5 Stars
This review can contain minor spoilers.
"Violet City" by Page Morgan is an action packed Sci-fi that kept me hooked from the very first page. There wasn't a dull moment in the whole book and, while I was reading it, I kept wondering what would I have done if I had been in all the crazy situations our main character found herself in. Penelope is on a school field trip when an alien spaceship hovers over New York city and starts shooting people with some kind of weird alien weapon. So, even if she has a hard time believing that what she sees is real, she knows she has to survive and make it home, to her mother and make sure she is safe. That's her main goal throughout the whole book, but somehow she gets involved into something bigger than her quest and we get to learn more about the invaders and the mysterious male alien she seems to be stuck with. Aside from the story itself, which I found fascinating and engaging, I found very realistic how humans behaved throughout the invasion: everyone looked out only for themselves and that's how I imagine things would be if a similar situation happened for real. The only thing I didn't undestand about this book, is what happens between Penelope and her classmate, Lee, while they are running for their life. He kind of gets physical with her and I guess I could blame Lee's behaviour on the fact that he was terrified. Still, I didn't find the situation plausible enough, but that's just me. Anyway, I loved this book and I can't wait to read what happens next, so I will be definitely waiting for a sequel.
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC.

This was a quick and fun read; I did have to push myself to commit to it however. It wasn't anything astounding for me, however I 1000% believe this could get very popular!!

Violet City

A lot of action and violence in the first quarter of the book. A lot of somewhat graphic death
Repetitive descriptions regarding the death--the same method is used and the descriptive words used lose their impact when used so many times
There is sometimes too much detail--the book is written in first person perspective. Why would it matter if three steps descend from the ship? Why focus on how many steps there are? Why not just say a set of steps descends?
The fact that the aliens are so close to humans, how their tech looks familiar and they are human like--this seems impossible. I’m really hoping there’s a good explanation for this further down the line--otherwise, I deem it unbelievable


Pen, or Pen, is on a fieldtrip with the city is attacked by an alien ship. Overtaken by the horror of seeing her best friend die when they are attacked, she flees into a nearby building, where she witnesses one of the invading aliens, the Volkranians, kill one of his own kind. Somehow, she comes into possession of an important piece of technology, one that will basically terraform the earth for the Volkranians. This bit of technology saves her life because it is a bargaining chip, one she is not afraid to use to get back home, to her mother.

She names the Volkranian she witnessed killing one of his own kind Rowan, modeling his name after the patch that he wears, which is his name written in Volkranian characters. Rowan protects Pen as an uprising occurs, Volkranians rebelling against their leader in a bid to take over.

The pacing in the beginning is very fast. Everything is normal and then the aliens attack. There is a lot of death packed into those first few pages, and a lot of descriptions of that death: the sights, the smells. It’s a bit dark for what is termed a YA novel, and one that reads more middle grade, at that. It’s not an immersive read, but it is a quick one, with some fun action sequences thrown in, as well as a couple twists.

The aliens attack New York City. Seriously. New York. Again. I wish a different city had been chosen instead of the one that every single alien attack movie ever focuses on. Maybe somewhere other than the iconic Times Square billboard can be the only thing left standing, for once. Maybe it’s the Dairy Queen down the road instead, shining like a beacon, ready to serve Blizzards to all the survivors. It feels trite to have this gigantic, highly recognizable city, be the setting for yet another alien invasion.

I really don’t like how the Volkranians look just like humans. Some of them might have different skin colors, like blue, but there was never an explanation as to why they just look like humans. There’s not an image inducer, they aren’t humans who left the planet long ago and evolved separately, they’re not from the future (as far as I could tell). It felt like they’re only human-like so that Pen can be paired with Rowan because they are ‘compatible’. The constant references to Rowan being so human like, and then no explanation for that fact, felt like a huge letdown. And their technology was also human like. Sure, it was advanced. But it wasn’t confusing to the eye. Pen describes the controls of one of their ships as being disappointingly like an airplane cockpit. I wish it had all been more exciting and different. They were hardly alien at all, to be honest.

