Series: The Raging Ones

Item: The Last Hope
Rating: 5
Author: Arielle

BOOK REVIEW: The Last Hope (The Raging Ones #2) by Krista and Becca Ritchie

August 19, 2019 / Arielle / 2 Comments

The Last Hope (The Raging Ones #2)
by Krista and Becca Ritchie
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
A stunning conclusion to the sci-fi romance duology by writing duo Krista & Becca Ritchie, The Last Hope is filled with twists and turns you'll never see coming.

Sacrifice all you have to survive.

Imprisoned for weeks on an enemy starcraft, Franny, Court, and Mykal have sat with an unfathomable revelation. But as they fight to stay alive, escaping prison means trusting a young mysterious stranger. He knows everything about their lost histories, and when answers aren’t given freely, the bonded trio are forced to join a mission. One that will determine the fate of humanity.

Legend says, a baby—the first of her species—has the power to cloak and teleport planets. Tasked with retrieving the infant, Court fears the baby is just a myth, and if they fail, they’ll never find the truth about their origins.

As Court and Mykal grow closer, their linked bond becomes harder to hide, and dynamics change when Franny begins to fall for someone new. Vulnerable and with no choice, the hunt for the baby sends the trio on a dangerous path to Saltare-1: a water world where their enemies can’t die and survival comes at a high cost.

Maydayyyyyy.

One of two things always happen when I finish a really great book. Either I immediately can write an extremely long and gushing review or I get stuck in the haze that is a major book hangover and have to wait until a later time to actually leave a review. I currently feel like I’m stuck in the later of those two options but I need to just get this review into the world anyway. It’s probably because I just started reading last night, stayed up late, and then spend most of this morning ignoring all else except for this book. I really had wanted to re-read The Raging Ones first but this one just kept calling to me and I physically couldn’t wait to start any longer.

This book picks up right after the first one ends. Court, Mykal, and Franny have been separated from the rest of their team and thrown into a cell and are being starved since being found out to be human. Naturally, they are all on the edge of a major breakdown, especially since Court is dying from infection. It’s pretty damn tense and while I KNEW they would get out, things were looking pretty bad. Enter Stork. Ohhh hooooo I should have known this boy was going to become pretty damn special. I loved his sassy attitude and how he got under Franny’s skin so easily. I loved how we could see his obvious struggle with wanting to share things with the trio but torn with not wanting to disobey the wishes of the admirals that gave up their lives.

The more and more he does them though is just so intriguing. I love that every question that Franny had from the last book, that WE as readers had, is tied up nicely. This is seriously one of the most unique premises that I have ever read and while there were some iffy spots with the plot in the first book, this book fucking rocked. I honestly don’t want to get too deep into it because there may be a twist that is AMAZING and that you won’t see coming and I wouldn’t want that to be spoiled for anyone. Just know that you will be HOOKED. And….that you might cry several times…..

Honestly the best part of this series, unique plot aside, is always going to be the characters. I can say that about any of their books, actually. They always take the time to curate this characters that anyone can find similarities with. They sink their hooks into your soul and never leave. Even more than that, the relationships that they all have with one another are always so beautiful and memorable. Whether they be romantic, familial, or friendships, I can tell you right now that they will be some my most favorite. The bond between Court, Mykal, and Franny is as strong as in the first book, if not stronger. Getting to see all of them love each other so much that they try to avoid certain things so as to not make the others’ life harder (Franny trying to suppress her feelings/desire for Stork) just hurt so much but also just proved to me even more how much they all were willing to do with one another. I think they really learn in this book that while they are what they are to each other, that they (especially Franny) can’t hold back from anything just because they are worried about the connection.

Getting to see more of Zimmer, Kinden, Padgett, and Gem was so fun, too. Everyone had their own perfect role and they all still meshed so well. Seeing the brothers spend more time together (maybe one more pair than we first had 🙂 ) warmed my fykking heart. Court and Mykal’s happy ending warmed my fykking heart. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST. STORK AND FRANNY AHHHHHHHH. I ship it. I ship them SO HARD. I died every single time he called her dove and smirked at her and ugh…….my heart. I’m not lying when I say I am VERY close to starting this over immediately. Instead I think I’ll just have to actually go back and reread The Raging Ones like I had wanted and see where the wind takes me after that.

P.S. This book had so many good quotes but I was a failure and didn’t highlight because I was too caught up…lol…next time

HUGE thanks to Edelweiss and Wednesday Books for allowing me to read an eARC in exchange for an honest review♥

BOOK REVIEW – The Raging Ones (The Raging Ones #1) by Krista and Becca Ritchie

March 14, 2018 / Arielle / 11 Comments

BOOK REVIEW – The Raging Ones (The Raging Ones #1) by Krista and Becca Ritchie The Raging Ones (The Raging Ones #1)
by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

In a freezing world, where everyone knows the day they will die, three teens break all odds.

