Mila 2.0 Review (SPOILERS AHEAD)

Threat detected.
Hackneyed YA novel with uninteresting heroine.

After finishing the book (I say finishing loosely since I skipped over a bunch of paragraphs-- they added absolutely nothing to the plot and just kept getting in the way, which is a testament in and of itself about the writing):
Threat detected.
Poor execution of what could've been a really interesting story. 

This book had so much potential, but it is completely botched by the unnecessary high school drama that takes up more than half of the book. I wish instead the book had begun with the chase (Chapter 19 or 20 would've been a good place to start) because once they get to the lab and Lucas and Holland are introduced, the book actually picks up pace and I am instantly drawn into the world. Another major issue is the writing. It's too verbose, and really takes you out of the action sometimes. While Mila is really annoying as a teenage girl, she is much more tolerable and even likable as a bad-ass android when she gets back to the lab. I liked Lucas, and wished we had an opportunity to learn more about him (some interesting tidbits were revealed, but not enough). And the same applies to Nicole/mom. Hunter was such a blah character, and I hated his undying loyalty to her even though they had just met 3 times! So my suggestion, don't read the first 18 chapters (because you seriously don't learn anything), and you will thank me for shaving off reading time and even give this book a higher rating. Since I didn't have that luxury, I have to say, 2.5 stars .

MORE DETAILED REVIEW BELOW: 

Initial chapters:
I am on Chapter 8, and this is the conclusion I have come to thus far: this book is boring as hell. The main character Mila is constantly thinking (no action, just lots of rumination, pitying, and showing off her reflexes), Kaylee is a horrible friend (which is actually okay because it's a twist on the whole MC must have a best friend; but she seriously makes me want to slap her), and Hunter is a little too reticent (I think I can count on my fingers how mnay words he has said so far). I am pretty much skipping paragraphs at this point because of how verbose the writing is, and yet how little the plot has moved.

Chapters 9- LOL. If the military could make any android, why the hell would it be a 16-year old girl? Not hating on 16-year old girls, but seriously, it doesn't make any sense. And to program the emotions a teenage girl would feel--that is even more stupid. Research has shown that teenagers think more with the emotional than logical side of their brain, and that would be catastrophic in military situations. Why wouldn't you program somebody older? And I know I should feel something for Mila, but her character is so 1-D that I am more bored than intrigued by her story. 

[Chapter 10- They have send a handful of words to each other, and she's already ready to make out with him? But at least the prosthetic excuse was decent, except I am pretty sure (at least I hope) everybody knows that prosthetics don't come with wires and don't bleed milky white.
Chapter 11- you know what would be more interesting? If they focused on Nicole's story. She seems like she would be more relatable. Maybe Mila 2.0 would've been better as a sequel, after Nicole escaped and we got to know her story a lot better than this hackneyed "I lost my memory and or parent" crap.
Chapter 19- So I have been skimming the other chapters, but Mila jumping with Nicole was cool.
Chapter 21- All that difficult to follow action (honestly, I wasn't really paying that much attention either) and they still get caught!
Chapter 26- New character. Maybe Lucas can salvage this crap.
Chapter 28- I am actually sad because this book had so much potential. The scenes with Holland torturing her are so awesome. He reminds me of Warner's dad from the Shatter me series. I wish they had just taken out the first half of the book with the high school crap and gone with this instead. Mila just kicked Holland's ass! That was awesome and so unexpected!
Chapter 35- escape was awesome, but pacing is a serious issue with this book.
Chapter 36- OMG. I can't believe she left Lucas, though it obviously makes sense. Hope they don't kill him which I suspect they will.
Chapter 38- Nicole dying was really sad.
Chapter 39- uh, Hunter is back. This book just got stupid again.

Inhuman by Kat Falls (SPOILERS INCLUDED)

Oh, where do I begin with this one? This is a perfect example of a story utterly and irreparably ruined because of the narrator. Lane sounded like a 12-year old instead of someone who was a senior in high school. And this was a major and unforgivable flaw considering this book is told in first person. And as a result, I just couldn't be drawn into the world that was so richly imagined by Kat Falls.

