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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
For a book that basically just sets up the premise and world for the rest of the series, it sure took a long time to do that without really explaining WHY the world is as it is (how did it come to exist that birth order determined one’s place in society?). It could have been half its length and had more of a complete story so that the first in the series could stand alone and also set up the next book. I feel like all it did was set out to tease readers so they’ll want to buy the next one and that feels manipulative.
It’s not awfully written or an awful premise (if it were better explained). But a whole book wasn’t necessary for what’s here.
It’s not awfully written or an awful premise (if it were better explained). But a whole book wasn’t necessary for what’s here.
I’m going to have to listen to it again. I have very little idea what was going on & the romance seemed out of left field.
I read the first page a few months back and for some reason it didn’t peak my interest so I put it down to read “later”....fast forward to the present and I’m glad that I gave it a second chance because I have fallen in love with Roselle and her story.
I’ve read some reviews that they didn’t like the heroine but I truly enjoyed her. I found Roselle to be real, sometimes we do things out of character in real life so I found the book depicted that well. The majority of the time she stuck to her training and she was a bad ass! We are reading from her POV so of course she is going to have some insecurities, she is human after all. I loved that she rarely showed it to others though. On the outside she always exuded confidence and wit, which I loved.
In lots of books I am more interested in the romance or the friends or the villain than the actual main character. I found I was truly rooting and interested in Roselle’s journey. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for romance and I did fall in love with Hawthorne but I’m glad that it wasn’t the main focus.
The only thing I did not like was that it wasn’t explained how this world came to be, maybe we will find out in the next books. Although I am glad it was filled with action instead of a bunch of boring backstory.
I can’t wait to read the next installment...
I’ve read some reviews that they didn’t like the heroine but I truly enjoyed her. I found Roselle to be real, sometimes we do things out of character in real life so I found the book depicted that well. The majority of the time she stuck to her training and she was a bad ass! We are reading from her POV so of course she is going to have some insecurities, she is human after all. I loved that she rarely showed it to others though. On the outside she always exuded confidence and wit, which I loved.
In lots of books I am more interested in the romance or the friends or the villain than the actual main character. I found I was truly rooting and interested in Roselle’s journey. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for romance and I did fall in love with Hawthorne but I’m glad that it wasn’t the main focus.
The only thing I did not like was that it wasn’t explained how this world came to be, maybe we will find out in the next books. Although I am glad it was filled with action instead of a bunch of boring backstory.
I can’t wait to read the next installment...
Census Is A Bunch Of Helium-Suckers!
I n this dystopia world we follow a women named Roselle St. Sismode who is the daughter of one of the most powerful firstborns, Gabriel’s St. Sismode. Her mother Othala St. Sismode, Clarity of the Fate of Swords is the commander of the military. She is one of the most powerful Clarities, second only to the Supreme Leader; Fabian Bowie the Clarity of the Fate of Virtues. By tradition and law, the parents give their secondborn child to the government. Secondborn are treated like pawns and there for neglected and trained to fight against the rebellion. Thirdborn children are hunted down and killed by a group known as census. On Roselle eighteenth birthday is her transition Day, she given fates of swords army and is thrown into the world of secondborns and must learn quickly in order to survive the battlefield. However there are firstborns who want to use her for their political advantage, other firstborns who see her as a threat and wish to kill her. There are also the Gates of Dawn, rebels that are trying to destroy the firstborns and secondborns society and would love to use Roselle to further their cause. through out the story Roselle befriends some comrades in her unit, the handsome Hawthorne Trugrave, along with Gilad, Edgerton, Hammon. The romance with Roselle and Hawthorne is forbidden as Secondborns can’t marry or have any children. If they are found out there will be instantly killed; and with a sinister census Agent Crow determined to find ties to the fate swords marking her for treason so that he can destroy her and a clan of friends that would die for her. This story is full of political intrigue, treachery, danger, lies and heartbreak await readers in this exciting and twisty-sci-fi world!
