Book Promo: "unFocused" by Roselyn Jewell

This is a YA dystopian fiction novel, set in a society where much of the world's population was wiped out by a pandemic. There are also a very high % of people in this society that have what is called The Roving, which is essentially ADHD.  In an effort to focus people's attention and repopulate the world, the heads of all countries got together and developed one government run society. The government controls everything, from the food you eat to the clothes you wear, even who you can date and then who you are expected to marry. At the age of 17, you can select your top 5 choices for a career path and who you'd like to be paired with. Then there's a big ceremony where it is announced who is paired together and what careers everyone is given, in addition to where they'll live. You must take the choices assigned to you and after 5 years you can request a change. However, the government would still need to approve the change, which rarely happens. The first year you spend living in quarters with other 17 year olds from other areas. There is a living quarter for guys and another for girls. You're strongly encouraged to go on dates with the member of the opposite sex that you're paired with, then at the end of that first year you're strongly encouraged to marry them and begin having kids.
You have a government assigned career path, which you work at 40 hours per week. Beyond that, you can take on extra jobs for what's called luxury dollars, redeemable for non-healthy foods and non-nation issued clothing, etc. The government feels like this is the perfect society because no one should ever want for anything. This book primarily focuses on a 17 year old girl, Hillary, who is not happy with her romantic pairing assignment or her career assignment. She has to move away from her family and the only friends she's ever known and during her first year in the living quarters, she goes through a series of events where she starts to learn who she really is, which is different from what society considers proper or “normal.” Her and the friends she develops start to question whether this society is really as perfect as they're led to believe. There's a mystery that goes on as well and will span at least 2 books before reaching its final conclusion.

LGBT issues are very prominent in this book. In this new society, gay relationships are not legal, nor are they exactly illegal. They're basically treated as if they don't exist. Of course they do, but people in that situation don't know what to do and are often extremely fearful of anyone finding out. This is one of the main struggles the main character faces.

The mystery element is that someone is making illegal videos and selling them on the black market. The black market is not supposed to exist in this society either, so the characters are surprised to realize that it does exist and that even in a so called perfect society, there is still crime and a black market. Hillary, the main character ends up having her career assignment be in law enforcement, so she finds herself in a unique position to try to solve the mystery and earn the respect of her boss, who doesn’t believe in her.
Book excerpt:
A blank screen on my tablet now glares back at me, my own face reflected on the black screen in the bright overhead light of my small, beige bedroom. I look into the scared blue eyes of a girl who’s been keeping a secret for several years now. A secret desire that—while it can’t exactly get me into trouble, per se — it can never, never, be fulfilled. But now the secret is wiped away. I have a clean, blank page to fill with new musings, new yearnings, and wishes—attainable ones—and I have a chance to start over, build a new me, sans secret desires. The Sorting is now less than two days away. I’m leaving all that kid stuff behind me.
Buy links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U9R76QK
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121345318?ean=2940151430012
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Roselyn_Jewell_unFocused?id=zwTvBgAAQBAJ&hl=en
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/524757
If purchasing via Smashwords, you can use code HR72V to receive a 50% discount :)

About Roselyn Jewell:
Roselyn Jewell is an author, a wife, a mother, a friend, a sister, a daughter, and so much more! She's always loved reading and found herself wanting to continue the stories she loved so much, which is how she started writing. Now she's finally reached her dream of being published. She has 8 novels and 2 boxed sets on the market. Most are romance but there is also a mystery, a thriller, and a YA series she just started. She can be emailed at roselyn@roselynjewell.com or found on social media with username jewellromance.

"Delerium" by Lauren Oliver

This book was on my TBR list for far too long. While I wouldn't say it's the best dystopian I have read, but it was still a quality book. Lena cannot wait to be 18 and to get "cured." The government cures every adult of amor deliria nervosa, or "the deliria" keeping the population from being infected with love. Lena's mother could not be cured though she had the procedure many times, and Lena is anxious to get the risks of love behind her. As you can guess, Lena is going to meet a boy, find out that her heavily controlled world isn't the safe sanctuary she always believed it to be and is going to fall in love (this seems to be the general plot of most YA dystopians anymore, the difference this time around is that it's love that it forbidden). 

