Title: SECONDBORN
Author: Amy A. Bartol
Source: KU FOR KINDLE
Goodreads…
Firstborns rule society. Secondborns are the property of the government. Thirdborns are not tolerated. Long live the Fates Republic.
On Transition Day, the second child in every family is taken by the government and forced into servitude. Roselle St. Sismode’s eighteenth birthday arrives with harsh realizations: she’s to become a soldier for the Fate of Swords military arm of the Republic during the bloodiest rebellion in history, and her elite firstborn mother is happy to see her go.
Televised since her early childhood, Roselle’s privileged upbringing has earned her the resentment of her secondborn peers. Now her decision to spare an enemy on the battlefield marks her as a traitor to the state.
But Roselle finds an ally—and more—in fellow secondborn conscript Hawthorne Trugrave. As the consequences of her actions ripple throughout the Fates Republic, can Roselle create a destiny of her own? Or will her Fate override everything she fights for—even love?
My take…
“Whatever it is that’s making you cry, look away from it. It doesn’t have you. I do.”
***
I had tried once before to read SECONDBORN and soon after starting it I found I wasn’t getting into it. It wasn’t Bartol’s fault, just a slump I was in at the time. But seeing countless people rave of their love for the book, I tried again. And I quickly fell in love with it. Almost obsessively so. Ok, yeah. It was obsessive.
I had so many emotions running wild within me with this amazing read. They all started with Roselle. She is one heck of a character. Funny, independent, fierce. There was so much to love about her. She grew up hated and unwanted from her family but once she left them she found a family blood could not compete with.
***
“You’re right. You’re not her. You’re better. You think for yourself, and you never back down when you believe you’re right. And you’re not perfect, like they made her seem. You have flaws, but your flaws are sexy. You’re naïve and jaded, smart and gullible, ferocious and delicate. Men will break themselves against your fragile smile.”
***
How Bartol was able to imagine, then put in to words this unique world is beyond me. But she did it and it was fantastic. I am still in awe of her ability to create something so complex but allow it to flow out on paper so flawlessly. Utterly brilliant. 5 Stars!
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