Under Different Stars (Kricket, #1) by Amy A. Bartol

Under Different Stars by Amy A. Bartol
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Kickin’ Kricket Stars

It’s been awhile since I’ve read an Amy Bartol book. I wanted something light, a little romantic and plenty of action. I believe I got that with Under Different Stars.

This is a young adult read and the thing I love about young adult reads is the world I’m taken to. I love learning new languages, cultures and I know it’s going to be at least a three book saga. BUT that’s just me.

So Kricket currently lives on earth. She’s human or so she thinks. She knows she is a little different. When she cuts her hair, it automatically grows back. She rides the subway one day and runs into Trey. Trey is hired to bring Kricket back to home and home is not on earth.

A good portion of the book is Kricket traveling back home. It’s a big slow at some parts, but you get immerse into the other world fairly quickly. Also, there’s a lot to learn. I felt like I needed a cheat sheet. I didn’t understand why they couldn’t just pounds and hours, but other words. I know I said I like learning new languages, but there was a lot!

So Trey and his buddies are traveling with Kricket and she is feisty. She’s the type of Heroine I like to read in these sci-fi books, very strong and opinionated, but not annoying. Once they reach home, the pace quickens a bit and oh my goodness, the sexual tension between Kricket and Try is nice. Get your mind out of the gutter, it’s a YA, so there’s only so much sexual tension, but I did blush at some of the scenes.

It was really cute.

I kind of wanted Trey and Kricket’s relationship to be dragged out a bit, I know I said the book was a bit slow. I just can’t make up my mind.

Overall, If you want something a little new, a little different and you haven’t read a Bartol novel, start with this one.

AMAZON

Book Review - Linked (Linked, #1) by Imogen Howson

My first paperback ARC!

4 Stars

I got to be honest… it’s been awhile since I’ve read a Sci-Fi Young Adult read. Not that I don’t like them, it’s just hard for me to find one that can keep my interest. However, I was very surprised on how much I enjoyed Linked

If you liked Across the Universe, then you will love Linked

[Summary]

Elissa has physical pains and doesn’t know where they come from. For three years, she has been seeing visions, getting bruises on her body and feeling pain. She has the looks and was once popular, but because of her health, Elissa’s future seems to be slipping from her grasp. Elissa is offered a surgery to cure her of all of her issues and on the night before her operation, she gets visions and soon meets a girl who is beat-up, but looks just like Elissa. Lin escaped from being imprisoned and now both girls are on the run. Elissa goes to her brother’s best friend, Cadan to help them escape.

[Elissa + Lin]

I liked Elissa. I thought she was brave, strong and caring, despite her disabilities. She’s also very loyal and she’s the kind of Heroine you can admire. I didn’t really get to know Lin. Mostly I thought Linked was more of Elissa’s story, even though Lin is a main character too. Maybe I just connected with Elissa more. Lin is a big mystery and I was questioning her position throughout the story, which I liked because it kind of gave the plot a little bit of something extra.

[Cadan]

Cadan isn’t a main focal point in the book, but he should be mentioned considering he is the Hero. I liked Cadan. I thought he was arrogant, masculine and mature. I also loved the banter between Elissa and Cadan, it was kind of an adorable love/hate relationship. This is a YA novel, so everything was pretty much PG and all around sweet.

I always thought he was so arrogant, so pleased with himself. Maybe it’s not exactly arrogance – maybe its just that he’s really good at what he’s doing

[Overall]

Linked is a very descriptive book (which usually isn’t something I like) and the beginning was a bit slow. However, once you get past the story build-up, the book sets in motion and it’s a pretty action-pack from there. A bit of the book is about Elissa and Lin on the run. Both girls are completely different because of their backgrounds and both try to understand each other. The second half to middle-end is Elissa, Lin and Cadan on a spaceship escaping from to another planet.

This is what I was envisioning …

There is a bit of some techy verbiage and it kind of reminded me a lot of StarWars. I’m not a huge Sci-Fi fan, but it worked for me and I have no complaints.

I think the negative reviews are due to people not understanding the story. I kept on telling myself this is a Sci-Fi YA read. Also, because Linked is part of a series, I can understand the reasoning to the slow-build-up. Imogen Howson is just setting you up for book 2. Also, I love the cover and the text used to title the chapters (I notice things like that).

I would recommend Linked if you are in the mood for that good Sci Fi YA read.

An ARC was provided through Goodreads first

AMAZON - B&N