Over the past couple of weeks I had the pleasure of reading LIFER by Beck Nicholas. Now, most of you know I’m not a fan of Sci Fi. I like watching Sci Fi movies, but I’ve never been a big fan of reading the genre. However, when Month9Books approached me with the opportunity to read a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review, I couldn’t pass it up. I mean, look at that cover! It’s amazing! And then when I read the blurb: Bourne Identity meets Under the Never Sky? Well, I couldn’t resist.

What is LIFER about? Well, here is the blurb:

Title: LIFER
Publication date: December 16, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Beck Nicholas

Asher is a Lifer, a slave aboard the spaceship Pelican. A member of the lowest rung of society, she must serve the ship’s Officials and Astronauts as punishment for her grandparents’ crimes back on Earth. The one thing that made life bearable was her illicit relationship with Samuai, a Fishie boy, but he died alongside her brother in a freak training accident.

Still grieving for the loss of her loved ones, Asher is summoned to the upper levels to wait on Lady, the head Official’s wife and Samuai’s mother. It is the perfect opportunity to gather intel for the Lifer’s brewing rebellion. There’s just one problem—the last girl who went to the upper levels never came back.

On the other side of the universe, an alien attack has left Earth in shambles and a group called The Company has taken control. Blank wakes up in a pond completely naked and with no memory, not even his real name. So when a hot girl named Megs invites him to a black-market gaming warehouse where winning means information, he doesn’t think twice about playing. But sometimes the past is better left buried.

As Asher and Blank’s worlds collide, the truth comes out—everyone has been lied to. Bourne Identity meets Under the Never Sky in this intergalactic tale of love and deception from debut novelist Beck Nicholas.

MY REVIEW

What did I think about LIFER?

I have to say I was immediately captured by the author’s writing style. She has a beautiful way with words and they flowed so wonderfully well. Descriptions were clear but no cluttered. Characters were well flushed out, plots were crazy twisted and cleverly done. Settings…well I thought I was there in the thick of it all.

I love Asher. She is one tough cookie and her character consistently grows throughout the novel. She’s not whiny. She is really a character you can root for. You want things to work out for her, and when she makes the character Davyd beg for Mercy … heart be still. Fantastic moment in the book for me.

Blank (which is such a cool name for this character), is perfectly suited for Asher’s “other half” of this story. Like Asher, his past is shrouded in mystery, from the moment we are introduced to him, naked and unaware of who he is. Revelations come in short, intense bursts, and side characters like gorgeous Meg with her purple hair only make things more intense for Blank.

I don’t want to give any of the plot away in this story as it truly is a remarkable tale of space intrigue, deception, and mind-blowing twists and turns that will have you glued to your seat, turning the pages well into the wee hours of the morning.

If I have anything negative to say about the book, it would be that Asher and Blank have similar ‘voices’ to me, at least in the beginning. It irons itself out as the story goes and I became more involved with each characters’ personalities and life situation. The similarities, however, were not enough to make me stop reading, which is the main thing.

I give LIFER five stars out of 5 because of its ingenuity and fantastic plot line. It really will take your breath away.

Thank you Month9Books for the opportunity to read it.

There is a Blog tour going on for LIFER and all the info you need to know is below. I hope you take the time to jump around and read all the posts and also have the chance to enter the giveaway.

ABOUT BECK NICHOLAS:

I always wanted to write. I’ve worked as a lab assistant, a pizza delivery driver and a high school teacher but I always pursued my first dream of creating stories. Now, I live with my family near Adelaide, halfway between the city and the sea, and am lucky to spend my days (and nights) writing young adult fiction.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Link to the Tour Schedule:

http://www.chapter-by-chapter.com/tour-schedule-lifer-by-beck-nicholas-presented-by-month9books/

Link to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21816274-lifer?from_search=true

Purchase Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Chapters Indigo! | IndieBound

Giveaway Information: Winner will be drawn January 16, 2015

· Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of Lifer by Beck Nicholas (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

While in Ft. Myers for two weeks, I picked up Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, but my mind was quickly changed. Within the first 5 pages I was hooked. I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait for the sequel to come out.

The story was unlike any I’ve read before. I liked the authenticity of it, the grittiness of it. The story is told from male (Perry) and female (Aria) points of view. At first, the alternating chapters were a little hard to get used to, but I immediately fell into the cadence and looked forward to each character’s view of the world.

I loved watching Aria grow from being an outcast and sent to die in the outer wasteland known to her and her kind as the Death Shoppe, to her becoming a strong, warrior-like woman, who can survive cannibal attacks, dangerous and violent electrical Aether storms, and savages.

I enjoyed that Aria and Perry were so very different from each other. Aria was born in Reverie, an enclosed city. Everything is ‘perfect’ in Reverie – genetically modified perfect. Life is pristine, clean, safe. Procreation occurs scientifically. Girls don’t get pregnant. They don’t have periods. People don’t get ill. Physical ailments don’t exist. On the outside, where the savages (Perry) lives, the world is quite the opposite.

Each Aria and Perry are on their own journey when they find each other. I like that this story isn’t a typical romance. Their trust and respect for each other comes slowly. It’s tried. They both have something the other wants, but the information isn’t given freely or easily. The sheltered girl and the savage must learn to rely on each other’s strengths to get them through the journey they share together. I fell in love with both characters and the supporting cast.

The world-building is well done. It’s not thrown at the reader all at once. Instead, we’re treated to layers built upon layers over time. There is the technical, perfect Domes of Reverie, and the dangerous, desolate and devastating environment of the Death Shoppe. Each one plays their own roles in Aria’s and Perry’s quest – they both need something from the worlds opposite their own, and they need each other to find it.

I did find Aria a bit whiny in the beginning, but then again, considering her background, I can understand it. I had the impression that Perry was much older than Aria, so when the ‘romance’ began to bloom between them, I was a little weirded out. Then I found out his age and I was okay with it. Even though they are both teens, Perry still seems far more older than Aria, mentally, which gives me the ‘older man/younger woman’ vision in my head. It could be that she’s so naive and her body is ‘waking up’ at the age of 17 that gives me that impression. I found Perry’s description of Aria’s first ‘awakening’ at becoming a woman a little bizarre, funny, creepy and endearing. I’ve never heard a woman’s first menstrual cycle described in such a manner.

If I had to compare it to another book, I’d have to say it has some similar elements as Graceling. It is a dystopian, and while the book is aimed at fans of The Hunger Games, this novel is nothing like The Hunger Games. I will say it should appeal to more older teens – the 16 and up age group. There is some drinking, some mild violence (nothing like what was in The Hunger Games), and one sex scene that was handled with kid gloves (I like this approach in YA rather than full out hot and heavy sex scenes). If you enjoyed Blood Red Road, I think you’ll enjoy Under the Never Sky.

Next week I begin reading the second in the trilogy: Through the Ever Night. I can’t wait.