Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the advance copy!
I don’t even know how to start this review. My stomach hurts, and my heart aches, and I feel like the world is spinning without me. I don’t want to live a life outside of the one Marie Lu created. I yearn for Red and Talin. This book was everything the cover suggests. My words will not do it justice.
Talin, a voiceless refugee from a Federation conquered territory joins the elite force of Strikers in the city of Mara. She and her team battle Ghosts, the Federation’s ghastly experiments and attempt to push them away from taking over their city. When a runaway from the Federation is caught, Talin sees something different in the man that should be her enemy. Instead, she finds a loyal and fearsome warrior and Talin finds herself rescuing him from execution-only for her Firstblade to assign him as her Shield. Now attached to the Red, in more ways than one, she and her loyal friends discover a way to beat the Ghosts, if all goes according to plan.
The first thing I noticed about this book was that we’re getting a slow burn romance. SLOW BURN. I mean we get hints of what both Red and Talin feel, but it’s natural and in no way insta-love. Instead, there’s a bond that goes beyond that and we see it with stark clarity. I just wanted to hugh them both and tell them it’s going to be OK.
Then there’s the writing. Holy crap. I think Marie Lu is evolving. Every time I read a book of hers, it’s better and better. I feel like her next book is literally going to break my heart and make me sob for days.
I haven’t read a YA book this good in a long time.
This will definitely be a book for my shelf. I recommend it to…everyone. Everyone needs to read this. The End.
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