Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Science, once the human race's greatest ally, has betrayed them all. Experimental genetic research has led to a doomed generation. Males die at the age of 25, and females even younger, at the hands of an incurable virus. To keep the human race alive, young women are kidnapped and either killed or forced into polygamous marriages. Rhine is one such young woman. She is only 16, but knows she won't live much longer. She is forced into wedding Lindon along with two other brides. In this dark lifestyle, lines between friend and foe are blurred, and Rhine is determined to find a way to spend whatever time she has left as a free woman.

My review:
I LOVED IT. Rhine is believable, bright, and a perfect main character. Her experience so far has been truly horrific, but she is not dark or broody. She plots. I love it! Rhine is my favorite type of heroine.

The other characters are terrific too! Cecily is one of the blurred-line characters. I love to hate her at first, but then just love her. Jenna is cool and aloof, but I ended up loving her in the end. Gabriel is believable and nice, and I enjoyed any part of the book that had him in it! Linden was also a blurry character. Rhine is supposed to hate him, but it gets complicated. Then you have the housemaster, who is creeperiffic. The perfect villain. *shiver*

There was no part of the book during which I found myself bored, disappointed, or disinterested. I always wanted to read it! It took me two days straight to read it, and I never wanted to put it down!

What was happening in the world was sad, gloomy, and horrible to think about. It was really awesome to read though, because while what happened to Rhine is tragic, I was sucked in. I HAD to know what was going to happen!

Sure, some of it (like how only America exists anymore?) made me raise my eyebrows, it's fiction, so sure. Let's go with that. The characters are really what the book is about.

I adored this book and everything about it! I can't wait for the next one!

As close to 5 as you can get without actually being 5/5
Shay-la

The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa

Meghan rescued her brother Ethan from the Iron King, but who will rescue her? As a prisoner of the Winter Queen, she knows the Iron Fey have not been defeated. No one at court is there to listen, and there is nothing Meghan can do. Ash is aloof and cold, Puck is still recovering in the Wyldwood, and her only companion is a mischievous phouka she doesn't trust. But the Iron Fey won't leave Meghan alone, and she is beginning to run out of options.

Let's start this review by being honest: I did not want to write it. I do not want to review this book.

I have no idea why this series has to be so wrong! I wanted to like it sooo much! The covers are beautiful and I had heard such fantastic things! I love books about Faerie. Just, not this one. :'(

Let's talk about the things I liked: The Shakespearean references. The king and queens and are Oberon and Tatiana, plus Mab. Plus you have Puck. I also really liked the premise of a race of faeries born of modern dreams and technology, even though they are deadly. It's a neat idea.

But. Meghan is appalling. The quickest way to ruin a book is to ruin the main character. Meghan is flighty and emotional, she is rash, uncouth, clumsy, fickle, petty, and weak. That sounded really mean, but I simply cannot help my negative feelings, as I have previously stated. Meghan spent way too much time pining over Ash, and she ALWAYS says the wrong thing. I don't understand how she got everyone in Faerie to fall in love with her, she's a mess! Maybe, to some, it is part of her charm. "Nobody's perfect": Meghan's motto.

I thought a lot of things that happened in the book were too convenient, but there was also a lot of tragedy. It evened out. I don't like how violent Faerie is all the time. I haven't seen enough GOOD sides of it to understand why Meghan loves it. Everyone wants to bleed you or steal your firstborn, and all of the mythical creatures are cruel. It makes me sad. There are some good sides, just not enough.

I managed to read this really quickly, and I did get intrigued by the plot. The parts that aren't about Ash's tragically fickle brain are pretty cool to read. There were slow spots, but most of it moved right along. So, all-in-all, not a super horrendous book to read. Just pretty bad. I'm sure a ton of readers disagree and really liked the books, so don't let me ruin the series for you! I might have to read the third to finish the series and put my mind at ease.

2/5
Shay-la