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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Have to agree with what someone else has said, the relationships are very one-dimensional. It goes from o to 60, nearly instant besties and lovers all over the place.
On the one side, world building is great, very unique technologies and customs. But the story premise and society is everything we've seen before, with YA/NA dystopian trope galore.
Our main hero is the love child of Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen. She's beautiful, apparently "the one" to save them all (but shhh, gotta keep a secret cause BIG BROTHER), and always seems to get out of trouble by sheer dumb luck or special benefactor watching out for her.
I wish this was an anthology series, instead of following the same protagonist (Roselle). Some of the other characters are much more interesting. And would benefit so much not having to cater to Roselle's storyline.
On the one side, world building is great, very unique technologies and customs. But the story premise and society is everything we've seen before, with YA/NA dystopian trope galore.
Our main hero is the love child of Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen. She's beautiful, apparently "the one" to save them all (but shhh, gotta keep a secret cause BIG BROTHER), and always seems to get out of trouble by sheer dumb luck or special benefactor watching out for her.
I wish this was an anthology series, instead of following the same protagonist (Roselle). Some of the other characters are much more interesting. And would benefit so much not having to cater to Roselle's storyline.
I loved the premise for this book - a world where firstborns are the aristocracy and secondborns are looked down upon, but necessary just in case a firstborn dies. But the book didn't get a whole lot better than that.. it jumped around a lot, making it kind of hard to follow exactly what was going on - and I'm not just talking about the one year jump in the timeline just over halfway through the story. The character's relationships were very superficial - as the reader you are expected to just want Rose and Hawthorne together and believe that the group took in Rose after initially giving her the cold shoulder (also, what the heck happened to Gilad after everyone left him behind?!?), but really none of it felt right. I almost feel like too much was crammed into this book. Most series like this usually allow for the first book to give background and develop character relationships and introduce the idea of tension within the government - not this one! Background was strong in the beginning, then just suddenly dropped, characters were just thrown together unrealistically, and a lot of people - and I mean a lot - were working to overthrow the government as it stood, making the story feel just a bit disjointed. I understand this is supposed to be a series of some sort, but I also hated how the book just randomly ended in the middle of some action.. I don't think I'll be keeping an eye out for book 2.
This was my Kindle First pick of the month, and I’m pretty happy with my choice! I partially picked it because the cover was so lovely and bright, but the story itself also seemed intriguing to me. I haven’t read anything else by Bartoi, but after reading Secondborn, I can safely say I’m intending to follow up with this series if nothing else! (I hate that I have to wait for the second book – that would be the one downside to reading a book ahead of time – it increases the wait time after the fact).
Secondborn is a dystopian novel about a society in which people are sorted into classes by their birth order. Firstborns are allowed to inherit the family name, business, and anything else you can think of. Secondborns are intended for servitude right from the start – their career determined by the family they belong to. Thirdborns and later are strictly against the law, and will be killed on sight. It all seems pretty grim, right?
The main character is named Roselle St. Sismode’s, her family leads the Fate of Swords military. Roselle, being a Secondborn, is relegated to being a soldier instead of a leader. It’s pretty clear right from the start that things have been intentionally set up against Roselle’s favor (likely by her mother or somebody working for her mother). She’s set to be moved into the active duty first line of defense for the military, just days after she turns eighteen, despite her family name giving her other (safer) options. Even without knowing all the political schemes in play, I was immediately able to determine that somebody felt threatened by Roselle’s existence, and realistically there are only so many people that could feel that way about her.
I actually really enjoyed all the politicking and scheming that occurred during Secondborn; it added several different layers to the series while creating risk and intrigue. I suspected one of the characters moving against Roselle right off the bat (they did practically flat out say it, after all), but the second one surprised me, which was refreshing. The Rose society was another interesting plot twist – hiding their motives right out in the open as they did was actually both bold and brilliant.
