Invictus by Ryan Graudin

Publisher: Orion's Children Books

Format: ARC**

Published: 21^st September 2017

Number of Pages: 464

Book: For Review*

Genre:  Science-Fiction, Action-Adventure, Historical, Mystery, Romance, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death, Alcohol References

Author's Site: Ryan Graudin

Blurb From Goodreads:

Time flies when you're plundering history.

Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far's birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he's ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past. 

But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with knowledge that will bring Far's very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: History is not as steady as it seems.

                                                                   Review:

“There wasn't much solitude among four souls, one mannequin, and a red attack panda...”

Farway McCarthy is unique.  He is a boy born out of time aboard a time travel machine, the son of one of the greatest time travellers around.  He's always wanted to follow in his mom's footsteps, explore history like she did.  

Which is why he isn't going to let a fexing sim of Marie Antoinette foil him. 

And it’s also how he ends up with the Invictus, the captain of his own TM, chasing through history for treasures with his crew.  It's aboard the Titanic that everything begins to unravel. 

Eliot is a mystery and a nuisance, an enigma and a thief.  Far doesn't trust her, but he must – it's the only way to stay alive.  

But Eliot has more secrets than just her last name and where she hid that fexing enormous yellow dress she wore aboard the Titanic.  And her secrets could mean the end of everything Far holds dear – the end of history itself...

I adore Ryan Graudin.  She is an amazing amazing author – and Invictus has proven she can write bloody anything.  I fell in love with her Wolf By Wolf series so when I saw they were giving away proofs of Invictus at YALC, of course I had to join the queue.  I made friends, I waited, I chatted and then finally I had this beauty in my greedy little hands and wanted to cheer.  I also wanted to start reading it right that very second, but anyone who's been to YALC knows there's ironically not all that much time for reading while you're there!  So I waited, took Invictus on holiday, started reading on the plane, and was over 100 pages in without even realising it. 

Oh. My. God!  I love all of Ryan's books so much that I can't choose a favourite – but Invictus is just phenomenal!  It has everything – sci-fi, history, romance, adventure, mystery, a blue box, a red panda and more!  I fell in love with everything about Invictus – it's just hashing marvellous! 

The characters – oh how I loved them all!  I fell for each and every one of the Invictus crew – although a certain fuzzy beastie stole my heart good and proper!  I want a red panda like Saffron now – I never knew I could want a red panda so much.  I may need to buy a cuddly one and call it Saffron because I'm pretty sure having a real one is all kinds of illegal.  

Onto the human cast now!  It's hard to make third person POVs sound unique to each character – especially when you're writing from as many as Ryan did over the course of Invictus.  And yet she managed – each character had their own way of narrating, their own way of thinking, and I bloody loved it.  Plus the characters were all just so three-dimensional and likeable – and all had brilliantly unique senses of humour! 

Far was brilliant – brave, clever, determined, a hero I could really get behind and root for.  He also wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination and I loved him more for it.

Imogen was literally adorable – I love my cousins to pieces, but I must admit Far’s cousin was just amazing and I want her!  I loved how cheerful she was, I loved how she changed her hair colour every day, I just loved her so much!

Eliot was an intriguing character and I loved how we slowly learnt about her over the course of the book.  She was mysterious, funny, brave and badass – I loved her!

Priya was also really adorable!  The medic of the crew, she thought anything could be cured with some chai tea – and as a Brit I can relate the this notion of tea fixing everything whole heartedly!  I also loved her relationship with Far, although I do wish we’d seen more of how they got together.

Gram was really cute – a scientist at heart, he was very logical and practical and not brilliant at the human interactions at times!  I adore him and his relationship with Imogen was just everything!

Oh my god, this story!  I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, reading like a mad thing, totally unsure about what would happen next.  The twists were insane – and truly brilliant!  I loved the beginning of the story, where the crew of the Invictus go about time stealing priceless artefacts that would otherwise be lost to disaster.  That was awesome and a lot of fun to read!  But then the second half, where the stakes kick up by a million and the race is on – not to save an artefact or two but life itself?  Yeah, I loved that!  

