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ritaly's review against another edition
5.0
More reviews on : Sun/Salt + Letters
The way it is written was just plain strange when I started reading it. Don't give me wrong, I got the idea, but it was still to foreign and I thought that there was no way I would like it, but that's where I went wrong, after about 50 pages, I didn't even notice anymore.
The world building was amazing, so complex. Its nice and a little enervating to see a distopian world were there are no shining buildings and people flying, we were back to panem et circuses - I hope thats how you spell it.
At first I thought it would drag on forever, it was just Saba or when she was with Em, but the author timed everything perfectly. New characters are introduced at the right time so the story is always moving forward.
Little weird that Saba is so obsessed with her brother and doesn't care about her sister. I like that she finally warmed up to Em, but maybe thats just because I could not live without my own sister..
It is a quest, witch I didn't expect, but turned out I really liked the whole journey aspect of it.
The characters were my favorite part. And ooh, I LOVED that all the woman are so badass, no damsels in distress. ;)
I love the complexity and mystery of the characters, I kept feeling there was something about them that I didn't know, kept on my toes.
Also loved Nero!
Now to the annoying part: can someone please put Emmi in handcuffs or something. At one point the whole ordeal just got plain frustrating.
The other thing was not exactly annoying, I just wanted to have more background on the Wreckers. Wanted to know how that society got to that point, thats always interesting. Hoping there will be more in the next books.
The way it is written was just plain strange when I started reading it. Don't give me wrong, I got the idea, but it was still to foreign and I thought that there was no way I would like it, but that's where I went wrong, after about 50 pages, I didn't even notice anymore.
The world building was amazing, so complex. Its nice and a little enervating to see a distopian world were there are no shining buildings and people flying, we were back to panem et circuses - I hope thats how you spell it.
At first I thought it would drag on forever, it was just Saba or when she was with Em, but the author timed everything perfectly. New characters are introduced at the right time so the story is always moving forward.
Little weird that Saba is so obsessed with her brother and doesn't care about her sister. I like that she finally warmed up to Em, but maybe thats just because I could not live without my own sister..
It is a quest, witch I didn't expect, but turned out I really liked the whole journey aspect of it.
The characters were my favorite part. And ooh, I LOVED that all the woman are so badass, no damsels in distress. ;)
I love the complexity and mystery of the characters, I kept feeling there was something about them that I didn't know, kept on my toes.
Also loved Nero!
Now to the annoying part: can someone please put Emmi in handcuffs or something. At one point the whole ordeal just got plain frustrating.
The other thing was not exactly annoying, I just wanted to have more background on the Wreckers. Wanted to know how that society got to that point, thats always interesting. Hoping there will be more in the next books.
jennyg1085's review against another edition
3.0
Slow paced at first, but then it picked up. I found it rather predictable and the spoken language made it difficult for me to get through the book. I'm trying to figure out why it needs to be a trilogy as I feel it ended in such a way that warrants a stand alone novel. Ah, cashing in on dystopian fiction!
sherremcopeland's review against another edition
3.0
This book is one of the most interesting books I've read this year. That's not to say I loved it though. I'm not going to spend much time on the description, I feel it wouldn't be necessary. Instead, I'll tell you a bit about how I felt about he book.
First, I hated Saba. I know everyone seems to love her and think she's strong and this and that, but I personally think she's a jerk and a B***h. She's mean to like everyone, and treats everyone but her twin brother like crap, especially her little sister. I found myself wanting to put the book down if she didn't changer her treatment of her sister. She doesn't accept any one's help, seeming to prefer to die trying to do it herself than to do it easier with friends. I just don't understand it. That being said, Saba is a fighter, that's the one thing she has going for her. She has a ridiculous survival instinct that I envy.
Second, I hate the way this book is written. It's got some weird drawl in everything and it starts to make me feel like I don't know how to talk properly because the talk somehow sticks in my head.
Other than that it's a great book. It has a great journey in it, and there's a somewhat good ending. Saba does grow to be a bit of a better person. She stops being such a jerk and grows to accept help. I will be reading the next book in the series, but due to my intense negative feelings for Saba, I just can't give this book a high rating. I give it 3 stars.
First, I hated Saba. I know everyone seems to love her and think she's strong and this and that, but I personally think she's a jerk and a B***h. She's mean to like everyone, and treats everyone but her twin brother like crap, especially her little sister. I found myself wanting to put the book down if she didn't changer her treatment of her sister. She doesn't accept any one's help, seeming to prefer to die trying to do it herself than to do it easier with friends. I just don't understand it. That being said, Saba is a fighter, that's the one thing she has going for her. She has a ridiculous survival instinct that I envy.
Second, I hate the way this book is written. It's got some weird drawl in everything and it starts to make me feel like I don't know how to talk properly because the talk somehow sticks in my head.
Other than that it's a great book. It has a great journey in it, and there's a somewhat good ending. Saba does grow to be a bit of a better person. She stops being such a jerk and grows to accept help. I will be reading the next book in the series, but due to my intense negative feelings for Saba, I just can't give this book a high rating. I give it 3 stars.
rebekah_w's review against another edition
5.0
This read was fantastic! A little rough to follow and irritating to read at times (thank gaw uma frum Texas), but it's so.... Original. Looking forward to reading book 2 ❤️
cgalvi's review against another edition
3.0
For some reason I couldn't get too into the main character. She was definitely hard to like. But that in itself is appealing and original. Saba Lugh Jack (why are all the rascally heroes named Jack? There must be another cool name out there).
rekadarnb's review against another edition
4.0
It was good. The worm thing threw me off. It just came out of nowhere. I look forward to reading the next book.
