The remnants of the United States of America have been divided.From five enormous, technologically-advanced cities, the Greaters rule over the Lessers. In the Lesser village of Orchard, things are not as perfect as Abby Kelley thinks they are. When the apple harvest draws near and the Greater’s engineered fruits become too much for one village to handle alone, reinforcements from neighboring villages are called upon.
Having to choose between her best friend, whom she has no romantic feelings for, and mysterious newcomer Crew, Abby finds herself in the middle of a harvest that she had no intention of becoming a part of. She becomes involved in a situation that threatens the strict rule of the Greaters, and just might give the Lessers hope for a better tomorrow. But, can she help the Lessers without losing Crew? And if she chooses Crew, will she lose her best friend?
Kyan is coming on strong, trying to convince her to take a chance on him. Shocking news of Crew’s activities in Olympus sweeps through the Villages. When Abby is taken away by the Olympian guard, Kyan sends word to Vesuvius for help. But, no one could have predicted their idea of help or what they might expect in return.
Who will be left to pick up the pieces of Abby’s heart?
The Greaters have ruled over the Lessers since The Fall. They’ve taken Abby’s family. They’ve taken her friends. They’ve taken her hostage and threatened the villages.
Enough is enough. Freedom is worth fighting for. Love is worth dying for.
And the Lessers are done taking orders from the Greaters.
Reclaim…the epic conclusion of the award-winning Harvest Saga.
Casey L. Bond
When she’s not busy being a domestic goddess and chasing her baby girls, she loves to write young adult and new adult fiction.
In 2003, Bond graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marshall University in the field of Criminal Justice.
*****
My Thoughts:
Alright readers, it's story time. So when I first joined the book community about two years ago, I was immediately told one thing: dystopian is dead. Coming right off the book highs of The Hunger Games and Divergent, the book world was fed up with all things dystopian. I won't lie, I really am not a fan of THG, but I loved Divergent, until the end anyway. I couldn't hardly believe that the bookish world could be through with this genre after only a few blockbuster hits. Surely there were more that I had missed. Two years later, I'm still hearing 'dystopian is dead', but you know what? Screw that. Since I've started blogging, I've read no less than ten new and absolutely incredible dystopian series that have absolutely blown other reads out of the water. Who is this 'they' that controls the market and who are they to say what is dead? My friends, if I have anything to say about it, dystopian is certainly not dead. In these two years, one fantastic series managed to slip under my radar. One series that, until I recently met the author, I had no idea existed. Could this 'new' series live up to the greatness of the dystopians before it?
Oh hell yes it did. And then some. The tower of greatness has fallen, my friends, a new author reigns supreme. Have you met Casey L. Bond?
I can honestly say without hesitation that The Harvest Saga is EASILY sitting in my top 5 dystopian series of all time. Yeah people. It was that absolutely incredible. Three novels and I couldn't even stop reading long enough to review them. I devoured this series folks, and if you're smart, you will too!
When it comes to the plot of The Harvest Saga, I can't even really begin to describe it to you in a way that even kind of tells you how awesome it is. If I had to comp it to something, I'd call it The Hunger Games-meets-Children of Men. So basically you have a society divided along resources where the women have become barren. Make sense? In all seriousness, I found The Harvest Saga to be one of the most unique and original creations that I have seen in months. I have never read anything quite like this. With action and plot twists on each and every page, it was one whirlwind adventure that I can't wait to relive again. Oh and did I mention the feels? Sweet Mother of Moses. Feels were caught. So many times. It isn't uncommon to expect heartbreak in a series of this genre, but I was clearly not expecting the level of heartbreak I felt several times. It was incredible. Bond pulled at my heartstrings in the greatest of ways. From Reap's opening paragraph to Reclaim's closing sentence, I was absolutely enveloped in the story Bond has created. I can't say that happens enough!
From the very beginning the series hits the ground running and the action doesn't cease until the nail-biting conclusion that had my heart racing from anticipation! I laughed, I cried, I caught all the feels. Kudos to you Casey Bond, you've crafted a literary masterpiece worthy of the highest of praises.
