Tag: Dystopian

My most anticipated books still to come in 2020

Rach @ Anxious Nachos3 Comments

Hi everyone,

This was both so fun and so difficult to write because today I’m talking all about my most anticipated books still to come in 2020. And I have so many. Initially I was going to keep to just 10 books as I did in my favourite books of the year so far list, but I just couldn’t do it. And you’ll see why when I tell you about these books because they all sound equally awesome!

I’m going to be looking at my 15 most anticipated books releasing in the second half of 2020, so July – December. To help me out with narrowing it down, I decided to not include any books which I have received an ARC for since technically I’m no longer anticipating them. This really helped me narrow the list down, but I do want to shout out the books that would’ve made this list had I not got an ARC:

As you can see, that is quite a few books and thus if I had included them in my list below, I would have failed even more badly to narrow this down. So without further ado, here are my 15 most anticipated books releasing in the rest of 2020!

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Release date: July 21

This is a horror novel everyone has been screaming about how scary it is and thus I am so incredibly excited to read this even if it terrifies me. The Year of the Witching is a feminist horror fantasy novel about a woman living in a Handmaid’s Tale esque, cult-like society and what happens when she discovers her mother consorted with witches.

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

Release date: August 4

I’ve only read Emezi’s young adult novel, Pet, so far, but I loved it so much and I’m hoping to get to their adult novel Freshwater very soon as well. Their third book, The Death of Vivek Oji, promises to be every bit as lyrical and powerful as Pet. It follows the life of Vivek Oji and their relationships with friends and family before their death.

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram

Release date: August 25

It’s so close!!!!! 40 days if we’re being exact but who’s counting… Darius the Great Deserves Better is the sequel to one of my favourite books, Darius the Great is Not Okay. Darius is back in the US, now has a boyfriend and an internship at his favourite teashop, but something still seems to be missing.

Transcendant Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Release date: September 1

Another of the few literary fiction novels that made it onto this list, Transcendent Kingdom follows a Ghanian family in Alabama, specifically Gifty, a young neuroscience student who is researching addiction and depression as she attempts to find answers for her brother’s overdose and suicidal mother. But as she explores the hard sciences, Gifty also reaches back to her childhood faith for answers.

Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez

Release date: September 15

Not only does this have one of my favourite covers on this list, it also has one of the most exciting pitches! Crosshairs is set in a near future dystopian world where anyone “other” is rounded up into camps. So a group of queer allies, lead by a queer Black performer, team up against the regime.

Who I Was With Her by Nita Tyndall

Release date: September 15

Any contemporary that makes it onto this list is surely going to be incredible, because it takes a lot for this fantasy lover to be this excited over contemporary books. Who I Was With Her follows closeted bi girl, Corinne, after her girlfriend dies and she has to learn to deal with her grief without anyone knowing, except the one person she really shouldn’t be leaning on for support: her dead girlfriend’s ex.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Release date: September 15

Having just read Ninth House, I am here for more secret societies at university, and in Legendborn this is combined with a society descended from King Arthur! But also it’s like super super queer too. Legendborn follows Bree as she attends a residential camp for bright high school students at the local university. But on her first night on campus, she witnesses a demon attack and ends up embrolied with a secret society who claim to be descendants of King Arthur working to prevent a magical war.

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

Release date: September 15

The Secret History but make it queer?! I haven’t even read The Secret History and I know this is the vibe I need in my life. These Violent Delights follow Paul and Julian who meet at university in the 70s and whose obsession with each other leads to a shocking act of violence.

The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis

Release date: September 22

Bisexual vampires is all I need to say for this one, right? Set in a Prague where monsters exist, this book follows a vampire hunter and his relationship with a widowed noblewoman (and secret vampire).

The Archive of the Forgotten by A.J Hackwith

Release date: October 6

If you read my post all about my favourite reads of 2020 so far, you would have seen the first of this series there, The Library of the Unwritten which has to be one of the most fun fantasies I’ve ever read. The Archive of the Forgotten continues the story of Claire, Brevity and Hero as books begin to leak a strange ink that could alter the afterlife forever.

Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald

Release date: October 13

Chaos lesbian alert! Beyond the Ruby Veil is a dark YA fantasy about Emanuela, a girl who accidentally kills the only person who can create water in her town and now has to find a way to make water herself before the entire town dies of thirst.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth

Release date: October 20

This is the adult debut from the author who wrote The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which I admit I haven’t actually read, but Plain Bad Heroines just sounds so amazing this book made it onto my most anticipated list! This is described as a horror comedy set at a girls boarding school in New England which closed after a series of terrible murders. But now the doors are reopening as a Hollywood cast prepares to create a film about what happened. But soon it isn’t clear where Hollywood ends and the curse of the boarding schools begins…Insert ominous drum roll.

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar

Release date: November 3

Moving into literary fiction realms again, The Thirty Names of Night follows three generations of Syrian Americans and a mysterious bird that ties them all together. This is ownvoices trans and Syrian-American rep, and explores the history of queer and trans communities in the Syrian community and promises to be an entrancing read.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Release date: November 17

If you haven’t seen Chloe Gong’s hilarious videos marketing this book, first of all where have you been?! And second of all, go check out her Twitter because she is hilarious. These Violent Delights is a Romeo & Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, yes we’re really getting a book that sounds THAT AWESOME in 2020.

The Burning God by R.F Kuang

Release date: November 26

The finale to R.F Kuang’s Poppy War series is almost here and it promises to be as destroying as the first two in this series! I’m not going to say too much about this one to avoid any spoilers for those still reading The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic, but suffice to say, I am ecstatically excited to find out what happens to Rin, Nezha and Kitay.

And that’s my 15 most anticipated releases for the rest of 2020! What’s your most anticipated release still to come? Let me know in the comments below.

Book review: We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Rach @ Anxious Nachos2 Comments

Title: We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication date: 26 February 2019

Genre: Fantasy | Dystopian | Young Adult

Page extent: 384 pages

Rating: 4/5 stars

Goodreads blurb: At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children, but both are promised a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her bright future depends upon no one discovering her darkest secret—that her pedigree is a lie. Her parents sacrificed everything to obtain forged identification papers so Dani could rise above her station. Now that her marriage to an important politico’s son is fast approaching, she must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society, where famine and poverty rule supreme.

On her graduation night, Dani seems to be in the clear, despite the surprises that unfold. But nothing prepares her for all the difficult choices she must make, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or to give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?

***

We have been truly blessed in 2019 with sapphic enemies-to-lovers YA and We Set the Dark on Fire is no different!! This was a thrilling and touching tale about borders and immigration, fighting for justice and falling in love when you least expect it. 

Dani is top of her class at the Medio School for Girls. There she and other girls train to be Primera and Segunda wives to the top men in Medio. Primeras look after the household, Segundas take care of the children. Dani is the top Primera in her class. She is awaiting graduation day where she will be married to one of the most powerful sons on the island, Mateo Garcia. But Dani has a secret. Years ago, her parents took her on a perilous journey, forging identification papers and climbing over the wall that separates the outer islanders with Medio’s citizens. Those on the outside starve and beg, and Dani’s parents risked everything to escape that life. She has kept this secret for years, but now on the eve of her graduation, it threatens to come to light. To keep it secret, she accepts help from the resistance group La Voz, and finds herself blackmailed into helping them spy on her new husband. But with the Segunda wife, Carmen, watching her every move, Dani needs to use all her intelligence to stay safe.

The characters really shine is this fast paced, tense novel. Dani, our MC, is so brilliant. She is incredibly smart and driven, so observant and really uses her skills throughout the book. Her internal thoughts felt so real and I loved seeing her slowly embrace her emotions, going against all of her training to do so, as she fell further into both love and the resistance. Carmen was equally enthralling. She seemed to shine on every page, a reflection of Dani’s wonder at her, and I just love the mystery about her. Every moment these two are on page together is magical, and I think the writing of the book really felt amplified when they were together. There are some really beautiful passages. The entire romance was drawn out exceptionally well, and the progression itself from their hatred to love felt real and not rushed at all. These two are possibly one of my favourite f/f couples I’ve ever read. They each complement the other so well, and their feelings are so obvious and beautiful, I love them!! 