Then there’s the throwaway character: Ollie. Pen’s brother who died not long ago. He is mentioned as being dead, and as a soothing thought when Pen thought she would die, but doesn’t serve much purpose otherwise. Pen also described receiving many injuries, ones that should have incapacitated her more than they did. She does not have super healing. She’s just a normal person, a teenager, and she shouldn’t have been able to keep going without showing more effects. Her personality is pretty strong. She can speak for herself and, despite facing certain death, isn’t afraid to speak her mind. She is determined

Other than these bits of plot I did not enjoy, the story itself was fun enough. Fast paced and a lot of motion. Not super intriguing, but engaging enough that I enjoyed reading it. It’s very much sci-fi light. Not a lot of scientific or complicated explanations for what the aliens are, or what kind of tech they use. Not a whole lot of of exposition as to why they are there. I would recommend it for someone who is looking for an introductory sci-fi novel, so long as they don’t mind a little bit of graphic violence.

Thank you to NetGally for providing me an ARC of Violet City in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to like this one, but I do not think I am the target audience for this one. I didn't find the premise of the book to fit the overall narrative, which isn't necessarily a fault on the author but rather just a marketing issue. It happens, but I think there is an audience out there for this one.

Thank you for the e-galley!

I really enjoyed this book. It’s fast paced and action packed. I enjoyed it all but would have loved it more if the author would’ve delved more into the world building. I really liked Rowan’s character development. I cannot wait to see what the author has in store for these characters and in this world.

Thank you netgalley, the publisher, and author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

While some sci-fi reads take time to develop, this one is pretty much action filled from the very beginning. The main characters are likable, and it's easy to root for them. I did find some things in this novel a little too convenient, like how the alien invaders are too similar to humans. I'm guessing that is to set up the romance, but I would've liked to see more physical differences between the two. It's a good book to recommend to those who are just looking to get into the genre, as this is an easy, entertaining read.

This is a really fast read. Almost too quick, in a way. It pretty much hits the ground running with how quickly the plot progresses. I almost wish the author took their time developing the setting and background story a little more. The romance is sweet and slow burn, and I look forward to knowing more in the next installment. While some YA sci-fi tend to get clunky, this is quick, easy read I'll be happy to recommend to those who want to dabble in sci-fi but not go off into the deep end. 3.5 stars

An enjoyable read, I found it a light, fast paced read. There’s something quite naive about this authors writing style , but I found the style a bit lacking, the world building is also lacking too and definitely needed more work, the characters are nice but I felt needed more development and connection. It was entertaining, but I just felt it needed some more work and development before I could say it was a great read, but it’s a good start.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This book made me realise how much YA-books have changed over the last few years, because this read like a throw-back to the early golden days of the genre, when Twilight and The Hunger Games were new and in fashion - it was almost like a trip down memory lane.

It's quite a short book and moves at non-stop breakneck speed, and I blew through it in two days, unable to stop reading. It just keeps pulling you along to find out what comes next.
There's a fun aliens-are-taking-over-the-earth plot, a budding romance between the attractive alien and our heroine, the appropriate dash of angst and longing and everything is wrapped up in a neat, satisfying ending.
You could certainly read this as a stand-alone, but obviously it's the first in a series, and even though you're pretty sure what's going to happen in the next book (I'm being intentionally very vague here to avoid any kind of spoiler), you're still left wanting to find out how!

Now I'm an adult and haven't been this book's target audience for rather more than 20 years, and the adult reader in me would point out some things that didn't quite work for me, but the book is not aimed at people like me, and it seems unfair to project reading expectations onto a book that does not set out to fulfill them in the first place. So I left those out in my review on purpose. 15- or even 20-year old me would have loved this book and probably re-read it right after finishing it, and what more could you possibly ask for? And yes, I might have tried drawing Rowan. A lot.

So if you like well-written YA romances with a sci-fi/alien angle, you really cannot go wrong with this.

I want to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here, however, are my own.