Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway! The League ~ Sulan by Camille Picott

Hello, there! I'm so excited to share this book with you guys. Check out my review below!

Full tour schedule here.

Episode One: The League ~ Sulan

by Camille Picott

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: YA, Dystopian, Cyberpunk

Published June 2012 by Pixiu Press

Format Read: Ebook via CBB Book Promotions

Purchase: Amazon,  Audible, The Book Depository, Kobo

Description from Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Sulan Hom can’t remember life before the Default—the day the United States government declared bankruptcy. As a math prodigy, she leads a protected life, kept safe from the hunger and crime plaguing the streets of America. She attends the corporate-sponsored Virtual High School, an academy in Vex (Virtual Experience) for gifted children. 

Beyond the security of Sulan’s high-tech world, the Anti-American League wages a guerrilla war against the United States. Their leader, Imugi, is dedicated to undermining the nation’s reconstruction attempts. He attacks anything considered a national resource, including corporations, food storage facilities—and schools. When Sulan witnesses the public execution of a teenage student and the bombing of a college dorm, she panics. 

Her mother, a retired mercenary, refuses to teach her how to defend herself. Sulan takes matters into her own hands. With the help of her hacker best friend, Hank, Sulan acquires Touch—an illegal Vex technology that allows her to share the physical experience of her avatar. With Touch, Sulan defies her mother and trains herself to fight. 

When Imugi unleashes a new attack on the United States, Sulan finds herself caught in his net. Will her Vex training be enough to help her survive and escape?

My Review:

I haven't read anything like this book, and I think it's amazing!

This Dystopian/Cyberpunk novel takes place during a crisis that hit the US, and the main character is Sulan, a 16-year-old math prodigy. No kidding you guys. This girl can solve any complex equation without using a calculator, and she does it in less than 10 seconds. Cool, isn't she? Her skills are very impressive and that is why she's not safe. Apparently, Imugi (the antagonist) is determined to kill all the brilliant minds of America to prevent the nation's reconstruction. So, Sulan knows that she's in danger and finds a way to learn how to protect herself.

Avatars and Virtual School.

I'm not familiar with the Cyberpunk genre, so I found this book very, very captivating. Sulan goes to a virtual school, and it's not like those boring online courses. It's so much more! Students are able to use Vex (Virtual Experience); they have their own avatars which they can control with their minds, and they get to interact with each other like they're actually attending school. Yep, technology is incredible! I think the world building is amazing, and I just love how the virtual system works. However, I feel like this book is a bit short because I want to explore the world more and there are many things that I'm curious about!

Nerd and Badass Fighter.

Sulan is an amazing heroine. I like that she's strong-willed, and that she's  determined to learn how to fight, even though her mom doesn't want her to. She knows that she won't stand chance against Imugi if she doesn't know the basics of self defense, so she undergoes a not-so-safe training. Although she lacks physical strength, I like that her brilliant mind makes her a deadly opponent.

There is a little bit of romance, but it doesn't focus on it. This novel mainly centres around Sulan's training and the battle against Imugi. And there are some great action scenes; I especially love the one at the end.

I’d definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fast paced and action filled book!

I received this book from CBB Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review. 

About the Author

Camille Picott is a fifth-generation Chinese American. She writes science fiction and fantasy books with Asian characters and/or Asian settings. Camille grew up reading speculative fiction stories largely devoid of Asian characters and culture. This, coupled with a passion for her heritage, is the reason she strives to bring some aspect of Eastern myth, legend, culture, and ethnicity to all of her writings. To visit Camille, go to www.camillepicott.com.

Find Camille Picott online: Website | Facebook |Goodreads

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Two $5 Amazon Gift Cards

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Blog Tour Organized by CBB Book Promotions

Blog Tour & Review: The Accidental Socialite by Stephanie Wahlstrom

Title: The Accidental Socialite

Author: Stephanie Wahlstrom

Rating: ★ ★ ★★ ☆

Genres: NA, Contemporary Romance

Format Read: eARC, YA Bound Book Tour

Description from Goodreads
Quirky and clumsy twenty-two-year-old Paige Crawford arrives in London on a cold Saturday in January. Just when Paige starts to think that moving thousands of miles away from home with no real plan was a bad idea, Jason Frost appears. Confident and classy, Jason is the complete opposite of Paige and just what she needs in her life, or so she thinks. 

But before their romance has time to blossom, Paige trips and falls into the arms of a mysterious man on a drunken night out. She’s snapped by paparazzi, and newspaper headlines the next day suggest that she’s having an affair with a married footballer. 

Paige finds herself instantly elevated to tabloid celebrity status which isn’t exactly a picnic, particularly when trying to juggle her new job at Fashionista magazine, a catalog of dating disasters and a nagging doubt that she maybe she can’t conquer London after all. When a trip back to Canada for Christmas reminds Paige why she left her old life behind, she returns to London with renewed vigor realizing that while jobs, flats and men may come and go, friends in London are forever.

My Review:

Paige Craftword has just graduated from university, but she has already decided to leave her hometown to move to London. She's had enough of her friends and family who think she's just a bland and ordinary person, so she impulsively packs her stuff, determined to leave the past behind her.

The book starts off with Paige on her way to London, the city where she intends to make a fresh start and create a new identity. But unfortunately, all her plans get ruined when she accidentally catches the tabloids' attention due to an incident with a famous British footballer.

Paige is a clumsy and weird person who continuosly gets into awkward situations. The media follow her every move, so she doesn't have much of a private life anymore. In fact she often makes front page news because of some compromising and embarassing situations she gets herself into. I would have prefered dying if I were her, but Piage didn't give up and I liked that about her. 
I really enjoyed reading how she adjusts to the differences between American and British English, the misunderstandings were so hilarious that I couldn't keep myself from grinning. 

There isn't really any love interest in this book because Paige has truly bad taste in guys, and I think it's funny how she can easily relate to Taylor Swift's songs. I also find it very interesting that Paige doesn't really want to commit to any type of serious relationship; I think it's quite understandable because she's still young and she just wants to have fun.

Although I found Paige pretty enjoyable to read, there were times when she could be really fussy, and I got frustrated for some of the choices she made. Furthermore, I felt like there were lots of clubbing and drinking in this book, but if you can overlook those issues you'll definitely enjoy reading The Accidental Socialite.

If you're looking for a fun and light read with lots of funny and embarassing moments, then you should read this book.

I received this book from YA Bound Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. 

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About Stephanie Wahlstrom

Growing up in Edmonton, Canada, a significant amount of Stephanie’s time was spent making up and acting out stories. She was studying to be an actress when she realized there weren’t any parts for women being written. So, Stephanie wrote herself a short screenplay just to be in it, and quickly realized that writing was her true passion. She graduated from the University of Alberta with an English and Sociology degree and she also has a Bachelor of Motion Picture Arts from Red Deer College. After a fateful trip to Mexico in 2006, Stephanie decided to move to New York City to work in film development. A year later she went back home to write My Green House, a factual TV series. Stephanie moved to London in 2008 and aside from being obsessed with eggs benedict, fruit roll- ups and travelling, she also works in children’s television. The Accidental Socialite is her first novel.

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Blog Tour Organized by YA Bound Book Tour