“On the outside, she was frozen, but inside her, whole cities were being razed to the ground. Explosions were shaking the walls of her stomach. People were screaming in her throat.”

I equally loved some of the side characters. Senora Garcia struck me as particularly strong and well written. She really intrigued me and I loved how she used her role to be as powerful as her husband. I did feel the women were all more well rounded and well written than the men. The Garcia men were understandably power hungry, angry and controlling. You could feel their power through the page and it felt very familiar of our current world, but they did feel a little one dimensional. I wasn’t hugely keen on Sota either, who again felt a little one dimensional and less well developed.

Equally familiar was the world building, which made this novel very successful. It is immediately reminiscent of current political ideologies regarding immigration and the privilege being on one side of a boundary (or in a certain country) brings. The lead up from peaceful protest to violence, the way the powerful military faked events to retain control, were all extremely realistic and brought a very current atmosphere to the book.

“Think about all the crimes your precious government condones, not just the ones they punish. Then you can talk to me about who the real criminals are. If we’re not all free, none of us are free. You remember that.”

We Set the Dark on Fire was tense and thrilling with lots of action and mystery, and on top of all that it had a fantastic and very realistic enemies-to-lovers f/f romance play out. I am so excited for February when the sequel is released, which will be written from CARMEN’s POV and I can’t wait!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Spooktober: Magically mysterious fantasies

Rach @ Anxious NachosLeave a comment

Hi everyone,

Spooktober is back for Day 3, and this time I’m delving into my favourite fantasies of 2019 so far! I always associate fantasies with this time of year – with Halloween just around the corner, we are filled with magic and creatures and dark magical mysteries. So, I thought it the perfect time to talk about my five favourite fantasies I’ve read this year!

The Fever King/The Electric Heir – Victoria Lee

To the shock of literally no one, The Fever King, and its sequel The Electric Heir, are on the list of my favourite fantasies I’ve read this year. I first read TFK back in March, reread a few months later, and then was lucky enough to get an eARC from NetGalley of TEH just a few weeks ago. These books are just the most incredible story, from the characters to the plot to the villain to the magic system, I just love everything about them. To find out more about my love of The Fever King, check out the full review (here) I did to celebrate the start of Pride month back in June!

An Ember in the Ashes – Sabaa Tahir

This was a book I randomly picked up in the library, and holy shit IT IS AMAZING?!?! How had I not already read it?!?! This was so intense and action packed, so much death and darkness and literally just everything I love about fantasy was packed into the novel. I loved that there isn’t really any character I can say is truly “good” – everyone is so morally grey (or just pure evil). I have the sequel waiting on my shelf to read, so I’m pretty sure before the end of year, I’ll have another of this series on my favourite fantasy list. To see me rave about this title more, you can read my full review here!

The City of Brass – S.K Chakraborty

What an absolute powerhouse of a political fantasy. This book just killed me – so much so, I still haven’t been able to work up the courage to read the sequel because I’m so scared my heart will continue to be broken. This book has so much detail, one of the most spectacular worldbuildings I’ve read – the detail that has gone into the religion, the history, the political system is just incredible. Add to that these amazing and unique characters who just keep making the wrong decisions and breaking my heart, this book has of course got to be on this list! Following from its chonky chonky size, I think my full review of this book is the longest one I’ve written? Read my adoration for The City of Brass here!

Descendant of the Crane – Joan He

This book cemented in my mind that political fantasy is one of my favourite subsets of the genre. Between The City of Brass, and Descendant of the Crane, my heart is just IN LOVE with political fantasy. The book has so many twists and turns, so many emotional punches, and a murder mystery to end all murder mysteries. Check out my thoughts here!

