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sam_hartwig's review against another edition
4.0
"Saba: People with this name have a deep inner desire for love and companionship, and want to work with others to achieve peace and harmony." ~ I found this on the internet and thought it suited Saba fairly accurately.
This book took me on a truly epic adventure which I didn't expect at all. It sure was a long bloody road but boy was it awesome! If you're someone who likes fantasy books but doesn't like all the boring riding through the woods scenes but loves a good battle scene then this is the book for you. It's filled to the brim with fast paced action, characters you want to fight for and a dystopian backdrop to rival all others.
I had no idea really what to expect from this, all I knew was that it was something very special because I've read many reviews from people beaming about this book. So of course it landed on my to read list and now that I've read it I can join all those other beaming reviewers.
What I loved about this was the main character Saba - she is stubborn, fierce and very loyal to her brother. These qualities make her the perfect person to learn to love and loathe at the same time. While Saba is loyal and has lots of respect for her slightly older twin brother Lugh, she is a truly horrible person to her little sister Emmi. At times I found myself disgusted at how she would treat Emmi, but during their forced time together Saba slowly starts to redeem herself and realise the hatred she has for her sister is really from another cause. I must admit though that Saba got a lot of help from Jack in learning how to see people in a different light.
Now Jack is another story. Enter the love interest, the one and only love interest. No love triangles in this book (unless you count the love Saba has for her brother but that's plain weird and doesn't count). Jack is brave, caring and a leader, oh and how can I forget those moonlight coloured eyes. It takes a while for us to meet Jack and a long while for Saba to get to grips with her true feelings for him. The romance is sweet and steamy at the same time, at some moments I was like "awww" and other moments I was like "phew down boy!" haha.
Something that really bugged me though was the language and grammar used through out the book. It took me a while to get used to it and after that I found it to be one of the things I loved about the story. BUT at one stage Saba was telling everyone that she was sorry for her behaviour and how she was acting, one of the words she used to describe herself was: cantankersome.... now I had no idea whether this word even existed and here Saba is - obviously never read a book in her life as she doesn't know what words were and described them as scribbles on a page - using a word like cantankersome to explain her actions! Feels a bit off to me.
I don't mind a cliffhanger at the end of a book because it leaves you wanting more but I really liked how this book ended. I was left feeling satisfied, this chapter has ended but I knew that there is going to be more adventures to come. I'm still very much looking forward to getting the next book in the series. Hopefully I can get it on Audiobook too.
Also on my blog
This book took me on a truly epic adventure which I didn't expect at all. It sure was a long bloody road but boy was it awesome! If you're someone who likes fantasy books but doesn't like all the boring riding through the woods scenes but loves a good battle scene then this is the book for you. It's filled to the brim with fast paced action, characters you want to fight for and a dystopian backdrop to rival all others.
I had no idea really what to expect from this, all I knew was that it was something very special because I've read many reviews from people beaming about this book. So of course it landed on my to read list and now that I've read it I can join all those other beaming reviewers.
What I loved about this was the main character Saba - she is stubborn, fierce and very loyal to her brother. These qualities make her the perfect person to learn to love and loathe at the same time. While Saba is loyal and has lots of respect for her slightly older twin brother Lugh, she is a truly horrible person to her little sister Emmi. At times I found myself disgusted at how she would treat Emmi, but during their forced time together Saba slowly starts to redeem herself and realise the hatred she has for her sister is really from another cause. I must admit though that Saba got a lot of help from Jack in learning how to see people in a different light.
Now Jack is another story. Enter the love interest, the one and only love interest. No love triangles in this book (unless you count the love Saba has for her brother but that's plain weird and doesn't count). Jack is brave, caring and a leader, oh and how can I forget those moonlight coloured eyes. It takes a while for us to meet Jack and a long while for Saba to get to grips with her true feelings for him. The romance is sweet and steamy at the same time, at some moments I was like "awww" and other moments I was like "phew down boy!" haha.
Something that really bugged me though was the language and grammar used through out the book. It took me a while to get used to it and after that I found it to be one of the things I loved about the story. BUT at one stage Saba was telling everyone that she was sorry for her behaviour and how she was acting, one of the words she used to describe herself was: cantankersome.... now I had no idea whether this word even existed and here Saba is - obviously never read a book in her life as she doesn't know what words were and described them as scribbles on a page - using a word like cantankersome to explain her actions! Feels a bit off to me.
