses advanced technologies to keep tight control. Luckily, the resistance in Zeropolis is anchored by the Crystal Keepers, a group of young rebels with unique weapons.
On the run from the High King's secret police, Cole and Dalton venture to find more of their lost friends, and help their new friend, Mira, locate her sister Constance. But as their enemies ruthlessly dismantle the resistance, time runs out for Cole to uncover the secrets behind the Zeropolitan government and unravel the mystery of who helped the High King steal his daughters' powers. Can Cole fix The Outskirts magic, or will he be stranded forever?

My Review:
This book was very pleasant.  Despite the fact that it had been a year and a half since I read book 2, it was not hard to orient myself inside the story. If you enjoyed the first two books, you will like this one as well.  
That being said, this was not my favorite book in the series.  There was a lot of setup for the next two books in the series and significantly less action than the previous books.
That just left more time for character development, which ran rampant in this book.  The characters in this series are very relatable and are unique.  From just a line of dialogue, you can tell which character is speaking because they are so distinct.
The plot was exciting and the adventure was thrilling. 
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, but then again, I enjoy everything that Brandon Mull writes.  If you enjoyed the previous books, definitely pick up Crystal Keepers.  If you haven't read any of this series, give it a shot (keeping in mind, its target market is closer to twelve-year-olds than most posts on my blog).

Phrase:
Roxie the robot

If You Liked This Book, You May Also Like:
The Outcasts
The Sword of Summer
Tesla's Attic

Happy Reading!

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