🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Synopsis:
Firstborns rule society. Secondborns are
the property of the government. Thirdborns are not tolerated. Long live
the Fates Republic.
On Transition Day, the second child in every family is taken by the government and forced into servitude. Roselle St. Sismode’s eighteenth birthday arrives with harsh realizations: she’s to become a soldier for the Fate of Swords military arm of the Republic during the bloodiest rebellion in history, and her elite firstborn mother is happy to see her go.
Televised since her early childhood, Roselle’s privileged upbringing has earned her the resentment of her secondborn peers. Now her decision to spare an enemy on the battlefield marks her as a traitor to the state.
But Roselle finds an ally—and more—in fellow secondborn conscript Hawthorne Trugrave. As the consequences of her actions ripple throughout the Fates Republic, can Roselle create a destiny of her own? Or will her Fate override everything she fights for—even love?
When I found out that Amy Bartol was coming out with a new book, I knew that I had to read it. I fell in love with her writing when I read the Kricket series. (Side Note: If you haven't read them then you need to go do it right now) I was excited to see the direction that she would take this new book considering that it sounded very different from the books that she had written before. I have to say that after finishing it I'm am excited to read the next installment! This book was quite a tense, edge of your seat ride!
Secondborn was somewhat similar to the Kricket series in that both Roselle and Kricket have to brave the dangers that they face in the form of the people that would attempt to manipulate them and/or kill them. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It reminded me of a chess match wherein each player is trying to utilize strategies in order to achieve check mate. There are many players in this book which might make the book seem complicated but it is written so well that every time a new player is introduced it seems like a different piece of the puzzle clicking into place. Roselle has a target on her back from the beginning of the book and it just seems to grow larger throughout the story. The motivations of each character are clear and the explanations all make complete sense. It seems like there are three main groups seeking or attempting to maintain power and they are all pretty ruthless. Amy Bartol did an excellent job of world building and fleshing out the characters in the story. I felt like I understood why each of the characters made the choices that they did and how the world worked.
There were some reveals during the book about the motivations and secrets that are characters are keeping. The majority of them made sense to me. There was only one reveal about a character that didn't make any sense to me. I don't feel like the author dropped any hints having to do with the particular characters loyalty. I was shocked and it didn't seem to make sense with the description of the character that I had received. I can get over that though because it seemed as if the character was never really invested in the nefarious plans of his boss. The only problem that I couldn't get over regarding the book was the romance. It was insta love and I HATE insta love! Why?!? I don't understand why they couldn't have just been friends. It would make more sense to do things that way than to have some automatically in love with someone else. I didn't like the explanation of how he stated his feelings. It didn't seem like he really loved her instead of the image that she portrayed. Honestly, I'm hoping that she ends up with another character that was introduced in the story later on.
On Transition Day, the second child in every family is taken by the government and forced into servitude. Roselle St. Sismode’s eighteenth birthday arrives with harsh realizations: she’s to become a soldier for the Fate of Swords military arm of the Republic during the bloodiest rebellion in history, and her elite firstborn mother is happy to see her go.
Televised since her early childhood, Roselle’s privileged upbringing has earned her the resentment of her secondborn peers. Now her decision to spare an enemy on the battlefield marks her as a traitor to the state.
But Roselle finds an ally—and more—in fellow secondborn conscript Hawthorne Trugrave. As the consequences of her actions ripple throughout the Fates Republic, can Roselle create a destiny of her own? Or will her Fate override everything she fights for—even love?
When I found out that Amy Bartol was coming out with a new book, I knew that I had to read it. I fell in love with her writing when I read the Kricket series. (Side Note: If you haven't read them then you need to go do it right now) I was excited to see the direction that she would take this new book considering that it sounded very different from the books that she had written before. I have to say that after finishing it I'm am excited to read the next installment! This book was quite a tense, edge of your seat ride!
Secondborn was somewhat similar to the Kricket series in that both Roselle and Kricket have to brave the dangers that they face in the form of the people that would attempt to manipulate them and/or kill them. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It reminded me of a chess match wherein each player is trying to utilize strategies in order to achieve check mate. There are many players in this book which might make the book seem complicated but it is written so well that every time a new player is introduced it seems like a different piece of the puzzle clicking into place. Roselle has a target on her back from the beginning of the book and it just seems to grow larger throughout the story. The motivations of each character are clear and the explanations all make complete sense. It seems like there are three main groups seeking or attempting to maintain power and they are all pretty ruthless. Amy Bartol did an excellent job of world building and fleshing out the characters in the story. I felt like I understood why each of the characters made the choices that they did and how the world worked.
There were some reveals during the book about the motivations and secrets that are characters are keeping. The majority of them made sense to me. There was only one reveal about a character that didn't make any sense to me. I don't feel like the author dropped any hints having to do with the particular characters loyalty. I was shocked and it didn't seem to make sense with the description of the character that I had received. I can get over that though because it seemed as if the character was never really invested in the nefarious plans of his boss. The only problem that I couldn't get over regarding the book was the romance. It was insta love and I HATE insta love! Why?!? I don't understand why they couldn't have just been friends. It would make more sense to do things that way than to have some automatically in love with someone else. I didn't like the explanation of how he stated his feelings. It didn't seem like he really loved her instead of the image that she portrayed. Honestly, I'm hoping that she ends up with another character that was introduced in the story later on.
This sounds fun! I love books that have a chess match feel. Those moves and counter moves and well thought out plots!
ReplyDeleteI looked for the Kricket series, and the library doesn't have it. Is it only available as an ebook?
DeleteYes, it is only available as an ebook. I think that the first book might be free on amazon or a dollar. It was free the last time that I checked.
Delete