Mundie Moms

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Book Review: Shards and Ashes by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong


Edited by: Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong (authors Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Veronica Roth, Margaret Stohl, Kami Garcia, Nancy Holder, Beth Revis, Carrie Ryan and Rachel Caine)
Published by: Harper Teen
Released on: February 19th, 2013 TODAY 
Source: arc from publisher to review
4 stars: I Enjoyed It!
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Browse Inside

Gripping original stories of dystopian worlds from nine New York Times bestselling authors, edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong.

The world is gone, destroyed by human, ecological, or supernatural causes. Survivors dodge chemical warfare and cruel gods; they travel the reaches of space and inhabit underground caverns. Their enemies are disease, corrupt corporations, and one another; their resources are few, and their courage is tested.
Powerful original dystopian tales from nine bestselling authors offer bleak insight, prophetic visions, and precious glimmers of light among the shards and ashes of a ruined world -quoted from Goodreads


I have really enjoyed the YA anthologies that Harper Teen has published recently, and Shards and Ashes was no different. I love it when authors who's writing I really enjoy put together a collection fascinating short stories. The only down fall is they usually leave me wishing the story wasn't so short. This collection of short Dystopian stories is a must have for YA fans. Each of the authors featured in this book have an amazing talent for telling vivid stories with a dark twist. Here's the break down of each of the stories.

Hearken by Veronica Roth- To me she's the queen of Dystopian writing, and she does a splendid with Hearken. This is one of those stories that's a little morbid, but completely intriguing. It's also a story that as soon as I got to know more about Darya's ability and understood the reasoning behind her decision, I wanted more (4 stars)

Branded by Kelley Armstrong- This was one of my favorite short stories out of this entire collection. Paranormal elements + a dystopian setting = awesomeness! The characters in this book were fabulous! I love strong, sharp minded characters, and this story has it. Okay it also has a twisted romance that's intriguing and added a little something else to the story. I love Kelley's story telling. She created a desolate and well detailed setting, and threw in some awesome twists! I didn't see those coming at all, and I love that she was able to do what she did with this story in such a short amount of time. I'm really hoping this is a story we'll get to see more of sometime in the future (5 stars).

Necklace of Raindrops by Margaret Stohl- This is one of those stories that takes you right into the present and throws you into all that's happening with the characters, and what's going on in their world. I liked the twist in this book, and how it shifted gears a bit half way through. That ending.... Loved that unexpected twist! (4 stars). 

Dogsbody by Rachel Caine- Oh nelly! This story was one I liked, because it's narrated from a guy's point of view. Not just any guy, a cunning, patient individual who will stop at nothing to take down the very organization who's broken him and so many others. What I was not excepting is that crazy, twist at the end! This was one of the longer short stories, and extremely faced paced. It's action packed, and does contain some violence (4 stars). 

Pale Rider by Nancy Holder- This is another one of my favorites. I swear I'm a sucker for magic and fey lore, both of which this story has. This dark has a darker feel to it, and it's fueled by fear, the unknown, and a hidden secret. It also has the intriguing, mysterious Alex, mentions of the Erl King, and Dana who seems to have a knack for facing her fears head on. This was definitely another story I wish was much longer than it's was. The other thing I loved about this story, are the first two words in the story, "Shards, Ashes" are the title for this book (5 stars). 

Corpse Eaters by Melissa Marr- When this story started off it reminded me a lot of what Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth series felt like, in the sense there is this underline urgency and fear that drives the characters. I soon realized there was so much more to this story. It wasn't at all of what I had first thought it was. It's action packed and a little graphic, and has one heck of a dark unsuspecting twist that I didn't see coming (4 stars).

Burn 3 by Kami Garcia- This was a story that had a feel of a few different dystopians I've read recently, and it's one that left me wishing there was a bit more to the story. It's a darker, dangerous world where destruction makes up much of the setting. The story follows that of a teen girl trying to find her kidnapped little sister, and in turn the story takes her to a unimaginable underworld. (4 stars)

Love is a Choice by Beth Revis- I was so excited to learn that Beth was in this anthology, because that means more from her Across the Universe series! Orion is the main character in this story. I really liked getting to see him, and what motivated him and drove him to make the decisions he does. Having a short story that focuses squarely on him, allowed me to get to know him on a different level, as I got to see him become the character he is in the series (5 stars)!

Miasma by Carrie Ryan- Carrie Ryan has this knack for creating vivid worlds, and giving her story's settings this sense of ruin and brokenness. In doing so, she's able to create these really strong, incredible characters who bring hope, and a sense of purpose to all that's going on around them. I also love the way she develops character relationships. She does such an amazing job with this story's protagonist. I couldn't help but cheer her on, and want to see her overcome all that she is forced to deal with. I admire a character who doesn't give up (5 stars).

Can I just say how much I love this cover! It's a perfect fit for this book. 

2 comments:

  1. I haven't heard about this book yet - it looks great, thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just got this in the mail. I only bought it for Beth Revis but then I realized some of my other to-read authors were in this.

    ReplyDelete

Labels