To intro a bit, these are the new version of “Books I’m Never Reviewing”. I kept feeling like the connotation was that I wasn’t fond of said books, when often, quite the opposite was true. Also, the name was clunky. The bottom line is this: These are considered legitimate reviews by absolutely no one. Why? I don’t feel like it, nor do I have to. But apparently, my ego dictates that I still think you care whether I liked them and/or I feel like shouting about them. And so, I shall.

Also, I quite liked these, as a rule. Yay!

Light Years by Kass Morgan
Series: Light Years #1
on October 9, 2018
Pages: 377
Format:ARC
Source:Traded

Reeling from the latest attack by a mysterious enemy, the Quatra Fleet Academy is finally admitting students from every planet in the solar system after centuries of exclusivity.

Hotshot pilot Vesper, an ambitious Tridian citizen, dreams of becoming a captain - but when she loses her spot to a brilliant, wisecracking boy from the wrong side of the asteroid belt, it makes her question everything she thought she knew. Growing up on the toxic planet Deva, Cormak will take any chance he can get to escape his dead-end life and join the Academy - even if he has to steal someone's identity to do it. Arran was always considered an outsider on icy Chetire, always dreaming of something more than a life working in the mines. Now an incoming cadet, Arran is looking for a place to belong - he just never thought that place would be in the arms of a Tridian boy. And Orelia is hiding a dark secret - she's infiltrated the Academy to complete a mission, one that threatens the security of everyone there. But if anyone finds out who she really is, it'll be her life on the line.

These cadets will have to put their differences aside and become a team to defend their world from a cunning enemy - but the danger might be lurking closer to home than they think...

Wow, so Kass Morgan wins Most Improved Author award. The 100 was… well look, it wasn’t the best. (The book obviously, the show is beyond perfection.) This book, however, was pretty fabulous. There were a few moments that were a little predictable, but for the most part it was great. The characters were well developed (which was a big old gripe of mine with The 100), the stakes were high, and it was exactly the space adventure I was promised. Sequel, please!

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An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris
Series: Gunnie Rose #1
Published by Saga Press on October 2, 2018
Pages: 306
Format:ARC
Source:ALA

In a new trilogy that presents a chilling alternate history of the United States where everyone believes in magic—but no one is sure whether they can trust it.

Gunnie Lizbeth Rose has been hired by a pair of Russian sorcerers as both their local guide and muscle through the small towns of East Texas as they search for a distant relative of an infamous sorcerer whose bloodline can help save their emperor-in-exile as an ever-increasing number of assassins tries to stop them.

After the assassination of FDR in the 1930s, the US collapses and is picked off by the UK, Canada, Mexico, and Russia. We find ourselves in the southwestern states now known as Texoma. It is here that the gunnie Lizbeth Rose tries to piece out a life, running security on runs from Texoma, across the border to Mexico where work and prospects are stronger. When two Russian magicians come looking for a man named Alex Karkarov, they hire Lizbeth to find him or his family, but there are problems: The man they're looking for is dead, but he has a daughter they now need to find, as an ever-growing set of sorcerers and gunnies do not want them to succeed. It’s a good thing Lizbeth is a deadly gunfighter; too bad she hates sorcerers, even the ones she has to learn to rely on.

This started out both crazy dark and crazy good. It stayed just as dark as the book went on, but I wasn’t as enamored with the second half. It wasn’t bad, mind, but it just didn’t blow me away as much as the beginning. The world is a mess and I absolutely was here for it. So much bananas alternate history! So much awfulness! But Lizbeth is such a badass, and the thing is, it’s because the world is such crap that Lizbeth being who she is makes perfect sense. So while the second half was a little slower for me, it was still decent. And I certainly will be partaking in book 2, because color me curious. Also, there are some epic “traveling through hellish lands” excursions, so if you like a really awful road trip…

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Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray
Series: Constellation #2
on April 3, 2018
Pages: 469
Format:ARC
Source:Traded

This is the thrilling and romantic sequel to Defy the Stars from the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Lost Stars and Bloodline.

