(Image from Barnes & Noble)

A businessman on holiday in Scotland goes on a hunting trip with family, where he's exposed to tainted pheasant's blood.  He starts feeling poorly almost immediately; by the time he's on the plane back to the U.S. he's deathly ill.  Within 48 hours of exposure, he's dead.  The sickness spreads rapidly, killing 1/3 of the world's population in a matter of weeks.  With widespread death and decimation comes fear, anarchy, and chaos.  Out of the ashes of the dying world something even more unsettling rises—magick, both good and evil.

As the immune flee New York City, running toward the hope of safety, strangers will band together for survival.  Despite rising conflicts between the Uncanny, the immune, and everyone else, those who desire good must work together to fight the powerful forces that want only destruction and domination.  The trick—as it turns out—is knowing one from the other.

I love me an immersive dystopian series, so I've been looking forward to Year One, the first book in a new one by Nora Roberts.  Hoping for a rich, engaging read, I found myself disappointed.  What plot there is in Year One isn't very original or surprising.  Its cast features too many characters with too little personality—it's difficult to keep track of who is who.  The book's overly long and by the end, I just did not care (although I did read to the end).  This means I won't be continuing the series, which is a bummer because initially I was very excited about it.  Ah well.  Such is the reading life sometimes.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken and a little of the Gone series [Gone; Hunger; Lies; Plague; Fear; and Light] by Michael Grant)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for strong language, violence, blood/gore, sexual content, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Year One from Barnes & Noble with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

Not gonna lie—I don't really trust Santa Claus to deliver the bookish goodies I want to see under my tree this year.  No offense to the Big Guy, but he's got a lot on his plate this time of year.  Rest easy, Kris Kringle, I got this.  

Before I show you my list, do me a favor and join in the fun!  You need a break from all the holiday stress you're probably feeling, so hop on over to The Broke and the Bookish.  Check out the Top Ten Tuesday rules, make your own list, then click around the book blogosphere to discover lots of new blogs to love, familiar ones to re-visit, and, of course, to find all kinds of great reading recommendations.  It's a good ole time, I promise!  Please note:  After January 16, TTT will be hosted on That Artsy Reader Girl blog.

Top Ten Books (and Bookish Things) I Hope Santa (Is) Bringsing Me:  

1.  Year One by Nora Roberts—Nothing says Christmas quite like a good dystopian, amirite?  Actually, I just got tired of waiting for this one at the library, so I used a Barnes & Noble coupon and got it at a discount in a real, brick-and-mortar store.  

2.  The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan—I love the pretty cover on this one.  The story, which is about a man who becomes an obsessive collector of found things after his fiancé dies following him losing a precious keepsake of hers, sounds interesting too.

3.  Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia—This YA was on all kinds of "best of" lists this year.  Again, I was too impatient to wait for it at the library, so I bought myself a copy.

4.  Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero—It's become a tradition for my 15-year-old daughter and me to visit Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe every December.  We trade in old books, then use our store credit plus my birthday discount to stock up on new reads for the next year.  I grabbed Meddling Kids because I've heard such good things about it.  While my girl and I were discussing it at the store, a young man standing near us piped up to say:  "My girlfriend just read that!  She loved it."  A ringing endorsement, if I ever heard one!

5.  Odd Child Out by Gilly Macmillan—I'm reading this British thriller right now.  It's about two teenage boys who sneak out of the house one night; one ends the night by fighting for his life in a Bristol hospital.  The other boy, a refugee from Somalia, is too traumatized to speak about the incident.  What really happened that night?  I finally forced myself to put down Odd Child Out at about 11 last night.  I can't wait to finish it today.

6.  Retribution Rails by Erin Bowman—I'm not going to bother sticking this one under the tree since I've already read it and all.  I enjoyed Vengeance Road and this is a worthy companion novel.  It's not really a sequel since it stars different characters, but it does look in on some old favorites.  If you're looking for a fun, action-packed YA series to enjoy, give this one a go. 

7.  The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman—This summery novel was in the bargain bin at Barnes & Noble.  I'd never heard of it before, but it gets great reviews on book sites.  It's about a young Russian woman who tricks her family into immigrating to the U.S.  When she becomes crippled, she's abandoned in New York City and must find a way to survive.  

8.  The Book Lover's Calendar 2018—I bought one of these on clearance last year and have enjoyed it immensely.  Naturally, I couldn't resist grabbing the 2018 version.

9.  No Time to Clean Tea Towel from Bas Bleu—Although I can't justify spending almost $13 on a dish towel, I think this one's adorable.  And SO spot-on!

10.  Reader's Paradise Puzzle from Bas Bleu—I like puzzles and this one looks fun.

How about you?  What books or bookish things are you hoping to find under your Christmas tree?  I'd love to know.  Leave me a comment and I'll gladly return the favor.

Happy TTT!