Conviction (The Sophisticates #2) by Christine Manzari Review

Hey readers! Thanks for coming by! I have another review for you guys today! The sequel to Deviation, a novel I reviewed earlier this week! An awesome read you won't want to miss! Before we get to my thoughts, here's a bit about the book and the author!

The Others are out there. Somewhere. And the Program wants the Deviant Dozen to find them.

As a member of the Dozen, Cleo is still learning to master her deviation and she’s not having much luck. With the ability to cause explosions with just a thought, losing control always results in fiery disaster, making Cleo feel like a monster. She vows to ignore the urge to use her deviation and reclaim her humanity. But when terrible things start to happen at the Academy and Cleo is blamed for actions and events she doesn’t remember, she fears that the monster is taking over and she is becoming the dangerous weapon the Program created her to be.

The one bright spot in Cleo’s life is Ozzy, the cocky Sophisticate with perfect aim who makes her heart race. But it seems whenever things start to heat up between them, Ozzy is sent away on another secret mission, and Cleo is left alone to ponder their relationship and deal with the aftermath of the accusations made against her.

As the evidence against Cleo becomes more compelling and her closest friends turn against her, she finds her own conviction waning as she wonders if she really is as innocent as she wants to believe. And Cleo isn’t the only one struggling. Ozzy has always defined himself by his perfect aim and superior deviant skills, but after failed missions and bad choices, he realizes he can no longer trust his skills—or himself.

Caught in a storm of shocking allegations and harsh punishments, will Cleo’s conviction finally break her?

Christine Manzari

The first thing Christine does when she's getting ready to read a book is to crack the spine in at least five places. She wholeheartedly believes there is no place as comfy as the pages of a well-worn book. She's addicted to buying books, reading books, and writing books. Books, books, books. She also has a weakness for adventure, inappropriate humor, and coke (the caffeine-laden bubbly kind). Christine is from Forest Hill, Maryland where she lives with her husband, three kids, and her library of ugly spine books.  

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My Thoughts 

So a few days ago, I posted my thoughts on Deviation and gave it a 5 star review. I loved it. Now I only go up to 5 stars on this blog, but gosh... I feel like I need another star to tell you guys how much I loved Conviction! Woah, it was THAT awesome. 

This book was about 150 pages shorter than Deviation, so I read it in just a few hours, a few awesome hours! While some complained that book one was too long, I think book two was too short. There was way more story to be told! Ahh! In my review for book one I was upset that it ended with a cliffhanger. Conviction more than makes up for that with enough action to pack BOTH books! It was great. And we weren't left with a huge cliffhanger ending again!

Christine Manzari really knocked it out of the park with her sophomore novel, seriously. I will go ahead and say that this is another YA read, but it is MUCH more mature than the first novel. There is one scene in particular that definitely crossed over into NA territory. It was well written and was a huge plot twist, but it was slightly uncomfortable to read in an NA book about 17 year olds. Nothing to stop anyone from reading though, I just wanted to point that out in my recommendation here. 

Like I just stated, this book was a little more mature. I liked it because we really got to witness firsthand the way these characters are growing. They have moved on from insecure children and have become stronger, more emotional, well rounded and all around kick-ass. This character evolution came with some amazing quotes, especially ones about our main characters Cleo and Ozzy. I particularly enjoyed this line from Cleo:"Outside I was like Persephone, dealing with death and destruction in an indiscriminate fiery hell, but inside... inside I was screaming for release and unable to fight or escape what I had become. I was trapped inside the beast." 

The plot line was for this one was very rewarding. For those of us who wanted that little extra scene in book one, we were pleasantly rewarded! The new characters and the tension thick enough to slice butter, it was awesome. I really, really enjoyed this read! The setting was pretty cool as well, we actually got to see some "outside of the school" settings this time around in futuristic Baltimore and DC, it was awesome! 

I am so anxious to read more about a few of the characters. The biggest fault with having such a huge cast of characters is that each character doesn't really get his or her own time to shine. Cassie's re-introduction took even more of the spotlight away, which I loved, but I am hoping to read more about the other Deviants in book three! I am anxiously awaiting for it! 

All-in-all, like Deviation, I am granting Conviction a well-deserved 5-star review. A sophomore outing from a debut author with a bright future ahead of her! I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Mrs. Manzari! Conviction was near perfect and have me everything I was hoping for and more. Seriously worth the read if it sounds up your alley, at all! 
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Where can you get your copy?

Alright readers, that's all I have for you on the subject of Conviction by Christine Manzari. Huge shout out to the author for supplying me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. I encourage all fans to shoot Mrs. Christine a message, she's a super awesome lady! :) Until next time, Happy Reading!

-Ethan