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purplepages 's review for:
Secondborn
by Amy A. Bartol
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.