Wednesday 3 December 2014

SERIES PROMOTION & REVIEW - WALLED - THE LINE BY ANNE TIBBETS

Title: Walled
Series: The Line
Author: Anne Tibbets
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: 1st December 2014

BLURB from Goodreads
Freedom means making brutal choices.

Rebel lovers Naya and Ric have survived one year in hiding, raising Naya’s twins from infants to toddlers in the shadow of the brutal Auberge dictatorship. They’re alive, and they’re together, but the city is crumbling around them and the haunting memory of Naya’s dark days on The Line have never fully left them. Living in isolation won’t be an option forever. 

When a mysterious revolutionary seeks their help to infiltrate Auberge’s electronic heart and shut it down, it’s an opportunity—it’s risky, yes, but if it works they’ll get out of the city and taste freedom for the first time. Naya needs this. They need this. 

Beyond the broken walls of Auberge, Naya and Ric find the paradise they’ve always longed for. But with anarchy reigning and Naya’s children lost amidst the chaos, they’ll need to forfeit their post-apocalyptic Eden…or commit an unspeakable act.


PURCHASE LINKS


Title: Carrier
Series: The Line
Author: Anne Tibbets
Publisher: Carina
Release Date: 16th June 2014

BLURB from Goodreads
Twenty-two -year-old Naya has spent nearly half her life as a sex slave in a government institution called The Line. When she’s kicked out after getting pregnant with twins, she’s got no way to earn a living and a horrifying choice to make: find someone to replace her, or have her babies taken in her stead.

A doctor with a history of aiding ex-Line girls, Ric Bennett, wants to help. He runs a team of rebels that can delete Naya’s records and free her forever. But when The Line sniffs out his plan, things get bloody, fast. Naya means more to them than just a chance at fresh faces—her twins are part of the government’s larger plan.

As they hide from government search parties, Ric comes to admire Naya’s quiet strength. And Naya realizes Ric might be a man she can trust. If they make it off the grid, they could build a new life. But first they’ll have to survive the long, vicious reach of The Line.


Goodreads Link


PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon UK


EXCERPT

“You don’t have to do this,” Ric whispered.
I swallowed the terror in my throat and licked my lips with my dry tongue.
The elevator stopped, and I heard the sound of a tiny bell as the doors slid open.
“We can find another way,” he said.
I stepped through the open doors and drew my pistol.


REVIEW
Title: Walled
Series: The Line
Author: Anne Tibbets
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: 1st December 2014

BLURB from Goodreads
Freedom means making brutal choices.

Rebel lovers Naya and Ric have survived one year in hiding, raising Naya’s twins from infants to toddlers in the shadow of the brutal Auberge dictatorship. They’re alive, and they’re together, but the city is crumbling around them and the haunting memory of Naya’s dark days on The Line have never fully left them. Living in isolation won’t be an option forever. 

When a mysterious revolutionary seeks their help to infiltrate Auberge’s electronic heart and shut it down, it’s an opportunity—it’s risky, yes, but if it works they’ll get out of the city and taste freedom for the first time. Naya needs this. They need this. 

Beyond the broken walls of Auberge, Naya and Ric find the paradise they’ve always longed for. But with anarchy reigning and Naya’s children lost amidst the chaos, they’ll need to forfeit their post-apocalyptic Eden…or commit an unspeakable act.


INITIAL THOUGHTS
After reading Carrier, the Line Bk 1 and enjoying it, I was really impatient and had high expectations for this book. I of course wanted to catch  up with Ric and Naya and her children. Had they successfully evaded Auberge? Had they really manage to fully destroy The Line?

