Tag: dystopian

ALC Book Review: Red City (The New Alchemists #1) by Marie Lu

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy
Length: 418 pages
Author: Marie Lu
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: October 14th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Godfather meets The Magicians in the sweeping adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab, Red City is a dark and deadly contemporary fantasy of magical warfare, star-crossed ambition, and the pursuit of perfection at any cost, set in a glittering alternate Los Angeles.

Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.

Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city—and the paths of their lives—will be irrevocably transformed.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

OH THIS WAS SO GOOD.

I was obsessed with this one from the first chapter y’all. It hit so incredibly well from the opening pages (I will also note the audiobook was incredible too). It gave me vibes from Jade City + Blood Over Bright Haven + Babel. And as someone who’s not an urban fantasy fan, this is the exception to the rule tenfold. YOU MUST READ IT. Easily my new favorite book from Marie Lu (and I’ve read them all).

This was convoluted and hard hitting and felt like the beginning of an epic saga. I loved the star-crossed lovers vibes BUT I will say this is not a ROMANCE in the usual sense. It does play a strong role in combination with many other factors and added the perfect dash to make me love this book even more.

I loved the dark nature of these competing companies and how sand is woven into the magic system. The alchemy idea is so cool (and frightening) and I thought it was awesome. I loved the morally grayness of everyone involved and the intricate layers of each character. I could not get enough of this book and I MUST have book two ASAP.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3ish open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: murder, loss of life, explicit torture, kidnapping, abusive relationship

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Book Review: Calamity (Reckoners #3) by Brandon Sanderson

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Dystopian / Sci-fi
Length: 424 pages
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: February 16th, 2016
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David’s fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned his closest ally into a dangerous enemy.

David knew Prof’s secret, and kept it even when the Reckoners’ leader struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He’s disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there’s no turning back. . . .

But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics—Megan proved it. They’re not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.

GOOD ENDING.

Only Sanderson could convince me to read a dystopian novel. And I’m glad I finished up this series. It was a pretty solid read, great for a younger audience, and were fast paced.

As usual there were some wild twists and turns that kept me on my toes. I liked the set-up of this final showdown and between the Reckoners and Epics. A few of the lasting surprises all clicked into place as they usually do when reading a Sanderson novel.

I liked the exploration of parallel versions of their world. Since it had been built up, it didn’t feel like a cop out to the original plot, but rather the final missing puzzle piece to solve the mystery of Calamity.

David is a favorite character of mine and I love his utter inability to make a simile, and his unfailing faith in something good. He was the perfectly flawed guy to lead the Reckoners to finish the job. I always enjoyed this world with all of the different powers and seeing the evolution of cities and society. Kind of trippy, but intriguing.

Another Sanderson series complete!

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult dystopia/sci-fi
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: physical altercations, magical powers, gun violence

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Book Review: Exile (The Extinction Trials #2) by S.M. Wilson

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Dystopia
Length: 384 pages
Author: S.M. Wilson
Publisher: Usborne Publishing LTD
Release Date: June 1st, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Betrayal. Sacrifice. Survival. Welcome to The Extinction Trials.

After surviving on Piloria once, Storm and Lincoln are the obvious candidates to return to the dinosaur continent to test the new virus that should clear the way for human settlement. But they have their own priorities – finding a cure for the plague that’s sweeping Earthasia, and keeping themselves alive.

DINOSAURS, OH MY!

Wow am I so happy I found this series! It’s pure entertainment for me (as a dinosaur fanatic) to get to read these. I love the dystopian-type setting and the exploration of Piloria.

Once again we have our two main characters, Lincoln and Stormchaser. I still liked them this time around. Though it looks like there might be some feelings there and I want more exploration of that. More exploration of all the characters interactions and musings. It’s a continual high stakes read with being chased by dinosaurs and surviving in the wild, that I’m realizing I’m not getting a lot of character connection.

I did see it come out towards the end and am so happy that it went the direction I was hoping. I think Strom and Lincoln both have some big decisions to make and it has amped up the finale. This series is overall an intriguing premise and I will practically read anything that involves dinosaurs.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult dystopia
  • Language: none
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: dinosaur attacks, endemic of a skin disease, physical/weapon attacks

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Book Review: DEV1AT3 (Lifelike #2) by Jay Kristoff

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult science fiction
Length: 419 pages
Author: Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Expected Release Date: June 25th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lemon Fresh has seen better days.

After the climactic battle in Babel, she finds herself separated from Ezekiel and Cricket in the wastelands. Lemon’s abilities to manipulate electricity mark her as a deviate, and deadly corporate operatives are hunting her to use as a weapon in the war between BioMaas Incorporated and Daedelus Technologies. Instead, Lemon finds herself falling in with a group of fellow deviates—a band of teenagers with astonishing abilities, led by an enigmatic figure known as the Major, who may hold the secrets to Lemon’s past.

Meanwhile, Cricket finds himself in possession of the puritanical Brotherhood, a religious cult set for a head-on collision with the Major and his band. Searching for Lemon, Ezekiel finds a strange ally in an old enemy, and uncovers a plot that may see him reunited with his beloved Ana.

And inside Babel, a remade Eve hatches a plan to bring an end to the world. 

I LOVE LEMON FRESH.

And I love that this book focused more on her.

This book started out with a nice little refresher of who was who and what happened (which I appreciate because lets face it, when it takes awhile to get to the second book some facts slip my mind).

So many twists yet again. I couldn’t keep up and was on my toes waiting for the next moment when I would stare at my page saying whaaaaat, nooooooo. I was kept guessing as to who some characters were and where others were located. I love the mystery of it all and it really helps me want to continue reading and flipping pages.

Lemon Fresh got a lot of the spotlight this time and she’s seriously, the best. I love her spunky personality and her loyalty to her friends. We got to see her struggles and her triumphs as she navigated meeting others like her. The dash of romance thrown in for her was sweet and not overdone. I totally ship them.

Ezekiel might destroy me by the end of this series. Frankly, this may be the case for any of our main four (Lemon, Ezekiel, Cricket and Eve). There is heartbreak and disaster literally around every corner and I DON’T KNOW IF I’LL GET A HAPPY ENDING. Going in blind to the last book may hurt, but I’m also stoked for it. The reveals and action can only go up from here.

The pacing is on point and the way information is rolled out never feels like an info dump or not quite enough to go off of. We’re given direction as needed and I love the world-building around a defunct society. It’s got a level of creep, some radicals, and those just trying to make it through the day. I’ve been real hesitant to read any dystopian as of late, but this one is definitely a hit.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult sci-fi / dystopia
  • Language: very little light language (some cases of using funk as a bad word)
  • Romance: a kiss
  • Violence: robots fighting, fire, magic, physical, swords, explosions, guns

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