Rating: 8/10
Basic Summary: After a solar flare compromises Earth’s atmosphere and leads to really dangerous storms (I’m not going to pretend I understand the science. It makes sense when you read it), the world is divided into two types of people: those who were lucky enough to enter into the Pods and live a self-sustained and sheltered existence (dwellers), and those left outside (savages). The storms are growing stronger though, and unrealized by many the Pods are not holding up as well as it seems. While trying to find information about her mother, whose research team has lost contact, events spiral out of control and Aria is kicked out of her Pod, Reverie. Once she meets an outsider named Perry, they have to work together to get the outcome they both want.
My Thoughts: Having read this book, I can tell you now the Amazon description is a horrid injustice, and the Google Play description doesn’t even crack the surface. Granted, mine probably doesn’t either, but I hate to spoil the magic! I bought this book MONTHS ago on a whim, when the ebook was on sale in the Google Play store. I knew it was dystopian and recommended to me, but I forgot what it was about. I finally got around to reading it this weekend. Then I bought the second book and read it too. Because I had to.
There are so many subtleties and magical things in these books. In some ways, the characters/relationships may be better written than those in Shadow and Bone (though I still love Shadow and Bone more). Inside the Pods, they have access to every modern convenience and all the technology to match. People are carefully designed genetically, to eradicate disease and to do away with unnecessary things. Facial hair is eliminated, no girl has to have her time of the month, people are pretty and their features are streamlined. All aspects of life are treated this way. All clothes are simple and gray, sleeping areas are simple. The real kicker are the “Realms,” billed as “Better Than Real.” Thousands of virtual worlds exist, so that the dwellers never have to risk REAL pain or REAL injury. All adventure, all interaction, even most TOUCHING is just done virtually. Without these realms, they would have gone crazy long ago.
On the outside, people have changed. Living is rugged, and constant exposure to the Aether storms has lead to some mutations, they think. Some people have intense hearing, others amazing sight, others can smell tempers. Yeah. They can “smell” your moods and emotions. Awkward but true.
So when Aria gets kicked out, she bumps into Peregrine (Perry). And they’ve sort of both caused the other’s problems. If he helps her, she should be able to help him save his sick nephew. He’s got enough problems at his tribe, the Tides, trying not to fight his brother the Blood Lord (leader man).
A nice feature in these books is the dual-narrator set-up. You hear from Aria, and you also hear from Perry. Aria is not a whiny female narrator, but she also doesn’t instantly turn into Tomb Raider once she’s dumped into the wilderness. She grows over time. And Perry does too. He’s starts out QUITE hot headed, and by the end, he is…less hot headed. There are some romance and attraction elements throughout the stories, but they aren’t overpowering or over-dramatic. They’re motivators.
I really enjoyed these books. Really really. They’re a fairly original dystopian series, and the author, Veronica Rossi, is a great writer. She makes you want to punch characters SOO bad, and then she makes you turn around and pity them. It’s practically cruel. It’s excellent to read. You can tell a lot of thought was put into this world, into the mechanics of the characters and the history of the crisis that threw their world apart.
Bonus Section: The books have been optioned for a movie with Warner Bros., but nothing has made its way to production yet. The second book in the series is already out, and the third doesn’t follow until January. (If you read the first two, you will agree that is too long.) If you read these two and fall in love with them, check out these links for a little more action. There’s a $2.99 novella about Liv and Roar’s relationship here, and you can read the first three chapters of book three (and see the cover) here.
The Wrap-Up: If you love dystopian stories, you should definitely check out this series. If you don’t, you should still give it a shot. I will try and wait a month or two to buy the novella to tide myself over until the second novella comes out in November and then book three in January, but we will see how successful I am.
Let me know what you think! I’m also always looking fro book recommendations, so please leave a few in the comments. Then, if you’re feeling daring, click that “Follow” button down yonder. You’re a peach 😉
The Pillow Fortress Review 