Rating: 5/5

Genre: YA Dystopian

Recommended Age: 15+ (sex, violence)

I received a free copy of this book from Blaze Publishing in exchange for promotion and for my honest review. This did not sway my opinion in any manner.

With the System on the verge of complete annihilation and new factions of freethinkers emerging, Vee knows she must find a way to end the Commander’s rule quickly―and by any means necessary.
When the Union arrives in New England, it’s to discover their rebellion has already reached this part of the country. Food stores are low, medical supplies are nonexistent, and without the coal from nearby Mines, the residents are on the verge of freezing to death.
Guilt-ridden because of the role she played in the region’s downfall, and refusing to be the cause of anymore suffering, Vee is coerced into working with a group of brilliant scientists who hope to form an independent government below the ruins of New York City. But when she’s asked to assassinate an opposing leader, Vee has no choice but to reevaluate her own morality and examine just how far she’ll really go to see victory in the war against The Tax. – Amazon.com

Can you be so moved by a book that you physically crave more? That you’ve become so enthralled by it that you’d sell your firstborn child for more? Well, maybe not my firstborn child, but my soul? Yes. The book I’m talking about: The Underground, book 2 in The Surrendered series. While in my opinion the subsequent sequels in a book series don’t usually live up to be as great as the first book in a series, this book surpassed its predecessor and lapped it several times over! The character development in this book was amazing. The past characters grew and we got to see more of their personalities in this book, especially Vee, Oliver, and Cason. We were also introduced to new characters who were amazingly well developed. The plot contained so many twists and turns that the reader couldn’t accurately predict the outcome! I can usually predict what will happen in a novel, but this one had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! Every time I thought I had the plot figured out something unexpected happened! I love that the author had all of these twists and turns in the book because it made for an exciting new story. I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy when authors reuse plots from classic or other stories such as Beauty and the Beast, but it does get tiresome to see the same plot over and over again (these past two years I feel I’ve seen much more retellings of classic tales or other famous works or literature). Pacing was also done so well. I thought that because this was a short novel (when did 300+ pages become short to me?) that the pacing would be fast, but it wasn’t. The book took it’s time with the story. The writing was so well done and this is an easy to read novel.

My only concern for other readers is that there is a huge cast of characters in this novel, which can be confusing for some readers. The three big factions in this book have a lot of characters in them, but I felt that once I started the novel and got into it that I had a really good grasp on who was who and who did what. I only got confused on one character, but it was midnight when I was reading this book so that was more than likely because of my tiredness rather than the author’s writing.

Verdict: This book will take you on an emotional roller coaster that will leave you wanting more. Honestly, I’m itching to read the third book in this series! I love the universe Case Maynard has written and I can’t wait to read more from her, whether it be this series or another. She’s an author you need to watch out for. Definitely a must read if you’re a dystopian lover!