3.5/5. While I thought the premise was interesting, I couldn't connect to the characters as much as I wanted to. Some of the writing including the fight scenes and romantic scenes seemed a bit awkward at times. Still, it held my attention enough to want to know how it ended!
Wow i know i took a long time to review this book but i glad i waited as it looks like their a total of 7 books for this series so now i can read them all at one time. I really like the uniqueness of a dystopian society that Bella Forrest has set up here. One society that women ruled by a Queen and the women control everything. Then one society that is ruled by men and women have no rights at all and owned by their husbands. Both societies have to depend on the other so their is trade between the two but their are always trying to out do each other. I was blown away cause i thought that the story was going to follow it plot where our main character Violet is thrown into a plan to steal an egg back for her society. It did follow that and we got to see a lot of the non females dominated side of the river but then their this major twist once the egg is taken. We are left not knowing what is in the egg, not knowing if her brother who is main motivation is really alive, and also why Lee went against the original plan. I gonna have to check out the rest of this series i was blown away. Thanks for letting me review.
I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engrossed until the end. I have to admit to not particularly liking the main character Violet, I found her a bit too whiny, although she did grow on me a bit. I also really disliked Lee throughout the book but Viggo, the tortured character that comes in partway through fascinated me. The premise of the book was also really interesting with the two societies. I've already preordered the next in the series and can't wait to read it!
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
What I Loved
This book started out a bit rocky for me but I actually really enjoyed it once we moved settings. I thought the idea of the two countries was really cool. One country is basically ruled by women and men don't have any rights. The other country is the complete opposite. It's actually a really cool concept and it shows us why this could never work in reality these days.
I really enjoyed the second half of this book. I liked all the action and sneaking around that was happening. Our main character is sent on a mission and it was cool seeing her start to think for herself. She's been in their equivalent of juvi her whole life so she's always just followed orders (mostly). Now that she's out, she's seeing the world and not liking what she's seeing. There's also a really sweet romance in this book that I would have LOVED to see more of. It was mostly just a teaser of what will hopefully be coming in the next books!
I also really liked that plot twist at the end. I totally wasn't expecting that, which never happens! I'm really looking forward to seeing what book two is going to bring us.
What I Didn't Like
My only real complaint was that the beginning didn't quite suck me in like I wanted it to. It was a little boring at the start because there was a lot of explanations as to what there two countries are like and why are main character is where she is. I could have used a less information heavy beginning and something a little more to really suck me in.
Also Violet could be a little annoying at places. Sometimes she didn't think things through AT ALL and ended up in some nasty situations. She got better as the book progressed though.
Who I'd Recommend To
I think that dystopia lovers will really like this book. Especially those who like a little romance added in their books. Just a note that this wasn't an insta-love romance which I was really thankful for! And no love triangle!!