Outside In by Maria V. Snyder: a stunning teen read that’ll take your breath away.

Outside In: a stunning teen read that’ll take your breath away.

This is the second book in the Inside Out series by Maria V. Snyder. Outside In is a dystopian novel where people live ‘inside’ this giant cube that floats around in Outer Space, which we discover in the first book. The cube has a specific course and in +800.000 weeks, it will finally reach its destination, which I’m guessing is Earth.

Trella, who was the key point in the Rebellion that captured the Trava family that ruled over ‘Inside’, is back in this book. A Committee has now been set up with both uppers and lowers to discuss further plans. But Trella decides to take a step back and does not want to be involved in it all because nobody wants to listen anyway. At that point Riley breaks up with her and Trella feels like screwing it all. A war breaks out in Inside between the lowers and the uppers. And to make things worse there are ‘Outsiders’ that want to take over ‘Inside’ and they are NOT the good guys here! So Trella gets back in action and the adventure can begin.

This book has it all, friendship, love, trust, betrayal and a lot of action! I was very curious how things would work out after the Rebellion. After so many years of the Trava family dictating Inside, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. And I was right. There are a lot of problems between the uppers and the lowers, after all these years, they just can’t seem to unite as one and people still think in terms of ‘uppers’ and ‘lowers’. Of course this brings a lot of problems. It’s interesting to see how it all plays out in the book.
I finished this book in less than 2 days. I love the it’s written, very fluently and it didn’t bore me a single second. The first book took me some getting used to, but this one made all sense to me. Snyder really has a way to make such a story come to live. I don’t think I would be able to pull it off, but then again, I’m not a writer so well. I really admire her work and I’m very glad I picked up this book! It’s great to see the change in Trella, she has a lot of insecurities that hold her back to speak her mind. But during the story, she fights for what she believes in and takes charge of a very delicate operation.
There was just one thing that I found a little unbelievable, in a story that is already otherworldly. Trella got hurt so many times, she even got burned, yet she recovered very quickly every time. I find that a little disturbing, it makes her a little bit less human. Although I think it was necessary in this story for her to recover quickly or else there would be no story to tell. But still I think it was a bit too much. But besides this, I think the story was really well done and definitely worth my time!

Outside In is a great teen read that will appeal to all lovers of science fiction, dystopian novels with a real touch to it. Although I guess, seeing what the story is all about and how it’s written, this story is worth reading by any booklover. It’s definitely worth to pick it up!

Maria V. Snyder: Outside In, Harlequin Teen, paperback 320p., ISBN 0373210116, expected publication date 1^st March 2011

Carmen Belgium
29 December 2010

Thank you Harlequin Teen and Netgalley!

Review for 'The Iron Queen' by Julie Kagawa

Thank you Harlequin!

I finished this book a few weeks ago, but didn't really have time yet to write a decent review. Because well the first thing I thought after reading this book was "OMFG!", followed by "I want to read that 4th book like NOW" haha. Of course, that doesn't really tell much, except that I really loved the book.

I'm probably still too awed to write a proper review, but I'll give you my thoughts anyway, as I think you'll otherwise never get something out of me. I'm not telling anything about the overall storyline (which is great), nor am quoting any favourite lines (though I'm sure I have some). These are just a few of my ramblings and opinions on the matter.

These 'Iron Fey' books are really something different. I never thought I'd read a faery book and actually like it, but this series really blows my mind. They are absolutely amazing! There are just no other words for it.

Not once did I get bored while reading 'The Iron Queen'! Yes, it took me some time to get through, but that's mainly because I've been really busy with work and my education. So it has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the book (which is excellent). Also I was really fearing the most in the end, and that kinda held me back too... Somehow I had some worst case scenario's in my head (thanks to some of my fewllon reading friends, tss). Thank god my fear was unnecessary, as it was totally different than what I had in my mind, which was GREAT actually. This book was far from predictable, and that makes it so damn good.

