Shattered Veil

When everything that defines you is stripped away, who do you become?

War has invaded Atalanta's quiet villages and lush woodlands, igniting whispered worries in its glittering capitol. Far from the front lines, 18-year-old Aris Haan, a talented wingjet flyer, has little cause for concern. Until her beloved Calix is thrust into the fray, and a stranger makes her an impossible offer: the chance to join a secret army of women embedded within the all-male military.

Aris's choice to follow Calix to war will do more than put her in physical danger; it will make her question everything she believes about herself. When she and her enigmatic commander uncover a deadly conspiracy, her expert flying might be the only hope for her dominion's survival...and her own.

It's Mulan meets Battlestar Galactica, with a heroine who is strong enough to save a nation...but only if she's willing to sacrifice everything, even the one promise she swore she'd never break.
from goodreads.com

Beth says 5 Stars...
When a book bills itself as Mulan meets Battlestar Galactica it a) is immediately interesting to me and b) has very high expectations to live up to, especially when coupled with a lovely cover.  I was a bit worried going into this since I've been burned recently by a bunch of books.  Luckily for me, this book is all manner of awesome!  I absolutely devoured it and could barely put it down once I started.  The world is complex, complete with a dystopian style job selection process.  Although I generally dislike books that switch between different perspectives, it felt right with this narrative.  It allowed the scope of the book to widen, encompassing some of the politics behind the war as well as what was happening on the front lines.  The threads of the story all came together at the end in a satisfactory manner, complete with a little twist or two.  The plotting was tightly paced and keeps interest throughout the whole book.

Aris was fragile and strong, depending on the situation.  Constantly underestimated by those who know her and coddled because of a childhood illness, nobody expected her to do anything save stay in her small town.  After Calix is unexpectedly placed in a military position, she accepts the challenges that come with having to hide who she is because of joining the all-male military.  Her response to various stresses throughout the book showed growth as she began to believe in herself and her abilities.  By the end, Aris grew into her own and started to develop her own reasons for moving forward.  The supporting characters, particularly having Galena's perspective, added to the story without being placeholders.  Everyone served some purpose, or at least there was a hint of one to come later on in the series.

Overall, this book was wonderful and completely fulfilled my expectations. The world was well drawn and the society outlined just enough to feel interesting and leave room for growth.  I can't wait to see more of this series and will grab the next one as soon as I can.
ebook from Netgalley

The Here and Now

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.

But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves.
from goodreads.com

Beth says 4 Stars...
I was a bit apprehensive about this book, because I'd read some of Ann Brashares books before and they weren't quite my cup of tea.  However, the set-up for this one made me want it in the worst way.  Time travel, pandemics, and attempts to save the human race!  Count me in.  The vision of the future that Brashares presented was chilling in its basis on current events.  Imagine what might happen if the whole world becomes tropical, resource scarcity is major problem, and insect vectors never die.  I will say that the plot got a bit confusing at times, but it moved really quickly.  The book is fairly short, which means that there's not a lot of filler meant to boost word count.  Everything is meant to propel the story forward in some way.  I found the structure of the 'immigrant' community particularly interesting.  I have a thing for totalitarian type societies and how they're interpreted in different contexts.  The formation of such a distinct subculture focused on secrecy and blending in added another dimension to the story.  Sometimes the trajectory of the story was a bit difficult to follow and the different threads took a while to converge.  However, the book was short enough that the confusion couldn't last too long.

I really liked Prenna.  She wasn't the bravest or most ferocious, but she had a determination to do what was best and help as many people as possible.  I also enjoyed that her strength was in her intelligence and not something physical.  The glimpses we gained into her past/our future were absolutely fascinating and I really wanted more of them.  I found Ethan to be well-developed and a nice counterpoint to a lot of the current leading men.  Again, he was smart, determined, and just generally likable.  Occasionally it's nice to read about a character without a tortured past.  The supporting characters have enough of a backstory to add complexity to the story, but the book really centers on Prenna and Ethan.

Overall, this is a quick and fun time travel book.  I have no idea if this will be a series, but I hope so.  I have so many questions that I want answers to!  Pick this up if you want a fun time travel book that might just make you think about humanity's current path.

ebook from Publisher