Hey Readers! Ethan here with an exciting post for you today. As many of you know, I have worked closely with this author and her Acceptance series for a couple of years now. I am so honored to be on the blog tour today (release day) to celebrate the release of the final novel in the series. It's been an awesome journey and I'm so blessed to have been a part of it. Today's post features my review as well as an awesome giveaway. Here's a bit about the novel and our author before we get to my thoughts:
When the Cardinal attacks other Freemen villages, she finally understands that no one is safe from his wrath. As the only one who's stood up to the evil that is the Cardinal, it's up to her to convince the others that they can't hide forever. It's time to fight.
The Machine predicted Rebecca would become the Cardinal's enemy. It may have gotten that one right.
In the conclusion to the Acceptance series, enemies become allies and old friends emerge, but in the end, sacrifice may be the price of freedom.
Sarah Negovetich
Sarah Negovetich knows you don't know how to pronounce her name and she's okay with that.
Her first love is Young Adult novels, because at seventeen the world is your oyster. Only oysters are slimy and more than a little salty; it's accurate if not exactly motivational. We should come up with a better cliché.
Sarah divides her time between writing YA books that her husband won’t read and working with amazing authors as an agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency. Her life’s goal is to be only a mildly embarrassing mom when her kids hit their teens.
FIND SARAH NEGOVETICH
*****
Ladies and Gentlemen. Let me tell you guys a story of a series that's taught me a lot about the book world. A series that came out of the gate strong to a market that said 'dystopian is dead'. A market that said this little novel wouldn't find an audience of its' own and would fall into obscurity. In just shy of two years, this one series showed those naysayers what one powerful addition to the genre can do. Taught me that no genre is dead so long as there are dedicated readers to devour it. I give you Sarah Negovetich's acclaimed Acceptance series, friends.
Coming off the tails of the first two highly-acclaimed novels in this series, Rite of Rejection and Rite of Revelation, could Rite of Redemption live up to the high expectations?
It sure does. And then some!
The end of a series is always bittersweet. From the very first opening sentences I find myself bracing for the emotional wreckage we'll face at the end, never knowing who or what will make it through the final chapters. I always am leery when it comes to reading a series finale, but I could never not read one. I'll just go ahead and throw this out there: Rite of Redemption was one of the most satisfying series finales I have read to-date.
I won't say much about the plot to avoid spoilers, but even though Negovetich has spent three novels building up to the climactic ending to the Acceptance series, she definitely held on to the best plot twists until the very end. We learn more about our favorite characters than ever before and definitely learn to embrace the unexpected as all the stops are pulled out in this epic finale. You won't want to take your eyes away for one minute, this fact-moving plot will hook you from the beginning and won't let go. Just when you think you've got it figured out again, another plot twist leave you gaping! I will say that I was very satisfied with the way Negovetich was able to wrap up most all of her plot lines in a very neat way, not leaving the reader feeling unsatisfied in any way.
That being said, one has to take into consideration the extremely dark tone and themes of which Negovetich has embraced throughout this series. While we could all hope for the happily ever after, any true fan knows that that happiness isn't going to come without high cost. This series finale is such a raw and truthful look a a dystopian future that at times, it's difficult to read. More than one scene had me near-screaming at my Nook in 'WHY!?'. It's truly a powerful ending to the series and Negovetich really shines with her writing.
I think one of the most powerful notes I can make about the Acceptance series is that looking back on the series as a whole, I don't really see the lines where one book or plot line ends and another begins. For a debut series, Negovetich did an absolutely incredible job right from the start with laying out her series and characters. Rather than telling three detailed-oriented stories, Negovetich tells one singular story with some side-stories to boot. It's an incredible series full of gripping emotion, edge-of-your-seat suspense and action, and just enough young adult reflection and romance to keep the reader more than satisfied. It's truly the testament of a talent such as Negovetich to evoke such strong emotions in a debut series. Massive kudos to you Mrs. Negovetich.
As you can clearly see, I was in love with Rite of Redemption from the very beginning. Sure there are aspects of the plot that weren't exactly what I was expecting and characters that didn't quite make it to the end, but all-in-all I was absolutely blown away by each novel in this incredible series. I cannot wait to see what the future hold for the career of Sarah Negovetich. As she says herself "before you stands the future". This all being said, I am so excited to be granting Rite of Redemption a near-perfect 5-star review. Any readers of dystopian, YA, or sci-fi will want to add this series to your TBR immediately. You will not regret this read!
*****
Alright readers, that's all I have for you on the topic of Rite of Redemption by Sarah Negovetich. It was an incredible end to a series that will forever hold a special place in my bookish heart. While i hate to see it go, I am so glad it got the rockstar ending it deserved. Huge thanks to Sarah for allowing me to be a part of the tour and release. Until next time, Happy Reading!
-Ethan
