Did not finish. I had a hard time trying to get into this book. It was just not for me. I didn't like the plot. I am a character driven reader so if I don't like the characters, I tend not to like the book.

A nice book, pretty well written and good characters. But i was a bit confused for a while throughout this book on where exactly the timeline between this book and the first one is since it seems to be a type of prequel to the first book -taking place before the first book since in this book we follows a character we meet in the first book as a child. But overall entertaining and a nice fantasy read!

I couldn't handle this series. I really wanted to like it but it ultimately felt forced and cliche.

Meh
I tried I really wanted to love this book, but it was so-so. However, it is better than book 1, I will say that. It gets three stars for the entertaining plot, albeit unoriginal. Savages was not BAD persay, but just nothing original in terms of characters and plot. Girl taken from her home. girl meets boy, girl and boy try to change their circumstances and the world for the better. There was nothing to make it stand out and the writing, while good, wasn't exceptional enough to make up for overused tropes. I would recommend this for anyone who isn't a writing snob. As I said, it's not bad. In fact, it's a solid 3 stars, but for those looking for something new and fresh, this probably isn't your book.

Seaburn is home to an emperor who has chosen to kidnap warriors from surrounding areas and force them to fight for him and protect him. Breen is taken against her will and thrown into a dungeon. After beatings and tortures, her will doesn’t break. She becomes close with Drakkone, one of her jailers who is opposed to the treatment of the captives. After a while, they become a little too close and one night of passion yields a major result. They flee Seaburn and live on the run, but will the Emperor’s noose start tightening around them?



I read book one in this series and thought it was pretty good. I did enjoy this one as well, although I didn’t love it. What I thought was unique was that this was part of a “series”, but it didn’t really follow any of the main characters from Book one. I liked that this would work as a stand alone. It was definitely a young adult fantasy. It lacked the substance and refinement that I normally look for in a fantasy, but overall was a good and a quick read. I am going to keep my eye out for more of this series and give another one a shot. Three out of five stars.



Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this sequel, I did not realise until two thirds of the way through that this happened before the first novel, and this really threw me off. I was really enjoying this, but I started to get rather bored half-way through, and with a huge time jump added to the mix, the flow of the novel just seemed to disappear, and so the timescale within this novel was just lost as weeks, months and even years kept being skipped throughout.

I do not want to give too much of a summary of this as it will spoil the first book. This is about different characters to the first novel, but I want to strongly emphasise that this novel is set before the first novel, and in all honesty, I wish I had read this one first, and then the first book. It is about Breen whom is captured by the Seaburn army, and her journey and struggle as they try to turn her into another of their soldiers.

Our main protagonist Breen was brilliant. Breen was strong, fierce and protective, whilst being intelligent and inspiring as a teacher. Breen trained hard and was great however, I really struggled to connect with her. In full, Breen had all the qualities a reader wants to witness, but instead of progressing and growing as a character, Breen did the opposite, and became too reliant on those around her, no longer the strong, independent woman we first met. It was so disappointing. And although she had all these qualities, I found it really hard to connect with her.

Then there are the relationships formed in this novel. Everything felt far too convenient and 'insta'. There was a bad case of insta-love between Breen and Drakkone, alongside insta-friendships! In this novel it felt like there was no time for anything, so it was just all made to happen in the hope it seemed natural. Whilst the huge jumps in time throughout the novel made it very hard to witness the forming, and further the progression, of these friendships

As I have mentioned numerously throughout this review, the pace of this novel felt rather off. It went way too fast, so much so that I keep getting disorientated in how much time had passed. I think having read the first book did help in terms of the world-building as I did have a better understanding going into this of what was going on in this world. But everything just felt far too convenient, as mentioned earlier.

Like I said in the beginning of this review, only until I had read two thirds did I realise that this book is actually set before the first book, and it really threw me off. Mainly because I then had to go back to the first novel in order to reconnect with who these characters had become or where they had been originally, but that also left me feeling disappointed, because I knew exactly where this plot was going to lead and it would no longer be the surprising, dramatic and emotional ending it was suppose to be; as the reader, I was just waiting for what I knew was going to happen, and it just caused me to skip over sections in order to be done because I already knew what was happening, and so it completely left me wondering why I was bothering to read on knowing what was going to happen anyway. Although one thing one cannot dispute, is that Bogle is brilliant at writing action scenes, mainly the sword fighting scenes, as I was constantly able to envisage everything as they really put me on the edge of my seat.

Therefore I feel disappointed with this companion novel, and would much rather have read this first, and then read Haven.

This book was wonderful! I really liked getting to know new characters and the blend of stories was fabulously done. I do hope we get more books in this amzing series.

This one we have a very strong MC Breen and I couldnt put this one down man Bogle knows how to write a compeling story and I cant wait for the next one. In each of these stories Bogle does a great job with creating characters and a story that suck you into the emotion and the feels. I cant get enough of her titles and you shouldnt miss this one!

If your looking for a high stakes thrill ride then this is the one I would choose next! Although the stories connect you can read them as a stand alone.

I liked this book but the end was sad and now i understand a little bit more about the backstory on nina and her dad.

** I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review**

The story of Breen and Drakkone was interesting. I love the tribesmen with their way of life, their ideals and the fact that they would do anything to protect their people. I love the main idea behind the Academy, taking "savages" to make them fight for the Empire. I think it was a great subject to explore.

The first part of the story is about Breen, how she is taken from her tribe and made to fight for the Emperor. Breen is strong and does not want to break, but it is difficult, she wants to give up. Until she meets Drakkone who seems to want to help her. She is wary but she soon starts to develop feelings for him. Their relationship was evolving way too fast for my taste, I did not really enjoy that fact. There is also another event that felt really unecessary for me, but I won't mention it because of spoilers.

I enjoyed this part of the book. It was interesting to meet these people and see how strong Breen can be, even if in the end, she is only human and cannot stomach everything.

Part two is about another character (you will discover who she is by reading the story). I did not really enjoy it. I felt like a big part of the story was unexplained. I do not really know what was happening with Nina, why she had these powers, what the powers really were etc. I don't know if it was on purpose or if it is because I did not read the first book (it is the second book in the series, but it does not seem to follow the same characters so I'm not sure of what I miss).
I did not really connect with any of the characters either.

In brief, I enjoy reading this story but not more than that. It was not bad, but it was not great either. Still, I recommend reading it if you want something a bit exotic.

Very interesting start to the third book of the series. We see Aura, whom we met in the last book in this one as a child. We also meet Breen and her mother Kianne. When Seaburn comes, what happens at the Delica tribal encampment? What does Breen realize when she confronts one of the soldiers from Seaburn? How does Breen meet Drakkone? What does he do to help her? What happens in Seaburn? This book had me gripped from the time I picked it up basically. Normally I will write my review as I go and this time I could not do so. I could not put the book down. There are so many things I'd love to talk about, but knowing what I know now, and knowing what happened in Haven, it would spoil too many things if I were to talk about them. Just know that there is no lack of sexuality, love, romance, war, attempted many things. :) This was truly a wonderful book to read. It really gave me insight into some of the characters we saw in Haven and how they came to be where they were. Things suddenly make a whole lot of sense! Let me also warn you, I needed tissues at the end!

RECEIVED THIS BOOK AS A GIFT FOR A FAIR/HONEST REVIEW and REVIEWER FOR Bloggin' With M. Brennan.

In Book 1 of this series, we encountered the Kingdom of Seaburn that was ruled by a council but there was a mention of the past when Seaburn was ruled by an evil Emperor. This book takes place in those times.



Breen is a fierce warrior and an ideal representation of the tribes. She's fierce, loyal and takes pride in the warrior-like nature of her tribe which Seaburn insists on calling "Savage." But for them fighting skills are a birthright and suddenly it turns out that those same skills are the cause of the target on their heads.


"We have to stay strong."
"We will," she assured. Her fingers clenched.
"We can't go down like this."
"We won't."


The Seaburn Empire gets its soldiers from the Tribes people. Every now and then, they attack the tribes and take away the warriors back to Seaburn where they're tortured mentally and physically until they submit themselves to the service of the Seaburn armies. To the extent that those ex-tribal warriors even help in capturing other tribe members because they're completely empty inside. There was excellent world building in that aspect.

"There is no honor in this death. There is no fight," he continued. "There is only suffering. There is only pain."

I did really love Breen! She was fearless and despite everything she had to go through, she never lost sight of who she was and didn't allow herself to break under the endless torture. Drakkone had to be the sweetest character ever! He faces an inner battle between his morality and his duty towards his country. He knows what they're doing to the Tribe people is wrong but how can he betray his country and in turn put his family in danger? We got to see a really soft side to him that we didn't really encounter in Haven.




But for me, just like Haven, the romance developed a little too fast, It wasn't insta-love exactly but it still happened way too fast. And i wasn't really feeling any romantic chemistry between the two characters. It felt like Drakkone did love Bree but she wasn't really as in love with him as he was with her. We were told she loved him instead of being shown.

And i have to say, the story started out PERFECTLY!!! I was immediately gripped and sucked into this horrible world and i could not put it down and then suddenly halfway through the book, the pace changes completely to a faster one and we kind of leave the plot behind. It was just a continuous cycle of escape and being found. So the story kind of lost its grip on me halfway through.

Can it be read as a standalone? Yes! But if you want a concrete ending to some of these characters then read book 1! So would i recommend these books? Yes! Because they are still good and quick standalones and god knows we need more YA standalones!

I liked this book better than Haven. Sure, it had some issues. The second part felt a bit slow compared to the first. And there were certain word choices that had me raising an eyebrow. (Like the frequent usage of the word "savage")

However, the first part read very quickly (unlike Haven). I really liked Breen. I wish we'd gotten to seen more of life in her tribe. There were certain characters whose future was left up in the air.

I'm not sure you could read this book without having read Haven first. I think some things in the second part of the book will be too confusing otherwise.

This book is a great follow-up to Haven. I'll definitely read any future expansions this series might have.

"Death might very well be better than finishing the journey to Seaburn."

There's something that makes you feel so satisfied about a story with a kick-butt protagonist who beats the odds and comes out on top. That's exactly what Savages is about. This is a companion read to Haven and Fyre, and takes place in a different time and setting with different characters that appeared in the end of Haven.

Breen has trained since a young age to be a warrior. Culture of the savage clans includes protecting themselves and their kin from the Seaburn army, who raid the clans to enslave them into being their warriors. Breen loved the challenge of facing her fellow kin, and training to become the best they could be. She never realized she'd actually have to use her skills, when the village is raided and she is taken captive.

Her captivity is harsh. She undergoes continuous torture, and endures being raped. Yet, after everything she's been through, she remains unbroken---and eager to escape. With the help of one of her jailers (Drakkone), she is able to advance through the ranks, faster than she ever dreamed, and even finds love.

One thing that bothered me was how Breen acted toward Drakkone. I know she is like I am woman, hear me roar! but she just couldn't seem to cement her feelings towards him. One moment, they were very close, then as the plot moved along they seemed to grow more emotionally detached. In the end, she resolves her feelings in a way. I think she was more content with knowledge that she carried out her "duty" as a mother, rather than knowing that she was loved. Drakkone is such a caring, soft character, and I felt bad for him with how she treated him at times!

"She'd done the one thing she always wanted to do. Protect those she loves."

It is a pretty difficult book, in regards to the cruelty that the characters undergo. It's not a light-hearted read, so be prepared for that. Besides that, it is a good read for those who like action and I'd recommend it.

Violence: Quite a bit.
Vulgarity: Some. Breen says the "d-word" several times over.
Sexual content: There is a relatively non-descriptive rape scene, and another intimate scene.

3.5 stars.

From beginning to end, the journey of Breen and Drakkone was amazing.
In the end, I felt like I read two books. One story but two books. It was great. I loved the separation. You’ll see when you get to it.

Breen, a warrior from the Savage Lands, was taken from her tribe to join the Emperor. She’s the Chief’s only daughter. Fierce, loyal, and very protective of her people. Lately the Emperor has been sending out his troops to steal tribesmen. Locking them in a dungeon until they submit to his army. Later being trained to protect the very man who captured them.
Breen does not lose and she will not submit. The starvation and beatings are getting to her. She’s losing the strength she needs to escape. All the soldiers wear masks that cover everything but their eyes. One out of the many brutalizing her people is kind to her. He brings her food and water in secret, eases her torture, and is sympathetic to her situation. Breen has no clue how to categorize him. Friend or foe? It’s hard to tell.
One of Breen’s tortures is savage and brutal enough to send her to the infirmary.
Drakkone does everything in his power to help Breen. Taking his advice, Breen is released from the dungeon and sent to train in the academy with the soldiers. Quickly rising up the ranks. Through it all Drakkone watches after Breen. One night of passion changes everything for them both.
Breen becomes pregnant and she and Drakkone finally escape. They travel from town to town with a price tag on their heads. They will do whatever it takes to keep their child safe.