This is the second prequel to the popular Bruno Johnson series that takes us back to his early years. Bruno is an LA County deputy sheriff who works in the violent crimes unit. He likes his boss, his colleagues & their current investigation. So he’s less than thrilled when he shows up to work one day & gets a double whammy. His old partner Ned Kiefer is back & they’re being seconded to the FBI as part of a joint task force tackling a surge in bank robberies. Oh, if only it was that simple.

Sure, being sworn in as a US Marshall is a kick. But it’s immediately clear their FBI counterparts view them as subordinates who must be tolerated. It’s a frosty welcome with one exception. Special Agent Chelsea Miller is part of the team and she & Bruno have a bit of history.

Bruno & Ned dig in & have some early success. But when they’re handed one particular case, they discover the task force’s true agenda. One of the gangs responsible for the robberies is made up of disadvantaged teens. There is little chance this will end well, making it a political hot potato the FBI would prefer to avoid. And for Bruno it will be a case that tests him personally & professionally.

What follows is an action packed wild ride with plenty of twists. The multiple story lines are populated by a colourful mix of cops, gang bangers, drug addicts & honest people just trying to survive in some of LA’s poorer neighbourhoods.

At the centre of it all is Bruno, a hard working cop who wants to make a difference. His world revolves around the little house he shares with 2 year old daughter Olivia & his father. He’s a decent guy whose good nature can sometimes be a liability. Bruno is besieged by people who want him to return a favour, keep a secret, save a friend, do a job, protect a loved one…..seriously, the guy needs to learn how to say no.

However, the result is a book that has to cover a lot of territory in 320 pages. There are so many story lines running concurrently, easily enough for 2 books. If a couple were dropped, perhaps those remaining (& the characters involved) could have been more developed as the author certainly has his work cut out to tie them all up by the end.

One thing is for sure…..there is zero chance of getting bored as the hits just keep on coming. And mixed in with the action are some great twists, lovely little shockers that will make you look at some of the cast with fresh eyes. Although this is book #6 the author provides plenty of back story so if you’re looking for a fast paced adrenaline rush don’t hesitate to jump in here.

I remember when Legend came out and people were raving about how awesome it was. The hype was so much that when Marie Lu went to the LA Festival of Books to sell signed copies, I stopped by her booth just so I could read it and see what the raving was all about. Of course, I’m terrible at reading books right away since my to-read list is ridiculously long, so now, years later, I am finally getting to see what the hype is all about.

Legend is yet another YA dystopia, this time in a world with a militaristic/war focus rather than an we-are-a-perfect-society focus. People who are born into wealthy families are groomed for the military so they can help in the Republic’s fight against the Colonies. June is a military prodigy — she’s smart, athletic, and can think outside the box, and is being groomed for a distinguished military career. She goes on the hunt for Day — who is also smart, athletic, and can think outside the box — the Republic’s most wanted criminal who grew up in a poor district in the Republic.

When Day allegedly commits a crime that hits home for June, she goes on the hunt for him to bring him to justice. What ends up happening is that they both learn a little bit more about what’s really going on behind the closed doors of the Republic.

This book is just straight enjoyable. I love that Lu kept it simple in terms of creating her world: no factions or groups for people to be sorted into, just poor and rich; military and civilian. Because of this, I think this book gives quite an amazing commentary on society in general in terms of how poverty is viewed and taken advantage of, and how people suffer under such strict hierarchical structures.

The conflicts within this world are revealed slowly — no information dumps!!! I enjoyed that I slowly got introduced to the complexities of the government and of what went on behind closed doors. I feel like this is the main reason why I enjoyed Legend. There’s an inherent conflict and pull in trying to figure out what exactly is going on with this dystopia — when the plot needed to stop for character development, I was pulled forward by what I wanted to know about this new world.

However, this book is fairly predictable — I don’t think there was one twist that I didn’t see coming. Also, I have a pet peeve about people being in a life-or-death situation, yet romance seems to be a priority. I get the whole young adult romance angle, but it bothers me, especially from characters who are supposed to be super intelligent, even if they are young.

With that said, I still thoroughly enjoyed the narrative of the book. It’s perfect amounts of tragic and heartwarming and I am very much looking forward to reading the sequels to see what exactly is going on with all the war stuff. I’d recommend this book for any dystopia lover. It’s not the best book I’ve ever read, but it’s certainly better than many other dystopias out there.

Amy, Chelsea, Stacie, Dee is an outstanding book! For being a YA book, it is sort of dark, so if you do not want little ones knowing about rape or brainwashing, then don't let them read it. Otherwise, it is a great book- very well written. I could not put the book down all weekend and wanted to know everything that happened to Amy and Dee after they were kidnapped. Me being the true crime/forensics fanatic, I found myself comparing the story to many high profile cases that we have all seen on the news. 

Amy was kidnapped, along with her cousin Dee, 6 years previously. She was never meant to be taken, but she wound up back on her parents doorstep with no harm done to her. The next events include confusion, therapy, and Dee's mother wanting answers from Amy to the point of her screaming and throwing items around. Amy tries to be a normal girl and get back into her old routines when she was 10, but flashbacks haunt her and cause her to lose time throughout the day. She has to go back and make everything right with her kidnapper and for Dee. 

Check out the book by Mary G. Thompson on Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Chelsea-Stacie-Mary-Thompson/dp/1101996803/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464186321&sr=1-1&keywords=amy+chelsea+stacie+dee 

e-ARC, 408 pages

Release Date: May 12, 2015

Published by: Putnam Juvenile

The Wrath and the Dawn, #1

Source: Penguin Teen First Reads (I received this e-ARC from the publisher. This in no way shaped my opinion on the book. All thoughts of this are my own.) 

For fans of: High Fantasy, Romance, Diversity, Magic, Series, YA

 

     A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights
     Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.
     She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

*MY THOUGHTS*