This book had it ALL, really. Action, love, friendship, adventure, fantasy, family, etc. I loved every second from it! The pace in the book is easy flowing which makes it a very enjoyable read. The writing is absolutely fantastic! It's been a while since a fantasy book could really keep me captivated all the time and touch me like this. Compliments to the writer!

The book is written from Meghan's POV again, like the first 2.
Meghan is just so likeable, not the Mary Sue type you get so often in these kind of books. Whatever she goes through, you can really relate to her. It's a very real character with feelings you can understand. While reading 'her' adventures, it's like you are actually there, part of it all. That makes it a very special journey.
Then there is Puck, Puck is just a lot of fun, a very interesting character. He's always up to no good, playing tricks with everyone. But he's also a loyal friend, someone you can count on, no matter what. And that just makes him so lovable.
Grimalkin is also one of my fav characters, he's some sort of guardian slash travel advisor. The character keeps appearing in the most unexpected circumstances which makes him very mysterious. Yet he always comes through with helping them, so you can't help but like him, maybe even love him.
Of course, there is also Ash. I'm Team Ash for sure! He is one very complicated character, it makes him that much more interesting. I want to know ALL about him! Everytime he showed up in the book, I swooned, seriously. It's like he can do nothing wrong, eventho I know he is far from perfect. But he is just that amazing. I really hope that in the end he and Meghan are able to work something out. The love story between them is part of a great storyline. It's not all about love, but it is there and that just makes it so real.
There are much more characters in there, but these 4 are the ones that really jumped out. I'm also thinking about Paul at the moment, but can't really say much about him tho. He is definitely part of the story, but I can't say much more about him right now as I don't really know what to say.
Owh, and yeah, well I kinda knew from the beginning who the 'false king' was, not that hard to figure out. I was just surprised Meghan didn't figure it out any sooner. On the other hand, she had so much on her mind, so I can't really blame her. I'm surprised she can even think straight at all when Ash is near ^^ haha.

**** warning spoiler next, stop reading if you haven't read the book ****

*** I warned you, stop ***

** Warning, warning, slight spoiler ahead **

* Okay, I've warned you enough, if you read it now it is not my responsibility anymore *

Considering how much they love each other and how hot Ash is (well he is in my imagination), I can completely understand the event that led up to them finally 'being' together. It was nice and sweet, but somehow I felt it was a bit I dunno, too much fairytale with the auras dancing together and all. I know it's a YA book, but a bit more details would have been nice. It's pretty obvious they had sex, why not mention it? You can really make something great out of this when you put your mind to it. Of course you can't go into detail and there is no need for that, but there is so much to say about this. This could have been one of the best moments in the book and it felt kinda rushed, too short for my liking. So sad, because sometimes I think a YA book can really make it or break it at this point. That wasn't the case in this book, but still I would have been very happy if I had something more. Well at least it wasn't a gap on a page though haha, that really would have pissed me of *will not mention the book I'm talking about, will not mention it*. Still all in all I'm glad they got to that point, because let's face it, it was utterly sweet.

There was also one small tiny thing that I can't really place, the dog near the end. Really, I feel very dumb right now, but what the hell? Still very nice tho, but it really confused me. Oh well, I won't think too much about it, so I can't be that bothered with it. Maybe I should re-read the book to get it though haha.

I would give it 4,5 out of 5 (more near 5 than 4 tho). The storyline is very orginal, the characters are interesting and real and the writing is superb, you just wanted to forget your every day life and indulge in the story, seriously, this book is a real winner! The only thing that disappointed me a bit was the 'love' scene and the confusing thing with the dog near the end. But that is probably something personal, which is why I'd rather give it 5 stars than 4. But I felt like mentionning it though. After all this is my personal review, right?

Now, bring on the 4th book! Reading things from Ash's POV? That just can't fail! I can't wait to get inside his head, hehe.