Review: Removed

Removed by S.J. Pajonas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Earlier this year I was introduced to S.J. Pajonas through Crash Land on Kurai, the first book in the Hikoboshi series. Knowing it was a spinoff of the Nogiku series, I was somewhat tentative to dive into the story. I feared I would not understand the story without having first read the Nogiku series. This fear proved to be unfounded – Crash Land on Kurai was a wonderful read in and of itself – but I was still left wanting to read the Nogiku series. There were comments and references made that left me curious to see how the series played out – not to mention, the series sounded wonderful.

Thus, I was eager to give Removed a read. It sounded like a wonderful read and I couldn’t wait to get those answers I was hoping to receive before I continued through the Hikoboshi series. A dystopian society based around Japanese cultures – it goes without saying that I was interested in finding out more, and that I wanted to fill in those blanks.

If the truth is to be known, I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as I enjoyed Crash Land on Kurai. Both were brilliant books, but they had rather different tones. Having read Crash Land on Kurai, I was expecting something different from this one. It is not that this book is bad – so very far from it – I simply believe I would have appreciated it more had I not read Crash Land on Kurai first. For those who have read the Nogiku series, however, I would certainly suggest going on to read the Hikoboshi series – it is promising to be even more wonderful than what the Nogiku series is promising to be.

Nevertheless, as I said, this book was a great read. It took me a few chapters before I was really pulled into this story, but once the ball was rolling it was extremely difficult to put down. So much happened throughout this one, so many things were revealed. I could mention so many of the individual plot lines, but I would have no idea where to start – so much grabbed my attention, so much left me excited for more. There really are so many layers to this story, leaving you with very high expectations for the rest of the series. Do I believe the rest of the series will hold up? Hell yeah, I do. The way this one ends promises so many wonderful things, many new twists and turns. It’s not just the expectations from Crash Land on Kurai that have me saying this – Removed really does leave you with the belief this series is going places.

Without a doubt, I fell in love with the storyline and characters. Already, I’ve been telling other people to pick up the book, needing people to join me in my enjoyment. Without a doubt, I’m diving into book two. I need more of this world; I need to see how things play out.

After just two books, I’m positive S.J. Pajonas is going to be one of those authors whose books I make a crazy grab for whenever I can. Put simply – I’m hooked.

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