Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Book Tour: Branded by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki




Branded (Sinners #1)
by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki
Release Date: 06/28/13
252 pages

Summary from Goodreads: 

Fifty years ago the Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society. He created the Hole where sinners are branded according to their sins and might survive a few years. At best.

Now LUST wraps around my neck like blue fingers strangling me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit and now the Hole is my new home.

Darkness. Death. Violence. Pain.

Now every day is a fight for survival. But I won’t die. I won’t let them win.

The Hole can’t keep me. The Hole can’t break me.

I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter.

My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story.


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My Review:
★★★

I am trying to find the right words to use to tell you how much I loved this book. I couldn't sleep for want of reading this book. I would read a few chapters before bed, put it up, then lay there for a while trying to sleep. Finally, I would give up and start reading again. I really got into the story and was eager to find out what would happen.

Lexi was pretty much awesome! I can't believe how strong she was in some of the situations she was put into. I doubt I, or anyone I know, could have done any better than her. She had her down moments and bad times, but just gritted her teeth and kept on. I enjoyed reading about her progressing relationships with her guard and with her friends. 

My favorite character is Zuess, the dog. He can brighten up some of the darkest parts of the book. I cannot express how much I wish I had this dog! 

There were times, of course, through the book that I wish the characters would act a little differently. This can be said about almost any book that you read. Lexi had her moments of self pity and she did tend to lean on others a lot through the book. Still, I felt that she was stronger than she saw herself and that she did better than most would in her situation. I felt that Cole became a little domineering at times and tried to control her too much. 

I won't go into to much detail about some of the characters and why they irritated me at times, because I really don't want to give anything away. Some of the more irritating characters and circumstances happen later in the book. You will recognize them. They aren't irritating because of the writing or character development. I believe the authors meant for you to almost dislike one character that pops up later.

There are some really hard scenes to read. There are violent, emotional, disturbing scenes in this book. I would recommend this book to adults and mature upper teen aged readers. If you enjoy a emotional, action filled yet still at times romantic story full of complex characters and a few surprise twists, you should really like this book. 

Enjoy!


About the Authors:

Abi and Missy met in the summer of 1999 at college orientation and have been best friends ever since. After college, they added jobs, husbands and kids to their lives, but they still found time for their friendship. Instead of hanging out on weekends, they went to dinner once a month and reviewed books. What started out as an enjoyable hobby has now become an incredible adventure.

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