The setup of Roselle’s situation is bound to make one feel sympathetic for her, creating and attachment to her and the world she lives in. Despite everything she’s gone through, Roselle is determined to find her way through the mess she’s been dropped into, and try and make the world a better place for all Secondborn’s like herself. It’s a really endearing trait, actually. Roselle’s character is clearly meant to be the shining light of the series – she always does what is right, even when presented with the chance to do the opposite. This is particularly true when it comes to taking care of her friends – she’ll literally risk life and limb to keep the few friends she has safe from harm.
Another one of my favorite characters is Hawthorne; he is just so determined and loyal. Even though there’s more going on with him than the eye can see, it’s hard not to appreciate a rock of a character like him. He’s the stability a series like this requires.
There were times where the novel really felt similar to the Hunger Games, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. The tone of voice was very reminiscent at times is all; plus some of the events talked about (the Secondborn trials for example – where Secondborns fight to the death for a chance of freedom – there’s only one winner) sound very much like the Hunger Games (and by that I mean the event, not just the title of the book).
As I mentioned above, I haven’t read anything else by Baroi before – though I know she has a couple other series out there. After having read Secondborn, I find myself more tempted to give those books a try. I’ll certainly be following up with the rest of this series; I just have to find out what happens to Roselle and the others.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Secondborn is a dystopian novel about a society in which people are sorted into classes by their birth order. Firstborns are allowed to inherit the family name, business, and anything else you can think of. Secondborns are intended for servitude right from the start – their career determined by the family they belong to. Thirdborns and later are strictly against the law, and will be killed on sight. It all seems pretty grim, right?
The main character is named Roselle St. Sismode’s, her family leads the Fate of Swords military. Roselle, being a Secondborn, is relegated to being a soldier instead of a leader. It’s pretty clear right from the start that things have been intentionally set up against Roselle’s favor (likely by her mother or somebody working for her mother). She’s set to be moved into the active duty first line of defense for the military, just days after she turns eighteen, despite her family name giving her other (safer) options. Even without knowing all the political schemes in play, I was immediately able to determine that somebody felt threatened by Roselle’s existence, and realistically there are only so many people that could feel that way about her.
I actually really enjoyed all the politicking and scheming that occurred during Secondborn; it added several different layers to the series while creating risk and intrigue. I suspected one of the characters moving against Roselle right off the bat (they did practically flat out say it, after all), but the second one surprised me, which was refreshing. The Rose society was another interesting plot twist – hiding their motives right out in the open as they did was actually both bold and brilliant.
The setup of Roselle’s situation is bound to make one feel sympathetic for her, creating and attachment to her and the world she lives in. Despite everything she’s gone through, Roselle is determined to find her way through the mess she’s been dropped into, and try and make the world a better place for all Secondborn’s like herself. It’s a really endearing trait, actually. Roselle’s character is clearly meant to be the shining light of the series – she always does what is right, even when presented with the chance to do the opposite. This is particularly true when it comes to taking care of her friends – she’ll literally risk life and limb to keep the few friends she has safe from harm.
Another one of my favorite characters is Hawthorne; he is just so determined and loyal. Even though there’s more going on with him than the eye can see, it’s hard not to appreciate a rock of a character like him. He’s the stability a series like this requires.
There were times where the novel really felt similar to the Hunger Games, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. The tone of voice was very reminiscent at times is all; plus some of the events talked about (the Secondborn trials for example – where Secondborns fight to the death for a chance of freedom – there’s only one winner) sound very much like the Hunger Games (and by that I mean the event, not just the title of the book).
As I mentioned above, I haven’t read anything else by Baroi before – though I know she has a couple other series out there. After having read Secondborn, I find myself more tempted to give those books a try. I’ll certainly be following up with the rest of this series; I just have to find out what happens to Roselle and the others.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
MANY THANKS TO 47NORTH FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
FINAL RATING: 4.25
Secondborn is a pleasant surprise!
