Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Dystopian / Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Katharyn Blair
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: January 26th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads
BOOK SUMMARY:
For Charlotte Holloway, the world ended twice.
The first was when her childhood crush, Dean, fell in love—with her older sister.
The second was when the Crimson, a curse spread through eye contact, turned the majority of humanity into flesh-eating monsters.
Neither end of the world changed Charlotte. She’s still in the shadows of her siblings. Her popular older sister, Harlow, now commands forces of survivors. And her talented younger sister, Vanessa, is the Chosen One—who, legend has it, can end the curse.
When their settlement is raided by those seeking the Chosen One, Charlotte makes a reckless decision to save Vanessa: she takes her place as prisoner.
The word spreads across the seven seas—the Chosen One has been found.
But when Dean’s life is threatened and a resistance looms on the horizon, the lie keeping Charlotte alive begins to unravel. She’ll have to break free, forge new bonds, and choose her own destiny if she has any hope of saving her sisters, her love, and maybe even the world.
Because sometimes the end is just a new beginning.
ACTION-PACKED.
This book takes off at a run and doesn’t let up until the very end. I really enjoyed the audio of this one and how it captured the intensity of the book.
I only picked this up thanks to some reviews from friends so I hope this might convince you to pick it up as well. Dystopian and I don’t mix (especially because this is a pandemic…and we’re in a pandemic). This was written so beautifully and engrossing that I didn’t mind one bit. I was enamored with the story and set-up, wondering how it was all going to be wrapped up in one book. How happy I was when the loose ends were tied up and a great ending occurred.
The romance was so sweet! It wasn’t at the forefront, but was this nice slow build between Charlotte and her friend. By the time they realized their feelings, lives were in peril, so I’m glad I can say that this also had a happy ever after for [most] involved.
One of my favorite components was the fact that Charlotte was NOT the chosen one. I think it’s a funny move against the trope and it worked fantastically here. Her sentiments made me laugh a bit and really feel her character depth. Charlotte was loyal to a fault, yet did her best with some terrible situations.
Really enjoyed this one y’all! I love finding good, quick standalones.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Dystopia / Romance
- Language: some strong throughout
- Romance: kisses / make-outs
- Violence: murder, pandemic (where the “zombie” humans are violent), physical altercations, weaponry
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones
Instagram || Goodreads
GoodeyReads 