True Storm

True Storm (True Born #3) by L.E. Sterling (2018)
-eARC Review-

TrueStorm_500

YA Fiction | Dystopia | Paranormal
Blurb:

“Lucy’s twin sister, Margot, may be safely back with her—but all is not well in Plague-ravaged Dominion City. The Watchers have come out of hiding, spreading chaos and death throughout the city, and suddenly Lucy finds herself under pressure to choose her future: does it lie with her handsome new friend, Alastair; her guardian, the enigmatic True Born leader Nolan Storm; or the man who makes her heart trip, her savage True Born bodyguard Jared Price?

But while Lucy ponders her path, fate has other plans. Betrayal is a cruel lesson, and the Fox sisters can hardly believe who is behind the plot against them. To survive this deadly game of politics, Lucy is forced to agree to a marriage of convenience. But is the DNA of her will stronger than the forces opposing her? Can she turn the tide against the oncoming storm??

As they say in Dominion, can rogue genes ever have a happy ending?”
–Goodreads

Expected Publication Date: May 01, 2018

Book One: TRUE BORN

pooled ink Review:

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy to review!

Ever since the first book I’ve been pulled in by this series. It was just so…different. At least from anything I’d ever read before. And then there’s something in the rhythm of the writing that kept me coming back. Now at last we’ve come to the last book in the trilogy!

What I loved about this book was that it brought all the fantastic characters we’ve gotten to know with gusto, it throws in some wicked curveballs, and it was an overall good ending to the wild adventure that has been Lucy’s life post-party (yeah that big swanky Reveal Party took one helluva dark turn). There were some seriously unexpected deaths, some major twists, and for whatever reason I couldn’t put it down.

I will say though that I felt that Ali’s character was sort of thrown away in this book. He was built up so much in the last book and then he’s just sort of wasted in this one. The same actually goes for Margot. The entire first two books are centered around finding her (at least as far as Lucy’s goals are concerned) and yet once we finally rescue her her character seems to lose depth and get tossed. And as for Nolan Storm, well, I’ve never been able to get a definitive read of him. Ever the rich and powerful enigma of possibilities and plans.

I also wasn’t a big fan of some of the obstacles that came up and how they tweaked the characters affected. There’s a sort of triangular romance situation of sorts that I wasn’t a huge fan of because although it definitely added tension to the story it never felt fully substantiated but rather simply an easy way to add in some (unnecessary) drama (especially because no one was ever a true contender besides Jared).

Another thing that I’m on the fence about is the ending. I mean, it honestly almost feels too open ended. A big epic battle breaks out ending this book in chaos with essentially no actual resolution. I’m left with so many questions! Did they win for good? Will the people change? How will they change? Will the council idea work? Will Storm rule? What will Lucy do now? Etc. Honestly the only thing this ending resolved was that Lucy and Jared decide to put duty aside and follow their hearts by choosing each other (as if we didn’t know that would happen since book one). A lot happens in this book though, and while I think a semi-open ended conclusion was definitely the way to go for this series I can’t help but feel it was too open ended to the point of not being a series ending at all as it could easily be mistaken for a cliff-hanger awaiting another book to follow.

But hey, I never quite knew where these books would take me and overall I really enjoyed the Lucy Fox adventure.

This series has been a unique, constantly-evolving story full of interesting characters that surprise and despise within a world darkly crafted from Dominion City to the enemies beyond its borders. Overall I’ve had a lot of fun going on this journey with Lucy and her companions as her world is torn apart and she’s forced to piece back together what she once believed with the hard truths glaring before her. I do feel that this book fell into repetition at times and had a chaotic ending that suffered from little resolution but it was fun to read nonetheless and although it’s always a bit sad when a series ends I’m also glad to finally have read the conclusion to this epic tale.

So much happens and once you settle back into the rhythm of this twisted rhyme it all pours out at a thrilling rush of twists and maddening possibilities. If you’ve enjoyed the True Born series thus far then you’ll likely enjoy its finale.

Cheers.

Purchase here: True Storm