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A review by haletostilinski1
One Breath, One Bullet by S.A. McAuley
5.0
4.5 wow filled stars!
Damn. This book ended up being so much more than I thought it would be. It started out a little slow, especially because it had so much world building to do because it's 500 years in the future but a LOT has happened in this world, and it was confusing at times.
Like there are only 5 actual countries left (how, when, why?) and does that mean the geography is still the same as it is today in 500 years or has global warming made the land even smaller so the 5 countries makes more sense? I mean I know that's all probably part of the war, but I wonder if all these other countries were destroyed but their land is still used.
I had a hard time keeping up with which country was which, too, because there is a Continental States country, but also the American Federation....and i'm also wondering why Singapore is such a huge force in this world that it's still standing - maybe as more books go on it will get into that.
And this 300 year war - why has it gone on that long? I mean we start to get some answer, but it felt like we barely scratched the surface - and how did it take out half the world population? All these questions.
But as frustrating as that was at times, it just made this story all the more intriguing.
But the most intriguing part of the story was Merq and Armise. Like...what they have can barely be called a romance, barely be called a relationship - but in a way, that is what it is. Especially after what gets revealed in the end - which I was so not expecting! - and especially after we get a short POV chapter of Armise at the end. His motivations become so much clearer (although still what he's all about and where he came from and other stuff is still a mystery) when before it was as confusing to us as it was to Merq.
They're supposed to be enemies - and for a few years, they are - but then their crazy explosive and passionate chemistry can't be denied and they start a 12, 13 year love affair - or well, fuck affair. I mean there's 4 more books in this series so i HOPE it builds to love, but for this book it is barely romance. But they just can't stay away from each other, and Merq tries to stop several times, but he can't. He's always drawn back to Armise, he's like an addiction. But then as the years go on they both try less and less to stop - or well, Merq seems to be the only one who tries to stop it. Armise is the one who always comes to Merq, and Merq tells himself he won't give in, but of course he does anyway, and the sex is explosive.
I do love that there is a time or two after he fucks Armise senseless and then just leaves he has a feeling of emptiness or unease because - I think - he does feel more for Armise than just a fuck and he wants more and it feels wrong for him to treat it like just a fuck. But they're enemies, on opposing sides, and he shouldn't want to fuck Armise in the first place, so he tries to distance himself.
I don't want to give anything else away - just that the ending surprised me and it was NOT what I was expecting and it kind of turned the whole enemies-to-lovers trope on its head, giving it a new twist I didn't see coming but loved. Just read this, because it was SO GOOD.
Definitely will be continuing this series soon!
Damn. This book ended up being so much more than I thought it would be. It started out a little slow, especially because it had so much world building to do because it's 500 years in the future but a LOT has happened in this world, and it was confusing at times.
Like there are only 5 actual countries left (how, when, why?) and does that mean the geography is still the same as it is today in 500 years or has global warming made the land even smaller so the 5 countries makes more sense? I mean I know that's all probably part of the war, but I wonder if all these other countries were destroyed but their land is still used.
I had a hard time keeping up with which country was which, too, because there is a Continental States country, but also the American Federation....and i'm also wondering why Singapore is such a huge force in this world that it's still standing - maybe as more books go on it will get into that.
And this 300 year war - why has it gone on that long? I mean we start to get some answer, but it felt like we barely scratched the surface - and how did it take out half the world population? All these questions.
But as frustrating as that was at times, it just made this story all the more intriguing.
But the most intriguing part of the story was Merq and Armise. Like...what they have can barely be called a romance, barely be called a relationship - but in a way, that is what it is. Especially after what gets revealed in the end - which I was so not expecting! - and especially after we get a short POV chapter of Armise at the end. His motivations become so much clearer (although still what he's all about and where he came from and other stuff is still a mystery) when before it was as confusing to us as it was to Merq.
They're supposed to be enemies - and for a few years, they are - but then their crazy explosive and passionate chemistry can't be denied and they start a 12, 13 year love affair - or well, fuck affair. I mean there's 4 more books in this series so i HOPE it builds to love, but for this book it is barely romance. But they just can't stay away from each other, and Merq tries to stop several times, but he can't. He's always drawn back to Armise, he's like an addiction. But then as the years go on they both try less and less to stop - or well, Merq seems to be the only one who tries to stop it. Armise is the one who always comes to Merq, and Merq tells himself he won't give in, but of course he does anyway, and the sex is explosive.
I do love that there is a time or two after he fucks Armise senseless and then just leaves he has a feeling of emptiness or unease because - I think - he does feel more for Armise than just a fuck and he wants more and it feels wrong for him to treat it like just a fuck. But they're enemies, on opposing sides, and he shouldn't want to fuck Armise in the first place, so he tries to distance himself.
I don't want to give anything else away - just that the ending surprised me and it was NOT what I was expecting and it kind of turned the whole enemies-to-lovers trope on its head, giving it a new twist I didn't see coming but loved. Just read this, because it was SO GOOD.
Definitely will be continuing this series soon!