The Trap by Andrew Fukuda

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 320pgs

The Story

The thrilling finale to Fukuda's vampire trilogy.

After barely escaping the Mission alive, Gene and Sissy face an impossible task: staying alive long enough to stop an entire world bent on their destruction. Bound on a train heading into the unknown with the surviving Mission girls, Gene, Sissy, David, and Epap must stick together and use everything they have to protect each other and their only hope: the cure that will turn the blood-thirsty creatures around them into humans again. Now that they know how to reverse the virus, Gene and Sissy have one final chance to save those they love and create a better life for themselves. But as they struggle to get there, Gene's mission sets him on a crash course with Ashley June, his first love . . . and his deadliest enemy.

The Review

A big thanks to the publisher Simon & Schuster Australia for providing me with a review copy of this book!

Bravo, Andrew Fukuda. Bravo. I applaud you for this book. Now while the first book in The Hunt series didn't appeal to me all so much, but once I read its sequel (pretty quickly too mind you), everything in this series changed for me and I just couldn't wait to read this final book because it's just . . . simply . . . awesome and I needed to know what was going to happen to our favourite characters. And boy the author sure didn't disappoint his readers and certainly not me.

THE TRAP, the third and final instalment in the trilogy, is everything you want in a final book and most importantly I found the author never held back from well . . . anything really. It almost felt like he wanted to make this book the most shocking and plot-twisted one out of all three books and he should definitely take some credit for that because this book went all out there for readers and Fukuda rarely written a boring moment in this book . . . it was just so fast-paced which made me even more invested with the storyline.

In terms of the characters, I have to say Gene and Sissy are my favourites out of everyone. While we do eventually get to see Ashley June again - Gene's first love interest from book one - but let's just say I never cared for that girl (hated her actually) but thankfully Sissy - another love interest who was introduced in book two - was what made this book and Gene himself stand out so much more. Sissy, despite her funny name, is my absolute favourite character in this entire book and I think if it wasn't for her character, Gene would have given up his quest long ago and he almost did in this book. She just continually challenges and pushes him forward again and again, and ultimately makes him live for something despite their dire circumstances made of nightmares (at least that's the vibe I always got from her character) which is what I've always loved about Sissy. She never gives up. She believes there's something else out there . . . which makes herself and Gene move on and push forward. Gene, of course, is a great character and I've slowly come around to liking him a lot, but yeah, Sissy was great in this book and made Gene an even more likeable character when they worked together. Just loved those two right until the end.

Overall, THE TRAP had a brilliant conclusion and I really couldn't have asked for more from this final book, so make sure you pick up this book when you have a chance to! It's definitely worth a read and it's full of so many great things!

The Rating

4 1/2 / 5 stars

The Prey by Andrew Fukuda

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 336pgs 

The Story

For Gene and the remaining humans—or hepers—death is just a heartbeat away. On the run and hunted by society, they must find a way to survive in The Vast... and avoid the hungry predators tracking them in the dark. But they’re not the only things following Gene. He’s haunted by the girl he left behind and his burgeoning feelings for Sissy, the human girl at his side.

When they discover a refuge of exiled humans living high in the mountains, Gene and his friends think they’re finally safe. Led by a group of intensely secretive elders, the civilisation begins to raise more questions than answers. A strict code of behaviour is the rule, harsh punishments are meted out, young men are nowhere to be found—and Gene begins to wonder if the world they’ve entered is just as evil as the one they left behind. As life at the refuge grows more perilous, he and Sissy only grow closer. In an increasingly violent world, all they have is each other... if they can only stay alive.

The Review

A big thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia for sending me a review copy of this book!

Last year, Andrew Fukuda's debut novel The Hunt was an enjoyable read for me and incredibly unique in its own genre, but it just wasn't something that had completely won me over. At least not in the way it did with some other readers who loved it. So when I received this book in the mail I was quite anxious in reading it because it was either going to be a 'make-or-break' book for me and I really wanted to love this sequel considering this series had such great potential. But surprisingly though, not only did I find this book to be so much better than the first of the series, but I also thought it was stronger, triumphant, and straight up addictive! Yup, I totally loved this book and about time too!

Both action-packed, engaging in storytelling, and completely driven by a great assemble of colourful characters (the good and the bad kind), THE PREY had everything going for it for a sequel! I think what happened, unlike in the first book The Hunt, what had changed my mind about this series (a complete turnaround for me mind you from my 3.5 star rating of the first book) was how connected I felt with all of the characters. How they were much more stronger and how much more I began to believe in them. Even how much more I loved them too. Even Gene. So not only do I feel great for loving this book but I'm also thankful too because I now can join the fans of this series! Yay!

