Day 63 of 365 - May 22, 2013                                                                                 Free 4 Day!

Post anything you want, just make sure it's related to Divergent
I'm sharing the different Divergent covers

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Soul Bender Tour



Today I am part of the Soul Bender tour. I have a review and there's a giveaway! Be sure to check out the rest of the stops.

Book

How much can a soul take before it breaks?
Anna Pierce has a vampire boyfriend, a driver's license, real friends for the first time since she was five, and now she faces one of her biggest challenges, senior year at a mostly all girls Catholic high school. Sure, she's a member of the talking crowd now, but she'll never be like everyone else. How can she when the first of her kind has camped out in her dreams?
Little dead girl Emily decides Anna's destiny can wait no longer. It's time for this generation's Touched girl to hunt. Trained in a virtual dream landscape to destroy all in her path, Anna must choose between her destiny, the one beat into her on a nightly basis, and her legacy, the one instilled in her by her parents.
Along the way, old enemies remain dutifully obsessed, new foes lurk in the shadows, and odd Little Duckie Anna Pierce sets out to be social.


Purchase links

Amazon


Author


I'm the mom of two hardcore boys. My oldest trained me to be matter-of-fact, no frills. My youngest wants the whole singsongy sweet package. Thank goodness for reading and writing because they are my sanity makers.
I know life is all about the journey, that's why I like my fiction to be all about the destination. I want to be taken somewhere not here when I read, same goes with the stories I create. Thrills, chills, tears, and laughter, but there has to be something to hold on to at the end.



Connect with Robyn

Blog -- Twitter -- Goodreads


Review

The second book in the series and we're back with Anna, the main character. She still has her quirks, I believe they might even be more pronounced. She still has that childish view towards the world, she has changed and matured since the end of the first book but it's like she keeps exploring the world for the first time. It's fun joining her in that trip.
We see her struggle between what she's supposed to do and stay true to herself. Is who she is, stronger than what she is? I think this was very important in this story, we tend to forget ourselves when we find a path we believe we should follow.

I'm still confused from the reaction of the bad guys. They were very odd, I had never seen villains like them, though I saw this in the first book, they come back.
We have new characters to love and hate. The feelings towards them are very strong, I either loved them or hated them just by the way they treated Anna.
There are relatable experiences in her world in the middle of the paranormal life she lives.
This world was very entertaining, we still have funny characters and a fantastical place. We have a new kind of heroine, trying to live a normal teenage life with awesome characteristics that make her stand out. The different relationships with all of the characters show us that no matter how special we are, people will always be people, some are kind, some are mean and sometimes there's nothing we can do. Not everyone will like us and we have to be strong through everything life throws our way. There is always something to learn from the person you least expect. We should never think less of others, especially if they're different from us.

The transition from the human world to the paranormal world was very well established. I could easily forget about one while being in the other, but easily catch up when we went back. There are very different goals for Anna in each world, though they are present in both. The socialization from the human life and the dangers of her paranormal one are constantly in her mind. Struggling with one is causing the other one to be a danger in her life, risking everything she has done to finally be accepted by others and be an outcast again.

There were some twists I didn't see coming. You get to experience so many things with her for the first time; rage, betrayal, love, sadness, fear. They are so common in our world, but for her, she knew no emotions and seeing them surface made me wonder where they come from and why. There were good things she kept; happiness, forgiveness, kindness, selflessness. Even through all the bad things happening around her, to her, she keeps a positive outlook on life.

There was a moment when I felt like I was more depressed than her. She's still discovering her emotions, being autistic, most of her life she was surrounded by her happines and her patient parents, not caring how the rest of the world acted. But this moment was so hard for me, I could relate to it and left me feeling everything she kept trying to hide.
These two books were a very different experience for me. Since we all have different opinions and ideas, there were some things the characters mention that are different from what I believe and think. But I enjoyed the story and this new world created by the author.

Favorite parts:
"Daniella used to take me on rainbow trips. Emily throws claws and teeth at me and shouts go!"
"Anna, this is not your house. Do the owners know you're fixing it up?" I laughed so much at this! I just imagine Cody being so concerned and believing she was actualy capable of doing something like that.
"Maybe I want to follow my own path"

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Stops

April 15th
Bookworm Brandee - Review, Top 10
PRUFreads - Review

April 16th
Forget the Housework, I'm Reading... - Review, Top 10
Sycho Faerie's Book Obsession - Review

April 17th
Rainbows and Books - Character Interview, Excerpt
JC's Book Haven - Review
Margay Leah Justice - Top 10

April 18th
My Favorite Escape - Excerpt
Donnie Darko Girl - Review
Bookshelf - Review

April 19th
WeaklingNo14's Wondrous Reviews - Review, Character Interview, Excerpt
Bookwyrming Thought - Top 10
Aussie Bookworm - Review

10 comments:

  1. Rivie, your review makes me want to go grab a coffee with you and other Soul Bender readers and have a good book chat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, that'd be great! We could talk about the other books you have planned ;D

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  2. I think we should, Robyn! LOL - Although mine would be a hot cocoa or Dr. Pepper because I don't drink coffee. Rivie, I love the review. You do such a great job of talking about Anna and her world. I really liked that part where Cody asked if the owners knew she was fixing up the house as well. Thank you so much for participating with us :D Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.

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    Replies
    1. We definitely should! lol It was just so different from other books I've read, I don't even know how to explain it

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  3. Sounds fun to explore with Anna, I like t when a character has and keeps quirks it makes them more realistic to me.
    Brandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I think we all have quirks, seeing them in her just makes it more normal.

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  4. Hey you're not alone with your feelings about Cody! I just read Sadaf's review over at Weakling NO 14 Wondrous Reviews.

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    Replies
    1. It was just so unexpected! If I were Anna, I would have been even more upset!

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  5. I don't think I've ever heard of this series but it sounds pretty interesting! I can imagine living two completely different lives makes things a bit complicated. I'll have to check this out. Thanks for the great review!

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    Replies
    1. You should read them! The author is amazing and friendly, she's Robyn! The books are just great and different, you learn so much from Anna

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