I don't mind a cliffhanger at the end of a book because it leaves you wanting more but I really liked how this book ended. I was left feeling satisfied, this chapter has ended but I knew that there is going to be more adventures to come. I'm still very much looking forward to getting the next book in the series. Hopefully I can get it on Audiobook too.
Also on my blog
maddie_orart's review against another edition
4.0
Full review posted on Of Reading and Random Things
When I first read Blood Red Road in 2011, I thought it was one of the best books ever and I would’ve given it 10 stars if I could. So being the person I am, I decided to reread it and see if I was an idiot for loving it so much. It turns out I am not, in fact, an idiot. I mean, I have more opinions now, but I still really like Blood Red Road and I can’t wait to read the sequels.
The first thing that I noticed the moment I started reading was the dialect. With words being misspelled on purpose like ‘yer’ (your) and stummick (stomach), the absent letter ‘g’ and the lack of inverted commas that indicate speech, it’s so different from other books that I’ve read. In the beginning, I’d read a few lines before seeing ‘he/she says’ and realize that ‘Oh! That was meant to be a dialogue!’. It was jarring and took some getting used to but it didn’t take me long, and I ended up really appreciating the unique writing style.
Overall, nothing really bothered me so much that it made me enjoy the book less, I still love this book. I think Blood Red Road is a great read and it set itself apart from other dystopian novels published at the time. It’s entertaining and action-packed, with great characters that come together to create a great story.
When I first read Blood Red Road in 2011, I thought it was one of the best books ever and I would’ve given it 10 stars if I could. So being the person I am, I decided to reread it and see if I was an idiot for loving it so much. It turns out I am not, in fact, an idiot. I mean, I have more opinions now, but I still really like Blood Red Road and I can’t wait to read the sequels.
The first thing that I noticed the moment I started reading was the dialect. With words being misspelled on purpose like ‘yer’ (your) and stummick (stomach), the absent letter ‘g’ and the lack of inverted commas that indicate speech, it’s so different from other books that I’ve read. In the beginning, I’d read a few lines before seeing ‘he/she says’ and realize that ‘Oh! That was meant to be a dialogue!’. It was jarring and took some getting used to but it didn’t take me long, and I ended up really appreciating the unique writing style.
Overall, nothing really bothered me so much that it made me enjoy the book less, I still love this book. I think Blood Red Road is a great read and it set itself apart from other dystopian novels published at the time. It’s entertaining and action-packed, with great characters that come together to create a great story.
stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition
4.0
Blood red road - restoring one's faith in the dystopian genre since 2011!
This had lingered onto my TBR list for some time. I finally decided to read it, and was pleasantly surprised.
Blood red road is a no-nonsense kind of book - something I love to see in a dystopian novel. When I read something from the genre I often think, "Cut to the action already!"
I like my dystopian novels to be similar to a good action movie; fast-paced, action-packed and exciting, but with more substance and character development.
With that said, Moira Young's debut novel ticks all those boxes.
It is a great adventure with a terrific plot.
It has originality and is very light on the world-building, and it works so well! As I've mentioned before, info-dumps are a big pet peeve for me, so I'd rather have a small amount of decent information than 50 pages of poor explanations.
As a perfectionist, I was afraid the writing style would be a problem, and in the beginning I did find myself correcting the misspellings and grammatical errors (hypocritical since English isn't my first language and I am well aware of my own frequent mistakes).
But after 70 pages I was used to it and thought it even made the book better.
The writing didn't feel 'dumbed down', it made sense and felt appropriate.
It made it into a very fast read and I flew through the book.
I got completely caught up in the plot by the 100-page mark. The events and challenges the main character faced were so interesting and made room for plenty of character development.
The storyline/sidetrack that took place in the middle stood out the most; it was violent, unexpected and could've been an entire story on its own.
Saba is a main character with one of the strongest backbones I've ever seen. She is more of a Katniss Everdeen-like heroine, in that her flaws are very obvious and sometimes end up clouding her personality, but her priorities are set straight and she does care deeply for her family.
Saba's tough, with the mindset of one used to fight for survival every day.
She is also irritable and impulsive.
The mistakes made by her are plenty, but she redeems herself by being a smart and strong character.
There are two very different sibling relationships displayed here.
