netgalley – Page 15 – as told by zaheerah

Books, LGBTQIA, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Book Review: Dreadnought

March 6, 2017July 19, 2017by Zaheerah3 Comments

Rating: ★★★★☆

* I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.

In a world where superheroes and villains are a regular occurrence, Danny finds herself being the passed the power of Dreadnought when he falls out of the sky and dies right in front of her. The side effects of this transform Danny’s body into what she thought it should be. To Danny, she now looks like the girl she knows she is even if everyone around her says otherwise. Dreadnought is her origin story which follows her first few weeks of superhero living. While trying to juggle her new life, she’s also trying to find the old Dreadnought’s murderer, who is still threatening the streets of New Port City.

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Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Book Review: Machination & Counterpart

September 4, 2016April 8, 2018by Zaheerah2 Comments

review_machination_counterpart

* I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.

I originally read Machinations but never wrote a review for it and since then, I also got a Kindle copy of its sequel so I decided to do a double review.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

When I first requested this on NetGalley, I didn’t think much of it. I just wanted something sci-fi to read but, I have to admit, I was pretty impressed.

Plot-wise, I really liked it. This kind of plot had always low-key been my favourite. The Machination series is set in a post-apocalyptic world where machines have risen against humanity. Following Rhona Long when she is killed on a rescue mission gone and later wakes up in a new body, a clone of herself. While I wished the description of the machines themselves were more detailed (like the higher echelon) but I was quite satisfied with the overall way the world works.

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Books, Contemporary

Book Review: A Boy Made of Blocks

July 14, 2016April 10, 2018by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

you can find the book at:
GoodReads | Author’s website | Amazon |
Rating: ★★★★★

~ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review~

Thirtysomething Alex is struggling. Struggling to have a close relationship with his autistic son Sam. Struggling to hold onto his failing marriage. Struggling to come to terms with a childhood tragedy. During a trial separation, Alex moves in with his best friend Dan, wondering if his family could ever come back together.

I loved this. It was so good. I don’t know how many ways I can say how amazing this was. Sad, happy, heart-warming and heart-breaking. A BOY MADE OF BLOCKS is incredibly humorous and moving. It may sound gloomy, but it’s far from it. In the beginning, you sit there wondering if Alex will ever learn but he does. He learns from his mistakes. He changes his approach in handling Sam’s tantrums and understands his son’s fears. There were so many moving scenes in this. (Tears were streaming heavily when a certain thing was destroyed but my heart was warmed when it was fixed.)

There were certain moments where Alex knows he shouldn’t yell at Sam but continues to do so and that really irked me. Like, he’s aware of how he shouldn’t yell at Sam but still continues to do so. I kept wanting to literally yell at Alex to shut up so many times. This is repeated so many times, probably for plot’s sake, but like it was really irresponsible of Alex. It was in those moments when I thought Sam would be better off with his mother.

The incorporation of Minecraft is one of the best parts of this book. People often unfairly associate Video Games with negative things. How it’s destroying this generation of people blah blah durr hburr techonology is bad kind of thing. But A BOY MADE OF BLOCKS shows one of the many positive things about video games and games like Minecraft. Minecraft provides an environment that encourages social interaction and helps people learn to communicate within the game’s well-defined rules.

Inspired by the author’s experiences with his own son, A BOY MADE OF BLOCKS is a heartfelt story of love and family.

Kindle Edition, 400 pages

Expected publication: September 1st 2016 by Sphere
ASIN:B010QDG9RI

Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Book Review: Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel (Themis Files #1)

December 25, 2015July 3, 2016by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

you can find the book at:

GoodReads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Author website

my review:

Rating: ★★★★☆

~ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review~

When a young girl fell into a hole, no one expected to find her lying down on a large metal hand. Year later, that same girl is now helping to find, all over the planet, the missing pieces. Each uncovered from under the earth. They don’t know who put them there or the reason why. But through series of transcripts, conducted through an unknown voice, we follow a group of scientists and military personnel trying to assemble the pieces and uncover its strange powers.

I think this book maybe the weirdest I’ve read this year. But I liked it. I’ve been told its in the same format as World War Z and Illuminae, and now I’m seriously considering bumping those two up my TBR list. The format itself makes it so interesting to read, and I’m loving this format! The premise is also fantastic. I love the idea of us humans scrambling over this gigantic robot which is thousands of years more developed than us in terms of tech. There’s so much political, moral and ethical drama when they realise its potential as a weapon against alien forces.

However, although the science behind was so interesting to read. I did find myself dropping at some parts because the science jargon became too much, and felt so overwhelming. There was also a huge case of telling than showing, and I think that just maybe because of the format, we don’t experience any of this with them (aside from a few scenes where it done over the phone) and only know what happens after it all actually happens.

Overall, what a book! Such a wild science fiction novel with an ending that made me so mad that I’m reading an ARC. I need the sequel now!

Kindle Edition, 320 pages

Expected publication: April 26th 2016 by Del Rey

ASIN: B015F0JSTS

Books, Contemporary, Thrillers

Book Review: The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood

December 9, 2015April 10, 2018by Zaheerah1 Comment

you can find the book at:

GoodReads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble (unavailable)
Author website

my review:

Rating: ★★★☆☆

~ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review~

Sean Jackson’s three-year-old twin daughter, Coco, has gone missing leaving only Ruby and no one has a clue what happened. The media blames their mother, but what really happened to the little girl? The Darkest Secret plays over two weekends, set twelve years apart. The first is in 2004 where various friends and family are attending Sean’s 50th birthday weekend while the second is set twelve years later during the weekend of Sean’s funeral.

This book was an intense read with engaging characters and drama that focuses on a terrible group of rich people. (for some reason, I can imagine this being a BBC program??) They were horrible- to themselves and to each other. I’ve never read a more self-absorbed group of people like these, which makes it even more fascinating to read as you read on trying to figure out what happened and hopefully learn the truth behind the disappearance of Coco.

Marwood has written a relentless novel that creates a group of egoistic characters, and throughout the narrative, there is a sense of complete horror as they reveal how far they will go. Overall, a thrilling novel which I felt had a slow start but once the story kicks in, it’s really compelling.

Format: ARC Kindle Edition
Expected publication: January 1st 2016 by Sphere
ASIN: B010RALUP6

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