Vanquished
by S. E. Green
Genre: Thriller
Age category: New Adult
Release Date: November 10, 2015
Blurb:
Where society’s elite go to explore their darkest desires. And where
promises of freedom are just manipulative lies.
For a price, the world’s most
powerful people can have their darkest desires. On a private island hidden in
the ocean, they may hunt humans for game, attend gladiator-style fights,
participate in elaborate orgies, and freely indulge in all the deadly sins within
the cosplay of ancient times.
Abducted from their life in
Miami, Valoria and her younger sister wake up in this secret society, wherein
Valoria is condemned to the fights and her sister is taken away to become a sex
slave.
Now “property” of a sadistic
tyrant, Valoria joins other men and women captives who are forced to fight and
maim for others’ enjoyment, to run in their hunts, and participate in deviant
fantasies. And she’s under the cold, watchful eye of Alexior, a hired trainer
with his own agenda for being involved in the twisted decadence.
After surviving several
near-death ordeals, a defiant Valoria focuses on her training and against all
odds soon becomes a favorite. But she fights for one thing and one thing
only—to be reunited with her sister and to be freed.
But promises of freedom are
sometimes just manipulative lies . . .
You can buy Vanquished here:
Check out the book trailer for
Vanquished below:
About the Author:
Shannon Greenland, or S. E.
Green, is the award winning author of the teen thriller, Killer Instinct, a
YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers; the teen spy series, The Specialists,
an ALA Popular Paperback and a National Reader’s Choice recipient; and the YA
romance, The Summer My Life Began, winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award. Her
books have been translated into several languages and are currently on numerous
state reading lists. Shadow of a Girl is her latest novel and came out 9.19.16.
Shannon has participated in
and served as a guest speaker at festivals and conferences around the country
to include but not limited to the LA Times Book Festival, American Library
Association, Book Expo of America, Bouchercon, Romance Writers of America, RT
Book Convention, Young Adult Keller Book Festival, Southern Festival of Books,
and many more.
Shannon grew up in Tennessee
where she dreaded all things reading and writing. She didn’t even read her
first book for enjoyment until she was twenty-five. After that she was hooked!
When she’s not writing, she works as an adjunct math professor and lives on the
coast in Florida with her very grouchy dog. Find her online everywhere
@segreenauthor.
You can find and contact S. E.
Green here:
- Newsletter: http://segreen.us3.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=433798103437375e5eaeeba5e&id=7fe343d6e3
REVIEW.
Vanquished was an extremely enjoyable read. Whilst there
were a few things I wasn’t quite content with, as a whole I had a lot of fun.
In my eyes, Vanquished is what happens when people try to
create The Hunger Games in the real world. It is lacking the dystopian aspect,
yet there is just as much death and destruction to be seen. I probably shouldn’t
have been making as many comparisons to The Hunger Games as I was when reading
this, yet it was extremely hard not to notice the parallels between the two.
Both have a strong female lead. Both have training to
make warriors. Both have battle scenes that only end when opponents are dead.
Both have a younger sister influencing the choices made. Both have a ruling
system that is corrupt and power hungry. Both have a group of elites that enjoy
violence far too much.
Despite all the parallels, this book was not The Hunger
Games. There are the aforementioned similarities, but it left me with a very
different kind of feeling. Dystopian novels are very much an escape from reality,
yet if you’re willing to suspend your belief ever so slightly this book is a
possibility. Perhaps not quite in the way it played out, but this kind of thing
could happen. Thus, it leaves you with a chill as you consider the possibility.
Being taken from your life, finding yourself on an island
where you have to fight to survive. It is a chilling thought, and this book
brings the notion to life so well. From the very start I was pulled into the story,
finding myself unable to put the book down for any length of time. Every time
you think you’re coming to terms with the story, with the island and the inhabitants,
something more is thrown your way. Each new element that is introduced takes
the story to darker levels, leaving me truly gripped and wanting more.
Truthfully, the wanting more aspect is what left me
unable to love this book as much as I wanted to. It was a brilliant read, yet
it didn’t go to quite the depth I had wanted it to. It glossed over certain
things. Scenes that could have been amazing were cut short. Aspects of the
story that could have make it even darker were simply referenced. It felt as
though through making the story so short and sharp, things reached the point of
being overly snappy. Yes, one event quickly leads on to the next; however, it
never quite opened up to the level it could have if the book had been longer
and certain aspects were allowed to develop fully rather than simply existing.
This mostly highlights how I wanted more of the world. It
really was so dark and twisted – and I wanted more. I feel as though I was
cheated through it being over so quickly, mainly because I didn’t want it to be
over at all.
Honestly, I really did have fun with it.
The story moved at a wonderful pace. The way in which the world came to life was brilliant. The characters were truly amazing. Without a doubt, one of my favourite set of characters in this genre for a while. They were complex, we got to watch them develop, and the interactions were wonderful. The only aspect I disliked about the characters was the romance. It felt forced, I didn’t have any real connection to it. It simply was – you knew it was going to happen from the start, you could feel it building in the back of your mind even though there wasn’t much by way of emotional evidence on the page until quite late in the story – and I feel as though the book could have done without it.
Overall, this was a great read. It’s certainly worth a
read if you’re looking for something gritty outside of the crime fiction genre.
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