By J. S. Leonard

Reviewed by SA

If you loved Cabin in the Woods, or if you’re a fan of Battle Royale, then you need to stop everything and pick up Modern Rituals, the first novel of the ‘Wayward Three’ trilogy by J. S. Leonard. Thrilling, exciting, terrifying, Modern Rituals was impossible to put down, and I’m certain that this is the beginning of something great.

The Goodreads’ summary has this to say:

Manhattan, NY: The E-Train slams into James Bixby, a strapping young artist on the rise, after a life-saving rescue attempt goes awry. Belfast, Ireland: A bullet severs Olivia Young’s spinal cord while she defends a doctor colleague—the second bullet pierces her heart.
Then they awaken—unharmed.
“Selected” and thrust into a deadly ritual, James’ and Olivia’s lives—along with the lives of five others—will decide humanity’s fate: surrender to the old Gods’ rule or live on in blissful ignorance. Follow their frantic struggle as Magnus—a secret organization of enormous reach and scientific prowess—directs the ritual to its gruesome end.

The novel broke any expectation I had of it from the get-go, by simply being utterly unpredictable. As soon as it seemed to linger on a certain trope, it would switch up, change to something entirely new, leaving me clutching the book, thinking what on earth just happened? From the mysterious prologue, it then seemed to move into a superhero novel; but before anything could happen, we’re thrust into Battle Royale, followed swiftly by Cabin in the Woods, along with The Ring, maybe with a hint of Hunger Games (but just a hint), before finally it twists out of control, throwing in surprises you never could have anticipated, and suddenly defies all comparison.

I love that the author managed to give us insight into the “behind the scenes” of the situation, without this making the situation feel helpless. We learn hints about what Magnus – the corporation behind it all – has in store, slowly letting us see more and more of how far its control really goes; the influence they have is vast, and will most certainly be tackled in the next books of the trilogy… I just can’t wait.

The characters themselves are impressive, as they break away from the box they’ve been put in, even the role thrust upon them by the ones pulling the strings. James and Olivia quickly become more than just ‘the heroic man’ and the ‘innocent woman’ that they are expected to be. Both are smart, creative, resourceful in the face of danger, and can hold their own when horrifying things come their way. Then with the addition of Trevor to the ‘main cast’, so to speak,  you can be sure that things are going to get interesting.

With twists that will leave you begging for more, this novel is one you’re going to need to read sitting down, because you won’t be able to move for a few hours. Modern Rituals may be one of the most thrilling novels you’re going to read in a long time.

Meanwhile, I’m going to set a countdown for when the sequel comes out.

Happy new year, Readers! Here at Readcommendations, we’re excited to start 2015 with reading resolutions and challenges for ourselves… and for you, if you’re up for them!

Sarah’s Readsolutions

As with last year, and every year, I want to read a hundred books! Sometimes that’s more feasible than others, but it’s a good excuse to read and just keep reading. It also stops me from wasting my time on too much television… yet it’s terrible for someone with a knitting habit like mine. (Le sigh).

But I want to spice it up this year! I’ll be following Popsugar’s reading list, which I think will be a whole lot of fun. It’s incredibly complete, and I’m sure there will be books on there that I will put off for a long, long time… what a great excuse to grab something I wouldn’t usually read.

However, this inspired me to issue my own challenge, to all of you – Book Bingo, a challenge like the one issues by Popsugar, but it changes month to month, and it works just like a bingo card. I’ll be posting the rules on our readcommendations tumblr blog. Pick up your bingo card here, at Imgur. This one is just January’s, February’s will be different!

I will also be following a January book photography challenge. Please follow our Tumblr to learn more about this! We post mini reviews and photos multiple times per week, and it is there that we will issue the first book bingo challenge.

I just bought 15 new books using my christmas money – as soon as they get here (I’m in France, so it could be as late as next month) I’ll get cracking at reading and reviewing. I am so excited to get to reading them! I picked out a few autobiographies that I’ve been dying to read (Amy Poeler and Tina Fey, wut wut!) as well as a lot of YA, Sci Fi, and a few classics… I’ll post my haul on the tumblr when they get here.

Kenzie’s Readsolutions

I always swear to keep track of what books I’ve read each year, since I always vow to complete at least fifty-two. I was a lot better about this in 2013; I know I read a lot in 2014, but most of it never ended up being put into my tracker. For 2015, I still want to read at least a book each week, but I really want to pressure myself into using the tracker.

Along with that, I’ll also be attempting PopSugar’s reading list. Every time I post a review with a book that completes a task, I’ll be sure to point it out.

Finally, I really want to use my local library more. I currently have a stack of books that was due back last week — eek! — but it tends to be hard to find time when the library is open and I have access to the car. I’m going to make a better attempt to be on top of that and visit at least twice a month. No more outrageous bookstore purchases; I need that money to use on yarn. 😉

Thank you so much for following this blog as we take our first steps onto the internet. Please help use make 2015 the best book year ever! Happy New year!