Gene, the main character, is quite a force to be reckoned with, especially in this sequel. While I did love him in the first book as he possessed a great voice, but he really did shine in this second installment of the series. He was stronger, much more independent, raw and perhaps a little bit broken, but I think what changed within himself in this particular sequel and why I probably loved him more was how he became so open to people and how he placed his trust in them . . . even when trust seemed really hard to find in this bleak world of Gene's. Now from the previous book, he had this suppose 'love interest' named Ashley June, a character I couldn't stand in The Hunt. I saw her as a pretty pointless character but once she was 'sort of' out of the picture, for the most part at least, I'm really glad to have this other girl character, Sissy, to take Gene's mind somewhere else and away from that annoying Ashley June.

Sissy, without a doubt, was the best character in the entire book! I'm not kidding here. Sure her name is different but not only is she a lot like Gene - both independent and completely headstrong in most matters that they face together - but she truly had something special about her and I was right. She was special. Honestly I couldn't wait for Gene to forget all about Ashley June because he and Sissy have this perfect connection with one another . . . it's not true love or anything close to it, but there's enough there to say they make a great team and a great friendship too, so I loved that element throughout this entire book. I loved it very much!

Overall, even with a lot happening in the book, THE PREY was such an awesome read. It was really fast-paced and really entertaining which I'm grateful for because this sequel has placed a lot more of my faith into this series, so I can't wait to read the third and final installment which can't come any sooner!

The Rating

4 1/2 / 5 stars

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Release Date: 8th May, 2012

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Pages: 304pgs

The Story

Don't Sweat. Don't Laugh. Don't Draw Attention to Yourself.

And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can't run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn't hurt him and he doesn't have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It's the only way to stay alive in a world of night - a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he's chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene's carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He's thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible - and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever - but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

The Review

A big thanks to the publisher on netGalley for accepting my request in reading this book early!

In lines with the dystopian-crazed genre and satisfying those readers of Suzanne Collins's best-selling series The Hunger Games, the debut author Andrew Fukuda has offered up an odd but a mostly interesting new take on vampires and it's far from your typical vampires that you have come to know and love over the years. While there was plenty of things in this book that sparked my entertaining side, however I did have a few issues with THE HUNT along the way as I entered this very terrifying and vicious new world.

Before I get straight into the issues, one of the things I will give the author a lot of credit for was how he reinvented everything we know about vampires - from the bad, the ugly and even the razzle-dazzle ones if you know what I mean - and making it his own kind of vampire that we haven't necessarily seen before. I must admit, hearing this book was to be about vampires made me really hesitant in reading this book in the first place, but I'm still thankful that I decided against it and read it instead. The book not only offered uniqueness but the plot went in a completely different direction than I was expecting, giving me even more reason to enjoy the book since predictability can sometimes be a book's downfall. So I'm glad for that part.

Now onto the issues side, I don't have many issues with the book per se - at least not regarding the storyline - but the main issue I had was with the characters than anything else presented in the book. Gene, the main character, is the human tirelessly hiding amongst the vampire population and he's trying his best to adapt to this very blood-thristy environment that has now taken over his human world. Literally. Not only does he have to hide the fact that he sweats, grows facial hair and is simply not as fast as the others are . . . but the list is endless and for Gene everything about his humanity is dangerous no matter where he goes. While Gene was an intriguing character but I couldn't really believe in him lasting as long as he did in this world of Fukuda's and I was surprised the vampires hadn't discovered his secret sooner to be honest with you. Don't get me wrong here, Gene was a pretty smart guy and knew how to undermine his superiors . . . but I don't know . . . I just couldn't believe in it and if I don't believe in something . . . especially in the main character . . . I often find it hard to connect with them and everything else in the book.

On a side note another character I had trouble connecting with was a girl named Ashley June, a former classmate of Gene's and someone Gene has forever had a 'crush' on. Now I didn't mind Gene and his macho exterior, but Ashley June really got on my nerves. There are many shades to Ashley's character and you do end up growing fond of her at certain times as you learn about her backstory and all that, but as a love interest for Gene - if that's what you would call it - I just couldn't see the connection between them let alone feel one coming up on the horizon. So apart from the lack of connection with the two main characters . . . this book and the story presented was still very appealing to me but if a sequel is coming, I hope for more depth in these characters of Fukuda's and some tugging feelings to make me feel more for these characters so fingers crossed for that!

Overall, despite the flaws I found in the characters, my favourite part of the book would have to be its ending alone since Andrew Fukuda wrote a shocking cliffhanger which I'm sure means this is yet another part of a book series and I'm excited to see how things plan out. THE HUNT offers a great amount of mystery, adventure and lot's of I-didn't-see-this-coming sort of moments, so if you love something going beyond those lines with an interesting twist to vampires . . . then this young adult book is definitely something worth picking up!

The Rating

3 1/2 / 5 stars