Katie French (1)

Riley has only known fear in her lifetime. In her harsh world, females are few and far between. This makes them highly sought after by a group of vicious people known as "The Breeders." The Breeders take women and enslave them in a hospital, forcing them to procreate as much as possible. It's the only way they see of furthering the human race. Riley desperately wants to avoid this, however this may be difficult. When Riley's step-father doesn't return from a trading trip to town, it's up to show more Riley to rescue him. The people in town think she's a "bender," a gender-less mutation. This manages to keep her out of the Breeders' eyes for now, but things become harder when Riley's mother and aunt are taken by the sheriff. Riley has to trust a mysterious (and handsome) young man named Clay to help her and her brother Ethan rescue her mom. Soon they find themselves on a journey with an outcome that none of them could have ever imagined.

There are a lot of great things in this book. Dystopians have been done a lot, but I was intrigued by the premise of this book. I was not let down. Honestly, I was so drawn in I read the book in one sitting. I meant to just read it bit by bit as I got other household chores done, but that all went down the drain. The pacing was pretty magnificent, and it keeps you wanting to turn the page and find out what happens next. Definitely finish all your necessary tasks before you start this book. I think I had never really had a good grasp of how important females are to the survival of our species before this. I mean, clearly I knew women have the children, but this book put it in a perspective I hadn't quite grasped before. Riley is a fierce and determined young lady, sometimes to a fault. I appreciated how much she wanted to save her family, but sometimes I just wanted to shake her and tell her to think things out more fully. I guess this made the book more exciting though.

Things were definitely left open in the end. As I flipped pages and saw my pages left quickly decrease, I was a little sad because I knew some things I wanted resolved wouldn't be. I will be eager to read the second book. This book does have a lot of violence, so if that thing bothers you be leery. However, it serves as an example of what lawlessness can do and the effect of ruthless people have on others. Although this book paints a rather dreary picture through most of it, you do see glimmers of hope. This book was really great, so if you like dystopians definitely check this one out.

Book provided for review. show less

** spoiler alert ** I think I was expecting something a little more subtle. Something to keep me guessing and strung out page after page, trying to figure out what was going on.

But no.
Aliens.
Just like that.

No beating around the bush for this book. And I cant say that I didn't see it coming.

The action was great. Every character is actually really interesting (Travis, my favorite, of course)! I really feel bad for CeCe's mom. Mental disorders are difficult to understand, and I believe Mrs. show more French handled it perfectly.

It was the alternating POV's that drove me up the damn wall. It was confusing and, to me, unnecessary.

The romance was sweet, but like, weird. I don't know. Something about it was off. I guess it's the fact that the instalove effect is lost on me. show less

This series really didn't last well

I really enjoyed these books when I read the first two. But, by the third they became formulaic and predictable.

Charlie's got so whiny that I really just want to punch her in the face. And, for a self-reliant bad a$$ chick, she gets all stuck in her head for darn near 85% of this book.

I only finished this series because I couldn't set it aside.

Warning: The amount of awesomeness in this book might leave you dumbfounded for a couple of days or so. Please take precautionary steps while reading and try not to hurt yourself while forcefully stopping to go to sleep.

The Breeders was EPIC! It left me breathless at every page turn. It was just... wow. I don't even know what to say. From the start, I just knew this was going to be amazing. And guess what, it was stunning. I completely devoured this book. There was not one moment where I show more felt like stopping. The characters were just so raw and the journey intensely captivating. The concept is beyond cliche. Katie French has come up with an idea that will rock your world. It's terrifying and stupendous at the same time. This book is best read not before bedtime because I can guarantee you will be staying up all night clutching it in your hands.
The characters were so perfectly matched for the story line. I couldn't find anything bothersome about them at all.
Riley topped my 2012's best kick-butt heroines. She just didn't know when to give up, and I admired her for it. Her personality is the tough girl 'don't even think about messing with me' sort. She's fearsome, courageous, NOT whiny (which is a first, I've grown tired of whiny heroines), and stubborn as a mule. Her determination to save her mother had so much depth. She was willing to go through almost anything to save those she loves and it was heartbreaking half the time because luck always seemed to be against her.
Clay was really unpredictable. The guy just loved screwing with my head. I'd think he'd do something in one way (since it's always done this way), but then he'd completely surprise by doing the opposite. I loved him for it. He was full of surprises that left me stunned. His personality was caring and dangerous when people got on his bad side. He's not like the perfect male characters in other books. He's real good-looking (He's the cowboy sort, how is that not sizzling?) all right, but I found myself liking him more because he didn't judge people before getting to know them. He treated Riley like a human being while everyone else treated her like crap because they thought she was a Bender.
The only drawback was Riley's little brother, Ethan. He's young and annoyingly weak, but he was perfect in the way in which he brought Riley's more compassionate side to the surface. It made the story far more interesting and twenty times more terrifying when there's a small, feeble child holding the heroes back. I loved how he fit so well without getting on my nerves.
The relationship between Clay and Riley started off real slow and it continued building until I felt like exploding from the excitement and the thrilling sensation of it all. Katie French hit it perfectly with the romance. It was the part I looked forward to the most and got the least. Those few, swooning moments between Riley and Clay left me hungry for more. And in the end, the wait was SO worth it!
The language in the book is different, mostly since it's set in a very western civilization with a cowboy-sort of theme. It's not formal, but rather very slang-ish. The story's setting takes place in a barren stretch of desert land. I love it because:
1) Forests & Jungles have been overused way too much. Change of scenery please!
and
2) I'm a desert-lover
Th plot had some seriously unpredictable twists to it. It was fast-paced and impressively easy to get through. I could get clear images from solid descriptions that didn't make me want to stop reading.
Overall, I fell in love with The Breeders. It's an amazing read that will leave you both satisfied and thirsty for more. I recommend this to everyone and anyone who loves a nail-biting dystopian read!
100% Pure Awesomeness! show less