ARC Review AUCTUMNALIS By Parandus Gold

The plantation wasn’t normal. 
Belvedere Rise should have been a safe haven against the gangs. Nestled in the deep woods of Louisiana, Izobel and DesdeMona found it abandoned and had claimed it as their own. What they assume to be a new beginning quickly becomes a prison when they unlock something ethereal, alive, and dangerous. 
Things begin to fall apart around them. The poverty-stricken people of the nearby town adapt in a way that keeps the girls constantly terrified, and forces them to do things they would have never imagined. As their time passes at the plantation, tensions rise. 
When captivating new strangers arrive at their front door, the hostile world they knew becomes something else entirely. 
Written through two separate points of view--that of sweet, hopeful Izobel, and strategic book worm DesdeMona--Auctumnalis is a dystopian-fantasy novel with smatterings of hope, violence, drama and romance spread throughout.

I received a copy of this novel in return for an honest review.

First off let me say the dedication in this novel sets the tone for the whole book. 

We lovingly dedicate this book to our Heroes. J.K. Rowling, Quentin Tarantino, and last but not least, Tears for Fears. 

This story is told from the perspective of  Izobel, who is wild, strong and hopeful, mean when its needed and cares about others. Then the brave petite and smart Desdemona. The girls met while being raised by nuns in an orphanage. It takes place in New Orleans and Louisiana, first in the Orphanage and then in an abandoned plantation the girls find when they leave the orphanage.

The novel goes back an forth between the girl's shared past and present day.

The drama all starts when Izobel saves a boy, Hale, from being killed by a gang called lykos. Hale kind of got on my nerves. He stays with them to heal and of course Desdemona is suspicious if him, it's just been the two of them all this time and in comes a strange boy, who doesn't know their story or what they are hiding from, he could be nicer or more patient. Hale and Izobel fall in love, which I found unnecessary to the story line.

Izobel could be trying at times and while I didn't always understand Desdemona's anger I could see how Izobel would get on her nerves. There is a part when Izobel wants to save a woman and Desdemona says no. When you are already starving and have brought home another mouth to feed, adding ANOTHER person is a bad idea. In a dog-eat-dog type world like this one you HAVE to think about yourself and the ones you are already responsible for. It sucks but this novel captured that idea and the gruesomeness of that kind of world really well. I felt Izobel's character read much younger than Desdemona's.

There are some other very interesting characters like Radek and Prometheus, but writing too much about them might give some rather creepy and interesting plot lines away.

The writing was really good, as was the character building. The author makes it feel as if you are there, with them trying to get past these bad guys while starving and being afraid. The prose is good and at times lyrical, and at other times harsh so that the reader gets a good idea as to how the characters are feeling.

This novel is dark, which I enjoyed. It feels almost hopeless at times. I get a bit of twisted amusement when characters become dark twisted versions of themselves and give in to evil, even by manipulation. 

There are a few twists at the end....That I won't ruin for you.

So happy reading!!

ARC Auburn: Outcasts and Underdogs by Valerie Thomas

We were the lost. We were the broken. We were the freaks, the losers and loners hiding in the corners of the world.
And then we weren’t. Every morning I had to pick up the jigsaw puzzle of my life and rebuild it into something vaguely resembling a person. A hazy shadow of the happiness I was faking.
And then I didn’t. I didn’t become whole. No, there was no glue that could bind me back together. No remedy to fix any of us. We weren’t lost anymore, but we remembered losing our way. We weren’t freaks, but we remembered living on the fringe. We weren’t losers or loners, but we still remembered hiding from the world.
We were Auburn. I was Auburn. And this is my story.

I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing I noticed about this novel was that the main character has anxiety/depression pretty bad and the author does a great job of describing all those horrible thoughts that go through your mind, that you cannot stop during an extreme bout. Having anxiety myself I really liked that.

Ashley was a relate-able character, high school girl who has social problems and doesn't fit in anywhere. Though she had a bit more of a Mary Sue quality than I normally like: great writer, good singer, pretty, but feels like an outcast.

Her band mates are well written, from nice sweet Charlie to jerk Joey, who is only a jerk because it's a defense mechanism.

Then there is Jessica, who is the villain...Though the first time she is introduced her first interaction is funny and accurate. She is talking about the song Ashley is currently writing. (Later Jessica because such a horrible B, that you hate her.)
“Honey, the best band in the world could perform it, and it would still be a boring song about how no one likes you.”  I kind of agree, while beautifully written, Ashley's songs DO feel like emo poetry.  This moment is important for the end however, in an interesting twist by the author.

The author seems to either know what she is talking about music wise or did research which I appreciated. She also made sure the band, Auburn, isn't a hit right away...They don't just get together and go "Wow we are Awesome!" They practice and get better over time.

This novel had a very 90's feel (aside from the facebook references) to it that I enjoyed, made me think about being a Freshman in High-school again. There is a romance between Charlie and Ashley, while props for the no insta love I don't think the plot needed it, the story and writing could have stood on its own.

There is a bit where the principal shows up to serve what's basically a truancy notice to Ashley, which was the most unbelievable part of the whole novel and the reason this is getting 3.5 instead of 4 stars. Not only would the principal not make a house call but three unexcused absences is not a reason to be recommend to the truancy department. I have kids in school, takes way more than this. Also she would contact Ashley's mom directly and not Ashley herself. I get why the author put this in, but it would have been better through a social worker or the school counselor. Though their conversation DOES lead into a good segue about the issue of online bullying in schools right now.

The book ends as if there is going to be a sequel, I don't think it needs one. I think the author did a good job wrapping everything up at the end, Ashley didn't grow as much as I thought she would, but she did grow and made some good and bad choices, just like normal teenagers.

This is a slightly emo "coming-of-age" type story that has bullying trigger warnings.  Not quite what I am normally into, but a good read and one that puts some of the harsher realities of being a teen into perspective.