Jessica Sorensen
Publisher: Jessica Sorensen
Release Date: March 16, 2012
Source: Mary @ Sweeping Me
Goodreads | Purchase
When the disease spread through the world, people had no choice but to go into hiding. The Colony is hidden deep underground, far away from the vampires—humans that were transformed by the disease. The vampires are hideous, starving, and they will kill any human they come across.
Seventeen-year-old Kayla is a Bellator, a warrior that protects The Colony. In order to survive, there are three rules she must follow:
Rule #1—Never go out after dark.
Rule #2—Always carry a weapon.
Rule #3—No matter what, never EVER get bitten.
But what happens when the rules Kayla has always lived by can no longer apply?
The Highers run The Colony and accept nothing less than perfection. One slip up can mean death. Kayla has always worked hard to follow the rules and strive for perfection. But during a moment of weakness, she lets her imperfections show. Her punishment is worse than death. She is chosen for The Gathering and is thrown out into a world full of starving vampires.
No one has ever survived The Gathering, at least that’s what Kayla’s been told. But when she runs into a group who insist they were once part of The Gathering, Kayla discovers the Highers have been keeping secrets. Secrets that could lead to a cure.
❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦
CATCHALL
So, I was recently given the chance to read this book and I loved it! It's not usually the kind of thing I review, but I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to anyway. It was fresh and fun, and definitely a unique take on vampires that stayed true to its dystopian roots. It was incredibly interesting and I loved every bit of it. It was wonderful.
THE HEROINE
KAYLA
Kayla is a wonderful heroine. Even though she can't remember a lot of her past, she doesn't just sit around whining about it. Instead, she takes action. She works hard to get her memory back, but she also doesn't let its loss slow her down. She is who she is, with or without it. Also, she's totally butt-kicking without being absurdly powerful.
THE LOVE INTEREST
AIDEN
Aiden is sweet, if overprotective. He wants desperately to keep Kayla safe, but he doesn't always know what's best for her, and often too goes against her wishes. I like him, but he's going to have to change at least a little to impress. He needs to give Kayla room to breathe without smothering her, but at the same time his fierce dedication is incredibly admirable.
THE PLOT
I gobbled this book up. It was very fast-paced. It's not the kind of book that's easy to set down. It's the kind of book that once you pick up, atomic bombs could drop and you wouldn't bat an eyelid.
The whole twist on vampires is excellent. Vampires are so often overused in YA these days, but Jessica does it in a way that manages to feel fresh and unique, which is no small task.
Despite the action, the book also manages to deal with a lot of more serious things. It's a dystopian, so the society is, of course, totally messed up. There are Highers as well as vampires, which are a unique human0like paranormal, but they are the most powerful and they control everyone else. It's a very interesting aspect, and I like the whole memory-loss factor.
The Gathering is also very interesting. I wasn't sure what is was at first, but it turned out to be something that I really wanted to know more about. It is similar to other features in other dystopians, but not exactly the same. Why do some people get chosen for the Gathering and others don't? That's only one question Kayla wants the answer to.
Oh, and she's supposed to save the whole society with only a watch. Try that one on for size!
THE ROMANCE
The romance is really nice actually, and refreshing because it isn't instalovey at all. It's mentioned that Aiden and Kayla had a romance in the past, but Kayla remembers nothing of it and so thankfully this isn't used as a crutch. There's definitely chemistry between them, but also lies and a lot of distrust and that's not easy to get over. I am looking forward to more development here.
THE WRITING
Jessica has really, really awesome writing. Like, really. It's so impressive. Her world-building is absolutely awesome, and the dystopian world she's created is practically at my fingertips. The description is so lush that I can really see everything unfolding before my eyes, and the setting just blooms off the pages. I don't know how else to describe it. And then, the dialogue is excellent. I love the banter between the characters, and the often salacious undertones.
THE ENDING
Wow. Talk about a cliffhanger! It didn't leave me totally desperate, but it is pretty intense. It ends in such a way that I really wanted to know what happened next, but I didn't feel like it was contrived. The ending made sense, and I loved that it was clearly well-thought-out.
WRAPUP
This book was extremely fun. It was definitely a quick read, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. I spend through it and it left me breathless. I'll definitely be picking up the sequel, and since the main point of my writing this review is to convince you to pick up this book, I seriously suggest that you go do so right now! It's short enough to read in-between books, and fun.
FINE.
****FINAL RATING: 4.10 RED ROSES****
