Title: Frozen
Authors: Melissa de la Cruz & Michael Johnston
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publish Date: September 17, 2013
Genre: YA, Dystopian, Fantasy
Pages: 336
Source: Personal Copy

Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.

I spent a long time contemplating whether I should actually review Frozen because, while it is the type of book that should work for me, I really actually struggled with it from the start. I'm a big fan of post-apocalyptic dystopians that take the time to set up proper world-building and give us a an actual baseline for the story to follow. However, this book throws us into a world of melee and dysfunction without a true glimpse as to why the world is so broken, as well as why society is so plagued by the demons it faces today. Without any exaggeration, Frozen gives readers nymphs, darkens, polar bears, zombies and more - all in a barren icy wasteland in which, somehow, some of our characters seem to bear enough wealth to drive luxury vehicles and own boats. 

My issue with these contradictions, as well as the overabundance of fantasy elements in what could have been a plausible dystopian definitely weighed heavily on me from the start. While I was already struggling with the plot elements, we're thrust further into a novel that is plagued with excessive run-on sentences that made it really hard for me to actually get invested in the story. I understand stylistic writing, however, this actually made the novel quite difficult to read. It actually managed to throw off the pacing of the novel, which might have otherwise worked well for me. 

While I can certainly appreciate the lengths to which the authors went to make an original dystopian novel and cross it with fantasy, I really struggled to feel any sort of emotion or connection with the characters, and I honestly felt as though there was just too much happening to ever garner an inkling of a connection with Nat and, by association, Nat and Wes's romance. I think that, had we been given a few less fantasy elements and a few more moments of sincere character-building, I might have ended up liking this one, but I honestly felt too overwhelmed by the haphazard nature of the world of Frozen to feel any real emotion towards it in the end.

Overall, Frozen was, unfortunately, just not the book for me. Now, I've seen the reviews, and I see that a lot of readers actually enjoyed the book, so maybe I'm missing something here. I'd love to hear what others read in it that I missed because I really did want to enjoy it. I give it a 2 out of 5, and I recommend it to fans of YA, especially those who enjoy dystopian and post-apocalyptic fantasy.

Title: After the End
Author: Amy Plum (Twitter)
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: May 6, 2014
Genre: YA, Dystopian, Sci-Fi
Pages: 352

World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there. At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

Just when I think I'm totally sick of the dystopian genre, another novel pops up and catches my eye. I'd be lying if I said the genre has become a bit tired and repetitive lately, but I like the sound of the twist of this one. It seems like, if it's done well, it might be just different enough to pique and capture my interest throughout the story. So, I can't help but say that I'm lusting over this one shamelessly this week. What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: Salvage
Author: Alexandra Duncan (Twitter)
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publish Date: April 1, 2014
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Pages: 400

With one life-altering decision, a sixteen-year-old girl from an isolated community in space is exiled to the over-populated and crumbling Earth.

Wait. What? That's all you're gonna tell us, literary gods? F'reals? C'mon...just a bitty bit more? Guys, I can't tell you how long I searched for a longer synopsis. There is nothing to be found. I both blame and admire Miss Alexandra Duncan for this extreme lack of information that has me salivating for her novel. Legit salivating. I digress. Seriously though, I'm hooked on the sci-fi genre lately, I love me some dark and messy post-apocalyptic dystopian nonsense, and I'd like to curl up inside that book cover. I can has? What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Title: Monument 14
Author: Emmy Laybourne (Twitter)
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publish Date:  June 5, 2012
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Pages: 294
Source: Publisher

Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran. Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

Imagine that the day started like any other. Now imagine what happens the minute that day turns to hell, and a superstorm rains down up your town, leaving death and destruction in its wake. This is the world that Dean now lives in. Dean and his surviving busmates take shelter in the store, and they're left to their own devices as the only surviving adult searches for help. But Dean and the others are in a harrowing predicament. The outside world is ravaged, and they must somehow maintain a sense of order to survive inside the store. But can they do so?

I've been complaining for a long time now that I want to read a true post-apocalyptic novel where the world is so immeasurably broken that we, as readers, are forced to pick up the pieces with the characters. When I read the premise for Monument 14, I realized that we're pretty much offered that and much more. Author, Emmy Laybourne, tackles a tricky topic and deftly merges the lives of fourteen unique characters into a tense survival story. In the wake of utter destruction, Monument 14 offers us a chance to view a coming-of-age tale, or a downward spiral, and we're left guessing which will win out in the end. 

You know, I'm kind of a mixed bag of emotions on this one because, on one hand, I think the author really succeeded in what she set out to accomplish with this story. On the other hand though, I think I still expected (or at least hoped for) more. The biggest strength of Monument 14 lies within the claustrophobic world within the pages. We get to experience complete devastation from the very start, then we're thrust into this cramped superstore with a mixed spread of characters of all ages, and we're challenged to get to know them and relate to them. It's a tricky task, to be sure, because not all the characters are entirely relatable. Dean  was an entirely real main character, but his lack of people skills made it a bit difficult to get in his head sometimes. Niko, however, displayed a depth that really resonated with me, and as he worked to maintain order and care for the younger children, there was a sense of calm and steadiness that really solidified the character arc. For the most part, I think that Monument 14 succeeded if you look at it as a psychological tale. These characters are presented with horrible circumstances, and we're forced to side with them as the try to survive together. I do think that, despite the immediate action, we lacked a lot of danger in the midst of the story, and it felt a bit flat as we got to know the characters and their backstories. However, the pacing did kick up at the end, and the book did finish on a high note, despite its pacing flaws.

Overall, Monument 14 was a pretty good start to a new series. Was it amazing? No, not really. But it was good, and I think that the ending set up a nice premise for the second installment. I give it a 3.5 out of 5, and I'd recommend it to fans of YA, especially those who enjoy dystopian and post-apocalyptic stories.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.