e-ARC, 266 pages
Release Date: August 20, 2013
Published by: Indie Author
The Periodic Series, #1
Source: Sent from Author
For fans of: Dystopias, Steampunk, Fantasy, YA
AVERY PIKE is a commodity. No, more than a commodity. Her existence is guarded at all costs.
She’s a water Elementalist, the strongest of her dwindling kind. She creates steam to provide energy to fuel Dome Four: the only thing standing between humanity and an earth ravaged by World War III. No steam, no Dome. No Dome, no life.
Or so she thinks.
That is, until a mysterious man offers her a way out of having to donate steam. A way to escape the corrupt government of Dome Four. While the offer seems too good to be true, Avery is intrigued.
But when she arrives to her new home, she realizes the grass isn’t any less dead on this side of the fence. Instead, the lies are just hidden better.
…Which means digging deeper.
When Avery enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth, she learns that while some secrets are better left concealed, humankind was never meant to live in a cage. And when you can control the most sought after resource, you can learn to control anything…including the fate of your world.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I first sat down to read this I wasn't really feeling good. My head and stomach were hurting and I wasn't expecting to read too much of it. Before I knew it, I got swept into the world and I had read about 44% of it! The world building is just that entrancing. I felt like I had taken Avery's place and I was doing all the things she did. Sort of like I was the MC.
The world is one of destruction from WWIII. Its not able to be lived in so the government created these domes to help society live. With her word choice I was able to fully see each dome in my mind's eye. I was fully engrossed that I didn't realize I was still lying down on my couch!
Something else I liked were all the twists and turns in the plot. I saw a lot of them coming, but at the same time there were some that even surprised me. I was a little upset about this considering I was really starting to love it, but still.
I think I was going a little hard on this because if you know me, you know I'm not really a huge fantasy fan, but this one was really good. It didn't feel over done and the world wasn't confusing. As far as the dystopian feel, I wasn't as pleased with it. I didn't like that it felt so typical. I'm not a huge dystopian fan either (I've only liked Divergent and THG) and this one just seemed so achingly familiar. The info dump to explain why the world is that way (check), a disgruntled character who pisses off the already ticked off government (check), and because this is YA, a little romance (check). The world building and the unique world is the only thing that I felt set it apart.
Had it not seemed so familiar this probably would've been a little higher rating for me. Especially with the epic world building. But I think the plot twists and the epic world building saved it. If I could rate it off those things alone, I would give it a 5, but alas I have to rate it overall.
Overall, I give this
1/2