When I requested this book on Netgalley, I thought the synopsis sounded great, ratings on Goodreads were high, so what could go wrong, right?
Despite the intriguing synopsis, I wasn't expecting much from this book. I was hoping to like it the most. I didn't expect to love this as much as I did.
Everything about this book was a huge surprise: the characters, the setting, the world, and of course, the numerous plot and character twist. Damn. So good man, so good.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
Our main character, Roselle, is a secondborn. Secondborns are not allowed to be anything they want, only who they are supposed to be as dictated by their society.
They are never going to be leaders because those privileges are only saved for the firstborns. You don't even want to know what they do they kids they have after their secondborns - they have it much worse.
Anyways, Roselle is being sent to this Sword camp to be trained as a soldier. It is what secondborns from the Fate of Swords do, they become living weapons to protect the firstbornassholes
Roselle wasn't new to fighting. All her life, she was trained for this moment, for her to give her life for that purpose and in a way protect her brother, Gabriel, the firstborn. But before Roselle could even get processed as a Sword, completely abandoning her last name, they got attacked by the rebel army from the Fate of Stars.
Things started to spiral out of control from there. Not only is this rebel force trying to stir chaos, someone out there also wants to see Roselle dead.
THE CHARACTERS
Roselle
At first glance, you'll probably think she's one of those special snowflake female protagonist. She's smart, good with weapons, great at combat fighting, also, she's pretty, I think. Aside from the being pretty though, everything she's good at, she's good at it because she was trained for it all her life. She has been trained to fight, I would say, ever since she is old enough to hold a weapon. No love was ever given to secondborns. Hence, the only thing she can do is try to be the best at what was given to her, to get a tiny bit of approval, which she doesn't ever get from her family.
I really liked Roselle as a character. I thought she was strong, brave, and loyal. While she can play nice with people who are nice, she could be quite snarky with people who don't play nice. She knows her capabilities and not once did I hear her self-pitying. She is confident that she can do things, but not to the point that she is being arrogant.
Hawthorne
Isn't he a sweetie? I love Hawthorne, let's all get that out of the way. There were times he broke my fucking heart, but he made up for it with his awesomeness. Like Roselle, Hawthorne values loyalty, and to add to that, friendship.
I'm not going to say more about Hawthorne, but I bet you’d love him. He could be a bit overprotective at times, but most of the times, he's just a sweetheart.
Clifton
He is the guy you so want to hate. I liked his character because you have no clue what this dude is really up to. There are times where you'll feel he's genuine with his actions, other times you'll want to punch him in the face.
Hammon, Edgerton, and Gilad
They're Hawthorne's childhood friends, then eventually became Roselle's, too. I liked Hammon and Edgerton's relationship and how it wasn't just brushed off. Gilad, however, is pretty much just there for being there. I'm not sure if he will ever have any further role to play in this. The friendship all of them had for each other was so good to read about.
THOUGHTS ABOUT SECONDBORN IN BULLETS:
} This entire world is interesting. I want it to have a more expanse view of it. I feel that, even though it does tell you about the different Fates and what they do, you still don't see all of them. You only get the gist of what could be a really epic world. What I do want to know moving forward is, what caused the people to fear secondborns? Why are they only giving priorities to the firstborns? How did it occur? Tons of questions, I hope to be answered in the second book.
} The characters were great!
} Roselle's mother is a bitch. Like really. How can you even think of murdering your own child? WTF.
} This book had an unexpected death that I was not expecting. I grew to love this character for the short time she was in the picture, but this book did not steer away from deaths, which is a plus for me.
} Oh plot twists. They were great. The twists in this book always caught me off guard, which is triple plus for me.
} The pace could be a pit wonky at times. This book was pretty slow in the beginning, which worried me because I really don't like slow paced books. Good thing was, it picked up pace about 2/4 of the book. When it did pick up pace, the plot moved along quite faster than I was expecting.
