Monarchy Review

Title: Monarchy
Author: Laura Pritchard
Series: The Monarchy Trilogy #1
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: 26 April 2017
Source: Author
Format: E-book
Pages: 233
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reading Timeline: 10 July 2017 - 11 July 2017










Goodreads Synopsis:

In this times after the reformation, the leaders of the new world have created the perfect society. There is no exaggerated wealth or famishing poverty. There is no starvation or crime or disease. The citizens of the sector's are secure and well nourished, forever protected by the life the Monarchy have so gracefully afforded.

No one mentions the things that are lacking. Constance thinks about it often.

At the age of sixteen, Constance is snatched from her family in a twisted ceremony called 'Removal'. Forced to reside in the Citadel, the fortress of the Monarchy, she faces a brutal induction to evolve into a soldier of the Brigade; sworn peace keepers of the sectors. While she grapples with the feeling of revolution that rage in her mind, Constance is traded by Calloway, the guard with an elusive past who shadows her every move.

Remaining peaceful, however, is the last thing on the minds of the inhabitants of sector sic. Uprisings and rebellions are common place with her own kinsfolk being injured and killed as consequence. When the times comes, Constance must decide which side she will choose in a battle that will determine her future. It is a choice that she should never have to face; weighing her own life against the lives of those she loves.

Book Review:
Pre-reading Thoughts:

When the author contacted me and asked me to review this book, I was a little skeptical. Dystopian has been a huge hit or miss for me. And usually when it hits, I find the book amazing but when it misses, I tend not to enjoy it at all. I was also a bit wary because I had so many other books that I had to review. 

But I am excited to get to this book mainly because the concept is unique in terms of the Utopia it is instead of the Dystopian I thought it was. I cannot wait to jump into this book! And get to experience the world the author has created!

Thank you so much to the author, Laura Pritchard, for sending me her book to review! Just a small disclaimer to those who are reading this review. I have received this book for free. No money from my pocket was spent in getting this book. Please do note that in no way does this affect my opinion. All thoughts still remain my own.

Writing Thoughts:

The author chose to write this story in first perspective, meaning that we hear directly from the main character. I have a love-hate relationship with this form of writing because whilst it provides us access to the protagonists thoughts, authors tend not to focus too much on the surroundings. That is what happened in this book. We got to see Constance's inner most thoughts but I couldn't really wrap my head around her surroundings. But other than that, the writing was easy to get into and had a good flow to it.

Plot Thoughts:

The plot of the story was good but I felt as if the synopsis gave away most of what was happening. This made me wander when what was going to happen and why it was taking so long. The protagonist is sixteen years old but sometimes it felt like she was way younger, along with all the other characters we meet in this story. The romance also felt a bit off. Almost forced. I thought that this story was good without the romance and in fact, the romance seemed to take away from the overall feel of the story. But other than that, the story is intriguing and the concept is compelling. I am interested to see how things continue to unfold.

Character Thoughts:

As I mentioned earlier, all the characters felt way younger than what they actually were. And it all came down to behavior. The characters acted quite childish and odd. There were reactions and mannerisms that the characters had that didn't really make senses or didn't really fit in with their age. 

The characters also kind of fell flat for me. We didn't get to who they were as people. Instead we got given random facts that were repeated. We knew that a character was brave or kind because of what they were doing but it didn't feel real. At least not for me. I couldn't form any connections with characters.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I liked this book. The concept was interesting and it had its good moments. However, it fell flat for me occasionally. The characters tended to be more semi-rounded than actually well-rounded characters. But all in all, the story wasn't bad. I enjoyed reading it and would love to know what happens in the next book. Thank you so much to the author for providing me with a copy of this book to review!

Yours in Reading,

Melleny

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