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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Hurrah!
This book is a welcome change to what I've been seeing in the fiction world. Very creative with the swords but it does have a Hunger Games vibe. Can't wait to read the next one.
This book is a welcome change to what I've been seeing in the fiction world. Very creative with the swords but it does have a Hunger Games vibe. Can't wait to read the next one.
I really enjoyed this book, and found myself being immersed in the world Ms. Bartol has created. I found the characters to be very real, and their trials and tribulations kept me on the edge of my seat. Her world-building was fascinating and I would love to see it brought to life in a movie. The story grabs you on the first page, and keeps you reading as fast as you can to find out what happens next. I would highly recommend this book to fans of dystopian stories, though be prepared to wait for the rest of the story. I wound up hunting down more of her work and eagerly devoured that as well. Ms. Bartol clearly has talent and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Roselle St. Sismode is a secondborn, the second child born into the family. With that title it means that Roselle is destined for a life of servitude starting on her Transition Day. Now at eighteen, that day has finally arrived with her training as a soldier everyday for what is to come. Her publicly privileged upbringing dose not endear her to many and with a glowing target on her back Roselle now has to do everything she can just to survive.
This book was actually quite confusing for me. It started out really slow and continued on that way.
A lot seemed to happen but then when I think back on it, not a lot really did. I was even confused by the relationship between Hawthorne and Roselle.
This book was actually quite confusing for me. It started out really slow and continued on that way.
A lot seemed to happen but then when I think back on it, not a lot really did. I was even confused by the relationship between Hawthorne and Roselle.
In an alternate reality set far in the future, technological advances in medicine (among other industries) have expanded the life expectancy of human beings. Consequentially, overpopulation becomes an issue. In Secondborn, society’s solution for population control is to enforce an offspring limit in which parents may have only two children. Any additional children are hunted and exterminated in an official capacity. How could this system possibly fail?
Read my full review on the entire trilogy (including Secondborn, Traitorborn, and Rebelborn) at The Nerd Cantina:
https://thenerdcantina.com/secondborn-series-by-amy-a-bartol-book-review/
Read my full review on the entire trilogy (including Secondborn, Traitorborn, and Rebelborn) at The Nerd Cantina:
https://thenerdcantina.com/secondborn-series-by-amy-a-bartol-book-review/
Page Burner
When you read a lot of YA fiction you see a lot of the same themes. The underdog who is unwittingly trained to save a flawed world from itself. So yes, this is one of those. And she's gorgeous, witty and lucky. I don't care. It was a terrific read. I loved how the world was setup, Roselle's character and the story. I like that she second-guesses herself and that she tries to be loyal even to people who don't deserve it. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
When you read a lot of YA fiction you see a lot of the same themes. The underdog who is unwittingly trained to save a flawed world from itself. So yes, this is one of those. And she's gorgeous, witty and lucky. I don't care. It was a terrific read. I loved how the world was setup, Roselle's character and the story. I like that she second-guesses herself and that she tries to be loyal even to people who don't deserve it. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
Interesting story but it did remind me of a lot of other dystopian novels, especially Divergent and Hunger Games. The characters needed a bit of fleshing out; lots of goodies and baddies and instant friends, foes and physical attraction. The hero happens to sit down next to an engineer on her first day, who is brilliant and goes on to develop a best selling weapon, her first outing on a battlefield and she happens to save a powerful enemy and imprint his crest on her hand. I worked out the "surprise" about Hawthorne fairly early on. The basic premise is simple enough (a caste system based on birth order), I thought that might be a tad unrealistic* (wouldn't most secondborns just bump off the first born?) and wouldn't work. I was quite curious about if there was a cut off point for birth order ie if your elder sibling died when you were both in your, say, 90's would you and your family automatically go up a notch in status or does it get cancelled out when the firstborn has their first child? So, it did make me think a bit.
The hero is a clean-living kind of gal (apart from the fighting/killing), loves her shitty family, one monogamous relationship, no hard drinking, drugs or bad language, despite starting off as a soldier in a base with thousands of other soldiers and spending time on battlefields. I am not sure what age this book is aimed at.