One is between Saba and her twin brother Lugh, who she is trying to find after he's been captured by mysterious men.
We don't see much of them together, but we know that Saba loves him like no other, and will do anything to save him.
The other is the one concerning Saba and her younger sibling Emmy.
Their relationship was more distant and the interactions between them restrained. The little conversation they had was always in the form of harsh words from Saba's side.
They often argued, as siblings will, but I think that they deep down cared for each other, even if they rarely ever got along.
Saba was upset for being left with a weak nine-year-old whose birth had costed her mother's life.
One of the other reasons was because Emmy wasn't Lugh. Saba would have rather had her be taken than him.
As the book goes on, their relationship strenghtens. I really enjoyed reading about the two, and hope that Emmy will have just as large of a role in the sequel.
The romance was very enjoyable and wasn't a big part of the story, which was appreciated.
Jack completely charmed me and I liked how their relationship wasn't rushed or overdramatic.
They were both such independent characters and I was surprised by how good they were for each other.
The two cons I can think of are these:
I had a hard time picturing the landscape and it took a while for the story to pick up.
Final verdict:
Blood red road is one of the best dystopians I've read.
Good characters, an exciting plot that will keep you hooked, with a straight-to-the-point writing style it top it all off.
I highly recommend it!
This had lingered onto my TBR list for some time. I finally decided to read it, and was pleasantly surprised.
Blood red road is a no-nonsense kind of book - something I love to see in a dystopian novel. When I read something from the genre I often think, "Cut to the action already!"
I like my dystopian novels to be similar to a good action movie; fast-paced, action-packed and exciting, but with more substance and character development.
With that said, Moira Young's debut novel ticks all those boxes.
It is a great adventure with a terrific plot.
It has originality and is very light on the world-building, and it works so well! As I've mentioned before, info-dumps are a big pet peeve for me, so I'd rather have a small amount of decent information than 50 pages of poor explanations.
As a perfectionist, I was afraid the writing style would be a problem, and in the beginning I did find myself correcting the misspellings and grammatical errors (hypocritical since English isn't my first language and I am well aware of my own frequent mistakes).
But after 70 pages I was used to it and thought it even made the book better.
The writing didn't feel 'dumbed down', it made sense and felt appropriate.
It made it into a very fast read and I flew through the book.
I got completely caught up in the plot by the 100-page mark. The events and challenges the main character faced were so interesting and made room for plenty of character development.
The storyline/sidetrack that took place in the middle stood out the most; it was violent, unexpected and could've been an entire story on its own.
Saba is a main character with one of the strongest backbones I've ever seen. She is more of a Katniss Everdeen-like heroine, in that her flaws are very obvious and sometimes end up clouding her personality, but her priorities are set straight and she does care deeply for her family.
Saba's tough, with the mindset of one used to fight for survival every day.
She is also irritable and impulsive.
The mistakes made by her are plenty, but she redeems herself by being a smart and strong character.
There are two very different sibling relationships displayed here.
One is between Saba and her twin brother Lugh, who she is trying to find after he's been captured by mysterious men.
We don't see much of them together, but we know that Saba loves him like no other, and will do anything to save him.
The other is the one concerning Saba and her younger sibling Emmy.
Their relationship was more distant and the interactions between them restrained. The little conversation they had was always in the form of harsh words from Saba's side.
They often argued, as siblings will, but I think that they deep down cared for each other, even if they rarely ever got along.
Saba was upset for being left with a weak nine-year-old whose birth had costed her mother's life.
One of the other reasons was because Emmy wasn't Lugh. Saba would have rather had her be taken than him.
As the book goes on, their relationship strenghtens. I really enjoyed reading about the two, and hope that Emmy will have just as large of a role in the sequel.
The romance was very enjoyable and wasn't a big part of the story, which was appreciated.
Jack completely charmed me and I liked how their relationship wasn't rushed or overdramatic.
They were both such independent characters and I was surprised by how good they were for each other.
The two cons I can think of are these:
I had a hard time picturing the landscape and it took a while for the story to pick up.
Final verdict:
Blood red road is one of the best dystopians I've read.
Good characters, an exciting plot that will keep you hooked, with a straight-to-the-point writing style it top it all off.