Also I really really wanna live in Far's time – travel through history, recording and experiencing, observing and learning.  It just sounds amazing!  And while the futuristic aspect could be hard to grasp, I found it so easy to immerse myself in everything about Invictus – and loved every minute! 

Anyone who knows me is aware that I am normally a total fantasy girl.  I love dragons and magic and potions.  I don't really read sci-fi all that much – but god am I glad I read Invictus!  Invictus was hazing amazing and I loved every single second of it!  So whether you live for sci-fi, fantasy or fuzzy red pandas, read Invictus!  This book has just secured Ryan’s place on my auto-buy list for all of time and space and I really just cannot recommend it enough!

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5 

Read this book if you liked:

Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Doctor Who

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Orion in exchange for an honest review

** Quotes used are from a proof copy and may have been changed in the finished book

Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Series: Wolf By Wolf, Book One

Publisher: Orion

Format: ARC**

Published: 5^th November 2015

Number of Pages: 400

Book: For Review*

Genre:  Historical, Science Fiction, Alternate History, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller-Suspense, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 13+

Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing, Smoking References

Author's Site: Ryan Graudin

Over ten years since the Nazis won the war, 18 yr old Yael has one mission: to kill Hitler - a captivating second novel from Walled City author, Ryan Graudin.

Once upon a different time, there was a girl who lived in a kingdom of death. Wolves howled up her arm. A whole pack of them-made of tattoo ink and pain, memory and loss. It was the only thing about her that ever stayed the same. Her story begins on a train. 

Germania, 1956. Over ten years since the Nazis won the war. 18-year-old Yael is part of the resistance, and she has just one mission: to kill Hitler.

But first she's got to get close enough to him to do it. 

Experimented on during her time at Auschwitz, Yael has the unique ability to change her appearance at will. The only part of her which always remains are the five tattooed wolves on her arm; one for each of the people she's lost. Using her abilities, she must transform into Adele Wolfe, Germany's most famous female rider and winner of the legendary Axis Tour; an epic long distance motorcycle race from Berlin to Tokyo, where only the strongest (and wiliest) riders survive. If she can win this, she will be able to get close enough to kill the Fuhrer and change history forever.

But with other riders sabotaging her chances at every turn, Yael's mission won't be easy... 

                                                                   Review:

“Tomorrow the end began.  She was going to race from Germania to Tokyo.  She was going to win the Axis Tour and earn an invitation to the Victor's Ball.  She was going to kill the Führer and spark the death of the Third Reich. 

She was going to cross the world and change it.

Or die trying…”

What if Hitler and the Nazis hadn't lost WW2?  What would become of the world?  Where – or if – would Hitler stop?  What would become of his brutal, dreadful experiments?

Yael.

The Nazis won – with the help of Emperor Hirohito from Japan – and have spread their control over Europe, bringing death and pain and destruction in their wake...

Taken to a concentration camp as a little girl, Yael is experimented on by an Angel of Death – a Nazi doctor.  The experiments change her and turn her into the ultimate weapon for the Resistance.  Using her unique ability, Yael goes undercover as Adele Wolfe, the poster-girl for the Nazi regime, who won the Axis Tour – a motorcycle race that goes from Germany to Japan, in honour of the Axis' victory: the winner receives an audience with the reclusive Hitler.

Yael must win the race.  She must meet with Hitler.

She must kill him for all he has done.

But when she meets the real Adele's brother and former boyfriend, Yael realises that reaching the Fuhrer and finishing the race might be more difficult than she first thought...  

I absolutely adored The Walled City and so I was deliriously excited for Wolf By Wolf – especially when Nina from Orion described it as 'The Book Thief meets X-Men'.  I mean, come on!  How's a girl meant to resist that pitch?  She just can't!  And when I heard Ryan talk about it, when she read us a bit of the first chapter, I just knew I would love Wolf By Wolf.  And when I started it on the train home, I was just swept up – completely hooked by this alternate world.  It was just... whoa.  I didn't think Ryan could top The Walled City and yet she managed to totally outdo herself.  Wolf By Wolf... amazing.  Incredible.  Breath-taking.  I have no words for how much I loved this book.

