Matched
by Ally Condie

Summary
Cassia is pretty happy with her life. She has a good family, good friends, and she’s finally on her way to her matching ceremony where her real future will begin! She’s confident that the Society knows what’s best. Her parent’s long and happy marriage is proof of the success of the matching system, so when the Society gives Cassia her match, she knows that she’s been paired with the right person.  But when a tiny flaw in system makes Cassia aware of other options, her belief in the Society and everything they stand for slowly starts to crumble.  Now Cassia is faced with a difficult decision between the easy life she’s always known, or risking everything to follow her heart.

Review
Matched is set in a well-crafted and intriguing dystopian society, that strips away the pleasures and privileges we have become so accustomed to in today’s high-tech, possession-driven world.  The three main characters in the story are unique and well developed, though I found the secondary characters lacked depth. The intricate differences between Xander and Ky made for an enjoyable love triangle (and I’m often not fond of the love triangle).  There is very little in the way of action in Matched, but the trials and tribulations of the people under the Society’s control will keep readers engaged.

I’m a relatively new reader to dystopian fiction, but I couldn’t help comparing Matched to The Hunger Games as I was reading. And while I thoroughly enjoyed Matched, in this comparison it falls a little short.

Verdict
If you’re able to let go of comparisons and enjoy it for what it is, Matched is a fascinating story and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Where She Went
by Gayle Forman

Summary

Adam Wilde is living the dream. His band is about to start the biggest tour of their career, their albums have gone triple platinum and he’s half of the hottest celebrity couple around. The interviews, videos and recording sessions should be the icing on the cake, but for the “Wilde Man” they’re torture. No matter how many pills he takes or cigarettes he smokes, the dream still feels like a nightmare. No one understands why the man who has it all acts like he’s in hell. He knows what went wrong, but there’s nothing Adam can do to make himself enjoy the life he always thought he wanted. Because it was a dream they made together, and it doesn’t make him happy without her. But one day when fate intervenes, Adam finally finds the answers he has been searching for.

Review

Even though Where She Went is a follow-up to Mia’s story in If I Stay, I think Adam’s tale will be just as enjoyable for those who haven’t read the first book. Gayle Forman has an incredible ability to write characters that almost leap off the page they feel so real.

Adam’s story unfolds in both real-time and through flashbacks, but the two work together seamlessly to fill in the details of the past three years without ever felling jumpy or hard to follow. I really have no complaints with Where She Went. The characters are wonderful, the pacing is perfect and the story answers all the questions that readers are left with after If I Stay. The only reason I gave this book one less star than If I Stay was that it didn’t quite pack the emotional punch that Mia’s side of the story did. But I think that’s a result of reading these two books back-to-back, rather than there being anything lacking in Where She Went.

Verdict

I absolutely loved this book (and it’s predecessor) and will be recommending it to every one of my fellow book lovers. Where She Went is the type of story that makes me love reading – an emotional ride with great characters that really stays with you. I can’t wait to read more from Gayle Forman.

*I received this book for review from the Publisher.

Death’s Excellent Vacation
by Charlaine Harris & Various Authors

Death’s Excellent Vacation is a collection of short stories that all have supernatural elements and a vacation theme. I’m not generally a big fan of short stories (I’m a series girl), but with shorts from two series that I follow, I was eager to check it out and see what fun little tales Charlaine Harris and Katie MacAlister had created to go along with their Southern Vampire and Guardian novels.

There are 13 short-stories in the Death’s Excellent Vacation anthology. Here’s my VERY brief thoughts on the ones that I read.

1. Two Blondes – Charlaine Harris – (A Southern Vampire/True Blood story) – I pretty much always love a Sookie story. There was nothing special about this one, just a quick silly romp with Sookie & Pam. I enjoyed it.
2. The Boys Go Fishing – Sarah Smith – I didn’t like this one very much.
3. One for the Money – Jeaniene Frost (Night Huntress story) – I really enjoyed this one! So much so that I will now be checking out the Night Huntress Series!
4. Meanwhile, Far Across the Caspian Sea… - Daniel Stashower – This one didn’t hold my attention, resulting in a DNF.
5. The Innsmouth Nook – A. Lee Martinez – Another DNF
6. Safe and Sound – Jeff Abbott – An enjoyable story.
7. Seeing is Believing – L A Banks – I also enjoyed this one.
8. The Perils of Eferjim – Katie MacAlister (An Aisling Grey Guardian story) – I love this series, and always find Jim entertaining. A fun little Guardian story.
9. Thin Walls – Christopher Golden – This was borderline porn. Well, not really, but there was far more icky sex than I want to read about!
10. The Heart is Always Right – Lilith Saintcrow – I was enjoying this one, but found it dragged on a bit so I skimmed the middle and skipped ahead to the end. Not bad.
11. The Demon in the Dunes – Chris Grabenstein – DNF.
12. Home from America – Sharan Newman – DNF. And this marked the end of my reading this book. I’m not a huge fan of short stories, so this doesn’t really have anything to do with the quality of the stories; I just needed to get back to something a little more in depth.
13. Pirate Dave’s Haunted Amusement Park – Toni L P Kelner – Reviews I read said this one was good, but I never quite got there.

Have you read Death’s Excellent Vacation? What did you think? Are you a fan of anthologies? Do you enjoy short stories based on your favorite series?