Naturals - Book Rant

Naturals (The Lost Souls #2)
by Tiffany Truitt

What is it about:
Tess is finally safe from the reach of the Council, now that she is living in the Middlelands with the rebel Isolationists. With James having returned to Templeton, she easily falls back into her friendship with Henry, though her newfound knowledge of Robert’s chosen one status still stings. Even surrounded by people, Tess has never felt more alone. So she’s thrilled when James returns to the settlement, demanding to see Tess — until she finds out that it’s because her sister, Louisa, has been recruited into Tess’s old position at Templeton, and that the dangerously sadistic chosen one George has taken an interest in her.

What did I think of it:
Beware: this is not a review, but a rant and contains spoilers!

I thought the first book in this trilogy was a nice read, but I did wonder if Truitt would take the story to a darker place in this book.

Let me give you the situation at the end of book one:
Tess is one of the few women who are still capable of having children without dying in the process. The Council doesn't want women to have children because they're creating a race of artificially made soldiers they can control. Tess escapes the compound where she lives because certain death waits for her there and she gets taken in by the Isolationists, who oppose the Council and who want Tess because of her virtility.

Got that?

I expected Tess' virtility to be a major plot point in Naturals. I expected the Isolationist trying to force Tess to have children. I feared rape, forced pregnancy and things like that. I expected Tess to understand her importance and either be scared to death of the consequences or to want to use her virtility to help the Isolationists.

None of that all!

Tess thinks the Isolationists want her because she's a symbol of hope, not because she's a baby-making machine. She's actually surprised and offended when she discovers the Isolationists expect her to eventually have children. The Isolationists don't even force the issue in any way and just hope that Tess might change her mind in the future.

Seriously?!

If the overall story would give me the impression that the author just didn't want the story to get too dark I might not have minded so much, but it turns out Tess is another one of those 'special' heroines. There are bad things happening in this world, but somehow really bad things don't happen to Tess, they only happen to other women.

I can only guess that authors who make terrible things happen to others, but not to their heroine think that I as a reader would be upset if those horrible things happened to the heroine.

They are wrong!

I have to confess I feel no sympathy with these 'special' heroines. Especially when while other people are suffering they actually feel sorry for themselves because they have two boys liking them. I'd feel more connected with them if they truly got to share in the horrors that others face and I'd rejoice all the more when they managed to survive and cope with the terrible things inflicted upon them.

So as you might have guessed, this book was a disappointment for me and I don't think I will read the last book in this trilogy.

Why should you read it:
The world building is quite interesting.

Chosen Ones - Book Review

Chosen Ones (The Lost Souls #1)
by Tiffany Truitt

What is it about:
Life is bleak but uncomplicated for sixteen-year-old Tess, living in a not-too-distant future where the government, faced with humanity's extinction, created the Chosen Ones, artificial beings who are extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

When Tess begins work at Templeton, a Chosen Ones training facility, she meets James, and the attraction is immediate in its intensity, overwhelming in its danger. But there is more to Templeton than Tess ever knew. Can she stand against her oppressors, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

What did I think of it:
This was a nice read.

I really liked the Dystopian setting of this book. It was grim and for most parts believable enough. There were some minor things that bugged me, but not enough to make me lose interest.

I did have some problems with Tess. For someone who's introduced as a cynical and disillusioned teen, she's awfully naive and slow to catch on to what's going on at times. Near the end of the book something is revealed that would have me run screaming for the hills if I was Tess, but she doesn't even think anything of it. It makes me wonder if it's just Tess who doesn't see the danger or if it's Truitt who didn't think her own world building through.

I also thought that Truitt held back information on one plot point until very late in the story. Ok, there were some hints, but the most important one was introduced much too late in my opinion.

Those grumblings aside, this was an enjoyable read. I really liked the growing relationship between Tess and James and the story had enough intrigue to keep me invested until the end.

The ending was done well enough to give some closure and at the same time made me want to continue this series. I'm curious to see if Truitt will take this story where I both hope and fear it will go or if she will shy away from true darkness.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice Dystopian YA read