Reviewer: Andrea
I received this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
A betrayal born of blood
A curse for a gift
A love worth saving
Koldan Holdt knows what he wants. The problem is his future was decided the day he was born—a future void of everything he has ever known.
Days before summer vacation, Koldan’s grandfather suddenly dies, leaving the consequences that have followed him since he fled his country to fall to Koldan. As Koldan learns about his new fate, he must accept the terms to which he is bound and live without the one person he wants, or remain true to who he is and risk both their lives repeating the choices his grandfather made.
Seventeen-year-old Raya Whitney thought she knew Koldan…until a sudden turn of events threatens both their lives. While she is not willing to give up without a fight, she knows it is a deadly game to stay together.
Review:
Render left me furious but furious in that way that will make me buy the next one. A percentage point or two before the end, I began to see this was not going to end with a contented sigh of satisfaction and that ooshy-gooshy, post-reading glow.
Parts of this novel were beyond tense. Chapter upon chapter kept me intrigued and reading until my eyes were ready to lead a revolt against my hand, which was falling asleep from holding my Kindle in the same position for so long. I loved Koldan, the male lead, but found myself even more held by Raya as the novel progressed. The plot was smart, the love story tender—just as it should be. While the characters are YA, the story is far from the typical YA plot. It’s full of political backstabbing and manipulation and raises questions about family loyalty versus family obligation. AND it’s teeming with sexual tension that didn’t seem exclusive to Raya and Koldan and left me questioning who exactly she’d end up with.
While the novel was, overall, titillating, the ugly beast of frustration reared her bitchy head. I’m not a fan of extraneous description; maybe it’s my anger at being forced to read Hawthorne in eleventh grade, but I hate too much scenic (whether inside or out) hullabaloo. So, though the rising action and climax of this novel are amazing at times, I was spacing out and rereading the same paragraphs repeatedly until I finally just skipped some of the descriptions. Also, there were times the teens didn’t sound like teens. Granted, these kids aren’t your typical, holey t-shirt and scuffed Nike kids, but they still didn’t sound “normal.” Some of the events seemed a little unbelievable, like the soldiers tracking Raya via her perfume—exactly how much perfume is she wearing? Fleshman does a great job keeping you guessing; I just wish the novel were a bit shorter since I’m afraid a lot of teen readers would stop reading before reaching the good part. Kids who are reluctant readers are intimidated by books of this length and are quick to abandon a great book.