Missing, Presumed Dead – Emma Berquist

The final fantasy I’m going to talk about is Missing, Presumed Dead which I think might almost rival The Fever King for the amount of times it has been mentioned on this blog. This book follows Lexi, a woman who knows when and how a person can die after touching them. When she fails to save Jane, Jane returns as a ghost and gets Lexi’s help to hunt down her murderer. This book is so dark and gritty and totally unexpected! I absolutely adored that magic wasn’t portrayed as something good and brilliant to have – Lexi’s power is seriously damaging to her mental health, and I loved the portrayal of mental illness in a fantasy setting. For more info, check out my review here!

***

Fantasy is my favourite genre to read, so whilst all these books are amazing, I still have so many sitting on my shelf waiting to read that might come in and knock these off the top in the last few months of the year! Here’s a few I have waiting for me:

Did you also love any of these books? Let me know your favourite fantasy you’ve read this year in the comments below!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Rach @ Anxious Nachos1 Comment

Title: The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Publication date: 8 October 2019

Genre: Dystopian | Young adult

Page extent: 416 pages

Goodreads blurb: A speculative thriller in the vein of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Power. Optioned by Universal and Elizabeth Banks to be a major motion picture!

“A visceral, darkly haunting fever dream of a novel and an absolute page-turner. Liggett’s deeply suspenseful book brilliantly explores the high cost of a misogynistic world that denies women power and does it with a heart-in-your-throat, action-driven story that’s equal parts horror-laden fairy tale, survival story, romance, and resistance manifesto. I couldn’t stop reading.” – Libba Bray, New York Times bestselling author

Survive the year.

No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.

In Garner County, girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, to drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.

Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for a chance to grab one of the girls in order to make a fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.

With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between. 

***

The Grace Year is another chillingly terrifying feminist novel in the likes of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Natural Way of Things. With an achingly familiar message of strength and resilience, The Grace Year adds its own spin to the classic feminist tale of resistance.

The Grace Year begins with main character Tierney, on the eve of her Grace Year. In order to remove the evil magic that so tempts men, girls on the cusp of womanhood are sent to an encampment in the wilds to last a year. There, strange occurrences happen as their magic arises and burns out, and nobody knows who will last the year as poachers try to hunt them, selling their parts back to the county.

The Grace Year is a familiar yet new story about finding the strength to resist. It’s a tale about trust and forgiveness. Although we open in the county with their strict control of the women, the majority of the book is set in the encampment. The setting is so beautiful and made for such a haunting and creepy atmosphere throughout. With ghostly stories, there was always an edge to everything, as if we didn’t quite understand what was true and what wasn’t (which we really don’t). I loved the uncertainty – the mysterious atmosphere and magic of The Grace Year affected Tierney so much that it was hard to know what was real and what wasn’t. I loved that at the end of the day, the most danger came from the girls themselves as opposed to the men of the county, or the poachers. So caught up with the power granted to them during the year, they become mad with the power, the last sliver of ‘freedom’ before they are forced into marriage or work.

It is such a dark and brutal journey, one which I think really debates the definition of a happy ever after. I loved some of the secondary characters – the way Tierney’s mother comes to life throughout the book is wonderful, and I loved the slow reveal of Ryker. There are many twists and turns, some utterly shocking which I never saw coming but which are just so clear afterwards! I feel like this is a book that will shine even more in a reread, with so much foreshadowing more noticeable.

Although a dark novel, there are moments of hope and joy. There is fierce love and friendship and ultimately, there is such resilience and strength in these characters. This was a brilliant read, and one which follows its predecessors shoes very well!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Rach @ Anxious Nachos1 Comment

Title: The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company

Publication date: 28 May 2019

Genre: Dystopian| Young Adult

Page extent: 352 pages

Goodreads blurb: Welcome to the Kingdom… where ‘Happily Ever After’ isn’t just a promise, but a rule. 