I did like that Lane did not dwell on the two guys every five minutes, and only did that every 50-60 pages or so, which is a vast improvement over most novels and MCs. The highlights of these books were the four guys in this book:
1. I loved Rafe's character, but again, it was drowned out because of Lane's childish ramblings. Of course Rafe is good looking, but more than that, he had a great backdrop story and his motivations/ actions made sense. I loved how he said "I am taking myself out of this triangle," though this was not the edge I wanted out of the dreaded love triangle which was surprisingly not that unpalatable.
2. Speaking of which, Everson was also a likable character. He was the privileged perfect that was everything Lane imagined, but he was also intelligent, had a mind of his own, and was resourceful (reminded me of Ander from the Marie Lu series, though I am not exactly sure why). He was also dedicated to the cause of finding the cure for the disease which turned humans into animals, and I liked that he didn't give up on his mission or became a love sick puppy who only followed Lane's commands. He had priorities, even if they seemed misaligned at times.
3. I liked the interactions between Everson and Rafe. They were hilarious together.
4. The story didn't really pick up till Cosmo came in, and that was a little past the halfway point, which as you can imagine, was too little too late. He reminded me of Cinder from the "Under the Never Sky" series, but overall, his story was different enough where I still identified with him as a unique character and felt for his loss/ separation from his mother, and his struggle for survival/ reuniting with his mother. And of course he had to be the one who died.
5. Chorda was a psycho, but an awesome psycho villain! And the twist of him being the king was definitely not one I saw coming. His interaction with the queen was blood curdling.
6. I loved how Lane was jealous of Rafe because of all the time her dad spent with him, and how Rafe always saw her as a beacon of hope through the stories her dad had shared with him: “I hung on every word,” Rafe continued, without so much as a glance at me. “Because if there really was a little girl who went out every day, looking for stray animals to save, I figured that someday she would find me. And she did.”
7. Definitely unexpected though totally deserved when Rafe killed Omar for brutally killing Comso.
8. Didn't think Rafe would turn into a hybrid. That was another unexpected twist.

But despite all these wonderful aspects of the book, and the extremely detailed world building (just imagine any human-animal hybrid), to the point where it became a bit tedious, I can't see beyond the annoyingness and frustration that was having a supposedly 18-year old character talk like she is no more than twelve. It completely broke the illusion. And perhaps equally unforgivable was that she chose the wrong guy in the end! So overall, 2.5 stars max.

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken (SPOILERS!)

The good:
Definitely the characters! It doesn't matter whether the characters are peripheral or integral to the story, each one of them makes an impact:
I loved Chubes (Do I smell a pairing with Vida?), Vida (she was positively hilarious!), Judes (he was so innocent; side note: I kept reading "Judith" whenever Jude's name came up because that's what Vida called him), Liam (though we don't get to see that much of him, but the parts we see are worth it), Cole (Liam's brother and basically the bad-ass version of him), Ruby (she is still incredibly conflicted by her abilities though has much better control over them), and of course, Clancey (who is just as bastardly as he was in the previous book). Even Cate became a little less grey in this book.

The not so good:
The story dragged a bit for me, though there were a couple of definite bombshells I hadn't expect (these would obviously be the good part):
1. What the heck? Cole is a Red! How is that possible if there is supposed to be an age limit? I think that definitely points to government conspiracy since now there isn't an age tropism.
2. I sort of expected this, but Liam remembers (rejoice!). Though the images are fragmented, his feelings were left intact with the mind sweep.
3. Clancey, our resident villain, killed his own mother, who had found a cure for the disease that turned all of them into Psi mutants.
4. Jude dies! I guess I should've seen that coming, but it still sucked.

Overall: This book suffers a little bit from "sequel in a trilogy syndrome" with a long quest for the MC and her band of misfits to find the romantic interest, and suffering all kinds of crap in between because Murphy's law was not a theory, but an undeniable reality in Ruby's life. I hadn't loved the first book, but the excitement from the release of the second book swept me away, and after finishing this, I can say it was above average, but still nothing spectacular. And I haven't a clue of what's going to happen in the third book. Are these kids really mutants? Do they really need to be "cured?" Part of me things the answer should be "no," but it seems many if but not all of the Colors don't want their abilities. I will probably read the end of the trilogy, but I won't be running for it.

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas (Relatively spoiler free!)

As soon as I read the summary for "The Burning Sky," I knew I had to have it, and I was lucky enough to obtain an ARC. I enjoyed the overall concept of this book, though the execution left something to be desired. My favorite parts of the book, by and large, were any scene with the Inquisitor. I really wish we had more moments with her/ had learned more about her because she was a traditional, hair-rising villain that kept the story interesting and moving forward, and none of the other characters and scenes were able to rapt my attention like her presence did. I also loved the flashbacks we got of Titus' mother's visions, and the mother-son relationship was portrayed beautifully (quite the pleasant surprise since parent-child relationships are an anomaly in most YA books). I enjoyed learning about the inception of Archer Fairfax, and any scenes in the Crucible since stories came to life in it (and we find out a very cool use for it later in the book). !

My complaints about this book are the romance and the writing. Titus and Iolanthe were both believable majority of the times. I liked that Iolanthe despised him (with good cause!), and that Titus was not above manipulating her because he was so single-mindedly dedicated to fulfilling the prophecy. The Blood Oath scene was carried out brilliantly on his part. But the romance between them, though could've been believable given their circumstances, came on too strong and at the wrong moments. This was especially a problem with Iolanthe at times, when she seemed almost bipolar describing her emotions towards him--I hate them, but I like him, oh I think I love him, but I know I should hate him. It got a bit annoying at times, and was not well integrated into the story. Also, the story wasn't as coherent at times because we alternated between Titus' and Iolanthe's perspective every few paragraphs! It was very confusing at first and I wouldn't even though whose POV we were at until a pronoun was mentioned. The writing, itself, was also awkward and strained at times, and it honestly made it seem like the author is not as experienced with writing in third person.

So overall, while not a highly recommended read, it was an acceptable way to pass the time. I am not sure I will read the sequel, but that depends on whether I hit a book lull. You know how it goes...desperate times call for desperate measures.

3.5/5 stars.

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff (SPOILERS INCLUDED)

OMG...OMG...OMG...I did not see those twists coming from 50 miles away. I was completely blindsided.

So now that I have stopped hyperventilating, let me start by saying that this book is definitely worth a read despite the cheesy dusk jacket. I initially thought this was going to be like "The Collector" by Victoria Scott but it was completely different. It had action, romance, political intrigue, and even some high school drama, but surprisingly these disparate elements mixed in to make a great read. It was very refreshing from the typical YA genre. Honestly, the only aspect that's YA about it is that it has a 17-year old character. The themes are far more darker, and the story is much more complex than I had given this book credit for.

We have a "soldier" aka hitman in the form of Zach Abram, currently posing as Ben for his latest mission. His mission is to kill the mayor of NY, and his target (the way to accomplish his mission) is to get close to Sam, the mayor's daughter. I honestly thought nothing of Sam when we were first introduced to her. I thought she was going to be like every other YA MC: beautiful, feisty, emotionally vulnerable, and rearranges her whole life for the boy she insta-loves. Sam was none of those things (except the beautiful: no ugly people exist in the YA world), but more importantly, she was intelligent, strong-willed, had a voice/ opinion on political matters (what? YA characters read the newspaper?), and surprisingly cunning and manipulating. She was so flawed, and made the hitman in the book seem less dark/ disturbing. For me, she stole the show. She reminded me of Vesper in "Casino Royale." You'll get the reference once you read the book. Now that I think about it, there were quite a few similarities between the James Bond series and this. But I don't care because it was presented so well.

There were so many jaw-dropping moments. Mother/Father are not evil (like we initially suspect), Gideon is not just some crazy stalker ex but Sam's liaison, Sam is working for an Israeli terrorist organization, and Ben kills her in the end because she betrays her father and country and leaving her alive would make her life worse than better. In that moment when he thinks he might not have killed her, I was still too dazed and then thought, that's exactly what must've happened because she can't die. I mean, this is a YA book. I am still reeling from her death/ assassination/ murder. I even liked the peripheral characters in this book, primarily the Mayor, Howard (and seriously ewwww for what he did in the library), and Erica (if there ever comes out a sequel, I would love to see more of a role for her).

So all in all, go get it! You won't regret it!

ARCs I will give my right arm for (okay, maybe my left)

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (SPOILERS AHEAD)

I love Maggie Stiefvater's writing because she can make anything poetic and whimsical even she was describing cabbage. In this book, as in before, I loved the chemistry and camaraderie between the characters, whether it's the boys, Blue and Gansey, or the three psychics. There are quite a few hilarious conversations in this book, especially the one in which Gansey is contemplating whether to jump in the water and his reaction afterwards (probably my favorite scene!). Other favorites included: Ronan calling Adam and Blue "poverty twins," Gansey and Blue's conversations, the lamp shade description of Blue, Blue calling Ronan a bastard and the mice scene, Noah and Blue's kiss scene, and the two climactic moments in the book: when we find out Ronan's mother is something that's been pulled out of a dream (my jaw definitely dropped there!), and that Blue's mom is now in Cabeswater (damn the cliffhanger...haha).

I would say the biggest issue with the book was its hyper-focus on Ronan and the build-up with the Grey Man where we don't fully understand what he is looking for till chapter 25! Also, Kravinsky was just sort of thrown in there (I really wish his and Ronan's story had been book 1.5 so we could focus more on solving the Cabeswater mystery in the sequel instead of tracking backwards since Cabeswater has fully disappeared). Also, while this did not have any bearing on my rating of the book, Adam annoyed the hell out of me and I wanted to throw him off a cliff for being an ungrateful and self-loathing wretch, but I love that Maggie can make me hate a fictional character so much!
I will definitely read the next book because it will hopefully hold more answers as opposed to adding more layers to the mystery. I don't think this book suffers from second book syndrome, but it did feel like the story was getting more complicated for complication's sake, rather than to resolve the mystery and mythos that Maggie has so beautifully crafted in the first book. If "Raven Boys" was a 97 in my book, then "The Dream Thieves" is a solid 89 or 4.5 stars (I know that doesn't add up mathematically but what's one point, right?). Definitely recommended!

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC. I honestly loved getting back into this world and can't wait for the next book!