Mini-Reviews : Champion by Marie Lu & In the Blood by Sara Hantz

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Champion (Legend #3)
Author : Marie Lu 
Publication Date : November 5th 2013
Publisher : Putnam Juvenile
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The explosive finale to Marie Lu’s New York Times bestselling LEGEND trilogy—perfect for fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and DIVERGENT!

He is a Legend.
She is a Prodigy.
Who will be Champion?

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps Elect while Day has been assigned a high level military position. But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them once again. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything he has. With heart-pounding action and suspense, Marie Lu’s bestselling trilogy draws to a stunning conclusion.

Personal Thoughts

The Legend series is one that I have had ups and downs with. The first book was weak according to be, but I still decided to try the second one and I was surprised by how much it blew me away. So, I had mixed feelings starting Champion. Part of me was terrified about how things would end and the other part of me was dying of excitement to see how Marie Lu would end the series and how she would do justice to the characters that I have grown to love. For the most part, Champion was incredibly well-written. Both Day and June have grown so much throughout the books. What I love about them is that they can function without each other, but when they are together, everything is infinitely better. They had so many obstacles to overcome and by the end of the book, I wanted nothing more than them to find the HEA that they deserved. The world-building was also solid and Marie Lu did go into much more details in this one. However, part of me felt like the plot dragged at times, which could make it a little boring at times. In addition, I'm still not sure what to make of the ending because it did have a bittersweet note to it. While Champion was a stronger novel than the first book and a good conclusion to the series, Prodigy remains my favorite for how emotionally invested I was. Overall, this is a dystopian series that I highly recommend.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 3/5
Writing : 4/5

**Overall Rating : 3.5/5**

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : In the Blood
Author : Sara Hantz
Publication Date : November 5th 2013
Publisher : Entangled Teen
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For seventeen years Jed Franklin’s life was normal. Then his father was charged with the abuse and murder of four young boys and normal became a nightmare.

His mom’s practically a walking zombie, he’s lost most of his friends, and the press camps out on his lawn. The only things that keep him sane are his little sis; his best friend and dream girl, Summer; and the alcohol he stashes in his room. But after Jed wakes up from a total blackout to discover a local kid has gone missing—a kid he was last seen talking to—he’s forced to face his greatest fear: that he could somehow be responsible.

In a life that’s spiraled out of control, Jed must decide if he chooses his own destiny with Summer by his side or if the violent urges that plagued his father are truly in the blood…
 
Personal Thoughts

The life of a teenage boy whose father is arrested for rape, murder and pedophilia. It sounds very deep, intriguing and interesting, right? I had high hopes going into In the Blood. The subject matter was so promising. It started off strongly for me. The reader gets to be inside Jed, the main character's head and his emotions and feelings were a mess, exactly how I would expect somebody in his situation to be. However, over the course of the book, I wanted to get to know Jed much better, but that doesn't really happen. I did, however, appreciate the growth that he underwent throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, Jed was a mess. He felt guilt, anger and pain over the actions of his father. He battled with the constant thoughts that plagued him saying that he would also end up like his father. Over the course of the story, he grew to accept that he was not his father. In addition, the secondary characters were rather one-dimensional and didn't really add much to the story. It's sort of sad, but I actually don't remember any of the secondary characters and the roles they played. What frustrated me though was the fact that the book didn't really leave an emotional impact on me as I was expecting it to. I think the way the subject was handled was all wrong and if the author had focused her attention on one story line instead of two, the book would have been stronger. In the end, I didn't think In the Blood was memorable.

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 2/5
Characters : 2/5
Writing : 2/5

**Overall Rating : 2.5/5**

Thank you to Entangled Teen for the e-ARC of In the Blood.