**I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**
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I am so glad I decided to give this series a try! The author is completely new to me, and I have tried a few similar books recently that I had trouble getting through - in one or two cases I am still trying to finish them. Not so with this book!
The story line is well plotted, characters are multi-faceted, and there are SO many detailed descriptions that you can visualize yourself IN the world the authors have created. In my mind this world is a cross between Hogwarts and PanAm. In fact, Scarlett has many of the same qualities as Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen.
Having grown up in an impoverished area of her post-apocalyptic world, Scarlett has never truly fit in. She has always been faster and stronger than other children her age, heals at a faster rate than most, and is completely colorblind - as in everything is only shades of gray. Despite these differences - or maybe because of them - she is determined to better her lot in life so that she can end the governmental corruption that causes certain classes of people to be treated as lesser citizens. And, so, her story begins...
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I am so glad I decided to give this series a try! The author is completely new to me, and I have tried a few similar books recently that I had trouble getting through - in one or two cases I am still trying to finish them. Not so with this book!
The story line is well plotted, characters are multi-faceted, and there are SO many detailed descriptions that you can visualize yourself IN the world the authors have created. In my mind this world is a cross between Hogwarts and PanAm. In fact, Scarlett has many of the same qualities as Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen.
Having grown up in an impoverished area of her post-apocalyptic world, Scarlett has never truly fit in. She has always been faster and stronger than other children her age, heals at a faster rate than most, and is completely colorblind - as in everything is only shades of gray. Despite these differences - or maybe because of them - she is determined to better her lot in life so that she can end the governmental corruption that causes certain classes of people to be treated as lesser citizens. And, so, her story begins...
This is the first book in the Nightfall Chronicles, which is a trilogy. This was a well done fantasy/post-apocalyptic type of novel. It reminds a lot of The Hunger Games trilogy and of Pierce Brown's Red Rising series.
In this case it was a war between Nephilim and humans that wiped out a large portion of both populations and resulted in a sort of caste system that rules humanity now. Additionally the Nephilim and those that are half Nephilim and half human are treated as slaves.
There is some excellent world-building here and I really enjoyed the first half of the book where we read about Scarlett's childhood and history. The second half of the book was very similar to some other series I have read (heroine gets training in secret, joins a rebellion, and tries to infiltrate the enemy headquarters) and I didn't enjoy it as much as the beginning.
In the end it's a well done book. However, I wasn't dying to read more about these characters by the time I finished the book.
Overall I enjoyed the book. There is some good world building here and the character development in the beginning of the book is very well done. The second half of the book ventured into territory that was a lot more traditional YA dystopia in nature and I didn't enjoy that part quite as much. Right now I am not sure if I will read the rest of the series or not. It's not a bad book but I didn't find the 2nd part of the story to be all that engaging.
In this case it was a war between Nephilim and humans that wiped out a large portion of both populations and resulted in a sort of caste system that rules humanity now. Additionally the Nephilim and those that are half Nephilim and half human are treated as slaves.
There is some excellent world-building here and I really enjoyed the first half of the book where we read about Scarlett's childhood and history. The second half of the book was very similar to some other series I have read (heroine gets training in secret, joins a rebellion, and tries to infiltrate the enemy headquarters) and I didn't enjoy it as much as the beginning.
In the end it's a well done book. However, I wasn't dying to read more about these characters by the time I finished the book.
Overall I enjoyed the book. There is some good world building here and the character development in the beginning of the book is very well done. The second half of the book ventured into territory that was a lot more traditional YA dystopia in nature and I didn't enjoy that part quite as much. Right now I am not sure if I will read the rest of the series or not. It's not a bad book but I didn't find the 2nd part of the story to be all that engaging.
