REVIEW: Alone by Robert J. Crane

Title: Alone
Author: Robert J. Crane
Series: The Girl in the Box
Pages: 182
Publisher: Self-Published
Date Published: April 16, 2012
Source: Received from Author for Honest Review

Sienna Nealon was a 17 year-old girl who had been held prisoner in her own house by her mother for twelve years. Then one day her mother vanished, and Sienna woke up to find two strange men in her home. On the run, unsure of who to turn to and discovering she possesses mysterious powers, Sienna finds herself pursued by a shadowy agency known as the Directorate and hunted by a vicious, bloodthirsty psychopath named Wolfe, each of which is determined to capture her for their own purposes.

I didn't really put too much into my expectations of Alone.  Sci-Fi/Fantasy isn't usually my go-to genre.  It was recommended to me by my good (real life!) friend, Amy, over at Read to My Heart's Content.  She emailed me just gushing over this amazing self-published author she found and how great his books were.  While we have very similar tastes in books and authors, Amy's much more into Sci-Fi/Fantasy than I am, but I agreed to give them a try.  If there's one thing Amy's good at, it's making me explore outside of my comfort genres, and I'm nearly always thankful for her recommendations.  Alone is the perfect example of such a book.    

  

Sienna Nealon is 17 years old, and she's basically been a prisoner in her own home for years.  Her mother is extremely strict with her:  she never lets her leave, makes her wear long sleeves and gloves at all times and makes her train to fight for hours every day.  When her mother doesn't come home one night Sienna knows that something is terribly wrong.  When strangers break into her home with the intention of kidnapping her for a strange organization called the Directorate, Sienna wonders if it has anything to do with her mother's disappearance.  She has lots of unanswered questions, and the answers she does get only confuse her more.  But, with a a savage beast, Wolfe, hunting her, she knows she needs help from somewhere, even if she can't fully trust them.

 

Sienna is a great, well written character.  She's amazingly tough!  Her mother's taught her to fight, and she's good at it, beating the crap out of anyone that gets in her way.  I love heroines like this.  She's placed into an extremely difficult situation, and she has no idea who she can trust.  Everyone seems to have ulterior motives.  My favorite thing about Sienna is her snarky nature.  Some of her comebacks had me seriously cracking up.  I'm impressed that Crane was able to give such a perfectly snotty teenage personality to Sienna.   

 

The story is written from Sienna's point-of-view, so she's the only character I have a real feel for so far.  We also have a mysterious man, Reed, who keeps turning up at the strangest times.  I don't know yet who he is or what his intentions are, but I find myself drawn to him.  I want to know how he always seems to stay one step ahead and how he knows who Sienna is.  He's not very forthcoming on the answers to these, or any, questions!  We also have Zack, who works for the Directorate.  He's taken a special interest in Sienna, but I'm not sure yet if I trust him.  Wolfe is another character that is extremely well written.  Honestly, he scares the Hell out of me.  He's not just a wolf-man out to get the girl.  He's a psychopath Hell bent on torturing her just for the fun of it.  He longs to hear her scream.  He single handedly wipes out entire squads of agents, and kills people just to hurt Sienna.  He's scary...very realistically so.

 

Alone is a dark story with an interesting twist.  While comedic quips are tossed about, at it's core Alone is mostly terrifying.  Sienna has had a horribly twisted childhood, which is enough to give anyone nightmares.  But the real nightmare is still out there waiting to get his claws into her.  Sienna is placed into many brutal situations, and at times I found it hard to read.  Wolfe is one seriously scary guy.  Alone is mysterious, thrilling and ultimately a great read for any fan of a good exciting adventure.  This is a great beginning to what will certainly be an amazing series!

 

 

ARC: The Loners (Quarantine #1)

The Loners (Quarantine #1) by Lex Thomas



It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning.

A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school.

In this frighteningly dark and captivating novel, Lex Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don’t fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive.

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David couldn't be dreading the first day of his senior year more.  At a party the night before he finds out  that his girlfriend has been cheating on him with Sam, who took over as the quarterback of the football after David quit the team the year before when his mom died.  David decides he's tired of moping around and tells his friends he wants back on the team.  But, as he's leaving the party he gets into a fight with Sam, and the team turn their backs on him.  Serious social suicide. 

But, David has no idea just how terrible his first day is going to become.  An explosion destroys the East Wing of the school and the teachers start simultaneously dying a horrific death.  The military sweeps in and welds the doors and windows closed and they tell the kids that they've been infected with a virus that will kill adults and children.  The only ones that can survive being exposed to it are pubescent teens.  Over the next year chaos ensues.  They develop a sort of society with twisted versions of high school cliques.  The military drops food and other necessities and it's a battle of the strongest to fight for what they need to survive.  Unfortunately, because of David's fight with Sam, he and his brother, Will, end up with no clique to help protect them, which makes surviving that much more difficult.

