Rehabilitating YA: 20 Trope-Free Standalones/Series to Read if You've Given Up on It (Pt.2)

Hello sweeties!

I've been wanting to write a post like this for a while. Every now and then, I hear someone say they've given up on YA (or are reading much less of it lately) because they got fed up with the tropes that come with the "genre". Now, while of course it's not mandatory to read YA at any age, and while I'm not denying the existence of such tropes (though really, any literary genre/age range has got its share of them...), I made it my reader's life mission to discover YA books that stand out for any reason and employ as little of those overused plot devices as it's humanly possible (hence, of course, my blog's name). So I thought I'd put together a list of YA novels blissfully devoid of tropes (or employing them in minimal doses), hoping to prove those reluctant/jaded readers that there's so much more to YA than meets the eye. And I ultimately decided to make this post into a series, because my list was too long for a single one. Here goes Part 2 (broken down by genres/my blog's Reading Rooms)...

(Note: these are not necessarily my favourite books - though some of them are. I only choose them for their lack/minimal amount of tropes. Also, there are a few mature YA/NA/adult friendly books in this list).

Lyssa Chiavari: "Fourth World"

Title: Fourth World [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Iamos Trilogy (1st of 3 books, but there's also a novella that is book 1.5 in the series)
Author: Lyssa Chiavari [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi
Year: 2015
Age: 14+
Stars: 3/5
Pros: Interesting premise. Varied (and diverse) cast of characters who (mostly) feel like real teens.
Cons: While interesting, the premise is not overly original. While nice, the characters don't exactly grab you. Some telling-vs.-showing.
Will appeal to: Those who like time travel, mandatory but slightly out-of-the-box romances, and accidental heroes.

Blurb: Life on Mars isn't all it's cracked up to be when you're Isaak Contreras. Ever since his dad disappeared two years ago, Isaak's been struggling to keep up in school, and he never seems to be able to live up to his mom's high expectations. But everything changes when he finds an ancient coin among his missing father's possessions. The coin makes him a target of both the Martian colonial government and a crazed scientist with a vendetta - and it leads him to a girl from another time named Nadin, who believes that Isaak might just hold the key to saving both their worlds. That is, if they can survive long enough to use it...(Amazon)

Review: First off...SORT-OF DISCLAIMER: I won a digital copy of Fourth World in a giveaway a while ago. Of course, this didn't influence my opinions.

(MODERATELY) HAPPY MEAL

Fourth World technically had all the ingredients for my kind of story. And I did like it...but less than I expected. The premise is interesting enough - Mars became an Earth colony, though I'm not sure how it could be accomplished; a teen guy (Isaak) searching for the answer to his father's disappearance finds more than he bargained for, and gets whisked to a past where the planet is on the verge of dying, with all its original inhabitants. Here he befriends a privileged, but questioning girl (Nadin), and they set on a journey to save Mars' native people (and possibly, to send Isaak home). Also, there are conspiracies going on in both timelines, and a bunch of diverse characters both in the sexuality spectrum (lesbian, demi, ace) and the ethnicity one. So...interesting. Maybe not exactly fresh, you know, but as a combination of different themes, it works. On the other hand...I'm not sure if it was because I recognised a few tropes that I was left wanting more. Maybe it had more to do with the execution than with the ingredients. I liked the taste, but the whole dish didn't ultimately amount to more than the sum of its parts. That's not to say that this book (or series) hasn't a few things going for it though, especially in the rep department. [...]

Christopher Pike: "Thirst No.2"

Title: Thirst No.2 [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Thirst (previously: The Last Vampire) (2nd of ?? books | omnibus, reissued 2010 | contains the original TLV short novels: Phantom, Evil Thirst, Creatures of Forever)
Author: Christopher Pike [Facebook | Goodreads]
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Year: 1996
Age: 14+ (please note: for years it's been considered YA lit, but the human age of the protagonist would place it in the NA category nowadays, and the series get more mature - and darker - by the book)
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Original take on vampires. Plenty of kickass action and funny (if often bloody) moments. Blends urban fantasy with thriller, history, and more than anything, Eastern spirituality.
Cons: Requires more suspension of disbelief than Book 1. The blend of UF and sci-fi may not work for everyone.
WARNING! Abundance of blood, gore and violence.
Will appeal to: Those looking for a fresh approach to vampires, in what was probably the very first YA/NA series about them.

Blurb: What Alisa has desired for five thousand years has finally come true: she is once again human. But now she is defenseless, vulnerable, and, for the first time in centuries, emotional. As she attempts to reconcile her actions as a vampire with her new connection to humanity, she begins to understand the weight of life-and-death decisions. Can Alisa resolve her past and build a new identity, or is she doomed to repeat her fatal mistakes? (Goodreads)
[Please note: "Alisa" is the main character's alias in the first installment, but her real name - the one she'll go by for the rest of the series, when she's not undercover for some reason - is Sita. Also, the blurb just scratches the surface of what the second three books in the series - now repackaged as one - are about...to be precise, it only refers to Book 4]

Review: This series is not perfect. And I won't shun its faults in my review. But for some reason, I can't bear myself to rate it less than 5 stars. It's not author bias - there are a bunch of Pike books I rated 3 stars and even less. But if TLV/Thirst stills works its magic on me almost 20 years after I first read Book 1, and if I'm still peeling its layers after all this time, that should count for something...

