Three (ARC): Review

Synopsis:

Kristen Simmons' fast-paced, gripping YA dystopian series continues in Three.

Ember Miller and Chase Jennings are ready to stop running. After weeks spent in hiding as two of the Bureau of Reformation’s most wanted criminals, they have finally arrived at the safe house, where they hope to live a safe and quiet existence.

And all that’s left is smoking ruins.

Devastated by the demolition of their last hope, Ember and Chase follow the only thing left to them—tracks leading away from the wreckage. The only sign that there may have been survivors.

With their high profile, they know they can’t stay out in the open for long. They take shelter in the wilderness and amidst the ruins of abandoned cities as they follow the tracks down the coast, eventually finding refugees from the destroyed safe house. Among them is someone from Chase’s past—someone he never thought he’d see again.

Banding together, they search for a place to hide, aiming for a settlement a few of them have heard about…a settlement that is rumored to house the nebulous organization known as Three. The very group that has provided Ember with a tiny ray of hope ever since she was first forced on the run.

Three is responsible for the huge network of underground safe houses and resistance groups across the country. And they may offer Ember her only chance at telling the world her story.

At fighting back.

***

So. Three. The conclusion of the Article 5 trilogy. I must say the author takes action, as well as the way that friends and family look out for each other, to the max. It's a pretty nice conclusion, with all the action scenes and fights (and bombs. Can't forget the bombs). Though it might have its flaws, the goodness is inextinguishable. 

Three picks up right after Breaking Point. Ember, Chase and their friends are trying to find Three, a rumored organization that is like a resistance to the MM. They have to stay safe if Ember wants to tell her story and help Three fight against the MM. Yet it's anything but easy as they realize Three might not be as glorious as they think, and multiple obstacles are standing in their way.

Some of the characters are actually pretty nice. Not like they're morally nice. But they're definitely complex characters. It is a whole lot of fun trying to figure them out. There are also some new characters. They might be kind of a pain in the ass, but in the end they're just... I don't know how to explain it. Let's just say I respect them. Characters like Ember, Chase, Sean and Rebecca... it's almost impossible not to like them in Three. Characters? Excellent of course.

The plot has a tiny problem though. It starts out a bit slow at first. So forgive me for saying the beginning of Three isn't as appealing as I thought. It picks up pretty quickly though, and soon everything is blowing up. The mind games as well as the... um, action games are nothing short of awesome. And you know what? It just gets better and better throughout the book. Until it ends with quite a big bang. Speaking of the ending, you will definitely love it. Not just the epilogue, but the grand big-bang finale. Well, at least it makes my heart pound like crazy.

Article 5 trilogy has ended. The first two books might have stayed at the back of my mind, but Three will stay in my radar for some time. 

Rating: 8/10

Summary Reveal: Three by Kristen Simmons

Originally from Kristen Simmons' blog:

I can't say I love Breaking Point, but I do like Article 5, so I'm pretty interested when I see the apparently-summary thing from Kristen Simmons' blog.

Synopsis:

Ember Miller and Chase Jennings are ready to stop running. After weeks spent in hiding as two of the Bureau of Reformation’s most wanted criminals, they have finally arrived at the safe house, where they hope to live a peaceful and quiet existence—but all that’s left is smoking ruins.

Devastated by the demolition of their last hope, Ember and Chase follow the one thing left to them—tracks leading away from the wreckage. The only sign that there may have been survivors.

Because of their high profiles, they know they can’t stay out in the open for long. They take shelter in the wilderness and amid the ruins of abandoned cities as they follow the tracks down the coast, eventually finding refugees from the destroyed safe house. Among them is someone from Chase’s past—someone he thought he’d never see again.

Banding together, they search for a place to hide, aiming for a settlement a few of them have heard about… a settlement that is rumored to house the nebulous organization known as Three. The very group that has provided Ember with a tiny ray of hope ever since she was first forced on the run.

Three is responsible for the huge network of underground safe houses and resistance groups across the country. And they may offer Ember her only chance to tell the world her story—and to fight back.

***

Three will be released on February 11, 2014

Cover Reveal: Three by Kristen Simmons

Damn, I really like this cover. I'm okay with Article 5 and Breaking Point and I'm kinda excited to read Three! It's kinda weird to call the third book Three, though I know the name has nothing to do with being the third book of the series.

Here's the cover. It's like a pencil sketch and kind of unique. You will like it:

Synopsis is still unavailable guys. But don't worry, I believe it will be out soon because the release day of Three is February 11, 2014!

Breaking Point: Review

Synopsis:

The second installment in Kristen Simmons's fast-paced, gripping YA dystopian series.

After faking their deaths to escape from prison, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings have only one goal: to lay low until the Federal Bureau of Reformation forgets they ever existed.

