Genre: Dystopian/Paranormal Romance
Author: Susannah Noel Website :: Twitter :: Facebook :: Goodreads
Release Date: August 31, 2012
Buy: Amazon
Blurb: Riana has learned how to stay out of trouble. She spends her days studying written texts in the government’s Office of Readers, and she spends her nights taking care of her sick sister. She always—always—follows the rules. Despite her low profile, she has mysteriously become a target. Someone has kidnapped her sister. Someone else is trying to kill her. And someone has sent a Soul-Breather to beguile her out of her secrets.
Her help comes from the mythic leader of an underground rebel movement. A man who used to be her friend. A man who has silently loved her for years. He disappeared from her life without a word, and now he expects her to trust him again.
Then there’s the Soul-Breather, a man who can taste her spirit with only a touch. He makes her feel things she’s never experienced before, but she doesn’t know if the feelings are real. Hired to deceive and betray her, he offers to help her instead.
Without both men, she can’t rescue her sister. And she can’t discover the world-changing knowledge—buried in her memory—that has made her a target in the first place.
Riana is a Reader. In her world, not many people know how to read anymore, especially the Old Language. Riana's job is to seamlessly search through thousands of pages of text to uncover possible codes written into these messages. And Riana has never made a mistake - until now. After a particularly difficult day at work, Riana heads home to have dinner with her 18-year-old sister, Jannie, a bright, funny girl who is suffering from an untreatable illness.
Soon after Riana's boss, a member of the Union, uncovers her mistake, several bizarre things begin happening. She meets the most incredible man who seems to always be in the right place at the right time. she uncovers her family secret, and her sister gets stolen...Riana's quiet life is immediately disheveled as she is thrown into a war between not two but three different groups and with her sister's, and her own, life in the balance, Riana will do anything it takes to get her back.
This book was well-written with unique ideas and active characters that I am looking forward to reading more about. I enjoyed the unique leading lady that Riana is. She isn't fearless or badass, just a quiet, real woman finding her way carefully through a world where people disappear and never return again. Connor, Riana's former friend, has been politically active ever since he disappeared...but no matter how much he tries to remove Riana from his thoughts, she's always lingering beneath the stress and anxiety that is his new life. Finally, we have Mikal...the typical bad boy that needs a bit of TLC and maaaybe a little verbal slap to help him get it together. Even all of the supporting characters were enjoyable to read about and I'm hoping we'll see more of them in the next installment of this series.
The premise of this book is very unique and simple for any book-lover to connect with. The idea that reading and writing is no longer a part of life is something that I cannot imagine...and the way that Ms. Noel streams her ideas through the pages of text is lovely. Although I enjoyed the characters and the premise, I felt that some of the world and government building needed clarification. The beginning of this book also started slowly...and didn't really engage me until about a quarter of the way through.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next by Ms. Noel. I would definitely add this to your to-read list if you haven't already.
xo,
Jenna Lynne
Great review, Jenna! I'll have to check this one out :D
ReplyDeleteThank you Rebekah! :) You definitely should. :)
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