I highly recommend it!
thepeachybookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Let me start off by saying that I picked up this book a few months ago and had to put it down. Not sure why but I couldn't even get past the first chapter. Luckily, my friends pushed me to try it again and I'm so glad I did!!
In my opinion the book starts off rather slow. A little bit of action mixed with a lot of waiting, waiting, waiting, and reading. I struggled a bit with the dialect/writing in the book. I understand that it's important and it gives you the true feel of who Saba is and how these people are - but it was difficult to read at times. I felt perhaps the author tried to include too much of it in the book and I had to re-read several parts in order to understand what she was trying to convey.
But as I mentioned, it does make you understand the civilization and how primitive they are. The writing style reminded me of Lois Lowry's Gathering Blue - another book I really enjoyed even with the strange dialect.
I'd definitely say this is semi-dystopian although the author never discusses how the world came to be. She does reference the Wrecker world with skyscrapers, buildings, town, cities, etc... but during the book those cities are all gone and the lifestyle is very very primitive.
It took a while but I really did grow to love Saba. Hard headed, stubborn, determined, raw, but strong and kind all at the same time. A great lead.
It didn't take long for me to fall in love with Jack! I can't wait until the next book to learn more about him. Oh Jack :) Gorgeous, hero, romantic, kind but strong - everything you want in a leading man.
I really grew to love Emmi. She grows so much throughout the book. A strong little girl with a lot of fight in her and always surprising us with her ability to succeed even in the toughest circumstances.
**WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW**
The book started off a bit slow for me but once Saba and Emmi reached Hopetown the action really picked up and after that I couldn't put the book down. I loved that there were so many strong female leads - Ash, Epona, Maev... definitely more female warriors than male ones in this book and that is always nice.
I definitely enjoyed this book and I'm glad I gave it a 2nd chance. Highly recommended.(less)
In my opinion the book starts off rather slow. A little bit of action mixed with a lot of waiting, waiting, waiting, and reading. I struggled a bit with the dialect/writing in the book. I understand that it's important and it gives you the true feel of who Saba is and how these people are - but it was difficult to read at times. I felt perhaps the author tried to include too much of it in the book and I had to re-read several parts in order to understand what she was trying to convey.
But as I mentioned, it does make you understand the civilization and how primitive they are. The writing style reminded me of Lois Lowry's Gathering Blue - another book I really enjoyed even with the strange dialect.
I'd definitely say this is semi-dystopian although the author never discusses how the world came to be. She does reference the Wrecker world with skyscrapers, buildings, town, cities, etc... but during the book those cities are all gone and the lifestyle is very very primitive.
It took a while but I really did grow to love Saba. Hard headed, stubborn, determined, raw, but strong and kind all at the same time. A great lead.
It didn't take long for me to fall in love with Jack! I can't wait until the next book to learn more about him. Oh Jack :) Gorgeous, hero, romantic, kind but strong - everything you want in a leading man.
I really grew to love Emmi. She grows so much throughout the book. A strong little girl with a lot of fight in her and always surprising us with her ability to succeed even in the toughest circumstances.
**WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW**
The book started off a bit slow for me but once Saba and Emmi reached Hopetown the action really picked up and after that I couldn't put the book down. I loved that there were so many strong female leads - Ash, Epona, Maev... definitely more female warriors than male ones in this book and that is always nice.
I definitely enjoyed this book and I'm glad I gave it a 2nd chance. Highly recommended.(less)
dejalu's review against another edition
4.0
I had a hard time, at first, getting into this book. Although I understand why it was written as such, the the style of narration was difficult for me to look past in the beginning (grammatical errors, lack of punctuation, misspellings) but I'm glad I pushed myself to read it. I also found the setting to be less interesting than some other recent dystopian novels but as in most stories that I grow to appreciate, it's the interesting characters that hook me.
I look forward to the next book in the series, interested in seeing how the events of this book shape and change the sibling dynamic as well as learning more about some of the other characters back stories.
I look forward to the next book in the series, interested in seeing how the events of this book shape and change the sibling dynamic as well as learning more about some of the other characters back stories.
danaelycia's review against another edition
5.0
This book took me by surprise entirely. I'm tired of a lot of the dystopian settings after the huge outpouring from Hunger Games but the book was on for cheat. Of course I get the book and it's flashed all over the covers "Just as good as Hunger Games!". Great, another carbon copy.
