Ann Aguirre

Welcome to the coziest house on the block―where misfits become family, magic lingers in the walls, and healing comes in the most unexpected forms. Iris Collins doesn't believe in plans. As a self-declared chaos bunny with a track record of unfinished dreams, she's never been the reliable one in the family. But when she inherits a quaint purple Victorian in the quirky town of St. Claire, she seizes the chance to start over―on her terms. Her grand idea? Turn the rambling house into a haven show more for anyone who's ever felt like they didn't quite belong. A cranky vampire with a secret past. A werewolf with anxiety. A ghost with unresolved issues. And maybe even a mysterious man from Iris's past who seems too good to be true.
We could all sometimes use a house like this! I loved the found family of “misfits” and could genuinely care about them. The story starts with Iris Collins as she’s dealing with a bit of bad luck, then she finds out that she's inherited her aunt’s purple house. When she arrives there, she realizes it’s in fairly decent shape, so she decides to rent rooms in the house in order to make some quick money. She quickly finds two roommates... Eli and Henry Dale.

We learn that Eli has an interesting connection to Iris while Henry Dale is just looking to find a safe place to sleep. Eventually, Iris begins to gather more housemates which includes Sally, an elderly lady who is recently divorced. Then comes Mira who has been recently "dumped"...then Rowan, a non-binary teen who's had a horrible family life arrives. We watch as this ragtag band of misfits blend together and form a real family where they’re ALL accepted and loved for who they are, and it doesn't matter how they identify or who they love. They are just welcomed and accepted without question. Yeah...sounds like a fairytale that absolutely should be everyone's reality.

If you are looking for a steamy romance, you're going to be disappointed...this isn't it. Well, there is a bit of a slow burn romance developing between Iris and Eli that is sweet. I couldn't help but think that when there seems to be so much hate going on in our world today, this little gem is a pleasant escape from reality. show less

One thing is definitely for sure, I wholeheartedly agree with Publishers Weekly when they said Enclave was "...for fans of The Hunger Games." Nope, I'm never going to take it back. Enclave was beyond thrilling and way beyond intense--I loved every chilling second of it.

A strong female character is something that appeals to me. A physically, mentally, and emotionally strong female character makes the best. character. ever. That's what Deuce, or Girl15 at the beginning, is. Deuce can kick a show more Freak's ugly behind with her deadly weapons, as well as with countless wounds on her body. What gives Deuce such a rich personality is that she's curious, timid, and hesitant (yet she still perseveres to reach the country), when it comes to the unfamiliar Topside, the long abandoned world above her enclave, College. Deuce reminds me of two of my favorite female protagonists ever: Katniss from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Katsa from Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

To balance the gritty, dark and vigorous feel, Ann Aguirre put in just the right amount of romance. It was enough to have me jump up and down in my seat. Fade, deadly with weapons and his hands, but tender and gentle when it came to Deuce. His character is interesting altogether and I couldn't stop myself falling for him in the first few pages he was first introduced. Stalker and Tegan, had contrasting personalities and they both aided in the development of the story as well as the characters, especially Deuce.

What I love the most about Ann Aguirre's writing is that she was able to describe the simplest emotions and items that we take for granted in our everyday life, and make it seem so foreign, because to Deuce--it is. I've tried doing so, and it's the hardest thing ever. Ann Aguirre pulled it off smoothly and seamlessly in her YA debut. It reminded me of a poem I read in English class, "A Martian Sends a Postcard Home" by Craig Raine.

Enclave has earned a notable spot on my favorite dystopian novels, alongside The Hunger Games and a few others. I'd recommend it a thousand times. I can't possibly hide my excitement for Outpost, the next book in the Razorland series, can I? Because I can't! show less

Excellent sequel to Enclave. I usually hate the second book in most book series, because the writer's execution tends to be sloppier, as if they thought, "I made it this far..?" and scrambled to make a sequel. Not this book. I felt for the characters.

Deuce is pretty cool, I guess. She's intelligent, competent (for the most part), and knows when to say things, and when not to. Deuce can fight, and not any of that one-two weak stabs and it's magically over; no, she REALLY fights. And she deals show more with such horrors with grace and strength that make me admire her character. She doesn't play around, and she knows when she's made a mistake, and accepts the mistake, graciously working on her faults as she does so.

I like the plot. I know many people complain that there is no "plot", but surviving in a post-apocolyptic world sort of IS the plot. Granted, I do wish to know what happened to everybody besides the plague. Where did the Freaks come from? How are they getting smarter? And when in the last battle before Deuce could make it to Salvation's walls, when she fought that Freak, and it said "Eat me," why was there no more than a fleeting thought about that? I know the book isn't perfect, however. I shall patiently wait to find out what happens next, though.

I like Fade. I like his strength, as well as his softness. His over-protectiveness was a bit much, but I like how much he truly cared for Deuce as his partner. I like the tender scene when he lays his head in her lap, and she strokes his hair and face. His response was, "You've always wanted to pet me?" D'awwww. I also felt soooo bad for him after they rescued him from the forest. I totally understand his flinching and withdrawal after that. Poor guy. And when he asked, "Are you still my partner?" to Deuce, my heart squeezed. *explodes*

Tegan was cool. I liked her character development and growth, and I felt for her as she tried to overcome her past. She grew A LOT, and I felt as if she were MY friend by the end of the book.

Stalker, perhaps, is my favorite character in the book. I like Fade too, but Stalker is extremely interesting to me. He was terrible in the first book, and I hated him as a result. But then I started to... like him? In this book, Stalker grows a lot. I like how he learned that what he did was wrong to Tegan, and he apologized to her. I found myself looking forward to Deuce talking to Stalker more than Fade, simply because he was more interesting. He helped Deuce save Fade, though he didn't like him, when he could've been a little bitch, and refused to go, then try to win Deuce's love with Fade out of the picture, but no, he was mature. He put someone else before himself. Character development, people.

Anyway, that's all. This book was good. Different from the first, but still good. I can't wait for the next book! show less

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up. The point of these posts is to be pithy, not thorough (as I typically strive for).
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I’ve read some pretty good UF by Aguirre, and some good SF by her, too (and would’ve finished the series if I hadn’t had trouble finding a book or two at the library). But they were pretty serious—so seeing a Rom-Com with her name on it intrigued me. A Rom-Com with this premise even more so. An alien show more stranded on Earth meets some friends in an online chat room, develops a crush for one of them, and then they arrange to meet at a con. She's a bit of a geek, who has a pretty sizable crush on him. Things spark at the con, just as you expect and...

I really liked our female main character and their friends. The alien intrigued me—and I did like him, but I think the narrator kept me from liking him as much as I should’ve—which is odd, because I think he nailed the character.

The story ends up not being as predictable as you’d expect, but it’s sweet. The found-family part of it is terrific. The romance will win you over. There are two occasions that it gets too steamy for me—but I really am a prude about that kind of thing (especially in an audiobook where I can’t just skim a few paragraphs to get past it), and it’s really not that bad (I don’t think). show less