This year, one of my favourite authors Jessica L. Brooks is doing a monthly feature/giveaway where she showcases new indie releases. If you want to find out about in her words with more details, you can visit her announcement post for this month here.
April's Book
Unbreathable by Hafsah LaziafReleased: 29th October 2013
Series: Ubreathable #1
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Nook | Amazon
One hundred and fifty years ago, Earth was destroyed, and the remaining humans fled to the dusty red planet of Jutaire, where the only oxygen is manufactured, food is scarce, and death strikes often.
When Lissa's father discovers Earth still exists, she accidentally inhales the toxic air of Jutaire, and in one breath, discovers she isn't quite human.
Her father hangs for his discovery, and Lissa knows the Chancellors will come for her, for she saw the Earth that night too. With nothing to lose, she sets out to expose the truth. It isn't long before she meets Julian, a beautiful boy who can breathe the toxic air like she can - and shows her that the Jute, the original inhabitants of the planet, are more tangled in their lives than she knows. But the Chancellors are only pawns in a greater game - one where the Jute control everything. Worse, the Jute plan to leave Jutaire for Earth, but to get there, they need her. And they'll stop at nothing until Lissa is in their clutches, even if they kill every human in the process. The race for Earth has begun.
Unbreathable is a tale of love, redemption, and sacrifice, and one girl's struggle to find her place in a world where she doesn't belong.
Her father hangs for his discovery, and Lissa knows the Chancellors will come for her, for she saw the Earth that night too. With nothing to lose, she sets out to expose the truth. It isn't long before she meets Julian, a beautiful boy who can breathe the toxic air like she can - and shows her that the Jute, the original inhabitants of the planet, are more tangled in their lives than she knows. But the Chancellors are only pawns in a greater game - one where the Jute control everything. Worse, the Jute plan to leave Jutaire for Earth, but to get there, they need her. And they'll stop at nothing until Lissa is in their clutches, even if they kill every human in the process. The race for Earth has begun.
Unbreathable is a tale of love, redemption, and sacrifice, and one girl's struggle to find her place in a world where she doesn't belong.
My Review
This air was different. As unbreathable as it should be, I needed it, desperately wanted it. It was a living thing, caressing my lips, coaxing them open. It wanted to suffocate me. Fill me. Complete me.
Unbreathable had everything you would want in a great piece of YA science fiction - action, complex character relationships, mystery, suspense, and twists that kept adding those little extra sparks along the way. The fact that this whole novel was set on a totally different planet with a fight for earth made it different and intriguing right from the start. It was good that some explanation was given about how things came to be, and the writing style was atmospheric and fantastic. It was so easy to read this book and flowed effortlessly with the great word choices and sentence structure that made the most impact on the reader in the key moments.
There were also lots of family revelations in store for Lissa and the other characters which opened the door for great character development. Lissa in particular really thrived as the novel progressed, and she turned into a true fighter, ready to sacrifice herself for the good of her people. In the middle of the novel there is so much going on, and the romantic/power-play elements really heightened the stakes for the main characters. Although the romance was one of the key elements of this story, it wasn't overpowering at all and there was a great balance between that and the action which followed. This book really illustrated the power of love, in both a romantic sense and one where it is used to protect the ones you love. It can transform people and change their attitudes in more ways than one.
The only small piece of criticism I have about this book was that in some parts the pacing was almost so fast that I didn't know what was happening. This isn't really a big deal though, because everything does get clearly explained by the end - which by the way has made me really want to see what on earth *see what I did there ;)* is going to happen in the next book!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Unbreathable is a refreshing new YA sci-fi novel that readers are sure to enjoy. With a plot that is filled so that there is never a dull moment and characters with developed personalities I'm sure that this is a novel that readers will not want to miss.
Photo A Day Challenge
Using the hashtag #JLBgivesawayanIndie you can participate in the photo-a-day challenge on instagram, twitter, tumblr or your blog for every day in April! Whether you do it just for fun or entries into the giveaway below, it's up to you :)
Giveaways
Oooh, lovely review! I'm seen this one on Goodreads before and it's always intrigued me. I think I might have to get myself a copy of it soon, because it looks like the exact sort of fantasy that I'd like.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kara :) It is a genuinely great read, and surpassed my expectations!
DeleteI have this on my Goodreads TBR. It sounds so good. So glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteIt is really good, hope you get to reading it Rochelle!
DeleteOh my goodness this looks like a wonderful book! Looks right up my alley too, just enough dystopian to be interesting, while also being totally new. I'm excited!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that Bethany, I do hope you enjoy it! Thanks for following too :)
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