} I will not forget Agent Crow. He is an ass. He's one of those characters you just want to die right away. Think Baelish from Game of Thrones, only, this dude is a sadistic bastard. So I guess he's more of a Ramsey than a Baelish.
} THE ROMANCE! I love Roselle and Hawthorne, they are meant to be. However, I'm not going to discount the fact that there might be other love interests in the horizon - not one, but two. Haha. Watch out Hawthorne.
} If you're looking for a book with a lot of hot guys, then this is the book for you. Some may complain about this, I'm certainly not one of them.
} While I really love Roselle, there were times were she was focusing too much of Hawthorne. I wish she didn't. Haha. It was a bit awkward when she gawks at him and his abs.
} It ends with a cliffhanger.
} I want to know more about Dune and his secret. I want to know how he did it and what they did to accomplish it without getting caught. After he disappeared from this book, you never see him again. I'm guessing he'll pop up in the next one for sure.
} The politics involved in this was pretty intriguing just as much as the world itself. It's not really surprising what people would do to stay in power. They'd lie, cheat, kill, plot, and sabotage other people to get what they want.
FINAL JUDGEMENT
I found Secondborn to be a really enjoyable book. It will keep you at the edge of your seat, root for the characters, and anticipate what happens next.
For those of you who'll think this is just another Divergent and Hunger Games, I'd have to disagree. This is entirely it's own. It's world well developed and vast that could be further developed.
Highly recommended for Scifi and Dystopian society lovers.
FINAL RATING: 4.25
Now I know that it was only a fantasy. I’ll never be one of them. I’ll always be just a secondborn, a shadow, soon to fade from their lives.
Secondborn is a pleasant surprise!
When I requested this book on Netgalley, I thought the synopsis sounded great, ratings on Goodreads were high, so what could go wrong, right?
Despite the intriguing synopsis, I wasn't expecting much from this book. I was hoping to like it the most. I didn't expect to love this as much as I did.
Everything about this book was a huge surprise: the characters, the setting, the world, and of course, the numerous plot and character twist. Damn. So good man, so good.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
Our main character, Roselle, is a secondborn. Secondborns are not allowed to be anything they want, only who they are supposed to be as dictated by their society.
“We are embroiled in a fight to the death— a bloody civil war, brought on by the lawlessness of Fate traitors who would violate our very right to exist. We, the firstborns, must rule. It is our birthright to sacrifice our own for the protection of the Fates. It is an honor for secondborns to serve as champions in this proud tradition— to give their lives to their Fate and to the call of service.”
They are never going to be leaders because those privileges are only saved for the firstborns. You don't even want to know what they do they kids they have after their secondborns - they have it much worse.
Anyways, Roselle is being sent to this Sword camp to be trained as a soldier. It is what secondborns from the Fate of Swords do, they become living weapons to protect the firstborn
Roselle wasn't new to fighting. All her life, she was trained for this moment, for her to give her life for that purpose and in a way protect her brother, Gabriel, the firstborn. But before Roselle could even get processed as a Sword, completely abandoning her last name, they got attacked by the rebel army from the Fate of Stars.
Things started to spiral out of control from there. Not only is this rebel force trying to stir chaos, someone out there also wants to see Roselle dead.
THE CHARACTERS
Roselle
It's agony and relief to watch my life end.
At first glance, you'll probably think she's one of those special snowflake female protagonist. She's smart, good with weapons, great at combat fighting, also, she's pretty, I think. Aside from the being pretty though, everything she's good at, she's good at it because she was trained for it all her life. She has been trained to fight, I would say, ever since she is old enough to hold a weapon. No love was ever given to secondborns. Hence, the only thing she can do is try to be the best at what was given to her, to get a tiny bit of approval, which she doesn't ever get from her family.
I really liked Roselle as a character. I thought she was strong, brave, and loyal. While she can play nice with people who are nice, she could be quite snarky with people who don't play nice. She knows her capabilities and not once did I hear her self-pitying. She is confident that she can do things, but not to the point that she is being arrogant.
