Rise and Run

Wow. Just, wow. When you receive a free copy of a book in return for an honest review, sometimes you moderate your expectations, but this is a case where my expectations were totally blown out of the water. The author has created a near-future post apocalyptic world which she paints in a manner that comes across as monochrome and stark. Not monochrome as in cute sepia, but monochrome as in grey, worn out and beat down. The book reads like a movie with fast moving action, hard side-cuts and complicated flashbacks, not to mention some fairly graphic violence. I'm not going to rehash the plot in this review because I wouldn't be able to do it justice; suffice to say that it is complex and the ending definitely suggests an interesting series is going to develop.

Bravo RJ Plant, I am looking forward to reading more.

I'm not entirely sure what prompted me to read this one, but I'm glad I did. Once I got used to the writing style, this was a pretty fun, action-packed book. Most dystopian books feel really unrealistic to me but this one seemed entirely plausible and so very terrifying! The book is very movie-esque with all its dialogues and twists and turns.

Another aspect that I enjoyed was that the main character was a chimera. It's the first time I've read of such a character and it was pretty interesting. I loved reading the shifting viewpoints between Felix and Conor and I actually think I liked Conor more!

A Broken Man Novel...well isn't THAT an understatement? This book broke my heart in some places and mended it back together in others only to have the process happen all over again and again. It was a roller coaster to say the very least. I had so many feels for the brothers, Felix and Conor. I wanted them be okay and whole again so very badly. They stuck together through everything and it was a beautiful thing to see Conor take the reigns when Felix was dosed.
I look forward to seeing if we get a few more A Broken Man Novels...if so, I'll be grabbing them up with my greedy little hands. :)

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial, I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

All truth, it took me a few pages to get into but once I did I couldn't put it down!

Chimera, 2 persons in 1 body and a lot of drama. I think it was Felix who I had a tough time with because once Connor joined the party I was hooked.


The brothers are the result of some government experimentations, of course they are. Although they have some similar qualities you can feel the difference between them. As boys Felix is shy and timid and Connor is aggressive and protective, he lashes out. Eventually the boys are adopted by a mob boss who isn’t a fan of Connor and that leads to him working with a scientist to create a drug to suppress Connor. With the drugs Conner takes a back seat to life, only allowed out when Felix forgets to take his meds or when he’s strong enough to force himself into control.

It’s a fascinated story, two boys, brothers, one body, two personalities, two sets of agendas. It leads to a lot of chaos.

The world-building got a little fuzzy for me at times. We meet the MC who is introduced as American but who speaks with an Irish accent and lives in Ireland. Although it’s explained that World War has destroyed America it took me a long time to get past Felix’s accent and into the story. I also don’t exactly know how the boys ended up with Rian. We know the beginnings of their story but how do they get to him? Did I miss that part?

This is a story where you’re never sure who to trust and who’s on your side. Is Felix? Is Connor? Is Rian? Then you have GDI, Government Directive International who are out to use Felix/Conner as a bio-weapon. Everyone seems to be using everyone else for their own reasons and that causes a lot of action.

There is a sense of humor to the story that I wasn’t expecting and I loved. As well as the slight romance that pops up for a very brief moment. It’s a fast paced, action packed story about brothers fighting for their identities and their lives.

The biggest flaw for me was the abrupt ending. Although I was aware the end was near it felt so sudden that I had to check a couple times to make sure I hadn’t missed something. The story ends with some major problems unresolved and a lot of questions. If you are a reader who doesn’t like cliffhangers you may want to wait and see if a second book is coming soon.

I would highly recommend Rise and Run to anyone who enjoys sci-fi-ish, action stories however if you have a hard time living in the story and not questioning if the science is possible, this one might not be for you.