Firstborns rule society. Secondborns are the property of the government. Thirdborns are not tolerated. Long live the Fates Republic.On Transition Day, the second child in every family is taken by the government and forced into servitude. Roselle St. Sismode’s eighteenth birthday arrives with harsh realizations: she’s to become a soldier for the Fate of Swords military arm of the Republic during … Republic during the bloodiest rebellion in history, and her elite firstborn mother is happy to see her go.
Televised since her early childhood, Roselle’s privileged upbringing has earned her the resentment of her secondborn peers. Now her decision to spare an enemy on the battlefield marks her as a traitor to the state.
But Roselle finds an ally—and more—in fellow secondborn conscript Hawthorne Trugrave. As the consequences of her actions ripple throughout the Fates Republic, can Roselle create a destiny of her own? Or will her Fate override everything she fights for—even love?
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I am not new to Amy A. Bartol as I am a huge fan of her Kricket series. She has a way of sweeping you up in the worlds she creates. I loved every single thing about this book. Once I started reading, it was really hard to put down. I constantly needed to know what would happen next.
What’s great about Secondborn is the world. Firstborns are important and rule society, while Secondborns have no rights and are property of the government. The author does a great job detailing life for both Firstborns and Secondborn children. It gets broken down really well and even talks about how having Thirdborn children get killed. I felt that I knew this world really well. The story follows Roselle who is Secondborn to a very elite family that wants nothing more than to see her dead. Because of her families status, she is scorned by her Secondborn peers.
What made this book amazing was the politics. Roselle is involved with powerful people because of her mother and in order to keep herself away from attack from unknown enemies she uses her strategic min to ally herself with powerful people. But she also finds herself caught up in things that would mark her as a traitor. Luckily, she had made a family of her own in the Fates of the Sword while also making a enemies.
Roselle is a very strong and brilliant character. I also love her flaws that make her more human. I am very interested in seeing what moves she will make to further her safety in a war where she is the most important piece on the board. I have to say I really liked all the other characters in this book as well, like Hawthorne, Clarity, and Agent Crow with all his evilness. This series can only get better after reading this whirlwind of a book.
A strong female protagonist.
If you like Red Queen, Throne of Glass, Divergent, Hunger Games, or any similar title, you will enjoy this one as well. Secondborn is the story of a society where all secondborns are sent to war. They are disposable. The story focuses on the secondborn daughter of one of the ruling individuals. Her mother doesn’t care about her, but everyone else has plans to use her as a political pawn. It’s a fairly tragic, but interesting tale. Having read the first two books, I’m excited to see what’s in store for book 3.
I wanted to like this book, but honestly it was so cliche and purple prose I couldn’t finish it. There was such a disconnect between the inner voice of the lead character and how she actually behaved it was jarring.
Astrid’s Description: Roselle is the girl the nation watched grow to be the beautiful woman she is today. Now, she is to be sent to do her duty as a second born. Roselle is to go to war. Her mother is The Sword, the leader of her little corner of the world. She could send Roselle anywhere, for any task, but instead of keeping her safe, she sends her only daughter to fight. It will be a struggle for her life regardless of where she is.
Well, I have mixed feelings about this. The pacing seems fast and yet slow. I felt like I was waiting for something, not sure what, for the whole book. However, while I had that waiting feeling, I was entertained with insane characters, a hint of romance, and an enthralling tale of a woman that does all she can to survive.
Personally, I loved each of the characters. Each person had an identifiable personality and arch. The book was well edited and contained vivid descriptions. It was a shame to find that book two wasn’t released yet, but I am looking forward to it coming out in April.
I really liked this book. First in a series, in a world where only the first born children are worth anything and the second born are throwaways, the heroine must find her way and survive, as she is second born and her own brother is trying to kill her. I thought it moved at a good pace and was suspenseful.
Not what I thought it would be.
Although Roselle is from a powerful family, she has no rights because she isn’t the firstborn child. Everything is chosen for her. Her mentor trains her from a young age so that she could fight in the military. Her clothes are selected to obtain a certain reaction from the citizens. Even her speeches are prepared for her.
When Roselle finally leaves her unloving family for the military, she makes new friends and also new enemies. Her life gets pulled apart as she captures everyone’s attention with her fighting skills and big heart.
I couldn’t put this down! I loved the romance and the amazing action scenes. This isn’t a young adult book. It’s more of a new adult due to the heated sexual tension. If you liked Hunger Games, you’ll probably really enjoy Secondborn. Book 2 here I come!
Loved this book and I’m so excited to read the next installment.
Can’t wait untill book 2 comes out
I actually really enjoyed this and am eager for the next to come out and sad that the third and final book won’t be available until 2020. This book had a Hunger Games feel, with more romance. I would definitely reccomend this to any one who enjoyed Hunger Games and similar type books!