Hawthorne
"I had this pain - this unbelievable ache in my chest, I don't know why at first, but I do now. I used to worry about active duty because I might get killed. Now I'm terrified that it'll be you who dies out there, and I'll have to go back to a life without you in it."
Isn't he a sweetie? I love Hawthorne, let's all get that out of the way. There were times he broke my fucking heart, but he made up for it with his awesomeness. Like Roselle, Hawthorne values loyalty, and to add to that, friendship.
“Whatever it is that’s making you cry, look away from it. It doesn’t have you. I do.”
I'm not going to say more about Hawthorne, but I bet you’d love him. He could be a bit overprotective at times, but most of the times, he's just a sweetheart.
Clifton
He is the guy you so want to hate. I liked his character because you have no clue what this dude is really up to. There are times where you'll feel he's genuine with his actions, other times you'll want to punch him in the face.
Hammon, Edgerton, and Gilad
They're Hawthorne's childhood friends, then eventually became Roselle's, too. I liked Hammon and Edgerton's relationship and how it wasn't just brushed off. Gilad, however, is pretty much just there for being there. I'm not sure if he will ever have any further role to play in this. The friendship all of them had for each other was so good to read about.
THOUGHTS ABOUT SECONDBORN IN BULLETS:
} This entire world is interesting. I want it to have a more expanse view of it. I feel that, even though it does tell you about the different Fates and what they do, you still don't see all of them. You only get the gist of what could be a really epic world. What I do want to know moving forward is, what caused the people to fear secondborns? Why are they only giving priorities to the firstborns? How did it occur? Tons of questions, I hope to be answered in the second book.
} The characters were great!
} Roselle's mother is a bitch. Like really. How can you even think of murdering your own child? WTF.
} This book had an unexpected death that I was not expecting. I grew to love this character for the short time she was in the picture, but this book did not steer away from deaths, which is a plus for me.
} Oh plot twists. They were great. The twists in this book always caught me off guard, which is triple plus for me.
} The pace could be a pit wonky at times. This book was pretty slow in the beginning, which worried me because I really don't like slow paced books. Good thing was, it picked up pace about 2/4 of the book. When it did pick up pace, the plot moved along quite faster than I was expecting.
} I will not forget Agent Crow. He is an ass. He's one of those characters you just want to die right away. Think Baelish from Game of Thrones, only, this dude is a sadistic bastard. So I guess he's more of a Ramsey than a Baelish.
} THE ROMANCE! I love Roselle and Hawthorne, they are meant to be. However, I'm not going to discount the fact that there might be other love interests in the horizon - not one, but two. Haha. Watch out Hawthorne.
} If you're looking for a book with a lot of hot guys, then this is the book for you. Some may complain about this, I'm certainly not one of them.
} While I really love Roselle, there were times were she was focusing too much of Hawthorne. I wish she didn't. Haha. It was a bit awkward when she gawks at him and his abs.
} It ends with a cliffhanger.
} I want to know more about Dune and his secret. I want to know how he did it and what they did to accomplish it without getting caught. After he disappeared from this book, you never see him again. I'm guessing he'll pop up in the next one for sure.
} The politics involved in this was pretty intriguing just as much as the world itself. It's not really surprising what people would do to stay in power. They'd lie, cheat, kill, plot, and sabotage other people to get what they want.
FINAL JUDGEMENT
I found Secondborn to be a really enjoyable book. It will keep you at the edge of your seat, root for the characters, and anticipate what happens next.
For those of you who'll think this is just another Divergent and Hunger Games, I'd have to disagree. This is entirely it's own. It's world well developed and vast that could be further developed.
Highly recommended for Scifi and Dystopian society lovers.
Very fast read, the turns and emotion you feel for the secondborns as the story goes on....
