by Krista and Becca Ritchie
Read: July 31 - August 3, 2018
Published: August 14, 2018 by Wednesday Books
Source: Netgalley - Thank you, Macmillan!
Category: YA, Sci-Fi, Multi-Narrator,
Series: The Raging Ones #1
Series: The Raging Ones #1
Find: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Indiebound
Book Description: In a freezing world, where everyone knows the day they will die, three teens break all odds.
Franny Bluecastle, a tough city teen, dreams of dying in opulence, to see wealth she’s never known. Like the entire world, she believes it’s impossible to dodge a deathday.
Until the day she does.
Court Icecastle knows wealth. He also knows pain. Spending five years in Vorkter Prison, a fortress of ice and suffering, he dreams of life beyond the people that haunt him and the world that imprisoned him.
Mykal Kickfall fights for those he loves. The rugged Hinterlander shares a frustrating yet unbreakable connection with Court—which only grows more lawless and chaotic as their senses and emotions connect with Franny.
With the threat of people learning they’ve dodged their deathdays, they must flee their planet to survive. But to do so, all three will have to hide their shared bond as they vie for a highly sought after spot in the newest mission to space. Against thousands of people far smarter, who’ll live longer, and never fear death the way that they do.
Franny Bluecastle, a tough city teen, dreams of dying in opulence, to see wealth she’s never known. Like the entire world, she believes it’s impossible to dodge a deathday.
Until the day she does.
Court Icecastle knows wealth. He also knows pain. Spending five years in Vorkter Prison, a fortress of ice and suffering, he dreams of life beyond the people that haunt him and the world that imprisoned him.
Mykal Kickfall fights for those he loves. The rugged Hinterlander shares a frustrating yet unbreakable connection with Court—which only grows more lawless and chaotic as their senses and emotions connect with Franny.
With the threat of people learning they’ve dodged their deathdays, they must flee their planet to survive. But to do so, all three will have to hide their shared bond as they vie for a highly sought after spot in the newest mission to space. Against thousands of people far smarter, who’ll live longer, and never fear death the way that they do.
_____________________________________________________________________
The Raging Ones, is the first in a sc-fi series by twin writing duo, Krista and Becca Ritchie. I’m definitely intrigued by this series and invested enough to continue. But I found this beginning a little clunky at times. The Ritchie sisters excel so well at crafting messy, real casts of characters you can’t help but fall for. But I felt like we only scratched the surface here on Court, Mykal and Franny - and even less of the extended cast that’s introduced. Part of the reason I hate love triangles was at play here too. Although this is NOT a triangle and feelings are very clear and reciprocated in one direction, I did feel a little pulled in 3 directions with three first person narrators. Because of that and all the story material to cover, I didn’t feel like I got to know Court, Mykal and Franny as well as I wanted to, and need to in order to feel truly invested in this series. The romance is clear here and sweet, but I definitely want to see more of it too!
These authors move these characters a good distance (figuratively) from the start of the book to the end and I wasn’t always invested in all of that. There were also some side plots that, while they created drama and momentum, just didn’t have the emotional impact they were meant to have. This book ends on a huge cliffy, which is clearly the big event these authors were working towards, but getting there did seem cumbersome at times. Sci-fi isn’t always my favorite genre and that might have come into play for me here. But I just wasn’t that invested in the whole StarDust trial plot in the second half. It all felt mostly a device to get the characters to where the were at the end. I also found the whole history of these Saltare planets to be fairly boring and convoluted, although clearly it will be more important later.
The underlying plot of knowing your death day and how that affects the entire society, and how people are treated - and what happens if you don’t know it - was interesting. And I really like the moments of discussion and deep inner turmoil it causes, especially in Franny. My favorite moments of this book were seeing the connection between these three and their deepening friendship. I’m also interested in some of the added cast that will play a role in the future, and I’m curious where this story is going with the big revelation/cliffhanger at the end. I definitely think this book is worth reading, and I’ll be continuing with the series, but I’m hoping for a tighter plot and even more focus on characters in the future. (Spoiler> Plus a romance for Franny! <end spoiler)
Love Triangle Factor: None
Cliffhanger Scale: High - danger + a big revelation that sets up events for the next book!
Love Triangle Factor: None
Cliffhanger Scale: High - danger + a big revelation that sets up events for the next book!
No comments:
Post a Comment