ARC Book Review: Fueds by Avery Hastings

Fueds

Avery Hastings

ARC Disclaimer: I was not paid in any way by the publishers to review this book favourably. The review is my own honest opinion (Whether or not it is agreed with).

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Pages: 272

Genre:  Dystopia, Romance, Young Adult

Dress-up turns deadly. . .

For Davis Morrow, perfection is a daily reality. Like all Priors, Davis has spent her whole life primed to be smarter, stronger, and more graceful than the lowly Imperfects, or “Imps.” A fiercely ambitious ballerina, Davis is only a few weeks away from qualifying for the Olympiads and finally living up to her mother’s legacy when she meets Cole, a mysterious boy who leaves her with more questions each time he disappears.

Davis has no idea that Cole has his own agenda, or that he’s a rising star in the FEUDS, an underground fighting ring where Priors gamble on Imps. Cole has every reason to hate Davis—her father’s campaign hinges on the total segregation of the Imps and Priors—but despite his best efforts, Cole finds himself as drawn to Davis as she is to him.

Then Narxis, a deadly virus, takes its hold--and Davis’s friends start dying. When the Priors refuse to acknowledge the epidemic, Davis has no one to turn to but Cole. Falling in love was never part of their plan, but their love may be the only thing that can save her world...in Avery Hastings's Feuds.

There are two types of people living in the futuristic city of Columbus. There are the Priors and there are the Imps. Priors are genetically enhanced, while Imps are "Imperfect" nothing enhanced about them. It doesn't take much to guess which group is in political power and how the group in power treats the other.

As a romance novel, you can see where this is probably going. Davis, our main female character is a Prior and Cole, the male half, is an Imp. This is a plot that has been done since the dawn of storytelling. It could have easily gone to many cliché places and a couple of times it did, but what saves this book is the amount of layering in the world building and the mysterious disease that haunts the pages.

Hastings held my attention with that mystery. It had me biting my nails as I saw the inevitable coming along. I found myself wondering which characters in power knew and which didn't. The world also, though a play on a common theme, is set up nicely and I feel like there is more to explore about it.

There isn't anything extra-ordinary about the characters themselves for me, but they weren't lacking either. The pacing felt slow from time-to-time, but it continued to keep my attention.

The thing the book has going for it the most, however, is that it is strong enough to carry as a series (and from the cliffhanger ended it most certainly will at least have a sequel). Extra layers were added at the end and the world has enough mysteries while still feeling like the exact story of the first book is at a stopping point.

I adore the fact that Davis is apparently only half Prior and this whole mystery of her mother is revealed. This was both surprising and natural in the story. We know Davis has the sickness the moment that she screws up her dance performance (and let me say the fact that Priors insist they're all right to end was terrifying to read in Davis, because as readers we know and we want her to tell people and get help before she dies), but she seemed to be fine for so long after first showing symptoms, so to figure out "why" is next.

It's also a fantastic plot twist in the characterization of her father and mother. I want to know that story now. I want to know what happened, if he knew, what he feels like, if his campaign has anything to do with her, it's all bouncing around my head.

The other thing was that I almost swallowed my heart when Cole decided to fake his death. It reminded me way too much of Romeo and Juliet and I became truly afraid that maybe the book wouldn't have a sequel, that it was going to be a retelling of Romeo and Juliet that ends the traditional way, with both of their deaths because one mistook a fake death for a real one.

I'll definitely be picking up the next book to find out what happens.

I recommend this to people who love star-crossed lovers stories. I doubly recommend it if you also like Dystopias and stories about people versus government corruption. It was a satisfying Young Adult read.

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