Review: Metaltown by Kristen Simmons

From Goodreads: The rules of Metaltown are simple: Work hard, keep your head down, and watch your back. You look out for number one, and no one knows that better than Ty. She’s been surviving on the factory line as long as she can remember. But now Ty has Colin. She’s no longer alone; it’s the two of them against the world. That’s something even a town this brutal can’t take away from her. Until it does. Lena’s future depends on her family’s factory, a beast that demands a ruthless master, and Lena is prepared to be as ruthless as it takes if it means finally proving herself to her father. But when a chance encounter with Colin, a dreamer despite his circumstances, exposes Lena to the consequences of her actions, she’ll risk everything to do what’s right. In Lena, Ty sees an heiress with a chip on her shoulder. Colin sees something more. In a world of disease and war, tragedy and betrayal, allies and enemies, all three of them must learn that challenging what they thought was true can change all the rules.

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Metaltown by Kristen Simmons was a book I was attracted to due to the steampunkish vibe I got from the cover. I also loved the premise, but the worldbuilding could definitely have been expanded upon. The gist is clear – a world that depends on child labour, contains a scarcity of food and clean water, and is suffering from a war – but there’s a serious lack of other details, making the setting in Metaltown hard to imagine visually.

More attention was given to the romance instead, which thankfully never turned into a love triangle since Ty’s feelings for Colin were never reciprocated. As for the characters, I wasn’t completely thrilled with either Colin or Lena because Colin seemed to ditch Ty once he met Lena and I felt like Lena only fell for Colin because he was the first guy to be nice to her. Ty was the most interesting out of the three so it was maddening to see how things ended for her after there was so much buildup with her importance.

Metaltown was released in September 2016 by Tor Teen. 

Comments About the Cover: Even though the cover seems to give off a steampunk vibe, the book itself is more of a dystopian novel.

Mini Reviews: The Imaginary by A.F. Harrold and Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Apologies for the extended break! I haven't done much reading over the past month as I got really busy at work and then ruined my Kindle by accidentally dropping it in water - putting it in a bag of rice sadly didn't work - so I had to buy a new one and wait for it to ship. Anyways, on to my reviews!
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From Goodreads: Rudger is Amanda’s best friend. He doesn't exist, but nobody's perfect. Only Amanda can see her imaginary friend – until the sinister Mr Bunting arrives at Amanda's door. Mr Bunting hunts imaginaries. Rumour says that he eats them. And he's sniffed out Rudger. Soon Rudger is alone, and running for his imaginary life. But can a boy who isn’t there survive without a friend to dream him up? 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Imaginary by A.F. Harrold is a delightfully creepy read that explores what it is like to be an imaginary friend. I loved the illustrations and the fact that the library was a safe haven for imaginaries waiting to pick a child as a friend. I also really liked that Amanda’s mom was so supportive of her daughter's imagination and did things like setting out an extra plate with food for Rudger.

A book that would be great for discussing friendship and imagination, The Imaginary was released in October 2014 by Bloomsbury Children's. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Raincoast Books) for free.  

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From Goodreads: Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map - the key to a legendary treasure trove - seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship. More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Since I love stories featuring pirates and they have not become a trend in YA yet, Tricia Levenseller’s Daughter of the Pirate King was one of my most anticipated debuts of this year. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would, mainly because the romance played such a prominent role but felt very forced. Alosa also came across as extremely cocky – she reminds me of Captain Jack Sparrow, though not as likeable – and while some people might have no problems with that, I just kept wondering why her character had to be so annoyingly exaggerated.

Daughter of the Pirate King will be released on February 28, 2017 by Feiwel & Friends. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Macmillan) for free via NetGalley.