I WANT TO BELIEVE

There's a fil rouge to all the Thirst series, and the French metaphor comes in especially handy, since the common denominator is all kinds of enemies (human or not) going after Sita's blood. And there's a corollary to this - Sita having to defend humanity from the havoc her blood could wreak on them. But the 4th and 5th original installments break this pattern (that will resurface in Book 6), focusing on two special births and the need to defend one of the infants from malevolent forces. Plus, for a while, Sita is human again, and for the very first time we see her bonding with another woman (like her apparent insta-love with Ray in Book 1, this could have a huge insta-friendship vibe, if there wasn't a century-old backstory to it). Since from the original separate book blurbs I knew she would go back to being a vampire, I enjoyed my ride with human Sita. In a way, it was even more interesting for me to have that version of her to explore and compare to the one we had known so far. Some things change, some are oh so much alike. It's SO hard to review this part of the story without spoilers, but what I can say is, your enjoyment of Phantom may depend on to what extent you're capable to suspend disbelief, unless the illusion that the title openly references has, indeed, a life of sorts (which I suspect is the case, given the multiple references to "the abyss" as if it were a place that could generate something more solid than a simple hallucination). It still poses a few practical problems, but like Sita with her predicament, we probably aren't to examine the story that closely, or it will blow in our face 😉. Still, even before I formulated my crazy (ingenious?) theory about what goes on in Phantom, I was invested in the story, and a certain part before the very end broke my heart. [...]

Patrick Ness: "More Than This"

Title: More Than This [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Patrick Ness [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Dystopian? Sci-Fi? Afterlife? None of that? It depends on how you understand it...
Year: 2014
Age: 14+
Stars: 3.5
Pros: Fascinating, heartfelt story that makes you care for the characters. Unapologetic, yet sweet representation of a gay relationship. Prose that manages to feel deep and rich despite its simplicity.
Cons: You peel layer after layer and you're left with virtually nothing under them, except the very message the title already conveyed.
Will appeal to: Those who like mindfucking books where getting the message is more important than actually believing in the story.

Blurb: Seth drowns, desperate and alone. But then he wakes. Naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. And where is he? The street seems familiar, but everything is abandoned, overgrown, covered in dust. He remembers dying, his skull bashed against the rocks. Has he woken up in his own personal hell? Is there more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife? (Amazon)

Review: This is one of the rare books I managed to get not long after it came out - just a few months. And all this time I have struggled with writing a proper review for it...I did a mini that I probably should leave alone, because I'm not sure I can articulate my thoughts better in a long review, even now - but writing detailed reviews is a compulsion for me 😂. So here goes...

THE BOY WHO DROWNED ON EARTH

The first section is GREAT, and while reading this book for the first time, I was sure it would be a 5-star one by the end. I understand that the aforementioned first section is not for everyone, because it's all about Seth waking up from...whatever his alleged death was, trying (unsuccessfully) to make sense of his situation, tending to his basic needs, exploring the place, asking himself questions, meeting (or not meeting) a few animals, feeling alone, dreaming painfully vivid and detailed snippets of his past. But I would have happily read a whole book about that - the whole darned 472 pages of it. The mystery was compelling and fascinating - while I loved the feeling of slowly peeling its layers along with Seth, I was also excited to live in that world for as long as it took to get real answers. Personal hell (as Seth himself believes)? Post-apocalyptic world? Coma dream? Or something else entirely? Plus, I loved his dreams/recollections/whatever they were, and not just as means to unlock the mystery. There's a solid, engrossing yet quiet YA contemporary wrapped into the mystery of Seth's awakening - and when I say "quiet" I mean "unglamorous", not "uneventful". There's a love story, and a friendship story, and a betrayal story, and a family story - and raw, real pain. There's a unapologetic, yet not graphic at all, sex scene between two boys, which is first and foremost a LOVE scene. And finally, the writing is solid, engrossing yet quiet as well. But...this was when the book shifted. [...]

Edward Aubry: "Caprice"

Title: Caprice [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Edward Aubry [Facebook | Goodreads]
Genres: Thriller/Mystery, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Year: 2012
Age: It's aimed at adults, but can be read by mature teens
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: Fun twist on a classic trope. Great guessing game. Slightly tongue-in-cheek homage to the complexity of women.
Cons: Requires huge suspension of disbelief. Depicts a fierce case of instalove...but again, with a massive twist.
WARNING! Moderate gore.
Will appeal to: Those who are in for a fun ride. Those who enjoy having the rug constantly pulled from under their feet. 

Blurb: What if your office crush almost killed you with a kiss? Danny Marx has an innocent infatuation with the cute, quirky new girl, Caprice. When she meets him in the stairwell one day and surprises him with an unprovoked, yet passionate kiss, he thinks his fantasies have finally come true. That is until moments later when he becomes violently ill and collapses. He awakens in a hospital where Caprice tells him that the kiss contained an exotic virus designed to intentionally make him sick. She breaks him out of the hospital claiming that both of their lives are in extreme danger. Fleeing with Caprice, Danny embarks on an adventure in which nothing is what it seems. Exactly who or what is Caprice? Why are their lives in danger and who is chasing them? Can Danny trust the girl of his dreams…or has she just tossed him into a nightmare? (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I have reviewed four more books by the author so far, and I specifically requested a review copy of this one. Also, Mr. Aubry and I have exchanged a few emails, and we follow each other on Twitter. But as usual, I'm rating this book accordingly to the level of enjoyment it provided.
 