Near-celebrities now for the increasingly sensationalized tales of their struggles with the government, Ember and Chase are recognized and taken in by the Resistance—an underground organization working to systematically take down the government. At headquarters, all eyes are on the sniper, an anonymous assassin taking out FBR soldiers one by one. Rumors are flying about the sniper’s true identity, and Ember and Chase welcome the diversion….

Until the government posts its most-wanted list, and their number one suspect is Ember herself.

Orders are shoot to kill, and soldiers are cleared to fire on suspicion alone. Suddenly Ember can’t even step onto the street without fear of being recognized, and “laying low” is a joke. Even members of the Resistance are starting to look at her sideways.

With Chase urging her to run, Ember must decide: Go into hiding…or fight back?

***

After reading Article 5, I thought I would like this book because... okay, Article 5 is not the best dystopian book I've ever read, but it's good enough to push me into reading the sequel, which is this book. But no matter how hard I tried, I just can't like this book as much as I like Article 5. I just can't feel attached to any kind of plot twists or developments while reading this book. It's like I'm watching everything from a distance so far away that I can't feel anything at all. And I can't remember much about Breaking Point except for a few things.

Ember has grown. Harden and more tough. Typical for a dystopian heroine. What I feel a tad bit annoyed and relieved at the same time is that underneath the armor and mask, she's still the girl in Article 5. Relieved, because I usually can't bear to watch a main female character change too much to be herself. Annoyed, because she's still so stubborn. But that's a minor problem. I still kinda like her.

Chase, on the other hand, changes so much (or should I say he changes BACK so much?). He's not the emotionless mannequin and inhuman shell we saw in Article 5 anymore. And I supposed that's a good thing, because it's obvious that his good side is always there. And the masked boy I saw in Article 5 ticks me off so much I often wanna shove something in his face. Another good thing about it.

But the plot... well, not so much. There are many new characters that I care almost nothing about them. To me that's a bad thing because sometimes supporting characters can be crucial to a book. And there are too many plot twists. Normally I love a plot that is so complicated and twisted because that makes things exciting. I can see the attempt here. But there are so many twists and unexpected developments that I don't know or care what's been going on in the book. That's the deadly flaw and the main reason why I can't like this book.

I'm not sure if I will read Three, the third book of the series (trilogy?). But if I'm gonna read it, I'm sure I will have to make past my reading-slump state. Because I have a feeling my indifference towards this book is because of the reading-slump state.

Rating: 5/10

Article 5: Review

Synopsis:

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

***

(This might contain small spoilers of Article 5. Sorry)
 
It's not as bad as I thought it was, and definitely not as bad as some other reviews that was written about by others. I will say this is a fast read. Much faster than I originally thought because... well I thought I'd struggle for a long time to read this whole thing and I read it in... 1 day or so. There are obvious flaws, of course. But what the hell, every book has flaws and I actually think it's good enough to be given a chance.

The story is set on a newly formed dystopian world, where there are plenty of citizens remembered the old orders of the US before the War. Freedom is stripped and even saying a remotely rebellious or insulting thing about the MM means death (Damn, the whole situation reminds me so much of mainland China, only in the book it's worse). Our heroine, Ember Miller, is also one of the prisoners/Sisters/whoever the hell they are. Only that she doesn't know what truly happened with her mother until... her escape.

To my surprise, Ember is not exactly the whole package of heroine. First is that she doesn't know how to fight. That kind struck me because I always read heroines that can seriously kick ass :). And she's not remarkably strong either. Okay, she's strong. But NOT remarkably. She doesn't exactly have a extremely strong mind or rebellious. That's kind of a flaw in the book. Even though I like that girl, she's a little flat of a character and usually fade into the back of my mind easily.

Chase is another story. Mostly I wanna punch him in the face because he acts nonchalant all the time when we all know the struggling and longing in his heart. Okay, I totally get that he's... kind of been tortured by the MM. But jeez, that makes him so hard and sometimes HATEFUL. Despite his really deserved-to-be-kicked-in-the-butt attitude, I like him because he's a really strong character comparing with Ember. And he's got strong emotions too. A good character for a dystopian novel, but definitely not my personal favorite.

The setting is really good, because come on, a control-freak government that can't stand any criticism and desperate to hold absolute power on the people? Perfect setting for a dystopian novel. But the plot is a little bit weird. I can't actually feel attached to the story until Ember's escape. And there's a whole vacuum of the story in my mind that I can't actually put a finger on. I feel like something's missing but I don't know what it is. It doesn't feel good. And I have to say that's a little too predictable for me. But excitement still exists. Phew.

I'm reading Breaking Point now and I hope more rebellious act means greater excitement :) (Although I won't post the review soon because I'm planning to read Oath Bound)

Rating: 7.5/10