One of my favourite parts of this book was Yael: she was such a badass!  Clever, brave, smart, damaged and just... brilliant.  She didn't know her own face, but she knew she was strong and she had such strong morals, such strong values.  She still saw beauty and hope, just as much as she saw corruption and loss.  I was instantly rooting for Yael, right from the word go, and I adored her – and can't wait to see her grow and kick butt in the next book!  Why must it be so far away...?

Luka...  He was the real Adele's love interest (although their shared past was pretty unknown).  I wasn't sure what to make of Luka to begin with, but then... I started to love him.  All he wanted was to be with Adele, he risked himself to help others, he was snarky and prickly and funny.  And then he’d do something and I'd hate him all over again... I'm so conflicted!

Felix was just such an amazing brother – the best.  If I had a twin or older brother, I would want one exactly like Felix.  He was protective and brave and clever and always looking out for his sister (well, who he thought was his sister), no matter what she did.  I loved him so much!

The relationships were so brilliant – as brilliant as the characters themselves.  I know that Yael wasn't Adele, that she wasn't who the boys thought she was, but their relationships... they felt real.  They started off shaky, weak, and they grew and grew into something real and believable.  Felix was so protective of Yael, and she grew to trust him – care about him.  And Luka... yum.  The two really had some chemistry, despite whatever went on between him and the real Adele.

There were various supporting characters in the book, none as badass as Yael, confusing (and hot) as Luka or as wonderful as Felix.  But I did really like Ryoko, Henryka, Vlad and the Babushka.  I really did not like the doctor or other riders in the Axis Tour, though all of them were very well created.

Holy Scheisse, this world...  It scared the crap out of me.  Seriously, the research and world building was just phenomenal and so terrifying.  I mean, if just a few things were different during the Second World War, think what could have happened – all the Scheisse that could have gone down.  It's freaking scary as hell – and makes for such an amazing, brutal backdrop of a story.  

And the idea of what Yael could do was fascinating – the dreadful causes of the 'gift' even more so.  I mean, you're experimented on.  Changed.  Something – your identity, yourself – is taken away for ever.  And now Yael can't even remember her own face, what she really looked like.  It was heart-breaking!  And then there was her relationship with Luka and Felix: she truly cared about them, but she wasn't the girl they knew and loved.  

Though I'm not going to lie.  The Mystique quality of Yael's abilities was so cool.

Ryan wrote Wolf By Wolf in the third person, which can sometimes feel more impersonal.  In this case, however, I think the distance was a good thing: everything Yael had been through...  It would have been too much.  To hear what she went through as a child, growing up, how much pain her world put her through...  But, as always, Ryan's writing was phenomenal – exciting, action-packed, beautiful, sharp, gritty, bloody brilliant.  I loved this book so much! *jumps up and down hugging the book*

As for the storyline?  Just wow.  Thrills, spills, danger, spying, fighting, racing, trying to bring down a vicious fascist...  It was all just nonstop and so utterly addictive.  I read the book in one go (utterly shattering myself in the process, thanks to lack of sleep) and was left so hungry, so desperate, so needing for more more more!  The plot of Wolf By Wolf is utterly amazing and unpredictable and brilliant and exciting: there was just never a dull moment!

I adored and gushed about The Walled City.  It is a phenomenal book.  But Wolf By Wolf was, somehow, impossibly, even better.  It took uniqueness and magic and excitement and amazingness and brought it all up to a whole new level.  It was amazing, breath-taking and... I really just don't have the words to do it justice.  But I really believe that Ryan Graudin is the goddess of words, of creating unique and incredible books that I fall in love with so quickly, so desperately and so deeply.  Wolf By Wolf was just pure magic.  It was a book so good I was hooked from start to finish.  It was a book so good I slowed right down when I reached the last few chapters, because I just did not want the story to be over.  It was a book I began raving about when I was only a few chapters in and a book I will never stop recommending to everyone, everywhere.  It was a book I will never forget.  It was a book that left me absolutely desperate for the sequel (and a book that will drive me insane until I get my hands on said sequel).  It was a book so damn good that even with all of this rambling, I simply do not have to words to truly do it justice.  It was a book that was unique and magic and beautiful and horrible and exciting and terrifying and addictive and pure magic.