I'M EVERY WOMAN

Let's get it out of the way: the main female character is, indeed, what you would call a manic pixie dream girl. Except she's not. I can't explain you why, because if you enter this book without too much knowledge, you'll have a lot of fun, especially trying to figure out what's really happening. Plus, of course, watching the author play with the above trope and give it a totally new meaning. What I can say is - Caprice is a long, slightly humorous but heartfelt love letter to women, their infinite complexity and the many faces they come with. Maybe they still need a man to make their life complete in this case (though, well, not in the usual sense at all), but in a way, the male character is sort of a rescued would-be princess, which reverses the trope and makes it fresh and fun. [...]

WHERE WERE WE

For such a short book (just a little longer than your usual novella, with its 50,000+ words), Caprice packs a punch about adventures, mysteries and twists. Here's what the author himself told me about it in an interview:

"My second novel, Caprice, actually started as a writing exercise to see how long I could sustain a story where the genre changes every chapter. Not very long, it turned out."

To be honest, I wouldn't call it a change of genre, but it's a change for sure - I can't say more because I would royally spoil the fun for anyone interested. (Anyway, you only need to take a look at the chapter titles to find evidence of that). And mind you, when you think you're finally on solid ground...think again 😉. Or maybe you were on it before and you didn't realise?

RIDING ON A FANTASY

As far as love stories go, Caprice is fairly simplistic in a way, highly improbable in another. But as a fable (though not of the rainbows-and-unicorns variety) it works. It's even infused with a nice culture twist at the end. Not every aspect is thoroughly accounted for (there's a character who remains, for the most part, a mystery, and a phone call that doesn't get a definitive explanation), but it's highly entertaining and makes you rack your brain, which sits well with me 😁. Also, it's well written (except for the overuse of the verb "lurch" - I counted 10 instances of it 😉. It must be the beta-reader in me LOL) AND well edited. If you're looking for a crazy and adventurous blend of romance, comedy, drama and suspense where nothing is what it seems, look no further.

For my "Prelude to Mayhem" review (first installment in the Mayhem Wave series by the same author) click here.
For my review of Edward Aubry's book "Unhappenings" click here.
For my interview with Edward Aubry click here.
For more Adult books click here.

Alternate cover (paperback)

Edward Aubry: "Mayhem's Children" (ARC Review)

Title: Mayhem's Children [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Mayhem Wave (3rd of 5 books)
Author: Edward Aubry [Facebook | Goodreads]
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Year: 2017
Age: 14+ (note: Book 1 was marketed as a YA/NA crossover. The series is progressively becoming more mature, but I would say that Book 3 covers all the spectrum from teen to adult. NA will do - especially since one of the leads is 23)
Stars: 4.5/5
Pros: As in Book 1 and 2, quirky and audacious blend of post-apocalypse, technology and magic. Characters who are easy to empathise with. Never a dull moment.
Cons: The blend I mentioned might not work for everyone - and it's even more audacious here than before.
WARNING! Some gore and mature themes. There's talk of sex, but only some kissing on screen.
Will appeal to: Those who like imaginative worlds, lots of twists and turns, strong female characters and enemies-to-lovers F/F romances. Those who are looking for a fresh approach to post-apocalypse.

Blurb: Eight years have passed since the Mayhem Wave forever altered the world to a blend of science and magic, and since Harrison Cody rescued twenty-eight teenage girls from human traffickers. Now they are disappearing - but Harrison did not just rescue them from villains those many years ago, he also adopted them, and that relationship holds the key to the true nature of their present danger. Dorothy O’Neill, another of Harrison’s adopted daughters, though from very different circumstances, has taken five-year-old Melody, Harrison’s only child by blood, under her wing. As the missing persons crisis intensifies, Dorothy discovers she and Melody are targets as well. Separated by hundreds of miles, and with no means of communication, Harrison and Dorothy become entangled in the schemes of a monster who hopes to alter the world once again at the cost of all they hold dear. And as Dorothy finds an inner strength and new abilities she never dreamed of possessing, she comes to suspect Melody may be something more than she appears. (Goodreads excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I have been talking to the author on a few occasions since reviewing his previous titles, Unhappenings, Prelude to Mayhem and Static Mayhem - which I rated 4 stars. Moreover, I am a semi-regular reviewer of Curiosity Quills titles (like this one), but if you look back at my ratings, this never prevented me from being unbiased.
 

DOUBLE THE TROUBLE (AND THEN SOME)

Mayhem Wave is a complex series, what with interweaving futuristic technology and old-but-not-plain magic, plus constantly pulling the rug from under our feet with its unexpected twists and turns. All the same, the author rides the monster without a flinch. With this installment in particular, sometimes I felt like I was watching a Doctor Who episode, only with a side of magic (maybe a Twelfth Doctor one, in which you never know where things are going) - and if you know me, this is meant as a huge compliment 😀 (BTW, the Doctor is even mentioned in one of the very first chapters!). The stakes are very high here: on one hand we have the disappearance of Harrison's adopted daughters, on the other an impending danger that might annihilate the post-Mayhem Wave world. All the characters are tested, pushed to their limits, and sometimes even fooled. Humans and not (a pixie and a ghost among them) are always challenged, and must put to use every single gift they possess, in what is, for all purposes, a teamwork (though there are a few tense and/or funny moments among the team members along the way). I must admit that a bit of the science behind the Mayhemsphere went to my head, but nevertheless, the danger(s) and the twists felt very real and were a blast to read about. Not to mention, I was caught completely off-guard by the final twist on the villain's motive. [...]

