Branded Review

Branded by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki

“At what point do they believe what’s been branded on their skin instead of just knowing who they are inside?”  

The Good

. The novel was very fast paced which suited the story and plotline.

. Lexi was such a likable heroine in the first half of the story she was incredibly strong and went through so much without whining and breaking down. 

. There are many action scenes in the novel and they were written really well

. Throughout the book there were flashbacks of Lexi and what happened to her in her past and though normally this would irritate me they added a lot of tension and excitement to the story.

. The beginning of the novel started off really good; it was gripping and intriguing.

. In the first half I really enjoyed the romance because there wasn’t any instant love; once Lexi and Cole started to get to know each other then they did slowly start to fall in love. I also liked how because their love was forbidden they did try to hide their feelings.

. Zeus! I really like how loyal and guarding Zeus was towards Lexi long before Cole was.

. Throughout the second half a lot of suspicion was put upon Cole. Was he a traitor or not? And it was interesting as a reader to see Lexi gather all these clues to see if Cole was good or bad.

. I loved the twist in the ending.

. There were so many deaths that in the ending there was hardly any minor characters left however the way it was written made it seem more realistic.

. I really liked the setting of this book, the Hole was such a horrid place but it was created and described really well.  When the action was happening you see more of the Hole and what kind of place it really is. It was interesting.

The Bad

. Though the story was fast paced certain subplots were too short; Alyssa and her story was important to Lexi’s character development but I wasn’t emotionally attached to her and when something bad did happen to Alyssa I couldn’t feel sad because her story was way too fast and short.

. The biggest let down in this story was the writing style and dialogue.  The writing style did not suit the book or its pace and the dialogue was awkward and weird. Basically the plotline was really good but it wasn’t written well.

. Though I did like Lexi’s personality she was the typical “special” main character with her turquoise eyes and her being the prettiest girl in the Hole.

. So many things happened in this story, too much. This book really should have been split into two so some parts didn’t drag on whilst others were way too quick.

. Adding to the point above an entire uprising happened in the second half which is normally second book material.

. Lexi’s brother was so unlikable. The worst thing was Lexi was idolising him and portraying him to be this great tough leader when her was just a jackass.

. Though there wasn’t a love triangle there was tension and anger between Cole and Lexi’s brother which was worse than a love triangle. Also there hatred towards each other was never explained.

. Lexi changed a lot in the story she went from being awesome and strong to being whiny, a person who cries every other chapter, forgives way too easily and gets treated like a possession and does nothing to change that. Basically she get on my nerves.

. There were some very predictable parts.

. When the flashbacks were explained you realise that the information given is too vague. The stepfather who becomes more important near the end – his character is developed through these flashbacks and it wasn’t enough information to actually create or picture a character.

. In the second half Lexi starts to train on becoming a fighter and one second she can’t even throw a punch and then a couple of days later she’s fighting against the best fighter in the resistance and holding out. Real believable.

. There was also the stereotype of her having a family member which started the revolution. Original!

★★☆☆☆