Mini Reviews - Delirium, Angelfire, Radiance

EDITED. So, Blogger is a bastard (sorry to any offended) Radiance WAS reviewed, but for some reason the review disappeared leaving just the description and the rating *grumbles* Being unable to remember it word for word, it's now shorter and worse, but it is at least reviewed again.

Yep, another of those Mini Reviews posts. Delirium and Angelfire because they were early eARC's from NetGalley and I am waiting til closer to release to post full reviews. Radiance because I don't really have enough to say about it for it to be a considered a full review, so I'm adding it in here instead.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

"Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love"

First in a planned new dystopian trilogy. I really liked this book. It's got some great ideas and it's well played out, but for a long while, despite liking it, I felt a serious disconnect with the main character, Lena. I don't know why, but I just didn't connect with her very well so while the writing and pacing was excellent, I found I could just put it down and walk away easily. I liked Lena, I just didn't connect with her. I did enjoy the story though, and I really didn't have a clue what would happen right until the end. I wasn't too happy about one particular thing near the end, but otherwise thought it was a very good read. I can't quite say I loved it because it wasn't until about 3/4 through the book that I really connected with Lena and it got really intense for me. That's when I struggled to put it down. Still, it's great and I recommend it. Oddly, it reads (or did to me) as a standalone right until the final chapter. With a couple minor tweeks I think it would make a fantastic standalone book. I'm still looking forward to book 2 though and suspect I could enjoy that a lot more, but I'd got no idea where this series is going. Rating: 7/10

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

"When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember."

Angel books appear to be taking over the YA UF genre right now. Not all of them good, but this is one of the great ones. I was hooked within a few pages and struggled to put it down. It's got a lot of action, and unlike most YA books right now it seems, it's got decidedly little romance. There is a romantic plot, but it's a long while before it really comes up. It's very intense when it does, and perfectly played, but it is a sub-plot, at least for the time being. I loved the action in this book, I loved Ellie (the protagonist) and how she learnt and dealt with the things she discovered. I love Will, her bodyguard. He's very hot, mysterious and has just about everything going for him. He kind of broke my heart at one point, but I still love him completely. Some great twists and the ending was really intense. I'm very excited for more in this series!! Rating: 9/10


Radiance by Alyson Noel

"Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he's never met Riley..."

Copy received for review thanks to Lynsey at UK Book Tours.
This is the first book in the spin off series from the Immortals one (book 1 is Evermore) focusing on Riley. This is amied at younger audience than the Immortals series, which I don't normally read, but as I liked the first couple books in that series I thought I'd give it a try. Sadly it didn't work for me. I liked Riley a lot in Evermore, but no so much as a protagonist. However, it's still a fun, sweet, cute read with a good cast and plot. Younger readers and those who enjoy younger fiction, will likely really enjoy it, it just wasn't for me. Rating: 5/10