James Wymore: "The Last Key" (ARC Review)

Title: The Last Key [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: The Actuator (book 4 of 4)
Author: James Wymore [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Year: 2017
Age: It's marketed as an adult book, but it can be read by teens, though a bit heavy on horror/gore
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: Creative premise. Breathless adventure, though there's a time for reflection as well. Poignant ending. Female characters finally get more screen time and weight.
Cons: As with the rest of the series, the premise is somehow better than the execution - there's more telling than showing, and the storyline is a bit too hectic sometimes. Some editing issues (among them, a character changing name midbook*).
(*Edit: after posting my review, I was told the issue would be fixed prior to pub date).
Will appeal to: Alternate realities enthusiasts. RPG fans. Readers who get bored easily.

Blurb: The Actuator, a machine capable of literally changing reality, was created to make a utopian paradise. Before it happened, a saboteur used it to transform the world into patches of every kind of genre fiction, scattering the keys necessary to put it back across the globe. Everyone alive found their lives radically altered, some living in fantasy realms with real magic and others in incomprehensible horrors. Thrown into chaos, people struggled against aliens, pirates, orcs, and vampires. Many died. Only a handful of people on the planet, called Machine Monks, even knew why it happened or how. Now they have to put it all back before humanity is destroyed. Even if they could get all the keys, the small group opposing the tyrant don’t know what to do when they get to the final one - a key they’ve never seen before. If they don’t find the answers fast, the world will be lost. (Goodreads excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I am a semi-regular reviewer of Curiosity Quills titles (like this one), but if you look back at my ratings, this never prevented me from being unbiased. And all the books I received from them were generously sent with no strings attached.

OUT WITH A BANG

It's kind of funny, you know. I went into this last installment expecting it to follow the same pattern of the previous ones, and in a way it did - lots of jumping around the world in a teleporter, epic fights, interior moral dilemmas. But I was pleasantly surprised by a few tweaks that made this book stand out - and not only because duh, it gives us closure. Here are the things I didn't expect:

• The Actuator finally becomes its own character, what with everyone wondering if it might have turned into something more than a supercomputer that feeds on thoughts and ideas, and have developed a conscience of sorts - and if that's the case, is its conscience good or bad? does it have plans for the world? can it be reasoned with? and, last but not least...does it have a gender? Of course, the living computer is far from being a new concept, but Wymore puts a spin on it. I should probably have seen it coming...but I didn't.
• Time travel is introduced! Though it has a few limits and can't ultimately save the day, but it would have been a cop out if it did, so I'm happy about that.
• The female Machine Monks get more space and finally kick ass 😀. [...]

James Wymore et al.: "Chaos Chronicles"

Title: Chaos Chronicles [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: The Actuator (book 3 of 4)
Author: James Wymore et al. [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Year: 2016
Age: It's marketed as an adult book, but it can be read by teens, though a few stories are a bit heavy on horror
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Eclectic bunch of stories, covering a wide range of genres and (fictitious) eras. We get a glimpse of how the Change affected some people unaware of the Actuator's existence, but mostly, lots of behind-the-scenes about Machine Monks who weren't main characters in the previous books.
Cons: Not every genre tackled in here can be everybody's cup of tea.
Will appeal to: Those who like eclectic short-story collections. Those who want another (and more insightful) perspective about the Actuator.

Blurb: Scattered all across the world, the Machine Monks struggle to deal with the saboteur’s next big move. Isolated in a situation they’ve never experienced before, their mission to collect all the Actuator keys grows desperate. 
An elven ranger finds himself in the Old West. He accepts a quest from a strange lawman in exchange for help returning to the home he loves.
When the world’s most dangerous kaiju marches on manga-inspired Japan, can Isaac defeat it using only his wits and the power of anime?
A honeymoon safari goes horribly wrong. Without guns, how do you fight against ancient wildlife with a mind of its own?
Stranded in Camelot, Machine Monk Elizabeth Darling seeks a way home to Steampunk London - and finds an unexpected surprise in the medieval forest.
While Lennie is traveling to a safe haven with her little brother, disaster strikes and she is forced to rely on a woman with a dark secret.
Brian and his crew face the saboteur face to face in a high tech war that will alter the fate of the world. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I am a semi-regular reviewer of Curiosity Quills titles (like this one), but if you look back at my ratings, this never prevented me from being unbiased. And all the books I received from them were generously sent with no strings attached.

TUTTI-FRUTTI

I usually don't read anthologies, unless they 1) contain stories by one of my favourite authors, 2) are part of a series I'm reading, or 3) have a unifying theme that calls to me like a siren song. Case #2 comes into play here, since the stories in Chaos Chronicles all give us a taste of the life after the Actuator (a reality-bending machine) has turned the whole world into a patchwork of different, often plain weird realities. To be more precise, all these stories are chronologically set right after the events in Return of the Saboteur, so that, unlike the previous collection Borderlands Anthology, they can hardly be read by someone who hasn't followed the series so far. But the good news is, even with all the set and character variety, this bunch is more close-knit, and actually makes the plot progress (this is why Chaos Chronicles is Book 3 in the series, while Borderlands Anthology was Book 1.5). Book 2 in the series, Return of the Saboteur, was a game changer. We know now who was responsible for turning what was a mere experiment (the Actuation) into a worldwide nightmare. We know why. But the real catch is, the same person caused the virtual borders between the different realities to fall, so that now different types of characters and/or monsters from different eras can coexist in the same space, with crazy, but intriguing consequences. Well, wacky ones too, but I will admit that it's fun 😄. [...]

