Gilded Cage By: Vic James ARC Review

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ebook copy of Gilded Cage By: Vic James in exchange for an honest review. 

At first I had a hard time getting into Gilded Cage because there are so many POVs.  I also struggled a little in the beginning trying to figure out the world. Once I understood the world and got into it, I really enjoyed it. It's a pretty unique book and there is just something different about it that intrigued me.

#YeyForDifferent!

I am surprised at how dark this book got a couple times. I expected it to be kind of fluffy and more about the romance based off the blurb. To be honest, the summary doesn't do the book justice. However, it's actually a pretty thought provoking story. The idea of the slave days is very fascinating and the whole concept is just spot on! Even though the book is unique, I do like how there are a few tropes I love as well. Such as rebellion and a little bit of forbidden romance. 

#HappilySurprised

I also really liked some of the characters, especially Abi and Luke. The Jardines (aristocrat family with powers) are also very fascinating to me. I'm excited to see in the next book how the character development goes with Abi, Luke, and The Jardines. In this book I feel like I didn't get enough of that because there are too many POVs. 

#MoreCharacterDevelopmentPlease!

Overall I loved Gilded Cage! The ending is terrific and I am extremely curious to see what happens next. I can't wait for more of the political intrigue too! By the end of the book I wanted to rate it 5 stars based on enjoyment, but I had to take one star off because of the POV issue and the smaller issue of world building early on. I just think the book needed to be smoother in the beginning. Other than that, it was pretty perfect. 

#AlmostPerfect

I recommend Gilded Cage for anyone who likes a good mix of fantasy, political intrigue, and dystopian. 

#HighlyRecommend!

Top Ten Tuesday- Top Ten Favorite Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Novels

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme hosted here at The Broke and the Bookish. The topic this week is Top Ten Fave X Novels. 

I decided to do my Top Ten Fave Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Novels because I don't think I've ever shared my favorites in this genre before. It's a genre that I do enjoy quite a bit, but I think I am picky about it as well. So here are my top ten! 

*Note: Books listed that are a part of a series are for that book (the FIRST BOOK) in the series only.*

Click the covers to view on Goodreads.  

1. The Giver By: Lois Lowry 

2. Battle Royale By: Koushun Takami 

3. Anthem By: Ayn Rand

4. The Stand By: Stephen King

5. Lord of the Flies By: William Golding

6. I Am Legend By: Richard Matheson 

7. The Time Machine By: H.G. Wells

8. The Road By: Cormac McCarthy 

9. The Hunger Games By: Suzanne Collins

10. Divergent By: Veronica Roth 

That's it for my Top Ten Fave Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Novels! What do you think of these books? Have you read them, hate them, love them? What dystopian/post-apocalyptic books would be on your list? 

The Last One By: Alexandra Olivia ARC Review (DNF Mini REVIEW)

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review! 

The Last One sounded right up my alley from the summary and it started off strong, but then it lost me. I've been extremely in the mood for thrillers and suspense, but this one wasn't a winner for me. Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one. I really like the premise of The Last One, like A LOT, and the whole idea of the show and the survival aspect was very intriguing. Honestly, the writing wasn't too bad, the book just lost me due to a few issues. 

#IHateToDNFBut...

One of the things that I disliked was that there was no connection to the characters. I don't always have to connect to characters to enjoy a novel, but I feel like it is important in this kind of book.  With the whole survival/suspense aspect I really think it's necessary for the story, but there wasn't any connection at all.

#Where'sTheConnection?

Another thing I didn't care for was that the author used the characters nicknames at times and their real names at other times.  I didn't care for the way that was done. I think there would have been an easier flow to the novel if nicknames were the only ones used. I think in general the flow was off for me. The writing was nice, but not very smooth. 

#LetItFlowwwww

Overall when it comes to The Last One it just wasn't for me. I think that either people will love it or have similar issues and complaints that I had. I feel like this a book you either love or hate. I just couldn't keep going with The Last  One to see how things turned out. The few things started to bug me more and more and I became bored. I even started skimming the pages a bit and I figured I better just DNF it and move on. 

#HateItOrLoveIt

I can't personally recommend The Last One, but if the book sounds interesting to you it's always worth trying!

#UseYourTrustyLibraryCard