Please, just go and go now.  Buy it.  Read it.  Love it.  And then you will understand why I am so very desperately in love with Wolf By Wolf.

Because, yes, Wolf By Wolf's lead girl was a Mystique-like character, undercover and with special powers – it is a race, a battle, a supernatural-esque thrill ride.  But Wolf By Wolf is also about fear and pain and hope and survival.  About fighting against all the odds.  About making the world right after it went oh-so very wrong.  About fighting for what you believe in.  About how terrible the world could have been, if just a few things had gone differently during WW2.  And that is why everyone, everywhere simply has to read it.  Wolf By Wolf was beyond phenomenal and I honestly just cannot recommend it enough – to every single person who reads this review, who sees this book in Waterstones and who lives on this planet.  Read it.  Read it now.

I, meanwhile, will be going insane waiting for the sequel...  I just need it so badly.  Ryan Graudin is amazing and all powerful and I am well and truly hooked. 

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Grisha by Leigh Bardugo

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Indigo-Orion in exchange for an honest review

** Quotes used are from a proof copy and may have been changed in the finished book

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Publisher: Orion Children's Books

Format: Paperback

Published: 6^th November 2014

Number of Pages: 448

Book: For Review*

Genre: Dystopia, Fantasy, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Action-Adventure, Contemporary, Gritty-Realism, YA, YA-Adult Crossover

Recommended Age: 14+

Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing, Alcohol, Drug and Sexual Assault References

Author's Site: Ryan Graudin

“There are three rules of survival in the Walled City:

RUN FAST.  TRUST NO ONE.  ALWAYS CARRY YOUR KNIFE.

Right now, my life depends completely on the first.

RUN, RUN, RUN.”

These streets are a maze.  They twist into themselves – narrow, filled with glowing signs and graffitied walls.

DAI traffics drugs for the most ruthless man in the Walled City.  To find freedom, he needs help from someone who can be invisible…

JIN LING hides under the radar, evading the street gangs as she searches for her lost sister…

MEI YEE survives trapped in a brothel, dreaming of escape while watching the girls who try fail and die.

Damaged and betrayed, can these three find the faith to join forces and escape the stifling city walls?

                                                                   Review:

“Hak Nam Walled City.  A recipe of humanity's darkest ingredients - thieves, whores, murderers, addicts – all mashed into six and a half acres.  Hell on earth, he called it.  A place so ruthless even the sunlight won't enter…”

In a city full of violence, correction, death and abuse, run by a vicious and all-powerful gangster, three teenagers try to find a way out...

Dai has been trapped in the Walled City, smuggling drugs, whilst he attempts to clear his name of a crime he did not commit so he can finally go home.  And he is running out of time.

Jin Ling knows that girls cannot survive in Hak Nam, and so she disguises herself as a boy, stealing to survive, doing her best to seem invisible.  She is searching for her sister, who was sold by their father and is being used as a slave in a brothel.  All Jin Ling wants is to save her sister.

Mei Yee is Jin's lost sister, trapped in a brothel.  She knows that to attempt to escape will get her a fate worse than death – but that doesn't mean she doesn't dream of freedom.

Alone, these three teenagers stand no chance of escaping the Walled City.  But can they make it out together...?  With just eighteen days left...?

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up The Walled City.  Certainly not just how brilliantly dark, dangerous and addictive it turned out to be.  From the moment I began The Walled City, I was just hooked.  I was thinking it would be a dystopian, a fantasy, but it was just... real.  Too real at times.  And that was just so gripping, so shocking.  And so utterly original.  I've never read anything like The Walled City before – and that's saying something.  I've read a lot.  It might not be for everyone, but it was absolutely addictive and amazing and stunning and eye-opening for me. 

Jin Ling was brilliant – clever, brave, fast, caring.  I loved seeing her with her cat, Chma, and with Dai, loved when she thought of her sister, who she protected as best she could.  She was just such an amazing character, one I truly rooted for, from the very beginning, because Jin was fierce, loyal and fearless.