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Would You Rather Time-Travel or Teleport?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings, where the blog's owner Heidi discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

Here is what is on deck this week:

WOULD YOU RATHER TIME-TRAVEL OR TELEPORT?

Seventeen years ago, I wasn't a sci-fi fan or fantasy fan yet (still not in love with fantasy overall, but now I do like a bit of it on certain occasions, and I absolutely ADORE sci-fi). I just was a die-hard mystery and police procedural enthusiast. I didn't know I would fall in love with time travel back in 2000, when I stumbled upon a Charmed episode called Morality Bites. (I didn't even know I would become a Charmed fan, but I digress). In it, the sisters travel ten years into their own future in order to prevent something horrible that Phoebe saw in a vision - herself burned to death. And they do that by actually inhabiting their future bodies (as opposed to what happened in That '70s Episode).
 

Morality Bites: Prue is a blondie now...

James Wymore & Aiden James: "Return of the Saboteur"

Title: Return of the Saboteur [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: The Actuator (2nd of 4 books, but there's also a set of short stories which is Book 1.5)
Author: James Wymore [Site | Goodreads] & Aiden James
[Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Year: 2015
Age: It's marketed as an adult book, but it can be read by teens without any problem
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: Creative premise. Breathless adventure (though there's a lot of internal monologue as well). Constant change of scenery. Sheds more light on the Actuator and the people who have been involved with it.
Cons: Essentially a "male" book, where the main female characters end up needing to be saved. Some of the worlds would be interesting to explore, but are barely skimmed. As in Book 1, a handful of (harmless) typos that apparently escaped revision.
Will appeal to: Alternate realities enthusiasts. RPG fans. Readers who get bored easily.

Blurb: The Machine Monks fight to keep control of the Actuator while enemies attack the base. As besiegers wear them down, the rest of the world struggles to adapt to the chaos left in the wake of the great change. Their only choice is to push forward and find the next key and shutdown the fantasy realm surrounding the base. When they do, Xenwyn will die. Haunted by the incalculable death toll all over the earth, Jon accepts the mission to recover the next key. Desperate to keep Xenwyn alive, Red determines to find a magical cure before Jon gets back with the key. Seeing all his friends in turmoil, Dragon Star sets out to find the saboteur. None of them ever imagined the Actuator could still make the world even worse. (Amazon excerpt)

Review:  First off...DISCLAIMER: I am a semi-regular reviewer of Curiosity Quills titles (like this one), but if you look back at my ratings, this never prevented me from being unbiased. It's just that they have so many (sometimes underrated) gems under their belt.

A MAP OF THE UNKNOWN WORLDS

The sequel to Fractured Earth takes place three months after the events in Book 1, and follows a bunch of Machine Monks (one of them being introduced for the first time) on their quest to restore reality as it used to be...or to achieve more personal goals. Despite my rating mirroring the one for Fractured Earth, this installment is actually more enjoyable than its predecessor, world-wise. The reasons why the aforementioned rating stayed the same have been stated in the Cons, and will be explored further in my review - but let me make this clear: The Actuator is a great series for those who like alternate realities, also because we can see how the people (and their possessions/transportations) that travel across the virtual boundaries between worlds are affected by the change, sometimes even emotionally. I have to say that we get to see more fantasy/steampunk realms than anything else, while personally, I would have liked a touch more of sci-fi, or at least some kind of contemporary setting where the ordinary rules were turned upside down somehow. Then again, the device some of the Machine Monks use in order to travel from world to world is definitely sci-fi (though conveniently, it works in any realm), and following our heroes on their different paths provides a high dose of entertainment. [...]

James Wymore et al.: "Borderlands Anthology"

Title: Borderlands Anthology [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: The Actuator (book 1.5 of 4)
Author: James Wymore et al. [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Year: 2014
Age: It's marketed as an adult book, but it can be read by teens, though a few stories are a bit heavy on horror
Stars: 3/5
Pros: Eclectic bunch of stories, covering a wide range of genres and (fictitious) eras. We get a glimpse of how the Change affected some people unaware of the Actuator's existence. But one doesn't necessarily have to be familiar with the series in order to read this collection.
Cons: Not every genre tackled in here can be everybody's cup of tea. The quality (and most of all, originality) spectrum varies from high to less impressive.
Will appeal to: Those who like eclectic short-story collections. Those who want another perspective about the Actuator.

Blurb: When the Actuator breaks the earth into a patchwork of altered realities, the remaining Machine Monks begin looking for the Keys to put it back. In the meantime, everyone in the world has been transformed without knowing why. This collection tells about some of the people struggling to deal with the change. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I am a semi-regular reviewer of Curiosity Quills titles (like this one), but if you look back at my ratings, this never prevented me from being unbiased. And all the books I received from them were generously sent with no strings attached.
Note: Apparently, an earlier version of this book featured a story called Cult of the Actuation instead of Cyber Cowboy (both by James Wymore). Judging from the blurb for the first story, it has been later incorporated into Book 1 of the series, Fractured Earth, providing its new ending. Cyber Cowboy was originally included in the Curiosity Quills anthology Primetime (2013).