The characters in this book aren’t fully developed quite yet. Except for the main character, we don’t know too much about the secondary characters. One of the criticism I have regarding the story is that it does do a time-skip one year later. To me it felt like we skipped so much character interactions and the reader didn’t get to really bond or have an opinion deciding if thay love or hate them. However the story is told from Roselle St. Sismode POV. Roselle comes across as tactical, strong, pretty, and at times even vulnerable. I do like that she is badass and tries to stay one step ahead of her enemys. There are times were she does become vulnerable in what path she wants to take, between loyalty toward her firstborn brother and extreme disdain for the class system that rules her world. Has for her “boyfriend” Hawthorne Trugrave, he is fearless, overprotective, strong, and values loyalty with his comrades. He is always up to a fight to protect Roselle from danger. I had a hard time liking Hawthorne. One the qualities I dislike about him is that has a tendency to always give in to Roselle’s request without questioning or adding to the plan. His chemistry with Roselle did not seemed believable and there were time he didn’t seem to make much of an effect with her. Then there is Clifton Salloway. Clifton is a firstborn and a Arms dealer. He is enthralled by Roselle and offers a job to promote his military style weapons. He obviously has ulterior motives with everything he does. I swear Clifton’s narcissism can take on tokyo. My favorite character is Agent Kipson Crow. He is deliciously malicious evil bastard. I do hope his story develops more later in the series. Their are many other characters that are introduced to the story Such as Hammon, Edgerton, and Gilad. They are Hawthorne’s childhood friends and Hammon Edgerton and are hiding a secret relationship. I have so many unanswered questions and want to know more about the character introduced to us. Each character can represent a purpose and a future, whether it is big or small.
Amy A Bartolo writing is superb. She always amazes me with her extremely detailed world building and is not afraid to play with new terminology and vocabulary to elevate her worlds. She adds more battle scenes, more chases and escapes, and many more threats and dangers. The reader will not know where the story is going to go, In this really nailbiting series. Look forward to reading the second installment of the series Traitor Born.
The song I chose that best describes the story is Imperfection By Evanescence.
Who is your favorite character in the book? What was your favorite part of the book? Let us know in the comment box!
I n this dystopia world we follow a women named Roselle St. Sismode who is the daughter of one of the most powerful firstborns, Gabriel’s St. Sismode. Her mother Othala St. Sismode, Clarity of the Fate of Swords is the commander of the military. She is one of the most powerful Clarities, second only to the Supreme Leader; Fabian Bowie the Clarity of the Fate of Virtues. By tradition and law, the parents give their secondborn child to the government. Secondborn are treated like pawns and there for neglected and trained to fight against the rebellion. Thirdborn children are hunted down and killed by a group known as census. On Roselle eighteenth birthday is her transition Day, she given fates of swords army and is thrown into the world of secondborns and must learn quickly in order to survive the battlefield. However there are firstborns who want to use her for their political advantage, other firstborns who see her as a threat and wish to kill her. There are also the Gates of Dawn, rebels that are trying to destroy the firstborns and secondborns society and would love to use Roselle to further their cause. through out the story Roselle befriends some comrades in her unit, the handsome Hawthorne Trugrave, along with Gilad, Edgerton, Hammon. The romance with Roselle and Hawthorne is forbidden as Secondborns can’t marry or have any children. If they are found out there will be instantly killed; and with a sinister census Agent Crow determined to find ties to the fate swords marking her for treason so that he can destroy her and a clan of friends that would die for her. This story is full of political intrigue, treachery, danger, lies and heartbreak await readers in this exciting and twisty-sci-fi world!
The characters in this book aren’t fully developed quite yet. Except for the main character, we don’t know too much about the secondary characters. One of the criticism I have regarding the story is that it does do a time-skip one year later. To me it felt like we skipped so much character interactions and the reader didn’t get to really bond or have an opinion deciding if thay love or hate them. However the story is told from Roselle St. Sismode POV. Roselle comes across as tactical, strong, pretty, and at times even vulnerable. I do like that she is badass and tries to stay one step ahead of her enemys. There are times were she does become vulnerable in what path she wants to take, between loyalty toward her firstborn brother and extreme disdain for the class system that rules her world. Has for her “boyfriend” Hawthorne Trugrave, he is fearless, overprotective, strong, and values loyalty with his comrades. He is always up to a fight to protect Roselle from danger. I had a hard time liking Hawthorne. One the qualities I dislike about him is that has a tendency to always give in to Roselle’s request without questioning or adding to the plan. His chemistry with Roselle did not seemed believable and there were time he didn’t seem to make much of an effect with her. Then there is Clifton Salloway. Clifton is a firstborn and a Arms dealer. He is enthralled by Roselle and offers a job to promote his military style weapons. He obviously has ulterior motives with everything he does. I swear Clifton’s narcissism can take on tokyo. My favorite character is Agent Kipson Crow. He is deliciously malicious evil bastard. I do hope his story develops more later in the series. Their are many other characters that are introduced to the story Such as Hammon, Edgerton, and Gilad. They are Hawthorne’s childhood friends and Hammon Edgerton and are hiding a secret relationship. I have so many unanswered questions and want to know more about the character introduced to us. Each character can represent a purpose and a future, whether it is big or small.
Amy A Bartolo writing is superb. She always amazes me with her extremely detailed world building and is not afraid to play with new terminology and vocabulary to elevate her worlds. She adds more battle scenes, more chases and escapes, and many more threats and dangers. The reader will not know where the story is going to go, In this really nailbiting series. Look forward to reading the second installment of the series Traitor Born.
The song I chose that best describes the story is Imperfection By Evanescence.
Who is your favorite character in the book? What was your favorite part of the book? Let us know in the comment box!
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
I love the imagination behind the trees/Buildings.... The characters were really in depth... I just am confused to where the story is going what war there is and why, what Roselle is actually trying to do, especially with the fusion blades and what her long term goal is with the other side of the war.... Its all a little confusing.
3 star i am enjoying it and want to read on....
3 star i am enjoying it and want to read on....
They programmed you not to think for yourself. To follow orders. To do as you're told. I bet you don't even know why you can't think for yourself. It's the way you were raised, indoctrinated into their society - and it is their society. It was never yours, not since the moment you took your first breath. It was always theirs.
Summary
Roselle St. Sismode is the second child of Clarity of Virtues, in a world where secondborn children are nothing more than a property of firstborns. On her 18th birthday she gets send away to become a soldier, but because many people feel a lot of animosty towards her and her family, the transition may not be very pleasant.
Writing
The writing style is simple, but something about it seems very wrong. I can't remember the last time when I struggled with a book as much as I did with Secondborn. I wasn't able to imagine how anything looked. I couldn't picture the scenery, the characters, the fight scenes. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Characters
The only character that is developed in any way is Roselle, but even that is lackluster. She is completely unlikeable and unrelatable. Nothing she ever does seems to have any sense. And her character arc is very… jagged? Her way of thinking doesn't change over a long period of time. It takes nothing more than a blink of an eye and suddenly she is a completely different person.
Every other character was severely underdeveloped and was nothing more than a prop for Roselle.
Plot
The idea for this story is a material for an amazing book. But the execution was really bad.
We are given no reason for why this system of firstborns and secondborns was ever implemented. It's such an importrant part of this book that it needed a good and thorough explanation, but it got none.
Everything in this book seems very convenient and feels like a lazy, uncreative writing.
Overall
It's a bad, bad book. It reminds me of a cheap version of The Hunger Games. It's still fairly entertaining, but ohhh so frustrating.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was very intrigued by the concept of this book. That firstborns are somehow superior and seconborns are basically cannon fodder.
As a secondborn myself I truly feel for Roselle. She is much more capable than her brother and yet she is sent to the front lines and almost dies multiple times.
She is also used and betrayed frequently.
I found it to be confusing at times. A lot of the terminology flew over my head. I didn't think to check for a glossary though and was surprised to find one at the end. -.-
I liked Roselle. I found her to be smart and capable.
I was rooting for her and Hawthorn until he betrayed her. :(
I'm not sure how I feel about the other guy who's name is escaping me at the moment. He seems to be a better match for her right now but he is also using her. :/
I can't believe that her own mother wants to kill her!!! What a sadistic cruel bitch!!! -.-
As a secondborn myself I truly feel for Roselle. She is much more capable than her brother and yet she is sent to the front lines and almost dies multiple times.
She is also used and betrayed frequently.
I found it to be confusing at times. A lot of the terminology flew over my head. I didn't think to check for a glossary though and was surprised to find one at the end. -.-
I liked Roselle. I found her to be smart and capable.
I was rooting for her and Hawthorn until he betrayed her. :(
I'm not sure how I feel about the other guy who's name is escaping me at the moment. He seems to be a better match for her right now but he is also using her. :/
I can't believe that her own mother wants to kill her!!! What a sadistic cruel bitch!!! -.-