This book was written so well. I absolutely loved it. it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
https://celebrityreaders.com/2019/07/29/secondborn-by-amy-a-bartol/
3 stars — Oh dear. Where to start. There were glimmers of interesting things going on, but not really enough to suck me in and make up for what *wasn’t* working for me.
We’ll start with the narrator. Ms. Reinders was solidly in the okay category. She didn’t grate on my nerves, there was some inflection, but I needed something more from her to make her stand out. In the end I think listening to the story was a bit of a disservice, because while she doesn’t have a flat narration style, there wasn’t enough emotion and interest to really allow me to connect with Roselle. Honestly, it was flat enough that I started to notice sentences being all the same length, which is not something I’m usually attuned to. In addition, her other character voices left me underwhelmed. There wasn’t always a lot of difference in them, and while I thought she did an okay Hawthorne and Agent Crow, I found her choice for Clifton to be…odd. It made him sound flighty or something. I’m not entirely sure what she was going for, but apparently it didn’t work for me. If I decide to read the rest of the trilogy, I *won’t* be listening to them.
I’m usually all about the characters in books, and part of the reason this book didn’t get rated higher is that I didn’t connect with any of them in this story. I didn’t find Roselle to be that interesting of a character, and there was nothing for me to relate to. We’re told a lot of her stellar qualities, but we don’t necessarily see them in action. I appreciated her complete mastery of all things soldier/fighting, but outside of that she was a conundrum. She would have these amazing moments where she would quip a witty retort to some asshat, and then she’d be all meek and supposedly helpless. It didn’t work. I couldn’t personally make it work in my head. I needed more consistency from her.
And OMG, I think I might have to give up on Ms. Bartol, even though I adore her in person. She LOVES making her heroines universally loved/lusted by EVERY SINGLE MALE IN THE BOOK. That’s not my bag baby. It’s why I haven’t finished any of her series actually. I don’t relate to that, I don’t get it, it doesn’t make any of her relationships special, and it doesn’t make her stand out (even though that is its *exact* purpose). As for this story, I didn’t connect with a single one of her suitors. The relationship with Hawthorne developed at LIGHTSPEED and was completely unbelievable to me. What in the world did they bond over? It felt superficial and rushed. And Hawthorne was just another bland hero trying to save the girl. Meh.
As for Clifton and Reykin (whom I’m assuming are the other two potential love interests), nothing much sets them apart either. Clifton comes across kind of older and creepy and possessive…though there was a glimmer of depth near the end. I wish we’d seen more of *that*. Reykin…well, honestly I have no idea. Maybe we’ll know more in the next books.
As per usual, there are essentially no other strong female characters, no female friends for Roselle to rely on. I’ve started noticing this since it’s been pointed out to me, and it’s disappointing when it’s missing.
Agent Crow was creepy as fuck, so well done on the villain. Though I honestly prefer a more subtle villain myself, Crow was a bit over the top for me.
So besides characters/chemistry, what does that leave us? World building and plot/action. And this was a mixed bag for me. There were SO MANY DETAILS to keep straight that I honestly got overwhelmed, and I’m still confused. But at the same time, what I did understand fascinated me, and sets itself up for some interesting future machinations! Honestly, while characters are the thing for me, if I have an amazing world/plot to fall back on, it can make up for it and still blow me away. This one wasn’t quite there, hence the middling rating. I was just left with a lot more questions: how did this world come to be this way? What was the purpose of the factions? How long has this birth order thing been a thing?
So yeah. Super mixed bag. If I hadn’t gotten the rest of the trilogy from NetGalley, I wouldn’t have hesitated in abandoning the series. It’s interesting, but not mind-blowing. However, I *do* have the rest in ARCs, so now I’m torn. Perhaps I’ll at least try the next book and see if I get more of the good stuff…
3 stars — Oh dear. Where to start. There were glimmers of interesting things going on, but not really enough to suck me in and make up for what *wasn’t* working for me.
