Secondborn

Well the world Amy has created is incredibly interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed this series opener!

Roselle was an exceptionally engaging main character and I enjoyed the camaraderie that developed between her and her fellow soldiers. This is definitely a futuristic dystopia but it also had a roman gladiator type feel to it. Maybe because it was because there were armies and swords, brutal training programmes, and the themes of deception and betrayal running throughout it. Definitely looking forward to seeing what happens in the rest of the series.

Actual Rating: 3.5
I've read the first book of Bartol's Kricket series, and I got to say I liked this one more. While it does have romance it does not take center stage in this book like it did halfway through Under Different Stars (You can read how I felt about that HERE). First, I found the mix of colors on the cover gorgeous, I know they say don't judge a book by it's cover but sometimes you can't help it. Secondly, the synopsis was pretty interesting, given that technically in my family I would have been a Thirdborn, so shot and killed in this world. Third, I was hoping for a strong female character, being female myself I always lean toward female protagonists (and antagonists as well) in stories.

While yes, Roselle was a strong show more character she did have inconsistencies in her personality. One minute she was graceful, witty, and powerful, then the next she's a shaky and anxious mess. Plus in the beginning of the book you see she is a most loyal soldier, then suddenly she's this rebellious troublemaker. While I am all for strong characters to have faults, this change in personality had no transition.

The romance was great, since it did not interfere too much in the plot, or create drama just to create drama. I think I know where Bartol is going with it which makes me more optimistic about it. This book did remind me heavily of The Hunger Games series, especially Catching Fire but once again I preferred this book over that one. show less

I only made it to 34% and decided not to finish. I bought the first two books in this series on Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale (1.99/each) and I’m trying to console myself that I at least didn’t waste too much money.

My two main complaints: the book was poorly written and I just couldn’t buy into the plot.

The writing felt a little clunky from the beginning. Unfortunately I kept running into passages that pulled me out of the story. For example, on page 24 the main character remembers seeing a dying animal in her youth. “Carrion circled above our heads, waiting to move in on the carcass.” Yikes! An editor or early reader should have picked up on this... carrion would be the dying/dead animal that vultures circle over.... not the show more one doing the circling :( most of my other complaints are just that the writing is clunky or cliched, with awkward dialogue. Some characters feel very cliche, like second born soldier Hammon or the overwrought villain Censor Agent Crow. Assistants Emmitt and Clara definitely reminded me of out of touch, ridiculous characters from the Hunger Games, but again in a way that felt cookie cutter or under developed.

I can get past clunky, awkward writing if the story is gripping and I care about the characters and plot. However, Secondborn also struck out there. First of all, it seemed like only first born were allowed to have children. Doesn’t that halve the breeding pool at each generation? The replacement rate for a population is 2.1-2.3 children/woman—assuming that both of those children may go on to reproduce. In this world, there is effectively only one fertile child per couple—way below replacement rate. Next, it seems like the world runs on a surplus of second born workers who are treated as expendable. Since a secondborn is “promoted” to first born if their sibling dies, I would assume the number of secondborn can never exceed the number of firstborn. In addition, third born children are outlawed and actively hunted so it’s not like they are swelling the ranks. How does this society even function? And how many generations has this supposedly lasted?

On top of those feasibility issues, I really struggled with the characters and their actions. Roselle is whiny, aggressive and out of touch—which isn’t surprising given her socially isolated upbringing which was broadcast to the entire world. However, why does the initial band of soldiers that initially rescue her from Agent Crow immediately defend her and trust her with their secrets? She’s the ultimate outsider!?! For years they’ve all followed propaganda of her being the perfect, obedient second born. There was nowhere near enough suspicion.

The final nail in the coffin was the whole episode surrounding her media interview after her transition day attack. The only military representatives left to guard/accompany her are fellow secondborn soldiers, all about 19 years old? They are all housed unsupervised in the donated luxury suite—which is well outside of those soldiers previous life experiences? There are no handlers beyond Emmitt and Clara, who only care about superficial details like fashion and media coverage? She is grilled by councilors about not revealing any extremely sensitive details about the attack, but they don’t have any senior handlers watching what she says and does around fellow second born soldiers? The military does not object to her ridiculous “custom uniform”? None of the other soldiers appear to have a strong reaction to her ridiculous outfit? (Sure they lightly make fun of her, but don’t object??? It seems like her outfit should have been soooo offensive to them, especially because Roselle seems to not even realize how ridiculous it is and is simply pleased with the luxe fabrics and how awesome her cleavage looks). She is not given a change of clothes before proceeding to intake????! There is no media presence (or other gawking bystanders) after she leaves the interview? I stopped reading on her way to intake, so I’m hoping there was strong back lash and distrust from every person she meets afterwards because the whole episode was sooo over the top and exactly the opposite of how her mother wanted the transition to go. Her mother wanted to be seen as sacrificing her daughter to the lowest possible rank of soldier-absolutely no favoritism or interference in her career. Also, I keep getting stuck on that “uniform”. I just can’t even. Wtf.