The king is dead. DeMalo let Saba free for some reason. Jack road on to tell Ike’s girl he’s dead. Lugh might have a thing for Maev.
The king is dead. DeMalo let Saba free for some reason. Jack road on to tell Ike’s girl he’s dead. Lugh might have a thing for Maev.
dogmomirene's review against another edition
3.0
Another entry into the YA dystopian world trying to live up to the title of “The next Hunger Games.” While the gritty world of this isolated backwoods kind of planet was pretty mesmerizing, the characters did little for me.
The country dialect grated on my nerves. I listened to the audiobook so I think I had the better experience than people forced to read the grammatically disjointed sentences. As the novel progressed, I didn’t notice the twang nearly as much. I’m not certain if the narrator was intentionally toning down the twang or if I just learned to ignore it.
I had a hard time liking Saba. Even though she was this kick ass female character, she was so incredibly mean to her little sister Emmi. Her romance plot with Jack just seemed like one awkward scene after another. And that stupid heart stone. I get it. When it’s warm, Saba is near her heart’s desire. No need to repeat that point umpteen times.
The villains were too over-the-top for me. The Pinches sounded more like caricatures of villains than real competent evil people. The TonTons seemed like a mixture of Nazgul in horseman form and the Tuskan Raiders.
I did love the girl cage fighting. The giant killer worms were awesome. The pacing kept me listening, but I’m not certain I’ll finish this trilogy.
The country dialect grated on my nerves. I listened to the audiobook so I think I had the better experience than people forced to read the grammatically disjointed sentences. As the novel progressed, I didn’t notice the twang nearly as much. I’m not certain if the narrator was intentionally toning down the twang or if I just learned to ignore it.
I had a hard time liking Saba. Even though she was this kick ass female character, she was so incredibly mean to her little sister Emmi. Her romance plot with Jack just seemed like one awkward scene after another. And that stupid heart stone. I get it. When it’s warm, Saba is near her heart’s desire. No need to repeat that point umpteen times.
The villains were too over-the-top for me. The Pinches sounded more like caricatures of villains than real competent evil people. The TonTons seemed like a mixture of Nazgul in horseman form and the Tuskan Raiders.
I did love the girl cage fighting. The giant killer worms were awesome. The pacing kept me listening, but I’m not certain I’ll finish this trilogy.
laraph's review
4.0
Good MC, a bit stereotypical but well done, nice romance, ditto, excellent action. Looking forward to book 2!
lauracatherineauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Blood Red Road by Moira Young is the first in the Dust Lands series and Oh My God what a beginning to the series it is. This story follows the amazing adventure of Saba, a girl left in the shadow of her twin brother, Lugh, but when he is taken from her, Saba finds that she is stronger than she once thought.
Dystopian at its finest. Blood Red Road‘s story is full of adventure as Saba faces one thing after another, not to mention the flirtatious back and forth between her and Jack. He is the classic badboy that girls love, the type that teases and flirts, driving you crazy and wild until you can’t resist any more.
I also love the sister bond between Saba and Emmi. It is definitely a complicated one but the way it evolves and grows throughout the book is well-written.
Now I have to – I mean, have to – talk about the style of writing here. When I read the first paragraph from Saba’s point of view, I was like, “What the hell did she just say?”. Young’s writing style has Saba talking like a hick throughout the entire novel. At first I double-taked all the time because my rain wanted to read the sentence in proper English, but eventually I got used to the way Saba talked. It flowed like normal.
The other thing that was different here was the speech parts. Young doesn’t use talking marks (“) in the novel. It’s written as normal text with a ‘I said, jack said’ chucked in there. Yet another thing that threw me when I first started. But at no point in the novel was I ever confused about who was talking. Young wrote with fluidity and sense.
They were both bold style choices that really do fit with Saba’s character. She doesn’t know how to read or write so why would she put talking marks in when telling her story?
I’m looking forward to reading the second in the Dust Lands series: Rebel Heart, which I ordered from Book Depository and am anxiously waiting by the front door for it to arrive. A great read and would definitely recommend to others.
Dystopian at its finest. Blood Red Road‘s story is full of adventure as Saba faces one thing after another, not to mention the flirtatious back and forth between her and Jack. He is the classic badboy that girls love, the type that teases and flirts, driving you crazy and wild until you can’t resist any more.
I also love the sister bond between Saba and Emmi. It is definitely a complicated one but the way it evolves and grows throughout the book is well-written.
Now I have to – I mean, have to – talk about the style of writing here. When I read the first paragraph from Saba’s point of view, I was like, “What the hell did she just say?”. Young’s writing style has Saba talking like a hick throughout the entire novel. At first I double-taked all the time because my rain wanted to read the sentence in proper English, but eventually I got used to the way Saba talked. It flowed like normal.
The other thing that was different here was the speech parts. Young doesn’t use talking marks (“) in the novel. It’s written as normal text with a ‘I said, jack said’ chucked in there. Yet another thing that threw me when I first started. But at no point in the novel was I ever confused about who was talking. Young wrote with fluidity and sense.
They were both bold style choices that really do fit with Saba’s character. She doesn’t know how to read or write so why would she put talking marks in when telling her story?
I’m looking forward to reading the second in the Dust Lands series: Rebel Heart, which I ordered from Book Depository and am anxiously waiting by the front door for it to arrive. A great read and would definitely recommend to others.