Glimmering like a jewel behind its gateway, The Kingdom is an immersive fantasy theme park where guests soar on virtual dragons, castles loom like giants, and bioengineered species–formerly extinct–roam free.

Ana is one of seven Fantasists, beautiful “princesses” engineered to make dreams come true. When she meets park employee Owen, Ana begins to experience emotions beyond her programming including, for the first time… love.

But the fairytale becomes a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen, igniting the trial of the century. Through courtroom testimony, interviews, and Ana’s memories of Owen, emerges a tale of love, lies, and cruelty–and what it truly means to be human.

This was one of my most anticipated reads this month, I have been giddy with excitement to read because it sounded so deliciously creepy and horrible. And it didn’t disappoint! Whilst I think it would’ve worked better with a less hopeful ending, I understand there will be a sequel which will continue this creepy and haunting not-so-far future world. 

The Kingdom is the world’s most magical theme park. Happy ever afters aren’t just a dream or wish, they are the rule. Ana is one of seven fantasists who work at the park, engineered to make people’s wishes come true. But there’s something wrong with the park. Below the seemingly perfect facade of the theme park, is a seedy and haunting layer. Fantasists are beginning to lose memories, the engineered hybrids (extinct animals who have had DNA merged with technology to bring them back to life) are becoming violent, and at the heart of all this is Ana. Ana, who spends her nights strapped to a bed so she doesn’t escape, who is always watched via camera, who has to create a secret language to talk with her sister fantasists and who, until now, hasn’t questioned her life. But Ana, along with the other hybrids, are beginning to change. And then she’s charged with murder. 

The Kingdom is broken up into Ana’s POV, where we see from her eyes the events before the trial, what led to the murder and her slow discovery and realisation of the horrors of the park; and then excerpts from the trial, from CCTV, and a post trial interview with the terrifying Dr Foster. I thought the way this was structured was absolutely fantastic. These glimpses of interviews allowed the reader to gain a glimpse of the horrors of the park before Ana realises, which meant we could see a lot of the creepy and darkness in the events of her POV before she did. This made for a tense reading experience and a state of shock and horror at what happens at the park and Ana’s naivety. These excerpts, in just a few pages, paint Dr Foster as this terrifying nightmare man. It’s fun realising the similarities between him and a certain character you meet in Ana’s POV and brilliant when you realise you were right and they’re the same person.

The Kingdom feels very dystopian in the way it questions society’s behaviour and treatment towards these hybrids who aren’t quite human. It raises questions about what makes something human: the ability to feel? To love? To kill? I did feel the ending let this intention down a little. It might just be me, but I kind of wanted a much darker ending that could really drive home this message about humanity’s darkness. The book felt very Black Mirror and I love that show because it doesn’t always have a happy ending, they showcase the truly awful parts of humanity and I kind of wanted more of that in the ending. I know there will be a sequel so the ending is setting up the next book, I just think this would be worked really well as a standalone. 

In saying that, I did really enjoy this book. It was creepy and dark and I thought the structure of Ana’s POV interspersed with these trial excerpts was fantastic! 

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: Dystopian

Rach @ Anxious Nachos1 Comment

So I missed the first August Top 5 Tuesday because life was sucking and blogging was hard, but I’m back now for Dystopian week!

I thought this would be waaaaay easier, but I seem to have not read very many dystopians?! And I didn’t want to choose the more obvious ones like THG or Handmaid’s Tale, so there may be one or two debatable choices on this list – but I consider them dystopian so here they are!

The Fever King by Victoria Lee

What a shock, The Fever King is the book I want to talk about first on dystopian week. This isn’t just the best dystopian novel ever, I currently consider it my favourite book EVER, and I cannot keep recommending it to everyone. The Fever King is set in a future US, where a virus (magic) has wiped out most of the population. Several hubs of survivors have risen out of the wreckage, including Carolinia, where Noam, our MC lives. The son of an immigrant, Noam survives the virus and wakes up with technopathy, an ability to control technology. He is recruited by one of the most powerful men in Carolinia, Calix Leher, and goes to train at a special school for magic-wielding survivors. There he meets Dara, Ames and the rest of a crew, tries to take down the government, and falls in love.