MY REVIEW
I received an e-arc of thnis book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
The cover once again has a close up on the face of who I would imagine to be Naya. I like the subtle colour on the covr of Bk2. Upon reading the book I'd say the use of the delicate colour on the cover of book 2 is a subtle way of saying that now Naya has escaped The Line and has her twins that her life has more colour in it, which is a good way to describe how Naya feels now she has escaped the Line. Once again the same style of computerised font is also used on the cover. The female on the cover is also looking over her shoulder on the cover, which is exactly what Naya has to continue to do if she wants to protect her twins and stay one step ahead of Auberge.
Would the cover make me pick it up from a book store shelf? Yes, even if I hadn't read bk 1 I would still be attracted to this book by its cover. Having said that I have been keeping an eye out for this one coming up for a while.
This book picks up at a point where Ric & Naya are living off the grid in a rather basic flat within a larger house. Naya has her twins, Clea & Adena with her and also has the invaluable help and support with her girls from Shirel. In fact Shirel seems to be doing most of the child care work. So much so when the girls first say "mama" it is directed towards Shirel. Naya and Shirel agree that Shirel will be called "nana" by the girls.
Ric, Naya, Shirel and the twins have been doing quite well living under the radar of Auberge, so it is a shock when a face from the past turns up at their door. It turns out to be Ric's old helper at the clinic, Sonya. Sonya has come to inform them that the Line is being re-formed and she has a plan to stop Auberge once and for all. Sonya's idea involves Naya returning to the Auberge head quarters where the Line is being re-formed and planting a device that will hack into the Auberge computer system. If they succeed in attaching the device to the Auberge computer, the system can then be hacked and closed down causing havoc within Auberge. Initially Ric & Naya want nothing to do with what they think of as Sonya's crazy plan, but when they discover that life has gotten worse for the normal people of Auberge, living in streets stacked head high with garbage and infested with rats. That Auberge has increase security ans scrutiny of their citizens, arresting and punishing people on a whim.
Eventually Naya changes her mind, so then has to convince Ric. They end up saying a very emotional goodbye, entrusting Clea and Adena to their dependable friend Shirel, who immediately states she will guard the girls with her life.
As usual with Sonya things aren't as clear cut or as organised as she tries to make out they are. Whilst disagreeing over aspects of Sonya's plan, Ric and Naya argue. then go to make up and actually have intercourse but Naya freezes and her mind goes straight back to her time on The Line. Of course Ric is horrified he has pushed Naya into a position that causes her so much distress, but then at the same time he feels angry that his advances are not seen as the love he wants to bestow on her. The last thing Ric wants is to hurt Naya or remind her of her awful time on the Line. 
The plan is carried out, giving those involved tough emotional and moral decisons and hurdles to overcome. I enjoyed the action and drama, though at times I wanted to scream at Ric and Naya. Their relationship did feel occasionally tedious. I'd have liked to have read about Shirel and the twins and how they were surviving whilst Ric & Naya were trying to bring down Auberge. One of Sonya's aims is to break the East Gate, and then go on to break the wall. There are many casualties, and great characters lost attempting to carry out the plan.
We also discover the community outside the wall of Auberge. There's disbelief and horror that Auberge has kept all its citizens in the dark about the outside as well horror that those in charge of the "outside" have done nothing to rescue the Auberge citizens even though it is well known that they are living in hardship and squalor. At first looking at the "outside" it looks idyllic and perfect, the opposite to Auberge.  However the cracks within the community and its leaders are soon seen. It certainly makes the reader ask which community is more honest? And makes you think of the old saying of "The grass always seems greener on the other side". Naya once again finds herself having to make some difficult decisions, all the while wondering where Shirel and her twins are, and if they are safe? There is plenty of action, drama, love, friendships as well as conspiracies, betrayals to read about in this book. So I think it should appeal to more than just dystopian fans.
As the book ends you are still left with many questions, about both the community inside Auberge's walls and the newly discovered community on the outside of the wall. There are questions left about certain characters too. So although on Goodreads this book is labelled as book two of two I am hoping for another book or a novella to wrap the loose ends up.
Did I enjoy the book? I did enjoy the book, though not quite as much as I did the first book of the series. I think some of the "steamier" scenes between Ric and Naya didn't really need to be in as much detail as they were. Without those details this book would appeal to the upper end of the YA market, as well as New Adult & Adult readers.
Would I recommend the book? I think if you read and enjoyed bk#1 then it's a must read, as you discover more about the society that this book is set in and what surround sit.
Would I want to read more in this series? I would, as, like I said above the ending of book two there are still many questions unanswered and loose ends left either for you to tie up in how you would wish events to unfold or maybe another book (fingers crossed)
Would you want to read other titles by this author? Yes I would like to discover more books written by this author.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Anne Tibbets found her way to fiction after writing for children's televsion and following what she loves: strong female characters, magic, sword fights, twisted family dynamics, and ferocious and cuddly animals. Anne is author of the young adult contemporary "Shut Up," and the New Adult speculative "CARRIER," and the forthcoming sequel, "WALLED."

She divides her time between writing, her family, and two furry creatures that she secretly believes are plotting her assassination. 


For more information about Anne, 

visit her website at www.AnneTibbets.com
or on Facebook at www.faceboook.com/AnneTibbetsAuthor


GUEST POST

Expanding New Adult Beyond Contemporary

I have very odd taste when it comes to reading. I don’t like just one thing. I go on binges. I’ll read three fantasies, followed by several science fiction titles, followed by a couple historicals, then off to a contemporary romance, then a horror or a thriller – I’m all over the place, in almost all categories (YA, NA, adult) and I believe most readers are like me. Readers don’t read just one thing. We cast a wide net.

So when I hear opinions that New Adult is a contemporary romance category only – my argument to that is, “So far.”

I truly believe that yes, New Adult is a thing, and it’s real, but it’s also evolving. I love the fact that publishers and indie authors are evolving with New Adult, too. There are so many titles out there now that go beyond the “Damaged Girl Meets Boy” story, which I love for reasons all it’s own, but because readers are naturally inclined to want variety, there are also “Girl From Wrong Side of Tracks Falls for Wrong Guy” (aka. WILD ONES by Kristine Wyllys), “Girl on Trial for Murder in Cyber-Prison” (aka. THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE by Sarah Harian), and “Girl Sees Dead People, Literally,” (aka. DARK PARADISE by Angie Sandro), and if I may be so bold as to include “Girl Battles Mega-Corporation in Dystopian Society,” (aka. CARRIER by Anne Tibbets) – all these being New Adult titles that go beyond the confines of contemporary romance.

So, I guess what I’m proposing is if you’re getting a little burnt out on New Adult, well GUESS WHAT? Options.

Because just like how New Adult is evolving, so are its readers.







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