My biggest bugbear with the book was that apart from being a natural leader, intelligent, pollitically minded, super strong, brilliant with weapons and very able to take care of herself, it was heavily implied that she was drop-dead gorgeous. Why in this image-conscious age, couldnt she be normal or her beauty and figure not be commented on at all? Her looks had nothing to do with the plot.
But basically I did enjoy the story, just didnt love it, and will probably read the next in series to find out what happens next.
*fantasy novels have to follow some sort of rules or they dont make sense!
The hero is a clean-living kind of gal (apart from the fighting/killing), loves her shitty family, one monogamous relationship, no hard drinking, drugs or bad language, despite starting off as a soldier in a base with thousands of other soldiers and spending time on battlefields. I am not sure what age this book is aimed at.
My biggest bugbear with the book was that apart from being a natural leader, intelligent, pollitically minded, super strong, brilliant with weapons and very able to take care of herself, it was heavily implied that she was drop-dead gorgeous. Why in this image-conscious age, couldnt she be normal or her beauty and figure not be commented on at all? Her looks had nothing to do with the plot.
But basically I did enjoy the story, just didnt love it, and will probably read the next in series to find out what happens next.
*fantasy novels have to follow some sort of rules or they dont make sense!
I couldn't make it past the 50% mark. The first 25% was interesting conceptually. Unfortunately, the main character has basically no personality outside of being... good at fighting and hot tempered, I guess? And eventually the story devolves into really over the top, improbable action scenes mixed with with a romance that felt really unnatural.
First, I'll acknowledge that this one is not without some issues. However, I'm a HUGE Amy Bartol fan so I'll forgive some small issues.
My main issue revolved around world building because so many things are stated as fact without any explanation how society ended up at this point. (I just finished the first two books in a YA series with a similar idea, and the world building there was much better, which connected me to the characters more.) Roselle can also be inconsistent, but let's face the fact that to some extent that's human nature. It could have been written a little differently to have engaged the reader more. Instead, there is no rhyme or reason to the inconsistencies.
So, those problems aside... I devoured this title. I couldn't stop reading once I started. The concept on Firstborns being granted "insider" status and the idea that Secondborns were sent to service early for fear they kill Firstborns... That idea needled its way inside my brain like an insidious worm. What are the limits of behavior for those born to this? I love the way certain characters are drawn... Bartol knows how to bring a "big bad" to life better than most!
I'm honestly hooked and can't wait to see what happens next. Roselle will fight to live and has supporters to help her, but they don't all have an aligned agenda. She's going to need to be a master chess player to keep all pieces in play. She was taught by Dune, whom I now believe to be a master player himself, so there is hope for her yet! Regardless, for Bartol fans, you know she doesn't play, and where this is leading is going to be epic!
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
My main issue revolved around world building because so many things are stated as fact without any explanation how society ended up at this point. (I just finished the first two books in a YA series with a similar idea, and the world building there was much better, which connected me to the characters more.) Roselle can also be inconsistent, but let's face the fact that to some extent that's human nature. It could have been written a little differently to have engaged the reader more. Instead, there is no rhyme or reason to the inconsistencies.
So, those problems aside... I devoured this title. I couldn't stop reading once I started. The concept on Firstborns being granted "insider" status and the idea that Secondborns were sent to service early for fear they kill Firstborns... That idea needled its way inside my brain like an insidious worm. What are the limits of behavior for those born to this? I love the way certain characters are drawn... Bartol knows how to bring a "big bad" to life better than most!
I'm honestly hooked and can't wait to see what happens next. Roselle will fight to live and has supporters to help her, but they don't all have an aligned agenda. She's going to need to be a master chess player to keep all pieces in play. She was taught by Dune, whom I now believe to be a master player himself, so there is hope for her yet! Regardless, for Bartol fans, you know she doesn't play, and where this is leading is going to be epic!
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.