Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Review + Giveaway

Title: Nobody   
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes 
Publisher: EgmontUSA  
Release Date: January 22, 2013 
Received: For review  

Summary:  There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them. 


Review:  We all feel like nobody every once in a while, but what if you found out you actually were Nobody? That is what Claire must come to terms with in Nobody.

 Claire and Nix are two great main characters. They, as we learn throughout the book, are Nobodies, people who no one really notices. But while Nix has grown up knowing he is a Nobody, Claire is just learning it. I enjoyed Claire's journey into realizing what she is, Nix is so sure of what he thinks and when Claire's existence tears that all apart their resulting journey is both complex and interesting.

I like books that are semi-grounded in reality but have a cool scientific twist ad Nobody definitely has that. I loved learning about the Institute, the Nobodies, and the Nulls. Barnes has painted a picture so real that I was getting shivers thinking about the possibility of Nulls existing and about real people who are basically the real life equivalent of Nulls.

The way the book is written is kind of strange. Instead of alternating between characters each chapter. The chapters are broken up and they go back and forth between Claire and Nix. After a little while I got used to it but it is different when you first pick it up.

Overall I liked Nobody and am looking forward to the next one.

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Trial by Fire Review

Title: Trial by Fire (Raised by Wolves #2)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Release Date: June 14, 2011
Received From: Publisher in exchange for a honest review

Summary: 

There can only be one alpha.
Bryn is finally settling into her position as alpha of the Cedar Ridge Pack—or at least, her own version of what it means to be alpha when you’re a human leading a band of werewolves. Then she finds a teenage boy bleeding on her front porch. Before collapsing, he tells her his name is Lucas, he’s a Were, and Bryn’s protection is his only hope.
But Lucas isn’t part of Bryn’s pack, and she has no right to claim another alpha’s Were.  With threats—old and new—looming, and danger closing in from all sides, Bryn will have to accept what her guardian Callum knew all along. To be alpha, she will have to give in to her own animal instincts and become less human. And, she’s going to have to do it alone.
Bryn faces both the costs, and the rewards, of love and loyalty, in this thrilling sequel to Raised by Wolves.

Review:

There are so many werewolf books on the market, so before I pick one up I try to figure out what makes this one different than the other ones on the shelf. That is one of the reasons I really like this series, it so different than the other werewolf books I have read.

I liked seeing Bryn step into her role as Alpha, while she had her doubts I really liked her drive and how she wasn’t afraid to work through problems and sacrifice herself. Bryn really matured in this book, she faced some really hard decisions and had to learn to step up and step down at times.

The new element that was brought into this book I really enjoyed. It made the plot more complex and the story even more thrilling and enjoyable.

You definitely need to read the first book to understand this one. Things that happened previously are alluded to and are important to the plot, but I didn’t think this was a bad thing because I made Bryn’s decisions more valid in my mind.

The one thing that was the best about this book was the fact that I was never sure if Bryn was going to survive. Especially at the end I really, really had my doubts. This fear kept me on the edge of my chair wanting to know what was going to happen.

The flaw with this book was that it was sort of slow sometimes, I had to set it down unless something very important was happening. It wasn’t too bad because the action parts made up for it, but there were times where I wanted the story to move along faster.

 

The False Princess

Title: The False Princess

Author: Eilis O’Neal

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Release Date:  January 25, 2011
Received From: Publisher in return for a honest review

Summary:  

Princess and heir to the throne of Thorvaldor, Nalia's led a privileged life at court. But everything changes when it's revealed, just after her sixteenth birthday, that she is a false princess, a stand-in for the real Nalia, who has been hidden away for her protection. Cast out with little more than the clothes on her back, the girl now called Sinda must leave behind the city of Vivaskari, her best friend, Keirnan, and the only life she's ever known.
Sinda is sent to live with her only surviving relative, an aunt who is a dyer in a distant village. She is a cold, scornful woman with little patience for her newfound niece, and Sinda proves inept at even the simplest tasks. But when Sinda discovers that magic runs through her veins - long-suppressed, dangerous magic that she must learn to control - she realizes that she can never learn to be a simple village girl.
Returning to Vivaskari for answers, Sinda finds her purpose as a wizard scribe, rediscovers the boy who saw her all along, and uncovers a secret that could change the course of Thorvaldor's history, forever.

Review:

I adore fantasy novels! I don’t think there are enough of them that are being published now days and I really, really wish there were more. A good  fantasy novel has three things, great world building, good and productive use of magic, and intrigue! This book has all of those things and more!

One of my favorite parts was the fact that even though Sinda was a strong heroine, she had believable reactions to things that happened to her. I mean I would not have enjoyed this book if she had been less traumatized by the things that happened her reactions to the things that happened are what made her feel more real.

The twists in The False Princess were my favorite part, I never knew what was going to happen next. Especially the last third of the book, it was shocking and action packed!

If you like fantasy or if you’ve never tried it I think this would be a good pick because its shorter than many other fantasy novels and it’s a standalone.