Review: Amongst the Ruins by Saewod Tice / Reading Romances March Challenge

Reading Romances March Challenge

- Reading Romance’s Blogiversary: – read a book that has been reviewed or featured at the blog!

or:
-  read a book that you have previously started and meant to continue, but keep failing to do so.


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Amongst the Ruins (The Chronicles of 2020, #1)
by Saewod Tice

Published September 12th 2011 by Noble Young Adult

In the year 2220, only about 15% of Earth's population have survived and thrived after the Nuclear Disaster of 2020.

With the collapse of modern society, the population has regressed into eight clans.

Amongst these clans, an unusual girl grows from child to adult.

Raised on the run and in hiding, Shilo wants to be free of the expectations of women. But in a ruined world where anyone could be an enemy, only the radiation-twisted mutants are clearly identifiable. A fertile female is a precious treasure, and any lapse in caution can mean a loss of the freedom she longs for.

Training as hard as a soldier would, in order to free herself from social constraints, she finds herself faced with an offer from a new clan--an offer that provides her with what she desires. But her recently found independence brings discovery, and discovery brings two very different men from her past—and each of them is determined to claim her.

One is obsessed with owning her, the other desires her as the only person who can make him love again.

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia

Publication Date: September 12th 2011

Publisher: Noble Young Adult

Format: e-book, 321 pages 

Series: ?

Source: Giveaway

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My Review

It's the year of 2220 and Earth is trying to repopulate. Ever since she was very young, Shilo has seen for herself what happens to women in this new world, and she promises herself she will never be used as breeding stock or as a man's tool for pleasure. In this new society, anything that takes to repopulate the world is acceptable. Men taking women against their wishes, polygamous marriages, murder if a woman tries to escape... and Shilo is the best example of it. Her mother was raped by a man after she was unable to save his wife and son after childbirth. He raped her so she could give him the son she supposedly 'killed'. But she managed to escape with Shilo.

After a lot of wandering her family reaches the Magnus' clan, where Shilo and her brother start to receive guard training. And that's when her life starts to change. Gone is fearful, hidden and sheltered girl. She is now stronger, braver and able to defend herself as best she can, if need be. But sometimes even that isn't enough, as she soons find out. When the Nigredo, radiation-twisted mutants, attack her guard party during patrol duty, breeders take advantage of the chance and kidnap her. As a virgin pale-skinned, blue-eyed and blond-haired young woman, Shilo makes a great prize. And her unexpected 'savior' promises to make her future even worse than the breeders...

Shilo soons discovers that not all clans are like the ones she's used to. Some are matriarchal, with very powerful female guards. Unfortunately, just as Shilo believes to have found her place in life, her past comes back to haunt her. But is marriage such a terrible thing? Can love make things better? Or is freedom and independance more important than everything? She needs to make her choice... and whatever she chooses may decide the future of all clans.

This was such a crazy book! To think that things would regress like that, that a woman would return to be worth almost nothing, to be seen as nothing more than a womb after so much hard work by the feminists only a couple hundred years before... O.o Jeez. Shiloh was fantastic. I could really see myself in her. Strong, rebellious, independent, always wanting her freedom, always wanting/needing to prove her worth. She was a really great character. Kain pissed me off quite a bit, but there were moments I really came to like him. But not for too long. LOL. He was just too demanding, too bossy. And good-looks only go so far.

The story had such a nice, pleasing pace, never a boring moment! The writing was fluid and just delightful. I actually enjoyed the fighting scenes (and I usually skip all of those), the sexual tension (it takes forever for her to finally be 'ravished', but it was written in such a graceful, tasteful and romantic way it was very worth waiting for) and just loved to see how she resisted and just wouldn't accept being degraded or treated as an object like all the men seemed to want to treat her. I really didn't like the ending, but I guess that's what had to happen for her to have her freedom.

If you like your YA dystopia with very strong, kick-ass heroines, lots of action, adventure and 'unexpected' romance, you'll really enjoy Amongst the Ruins.


*I got this book from a giveaway made for the particiants of the Reading Romances Challenge.*