Dai was an enigma – to begin with.  And then... I got him.  And I loved him.  He was brave and solitary and clever and caring.  He was haunted, like everyone in Hak Nam, desperate to get out, but he knew how to save himself, was willing to sacrifice himself for others.  He was, in short, a hero – just as Jin was a heroine.

Mei Yee was perhaps the quietest and subtlest of the heroes, the one who was doubly trapped.  She wasn't badass like Jin and Dai, but she was brave in her own way.  She may have started out as the typical damsel in distress, but she wasn't helpless.  Mei Yee was clever and brave and strong – stronger than she thought, than I thought.  

There were few other characters in the book with large parts – after all, the second rule is to trust no one – but the minor characters all felt so real to me, even the ones that were just memories.  But none were as vibrant and alive as our three narrators.

Because the writing was just... wow.  I love multiple perspectives – like love them to death.  And I adored getting to read from Jin, Dai and Mei Yee's points of view – it made everything so much more vital and intriguing and gave the book more depth.  And Graudin had a way of writing: dark, gritty, suspenseful, addictive.  It utterly put me under a spell and kept me hooked from the very first line to the very last.

The plot was just nonstop: always running, always fighting, always hiding, always sneaking...  It was relentless and so addictive.  And the way Graudin wove these three people together, wove their lives and chances for escape together, was nothing short of genius.  And the action – the running and hiding and fighting... It was like a blockbuster movie put into words.  Like reading a gritty thriller movie, watching it all play in my head...  And yes, some might be... disappointed by the ending.  But I, personally, loved it.  So... there.

This world... it was stifling, oppressive, so very dark and bloody.  I can't believe that this city really existed once, where children are just...  It’s horrible.  And it's still happening, isn't it?  All over the world, so many children are at risk – and this book is, as Ryan herself says, inspired by children who are invisible to most.  It's the dark, hidden world no one wants to admit exists.  Maybe The Walled City is a dystopian, set in a dystopian world inspired by this city that once existed.  But, to me at least, it felt too damn real to be dystopian.  So real and so brutal.  I can't say it's a world I loved reading about, but it was amazingly crafted – and made the three teenagers feel all the stronger for simply surviving in it.

I've read few books that feel utterly original and utterly amazing.  That leave me speechless, leave me reeling.  Leave me... different.  But The Walled City... it was one of those books.  It took my breath away, had me utterly hooked from the very first line.  The Walled City...  It's probably the most original thing I've read for a long time and it was stunning.  

I will say that The Walled City isn't for everyone.  It is dark.  It is brutal.  But it's the kind of book that makes you think – without forcing a message down your throat.  It shows a city based on one that once existed.  It shows a city ruled by corruption, gangs and violence.  It shows you how hard children have to fight to survive, what they are forced to turn into when confronted by the hopelessness and death around them.  It shows you survivors, surviving in their own way, and it makes you feel like you're besides them as they fight.  It's an amazing book that is hard to read at times, but all the better for that fact.  

The Walled City blew me away: it is deep, dark, pretty damn near perfect – I was left speechless for days, unable to say anything but 'My god, READ IT' to all my friends.  The Walled City was simply stunning – I literally can't find the words to truly do it justice.   It put me under a spell, an enchantment, and has left me breathless, needing, absolutely desperately needing, Graudin's new book, Wolf By Wolf.  

And so I conclude this review by pointing out that dystopian worlds don't have to be the same – with revolutions and warriors.  They can be set in a world that is dreadfully real, following three amazing characters as they try to save themselves.  You can write storylines worthy of films or comic books as YA novel, show the darkest sides of the world and create something that is utterly unique, utterly amazing and so freaking brilliant.

I know I'm rambling.  I'm sorry.  But can't you see?  This book, The Walled City, is worthy of my rambling.  It is worthy of nonstop recommendations.  I just...  Ugh, I still don't have the right words.  Just, if want to think whilst being thrilled, if you don't mind darkness and violence, and if you want brave, real characters, read The Walled City.  You will not regret it.  Trust me.  Trust the rambling.  Read The Walled City now. 

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Fearless by Emma Pass

The 5^th Wave by Rick Yancey

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Street Duty by Chris Ould

Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Indigo in exchange for an honest review