Thursday 20 November 2014

REVIEW - BREEDERS - BY ASHLEY QUIGLEY

Title: Breeders
Series: Breeders Trilogy
Author: Ashley Quigley
Release Date: 13th May 2014

BLURB from Goodreads
Ariet has been taken from her family, who are told she has died of an illness; when, in fact, she has been drugged and removed against her will to a secret underground location. Selected for a genetic breeding program by the Creators, the Monarchy of the New World, Ariet and her captor Mason, have to provide an offspring with a predetermined inherited genetic profile, or face termination. They find mutual empathy for one another when their unborn child does not carry the desirable gene. Unable to accept the scheduled termination of her pregnancy by the Creators and to save the life of her offspring, Mason helps her escape to an area outside of the Four Quadrants. Mason's childhood friend Thor, a Guardian in the Great Tower, flees with Ariet to protect her from the unknown, whilst leaving Mason behind to bring down the rulers of the New World. With the aid of refugees from the Old World, Ariet, together with her child and Thor risk everything to join Mason in his fight to destroy the Monarchy.


PURCHASE LINKS

INITIAL THOUGHTS
To be totally truthful I have two books with similar titles and ended up reading this one first by mistake, but it turned out to be a great mistake . . 
I was looking forward to learning more about what sounded a complex yet highly interesting dystopic society.

INITIAL REACTION UPON FINISHING THE BOOK
Absolutely loved it! When can I have more please?

MY REVIEW
The cover of this book features the main female character of Ariet, and also a genetic marker too, which is a very brief gist of what the book is about. Ariet lives in Quadrant 4, one of the smaller yet still prosperous areas to live in. Ariet's life consist of daily medical tests taken via urine and blood samples. Every Monday the residents of Quadrant 4 have to attend a medical examination, where your breeding potential is checked. Dependant on your health and these tests and their results you are allocated points. Points are used for toiletries and food. Every Monday morning Ariet and her mother prepare a special breakfast which uses up the last of that weeks food supplies. Once the breakfast is ready, the men, Ariet's twin brother, Alec and their father rise from their lie in and they all eat the breakfast as a family. They then go off to the medical test centre, where the males and females are filtered into different lines and then the younger woman are split from the older women. Ariet and Alec Langley are very near the age where society expects them to find mates. If you do not choose a mate yourself then the Creators arranged a pairing for you. Then you are referred to as "Selecteds". There are restrictions on whom you may "pair with". "superiors" such as Ariet and Alec are told to look in other quadrants rather than their own. this is to prevent bloodlines from becoming crossed. The rules A superior cannot for example pair with a creator (considered a higher member of the society). One a couple is paired they are expected to produce two children within the first few years of their marriage. Ariet goes through all the routine tests as she does every week and then she is told she has another test due to her age, and the fact she will soon be pairing. That's about all Ariet remembers then everything goes dark. When Ariet awakens she discovers she has been taken away from her family and everyone she knows and loves to be paired to a male she doesn't know as part of a special Breeder program. Ariet has been specifically chosen for a highly secret genetic breeding project. Ariet has been paired with a young man named Mason Black, it is he that has been left to explain everything to her. Naturally Ariet finds it extremely hard to accept that she can never see her family again. Ariet tries to argue the point that she has not been given chance at "natural pairing" and that by giving her a "selected" pairing the government has broken its own laws. is supposed to she later finds out is the grandson of the "Mother". The "mother" who we find out is 100% behind the regime and will stop at nothing, even killing her own child to keep to the Breeding Programme. The "Mother" does break the normal chain of events by asking for a meeting with Mason and Ariet, where it is made crystal clear that Ariet has no choice but to accept her fate. To oppose the "Mother" would put her and Mason in danger not to mention the consequences of any rebellious acts by the pair would have on Ariet's family. The "mother" is not adverse to threats and blackmail to make everyone around her do as she dictates. Alec explains that though he is a blood relative of "the mother" he has had no more choice in the matter than Ariet has. In fact Mason turns out to be as opposed to the system as Ariet is. They will both need to learn to develop an understanding if they are to survive. They will have appear to become closer and to build up a increasingly intimate relationship if they are to be kept alive within the breeding project. If they cannot do this well enough Ariet will be locked away in a tower and impregnated and drugged to keep her compliant. It is extremely dangerous voice any pessimism against the establishment or indeed any of the rules within the breeding project. It becomes clearer as time goes on that Mason will succeed the "Mother" as the head of the whole regime when she chooses to stand down. That is when Mason plans to change the way society lives and works, but until that day he has to toe the line and be seen to behave and agree with "the mother" in all things.
I really enjoyed how the relationship[ between Ariet and Mason changed and grew closer as they faced uncertainty and a harsh ruled regime together. I also became fond of the brotherly relationship of Mason and Thor. In fact Thor goes on to help Ariet despite their negative feelings towards each other shows how deep his friendship is with Mason. In fact Mason and Thor are the nearest thing to a family that Mason has.
I want to go on and on about the characters in this book, as well as the plot but there's so much to discover, and I don't want to give out too many spoilers. The whole dystopic society within this book is intriguing and really pulls you in.
There's also a great epilogue section at the end of the book, though it skips out quite a bit of time and moves the story on considerably. I'm still not sure whether I would have preferred not to read that part. I'll be interested to see what other readers think about this part of the book.
So did I enjoy the book? I was totally pulled in, and immersed in the dystopic society. Consequently I found the book a highly pleasurable read.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, I'd put it in my dystopian must reads!
Would I want to read another book in this series? Oh yes please. I want . . . no need to know what happens next to Mason, Ariet and Thor! as well as how things may change for the dystopic society too. It would also be great to check back in with the family that Ariet was forced to leave behind.
Would I read other books by this author? I would be really interested in anything written by this author.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Ashley is an author from South Africa whose book interests lie in science, medical and thriller fiction. She also enjoys romantic comedy books and widely supports Indie authors.

AUTHOR LINKS

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