Rhoda Belleza

This review is spoiler-free.

Let me say that I loved this book! First of all, I usually dislike anything to do with sci-fi (except for Star Trek: TOS), but this novel caught my attention on the shelves and I had to take it home! Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. I now call it my go-to sci-fi series.

The main characters, Princess Rhiannon and Alyosha, are quite lovable and deeply flawed, which helps greatly in making you want to see what they can do next. There is a lot of action and show more twists and turns. No kidding: I was panting while reading the last 50 pages! It was so engrossing. Also, I loved the cube technology (it allows living beings to re-live their memories, sensations, and feelings!) and the different alien races. Although there are aliens, the focus is not on their differences, which I particularly liked. It reminded me of Star Trek with how they all know the other races and live with them like it's no big deal. Of course, there is tension because of different point of views, but overall it was a nice change. A funny fact: the story is happening in another galaxy than ours! I think it's a good idea, having them live out their lives out in the open (instead of aliens hiding in our galaxy), all civilized and advanced in technology.

The only negative point I could find was how the author, Rhoda Belleza, uses euphemisms and wording that sometimes reminds me of middle grade fiction. I think her job as a children's book editor showed in this novel... However, it's not always like that and it's worth reading for all the fun and adventure it can give you!

Because of all the action that left me panting and how lovable the characters are and the writing that is sometimes a bit too young for the intended readership, I give this awesome novel a rating of 4 stars out of 5. And that's coming from a woman who dislikes sci-fi in general, remember? So that's saying a lot, in my opinion.

P.S.: I just can't wait for the sequel! I want it now. show less

Cornered reminds readers that being bullied can happen to young people for various reasons, regardless of sexual orientation. While the young girl in Trevor screenwriter James Lecesne’s “Still Not Dead” is lesbian, most of the teens in these stories are not gay, although sometimes, as in Elizabeth Miles’ “Defense Mechanism,” they face accusations of being gay or lesbian. The stories more often deal with class-based taunting; the victims “don’t fit in” because they don’t show more have the right clothes or hair or live in wrong neighborhood. The anthology also lets us know that the bullied can be filled with a desire for revenge (Kristen Miller’s “Nemesis”), or how sometimes the bully is being forced into violence by peers (Jaime Adoff’s excellent “The Truest Story There Is”). Most of the stories are first person narratives from the point of view of the bullied; in “Like Kicking A Fence,” however, Kate Ellison effectively and disturbingly takes us inside the mind of an aggressor, exposing the inner torments and uncertainties that lead a child to an horrible act of violence.
In all the stories families are for the most part distant, missing, broken or clueless as to what is happening to their children. Even the kids with apparently “good parents” in Cornered invariably feel isolated and alone. Adults often seem complicit to the taunting and harassment going on in the lives of these young people, and school administrators are no help at all. “How Auto-Tune Saved My Life” by Brendan Halpin exposes a teacher who bullies his students. Not all of the stories fit the anthology’s theme of bullying or defiance. In those stories where kids do fight back, they often use such 21st century tools as social networking or cell phone cameras to get back at their tormentors. A few, like “We Should Get Jerseys ‘Cause We Make a Good Team” by Lish McBride, also feature elements from the genres of Speculative Fiction or Fantasy. Overall, Cornered: 15 Stories of Bullying and Defiance gives readers an intensely personal and unsettling look at the problem, and will hopefully move them to do more than just say, “It Gets Better,” and join in the battle against it. show less

This was a wild ride, to say the least. Belleza has crafted a stunning debut that just doesn't quit. I'm not typically one for space operas, but when books this good are being written, it's hard to say no.

Rhiannon is nearly sixteen and, following the tragic death of her parents and older sister ten years prior, preparing to claim the royal title she's never wanted. With vengeance in her heart, Rhee's goal has never been to rule but to find answers regarding the murder of her family and show more destroy those responsible. But a shocking attempt on Rhee's life just before her coronation sends her world into a deep spiral. Forced into hiding, Rhee struggles to determine who is trustworthy as she begins to uncover the heinous conspiracy at work in her universe.

"Survival, it turned out, wasn't the same as living."

Ever since Alyosha joined the UniForce and gained fame on a popular show, his life has been comfortably predictable. Which, for a refugee from a war torn nation with a childhood thick with loss, is nothing to scoff at. But, unfortunately, his prominent status and prejudices against his identity make him an easy mark for a dirty government in need of a scapegoat. Aly finds himself blamed for the assassination of the beloved Princess Rhiannon and on the run to the far reaches of the galaxy. His quest to clear his name will bring him close to an unexpected ally and into the dark depths of the conspiracy threatening to plunge the planets into war and mayhem.

I'm downright obsessed with Belleza's memory cube-using world and her well done interweaving of relevant social commentary. Aly's characterization in regards to this is particularly spot-on, as he struggles with his assumed responsibility for representing an entire planet's population and questions why comparisons are always being made between his dark skin tone and food, to name a few significant examples. Why is this book not longer? My only real complaint, which actually has nothing to do with the book itself, is the altogether befuddling nature of the plot synopsis. The description listed on the book jacket is very misleading and resulted in my expectations about the character interactions in Empress of a Thousand Skies being VERY off. Why would a publisher do this?! show less

Ahahaha, this book.

Dear lord this book.

The cover was pretty, there was some hype, the idea was beautiful.

Let's address problem no.1: "For fans of Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles."

Fans of TLC: This book is not for you. Oh yes, I know it specifically says "For fans of Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles" but the thing with TLC is that it is beautiful. Inspiring. Amazing. *sighs and fangirls* Guys this was like a piece of terrible TLC fanfiction. No it was much worse than that. I can't even begin show more to explain how bad it was. Who in the name of publishing allowed this lie to be printed all over the book?

Problem no.2: The characters.

Oh the characters. I had no emotional connection to them whatsoever. It was like someone took names and moved them around. The characters were so shallow, so unemotional, so uninspiring. And what really sucked, is there was SO MUCH the author could have done with them! I can't even remember the names (that's how bad this was) but the weird guy from that natural planet thing? He could have been so cool. You could have really made him this mysterious, really cool kind of character. But what does the author do?

Hmm... what does the author do?

It brings us to...

Problem no.3: Disappearing Characters

That nature dude I was talking about (god I feel bad about not remembering his name)? I don't even know where he went. Like did he die? Was he killed? I know at one point some guard dude caught him but after that, we literally don't see him for the rest of the book. He's not even mentioned again, save for a few times Rhee thinks about what she didn't trust him (she totally has this weird love thing going on, I swear. It drove me insane!)

The Vincent dude who like totally died randomly? He was probably the only character that I liked and would have wanted to see more of. But then he just disappeared. When they introduced Lydia?

She probably had like 10 pages of where she tried to explain the past 30 years of her life and answer all of these "questions" we had throughout the book and then just decided to die Wow. *slow clap*

Problem no.4: The "plot twists"

Ooh see those quotation marks?

"Plot twists"

Le moi during "plot twist"


Overall, I could go on and on and on about how much I disliked this book, but I'm telling myself not to be rude. *fails*

I didn't even get started on world building...

I don't even want to go there.

This book had so much potential. SO MUCH! And it was just wasted. Absolutely wasted. show less