I liked half this book. Specifically, the half that dealt with the actual apocalyptic event.

I loved Alice and reading everything she went through. She was a butt kicking character who just rocked!

I did actually enjoy reading the contrast between Alice's days and our present day story with Carter. Most interesting was what the intentions of the originals were - rather than what history tells us in Carter's day.

But I didn't like Carter's story.

It was too generic YA dystopia with a little baby making thrown in for edge. Carter was one dimensional and there was no way on earth I could ever see him as 'THE ONE' (caps firmly intended.

I found myself wishing we were only reading Alice's story.

https://readinglife342128355.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/digital-review-the-rising-storm/

This was another NetGalley digital book that I had applied, and was approved for, in exchange for a fair review. I applied for this book because of the cover and the synopsis.

Now. One of my favourite YA book series is Hunger Games, another being Bone Season so the idea of trying a new YA Dystopian series definitely appealed to me. I applied, got the email approving me and off I went....

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I actually finished this on 05-Mar-2018 and I've struggled with how to write this review :( (I'm typing this up on 11-Mar-2018). I started reading the book on 26-Feb-2018 and at approximately 340 pages, this took me a significant amount of time to get through (by comparison, I've just read V.E.Schwab's A Gathering of Shadows in 4 days which also included work days...).

This wasn't a bad book, it just was hard work. As this is not actually out in print yet, I'll keep this review as spoiler free as I can...

Positives:

The writing. This author can write beautifully, like genuinely stunning! The flow and the descriptive narrative is beautiful. That being said, for me, it just does not work in a novel like this, the extended descriptive writing completely slows the book down and sucks any impact out of it. At one point there is about 2 pages worth of a description of a house Alice once lived in a long time ago. That isn't relevant to anything else other than Alice reminiscing.

A male protagonist in a YA Dystopian story. I found this unusual and intriguing. Most YA Dystopian books I've read have been primarily female characters with the males in the supporting cast.

The concept - The actual concept and plot of this book wasn't bad. In fact it was good, very good. If I had to liken it to anything I'd say this was almost the story of District Thirteen in The Hunger Games and how it came to being...

Negatives:

The writing - As  I said above, while this was stunning (man I'd love to see this author write a regency or historical novel) it didn't work with this story for me at all. This was my biggest gripe and where I really struggled. I found it hard to want to pick it up because it just didn't feel like it was going anywhere.

The past vs present - As you can see from the synopsis, we follow both Alice and Carter's stories and how they intertwine. This sounded good in theory, in reality I found it confusing and off putting. It was difficult at times to remember which POV/story I was reading. Part of this, I think, again goes back to the overly long descriptive texts. I almost forgot in a way what POV I was reading.

The ending. Without giving away spoilers, this didn't feel like an ending. I finished the last sentence and actually turned to the next page expecting the next paragraph/chapter/whatever/something and was faced with the acknowledgements. I actually went back and forward between the pages a couple of times to check I was right and that I hadn't missed something

The characters. Unfortunately neither main character did anything for me. I had next to no interest in either, which I don't think helped with my interest in the story. I didn't connect with either of them and a lot of the supporting cast felt weak and not fleshed out enough.

Overall this is a 2* read for me and not a book or series I will go back to. The Author however? Yes, if she writes something in another genre!

The writing style put me in mind of The Passage which is one of my favorite series. You get to meet characters from different time lines that are all connected to another. The story goes back and forth from past and present pretty easily. Alice and Carter are the two main ones we follow. You get a real feel for the hopelessness of the situations. Makes you think of how you would act if you just got rid of all your possessions and were just down to the necessities. The book could have been a bit shorter and still gotten the story across. I look forward to the next book in the series. I received an ebook and provided an honest review.

Really enjoyed The Rising Storm. Loved the characterization, the plot, and basically the whole thing. I was hooked from the beginning and to be honest I didn’t want to put it down at all! The whole post-apocalyptic, dystopian angle is nicely done, with some really great ideas as to how the people live in the aftermath of the events of the book. The Rising Storm is an exciting start to the series, and I can’t wait to read the next one!

I am a huge fan of dystopian books and couldn’t wait to get stuck into this one.

The story is told from two different perspectives using different timelines. I did enjoy this, and was interested to see where the timelines would finally merge. When they did I could see a little of where the author was heading, but then she threw in a few twists I didn’t see coming.

I liked that Carter, someone who has always stuck to the party line, eventually decides he may not believe all that he is being told and decides to do something about it. This leads to a great final chapter, and I cannot wait to see where the author takes us next.

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy.

Fast paced systopian perfect for young teens

I loved this post apocalyptic novel. On the cover we see the beautiful Alice who fled from a city devastated by rubble. She is 15 years old as well as the character of Carter. The chapters will be based only on his two characters. The storms ravaged everything she had home, family, she finds herself alone and is saved by the industries Paradigm. She will have to fight to save her skin. As for Carter, decades later, he is awakened from his cryonic sleep. He will learn some things about his family and will fall naked. Too eager to read the next volume. A beautiful story well written with endearing characters.​​​​​​

Thank for letting me read it! I will post a review closer to publication.

The rising storm was based on a world that is unliveable,distroyed, gone. The story line was very interesting but was slightly slow.

I really enjoyed The Rising Storm and loved the dual narratives. The story was gripping and I liked the characters. At first the story was hard to get into as it was difficult to picture this dystopian world a few chapters in and I was hooked. I can't wait for the other books to come out so I can continue the story.

Overall I liked this dystopian novel, however it did seem slow-paced and the dual narratives annoyed me.

The concepts were very interesting, the book just needed a little umph or push.

The Rising Storm is an amazing read! Action filled to the core! It was so engaging right from the beginning. The writing was intense, and the characters were well developed! Hands down, I would recommend this book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.