Dystopian Books

      I Love Dystopian books!  I must admit that when they first started coming out, I truly had my doubts.  Then as more came out, I thought, How can you keep telling the same story and still make it different?  Well, duh, they do it all the time in other genres.  With Dystopian, I enjoy reading the man versus nature type of feeling it invokes.  When they can throw in a weird creature that is wreaking havoc on the humanity that is left is also great.  Then throw in a control-freak that thinks they are the answer for the remaining civilization and wowsa!!!!! 

     Now, they Dystopian books are carrying over to movies and television.  The fascination of The Hunger Games both in book and movie form has really brought the Sci-Fi sub-genre out into the forefront.  And then there is NBC's new television show Revolution that focuses on a teenage girl that lives in a time where electricity no longer works and is attempting to rescue her brother from a crazed military leader with the help of her estranged uncle, a rebel, and a nerd.  I watch that show and it makes me realize how much we all rely on technology and what would happen if it was taken away from us.

Here is my review of the latest Dystopian book I have read:  Defiance by C.J. Redwine.  There are a few spoilers, but the biggest ones have been left out.  If you like The Hunger Games, Shatter Me, or Under the Never Sky you will like this first book in The Courier's Daughter Trilogy. 


Defiance by C.J. Redwine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rachel’s father is a missing courier for the city-state of Baalboden. The Commander, who rules the city-state in an a dictator fashion has him declared dead. Rachel is heartbroken and certain that her father is still alive. The Commander tells her that her new protector is not Oliver, the grandfather-like figure that has always been in her life, but rather her father’s apprentice Logan McEntire. Rachel bristles at the thought of Logan, a boy she declared her love for just two years earlier and rejected her, being her protector. However, there is little that can be done. Rachel plots a way to escape the city-state and go in search of her father, but is caught by the Commander’s soldiers. The Commander kills an innocent soldier and threatens Logan’s life to bring Rachel under control.

Rachel and Logan are determined her father is still alive and holds a secret the Commander very much wants. There attempts to escape are thwarted again and Rachel comes under control of the Commander while Logan is beaten and thrown into the dungeon. Rachel and Melkin, her forced traveling companion, strike out and encounter unfathomable dangers, including the Cursed One – a dragon-like worm that destroys everything in its wake. Logan, with the help of people who want him and Rachel to lead a revolt, escapes the dungeon to track down Rachel. The two return to Baalboden for a confrontation with the Commander in hopes of overthrowing him, but instead he disappears. With everything left in chaos, half of the people leave Baalboden and the other half throw their support behind Rachel and Logan.

This story is told in the alternating voices of Rachel and Logan.

View all my reviews

Happy Reading!

Tammy Jo

Another good read....

      Where do I even start?  This book was amazing!  Heather Dixon, has done an amazing story of retelling the fairytale of the twelve dancing princesses.  The story opens with Azalea, the oldest of the princesses and all of them named for flowers/plants, getting ready for her first ball.  Her mother has not been well, so she will serve as hostess.  Her mother calls her to her room so that she can visit with her, which leaves Azalea even more worried about her pregnant mother.  She tells the king, her father, about her concerns.  During the evening and the ball, her mother passes away, leaving Azalea in charge of all of her sisters, including newborn Lily. The castle is forced into mourning, which for the girls means no dancing.  Dancing is what they loved to do most with mother and they feel they have lost her more than ever.  The king goes off to war leaving the girls alone.

      Azalea continues to find ways to defy the mourning rules and her father, whom the girls feel does not even care that they are there.  Led to a secret and magical area of the palace, the girls meet Mr. Keeper, who earns the attraction of Azalea.  Is he as perfect as he seems?  Is the place as wonderful as what it seems?  And then there is Captain Bradford, who would make a perfect king for the country.  But will he make her a perfect husband?  Who will she choose, or rather who will choose her?  And will any of them survive the darkness that overtakes the palace?  

      This is a wonderful story that you can get lost in.  I giggled, I cried, I mourned with the princesses.  This is a wonderful, magical read that you should race right out and get!

Until next time & happy reading!

Tammy Jo