When she witnesses her best friend taken by force in the night, she knows
he is destined for a fate worse than death.

She’s heard the rumors, the whispers of what happens in
Rehabilitation.

But she can’t ignore what she’s witnessed…

No matter the danger.

How can she abandon her best friend to such a fate?
She must try to save him…

My Review

4 stars

After a nuclear war, The Elite took over control of the world. They use science and logic to rule this world. God and belief have been banned because these cause wars. If you are caught with either, you are sent away to Rehabilitation camps. Sinna Reardon doesn’t believe in God but she also doesn’t like The Elite dictating everything. Her best friend Jacob on the other hand believes in God and spends his time looking for things relating to God.

But then Jacob is caught and taken to the Rehabilitation camp. Sinna has nothing except for Jacob and decides to get herself caught and taken to the same camp so she can break him out. Once there, Sinna learns that there is a lot more happening than she knew.

This is a short story with not a lot of character development but an interesting take on this dystopian world. Controlling a world by banning God and belief. I mean, think about this for a moment. You don’t have to be religious to believe in God or a high power or purpose. Just knowing someone cares for you, believes in you, make’s dealing with tough times easier. Correct?

Now imaging a world where those that care and believe in you are punished, selected for Trials and Rehabilitation and never seen again. To me that is a bleak world. I could understand why Sinna wanted to help Joshua get out. But along the way she learns so much more.

I think this is a good start to a series. It is short, kept me engaged, and left off in the middle of a scene in one heck of a cliff hanger. I admit that I had these kinds of cliff hangers. Although that irritated me, I do have to say that I liked the story and am excited to start Ruin.

Is there something to this faith stuff after all?

And if there is, is it strong enough to see her through what’s coming
next?

4 star

Sinna has managed to save Jacob from Rehabilitation with Alex and Jasper’s help. But not everyone made it out. While leaving Rehabilitation, the group makes a startling discovery in the Old World ruins. The Garden is a collection of Believers, but this is not the utopia that you think people are searching for. The Garden has its own problems and biases that the group is going to have to face. Sinna is still trying to find her place with God and those Believers in her group have their own issues with The Garden.

Ruin jumps right back to where Rehabilitation ended so you jump right into the continuation of this story. Being that this book is even shorter than the first I was glad to jump right in. But the stories don’t seem to mesh when it comes to the characters. Alex has a complete turn of personality from when we first met him. What that behavior an act? There has to be more to his story.

I find it ironic that you go from scientific/no God minds to Believers that don’t care about The Elite. It’s a complete shift in attitudes but I understood. It also made The Garden seem more hostile that you would think it should be.

My feeling of this book is that it suffers from typical second book syndrome in a trilogy. Instead of creating a whole new book 350 to 400 pages long, CB Stone stuck with what we are presented with. Nothing really dynamic but more of a bridge between book one and two. Now, having said that, I am curious to see how this series is going to end.

Sinna is headed back to Rehabilitation.

Like it or not, she doesn’t see any other alternatives. She can’t just
pretend everything is okay, and hide out in the Garden.

But how will they get back there?

And what will happen when
they do? Will they be able make it back out alive a second
time?

Sinna isn’t at all sure about any of it, but her
conscience won’t let her back out now.

In the glory days of the Old World, there were
many who lived out their faith in full view of all, and taught their
children, and their children’s children about God, their beloved
Creator.

In those days, prayer was still allowed in
schools, church was still held on Sundays with picnics and family get
togethers afterward, and the spare change that jangled in everyone’s
pockets still carried the words ‘In God We Trust’.

Then the God Wars happened. Life was never the same again.

 I received a complimentary copy of both of these books. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review. I would like to thank Silver Dagger Book Tours for the opportunity to read and share these books.