Branded (Sinners, #1)

by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki

• ISBN10: 0989527417
• ISBN13: 9780989527415
• Publish Date: 19 August 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 1 July 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Month9books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 359
• Language: English

Reviews

[lizarodz]

3.5 Stars

What first made me take a second look at Branded was its gorgeous cover, hence my decision to join the tour when the authors offer me a copy of the book.

The premise of Branded is very interesting. In theory, people that commit a crime are ‘branded’ with a different color according to the nature of the crime (to match the capital sins.) Then, they are removed from polite society and send to live to a horrendous place called the Hole. As you might imaging, the Hole is not a nice place, quite the opposite. In fact, it is one of the most horrendous settings that I ever read.

Lexi is a very complicated character. She had a very happy childhood and family life, but unfortunately that didn’t last long. When her mother remarried, it seems like she married a controlling sadistic maniac (just saying it like it is.) I have no idea how Lexi endured these years because it was enough to turn a lesser person crazy. When she ends up in the Hole, she is broken. She lives in constant fear, she can’t defend herself and seems to always fit the role of damsel in distress (which I strongly dislike.) Lexi surprised me though. She made a big change, and a conscious effort to no longer fit that role and learn how to be stronger and overcome her fear.

For an unknown reason, Lexi is assigned a private guard, to keep her safe. I really liked Cole, even though he comes across a bit overprotective and overbearing. Since a relationship between guards and sinners is prohibited and punishable by death, it is predictable that Lexi and Cole fall in love. It is by no means insta-love, but when the fall, the fall hard.

Bruno is a big teddy bear of a man. He’s Cole’s best friend and he tried to help Lexi and Cole in any way he can. Zeus is Cole’s huge dog and a vicious loyal sweetheart. Keegan is Lexi’s brother and also very protective of Lexi. The interaction between the siblings was fun to watch. I wonder where Lexi’s mother is. Overall, the characterizations was strong.

The plot, as I mentioned at the beginning is original and strong. Some of the turns of events I could predict, but some I didn’t (plus I’m sure there’s more to come.) The writing is easy to read and follow, but the dialogue was a little out of place (see below.) The world building is excellent for the Hole, but very vague for the rest of the world outside.

However, the book is not without problems. Two things really bugged me. First, there were some spelling errors. Second, the timing of things didn’t quite work for me. The book explains that the current system has been in effect after World War V which happened fifty year before Lexi’s story. However, Lexi’s father remembers the system before that time (which would make him very old.) Also, the language used by the characters is current (slang and all) and this would not be used in a dystopian; even the technology seemed the same. Unless I was confused with how the book is supposed to be read as (a dystopian versus an alternate present?)

I’m sure that some other unknown factors will come into play in the next book and I will certainly read it when it’s published. The book ends with a lull in the action, but with a promise of more to come.

[whisperingchapters]

I received the kindle version of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Since the book starts, it leaves the reader glued to the pages and wanting so much more. A few readers have said they didn't like Lexi's character because she was weak. I don't find her weak at all. The authors wrote her life in such great detail that you can feel every emotion she went through, every pain she endured. She is not a weak character. Lexi stayed true to what she believed in, she woke up every day hoping for a better future. I honestly believe Lexi is one of the strongest characters I have ever read.

Lexi is judged for being lustful, but it is a mistake, one that she can't escape from no matter how hard she tries. The government takes her to the Hole, which is where they keep the branded and where they work; let me tell you, it is not a place you want to work and/or live in. Seeing as Lexi has lust wrapped around her neck, she would've had the job of working as a prostitute, but she is being protected.

Enter Cole, Lexi's hot guard. He was given orders to protect Lexi but no one knows why, not even the reader until the very end. Cole started out to be a mysterious character, one that I couldn't figure out, but I love that because it made me want to keep reading and find out more about him. Lexi is attracted to Cole from the moment she sees him, and even more so when she sees him shirtless, which left me breathless when the scene described.

Lexi is Cole's assignment. His job is to make sure she isn't harmed. As mentioned before, Lexi has the brand of lust. When people notice her, they automatically see her as someone to have fun with, someone to use as a toy, but she obviously isn't like that. That is why Cole is there to protect her from harms way, from men AND women's dirty hands.

The story isn't centered in ONLY Lexi. Yes, the story is in her point of view, but it doesn't focus only on her. It focuses on everything as a whole. It focuses on the life in the Hole, how it is, how the people are, how the government treats those that are judged. It focuses on survival, trying to survive every day, not only for Lexi but for Cole, Sutton, the hospital doctor, Alyssa, a patient in the hospital that Lexi gets attached to... While it is in Lexi's point of view, she is not the center of attention, everyone and everything is.

As the story developed, I found myself drawn to every character, especially Cole and Lexi. I believe they got attached because they were a part of a few sane people in that place, plus Cole would be with her everyday and would spend time with her, leading him to see her for who she really is, not for the branding that dictates her life.
When I say this book has a climax that no one can expect, I mean it. When I found out who is the Commander and who tipped him off, I was mind blown completely. I totally did NOT see that coming; I got blind-sided. I enjoyed reading this book because the authors wrote the book with details. Those details were the ones that got me submerged into the Sinners world. I imagined every scenery, every character and felt every emotion the characters had. This doesn't happen with every book that I read. It is rare to find a book like this one.

Another reason why I love this book is because it is different than any other book I have ever read. The branding, the seven deadly sins, the government...everything was so new to me. I loved that I could enter a new world that I hadn't experienced before and you can too!

[KitsuneBae]

For the complete review, please visit Thoughts and Pens

Friends, I don’t even know where to begin my review for this book. The last time I was reading it, I was pretty much certain that I was transported into Hell. Yeah, it might sound as the biggest overstatement of the year. But it is.
I was so thankful that I took the time checking the available R4R books in YABCD and found this. After reading the summary, I know I was captivated and no one can stop me from reading it…even my other pile of ARCs. And before you ask, THIS BOOK WAS ALL WORTH IT! It totally had me spinning until now.

Branded brings us to the hellish world of Lexi where citizens who committed sins are branded according to the Bible’s seven deadly sins. And they are transported to the Hole—or Hellhole as I put it—to live and work like the lowest kind of beings… lower than animals. Due to an ill-fated circumstance, High Society girl Lexi was branded for lust and now, she must endure the violence, pain, and death to endure the Hole.

From the very first page of Branded, I know I was immediately hooked. Lexi’s simultaneous plight to escape the world for good and run away from the Commander’s guards was foreboding. Then, gradually, the story thickens as it carried me to the Hole, the last place on earth that you want to live in and one that your nightmares won’t even entertain. I couldn’t believe that Abi and Missy were able to create an extremely horrific place ridden by hardcore violence, gory deaths, intense pains and endless misery. Death would have been more welcome if I am given the opportunity to live in it. I’ve already seen the world of the Hunger Games, Divergent and Maze Runner and talk about how awful they are but Abi and Missy’s world building for Branded is beyond that. The Hole is a god-forsaken place that will torture your mind and your person as a whole.

As if the world building wasn’t enough to traumatize me for a lifetime, Branded walked me through the miserable life of Lexi. She’s the kind of heroine who had been through hell and came back and then gone through hell again and came back with relentless courage to fight for what she believed in. I swear to this blog that the flashback on her life before the Hole really made me stop breathing. The ordeal that she had to go through was too much for me to digest and I can’t help but cry. And then her arrival at the Hole exacerbated all the pains that she had been suffering. But that didn’t break her resilient soul and compassionate heart. She’s tough both emotionally and physically. That alone is enough to put Lexi in my list of my most favorite heroines. Despite the notorious reputation of the Hole, Lexi was still able to find people who cared. First, there’s Cole, handsome and jaw-dropping gorgeous, who was assigned to be Lexi’s guard. He is sarcastic but he has a heart of gold, always risking his life to keep Lexi from danger’s harm even if it was damn forbidden. Then entered Alyssa, a 13-year old girl, who was brought in the Hole for stealing when she was just eight. Though her presence in the book was short-lived, her character was one of the most haunting ones. There was just too much pain and loss whenever I think of her. Apart from these two, there were other characters as well who left their own brand of personalities. To say it simply, Branded’s characters were well developed individuals whom you can laugh and cry with.

Now, I think you might get scared about reading this book after reading the earlier paragraphs but hey, Branded isn’t just about violence and adrenaline pumping scenes, it also has its share of giddying romance. Yes. Yes. And I am so thankful that Abi and Missy didn’t angle for a love triangle scenario. Branded’s romance was definitely intense and important to the plot. It was scary and at the same time poignant and wonderful. The romance development was well made but promise, it isn’t nauseating. True, there were instances that our heroes and heroines almost lost their heads for love (who wouldn’t be if it’s the first time you encounter such a thing?), but in the end they set aside their emotions and focused on the task ahead of them.

Drama has also been a strong point of Branded. This might sound pathetic but there is a scene in the book that rendered me crying with matching hiccups. The scene was so tragic, a perfect depiction that life is sooo damn unfair.
Branded’s manner of writing is excellent. It is vibrant bringing Lexi’s world into life putting me in a rollercoaster of emotions. It was definitely raw and disturbing. Looking back, there are so many life worth of lessons that can be gleaned from this book and I just don’t know where to start.

Branded started with a bang and ended with a bang. The climax was properly executed and the denouement was gloriously satisfying. I felt that the pain I acquired from Lexi’s ordeal has been avenged. I absolutely recommend this book in a heartbeat. For the faint of hearts, better brace yourselves for this one hell of a ride. Famous dystopias out there would miserably pale in comparison with this book. This is how a dystopia should be done!

Note: a free copy was provided by the authors in exchange for an honest review.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

The world that the authors created for Branded is seriously screwed up, but I loved this premise! It’s a dystopian society where the seven deadly sins are the only crimes. Get accused of one, and you’re sent to The Hole and branded so everyone knows which sin you’ve committed. There’s no trials, no chance to prove your innocence. There’s just accusations, and that’s how Livvie ends up with a blue brand on her neck marking her as a perpetrator of lust. Now she must live and work in beyond substandard conditions, but at least she has a guard to keep her alive, right? But what’s so special about Livvie that Cole is commanded to be with her around the clock? Well, you’ll have to read to find out because that is one messed up twist of an ending!

Did I say the seven deadly sins are the only crimes? Well, that’s not entirely true. The lowest crime is for a guard to fall in love with a sinner. Of course this means that Livvie and Cole have to fall in love. Predictable, cliche, but I loved it! I really cannot not get behind a forbidden romance. The stakes are super high for both of them, and they try to fight the attraction, but they can’t. Even after viewing a guard and his lover get executed. Don’t worry, there’s no love triangle or insta-love to overly complicate things. It’s just Livvie and Cole, and they’ve been sharing a room day in and day out for several weeks before feelings pop up. I also think it’s totally believable to develop feelings quickly when you’re constantly with someone, especially in life threatening situations.

Branded is super action packed and pretty fast paced once the plot picks up. There’s also tons of violence and gore, but not so much that I felt overly squeamish. The plot is the typical dystopian rebellion, but I enjoyed it, since I was totally engrossed in this dark, dirty, depressing world. However, I think that this could have been a pretty fabulous standalone if the ending had been slightly different. But as it is, I’m definitely invested enough to want to know what comes next.

If you’re looking for a slightly more mature YA Dystopian, I would definitely recommend Branded. It’s dark and gritty, and I thought the premise was unique even if the plot isn’t. I also enjoyed Livvie as a character. She’s a fighter, and not content to just accept her fate. She’s sick of being the victim and is ready to take her revenge and save the world.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Kelly]

4.5 Stars

I was utterly swept up in Branded from the very first page. I salivate over dystopian novels with oppressive regimes, leading to revolutions, and Branded is one you simply won't be able to put down.

Review to come during CBL Book Tour.