Franny Bluecastle, a tough city teen, dreams of dying in opulence, to see wealth she’s never known. Like the entire world, she believes it’s impossible to dodge a deathday.

Until the day she does.

Court Icecastle knows wealth. He also knows pain. Spending five years in Vorkter Prison, a fortress of ice and suffering, he dreams of life beyond the people that haunt him and the world that imprisoned him.

Mykal Kickfall fights for those he loves. The rugged Hinterlander shares a frustrating yet unbreakable connection with Court—which only grows more lawless and chaotic as their senses and emotions connect with Franny.

With the threat of people learning they’ve dodged their deathdays, they must flee their planet to survive. But to do so, all three will have to hide their shared bond as they vie for a highly sought after spot in the newest mission to space. Against thousands of people far smarter, who’ll live longer, and never fear death the way that they do.

We found each other in the winter wood.
He threw his arms around me like I’d been his long-lost friend. I hugged him like I was meeting my soul again. There are some moments and some feelings that I can’t even explain. I’m a young man of medicine and science and logic, but the sentiments I wield for Mykal transcend all three.

Dang you guys this was good. I mean I don’t know why I ever was worried because I have read and loved just about every single other book by these ladies. BUT in my defense, they had never ventured into the world of YA before and that can be a much different thing than the romance that we had been used to up until this point. I can very happily say that I am here to announce their debut into the world of YA is a stunning one (and I hope you all think so too!)

“But what will I do until then?”
She smiled as bright and lovely as the smile she wore on her deathbed. “You will live Franny. You will live hard…” She cupped my face.“Fast.” She rested her forehead on mine. “And full.”

The first thing that deserves note is the genius plot. Our main characters Franny, Court, and Mykal live on a planet that is always cold (f that) and a society that is separated into three different classes called the Influentials, the Fast Trackers, and the Babes. When everyone is born, everyone receives a death day and based on how old you will be when you die, you are fitted into one of those categories. Influentials will live to an old age and are able to go to school and make a good living for themselves because they simply have the most time, Fast Trackers ususally only live to be about 29 and are therefore forced into the labor jobs that don’t take long to learn but usually live the fiercest, and Babes of course only get a few years and are love and cherished for as long as they can be.

“You keep saying that you make my life dismal and bleak. But my world never felt as bright, as worthwhile and full, until I met you.”

What I thought was the most interesting was that compared to other books/movies based on people who have a countdown to their death, these people enjoyed knowing. They each had their specific roles in life and found comfort in knowing when exactly they were going to die. I mean on one hand I get it because you would never have to worry about the unknown—you would never get sick enough or injured enough to die before that specific date. You could plan to live life to its very fullest in the allotted time you were given.

His smile stretches his cheeks like they’re my cheeks. I can’t stop feeling. Can’t stop starting. Gods bless that’s beautiful.

In the case of Court, Franny, and Mykal though, they dodged their death day and are somehow irrevocably bonded (literally) because of it. They can feel each other’s emotions, pain, tastes, etc. THIS is where I knew that the story would be solid right from the beginning. If those of you who have read this, haven’t read their other Calloway Sisters andAddicted series, you will have missed out on the AMAZING interactions they are able to portray between couples/friends/families in their books. You can never not feel the love, hate, hurt—any emotion on the spectrum. I don’t know what it is but their characters and their relationships are my favorite parts of their writing. I was worried about the possibility of a love triangle but it was for nothing. Court and Mykal do have a stronger and deeper emotional and physical connection (no secret, we see this right away) but the one they share with Franny becomes just as important. I really wonder how it all will play out, especially with ~certain~ revelations that come out at the very end of this first book.

I feel them. For the first time I realize they’ve been my strength, my hope, and they can be my peace. I just have to let them help me. And to do that, I need to grow the courage to speak.

The only part that people *might* not like is that these ladies don’t give us all of the information right away..on anything really. At first I didn’t have a concrete vision of the planet, what the different social structures were all about, or why these three dodged their death days and became connected when no one else has. You do gain this knowledge though as you go along and once I started to, I kind of like that we were kept in the dark at first. I mean, Franny was thrown for such a loop when she dodged her death day and I felt like we were there with her, learning about how Court and Mykal have lived like that for years and how she now had a possibility to begin a new life and maybe even see the stars in the process.

“You’ve stolen my heart, you little crook.”
His smile only stretches further and brighter. “My most valuable theft.”

I hope that everyone gives this a try and that they love it, I really do. I think this is going to be one kick ass series and I am already so in love with each character and so intrigued with what could possibly happen in the next book. That’s the only hard part about getting ARCs….not only do I have to wait for this to actually come out for everyone else, but it makes the wait for book two that much longer. SIGHHH. Oh well, it was more than worth it!

ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review. The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication. THANK YOU NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the chance to read this early.