Secondborn; Amy Bartol

Title: Secondborn (Book #1 in Secondborn Series)
Author: Amy A. Bartol
Genre: Dystopia; Young Adult; Science Fiction
Publisher: 47North
Published: August 1st, 2017

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?

Rating

Hello  Fellow Readers,

I've read the first book of Bartol's Kricket series, and I got to say I liked this one more. While it does have romance it does not take center stage in this book like it did halfway through Under Different Stars (You can read how I felt about that HERE). First, I found the mix of colors on the cover gorgeous, I know they say don't judge a book by it's cover but sometimes you can't help it. Secondly, the synopsis was pretty interesting, given that technically in my family I would have been a Thirdborn, so shot and killed in this world. Third, I was hoping for a strong female character, being female myself I always lean toward female protagonists (and antagonists as well) in stories. 

While yes, Roselle was a strong character she did have inconsistencies in her personality. One minute she was graceful, witty, and powerful, then the next she's a shaky and anxious mess. Plus in the beginning of the book you see she is a most loyal soldier, then suddenly she's this rebellious troublemaker. While I am all for strong characters to have faults, this change in personality had no transition. 

The romance was great, since it did not interfere too much in the plot, or create drama just to create drama. I think I know where Bartol is going with it which makes me more optimistic about it. This book did remind me heavily of The Hunger Games series, especially Catching Fire but once again I preferred this book over that one. 

Under Different Stars; Amy A. Bartol

Kricket Hollowell never wished upon stars. She was too busy hiding in plain sight, eluding Chicago’s foster care system. As her eighteenth birthday approaches, she now eagerly anticipates the day she’ll stop running and finally find her place in the world.
That day comes when she meets a young Etharian soldier named Trey Allairis, who has been charged with coming to Earth to find Kricket and transport her to her true home. As danger draws close, he must protect her until she can wield the powers she cannot use on Earth…and he soon realizes that counting a galaxy of stars would be easier than losing this extraordinary girl.
Kyon Ensin knows the powerful depths of Kricket’s gifts—gifts he’ll control when he takes her for his tribe and leads the forces that will claim Ethar and destroy his enemies, starting with Trey Allairis. Now, Kricket faces the most difficult choice of her life: whether to wage a battle for survival, or a fight for love.

Title: Under Different Stars
Author: Amy A. Bartol
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
Published: December 9th, 2014

Rating

Hello Fellow Readers,

I thought I had found the book I needed, The book that perfectly balanced story with romance and brought just enough of character building and intrigue to capture my attention and keep it. I was sadly wrong. In the beginning Kricket showed how a female protagonist can be strong, smart, yet entirely not perfect. The slow build of Trey and Kricket was amazing taking a backstage to the actually story while not letting you forget about it. The world that Bartol started to build with Ethar was intriguing and new. We got to experience it all with Kricket, but halfway through it took a turn for the worse.

The push and pull of Kricket and Trey took center stage and so did the misogyny. Kricket went from being used a political pawn to suddenly everyone wanting to marry her and have her body. I kinda see what Bartol was trying to do with this, showing that Kricket can overcome it all despite her small woman body. I just got extremely frustrated at everything that would happen. I will read the second story now that it seems like it is taking a different turn, hopefully for the better. For as important and Bartol made Kricket seem the way everyone just seemed she was dismissed at every opportunity.

Also quick question is it bad that I kinda sympathized with Kyon? Yea, I thought so.

About The Author

Bartol lives in Michigan, with her extremely supportive family. With 3 series under her belt( Kricket, Premonition and Secondborn) and an unflattering writing uniform Choices Bartol knows what she is doing.

Website

Goodreads

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

Hello Fellow Readers,

This is the first time I'm participating in First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, which is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. What this entails is that I share the very first paragraph from the my #currentlyreading. I just started Under Different Stars, which so far has been great. This book is the first in the Kricket series.

" Flipping a coin into the air, I watch as it arches toward the cascading water of the fountain. "Home." I whisper to myself as it breaks the surface, causing ripples to race toward the lapis tiles"