This book is just everything. It is such an amazing story, with lots of action and drama, and characters I would die for. What it does not have: the SEQUEL which isn’t out until MARCH. C’mon time, please hurry up. You can read my full review of this book here!

I Still Dream by James Smythe

I Still Dream is probably more sci-fi than dystopian, but I think the topics discussed in the book do make it dystopian, hence it’s appearing on this list. I Still Dream tells the story of Laura, who at 17 created an artificial intelligence called Organon. Laura uses it almost like a diary, inputting her thoughts and desires into Organon who supports her as she grows. Meanwhile, the world advances, technology changes, and corportations develop their own AI. But their AI is very different to Laura’s. Laura’s was only ever designed for her; and as Organon has developed, it has done so with Laura’s humanity and her morals. The mega-corps? Of course they didn’t care about putting controls in their AI! Why would they do that?!

This is probably my absolute favourite AI book I’ve read. Despite the plot revolving around Organon, the book really focuses on Laura which I love. We follow Laura throughout her life as she and Organon grow and develop together, from her 17 year old self, to when she’s old. I Still Dream discusses what it means to be human, and shows how we can destroy ourselves for power. It’s such a brilliant tale, with incredible character development in Laura, and a brilliant look at how technology and humanity might interact in the future.

Sealed by Naomi Booth

Sealed is a very creepy, horror-esque dystopian novel set in a future where pollution has damaged the enviornment. Cities are covered in smog; food is grown only in sterile labs, and now a virus which causes skin to grow over any openings on your body is infecting everyone. To escape, pregnant Alice and her partner escape to the mountains, where she hopes the cool, fresh air will protect her from the epidemic. Of course, things aren’t quite as expected in the mountains. Something is very wrong.

Sealed is such a fantastic book – it had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through, and is one of the most terrifying books I’ve read. I actually found the ending a little disappointing, but a lot of people LOVED the ending so it’s probably just me… I wanted a bit more resolution of the virus, which is why I picked up the book (because I have a really weird obsession with media about virus epidemics), but we didn’t. Otherwise, this was a super suspenseful and chilling book.

The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood

The Natural Way of Things is a very Handmaid’s Tale-esque, feminist dystopian. Yolanda and Verla wake up drugged in an abandoned property in the middle of the Australian desert. Along with 8 other girls, they’ve been kidnapped from their lives and left there, forced to do hard labour each day. Two jailors and a nurse accompany them, watching over their every move. As they begin to bond with each other, we discover that each girl has a secret, a history of a sexual scandal with a powerful man – and this is what led to their kidnapping.

This is an extremely dark and uncomfortable novel discussing gender, the patriarchy, and misogyny. You can see the Margaret Atwood inspiration, but it’s such a modern look at the issues Atwood wrote about 35 years ago.

It’s pretty depressing this shit never seems to change.

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

I just finished this book last week, a book I have been looking forward to read for months, and it didn’t disappoint! The Kingdom is new theme park, one where wishes come true; where happy ever after isn’t just a hope, it’s enforced. Ana is one of seven fantasists, extremely human-like robots who are employed by The Kingdom to make wishes come true. Ana is also standing trial for murder. The Kingdom is split between Ana’s POV in the years before the trial; and in snippets of interviews and videos from the trial.

What a brilliant concept and great mystery! This book was pretty dark and gritty, despite how it first seems. Ana is very naive and unaware of The Kingdom’s seedier side, and so we discover along with her. This book has such brilliant discussions about what makes someone human, about how choices make humanity, and how dark and awful we really can be. I did wish the ending had been a bit darker – it felt a little too hopeful for me for the concept, but as it’s setting up a sequel, I’m interested to see what happens next. I have a full review of this book coming soon!

And that’s it for this week’s Top 5 Tuesday Dystopians! Let me know what you think of these books – and if you haven’t added The Fever King to your TBR yet, DO!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco