Overall, I found Secondborn to be an enjoyable read. Roselle is a strong and complex protagonist in whom I became invested from the first chapter. Yes, in some ways this is standard YA fare--a plucky heroine, a potential love triangle (though not quite), an evil adversary etc.--but it did stand out for me as being well written with some fresh ideas, despite minor echoes of other series like The Hunger Games at times. By the end, I was still keen to read on, so I would be interested in picking up book two in the future and finding out what will happen to Roselle and her friends. If you are a fan of works like The Hunger Games and Divergent, then this is definitely a book for you.

What If Being Secondborn Could Control Your Fate?
First, a disclaimer: Amy A. Bartol is one of my favorite authors…It was a beautiful and serendipitous day when one of her books ended up in my recommended list on Amazon! She has ripped my heart out with the ending of the Kricket series, and made me ride an emotional rollercoaster with the Premonition Series. Her heroines are smart, kick butt, and beautiful…and usually beset by romantic quandaries and triangles, along with seriously challenging life changes. I mention this up front because I want to acknowledge that I was predisposed to like Secondborn, but also, to point out that I had very high expectations. And I was not disappointed. At all.

So now, on to the good stuff! The premise of Secondborn is that at some point, we split our society into segments (called fates) based one what we do. For example, one fate is in charge of the military, one fate is in charge of engineering, one fate is in charge of domestic servitude and so on. First born children can lead normal lives, get married, have children of their own, and become leaders in society if they are from the right family. Second born children are forced to leave their families in order to serve the fates, and are unable to marry or have children. Third born children are hunted down like animals and exterminated. Image result for girl with sword and rose Amy A. Bartol does a masterful job of laying all of this out, and explaining it slowly as the story progresses, in such a way that it almost seems like a sensible way to control population growth. But clearly, this is not the model for a sustainable, or inclusive society…which leads to a growing rebellion.

Roselle, the heroine of the story, is a Secondborn Sword, raised to serve the military with blind devotion. She is fiercely loyal to her brother and to her family’s place near the top of the hierarchy of the fatedoms. She is a well trained warrior, but also very compassionate…and beautiful. This combination of traits has given her a vast following, including those who would like to see her take her brother’s place, and an equally powerful contingent who have begun to fear her. Amidst her fight for survival, she falls in love, which is something forbidden to a Secondborn, even a famous one like herself. Her relationship with Hawthorne, and the friendships that she forges with others in the military, make her start to really question the system in which they live…making her ripe for the picking when the rebellion approaches her with a request.

Image result for blooming rose gifThe characters in Secondborn are richly drawn and developed, lending a stark sense of reality to the fanciful nature of the story. Human nature, with all its facets of gray, is probed and examined as Roselle draws closer to the truth of the elaborate lies, moves, and countermoves, that are shaping her life. As always, Amy A. Bartol ends on a cliff hanger, the type that makes you inhale sharply and curse the fact that you are likely to wait a very long time to find out what happens next. But wait I shall, with bated breath, to see the rebellion start to blossom, along with Roselle’s quest to take control of her own fate! I cannot recommend this book enough, go out and get a copy today!

First, I'll acknowledge that this one is not without some issues. However, I'm a HUGE Amy Bartol fan so I'll forgive some small issues.

My main issue revolved around world building because so many things are stated as fact without any explanation how society ended up at this point. (I just finished the first two books in a YA series with a similar idea, and the world building there was much better, which connected me to the characters more.) Roselle can also be inconsistent, but let's face the fact that to some extent that's human nature. It could have been written a little differently to have engaged the reader more. Instead, there is no rhyme or reason to the inconsistencies.

So, those problems aside... I devoured this title. I couldn't stop reading once I started. The concept on Firstborns being granted "insider" status and the idea that Secondborns were sent to service early for fear they kill Firstborns... That idea needled its way inside my brain like an insidious worm. What are the limits of behavior for those born to this? I love the way certain characters are drawn... Bartol knows how to bring a "big bad" to life better than most!

I'm honestly hooked and can't wait to see what happens next. Roselle will fight to live and has supporters to help her, but they don't all have an aligned agenda. She's going to need to be a master chess player to keep all pieces in play. She was taught by Dune, whom I now believe to be a master player himself, so there is hope for her yet! Regardless, for Bartol fans, you know she doesn't play, and where this is leading is going to be epic!