WAR OF THE WORLDS

Sort-of-disclaimer: I usually don't read anthologies, unless they 1) contain stories by one of my favourite authors, 2) are part of a series I'm reading (like in this case), or 3) have a unifying theme that calls to me like a siren song (like the excellent Windows into Hell, also by Curiosity Quills Press). The reason why I'm wary of short-story collections is that, most of the time, I don't enjoy them as much as novels. They need to be as homogeneous as possible (which isn't an easy feat), or at least to have a strong common theme. The stories in Borderlands loosely fulfill my second condition in that they all give us a taste of the life right after (or simply after) the Change, that is, after the Actuator (a reality-bending machine) has turned the whole world into a patchwork of different, often plain weird realities. On the other hand, such a premise gives the authors ample freedom when it comes to creating a bunch of worlds at odds with one another, or playing with any genre or trope under the sun. This probably accounts for my having mixed reactions to these stories, since some of them are not my scene, but it's not the only reason. I'll come back to that in a minute, but first off, let me tell you that despite my overall rating, there are a few gems in here. [...]

James Wymore & Aiden James: "Fractured Earth"

Title: Fractured Earth [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: The Actuator (1st of 4 books, but there's also a set of short stories which is Book 1.5)
Author: James Wymore [Site | Goodreads] & Aiden James
[Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Year: 2013
Age: It's marketed as an adult book, but it can be read by teens without any problem
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: Creative premise. Breathless adventure, though there's a time for reflection as well. Constant change of scenery.
Cons: Essentially a "male" book, though at least a female character plays a somewhat bigger role. Would have benefited from a little character backstory, or better, interaction, before chaos ensued. Some convenient occurrences. A handful of (harmless) typos that apparently escaped revision.
Will appeal to: Alternate realities enthusiasts. RPG fans. Readers who get bored easily.

Blurb: On a secret military base, a dangerous machine lies hidden from the American public. Known as “The Actuator”, this machine is capable of transforming entire communities into alternate realities. In theory, these often terrifying realities are reversible. The scientists in charge of this machine employ operatives called Machine Monks. Experiments progress to where they feed more than twenty different genre ideas simultaneously into the Actuator’s database. Meanwhile, an unknown saboteur dismantles the dampeners. The effect is catastrophic. The entire world is plunged into chaos, and familiar landscapes become a deadly patchwork of genre horrors. Can a few surviving Machine Monks band together to set things right again? It all depends on whether Red McLaren and the Monks can survive their journey through the various realms that separate them from the Actuator, where ever-present orcs, aliens, pirates, and vampires seek to destroy them. (Amazon excerpt)

Review:  First off...DISCLAIMER: I am a semi-regular reviewer of Curiosity Quills titles (like this one), but if you look back at my ratings, this never prevented me from being unbiased. It's just that they have so many (sometimes underrated) gems under their belt.

CROSS-WORLD PUZZLE

The premise of this book (well, series) is fantastic, and I couldn't resist its pull. Although not a fantasy aficionado or a role-player, I always enjoy a story where reality as we know it gets upended and pretty much anything can happen, all while the characters have to navigate a suddenly unfamiliar landscape. In a sense, I got more than I bargained for with Fractured Earth. The characters embark on a journey to set things right that causes them to cross a number of different "realms", each one with its rules and dangers, where the very things they bring with them or travel on (not to mention their own physical appearance) can change drastically - sometimes with quite funny or downright weird results. For some reason, I didn't expect the straight-up fantasy/historical angle to be so prevalent, but the story as a whole was enthralling and kept me going, and I'm sure those readers who are more into fantasy and history than me will be delighted. [...]

A.W. Hill & Nathanael Hill: "The Switch" (ARC Review)

Title: The Switch [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: A.W. Hill & Nathanael Hill [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Multiverse
Year: 2017
Age: 12+
Stars: 4.5/5
Pros: Rich, impassioned tale where science (real and potential) meets philosophy, adventure, danger, friendship and a touch of romance. Characters with authentic voices who get under your skin.
Cons: Might require a re-read in order to grasp all the concepts. Some of the alternate realities are not accounted for.
Will appeal to: Those who like to rack their brains. Those who are in for a great adventure with a number of twists (well...switches 😉) and a lot of soul.

Blurb: Jacobus is a fifteen year-old who believes - as many fifteen year-olds do - that his life could use improvement. School is a numbing routine, and his parents’ marriage seems to be imploding before his eyes. Lured by his best friend into a strange little house containing nothing but empty rooms and an oversized circuit breaker, he’ll discover that reality comes in a plural form, and that our choices create a continuous web of branching worlds, any of which is as ‘real’ as another. A solo odyssey becomes a duo, a trio, and then a quartet, as Jacobus befriends other interdimensional travelers along the way. THE SWITCH is the story of their journey home. The question is: if they get there, will it be the same place they left behind? (Goodreads excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I am a semi-regular reviewer of Curiosity Quills titles (like this one), but if you look back at my ratings, this never prevented me from being unbiased. It's just that they have so many (sometimes underrated) gems under their belt.

RARE FIND

As a reader, multiverse is one of the genres I'm most interested in. But it's so rare to find a book that - though still leaving you with questions - plays it right and at least tries to explain the gist of it, all while having you ride along with a great cast of characters. The Switch does just that. It relies on many theories - some of them I understand are scientific material - and they are great to read, if not all easy to grasp or always making total sense...but at its core, this book is a celebration of human curiosity and courage, genuine friendship, and a reminder that choices always bear a weight, no matter how many universes you visit. I would be tempted to say The Switch is also one of those books that close the gap between YA and MG - it's clean but not artfully so, some of its characters are slightly younger than your average YA, and it's the kind of adventure that plays like a videogame, with each "level" getting increasingly complicated. On the other hand, some of the concepts this story is built on and around are - as I said - not easy to grasp. I'll say that this one can be enjoyed by younger kids, but will be better savoured by teens and even adults...like me 😉. [...]

