Intriguing story and pleasant surprise.

I got this audiobook not knowing what to expect. The summary seemed a little vague but there was a little intrigue there too, so I decided to take a chance. I actually found myself not disappointed. It was a little slow for a good portion of the book, off and on, but there were a lot of mysteries involved in the story that kept it interesting enough to continue. At first I wasn’t that impressed with the main character and thought she was kind of dumb, but I put myself in her place and found that it actually fits in with the story—her naivety, and the society that she comes from.
Possible spoiler alert:

this book has a love triangle. I both love and hate love triangles. Mostly hate, but I was impressed with this one because it was a little different than normal love triangles, Especially in the teen genre . Usually in a love triangle there’s two love interests and one is clearly the better choice, but this one was actually hard to choose. I did eventually start liking one a little more than the other, but the good thing about this book is that the love triangle is resolved by the end of the book and you don’t have to go through the entire series to find that out.
I think the narrator did a pretty excellent job in her narration and won’t hesitate to listen to a book read by her again.
This book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it isn’t a total drop off in the story, it does resolve most of the conflict. The cliffhanger has more to do with the overall series, which just makes you want to read the next book. The world in this book is dystopian and has an interesting though maybe not so scientifically believable offset. It reminded me a lot of The Selection Series by Kiera Cass , And also has a tiny bit of feel like The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins, but it is also unique to itself in many ways .
Overall, I enjoyed this book and especially the ending which had a twist that I did not see coming. I am also happy to find out that the entire series has already been written and I don’t have to wait a year for the next book to come out. However, the other books in the series are not yet on Audible, but hopefully will be soon. Multi-line text field

7 people found this helpful

avid audiobook consumer

who would enjoy this book? kids between the ages of 7 and 17 would enjoy this book it has mature scenes that do not become mentally graphic but do build excitement. it is a bit teeny but also has some good older aged scenes that keep readers of all ages engaged. Don't expect the book to evolve much it is mainly one story that does not go into detail in other parts. do not expect the story to evolve into more than what it starts out to be.

overall: The story goes into great detail explaining each character and how they interact within the story. it is well told and has enough detail to create great mental images. The characters are very young and at times a little catty. I found myself wishing there was less about the present and more about the past. The book is very lengthy for how little progress it makes I usually listen to audiobooks many times however I do not think I would listen to this one again.

story: The story starts out very similar to The hunger games which is actually why I purchased the book in the first place. characters are similar storyline in the beginning is similar style is similar. The story spent far too much time in one area at this pace it will take 20 books to finish whatever idea there is to finish. I kept hoping there was some mystery or breakout or cliffhanger of some sort. The ending was missing and it felt rushed after 18 hours of build up there was very little action at the end that makes me want to read the next book.

performance: The reader of the book did a fantastic job with action with emotion with bringing the story into life and was never too over the top. I would listen to another book by this reader for sure.

4 people found this helpful

Great Story Line Poorly Written

The last 7 hours of this book was horrible but since I paid for the book, I forced myself to finish. The plot of the book is great and there were times when I enjoyed it. However, I felt like we were stuck in the mind of a immature teenager that could only focus on the boys. It is hard to imagine her as a presidential candidate.

The narrator was wonderful and they left on a cliffhanger that was suspenseful enough that I may listen to the next one.

1 person found this helpful

It's so...

...unbelievably 1990s romance novel fell in love with a futuristic dystopian youth fiction novel... Touch of 50 shades and quite a bit of sexualizing violence.

It's so hard to actually put into words, but I found myself angry at not only the characters, but the writer herself...

Maybe it's just me, but no thank you. I didn't even finish it.

1 person found this helpful

Plot, good. Writing skills, bad.

This book is for young adults and possibly teens. I’ll explain this statement at the end.

I like the story. The political dynamic is very interesting and the fact that is was caused by a virus is very well laid out. Especially interesting and worth thinking about since at the time I listened to this, the 2020 election is weeks away and we are still fighting COVID.

Now to the bad...The work was not done by a skilled writer. No character development, the characters are not realistic, and too much projection. The dialogue sounds like a blend of 1950’s and (what the writer assumes) is millennial lingo. My grandmother, nor my kids would talk like this.
The writing is a complete projection of how she wants it to play out. Twenty year old guys do not say “heck”! “Girl...” is not used THAT often by females chatting among each other. I was very disappointed that someone who could come up with a great plot did not take the time to learn how to write.

I’m going to continue the series. Like i said, fantastic storyline. But if you are the type of person who appreciates writing skills as much as the story itself, be prepared.

1 person found this helpful

Wow! What a surprise!

I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I do. First of all, the performance is great. The story captures you from the very beginning. I couldn't wait to listen to this every day and it was hard to stop listening. Very clever idea and I loved all the characters dearly. There's a love triangle. I love the one that didn't quite make the cut the most, but I can understand why. I can't wait to listen to the next one in the series. I'm ordering that one right now. I also love how clean this book is. In fact, I giggled each time the main character said "oh my crap". Love LOVED this book!

1 person found this helpful

Boring

The story was was too simple. There were so many missed opportunities to make the plot more intriguing. The main character starts out as an average simple minded girl who doesn’t think much of herself and then all of a sudden she is some genius who is also a good fighter. Also, you could have cut at least a third of the book and nothing with the plot would have changed. There was only one character who had any sort of depth.

Obsessed...

I absolutely love this book and the narrator does a great job! I've listened to the series probably 3 or 4 times

good story

I really enjoyed the storyline, though at times qas a little slow and repetitive. the narrarator took some of it away for me though. a pleasing voice to listen to but a little too perfect sounding for the main character. it made her seem fake and weak at times rather than real and strong like I believe she was written to be.

Fantastic read!

Loved this book from beginning to end! Was rooting for regan to choose the right guy! She did and the cliffhanger at the end made be buy the next book immediately!!!