I liked this one and will definitely continue to read the series. It was a quick, easy read and definitely kept me engaged in the story/characters.

The characters are believable and anyone who enjoys YA would most likely enjoy this. Grace is the Pastor's daughter and it is clear she struggles with who she is outside of that. Jude is Grace's brother and Daniel used to be his best friend. Something happened that broke the friendship and caused Daniel to go away but Grace was never made aware of what the situation was. When Daniel comes back (with the support of Grace's father) there is definite tension.

There was a nice twist at the end and I am interested in reading the next books in the series to see where Despain goes with the rest of it.

True rating would be 3.5 out of 5.

I really like this book and I wasn't really sure what to expect. I read it on a trip (yes..flying somewhere) and couldn't put it down. Thankfully I was able to get it done before the flight attendants told me I had to shut down my electronics...that is the worst!

Anyway, I did enjoy the story and although this is definitely not a light topic, Garvis-Graves did it in a way that the reader was right there with these two main characters and experiencing the highs and lows of the situation with them.

It was great to see TJ evolve and grow...and then see Anna adjust to that. I won't go into the detail as I think the book needs to be read to be appreciated but the relationship was an evolution of their situation and it completely fit.

Overall, great, engaging read. Likable characters and a story that keeps the reader interested.

This book is between a 2.5 and 3 for me. There were a few things I liked and a few things that felt a bit off for me.

I thought the premise was interesting and once the story got into the detail, it moved along well.

There were a few sentence and word issues (conscious instead of conscience) I ran into that took away from the story. Overall the story moved very quickly. In some areas I thought it was paced too quickly and it would have been great to have some back story. For example, at the beginning we are dropped right in and I was a bit lost as to what the farm was all about and although it became clear as the story progressed, it would have been great to get more detail up front.

The end seemed a bit abrupt and although the story wraps up with Ashton and Claire, we don't really get into a resolution around who Claire is and how her "family" ended up with her. I would have liked to understand that and what some of the repercussions were for Frank.

Again, I think this story has a lot of potential and was definitely interesting.

Review to come

Overall I would give this a 4.5 out of 5 if I could. I really enjoyed the story and although there were some things I didn't love, there was quite a bit that I did.

The story begins with Elisa preparing for her marriage to a man she has never met, King Alejandro. I wasn't sure what to expect of the event but the lead in puts the reader into Elisa's shoes and Carson does a great job of relaying all of Elisa's doubts. Once married, I saw glimpses of Alejandro that I liked and some that I didn't. There were also some things about Elisa that bothered me as well.

Without giving away a lot of the story (I'm never one to provide a summary) I will say the plot of the story was very interesting. Elisa is rare as at her naming ceremony as a baby, God blessed her with the Godstone. This happens to one person every 100 years and means they are destined for greatness. Elisa doesn't necessarily believe this is true for her. She doubts herself and what her purpose is. As the story progresses, we find out there is a reason behind the marriage of Elisa and Alejandro. Before things get too far down this path, something happens and Elisa is thrown into a whole other environment.

Elisa's character actually changes based on this event and in my opinion becomes a better, stronger version of who she was. She still sometimes has doubts about herself and what she should be doing but not only does she have a physical transformation, but her personality shifts a bit as well.

One thing that bothered me in this book was the weird reaction and interaction that Elisa had with food. It felt odd to me.

I will say this book follows the idea that no one is safe. I actually am very curious as to how the next book will progress and again, I refuse to give anything away here but don't get attached to anyone...you just don't have any guarantee of who will make it through. I wasn't expecting some of the things that happened to happen and that's what kept me turning the pages. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in a day because I just had to find out what happened next.

Carson does a great job of creating and describing the different tribes and populations. As a reader it was easy to see the segmentation and differences between the various regions as well as feel the conflict between them.

I think anyone who likes fantasy will enjoy this book.

Quick and short read. Honestly there wasn't enough here to get me interested and I found because of the length, it was tough to get into this. I am someone who appreciates the characters and some development and there just isn't enough length to this to do it.