Well, whoever wrote those reviews apparently didn't read the book. It's a lot less like Hunger Games and a lot more like Mad Max and the Thunderdome meets the writing style of The Brothers Sisters. It was very well done, the story was fun and I LOVE books that have strong female leads. And not just one lead but a whole book of them. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed but not a disappointment and very spaghetti western style which isn't a bad thing.
Well, whoever wrote those reviews apparently didn't read the book. It's a lot less like Hunger Games and a lot more like Mad Max and the Thunderdome meets the writing style of The Brothers Sisters. It was very well done, the story was fun and I LOVE books that have strong female leads. And not just one lead but a whole book of them. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed but not a disappointment and very spaghetti western style which isn't a bad thing.
camib93's review against another edition
1.0
I mostly disliked Blood Red Road because of the main character Saba. I found her completely and utterly horrible due to her attitude towards her little sister and her sick obsession/love for her brother. When Saba begins her journey, she treats her younger sister worse than an animal and all she cares about is her beautiful brother. She has a young sister who depends on her because they are completely alone, but all she wants is for her to go away and to find her precious brother. I found the life she had for him a little creepy and a incestuous layer to her love for him. I got this book because of the positive reviews I had seen on here and on YT...but I was very disappointed. Then on the book it says it's better than The Hunger Games, which I do not think is true in the slightest. The plot isn't too bad, I just couldn't stand Saba or anything that she did/said. Katniss and Saba are both tough girls with one big difference: Saba is cruel. Believe me, I got annoyed with Katniss plenty of times during THG trilogy but I never disliked her because she was good. Unlike with Saba (who I felt not sympathy for) because she is just mean so I found it hard to believe in her as a heroine. I also got annoyed with the writing style, I liked that is was in a southerner dialect but I did not like this use of it throughout the whole book. I could get over this though if I really was invested in the characters and story, but unfortunately I am not.
starchildunicorn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
badseedgirl's review against another edition
3.0
Did I like Blood Red Road? Yes, with qualifications.
The world building was just ok. I never really felt I was "There" with the the characters, but was because it was an "on the road" story there were plenty of different environments for the characters to interact with. This made up for my lack of immersion.
There were some good characters, but they all seemed to be familiar archetypes to me. There was the strong but flawed heroine who is unaware of her power and beauty. In this novel her name is Saba. She is in search of her missing family member, in this case her twin brother Lugh (pronounced Lou). Stolen by the evil organization, gang, religious, or government, In this novel The Tonton's act as agents for all three sort of. While searching for Lugh, Saba meets "apparently flippant and shallow, but harboring a mysterious back story we won't find out about until at least book 2 and is really sensitive but has been hardened by life (Jack). I'm convinced that this "Anti-hero" is this generations "Hooker with a heart of gold" and will always be found in this sort of novel. I dare you to prove me wrong!!! With this Anti-hero comes the "wise fool" friend, who's every joke comes with the bite of truth.
For all this I did enjoy this novel. This was not "great literature" but was a good book. The female characters were strong and unlike some novels were not "man haters" but were just haters of the system as it was. Overall this was a good read and I will read the second novel in the series if for no other reason than to find out Jacks "back story."
The world building was just ok. I never really felt I was "There" with the the characters, but was because it was an "on the road" story there were plenty of different environments for the characters to interact with. This made up for my lack of immersion.
There were some good characters, but they all seemed to be familiar archetypes to me. There was the strong but flawed heroine who is unaware of her power and beauty. In this novel her name is Saba. She is in search of her missing family member, in this case her twin brother Lugh (pronounced Lou). Stolen by the evil organization, gang, religious, or government, In this novel The Tonton's act as agents for all three sort of. While searching for Lugh, Saba meets "apparently flippant and shallow, but harboring a mysterious back story we won't find out about until at least book 2 and is really sensitive but has been hardened by life (Jack). I'm convinced that this "Anti-hero" is this generations "Hooker with a heart of gold" and will always be found in this sort of novel. I dare you to prove me wrong!!! With this Anti-hero comes the "wise fool" friend, who's every joke comes with the bite of truth.
For all this I did enjoy this novel. This was not "great literature" but was a good book. The female characters were strong and unlike some novels were not "man haters" but were just haters of the system as it was. Overall this was a good read and I will read the second novel in the series if for no other reason than to find out Jacks "back story."