An outcast from her home -- Shunned after a trip through the galaxy with Abel, the most advanced cybernetic man ever created, Noemi Vidal dreams of traveling through the stars one more time. And when a deadly plague arrives on Genesis, Noemi gets her chance. As the only soldier to have ever left the planet, it will be up to her to save its people...if only she wasn't flying straight into a trap.

A fugitive from his fate -- On the run to avoid his depraved creator's clutches, Abel believes he's said good-bye to Noemi for the last time. After all, the entire universe stands between them...or so he thinks. When word reaches him of Noemi's capture by the very person he's trying to escape, Abel knows he must go to her, no matter the cost.

But capturing Noemi was only part of Burton Mansfield's master plan. In a race against time, Abel and Noemi will come together once more to discover a secret that could save the known worlds, or destroy them all.

In this thrilling and romantic sequel to Defy the Stars, bestselling author Claudia Gray asks us all to consider where--and with whom--we truly belong.

So, I didn’t love this one quite as much as Defy the Stars, but it was definitely a solid sequel. There were a few moments that definitely shocked me, the characters exhibited quite a bit of growth, and everything was adequately intense. The only thing I didn’t love was that I hope that the plot gets a few new points in the next book? Like- I want a few things to be wrapped up so we can get to new stuff. But there was some bananas stuff happening in this one, as well as some real surprises and new locales, so overall it was definitely still a win! And, it continues to juggle the question of “what makes us human?”, which is kind of my fave.

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The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn
Published by University of Queensland Press on July 24, 2013
Pages: 296
Format:Paperback
Source:Purchased

For Fin, it's just like any other day - racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class, and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe, Lucy. Only it's not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated.

When Fin wakes up the next morning, it’s dark, bitterly cold, and snow is falling. There’s no internet, no phone, no TV, no power, and no parents. Nothing Fin’s learned in school could have prepared him for this.

With his parents missing and dwindling food and water supplies, Fin and his younger brother Max must find a way to survive all on their own.

When things are at their most desperate, where can you go for help?

Holly recommended that I read A Closed and Common Orbit when I started this one. My response was to pick this up, saying “nah, I need to read about someone having a worse day than me”. And Fin is you guys, he really is. I mean, it’s the apocalypse, so you know it’s going to be pretty awful, right? I like that this particular apocalypse is not sugar coated. It’s full of the general amount of fuckery you’d assume- people being horrible, and stupid, and in denial. That is why I liked it so much.

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The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín
Series: The Call #1
Published by Scholastic on August 30, 2016
Pages: 312
Format:ARC
Source:Traded

"A must-read for anyone who's been sleeping too well at night." --Danielle Vega, author of The Merciless
"Creepy and absorbing . . . PERFECT for Game of Thrones fans." --Buzzfeed

THREE MINUTES
You wake up alone in a horrible land. A horn sounds. The Call has begun.

TWO MINUTES
The Sidhe are close. They're the most beautiful and terrible people you've ever seen. And they've seen you.

ONE MINUTE
Nessa will be Called soon. No one thinks she has any chance to survive. But she's determined to prove them wrong.

TIME'S UP
Could you survive the Call?

A genre-changing blend of fantasy, horror, and folkore, The Call won't ever leave your mind from the moment you choose to answer it.

I had heard some really good things about this one, but alas, I was hesitant. Why, you ask? Well look, the premise is a little ridiculous sounding, yeah? It’s basically “tiny asshole fairies kill a bunch of kids in Ireland for shits and giggles” which… okay. But no. It is incredible. Go ahead and think it sounds weird because it does sound weird! But okay, I bought the sequel before I was even finished because it was that good and I had to read more. It arrived today and I am high key mad that I started reading another book because I need more tiny asshole fairies. And the country’s only hopes of defeating them and such. I devoured it. Just like a tiny asshole fairy would, of course.

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Have you read any of these? Want to? Enjoy reading about messed up stuff? Let’s chat!