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amethystbookwyrm's review
4.0
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
Thanks to Xpresso Books Tours for giving me this book to review.
Ten years after the great war of 2185 the queen’s reign is threatened by uprisings and fear. In celebration of my sixteenth birthday it is my duty as princess to sacrifice a slave to be initiated into the ruling council, solidifying my mother’s empire. When my own erratic powers surface I’m captured and tried for treason. Slaves hate me, my mother wants me executed, and my only chance of survival rests in the hands of a young man, Ryder Arteres, whose sister I sentenced to death.
Escapement is a really enjoyable YA dystopia full of action, suspense, romance, and unique powers. I found this book a bit hard to get into, but I think that had more to do with want was happening in my life at the time, rather than the book. This book is really well written as it has good world building and in-depth characters especially how the three main people interacted.
I really could connect to Semara as she is not perfect and very naïve, especially as she want to believe in her mother but is still willing to fight, to prove herself and always putting others before herself. Ryder is sacrificing and harsh character, but is also very caring and protective, especially over his sister Raeth. Raeth is a sweet girl who I wanted to protect but while scarred, she did not let it affect her too much.
I really liked this book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of The Neumarian Chronicles. I would recommend Escapement to fans of YA dystopia novels like Perfection by J L Spelbring.
Thanks to Xpresso Books Tours for giving me this book to review.
Ten years after the great war of 2185 the queen’s reign is threatened by uprisings and fear. In celebration of my sixteenth birthday it is my duty as princess to sacrifice a slave to be initiated into the ruling council, solidifying my mother’s empire. When my own erratic powers surface I’m captured and tried for treason. Slaves hate me, my mother wants me executed, and my only chance of survival rests in the hands of a young man, Ryder Arteres, whose sister I sentenced to death.
Escapement is a really enjoyable YA dystopia full of action, suspense, romance, and unique powers. I found this book a bit hard to get into, but I think that had more to do with want was happening in my life at the time, rather than the book. This book is really well written as it has good world building and in-depth characters especially how the three main people interacted.
I really could connect to Semara as she is not perfect and very naïve, especially as she want to believe in her mother but is still willing to fight, to prove herself and always putting others before herself. Ryder is sacrificing and harsh character, but is also very caring and protective, especially over his sister Raeth. Raeth is a sweet girl who I wanted to protect but while scarred, she did not let it affect her too much.
I really liked this book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of The Neumarian Chronicles. I would recommend Escapement to fans of YA dystopia novels like Perfection by J L Spelbring.
tartbarbie's review
4.0
I received Escapement in return for an honest review. It’s been ten years since earth was all but destroyed by war and the Queen has rising up as the new leader. Her daughter Semara has returned but isn’t up to doing everything that her mother has in store for her. When she starts to develop powers like the Nuemarian that her mother considers parasites Semara knows she’s in trouble. On her sixteenth birthday in order to take her place among the council she will need to sacrifice a Nuemarian and her mother has just the one. Force to go against her mother Semara takes off with Raeth the girl she befriended and left for dead in the desert instead of disposing of her.
Now fleeing from her mother Semara and Raeth are joined by her brother Ryder knowing that if they have any chance of stopping Mother they will have to travel across the country to the ocean where the rebellion will be waiting. The trio set out on a treacherous journey risking their lives to save their people finding alleys in unlikely places and learning more about themselves. Semara finds that maybe she can have a happy ever after with Ryder if only he knew the truth about what part she played in Raeth’s torture. Will they make it to the ocean or be eating by spiderats or captured by scavengers and what about the father she thought was dead?
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Semara but as the story progressed I liked her more and more. She has issues which I found made her more likeable and she learns to overcome her abilities and use them to her advantage. I like a character who isn’t afraid to get her hands wet and she is willing to risk her life to save those she loved she felt very real to me. I loved Raeth she’s a sweetheart even though she also has issues but she had a very unique way of dealing with them. What’s not to like about Ryder he’s very supportive of his sister and puts her above everything else. He’s a good guy who is fighting to save his people what’s not to love. We also had a little glimpse of Maggie I hope to see more of her in a future book while we didn’t get a lot she caught my attention.