Edward Aubry: "Static Mayhem" (ARC Review)

Title: Static Mayhem [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Mayhem Wave (2nd of 5 books)
Author: Edward Aubry [Facebook | Goodreads]
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Year: 2017
Age: 14+ (note: Book 1 was marketed as a YA/NA crossover. This one sounds more adult to me - especially because it lacks Dorothy's POV - but like the first installment, I would say that it covers all the spectrum from teen to adult. NA will do)
Stars: 4/5
Pros: As in Book 1, quirky and audacious blend of post-apocalypse, technology and magic. Characters who are easy to empathise with.
Cons: The blend I mentioned might not work for everyone - and it's even more audacious here than in the first installment. Some of the many twists may sound confusing. A relationship from Book 1 threatens to take a strange and unsettling turn.
WARNING! There's talk of sex and a few F-bombs.
Will appeal to: Those who are looking for a fresh approach to post-apocalypse.

Blurb: A year after the world was thrown into magical chaos, Harrison Cody takes part in an expedition to learn the cause. What his team finds is an unfathomable enemy, who intends to finish what was started and wipe out every remaining survivor. Harrison is the key to stopping it, but doing so will come with an unbelievable sacrifice, one he might not be willing to make. (Goodreads)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I have been talking to the author on a few occasions since reviewing his previous titles, Unhappenings and Prelude to Mayhem - which I also rated 4 stars. Moreover, I am a semi-regular reviewer of Curiosity Quills titles (like this one), but if you look back at my ratings, this never prevented me from being unbiased.
Note: an earlier version of Static Mayhem was released back in 2010. If you are curious about the whole story (which is also inspiring for every struggling writer out there who despairs of ever being published), you can read my interview with the author.

RAISING THE STAKES

The first installment in this series, Prelude to Mayhem, was a quirky post-apocalyptic novel full of unknown, often ghastly dangers lurking around, but I can see now that the title was indeed appropriate - that was only the start of a nightmare. In your typical post-catastrophe scenario, the main focus (often the only one) is survival and the rebuilding of a new world, while trying to make sense of the shift and adjusting (or not) to its rules (or lack thereof). In Static Mayhem, our characters not only explore a broken and upside-down world, but try to find a way to save what's left of it AND even to bring back what they can (if the can) of the old reality. All in an environment where magic and technology are mutually exclusive, except for a single instance. It's imaginative, though it probably requires more suspension of disbelief than your average fantasy or sci-fi novel, precisely because the two worlds are coexistent - if opposite - here. I'm usually not a great fan of fantasy creatures, but for some reason, Glimmer - the last pixie - and even a couple of famous mythical creatures whose names I won't spoil seem at home in this series. I think it's seeing them through Harrison's eyes that makes all the difference - he's sympathetic, warm-hearted and open-minded...among other good things 😉. [...]

J.R. Rain et al.: "Darkscapes"

Title: Darkscapes [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: J.R. Rain et al. [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Thriller/Mystery
Year: 2017
Age: The anthology is geared to adults, but a mature teen can enjoy most of it. At least two of the stories feature teens/kids
Stars: 3.5
Pros: A bunch of often imaginative, at times surprising stories, covering a wide range of genres and eras.
Cons: On the other hand, maybe the collection is a tad too eclectic and lacks focus. Also, the quality spectrum varies from high to less impressive.
Will appeal to: Those who enjoy a wide selection of tales, some bolder than the others.

Blurb: Curiosity Quills Press explores yearning, regret, and fear with the Darkscapes Anthology - a spellbinding collection of dark fantasy, sci-fi, cyberpunk, horror, and detective fiction. Delve into worlds of terrible family secrets, unexpected doppelgängers, a home invasion on an alien planet, androids and assassins, places and people who aren’t as stable as they seem, frustrated musicians going to desperate lengths - and more. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I received this anthology from Curiosity Quills in exchange for an honest review. To be more precise, I specifically requested a review copy. That didn't affect my opinion and rating in any way. Here goes... 

ON THE FENCE

Confession/disclaimer: when it comes to spinning a tale, short stories are not my favourite medium. Anthologies can be hit or miss for me. I requested this one because 1) I had previously read and loved another Curiosity Quills collection called Windows into Hell, and 2) I saw that Darkscapes featured a couple of authors whose novels I appreciate(d). All in all, I had a good time reading most of these stories (and the authors I mentioned above didn't disappoint), but honestly, I wasn't able to connect with all of them. I suppose this says more about me than about their quality though, in most cases. Anyway, there are a bunch of stories in here that mean more to me than the others, and a few of them actually went in unexpected directions. Here is what worked for me and what left me wanting more... [...]

