Book Thoughts: Ultraviolet and Birthmarked

Because I receive so many books to review I decided to create this feature Book Thoughts. I don’t always have time to review every single book that I read so in Book Thoughts I group together 2 or 3 books that I purchased myself and give a brief summary on my opinions after I’ve read them. Think of them as mini reviews! I’m going to keep them quick and snappy whilst still informative and I hope you guys find them helpful! :-)

Ultraviolet by R J Anderson

Ultraviolet is honestly like nothing I’ve ever read before. Our main character Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens after killing her classmate, popular and perfect, Tori. Except Tori’s body hasn’t actually been found and all Alison can remember is noise, pain and- she knows it sounds crazy but hey if the shoe fits!- Tori disintegrating piece by piece in front of her.

I loved the fact that this book is told from the point of view of somebody who is seen to be mentally unstable. As the layers of this story unfold you can’t help but question everything Alison tells us. Especially as the story gets more and more crazy and unbelievable! Is there some kind of strange phenomenon going on? Or is Alison simply an insane and imaginative narrator? R J Anderson certainly keeps you on your toes and I absolutely raced through this book for answers. Anderson’s writing is so beautifully descriptive and this books ending completely blew my mind. I adored this books uniqueness and individuality and it comes with my highest of recommendations and a warning that once you pick up this intense psychological thriller you won’t want to put it down!
 5 stars.



Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien

Unfortunately this book fell a little short for me. There’s no denying that Caragh M. O’Brien’s writing is gorgeous her descriptions really sucked me into our heroine Gaia’s harrowing world but unfortunately the rest of the book didn’t really do anything for me.

I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting from this book but with it being a dystopian I went into it expecting something futuristic and instead Gaia’s world despite being set 300-400 years in the future if anything has gone back in time and instead of the “code” that’s talked about on the cover being all high tech and extreme like I imagined it was all fairly simple and dull compared to what I’d built up in my head.

That being said when I got over my disappointment surrounding the books plot and the code I could appreciate this book for what it was. Gaia’s a strong likeable heroine and the future she inhabits is brutal and terrifying. O’Brien isn’t afraid to make her world unfair and cruel. With Caragh’s haunting writing she really paints a picture in your mind of a shocking future that’s easily believable. Is this the best dystopian story I’ve ever read? No. But would I recommend it? Sure.
3.5 stars.