I’ve had this book sitting on my kindle for months way longer than I should have but I’ve not been in a dystopian mood until recently so of course I knew it was the book for me. Escapement is set into the future after a war that decimated much of the counter people have evolved into three kinds the traditional humans, slags which are humans with metal parts and Nuemarian who are humans who have abilities that make them a threat to the Queens rule. The author has taken the dystopian concept and put her own unique spin creating a captivating story that I found hard to put down. I found the story well written it flows along smoothly action packed, loaded with suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat and just enough romance to tease me. I have very much enjoyed the characters they are easy to connect with and I loved Semara and Raeth. This is my first book by the author but I don’t plan on it being the last. I have the rest of the series on my kindle and look forward to finish it over the next week it’s hard to put down. Escapement is a novel that teens as well as adults will enjoy.
Now fleeing from her mother Semara and Raeth are joined by her brother Ryder knowing that if they have any chance of stopping Mother they will have to travel across the country to the ocean where the rebellion will be waiting. The trio set out on a treacherous journey risking their lives to save their people finding alleys in unlikely places and learning more about themselves. Semara finds that maybe she can have a happy ever after with Ryder if only he knew the truth about what part she played in Raeth’s torture. Will they make it to the ocean or be eating by spiderats or captured by scavengers and what about the father she thought was dead?
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Semara but as the story progressed I liked her more and more. She has issues which I found made her more likeable and she learns to overcome her abilities and use them to her advantage. I like a character who isn’t afraid to get her hands wet and she is willing to risk her life to save those she loved she felt very real to me. I loved Raeth she’s a sweetheart even though she also has issues but she had a very unique way of dealing with them. What’s not to like about Ryder he’s very supportive of his sister and puts her above everything else. He’s a good guy who is fighting to save his people what’s not to love. We also had a little glimpse of Maggie I hope to see more of her in a future book while we didn’t get a lot she caught my attention.
I’ve had this book sitting on my kindle for months way longer than I should have but I’ve not been in a dystopian mood until recently so of course I knew it was the book for me. Escapement is set into the future after a war that decimated much of the counter people have evolved into three kinds the traditional humans, slags which are humans with metal parts and Nuemarian who are humans who have abilities that make them a threat to the Queens rule. The author has taken the dystopian concept and put her own unique spin creating a captivating story that I found hard to put down. I found the story well written it flows along smoothly action packed, loaded with suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat and just enough romance to tease me. I have very much enjoyed the characters they are easy to connect with and I loved Semara and Raeth. This is my first book by the author but I don’t plan on it being the last. I have the rest of the series on my kindle and look forward to finish it over the next week it’s hard to put down. Escapement is a novel that teens as well as adults will enjoy.
mlboyd20's review
4.0
I would like to thank the author for providing me with a complimentary copy of Escapement in exchange for an honest review. Doing so does not sway my review in any way.
Science fiction...dystopian...romance...what more could this girl want? I jumped at the chance to read this novel. If food is the way to a man's heart, those three genres mixed together are the way to mine. The cover also drew me to this book, and amazingly did help me in the visualization of the main character, Princess Semara Valderak.
The title Princess is quite different in this book than the royalty that we are used to in our history. Yes, in some ways the same though. She had to look a certain way, act a certain way but in the end, she was more of a slave to her mother, the Queen, who demanded a puppet rather than a person to succeed her. Things head south quickly in this book and the life she was going to have to lead was stripped from her, but leaving her on the run and full of guilt.
At first, I found it a little hard to keep up with the different terms, characters and such, but after an adjustment period, both for Semara and for me, the reader, I started getting the hang of it. The author provided twists with the different gifts the people presented with and showed how their gifts weren't one dimensional, leaving the characters baffled at times. The romance in this book builds, but I felt it started to quickly with a bang. It just didn't seem natural with the predicament the assorted characters were in at the time.
This book is full of action, adventure, iron fist ruling, guilt, fear and hope. At times I found myself rereading a paragraph here and there because the action was so fast paced that I had skipped over some essential information. Those times reminded me of when I watch a movie more than once and notice things I hadn't before because my attention was originally on another character or item.
As I read, I found myself attaching to the characters and truly hating the ones that were evil to the core. When that happens, I know that the book has grabbed me, hook, line and sinker. Once that happens, I'm able to let go of any reservations and let the story sweep me away. Having said that, I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
Science fiction...dystopian...romance...what more could this girl want? I jumped at the chance to read this novel. If food is the way to a man's heart, those three genres mixed together are the way to mine. The cover also drew me to this book, and amazingly did help me in the visualization of the main character, Princess Semara Valderak.
The title Princess is quite different in this book than the royalty that we are used to in our history. Yes, in some ways the same though. She had to look a certain way, act a certain way but in the end, she was more of a slave to her mother, the Queen, who demanded a puppet rather than a person to succeed her. Things head south quickly in this book and the life she was going to have to lead was stripped from her, but leaving her on the run and full of guilt.
At first, I found it a little hard to keep up with the different terms, characters and such, but after an adjustment period, both for Semara and for me, the reader, I started getting the hang of it. The author provided twists with the different gifts the people presented with and showed how their gifts weren't one dimensional, leaving the characters baffled at times. The romance in this book builds, but I felt it started to quickly with a bang. It just didn't seem natural with the predicament the assorted characters were in at the time.
This book is full of action, adventure, iron fist ruling, guilt, fear and hope. At times I found myself rereading a paragraph here and there because the action was so fast paced that I had skipped over some essential information. Those times reminded me of when I watch a movie more than once and notice things I hadn't before because my attention was originally on another character or item.
As I read, I found myself attaching to the characters and truly hating the ones that were evil to the core. When that happens, I know that the book has grabbed me, hook, line and sinker. Once that happens, I'm able to let go of any reservations and let the story sweep me away. Having said that, I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
jmmoore2003's review
4.0
This first book of the Neumarian Chronicles leads the reader into a steampunk world unlike any other I've experienced in a YA novel. It's fascinating to delve deeper into the layers of the society that were touched upon in the prequel Weighted. Incidentally, the prequel does not have to be read first, but it definitely helped - I can see how Ciara's writing style developed from her first novel to when she wrote Weighted, and that kept me going when the pace seemed a bit slower in the early chapters of Escapement.
I look forward to the excitement of the second book in this trilogy, which I will be diving into headfirst tomorrow!
I look forward to the excitement of the second book in this trilogy, which I will be diving into headfirst tomorrow!
bookish_satty's review
5.0
I got this book from the author, free of cost, in exchange of an honest review from my side.
Firstly I would like to thank Ciara Knight, author of Escapement, for giving me this wonderful opportunity of reading and reviewing this fabulous book.
I totally fell in love with this book. It's really great and an awesome read for everyone. The characters are really fabulous and the development of the characters is remarkable and can be followed through out the book.
It is a fast-paced, intriguing read and totally unputdownable. I started it at night and nearly remained awake till 3 am for finishing it in one go, just couldn't let go without knowing the end.
I loved the main female lead and the awesome writing style of the author really helped me in getting connected with the characters and the plot as well. I felt the emotional indecision through which Semara went really touched my heart and the author executed in such a smooth and totally understandable way that I felt myself steeping in to the shoes of Semara and facing the emotional turmoil and getting stuck between whether to listen to your heart of follow your mother's orders.
I truly felt the problem she faced and the burden of the princess responsibility on her shoulders which made her more and more vulnerable.
I just loved the end which I'm not going to give to you, no matter how much you curse because I want you all to enjoy it all by yourself.
Ryder was fab and really stole the show for me and I would love to get some more of him in the next part of well.
I would definitely like to recommend the book to ya all because it's fast-paced, full of power-packed action, dreaded secrets, heart wrenching decisions, emotional whirlwind, betrayal, loyalty, cruelty and life changing revelations.
All in all a great and must read for ya all and I would definite love to read the next book in this series for sure.
Firstly I would like to thank Ciara Knight, author of Escapement, for giving me this wonderful opportunity of reading and reviewing this fabulous book.
I totally fell in love with this book. It's really great and an awesome read for everyone. The characters are really fabulous and the development of the characters is remarkable and can be followed through out the book.
It is a fast-paced, intriguing read and totally unputdownable. I started it at night and nearly remained awake till 3 am for finishing it in one go, just couldn't let go without knowing the end.
I loved the main female lead and the awesome writing style of the author really helped me in getting connected with the characters and the plot as well. I felt the emotional indecision through which Semara went really touched my heart and the author executed in such a smooth and totally understandable way that I felt myself steeping in to the shoes of Semara and facing the emotional turmoil and getting stuck between whether to listen to your heart of follow your mother's orders.
I truly felt the problem she faced and the burden of the princess responsibility on her shoulders which made her more and more vulnerable.
I just loved the end which I'm not going to give to you, no matter how much you curse because I want you all to enjoy it all by yourself.
Ryder was fab and really stole the show for me and I would love to get some more of him in the next part of well.
I would definitely like to recommend the book to ya all because it's fast-paced, full of power-packed action, dreaded secrets, heart wrenching decisions, emotional whirlwind, betrayal, loyalty, cruelty and life changing revelations.
All in all a great and must read for ya all and I would definite love to read the next book in this series for sure.
hannahsophialin's review
3.0
I have at least one, really helpful suggestion for Ms. Knight in regards to The Neumarian Chronicles: A guide to everything – well, almost everything – used in the Neumarian Chronicles.
Escapement certainly shows promise – it's different from other dystopians. The book literally goes into the meat of things from page one, and us readers aren't reading the first few pages of happy-happy world. Other dystopians like Divergent literally wait until a good chunk of the book (okay, Divergent was good. The sequels sucked. The end.).
Escapement, on the other hand, literally shows that life sucks and a rebellion is already on the rise. I feel as though I'm reading the second book and missed something from a really short first book or prequel. We have Princess Semara Valderak turning sixteen and having to sacrifice a Neumarian in order to become a part of the ruling council. However, not only does she spill something she did wrong several years ago, powers that she shouldn't have appear as well. Talk about a one way ticket to a sucky life unless she decides to run away.
But back to what I said earlier: I really think if Knight actually made a guide with pictures and diagrams, I would have understood the Neumarian world better. I would have understood what some of the words the Neumarians used (it certainly wasn't English!), the numerous creatures that appear, etc. I mean, what do these mean?
~ Neuki budala – Does this have something to do with nuclears and Buddhas? I don't think Buddha-shaped nukes is a good thing. Plus, I think I did some offending by saying that. Oops.
~ Prokleto čudovišta! – Is this Polish?
~ Po ǵavolite – Based on the sentence it was used in, I literally think this means, WTF? (Pardon my language.) And... I had a very crude comment. Someone zip up my fingers (because I'm typing) before I do something I deeply regret.
Not to sound really mean, but without a guide, it feels like the words and terms were just thrown about and around. Plus since I'm that one weirdo who likes to know details and specifics, it does NOT go well if I don't understand. Even though technically, I really suck at explaining. I'm good at showing how to do things, but one cannot simply walk up to the author, shake them, and say, "I DEMAND a guide."
It's rude. But speaking of the language, even the English felt really weird. I only let it brush by because I think Knight only wanted to distinguish the lower classes from the upper classes.
What I really enjoyed Escapement was Raeth Arteres as a character. She's such a strong person, despite what happened to her in the past. Plus that ball she carries with her all the time and the way she checks out every so often? It's as though she's completely carefree yet aware of her surroundings at the same time. Among all the seriousness and whatnot of the other characters and the craziness of what’s going on in the story, Raeth just seems to make the light of things without actually doing much of anything.
However much The Neumarian Chronicles seems to have a great idea and concept planned, I just feel like the book isn’t exactly my type – the language being used by the Neumarians and the writing just isn’t the type for a person who prefers details and explanations (not too detailed. Just enough so I get the idea and meaning.).
------------------------
Original Review posted at Bookwyrming Thoughts
Escapement certainly shows promise – it's different from other dystopians. The book literally goes into the meat of things from page one, and us readers aren't reading the first few pages of happy-happy world. Other dystopians like Divergent literally wait until a good chunk of the book (okay, Divergent was good. The sequels sucked. The end.).
Escapement, on the other hand, literally shows that life sucks and a rebellion is already on the rise. I feel as though I'm reading the second book and missed something from a really short first book or prequel. We have Princess Semara Valderak turning sixteen and having to sacrifice a Neumarian in order to become a part of the ruling council. However, not only does she spill something she did wrong several years ago, powers that she shouldn't have appear as well. Talk about a one way ticket to a sucky life unless she decides to run away.
But back to what I said earlier: I really think if Knight actually made a guide with pictures and diagrams, I would have understood the Neumarian world better. I would have understood what some of the words the Neumarians used (it certainly wasn't English!), the numerous creatures that appear, etc. I mean, what do these mean?
~ Neuki budala – Does this have something to do with nuclears and Buddhas? I don't think Buddha-shaped nukes is a good thing. Plus, I think I did some offending by saying that. Oops.
~ Prokleto čudovišta! – Is this Polish?
~ Po ǵavolite – Based on the sentence it was used in, I literally think this means, WTF? (Pardon my language.) And... I had a very crude comment. Someone zip up my fingers (because I'm typing) before I do something I deeply regret.
Not to sound really mean, but without a guide, it feels like the words and terms were just thrown about and around. Plus since I'm that one weirdo who likes to know details and specifics, it does NOT go well if I don't understand. Even though technically, I really suck at explaining. I'm good at showing how to do things, but one cannot simply walk up to the author, shake them, and say, "I DEMAND a guide."
It's rude. But speaking of the language, even the English felt really weird. I only let it brush by because I think Knight only wanted to distinguish the lower classes from the upper classes.
What I really enjoyed Escapement was Raeth Arteres as a character. She's such a strong person, despite what happened to her in the past. Plus that ball she carries with her all the time and the way she checks out every so often? It's as though she's completely carefree yet aware of her surroundings at the same time. Among all the seriousness and whatnot of the other characters and the craziness of what’s going on in the story, Raeth just seems to make the light of things without actually doing much of anything.
However much The Neumarian Chronicles seems to have a great idea and concept planned, I just feel like the book isn’t exactly my type – the language being used by the Neumarians and the writing just isn’t the type for a person who prefers details and explanations (not too detailed. Just enough so I get the idea and meaning.).
------------------------
Original Review posted at Bookwyrming Thoughts
kylek's review
2.0
2.5 Stars
I have mixed feeling about this book. While I did ultimately enjoy it somewhat I was also left unsatisfied.
The first thing that threw me off was the way it was written. The tense used, was not working for me and it took me some time to get used to it and finally get into the story. While I was intrigued by all these new races and how they worked, or not worked together as the case may be, I wasn't given enough information to truly for an opinion. And that was really the whole problem with the book.
For this being a dystopian-steampunk book there wasn't nearly enough world-building to really get a look at the whole world. And because of this I wasn't ever able to really get into it. I just couldn't picture some thing in my head and even though you are being told there was a war and such and how the terrain and climates changed, I felt like I wasn't given enough of a backdrop to be able to believe that it could turn out like that. Why territories? How does their form of government really work? It didn't seem like an actual monarchy so how does it work? Who decided on the territories? How is it possible and how did the whole 'cyborg' thing come about? Why copper and not some other metal? Where does the term Slag even come from?
Besides those two points, everything else was great. I thought the characters were all solid, and the plot was interesting and moved at a steady pace that allowed you to keep reading effortlessly. But that one issue with the world building just really did me in.
So because of what I felt was an inadequate amount of backdrop information, I was never able to immerse myself in the book as much as I would have liked.
I have mixed feeling about this book. While I did ultimately enjoy it somewhat I was also left unsatisfied.
The first thing that threw me off was the way it was written. The tense used, was not working for me and it took me some time to get used to it and finally get into the story. While I was intrigued by all these new races and how they worked, or not worked together as the case may be, I wasn't given enough information to truly for an opinion. And that was really the whole problem with the book.
For this being a dystopian-steampunk book there wasn't nearly enough world-building to really get a look at the whole world. And because of this I wasn't ever able to really get into it. I just couldn't picture some thing in my head and even though you are being told there was a war and such and how the terrain and climates changed, I felt like I wasn't given enough of a backdrop to be able to believe that it could turn out like that. Why territories? How does their form of government really work? It didn't seem like an actual monarchy so how does it work? Who decided on the territories? How is it possible and how did the whole 'cyborg' thing come about? Why copper and not some other metal? Where does the term Slag even come from?
Besides those two points, everything else was great. I thought the characters were all solid, and the plot was interesting and moved at a steady pace that allowed you to keep reading effortlessly. But that one issue with the world building just really did me in.
So because of what I felt was an inadequate amount of backdrop information, I was never able to immerse myself in the book as much as I would have liked.
littleread1's review
3.0
3.5 stars - I did like it but there were some issues with the writing that made it a little difficult to read. A few times it switched from I to her and I had to go back and re-read to figure out who was talking and who they were talking about. And I didn't quite catch the romance on his side - but that could be because it is all from her POV. It just was never made clear to me. But the story was fast paced, and kept me interested well into the night. I am still looking forward to the next one!
whisperingchapters's review
4.0
When I started reading Escapement, I felt like the story had a Branded/Divergent feel to it. While it does has some minor similar aspects, it is entirely different from this book. This is the first book I have read that has a lot of action in a Dystopian book. It is very suspenseful and has just moved to the First Place on my favorite Dystopian books.
Semara has lived with her mother, the Queen since she was six years old. She used to live with her dad but one day she got handed over to her mom and she didn't like it one bit. She was treated horribly by her own mother, to the point of almost torture. Each year, Semara has to pick a Neumarian, people with special gifts that the Queen hates, to be killed. The day of her sixteenth birthday is the day she has to pick once again in order to be part of the council of where they live. As she's looking all over the place, she notices a familiar face--one that belongs to a person she never thought she would see again, considering she had sent this person to be killed but had helped escaped, not knowing what the future held for this person. Once the Queen noticed what was going, she sent Semara to be put as a slave to the General (evil incarnate) but Semara is rescued and her journey begins with betrayal, sadness, and new powers she hadn't thought she had.
The covers of the whole series caught my attention a lot and, while I struggled whether or not to sign up for review, I am so glad I did! I entered a new world where everything is raw and a little gore-y. I finished this book in two days (basically in 1 day because I only read 2 chapters the first day). I ate it all up once I started reading.
Ciara Knight has brought it all with this new series.
Semara has lived with her mother, the Queen since she was six years old. She used to live with her dad but one day she got handed over to her mom and she didn't like it one bit. She was treated horribly by her own mother, to the point of almost torture. Each year, Semara has to pick a Neumarian, people with special gifts that the Queen hates, to be killed. The day of her sixteenth birthday is the day she has to pick once again in order to be part of the council of where they live. As she's looking all over the place, she notices a familiar face--one that belongs to a person she never thought she would see again, considering she had sent this person to be killed but had helped escaped, not knowing what the future held for this person. Once the Queen noticed what was going, she sent Semara to be put as a slave to the General (evil incarnate) but Semara is rescued and her journey begins with betrayal, sadness, and new powers she hadn't thought she had.
The covers of the whole series caught my attention a lot and, while I struggled whether or not to sign up for review, I am so glad I did! I entered a new world where everything is raw and a little gore-y. I finished this book in two days (basically in 1 day because I only read 2 chapters the first day). I ate it all up once I started reading.
Ciara Knight has brought it all with this new series.
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