We’ll start with the narrator. Ms. Reinders was solidly in the okay category. She didn’t grate on my nerves, there was some inflection, but I needed something more from her to make her stand out. In the end I think listening to the story was a bit of a disservice, because while she doesn’t have a flat narration style, there wasn’t enough emotion and interest to really allow me to connect with Roselle. Honestly, it was flat enough that I started to notice sentences being all the same length, which is not something I’m usually attuned to. In addition, her other character voices left me underwhelmed. There wasn’t always a lot of difference in them, and while I thought she did an okay Hawthorne and Agent Crow, I found her choice for Clifton to be…odd. It made him sound flighty or something. I’m not entirely sure what she was going for, but apparently it didn’t work for me. If I decide to read the rest of the trilogy, I *won’t* be listening to them.
I’m usually all about the characters in books, and part of the reason this book didn’t get rated higher is that I didn’t connect with any of them in this story. I didn’t find Roselle to be that interesting of a character, and there was nothing for me to relate to. We’re told a lot of her stellar qualities, but we don’t necessarily see them in action. I appreciated her complete mastery of all things soldier/fighting, but outside of that she was a conundrum. She would have these amazing moments where she would quip a witty retort to some asshat, and then she’d be all meek and supposedly helpless. It didn’t work. I couldn’t personally make it work in my head. I needed more consistency from her.
And OMG, I think I might have to give up on Ms. Bartol, even though I adore her in person. She LOVES making her heroines universally loved/lusted by EVERY SINGLE MALE IN THE BOOK. That’s not my bag baby. It’s why I haven’t finished any of her series actually. I don’t relate to that, I don’t get it, it doesn’t make any of her relationships special, and it doesn’t make her stand out (even though that is its *exact* purpose). As for this story, I didn’t connect with a single one of her suitors. The relationship with Hawthorne developed at LIGHTSPEED and was completely unbelievable to me. What in the world did they bond over? It felt superficial and rushed. And Hawthorne was just another bland hero trying to save the girl. Meh.
As for Clifton and Reykin (whom I’m assuming are the other two potential love interests), nothing much sets them apart either. Clifton comes across kind of older and creepy and possessive…though there was a glimmer of depth near the end. I wish we’d seen more of *that*. Reykin…well, honestly I have no idea. Maybe we’ll know more in the next books.
As per usual, there are essentially no other strong female characters, no female friends for Roselle to rely on. I’ve started noticing this since it’s been pointed out to me, and it’s disappointing when it’s missing.
Agent Crow was creepy as fuck, so well done on the villain. Though I honestly prefer a more subtle villain myself, Crow was a bit over the top for me.
So besides characters/chemistry, what does that leave us? World building and plot/action. And this was a mixed bag for me. There were SO MANY DETAILS to keep straight that I honestly got overwhelmed, and I’m still confused. But at the same time, what I did understand fascinated me, and sets itself up for some interesting future machinations! Honestly, while characters are the thing for me, if I have an amazing world/plot to fall back on, it can make up for it and still blow me away. This one wasn’t quite there, hence the middling rating. I was just left with a lot more questions: how did this world come to be this way? What was the purpose of the factions? How long has this birth order thing been a thing?
So yeah. Super mixed bag. If I hadn’t gotten the rest of the trilogy from NetGalley, I wouldn’t have hesitated in abandoning the series. It’s interesting, but not mind-blowing. However, I *do* have the rest in ARCs, so now I’m torn. Perhaps I’ll at least try the next book and see if I get more of the good stuff…
Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: Roses Are Red(dish)
BFF Charm: Maybe
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Talky Talk: Dystopian
Bonus Factor: Shades of Hunger Games
Factor: Series Starter
Relationship Status: Mixed Feelings
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Roses Are Red(dish)
BFF Charm: Maybe
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Talky Talk: Dystopian
Bonus Factor: Shades of Hunger Games
Factor: Series Starter
Relationship Status: Mixed Feelings
Read the full book report here.
The book ended far too abruptly and I was very invested in the story right then.