E.S. Wesley: The Outs (ARC Review)

Title: The Outs  [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: E.S. Wesley [Site (The old E.S. Wesley site hasn't been online anymore since he wrote his first MG book. He has a new one as an MG author now, under the name Sean Easley) | Goodreads (The old E.S. Wesley page still exists, but he has another one for his Sean Easley alias now)]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Year: 2017
Age: 14+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Fresh premise. Strong blend of sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal. Imaginative, hectic story without a dull moment. Tridimensional (and diverse) characters. Focus on friendship and loyalty.
Cons: Might seem a bit frenzied and confusing to some. Concise writing with short sentences might not appeal to everyone.
WARNING! Gory and scary in parts, with gruesome deaths and suicide.
Will appeal to: Those who are looking for a breathtaking story with a strong accent on friendship and an unusual heroine.

Blurb: Caleb’s been changing ever since the memory-stealing blackouts - the Outs - started. He used to be a good, dependable, honor-student, but now his parents have vanished, and something inside tells him their disappearance is his fault. That something has a voice - a voice that's pushed him to kidnap a little girl. Caleb believes he did it to protect her, but now he’s starting to wonder if he’s the one she needs protection from. Then there’s his friend, Kitzi. Kitzi knows a secret she can’t share, locked in her head behind layers of brain damage. Kitzi wants to help Caleb, but she suspects a connection between this little girl and the Outs. If she can survive Caleb’s mistakes and the strange girl’s reality-bending fits long enough to put the pieces together, her secret might save them. Or it could mean the end of everything. (Goodreads)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I am a semi-regular reviewer of Curiosity Quills titles (like this one), but if you look back at my ratings, this never prevented me from being unbiased. To date, a couple of their books have been under the 4 star mark for me. But seriously, CQP has some of the best sci-fi/fantasy titles around. It's not my fault 😉.

THE SKY'S THE LIMIT

As a reader of all things weird, I sometimes muse about the rise and fall of certain genres. Maybe good old dystopian is riding a failing curve, I don't know. What I know is, sci-fantasy is on a roll, at least judging from the books I've been reading in the latest twelve months or so (which are not many, I'll admit, but still). Mind you, some of them do have dystopian elements, or ARE indeed shamelessly dystopian more than anything else...but the thing they all have in common is the happy marriage of sci-fi with fantasy. This allows authors more freedom, helps them break the boundaries and come up with fresher and bolder ideas. In The Outs, a sci-fi premise blends with a paranormal scenario, and throws in a comic/superhero theme for good measure. I'll admit that, in the hands of a less skilled writer, this might be a recipe for disaster. But E.S. Wesley rides this monster magnificently, and without a flinch. Add in a couple of damaged, flesh-and-blood teens, a disability turned into a diverse superpower, and a creepy, powerful, but still vulnerable little girl, and you'll get one of the most entertaining-slash-moving stories you'll ever read. [...]

Edward Aubry: "Prelude to Mayhem" (Blog Tour Review)

For the blog tour calendar click here. (Note: the one above is an alternate cover featuring Glimmer the pixie :))

Title: Prelude to Mayhem [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Mayhem Wave (1st of 4 books...with plans for a fifth)
Author: Edward Aubry [Facebook | Goodreads]
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Year: 2016
Age: 14+ (note: it's marketed as a YA/NA crossover. But to me it covers all the spectrum from teen to adult)
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Quirky and audacious blend of post-apocalypse, technology and magic. Characters who are easy to empathise with.
Cons: The blend I mentioned might not work for everyone.
WARNING! A couple of strong scenes, where blood flows freely and monsters creep over dead people. A character making an inappropriate joke about male physiology to a teen girl, who properly scolds him and leaves him ashamed. Some F bombs.
Will appeal to: Those who are looking for a fresh approach to post-apocalypse.

Blurb: In the ruins of his world, Harrison Cody follows a mysterious voice on the radio as he and his pixie sidekick travel on foot across a terrifyingly random landscape. They discover Dorothy O’Neill, who has had to survive among monsters when her greatest worry used to be how to navigate high school. Together they search for what remains of Chicago, and the hope that civilization can be rebuilt. (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I have been talking to the author on a few occasions since reviewing his previous title, Unhappenings - which I also rated 4 stars. Moreover, I am a semi-regular reviewer of Curiosity Quills titles (like this one), but if you look back at my ratings, this never prevented me from being unbiased.
As I stated in my disclaimer, Edward Aubry already published a book called Unhappenings. But that wasn't his first book - an earlier version of this one, called Static Mayhem, was. If you are curious about the whole story (which is also inspiring for every struggling writer out there who despairs of ever being published), you can read my interview with the author.

BOLD NEW WORLD

At present, post-apocalyptic stories are all the rage - and of course, the more they saturate the market, the harder it gets to spin an original tale. But though the core of this particular story dates back a couple of decades, it managed to stay fresh. The bold mashup of subgenres/elements (from time shuffles to supernatural occurrences, from magic to technology) is, I think, quite unique - I only encountered something similar (minus the time issue) in The Bad Rescue of Devon Streeter (now renamed Riven) by B.C. Johnson. I have to admit a few moves are bolder than others (like talking dinosaurs with a German accent and a polite attitude 😆) and some readers might find them a bit over-the-top. But Harrison - the character who manages to experiment the vaster array of strange encounters - either relates to them in a sympathetic manner, or comes to accept this new reality in a way that pretty much normalizes it for us too...well, to a point at least 😉. I'll go as far as to say that Harrison might be a symbol of the best America, the one that I hope will rear its head again - the one that learns to trust and welcome the stranger, no matter how alien they look at a first glance. If you look past the face value, Harrison's bond with Glimmer - an opinionated, wise-cracking pixie with a heart of gold - can be read that way. [...]