Behind the beauty is heartache… unless their love can save them.Neve Hall has always admired the good works of the civil servants who brought prosperity back to the Nation. She especially respects the Sufferers—empaths who, with the help of technology, anonymously bear others’ troubles for them. But when her assigned empath is abruptly retired, she uncovers certain secrets. Like the identity of … secrets. Like the identity of her new Sufferer, Micah Ward… and the fact that behind his kind smile is a life filled with loneliness and pain.
The closer Neve grows to Micah, the more desperate she becomes to protect him from a cruel and gruesome fate. But in a world where only a few are allowed the luxury of love, saving Micah comes with a price: Neve must choose between her loyalty to the Nation or her heart—a decision that will take them both on a race for their freedom, and their lives.
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North to Nara
By Amanda Marin
4 stars
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this story, I liked that the blurb was a little on the vague side as it meant I was going in without any real expectations – it is also a genre that I have read a lot of so that added to the intrigue for me and so I loved that I got such a well written and wonderful story to read. It didn’t take me long at all to become completely absorbed into the authors writing – I was pleasantly surprised to find out that North to Nara is also the authors debut novel. She should definitely be very proud of what she has written. The level of detail enabled me to completely imagine what I was reading. Her characters we well thought out and I really enjoyed reading about them. I think one of the things I liked was that although I knew what I wanted to happen in the story the author wasn’t afraid to take the story in differing directions that constantly kept me guessing about what might happen! She has definitely set the scene for an amazing series and I can’t wait for the next book!!
What a fantastic book! This dystopian work falls into a well-loved genre and somehow manages to treat it a bit differently than its counterparts. The characters are strong, well developed, and relatable. The story has clear direction and I loved the sneak peek at the end. A very enjoyable book that I look forward to seeing developed by its series.
North to Nara (Crimson Sash, #1) by Amanda Marin was a hooking, original read that, was full of passion, and told the tale of two star crossed lovers and their fight against the odds.
This debut novel was truly something, as a lover of dystopian type books, I always love how each author develops the world and how they see it, if something were to happen to our way of life. This one wasn’t as loud, you could say, as some other dystopian books. The world that this is book is set in seems pretty comfortable, and at peace. So this story isn’t about one girl toppling an empire, no, it’s about a forbidden love, and the their choice to put love before Nation.
The only thing that bothered me about this book, was the pockets of info dumping, and I hate to say it cause I really enjoyed this book, but it did fall into this trend of the first book being a “setup book”. A complex world like this should have been present at the beginning, with some back story, or a prologue, to help with the worldbuilding. Especially when this world is not at war and is in a pretty tame and civil state.
Now the two MC’s, love them to bits. Micah really stole the show. Yes Neve is the main MC, but hell, Micah was written so well, and so full of emotions that I couldn’t help but fall for him. I would have like to see the world from his POV, I think that would have added that extra layer to not only help with the characters development, but with world building.
That middle to ending though, for a book that started out all sweet and heart melty, it sure kicked up into high gear. I was on the edge of my seat, and flipping the pages like a mad person. Man oh man, talk about going from 0-60. And that sneak peek at the end.. way to tease a girl.. I need the next book now!
Overall this book gets my super high recommendation and my stamp of approval.
Happy Reading
-E.A. Walsh
North to Nara by Amanda Marin is the first book in the Crimson Sash series. This is a unique and interesting YA novel that everyone should try.
This story isn’t like one I have read before. The idea of having our emotions taken away to enable us to continue is intriguing if a little scary. The author does a great job of creating this world where everything appears to be perfect and yet hidden away are plenty of dark secrets.
This was a new author for me and I really enjoyed her writing style. It was engaging and knew how to keep the story going. This was a brilliant book and one I would recommend.
I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. This is a young adult story that I feel is in the future. It is creative and well written. I found it to be engaging and fast paced. It is about Neve who lives in a country who demands loyalty above all else in form of a pledge. What will happen when Neve is given a choice of loyalty or love, happiness? The characters are well written characters that you can sympathize with as well as relate too. I highly recommend this book.
I’m not entirely sure when this story is set, but it appears to be America in some dystopian future.
Neve is a fairly ordinary girl, although she is sweet and compassionate. Through a series of events, she ends up meeting her Sufferer. Every week, citizens like Neve go to the Center of Compassion and transfer their suffering – physical and emotional – to another person, a Sufferer. It’s an anonymous exchange, designed to leave the citizen healthier and happier. Most people, including Neve, never think about the effect of the Suffering on the Sufferer. If the citizen is happier, healthier, and lives longer, what happens to the Sufferer? Those are all questions that Neve starts asking when she identifies both her previous Sufferer and her current one.
Micah is a wonderful character, and the author does a fantastic job of showing us the goodness in his heart, and how perfectly suited he was to the role of Sufferer. He simply cannot stop himself from helping others, even at risk to himself.
The author has done a tremendous amount of work in world building and creating a history for the world in which Neve and Micah live. My only problem with the book is that this history and world-building is fed to the reader by telling, not showing. There are chunks of ‘info dumping’ right through the book. It seems unnecessary. We could infer the vast majority of the required information from the scenes, and a lot of the information comes out naturally in scenes like the one in the courtroom.
If it weren’t for the ‘telling’ or ‘info dumping’, whatever you want to call it, I’d have given the book four stars. Micah’s character is excellent, and the plot is solid.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.