Since I didn’t finish the book, it’s possible that the writing improve later on and the plot is worth continuing. Many other readers enjoy the series, so ymmv. show less

This book is GRIPPING. Like, seriously, I read/listened all night, and then after passing out came back and read the rest. I definitely would consider it one of the better series of the type I've found thus far. I know that a lot of YA/NA books tend to have the same general story ideas these days, which makes it largely about the execution. Here, the concept is executed exceptionally well. The only real question is if that level of quality continues through the rest of the trilogy. Will find out soon.

Book source ~ Kindle First

Roselle St. Sismode is the secondborn child of the Fate of Swords. Firstborns, depending on their family, may rule their Fate. Secondborns have to go into military service. Forget thirdborns – they’re killed if found. Fourth thou shalt not count and fifth are right out. Hehe I paraphrased a Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail tidbit there. I couldn’t help it. Ok, moving on…

The book begins with Roselle’s Transition Day. Most secondborns are taken younger, but Roselle is 18 when her mother sends her to do her military duty. Even though Roselle is basically royalty and the whole Republic has pretty much watched her grow up on some kind of Truman Show-like program, her life in the military will show more be brutal and most likely short. Everyone knows her face and secondborns from privileged families are hated by the other less fortunate secondborns. And there lies the danger to her. But others are manipulating her life behind the scenes and Roselle must stay alive long enough to change the Republic. Whether she wants to or not.

The beginning of this story is confusing as the world gets laid out for the reader. It took me awhile to grasp all the families, structure, terminology, and relationships. About the time I got all that down the story started to take off down the tracks and I was belted firmly in and definitely along for the ride. The characters are well-developed, the plot intriguing and Roselle is no slouch though she may have a touch of Mary Sue-ness about her. Just a touch though. There’s intrigue and danger and even some romance in this intricate tale of rebellion. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger. Well, more of a transitional slope than an actual dive off a cliff. Roselle’s journey is far from over and it’ll be interesting to see what happens next. show less

4.25 (Reread on 12/21/17 - I still love this!)

Let me start by saying that Amy is the author of one of my favorite series (the Kricket Series) and I find that I really enjoy her writing and storytelling. Naturally, I was really looking forward to picking this book up when it was released.

Needless to say, it did not disappoint. The story is fast-paced and had several crucial plot twists that I did not see coming but really enjoyed. The characters are relatable, realistic, lovable and even a little "hate-able".

The technology, "class" system and world introduced in this first installment is not wholly original but intriguing nonetheless with its own uniqueness. Its easy to see why some individuals in this world may choose the paths they show more do and why some may choose to jump at any opportunity to raise their standings in society.

Overall, this is one of my favorite new releases of 2017 to have read. I have a few theories on where this story is going and will absolutely be continuing this series when the next one is released. show less

At times derivative (the rose pin way too reminiscent of the Mockingjay pin among other Hunger Games similarities), but overall entertaining.

My biggest complaints:
- General lack of world-building: there's a cold open into this society which is fine, but I was expecting some allusion to why it developed that way. No such explanation to be found. Then at the very end, there are references to demi-gods out of nowhere which is the first time it's made clear that this isn't intended to be part of our current worlds future timeline.
- Roselle's character development: she's built to be this strong, independent woman with a witty sense of humor but then in her moments of crisis, she depends on men who may or may not be interested in her show more romantically to help her out. She is sexualized in a way that felt unnecessary and gratuitous (her hair, her shaving her legs, thigh high stockings, her using weapons making them "sexy"). Plus her clinging to people and things from her past at her own detriment, almost risking her own life to pick a fight over her old fusionblade, trying to protect a brother she basically hasn't spoken to since she was 11, it's illogical and inconsistent with the way she's portrayed in other parts of the story.
- Pacing: found it to be a bit herky jerky for lack of a better term. Transitions into moments of action were sloppy or non-existent and the time jump served no purpose.

With that said, there's something about certain characters (Salloway, Hawthorne, Roselle's family) that I do find more compelling so I do plan on picking up the next book. show less