Author: Leti Del Mar
Publisher: Rambaldi Press
Published June 18th 2013
Format: eBook | Pages: 341
Genre: YA, Dystopian, Romance
Source: Author in exchange for an honest review
★ ★ ★ ★ (4/5) Stars!
Rose comes from the capital of the Confederation of Cities where its citizens live in luxury and the greatest fashion statement of all is being Altered. People change everything about the way they look as often as they do their hairstyle but Rose is different. Her position of privilege has made her an outcast and led her to suspect that something sinister is happening to the citizens and flees the capital along with a past that imprisons her in search of a fresh start in the Land of the Unaltered.
Flynn lives in the Land of the Unaltered and hates the capitol and everything it stands for. So when a spoiled capital girl is assigned to work with him, he wants nothing to do with her and is prepared to make her life miserable. But Flynn was not prepared for someone like Rose. She doesn’t fit the mold he expected and finds himself strongly attracted to her. As she continues to surprise and outwit him, they begin to forge a bond that is tested when they discover a secret that could change everything they know about Land of the Unaltered.
Land of the Unaltered is a Dystopian Romance and is the first installment of the The Confederation Chronicles.
Excerpt
Chapter 1
Rose
I woke up confused, disoriented and under attack.
I could hear the sounds of bullets in the distance getting closer with every passing second. In the confusion following my abrupt awakening, it took me a few precious seconds to realize this wasn't my room and that I was in a foreign bed. Then I remembered I was onboard a convoy, taking me far away from home.
I gazed out of the tiny window next to my borrowed bed to see the attackers; about two dozen people on horseback, ridding parallel to the moving convoy. A few held lit torches that blazed against night's sky. The rest carried guns, all aimed at me. My heart reached a frantic pace when I saw their bodies move closer to my window. I had lived my whole life n fear of an assassination and now that the threat was real and present, time stood still as I observed the faces of my would-be killers.
Their faces shone with excitement and energy. Never in my entire life had I felt as alive as these people appeared to be, riding towards me with their guns blazing The full moon illuminated them and the green valley they galloped across. Weaving in and out of the sparse trees, their horses flew across the grassy terrain and maintained pace with the convoy. With my breath frozen in my throat, I found myself confused with my discovery. These assailants seemed happy and not at all what I imagined assassins to be.
Their clothes were mismatched but not ragged. They had clean, Unaltered faces and their hair was neatly arranged. I saw a young girl with two long braids streaming down her back. For some reason, those twin golden braids held me transfixed as she rode even closer. This would-be killer looked so young. She had to be about my age, seventeen. As I scanned the rest of their faces, I noticed none of them seemed much older than thirty. Women made up almost half of their numbers.
I had always been taught to fear assassins and imagined them to be deranged renegades, but these people seemed vibrant and full of glee. Their smiling faces almost made me forget that they were after me. Preparing for the worst, I steeled myself and moved away from the small window. Getting down on my hands and knees, I searched my cabin for something to barricade the door with. Unfortunately, every stick of furniture was attached to the wall.
The sounds of gun fire got closer and my once comfortable room was now stifling My stomach twisted into a knot of fear that I forced myself to ignore. After all, I had been trained for this since I was a little girl and I knew what to do. I needed to take stock off my surroundings.
The convoy did not have accommodations for extra passengers, so the Leader of the Convoy had surrendered his room to me. I had made myself comfortable in his small compartment while he shared with the crew. The surfaces of his room were made of a highly polished wood that gleamed in shiny perfection and I marveled at the cabin's ingenuity in making use of every nook and cranny. A model of expert efficiency its compartments slid into the walls and bins folded into the ceiling. I started to go through the compartments, looking for something to use, until I found what just might save me, a pistol.
Heavier than I expected it to be, I was pleased to find the pistol already loaded and ready to go. My fingers griped the cool metal as I pushed aside the growing fear and remembered every word of my safety training. I moved into a tight corner with good cover, aimed the pistol at the door and waited for my attackers.
My Review:
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Land of the Unaltered takes place in a world where beauty is most definitely on the outside. Fashions come and go and as they come and go the people of this world will go through repeated plastic surgeries to keep up with the latest styles. Throwing in wild hair and eye colors to match as one would accessorize with a pair of shoes. (Honestly! At one point a character was mentioned as having tangerine colored hair and contact lenses to match!)
Rose is different. She grew up in Civitas, the capital of the Confederation, where everyone is altered. Having grown up with the mother she did, Rose made a decision early on that she would never herself get altered. She wanted to remain herself. That's just not something you do where she's from. But her own mother has been altered so many times Rose feels like it's effected her mentally, like every time she went under another little piece was chipped away and I don't just mean things such as the nose on her face!
Due to who her father and his family is within the political community, they live under the constant fear of death threats and assassination attempts. Needing to get away from everything, Rose goes to visit her Aunt Ivy in Eureka, which is part of The Land of the Unaltered. Aunt Ivy is Eureka's doctor and escaped the life of the capital years ago.
Rose takes a job at the lumber mill and is assigned as an assistant to Flynn, who's father runs the mill. Ahh Flynn. I loved this guy. He's completely awkward, never says the right thing, quiet and likes to keep to himself. It was nice for a change to not read a guy who was oozing with self confidence. This story is told in dual POVs of Rose and Flynn so we get to know both of them really well.
I really only have one slight problem with this book. And honestly, to hear myself saying this just sounds weird! But, The book really focuses quite a bit on Rose and Flynn and their building relationship. Don't get me wrong I adored it and it was sweet and all. The thing is I'm still sort of in the dark about how their world came to be. There wasn't a lot of world building except for the fact of knowing about how things are now. I really wanted to learn what happened to get them to this point you know? Some dystopians it's a virus others there's a huge world war, lots of possibilities. When it comes to labeling something Dystopian I feel like a bit of back story is a must.
As a romance, this book nails it but as a Dystopain it's not quite there, though almost. Regardless it was still a very enjoyable read and still had me turning page after page excited to see what happened next with Rose and Flynn and I'm now anxiously awaiting the next book to see what happens next! There's a storm brewing in the Confederation and I look forward to seeing what happens to it's people!
Thanks Leti for having me be a part of the blog tour and being able to read this book!!
Giveaway!
Want to see what you've missed so far? Click here for the list of tour stops from Leti's website! :)
Thanks so much for featuring me and my newest book along with that wonderful review!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome Leti!! I enjoyed it and was very happy to help :)
ReplyDeleteHmm sounds intriguing! I'll have to check this one out sometime!
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