In a dystopian society, those that are firstborn rule. Those that are secondborn serve. Roselle St. Sismode, secondborn daughter to the head of her clarity, is entering her transition. Soon she’ll become a soldier of the government, sworn to serve. Embroiled in a civil war, she soon realises that being secondborn to the republic comes with a death sentence, and she must fight for what she believes in to protect her new family, and the man she loves.

A decent premise, but unfortunately this YA dystopian novel doesn’t fully fulfil on its promise. First the good. Roselle as a main character is inoffensive. She doesn’t try to force her opinions on the reader, which I appreciated, and her camaraderie with her fellow ‘Sword’ family feels genuine and natural. I enjoyed the conversations she has with Hammon and Edge, and it felt like a believable friendship. The story also starts strongly, with lots of action. However, it’s at this point that I really run out of many positives to say. The action at the start comes at a detriment to the reader. I was very confused by the lack of world building. I had no idea what was going on, or why the world these characters inhabited was like it was. There was too many ‘clarities’ and characters for me to remember, and I frequently had to go back and reread sections to try and catch a glimmer of understanding. Some world building or explanations at the start would have been beneficial. Also, after this initial action at the start, the novel quickly loses pace as Roselle enters her training. There’s a lot of talk about ammunition and fighting, which I found really boring, and significantly slowed the pace of the novel and to me served no real purpose.

I know that current YA dystopian novels are going to have a hard time distinguishing themselves from previous incarnations in the genre but this really did feel like a large rehash of several YA novels, with too many similarities to The Hunger Games (to the point where a ‘Secondborn Trials’ is mentioned several times throughout the novel), and the Divergent series (the separation of people into ‘castes’). There was nothing really original that stood out. The romance element felt clichéd and forced, and didn’t really go anywhere. I actually though Roselle had more chemistry with Grisham at the beginning of the novel, and would have preferred this avenue to have been developed instead. I also though the character Flannigan, who was immediately the most charismatic individual in the novel, was ultimately wasted. I did like the character of Crow however. I though he was deliciously evil, although ultimately underused. He had potential to cause a lot of damage to characters within the novel, but never got to fulfil his role fully. This, I feel, is a major flaw in most trilogies, as we never really get a proper conclusion to things within the first novel.

The idea to jump ‘one year later’ half way through the novel felt lazy, and an easy cop out. Why couldn’t we see how Roselle developed in this time frame? It felt like an intermission, and jarred with the story. The leg shaving scene was also weird, and oddly out of place and unnecessary.
The conclusion was also rather underwhelming and unsatisfactory in its conclusion – again probably because this is the first in a trilogy. This is a major bugbear of mine, but unfortunately because of the underwhelming storyline I won’t be continuing to see how Roselle fairs in future novels.

Secondborn is the first installment in author Amy A. Bartol's Secondborn series. 18-year old Roselle St. Sismode lives in a world where first born children are given every opportunity to succeed; where second born children are sold to the government to do what they want; and where third born children are hunted down and killed by a group known as Censor's. For Roselle, everything she's ever done has been under the spotlight of cameras everywhere. Which means that everyone knows who she is. A dangerous proposition considering the world she lives in, and the powerful people who are watching her every move. There is no hiding or pretending that she's anyone else but who she is. 

Roselle's mother is known as the Clarity of Swords. If you are looking to nominate the worst mother of the year, look no further than Othala St. Sismode. She is so obsessed with her firstborn son Gabriel, that she, like other firstborns, truly believed that Roselle would harm her brother in order to be bumped up and become the heir to the Swords. But, that is not who Roselle is. Roselle has spent her whole life being trained to survive against all odds. Good thing otherwise this would have been a very short story. On Roselle's 18th birthday, we are introduced to Transition day. It is a day where Roselle is stabbed in the back one more time by her own mother who fails to protect her. 

Where she finds that she is going to have to become the lowest ranked member of the military (Tropo) which is fighting a brutal civil war in which the survival rate is extremely low. Where she and her mentor Dune are attacked by rebels known as Gates of Dawn. Where she has her first, but not last encounter with her very own nemesis in the form of Agent Kipson Crow. Where she also encounters Hawthorne, the one person who may be the one to stand alongside her. Let me just say that I adored Roselle from the moment I met her, to the final page of this installment. 

She is a badass. She knows weaponry like no other. She can fight without needing anyone to back her up. She has an attitude that backs up her actions, but she also understands that someone desperately wants to see her dead and gone. Someone who tries to toss in every imaginable obstacle in her way to prevent Roselle from getting her happy ending. She is also caught in a struggle between forces that want to see her rise up, and those who are playing a dangerous political game that can have devastating consequences for all involved.

Secondborn employs a society that is divided by fates. There are nine different fates; Virtues, Swords, Stars, Atoms, Suns, Diamonds, Moons, Stars, Seas and Stones. It is also a society that forces its citizen's to have a moniker. Monikers are a symbol of class and caste. It carries a person's identification and other vital information. There are some funny, and some questionable scenes in this book. Roselle meets a variety of different characters. Some you see again, others are like intentional props used only when she needed something to get her out of a dicey situation. Is the book perfect? Nah. There could have been a bit more world building. 

There could have been less focus on the way that Roselle looks as well. Especially the crazy leg shaving scene. Or, how she is forbidden by three powerful characters from cutting her own hair. Yes, you read that right. The romance is a bit weighed down whenever she is around Hawthorne. She is a totally different character. Sometimes, one that I don't like. But, for me, who is always looking for something a bit different, this was actually a good start to hopefully a grand adventure in the next two installments. One could call this a coming of age young adult dystopian novel. You could also call this new adult since Roselle is 18 when the story begins.

Being a fan of Bartol's premonitions series, I was so excited to be approved on netgally for this one! (The hype I've been seeing on good reads didn't hurt either.)

Unfortunately, the story fell rather flat for me. Fans of the Hunger games and Divergent will notice similar world building, but nothing beyond that. Let me clarify. There is no world building aside from what was already built in hunger games/divergent. We know this is a world where firstborne children are aristocracy and secondbornes are the working class, forced from there family and made to be subsurvient. Thirdbornes are just plain old forbidden. But why, you ask? No clue.
There is no history or background for WHY the world is built the way it is. Why are secondbornes second class citizens? Why are thirdbornes forbidden? Why are there fates (factions) and what do they represent?

The characters. Booooooring. We have Roselle, our main character whom I really liked at first. She was all action and kick-ass soldier and clearly loved her family even if the sentiment wasn't returned. Then poof, she's this Mary-Sue that needs saving by nice muscled Hawthorne (the love interest.) Hawthorne has no personality, unless having nice arms counts. He's nice. That's it.

This book was nothing new and I, unfortunately, will not be continuing it. It has potential. It had good writing. Alas, it fell flat as a pancake when it came to follow-through.

The challenge with writing this review is trying to organize my many many notes into something coherent. I picked up Secondborn because I like to check out the occasional buzz book on Goodreads. This one has been popping up all over my feed and seems to have pretty good reviews (plus I'm auto-approved on netgalley, which didn't hurt!). But the more I read, the worse it seemed to get.

Don't get me wrong, I feel like Bartol has the potential to write a book I'd really enjoy. Parts of the story were compelling and there were some lines of dialogue I enjoyed, such as this:
“It outlived its usefulness, so it was killed. There’s something to be learned in that.”
“Never outlive my usefulness?”
“Never, ever trust the pack.”

Unfortunately, though, that is where the positive ends for me. I think a whole lot of the problem was down to editing - this felt like a very hectic and messy first draft that needed several more rounds of heavy editing before going to print. Let me try and break this down somehow.

• The pacing is all over the place. The first few chapters are a constant stream of action, which in some circumstances could definitely be a positive, but here it didn't run smoothly. To be frank, it was hard to follow as we zipped from Roselle being ordered to be a soldier to her weird fight with her brother that got her mother to order her death to her... escape? Cordial leaving? At first, I thought she was running away with Dune but, given the subsequent events, I think she was just leaving to become a soldier as planned (right?).

Then there's some kind of terrorist attack that Roselle gets caught up in, but suddenly she's being snatched up by a hunky soldier and taken to her new life. What a mess. Later, however, the pacing starts to lag. We get a lot of filler in the form of Roselle adjusting to her new life as a soldier, shaving her legs (more about that later!) and the developing romance with Hawthorne.

• Characters come and go, never to be seen again. I counted at least three times when characters appeared to further the plot in a certain direction, give Roselle a helping hand, and then POOF! They were gone forever.

• No world-building or reason given for this society. Secondborn employs the "society divided into groups" trope, as is used in Divergent and other YA sci-fi/fantasy. The groups are decided by the order of birth: firstborns rule, secondborns are sent to work for the government, thirdborns are forbidden. So... why? Or even... how? How did this society come to adopt this system? Why do they think it's a good way to live? Given that there seem to be a lot of casualties and therefore no population issues, why are families only allowed two children?

We are dropped into this world without any explanation or background info. This was another reason the beginning was so hard to follow with all the mention of "Fates of this" and "Fates of that" without any context.

• Roselle breaks character often. We are told a lot about Roselle - that she has been training her whole life to be a soldier and that she's super special and tough and good at everything, but do we see that? Not really. In fact, much of the romance develops through Roselle breaking down and/or being stupid so Hawthorne can swoop in and comfort or educate her. She always seemed weak and dependent on others, contrary to what we were supposed to believe.

• The romance is silly and lacking in chemistry. There is no gradual build or development. Hawthorne is literally introduced to the reader with a conversation about sex and their entire romance consists of Roselle going googly-eyed over his big, strong arms. It felt like the romance was there because the author thought we needed a romantic subplot.

• Obsession with looks and beauty. This book is crammed full of blandly good-looking white people, and this is how most are characterized (by their good looks, not their whiteness). The young men all have big muscles, and Roselle is so freaking beautiful that the rules of the military are bent so that she doesn't have to cut her gorgeous hair. No, I'm not joking.
“Why can’t we just cut it?”
“I can’t.” She looks almost embarrassed. “I see this sometimes, when an intake subject is exceptionally lovely. There’s sometimes a proviso that stipulates details about appearance.”

Oh hell, why does the author let this happen? Why would soldiers decide one didn't need to have her cut because she's so freaking hot?! Does Bartol really think Roselle's worth as a character depended on her hair not being cut? Maybe this wouldn't be such a big deal if Roselle's lack of haircut was just said in passing, but such a fuss is made about it. The author goes out of her way to explain how it is just unthinkable to cut Roselle's hair.

• Bizarre leg-shaving scene. Okay, everything about this was just weird. Roselle shaves her legs in front of the soldier guys and they all stare at her in amazement and basically get boners. That's weird anyway, but Roselle's reaction when Hawthorne tells her the guys have never known a woman to shave her legs is just frustrating. She suddenly freaks out that they might find her "disgusting" because, you know, all that matters is if the soldier boys are disgusted by your shaving habits. But don't worry, Roselle, because Hawthorne assures her:
“Roselle, you just made their top-five lists,” he says, pointing in the direction of the other soldiers. “Honestly, you were probably on that list anyway, but now it’s a safe bet you’re number one.”

Eww.

I do think, lurking underneath all of this, is a good writer in need of a better editor. I don't say that often about books I give one star to, but I really felt it here. I'm curious about where Bartol could go in the future. But I won't be recommending Secondborn.

A story firmly in the lane of a young adult, dystopian theme. Interesting world with a lot of potential regarding status among siblings and the subservient "Secondborns". The world is asking to be fleshed out further and the main character, in this reviewers opinion, latches onto her love interest far, far too quickly to make it as believable as it could be. Decent start to a series with potential.

Secondborn is the first book in Amy Bartol’s new series and admittedly I was a bit nervous about diving into this series strictly because of what happened in the Kricket series. It is safe to say that I was not a fan and it actually made me pause before requesting this new one but I have to say, I was happy I took a chance on this. I will do my best to review without spoilers so apologies in advance if anything sounds vague.

Roselle St. Sismode is the secondborn child to one of the most powerful firstborns in the Republic. Living in a world where secondborns are transitioned into service to the government and answering to the Fates, Roselle is in a bad position and her mother isn’t doing her any favors. Right away, it was clear that her mother was washing her hands of Roselle. She clearly didn’t see her as anything other than a political pawn and a threat to her firstborn son, Gabrielle. It was painful to see what lengths her mother was willing to go to in order to distance Roselle from herself and Gabrielle. Assigned as the lowest level soldier in the fight against the rebellion, Roselle isn’t in a place where her chances for survival are really high.

Roselle was an interesting character. She clearly grew up in a world where she was treated differently due to who her mother was so when she transitioned to her new role, there was an adjustment for her. In addition to that, because of who she was, her whole life was recorded and watched by the Republic so when she does step into her new position, there are people around her who feel like they already know her. Roselle also draws the attention of someone pretty dangerous (dare I say…evil) which immediately creates some complications for her too so to say her transition to her new life was bumpy would probably be an understatement.

The world that Bartol created here was an interesting one. The idea of those considered “lower class” rebelling against the power and influence of those that are in charge isn’t a new one but the structure of the Fates and the Republic in conjunction with the rules and paths these characters are on adds something new to this type of story. The Gates of Dawn is the rebel group taking a stand against everything the Fates stand for and initially they show up here and there in the book but we really got to learn more about them and how actions Roselle takes early on, make an impact later on in the book.

I enjoy a great character driven story and outside of Roselle, the secondary characters were solid. I thought they helped move the story forward well. I want to know more about Dune and I was a little sad we didn’t get more with him. I am really hoping book 2 gives me more of his story. I also mentioned the bad guy earlier…he works for Census, which is a branch of the government tasked with hunting down unauthorized thirdborns. No one likes Census and the fact that she has drawn the attention of what appears to be one of the worst, Agent Kipson Crow, things don’t seem like they are going to go well for her.

Hawthorne Trugrave (I adore this name…seriously) is the man Roselle meets early on in the book. It is clear there was a connection between these two and while I wasn’t sure where Bartol was going with him as a character, I liked how she connected tied his story together and as it all came together, there were pieces that started to make sense. In addition to Hawthorne there is the rest of the “family” that embrace her and I loved how they all helped and protected each other. Especially as things change for Roselle and she is connected to a pretty powerful firstborn, Clifton Salloway, she does whatever she can to get her friends away from the danger of the battlefield. I liked Clifton but it was very obvious he had ulterior motives with everything he did. I will be interested to see what happens with him in the next book.

Overall I enjoyed the first book of this series and I will definitely be checking out book two when it comes out. This one has a solid story and interesting characters. If you like Bartol’s other books I would expect you will like this one too. If you’re like me and had some issues with some of her other books, consider checking this one out. It kept me engaged and wanting to know more around what was going to happen.

This novel was a great read!! I could not put the book down from start to finish. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. The writing was first person point of view and the story flowed well. The characters developed due to their experiences in the novel. I cannot wait to read the next novel in the series!!
Roselle St. Sismode is a secondborn, meaning she is given to the government,
fate of the Republic, to serve and protect them. Firstborns rule the society, but most of them only care for themselves and everything is a play for power and control. Any family that has more than two children have the children killed. Many thirdborns hide in society, but the Census is weeding them out with new technology.
Roselle only has one person that seems to truly care for her, for her own family does not but pretends to for the cameras. She is trained to fight and wield weapons that many people have watched. She has been in the spot light her entire life and her family leaves her placement in the hands of others. I like that Roselle can defend herself and speaks her mind.
Many people want Roselle dead and there are some who are trying to keep her alive for their own agendas. Roselle is strong and has a commanding presence, which terrifies some of those in power plus Roselle has the backing of the people. Roselle finds an ally in Hawthrone Trugrave, a secondborn who has been with the government since his Transition Day when he was young. Hawthrone and Roselle develop feelings for each other, but have to hide how they feel since if Census discovered them, it would mean death. However, Hawthrone has a few secrets of his own. Roselle makes friends with a few others and learns what it means to have a family, since her own ignored her. However, after Roselle spares the life of a member of the Gates of Dawn, things change for her. Instead of following orders, she begins to question things that are considered treason. She wants better for secondborns and works with a firstborn to develop and model weapons, since he also has an agenda that involves Roselle. He wants Roselle as the Sword and develop a secret club called the Rose Garden Society, that is a legitimate business but also has hidden agendas. As things begin to change for Roselle, she needs to decide where she stands and who to trust, for it could either mean her survival or her death.

Fantasical and exciting! I was sucked in from the very beginning. Amy Bartol knows how to write fantasy that is gripping and emotional.

Roselle has lived her life in front of cameras. Being a secondborn, her life is not her own. When's she's transitioned, it seems that very few people are on her side. She must find a way to survive and make this new life her own. Each decision she makes not only affects her, but the world around her as well.

I liked Roselle. A lot. She's 18 and had this new life thrust upon her and had to choose to give up or fight. She's got a lot of spunk and it's quite wild to watch her.

I really enjoyed diving into this new world. The scenery was described in a way that I could imagine being right in the midst of it all. There are quite a few characters for you to love and couple to hate. My mind is turning with all my theories for the future. I'm gonna need the second book ASAP.

Epic. Captivating. Blockbuster. Need I say more?

Once again, Ms. Bartol has created a world with such depth and creativity that I’m left in awe of her skill. The dystopian society that she’s fashioned in this story is rich with detail and complexity, and so very very vivid. Once you enter this world, you will be fully immersed and, even though it couldn’t be any more different than our current reality, you will begin to understand it as if you were a citizen. This story will please you, intrigue you, confuse you, and anger you. Everything about it will pull at your emotions. And you’ll love every minute of it!

In this world, firstborn children are treated like kings and queens while secondborns are raised simply to become servants or soldiers. Secondborns aren’t given any opportunity to make their own decisions or plan their own lives. Roselle St. Sismode finds herself in this position. And, even though her mother is a very high ranking official, she’s still treated like every other secondborn child. She’s sent out to the front lines to fight an ongoing war and, it’s at that point that she discovers that she is, in fact, different from other secondborns…and she also realizes how complicated her life really is. Roselle’s got a big heart and has led a lonely life. But she’s fierce, intelligent and strong. She fights for what she believes in and cares deeply for those around her. When she comes to terms with the fact that the enemy is not the only thing she should be worried about, she uses her wit and cunning to move her life forward. Already she’s one of my favorite Amy Bartol heroes!

Just like in all her other books, the author gives us many characters to love and to hate in this story. And love and hate I did! My problem, as usual, is that I’m probably on a team by myself at the moment (if Amy is reading this, she’s probably laughing…yes, it’s a Russell situation all over again!). I loved Hawthorne and his connection to Roselle. I adored his big heart and his strength…but I’m absolutely fascinated by Clifton. This bad guy with a warm heart has already won me over! I may live to regret it but, for now, I’ll claim him as mine! There are more characters here than I can name but each has a depth to them and a backstory that allowed me to easily understand how they fit into the story and why they’re important. The twists and turns are numerous and you might find yourself with whiplash. Just as Roselle is confused, you too will be unsure of who can be trusted and who should be feared. This kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

In this first installment of the series, we get to experience adventure, danger, mystery, and love. We learn a lot but we’re also left with many unanswered questions and theories. Prepare yourself to fall into this rabbit hole…let yourself explore this world and fall in love with its characters. But, most of all, be ready to desperately want the second book once you’re done!

Roselle St. Sismode has turned 18 and is getting ready for Transition Day, where she will no longer be part of the St. Sismode family, but a military member of the Fate of Swords. Because of her upbringing, everyone knows who Roselle is. She's grown up under public scrutiny and proven herself to have the potential for leadership, but there's also a lot of scorn towards her due to her family's name and wealth and their position. However, Roselle knows that even if she is a St. Sismode and a trained Sword, she will always be a Secondborn, which means she doesn't make any choices for herself and her future rests in the hands of the decisions of Firstborns.

Right off the bat, I admired Roselle. She doesn't have it easy because she can't rely on anyone and there's no one to advocate for her besides her mentor. She's got a hardy constitution and independence about her that prevents her from crumbling easily under pressure or caving into threats. And while she's not allowed to make her own decisions, Roselle obediently follows the rules but certainly doesn't let that sway her from fighting for justice.

Every time Amy Bartol writes a new series, she creates a different world with brand new characters that is captivating. Her writing never ceases to amaze me. This has more of a dystopian vibe and there's sufficient world building to imagine Roselle's life and everything around her to comprehend what is at stake and how Roselle could be the key to a profound movement that has enormous impact on the future. As for the other characters, they are all intriguing in different ways because everyone has an agenda and Roselle has to be discerning in whom to trust and that friendship and favors all have a price. I'm eager to see where this story will go and how Roselle will rise to her next challenges because I know there will be some unexpected surprises ahead.