For me, the greatest part of this series was the characters. Unlike other series, Bond really kept this one with a smaller cast. The series really perfectly followed the storyline of a handful of core characters and didn't ever once stray away from our main objective. Leading to a series that can be read extremely quickly with ease. Something Bond did in this series that I hadn't seen successfully executed many times before was the use of multiple POVs in the story. I don't mean alternating POVs, I mean multiple POVs at some points. I didn't keep a tally, but I'd say at one point there were no less than seven ongoing POVs in this series and I loved each and every one. Incredible. Bond did such a great job in developing her characters that I felt like I was right beside them, feeling their pain and reveling in their triumph with each passing chapter.
One of the great things about this novel in my eyes was the equal representation of gender roles. Far too often I find myself reading from a female author and I experience page after page of male bashing or male characters that are so weak I can hardly finish the story. Not with Bond and this series, both genders and all ages; people from all walks of life are written as equals. Now that's not to say there weren't gender roles in Bond's dystopian, I just, as a male reader, found her interpretation of the society to be a refreshing and rewarding experience.
Bond's setting for The Harvest Saga was deep-seeded in a reality that I didn't find too far from the realm of possibility. While technology definitely played a huge role in the story, I really didn't find the story to be bogged down on the sci-fi side of things. In fact, most of the technologies present in this futuristic novel are present today. It was very easy to imagine the lifestyle these characters were living in a way in which I could smell the woodsy scent of Orchard and see the towers of Vesuvius right from the comfort of my living room. With true writing talent as Bond's I was transplanted into her world in the greatest of ways. The intricate settings did an incredible job in setting the tone of the story as it changed from place to place.
Oh man. As I mentioned before, this series was one full of feels. More than that, though, it was one full of hard-hitting themes that left me questioning my own place in society. Themes such as family, freedom, privilege, industriousness, growing up, trust, love, and forgiveness were all explored thoroughly in a heartwarming way. Bond clearly wrote this series as a labor of love as the humanity involved is great. You can tell through the pages of this deeply touching trilogy that Bond herself bled into this pages, something I did not take advantage of. This series is as delicate as it is enthralling.
As you guys can clearly see, I developed a deep love for Abby Blue and her plight for the Lessers. Bond's incredible writing style was both creative and gripping. The way she seamlessly flowed from one installment to the next without bogging the reader down with the backlog was an incredible feat as well. In all honesty, I think this series would best be marketed as one massive tome. Selling this in three separate installments is torture to readers who can't get enough. Thankfully. I was fortunate enough to grab The Harvest Saga Box Set just for that reason. I cannot imagine have had to wait for each of these wonderful novels to hit the shelves.
If Casey L. Bond isn't an author you're familiar with, I suggest you rectify that, quick. She's got quite the catalog of reads built up and I cannot wait to devour each and every one.
The Harvest Saga took hold of my book mind and wouldn't let go. I've fought a book hangover for days. With unique and original plotting, exciting characters, and emotion enough to warm the coldest of heart, Bond excels with The Harvest Saga. Move over Suzanne Collins, there's a new Queen of YA Dystopian hot on your tail! It should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone that I am granting all three novels in The Harvest Saga near-perfect 5-star reviews. This will definitely not be the last you hear from me about this series. Be sure to add it to your TBR today. I promise you won't be disappointed!
*****
As part of her two year publishing anniversary celebration, Bond has marked down these novels to an incredibly low price! Don't miss your chance to get this entire series for next-to-nothing!
 |
| Graphic by Casey L. Bond |
Alright readers, that's all I have for you on the topic of The Harvest Saga by the incredible Casey L. Bond. As you can clearly see, I absolutely loved every word of this series and couldn't put it down. I will definitely be making my way through Bond's backlog over the next few months as I love her writing style! Be sure to add this one to your TBR today. Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, Happy Reading!
-Ethan
Thank you so much for reading The Harvest Saga! SO glad you loved it! <3
ReplyDeleteSQUEAL!!! Love, love, LOVE this series!! What an amazing review, Ethan! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDelete