Scan barcode
kathydavie's review
3.0
Second in the Dualed dystopian Young Adult series set in an alternate history, one I hope never comes to pass.
I did receive this as an ARC from the publisher.
My Take
I would seriously recommend reading Dualed, 1, first as Chapman writes as if she expects you to understand some basics of the society in her story, and I have to assume that she spelled these out in the first installment.
Chapman’s put a nice twist on this dystopian thriller with a hint of Escape From New York, although Kersh’s inhabitants never did see the movie.
I suspect Chapman’s world is more interesting for her lack of information, leaving my imagination to try and fill in the blanks or else she’d have to think harder. No, I haven’t read Dualed, which is probably part of my problem, but then Chapman should have written this so it could function without the reader having to read it. And I suspect this lack of info is coloring how I perceive this story.
There are no info dumps in here --- and, lol, no, this is not because Chapman doesn’t tell us much! Instead she gives us the background of a good variety of things as part of the story, so thank you for that. Unfortunately, she counters this bit of good news with a lack of show. I’m not feelin’ it.
If striker marks are so awful why does Grayer have them? I don’t understand why Grayer is so freaked out all the time. From what I can gather, an activation only lasts 24 hours or the Alts only have 24 hours to find each other and kill the other. Or, maybe they do have more time. It’s difficult to tell from this.
Julis’ words of encouragement and advice are good ones. Counsel that any of us could use in our own lives.
There’s a scene in which Chord is ordering pizza and West talks about not being used to being a complete in relation to what she can order. And I’m lost. She can have better quality food as a complete? Why? What’s the purpose of better? Wouldn’t it be more practical to ensure that an idle has good food so they’re at their best? What would she be allowed as an idle? There’s no sense of how the economy works. Supposedly she’s still in school and doesn’t work. Yet she’s appears to be an orphan, so who pays the rent, food, utilities?
It’s a series of tropes, some well used and some not. I do like the twist Chapman put on those assassinations West has to perform. I don’t really understand why West doesn’t talk to Dire about this new contract. He’d be able to give her good advice. And it’s not like he’d go blabbing it about. I do hate the trope in which one character keeps getting interrupted and can’t seem to progress beyond the first words or the apology bit. Why would the Board need to be kept safe from the Surround?
I’m confused about that comment West makes about Chord not wanting to be friends with his own Alt, the one who killed his best friend. If Chord is complete, doesn’t that mean his Alt is dead? So how could he be friends with him? Why doesn’t West text Chord about Dess finding out?
At least West is consistently stupid. She gets the black contract and doesn’t contact a soul. *major eye roll*
If Sabian’s daughter knows West has been hired by her father, then how can she not know she’s been hired by her father? I’m so confused by that exchange between Bryn and Chord. As for West, how lame is that “noble savage” trope West uses. How does West convey her location to Bryn?
There are too many holes and too little information, combined with the lack of show, I’m not involved in the story. I’m not impressed.
The Story
West is enticed with an offer too good to be true: her future children will never have to face their Alt. All she has to do is kill on command. What she vowed she would never do again.
The Characters
West Grayer is complete and now working under Baer at Torth Prep. Aave, Luc, and Ehm are the siblings who were incomplete; Luc was Chord’s best friend.
Chord is complete and the man West loves. An incredibly patient one. Dess is a young boy whom West helped (his story must be in Dualed).
Baer Tellyson is now the weapons instructor at the school. He was once a Level Three Operator. Quinn is Chord’s chem partner; it seems that Nash is in their class. Julis is a psychologist? a counselor? helping Grayer deal with her nightmares.
Dire Latimer runs Dire Nation, a shop that works as a front for his real operations, running strikers for money. Hestor is a duplicitous clerk in Dire Nation. Innes is a brilliant scientist.
Sabian is a Level One Operator who likes to work behind the scenes. Sabian’s kids --- Bryn and Hollis --- seem decent sorts.
Gracen Beck, Shaw Finley, and Auden Parrish are targets --- and Parrish is Luc’s Alt. A complete. His father is Meyer Parrish, a Level Two Operator.
Alts are twins, an Alternate version of each person. It’s a sterile society, and I’m guessing that people are impregnated or the children are test tube babies with the Lab creating the children, for there are always two who look alike but are raised by different families. There must be some connection as the parent-child relationship seems to be intense. The intention is for each pair of twins, the Alts, to hunt each other down and kill the other, to prove who is the best, who can face down their worst enemies. Rather barbaric…
A complete is the successful Alt, the one who killed her --- or his --- other half. A PK is a peripheral kill, not completed by his Alt. An EK is an early kill in which an Alt kills their other half as soon as they recognize him or her; it’s a criminal action. An incomplete is an Alt that didn’t survive their activation. I think an idle is someone who hasn’t been activated. A striker appears to be an assassin, not legal and subject to black contracts which are for those who overstep the rules. An activation is the signal for the Alts to drop whatever they’re doing and hunt each other. To kill.
Kersh is an isolated town, surrounded by a huge iron wall, protecting it from the Surround --- the rest of the world. Its current model was set up by its Founders: Cris, Jackson, and Tamryn. Cris became Level One, the political group; Jackson was Level Two and handled military matters; and, Tamryn became the Lab and was charged with the science of babies. Members of the Levels are Board Operators and feared by the rest. Level Three evolved from being intermediaries.
The Ronin Mark II is a Roark and delivers a variety of possibilities besides death, including removing any Alt code. Combined with Chord’s key-code disrupter, it should enable any Kershite to slip through the electrified barrier and get out of Kersh.
The Cover
The cover feels stylized and neon-y as a sword-bearing West faces a horde of her own Alts in the mirror maze...with Hollis racing up to her.
The title is how West feels, Divided by her choices.
I did receive this as an ARC from the publisher.
My Take
I would seriously recommend reading Dualed, 1, first as Chapman writes as if she expects you to understand some basics of the society in her story, and I have to assume that she spelled these out in the first installment.
Chapman’s put a nice twist on this dystopian thriller with a hint of Escape From New York, although Kersh’s inhabitants never did see the movie.
How sad that every child is brought up with the following as a mantra:
“Each one of them helps with reflexes, coordination, muscle strength. At all times you’ll need the three to defeat your Alt.”
I suspect Chapman’s world is more interesting for her lack of information, leaving my imagination to try and fill in the blanks or else she’d have to think harder. No, I haven’t read Dualed, which is probably part of my problem, but then Chapman should have written this so it could function without the reader having to read it. And I suspect this lack of info is coloring how I perceive this story.
There are no info dumps in here --- and, lol, no, this is not because Chapman doesn’t tell us much! Instead she gives us the background of a good variety of things as part of the story, so thank you for that. Unfortunately, she counters this bit of good news with a lack of show. I’m not feelin’ it.
If striker marks are so awful why does Grayer have them? I don’t understand why Grayer is so freaked out all the time. From what I can gather, an activation only lasts 24 hours or the Alts only have 24 hours to find each other and kill the other. Or, maybe they do have more time. It’s difficult to tell from this.
Julis’ words of encouragement and advice are good ones. Counsel that any of us could use in our own lives.
There’s a scene in which Chord is ordering pizza and West talks about not being used to being a complete in relation to what she can order. And I’m lost. She can have better quality food as a complete? Why? What’s the purpose of better? Wouldn’t it be more practical to ensure that an idle has good food so they’re at their best? What would she be allowed as an idle? There’s no sense of how the economy works. Supposedly she’s still in school and doesn’t work. Yet she’s appears to be an orphan, so who pays the rent, food, utilities?
It’s a series of tropes, some well used and some not. I do like the twist Chapman put on those assassinations West has to perform. I don’t really understand why West doesn’t talk to Dire about this new contract. He’d be able to give her good advice. And it’s not like he’d go blabbing it about. I do hate the trope in which one character keeps getting interrupted and can’t seem to progress beyond the first words or the apology bit. Why would the Board need to be kept safe from the Surround?
I’m confused about that comment West makes about Chord not wanting to be friends with his own Alt, the one who killed his best friend. If Chord is complete, doesn’t that mean his Alt is dead? So how could he be friends with him? Why doesn’t West text Chord about Dess finding out?
At least West is consistently stupid. She gets the black contract and doesn’t contact a soul. *major eye roll*
If Sabian’s daughter knows West has been hired by her father, then how can she not know she’s been hired by her father? I’m so confused by that exchange between Bryn and Chord. As for West, how lame is that “noble savage” trope West uses. How does West convey her location to Bryn?
”That part of you --- whether it’s technical skill or instinct --- that lets you kill is the same that knows when to show mercy. How you decide to use it is up to you.”
There are too many holes and too little information, combined with the lack of show, I’m not involved in the story. I’m not impressed.
The Story
West is enticed with an offer too good to be true: her future children will never have to face their Alt. All she has to do is kill on command. What she vowed she would never do again.
The Characters
West Grayer is complete and now working under Baer at Torth Prep. Aave, Luc, and Ehm are the siblings who were incomplete; Luc was Chord’s best friend.
Chord is complete and the man West loves. An incredibly patient one. Dess is a young boy whom West helped (his story must be in Dualed).
Baer Tellyson is now the weapons instructor at the school. He was once a Level Three Operator. Quinn is Chord’s chem partner; it seems that Nash is in their class. Julis is a psychologist? a counselor? helping Grayer deal with her nightmares.
Dire Latimer runs Dire Nation, a shop that works as a front for his real operations, running strikers for money. Hestor is a duplicitous clerk in Dire Nation. Innes is a brilliant scientist.
Sabian is a Level One Operator who likes to work behind the scenes. Sabian’s kids --- Bryn and Hollis --- seem decent sorts.
Gracen Beck, Shaw Finley, and Auden Parrish are targets --- and Parrish is Luc’s Alt. A complete. His father is Meyer Parrish, a Level Two Operator.
Alts are twins, an Alternate version of each person. It’s a sterile society, and I’m guessing that people are impregnated or the children are test tube babies with the Lab creating the children, for there are always two who look alike but are raised by different families. There must be some connection as the parent-child relationship seems to be intense. The intention is for each pair of twins, the Alts, to hunt each other down and kill the other, to prove who is the best, who can face down their worst enemies. Rather barbaric…
A complete is the successful Alt, the one who killed her --- or his --- other half. A PK is a peripheral kill, not completed by his Alt. An EK is an early kill in which an Alt kills their other half as soon as they recognize him or her; it’s a criminal action. An incomplete is an Alt that didn’t survive their activation. I think an idle is someone who hasn’t been activated. A striker appears to be an assassin, not legal and subject to black contracts which are for those who overstep the rules. An activation is the signal for the Alts to drop whatever they’re doing and hunt each other. To kill.
Kersh is an isolated town, surrounded by a huge iron wall, protecting it from the Surround --- the rest of the world. Its current model was set up by its Founders: Cris, Jackson, and Tamryn. Cris became Level One, the political group; Jackson was Level Two and handled military matters; and, Tamryn became the Lab and was charged with the science of babies. Members of the Levels are Board Operators and feared by the rest. Level Three evolved from being intermediaries.
The Ronin Mark II is a Roark and delivers a variety of possibilities besides death, including removing any Alt code. Combined with Chord’s key-code disrupter, it should enable any Kershite to slip through the electrified barrier and get out of Kersh.
The Cover
The cover feels stylized and neon-y as a sword-bearing West faces a horde of her own Alts in the mirror maze...with Hollis racing up to her.
The title is how West feels, Divided by her choices.
ionlyreaddramione's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Slow start. Predictable middle. Unsatisfying end.
crimyami's review
4.0
Divided is the second book to Dualed by Elsie Chapman. Where we follow West Grayer from the last book. She killed her alt, and left from being a striker. Now she's trying to build her life but the Board isn't done with her yet. They bring her back with something, but the board doesn't always tell the truth. Now she has to find out the truth and to expose the secrets but the board isn't willing to let her do that.
Elsie does an awesome job in telling the story and it's never a dull moment. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat while you're trying to figure out what's all going on. The build up is nice and still leaves you craving for more. This book is really interesting and if you haven't read the first novel this book gives you a bit of insight to the past so you aren't completely confused about what is going on. All in all this book is a must read for those that enjoy the action and yes, the bit of romance as your trying to figure out what can you do in a twisted world.
Elsie does an awesome job in telling the story and it's never a dull moment. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat while you're trying to figure out what's all going on. The build up is nice and still leaves you craving for more. This book is really interesting and if you haven't read the first novel this book gives you a bit of insight to the past so you aren't completely confused about what is going on. All in all this book is a must read for those that enjoy the action and yes, the bit of romance as your trying to figure out what can you do in a twisted world.
rhaenyrareads's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 ou 3,5/5. Je sais pas trop quoi en penser et pour le moment.
100pagesaday's review
3.0
Divided, the second book in the Dualed series picks up shortly after Dualed left off. West has given up her past as a striker and is now helping Baer in a weapons class...or so she thinks. The Board has other plans. for her. The Board wants her to strike out three more Alts, the Alts of their children; in return West is promised a priceless reward for any children she may have. She also gets to use a fancy Board weapon that will promise a painless death. Troubles arise for West when she learns that the Alt's aren't exactly what the Board told her.
Divided is a lot better than Dualed! First of all, the city of Kersh, it's beginning and some of it's rules are finally explained. West learns the truth behind the Kersh's founders which gives us insight into why the city runs the way it does. The origins of The Board are explained, too, which helps to explain why these seemingly corrupt Board members get to control everything. Finally, the origins of the war and the creation of Alts are explained. This helps to understand the world much better (I was wondering why no one had figured out sex yet).
With West's striker offer and her decisions on how to carry it out, there is suspense and action built in throughout the storyline. In Dualed, there is a lot of waiting around. Lastly, it seems that West, Chord and Auden may have stumbled upon information and a way to begin changing their flawed society. Now, i am much more interested in seeing where this series is going.
This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.
Divided is a lot better than Dualed! First of all, the city of Kersh, it's beginning and some of it's rules are finally explained. West learns the truth behind the Kersh's founders which gives us insight into why the city runs the way it does. The origins of The Board are explained, too, which helps to explain why these seemingly corrupt Board members get to control everything. Finally, the origins of the war and the creation of Alts are explained. This helps to understand the world much better (I was wondering why no one had figured out sex yet).
With West's striker offer and her decisions on how to carry it out, there is suspense and action built in throughout the storyline. In Dualed, there is a lot of waiting around. Lastly, it seems that West, Chord and Auden may have stumbled upon information and a way to begin changing their flawed society. Now, i am much more interested in seeing where this series is going.
This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.
literallykalasin's review
4.0
I don't think it's news to say that I loved the first book in this series by Elsie Chapman, though I sometimes felt like a lone voice in the crowd when I would read reviews on Goodreads. However, staff-picking it at my work and buying a few copies for my middle school and watching them fly off (and stay off!) the shelves goes a long way to making me feel like I'm on to something.
When Random House and NetGalley let me read an advanced reader copy of Divided I was over the moon, and told all my colleagues how excited I was. Hyping this book up to myself kind of made me anxious about actually diving into the book, but once I started, I did everything I could to try to steal more time to devote to reading between my three jobs. I actually finished this book weeks ago, but I've been unable to sit down and write a review. Not just time-wise, I've also found it hard to adequately put into words how much I enjoyed this book and this compact, fast-paced, enjoyable series on the whole.
Let me just say, first off, thank you, dear baby Jesus and perhaps a little Ms. Chapman, for the two-book-series. As an Incredibly Busy Person (tm), this is eminently do-able (unlike sitting down to reread Harry Potter, which requires some sort of massive holiday in manner of Christmas break.) A tight series like this is easy to overlook because a new entry into the author's catalogue isn't coming every year, but I think Ms. Chapman took her two books and make the most of them. The world she creates is nicely formed and explained, and while there are still parts of the world that could be explored, it doesn't feel like the story is lacking because of these aspects that she chooses to gloss over or let the reader imagine. It stands well enough on its own, and acts as a superb background to her characters, which are really the focus of her storytelling.
In Divided, the reader is reintroduced to West Grayer, now a full fledged adult in her society of Kersh. Her experiences in the first book have left her emotionally scarred and unsure in how to go forward with her life. Before she can deliberate too much on the subject of the future, however, she is approached by a government official that wants her to take up her weapons again as a Striker -- a killer for hire -- and kill the alt of his children and some other high-level officials. West not only has to deal with the guilt she carries for killing her own alt, but now the dilemma of killing more innocents and possibly undermining the entire system that underpins Kersh's society. Who is West to determine who is worthy, to make these children the one? And why is her government asking her to make these choices?
Ms. Chapman has made her conclusion to this brief series not just enjoyable, but also action-packed and fast-paced, and be prepared to surrender your weekend to finishing this series.
When Random House and NetGalley let me read an advanced reader copy of Divided I was over the moon, and told all my colleagues how excited I was. Hyping this book up to myself kind of made me anxious about actually diving into the book, but once I started, I did everything I could to try to steal more time to devote to reading between my three jobs. I actually finished this book weeks ago, but I've been unable to sit down and write a review. Not just time-wise, I've also found it hard to adequately put into words how much I enjoyed this book and this compact, fast-paced, enjoyable series on the whole.
Let me just say, first off, thank you, dear baby Jesus and perhaps a little Ms. Chapman, for the two-book-series. As an Incredibly Busy Person (tm), this is eminently do-able (unlike sitting down to reread Harry Potter, which requires some sort of massive holiday in manner of Christmas break.) A tight series like this is easy to overlook because a new entry into the author's catalogue isn't coming every year, but I think Ms. Chapman took her two books and make the most of them. The world she creates is nicely formed and explained, and while there are still parts of the world that could be explored, it doesn't feel like the story is lacking because of these aspects that she chooses to gloss over or let the reader imagine. It stands well enough on its own, and acts as a superb background to her characters, which are really the focus of her storytelling.
In Divided, the reader is reintroduced to West Grayer, now a full fledged adult in her society of Kersh. Her experiences in the first book have left her emotionally scarred and unsure in how to go forward with her life. Before she can deliberate too much on the subject of the future, however, she is approached by a government official that wants her to take up her weapons again as a Striker -- a killer for hire -- and kill the alt of his children and some other high-level officials. West not only has to deal with the guilt she carries for killing her own alt, but now the dilemma of killing more innocents and possibly undermining the entire system that underpins Kersh's society. Who is West to determine who is worthy, to make these children the one? And why is her government asking her to make these choices?
Ms. Chapman has made her conclusion to this brief series not just enjoyable, but also action-packed and fast-paced, and be prepared to surrender your weekend to finishing this series.
joyousreads132's review
3.0
Book number two of this series has our West with a bounty on her head. Girl just can’t avoid trouble. With a deal she made with a member of the Board, she finds herself back on the streets on the hunt for three Alts whose counterparts were children of members of the Board themselves. Ah yes, the ole you should’ve known not to make deals with the devil. You know he’ll own your soul. In this case, however, our girl couldn’t find it in her to go back to her assassin ways. She just couldn’t kill them. Lucky for her, she’s given a weapon that could either kill them in the most painless way possible, or neutralize the system that tracks them as Alts. She managed to make the first two disappear, off the grid, if I may. The last one, though, is a different matter. Because as soon as she laid her eyes on him, she froze and realize, she couldn’t kill her brother Luc’s Alt. Things just kind of snowballed from there.
Short and sweet, this book was loads better than the first. Because I read them back-to-back, I sort of have a better understanding on the world that Ms. Chapman visualized.
“The Board decided the best way to weed out the weak was for soldiers to have to face down their worst enemies, those who would make the ultimate challenge. Themselves.”
This was more pronounced in the second book, as Alts, idles, originals, or what have you, seem to come to a head as West pissed off a whole slew of people. By the end of it all, it was a clusterfuck of epic fail for our West. Good intentions or not, she became the centre of all the conflicts in this book. Calamity Jane has nothing on West.
If there’s one thing I like about these books, it’s West’s Romeo (Chord). He is willing to overlook a lot for the sake of the girl he loves. I mean, he’s seen West pushed him away in the first book because she couldn’t stand to remember that it was Chord’s Alt who killed her brother. He’d seen her become a striker (killer for hire). And she’d lied to him over and over again. But this guy, man. He’s the real deal.
My two cents:
I insists that you borrow these books. I think the third one will be the best one yet, based on the way the second book ended. You will not be bored here, as it is non-stop cat and mouse action on every page.
Short and sweet, this book was loads better than the first. Because I read them back-to-back, I sort of have a better understanding on the world that Ms. Chapman visualized.
“The Board decided the best way to weed out the weak was for soldiers to have to face down their worst enemies, those who would make the ultimate challenge. Themselves.”
This was more pronounced in the second book, as Alts, idles, originals, or what have you, seem to come to a head as West pissed off a whole slew of people. By the end of it all, it was a clusterfuck of epic fail for our West. Good intentions or not, she became the centre of all the conflicts in this book. Calamity Jane has nothing on West.
If there’s one thing I like about these books, it’s West’s Romeo (Chord). He is willing to overlook a lot for the sake of the girl he loves. I mean, he’s seen West pushed him away in the first book because she couldn’t stand to remember that it was Chord’s Alt who killed her brother. He’d seen her become a striker (killer for hire). And she’d lied to him over and over again. But this guy, man. He’s the real deal.
My two cents:
I insists that you borrow these books. I think the third one will be the best one yet, based on the way the second book ended. You will not be bored here, as it is non-stop cat and mouse action on every page.
heather4994's review
5.0
**********SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ DUALED****************************************************
Divided picks up a few weeks or so after Dualed. Life is back to "normal" for West and Chord. They are in a routine and things are good. From there, the novel is completely different from Dualed.
We find out the origins of Kresh, who created it and why. Who created the Alt. system, why it exists.
So many things are answered about the world that you might have had when you read Dualed. Completes are expected to serve time guarding the Surround which we learn about from Chord and a friend of West's. We learn more about the Alt code and how it works in the body. It is just an entirely different book.
West is conscripted into service by someone to do some dirty work. She trusts in the system and believes that some of the Alts she killed before may have been "worthy" so she wants to even up the score. She accepts the job against better judgement, against what her body is screaming at her, and against what she knows everyone else would say, all because she feels a need to make up for those Alts she killed when she was a Striker. What if they were the stronger ones and she has left the city vulnerable?
This novel is more of a head game. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of action, but a lot of it has to do with West and her conscience and what she can and can't live with. Again, I was stunned often to be reading something gritty and then have an almost poetic scene of beauty described in the midst of it. Maybe it's to show that there is something to live for in this almost impossibly violent and unsure world West lives in, when any moment someone she loves could be killed as an Alt fights with their other half.
I loved Dualed, the first novel in this series, but I think I loved this one even more. There was more strategy, more psychology, more action even than before. And yet, though the ending is complete, there is room for another book in the series. We have no idea what's on the outside. And what we discover about Kersh makes it even more interesting to know what's on the outside. I hope Ms. Chapman decides to write a third book in the series.
I highly recommend this one. There is a lot of violence as in Dualed. Use your own judgement about whether you can handle graphic descriptions of injuries, blood and death. It is an excellent book!
Thank you to the publishers for an E-ARC for review through NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Divided picks up a few weeks or so after Dualed. Life is back to "normal" for West and Chord. They are in a routine and things are good. From there, the novel is completely different from Dualed.
We find out the origins of Kresh, who created it and why. Who created the Alt. system, why it exists.
So many things are answered about the world that you might have had when you read Dualed. Completes are expected to serve time guarding the Surround which we learn about from Chord and a friend of West's. We learn more about the Alt code and how it works in the body. It is just an entirely different book.
West is conscripted into service by someone to do some dirty work. She trusts in the system and believes that some of the Alts she killed before may have been "worthy" so she wants to even up the score. She accepts the job against better judgement, against what her body is screaming at her, and against what she knows everyone else would say, all because she feels a need to make up for those Alts she killed when she was a Striker. What if they were the stronger ones and she has left the city vulnerable?
This novel is more of a head game. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of action, but a lot of it has to do with West and her conscience and what she can and can't live with. Again, I was stunned often to be reading something gritty and then have an almost poetic scene of beauty described in the midst of it. Maybe it's to show that there is something to live for in this almost impossibly violent and unsure world West lives in, when any moment someone she loves could be killed as an Alt fights with their other half.
I loved Dualed, the first novel in this series, but I think I loved this one even more. There was more strategy, more psychology, more action even than before. And yet, though the ending is complete, there is room for another book in the series. We have no idea what's on the outside. And what we discover about Kersh makes it even more interesting to know what's on the outside. I hope Ms. Chapman decides to write a third book in the series.
I highly recommend this one. There is a lot of violence as in Dualed. Use your own judgement about whether you can handle graphic descriptions of injuries, blood and death. It is an excellent book!
Thank you to the publishers for an E-ARC for review through NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review. All opinions expressed are my own.
trisha_thomas's review
4.0
so...small confession. I was not a fan of book 1. I'm not sure, it just didn't seem to explain enough of the world or the reasons. So I started this one completely ready to hate it.
BUT, SURPRISE SURPRISE! I LOVED IT!
My issues with book one and the lack of explanation are FULLY covered in this one. World building, history explanation - everything.
Which left us, instead, with a kick butt Main character West. She's done striking and trying to get back to life. But the striking world just doesn't want to let her go. She's lured back in by an unlikely person who makes promises and silent threats too large for West to ignore.
But West is also handed a new weapon. And after a visit to Dire, West isn't so sure she has to do these new contracts exactly like before - there may be a new option now.
This is a fast paced, heart-thumping read. It had characters that were believable and a story that FINALLY answers all the questions from book 1. If you didn't like, liked or even loved book 1 - THEN DEFINITELY DON"T MISS THIS ONE!!! YOU'LL LOVE IT!
Just trust me :)
BUT, SURPRISE SURPRISE! I LOVED IT!
My issues with book one and the lack of explanation are FULLY covered in this one. World building, history explanation - everything.
Which left us, instead, with a kick butt Main character West. She's done striking and trying to get back to life. But the striking world just doesn't want to let her go. She's lured back in by an unlikely person who makes promises and silent threats too large for West to ignore.
But West is also handed a new weapon. And after a visit to Dire, West isn't so sure she has to do these new contracts exactly like before - there may be a new option now.
This is a fast paced, heart-thumping read. It had characters that were believable and a story that FINALLY answers all the questions from book 1. If you didn't like, liked or even loved book 1 - THEN DEFINITELY DON"T MISS THIS ONE!!! YOU'LL LOVE IT!
Just trust me :)