Review: Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi

Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi
Published: March 8th, 2012
Acquired: NetGalley
Format: E-book
Overall:

Can true love survive the end of the world?

Imagine finding your first love, only to be ripped apart by the apocalypse. Peyton Anderson will never forget the day she was forced to make a choice--between her family--and Chris Parker, the boy she'd given her heart. Now, four years later, as she steps from the fallout shelter and into a dead and broken world, he's the only thing on her mind.
All Chris "Chase" Parker wanted was to take Peyton away and keep her safe from harm. But he waited for hours in the rain on judgment day and she never showed--breaking his heart without ever telling him why.

Now the two of them have been thrown together once again, reluctant chaperones to a group of orphan children in a post-apocalyptic world where the dead still walk...and feed. As they begin their pilgramage to the last human outpost on Earth, can they find a way to let go of old hurts and find the love they lost--all while attempting to save what's left of the human race?

My thoughts:
When I read the summary of this book on NetGalley, I thought it'd be a bit of a fluff dystopian. And though I wasn't 100% wrong about that, but it held more depth than I'd originally thought.

When I was reading this book I was constantly thinking about how much life would change by this time yet would still be the same. Like the fact that Peyton's mom's name was Ashley... I found it weird. To think there will be adult women named Ashley, Brittany, Jessica.... Etc.

The way Peyton ran into Chase as soon as the doors opened 4 years into the apocalypse was too convenient. I'd rather her go on her journey & run into him at WalMart or something. It'd be more realistic. (as realistic a book like this could be)

Chase's (Chris) obsession with Peyton wasn't /too/ creepy, but calling her his goddess was ridiculous. And I wondered what she'd say about it if she'd actually heard him say this.

I felt like the way they fell back in love could've been paced more. But at the same time, they're in a freaking apocalypse over run with zombies. There's not really any time to be picky & play hard to get.

Zombies. I am not a fan of them either. But, I actually enjoyed this book. Probably because there was more TALK of zombies than actual zombies.

The ending was a bit predictable, actually... The whole book was, but I was hoping for a little more oomph.
Though I didn't hate this book, I'm not sure I'd read the sequel if there is one.
She does have other books that I may give a chance sometime. Vampires, I like.


Plot:
Characters: ½
Ending:
Writing:
Cover:


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Author Info:
Mari Mancusi used to wish she could become a vampire back in high school.
But she ended up in another blood sucking profession --journalism -- instead. Today she works as a freelance TV producer and author of books for teens and adults. When not writing about creatures of the night, Mari enjoys traveling, cooking, goth clubbing, watching cheesy horror movies, and her favorite guilty pleasure--videogames. A graduate of Boston University and a two time Emmy Award winner, she lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Jacob, daughter Avalon, and their dog Mesquite.
More on her: website | twitter | facebook | goodreads

Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Published: January 3rd, 2012
Acquired: NetGalley
Format: Galley
Overall:

Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world brimming with harshness and beauty.

When we first meet Aria, she's in her pod with the other's living a quite perfect life. But with one bad choice her world falls apart. She's quickly thrown out of the pod & left to fend for herself in the outside.
When she crosses paths with Perry she is forced to help him but in turn he ends up helping her in more ways than just finding her mother.

This was the first Dystopian book that I actually really enjoyed. It is just not my genre. But the relationship that develops between Perry & Aria was steady, fast, slow, frustrating & beautiful all at once. And the world that Rossi created was magical. Though it was difficult at times to imagine these aether storms, I could still understand that what they were seeing definitely wasn't [our] normal!

The enhanced abilities that the people on the outside had definitely kept the book interesting. Perry had heightened smell, and that could just be frustrating for anyone else who may be self-conscious.

The way Perry cared about his nephew--seemed like more than the boy's own father-- resonated hard with me. He was in a fight with life to try to get him back after he was kidnapped. And Aria was basically his compass to find him. Which meant they were together constantly.

I believe with the added characters on their journey, I was more interested. Yet I sometime wished they weren't there. That the story was solely Aria & Peregrine. As bad as it may sound, I would've left Cinder behind. Though he proved beneficial later in the story, I felt his existence in the book was pointless.

When they've neared the end of their journey, and Aria has learned a devastating secret about herself, the relationship they've developed is tested. And they prove that they can fight through anything.

I wish the ending had a bit... More. Though it was fine with me. I'll be reading the next book, for sure.

Plot: ½
Characters:
Ending:
Writing: ½
Cover:





___________________________________________ Author Info:
Veronica Rossi was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Growing up, she lived in several countries and cities around the world, finally settling in Northern California with her husband and two sons. She completed undergraduate studies at UCLA and then went on to study fine art at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. When not writing or painting, she chases after her boys, who make her laugh every day, and who teach her about love that's a million gazillion times bigger than the ocean. UNDER THE NEVER SKY is her first novel.

Find more on her: website | twitter | facebook | goodreads