While I really enjoyed this book there were quite a lot of things that irked me.  For one, no one really talks about the people on the outside.  Where are the parents?  The kids don't act like they even wonder if their parents survived.  There were many times when I just stopped and thought, "Say what!?"  The whole scientific aspect of the story is extremely far fetched.  I found David to be a strong and loyal person, while Will acts like a spoiled brat one minute and a stand in hero the next.  And Lucy, while I really want to like her, she comes off as loyal yet meek one minute, and then cowardice and disloyal when things get rough.  And that's not even touching on her relationships with David and Will.  (I really dislike love triangles with siblings!)  The characters personalities are very inconsistent.  Well, all except Sam, our bad guy...he's just plain evil.

This book is filled with action and adventure and you're hooked from the beginning.  Loyalties are tested.  Death and betrayal run rampant, and the kids find out just what they're willing to do in order to survive.  The Loners leaves us with a cliff hanger of an ending so good that I can't stop thinking about it and my mind keeps wandering from one scenario to another.  It seems that while this wasn't the best book I've ever read, it was good enough to have me itching to get my hands on book #2. 

The Loners will be released on July 10, 2012.

To find it at Amazon click HERE.

To find it at B&N click HERE.

3 Stars * * *

* I recieved this ARC from the publisher via netgalley.
*While tagged as YA, this book is violent and gruesome and includes strong language and sexual situations.

Black Dawn (Morganville Vampires, Book #12)

Black Dawn by Rachel Caine



**Black Dawn is Book #12 of the Morganville Vampires Series**

In Last Breath, the rain brought a new and dire threat to Morganville and its vampires... their ancient enemies, the draug. Now, the vampires are fighting a losing war, and it will fall to the residents of the Glass House: Michael, Eve, Shane and Claire, to take the fight to an enemy who threatens to destroy the town, forever.

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Black Dawn takes up exactly where Last Breath (Book #11) ended.  The vampires and humans have all retreated to Founder's Square and are hiding from the draug.  Amelie has been bitten by Mangus, the master draug, and is turning into a draug herself.  The vamps and humans are working together to try to figure out a way to save Morganville from a threat so deadly that even the vamps are afraid to go outside.  Of course, it falls to Claire, Eve, Shane and Michael to save the day.  

Considering the fact that I was pretty disappointed with Last Breath, I was relieved to enjoy Black Dawn so much.  As usual, I really enjoyed the relationship between the four friends.  When Shane is in trouble they all risk everything to save him.  There is a lot of tension between Eve and Michael, and it hurts Claire to see them so unhappy.  At one point Michael even tells Claire that he was wrong about not wanting her to move in with them way back when she first came to Morganville.  The friendship between the four of them is so strong.   

When I first began this series I loved how unique the concept was.   A whole town created by vampires where humans know what lurks in the dark, but they attempt to live together in harmony...well as much as possible.  These vampires aren't your fluffy, romantic version that so many books are all about.  These vamps are real, blood-thirsty and devious.  Humans don't leave the house after dark.  They're free to live as they please, but they're pretty much captives in the town.  I used to read these books and I would hold my breath not knowing who could be trusted and who couldn't.  I suppose it's because the series has gone on for so many books, but I've lost that thrill.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Black Dawn.  It was probably my favorite in the series.  But, when Oliver threatens Eve and/or Claire I know he's all talk.  When Amelie tells Claire she's going to turn her I know it's not really going to happen.  Even psycho Myrnin, who has lost it and attempted to kill Claire time and time again, has become soft.  Although I'm still enjoying it, I miss the thrill and excitement that was so rampant in this series.  I'm really excited to see where the series is headed now with the vamps telling them the rules are changing.  This could be good!  Maybe not so good for our four friends, but good for me!  I am anticipating lots of excitement for Bitter Blood (Book #13)!  Hopefully it won't disappoint!

***** 5 stars

Still Missing

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a 32-year-old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.

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Reading Still Missing was like driving by a really bad car accident.  Even though it's horrible and you want to cover your eyes you can't help but stare. 

Annie O'Sullivan is a realtor that is abducted from an open house.  This book is her story as told during sessions with her psychiatrist after her escape.  She's drugged, thrown in the back of a van and driven to a remote cabin in the middle of who-knows-where.  Her abductor, whom she calls The Freak believes that he has saved her from her life.  He brings her to his home, which he has specially built just for her, complete with padlocks on the doors, drawers and even the refrigerator.  Her new life is a series of schedules.  Everything from eating, bathing, and even going to the bathroom are done only on his schedule.  For nearly a year Annie is held captive, rarely even getting to go outside.

This book is an outstanding debut novel.  It kept me riveted and on the edge of my seat.  As appalling as the story is, it is amazingly written.  I felt Annie's pain.  I felt her loathing of The Freak; I hated him for her.  And through all of the heartbreak I wanted to see Annie survive, not just her captivity, but the struggle after.  And quite frankly, the real horror begins when she gets home.

I gave Still Missing 5 stars and I look forward to seeing more of Chevy Stevens.

*I listened to the audiobook.