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but, unfortunately, I found the book as a whole a little dry. Once the plot got rolling it was entertaining, but I thought that it took a little too long to get started seeing that it's not at all surprising that Lena is going to end up changing her priority of getting cured. This could possibly have happened to me because I have read enough in this genre that I'm picking up on the patterns they often follow  (plus I might have been a little spoiled by how strong Lauren Oliver's other book, Before I Fell is). However, even though I thought the story was slow to start, the second half of the book was engaging and kept me turning the pages. I certainly plan on finishing this series and am hopeful that now that the plot and characters have been established, there will be plenty of story to make this a solid trilogy. It's no surprise that those that enjoyed The Hunger Games, Matched, Divergent, and so many others also love Delerium. If you like any of the books mentioned, then you will likely enjoy this book as well.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Revealing Eden" (Save the Pearls #1) by Victoria Foyt

My issue with this book is that I am pretty much over books in this genre.  I have read quite a few books that involve a pretty/strong/nice/insert-description-here heroine in a horrible set-up where she will likely die but then falls in love and everything is alright in the end.  Since this wasn't my cup of tea to begin with I thin I have exhausted that genre for myself.  That said, I did enjoy Revealing Eden. 

I liked that the premise was one that I hadn't seen before and that Eden had an idea of just how dire her situation was, even at the beginning of the novel.  It seems that the heroine is usually going about life as normal, and are usually waiting for some sort of event/ceremony that takes place every year and that's when their plot really gets rolling.  In Eden's case, if she doesn't mate by the time she is 18, she will die.  And because she was born a "pearl" (really white, not albino, but close) her chances of being chosen are very slim.  Throw in a bunch of science an a man turned into a beast and you are in for an interesting ride.

This book (at least so far, I haven't read past the first book) is relatively different from most of the dystopians I have read.  There is enough action to entertain me and not so much romance that I end up bored or annoyed.  I feel that Foyt's world itself could use a little more development, but overall it was not a bad read.  





Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Eden's Root" by Rachel E. Fisher

I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed Eden's Root by Rachel E. Fisher.  I'm not really the target audience for this novel but it was really interesting.  Granted, it did take awhile for the story to get going and I felt that ending was a bit drawn out, the majority of the novel was pretty awesome.

Set in the future, Eden's Root follows Fi Kelly as she learns that the food her family and the rest of the world has been consuming is slowly killing them- and is running out.  When her father (who is dying from the Sickness) informs her of the likely future of the planet, Fi begins to plan for the moment when everything will change.  Even though she is young, it will be up to her to lead her Family to the safety of Eden.  When the military begins to take over their town's resources Fi and her family sneak into the forest and begin a journey that will change all of them.  The responsibility of feeding and caring for the Family rests on Fi's shoulders, with the help of her best friend and almost brother, Sean.  Together the two begin to raid cities on their journey to provide for the Family.  They face overwhelming obstacles on their mission to reach the safety of Eden.

This novel has a little bit of everything.  It's a dystopian that contains very realistic elements, action, a little bit of romance and a very intriguing story.  I felt like I was reading a novel that could actually happen in real life. I am definitely going to be reading the sequel, Seeds of War.  I can easily recommend this book to fans of dystopian novels.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth

It seems that I am often behind in popular trends with books (I partially blame it on my town which is always even farther behind than I am and that makes it hard to find copies of the books that I want to read sometimes).  I didn't read Harry Potter until right before the 4th one came out, I didn't read Twilight until the day after Breaking Dawn was released and Mockingjay was out for more than a year before I gave The Hunger Games a try.  So reading Veronica Roth's  Divergent shortly after the sequel was released means I'm not too far behind, right?

If you have read anything dystopian (and at this point, I am sure you have) then you probably have a good idea of the setting of this novel.  Set in the future in a very different from today Chicago, Beatrice is about to make a decision that will change her life forever (isn't that always the way?).  She will have to decide if she will stay in her current faction and remain a member of her family or choose a new faction and be completely removed from the life she has always known.  Of course she chooses a new faction and will now be living with the Dauntless.  In her new faction, Tris (as she is now called) will face down every one of her fears and compete to keep a place in the faction.

As is the norm, this novel includes action, romance, and the uncovering of a secret that will further change Tris' life and the lives of all around her.  And even more the norm, the book ends leaving the reader desperate for more (I must say, the one good thing about starting a series late, I don't have to wait months or years for the sequel- I will be reading Insurgent soon!).  I had no difficulty immersing myself in this novel and found it to be a rather fast paced read.  It is easy to compare it to The Hunger Games and other novels in the dystopia genre, so if you are into dystopian literature, make sure you pick up a copy!



Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

I hate to say it, but I was a little disapointed by Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay.  I guess after all the hype and my enthusiasm over The Hunger Games and  Catching Fire, I was expecting a grand, over-the-top, epic conclusion.  Unfortunately I felt that it fell a little flat.

Revolution is taking place in every corner of Panem.  Katniss has taken on the role of the Mockingjay, the face of the rebellion.  We still get to see Katniss' kick-butt attitude and fire, but I feel that her character isn't as strong this time around.  It seems that she spends a little bit too much time not doing anything to avenge the lives lost in District 12 and a little bit too much time being made up to be on television.

Even though I felt that this was a bit of a let-down after the amazingness of the first two books, it is still a worthy read.  There were moments that I found myself cheering for Katniss- especially during one particular scene at the end (I can't give it away, but it was awesome!).  And though this was not my favorite of the series, I still recommend it to readers.  It would be impossible to try to read the first two books and not finish the series.  I can almost guarantee that once you start this series, it will take only a matter of days to power through it.  It is a fast paced journey that you won't soon forget.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

There is one advantage of getting a late start on a book series- not having to wait to read the sequel!  I started Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire immediately after finishing The Hunger Games and once again found myself in the middle of action and an adventure I couldn't stop reading.  The book picks up several months after the first ended.  Katniss and Peeta, having survived the Hunger Games, are living comfortably back in District 12 but everything is about to change- again.  Angered that she and Peeta were able to cheat their way out of the games, President Snow gives Katniss an ultimatum to convince the citizens of Panem that she and Peeta are madly in love and calm the uprisings or pay the price.  Even worse, it is the 75th anniversary of the The Hunger Games and as a "celebration" each district must send two of it's previous victors back into the arena.

Once again, readers are thrown into the middle of chaos and destruction.  I found this novel to be fast paced and entertaining, though frightening.  Katniss is tossed from one terror to another taking the reader along for the exciting ride.  Again, this series is an absolute must read for any and all book lovers.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Crossed" by Ally Condie

I am LOVING the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie!  I powered through Crossed, the second book in the trilogy (Book #3 will be released later this year) and still couldn't get enough.  Cassia and Ky have one common goal- to find each other again.  If you have read Matched (and if you haven't, then you definitely should) then you know that the two are seperated from each other- Ky sent to the Outer Provinces and Cassia risking everything in hopes of one day being reunited with him.  Crossed picks up the story wonderfully!  We find out that there is more in the outside world than our main characters ever could have imagined.

This time, we get a look at Ky's side of the story with chapters alternating from his and Cassia's point of view (how I am hoping that Book #3 will have chapters through Xander's eyes!).  I did feel that the novel progressed a bit too slowly, but this left room for a lot of build up to the conclusion of the series.  This is the first book I was able to cross off my reading list for the year and it has left me thirsting for more!

Find out more on Facebook and Twitter as well as the Matched website!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Matched" by Ally Condie

I feel like I may be one of the only people on the planet who had not started the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie yet.  Boy was I missing out!  I powered through the first book this weekend and I will be starting Crossed shortly after finishing this blog.

I like seeing what trends appear to be popular in books and am happy to see that the vampire trend tends to be dying down.  I am also suprised to see that dystopian themed books might be the next big thing.

Cassia (love the name) lives in a seemingly perfect world.  There are no choices, everything is decided for you;  where you will work, when you will die, and who you will marry.  The book starts with Cassia finding out that she is to be matched with her childhood best friend, Xander.  Everything appears to be perfect until she takes a look at the microchip with with Xander's information on it- only to see the face of another boy, Ky.  The Society rarely makes mistakes but they tell Cassia that's what this is; a mistake.  So why does she suddenly find herself wanting to spend time with Ky?  The more time she spends with Ky the more she begins to question the Society she has always known.



This book has a little bit of everything; romance, adventure, action, suspense, and a bit of a cliffhanger.  While I think it will appeal more to girls, it's not overly mushy so I think guys can enjoy it too.  Like many others I'm sure, I found Matched to be quite similar to The Giver by Lois Lowry and Delrium by Lauren Oliver.  If you like Matched and Crossed, I recommend reading the other two while you wait for the trilogy's conclusion.