Review: Naturals - Tiffany Truitt (Plus Tour Wide Giveaway)

Ripped away from those she loves most, Tess is heartbroken as her small band of travelers reaches the Isolationist camp in the mysterious and barren Middlelands. Desperate to be reunited with James, the forbidden chosen one who stole her heart, she wants nothing to do with the rough Isolationists, who are without allegiance in the war between the Westerners and Easterners. But having their protection, especially for someone as powerful as Tess, may come at a cost.

When James returns, Tess’s world once again feels complete—until she discovers her sister, Louisa, is in danger, held captive by the rogue chosen one George. Tess will do anything to protect her loved ones—but will the price be more than she can give?

Tiffany Truitt’s Lost Souls series is a thought-provoking, thrilling story that asks who the true enemy really is—the chosen ones who are different, or the naturals…who are just like us.

The Lost Souls Series:
Chosen Ones
Naturals
Further titles and release dates to be confirmed

Visit Tiffany Truitt's website for more information

Review:
As this is the second book in the Lost Souls series I'm going to assume that anyone reading this review has already read the first book. If you haven't read Chosen Ones be warned that this review will contain spoilers so you may wish to look away now. I have to admit that while I though Naturals was an OK read it did have that second book in a series feel to it, there is much less action than I wanted and the story is more character driven. I felt the plot moved quite slowly and I found it very easy to put the book down to go off to do something else and I almost had to force myself to pick it back up again. When I was actually reading it was enjoyable enough but I was never compelled to carry on reading.

I had expected quite an action packed story, Tess, Henry and Robert needed to complete their journey to the Isolationists and then there was mention in the blurb of them going back to Templeton to rescue her sister Louisa which promised plenty of danger. As it was the journey to the Isolationist's camp was fairly uneventful, there were a few minor issues along the way but nothing that raised my pulse rate. The majority of the book is spent at the camp where Tess and Henry are learning how different life is in the Middlelands compared to the compound where they were raised. The Isolationists are suspicious of outsiders and don't seem very happy about having Tess, Henry and Robert living with them so it is up to them to fit in and find a way to prove to the community that they can be valuable assets.

Although I felt the romance between Tess and James happened a little too quickly in the first book I had really wanted to see more of them together and I particularly wanted to get to know James better as I felt we didn't really learn much about him in the first book. I had high hopes for that but unfortunately he doesn't even make an appearance until we're 70% into the story. I'm not a huge fan of love triangles so it won't surprise anyone who knows me that I was really annoyed by the way Tess turned to Henry in James's absence. Especially when it was so obvious that she was just using him because he was there and she was not actually falling in love with him. I ended up being annoyed with her and feeling sorry for both Henry and James and that doesn't really leave me feeling much confidence for any future relationship developments.

Things really started to pick up for me after James's reappearance and when they finally left the camp to go on the rescue mission (which I think was at about 85% into the story). The pace picked up, the danger increased and I actually started to feel invested in what was happening. Unfortunately that part happens so quickly when I really wanted it to keep going. There is a major twist revealed at the end that definitely makes me curious about the next book in the series though. One thing I will say is that I liked Tess much more in this book than I did in the first (apart from the way she treated Henry anyway!), she is a much stronger character now and more willing to stand up for herself and what she believes in. She does still have a tendency to think that the world revolves around her but I think that can be quite a common trait amongst teenagers so I can forgive her for it. What I really want to see in the next book is more action and less sitting around talking about what they should be doing. If the pace could be as good for the whole book as it was for the last 20% of this one then it would be a fantastic read. As it is I do think that anyone who enjoyed Chosen Ones will want to read Naturals to continue Tess's journey and it looks like most other reviewers enjoyed it much more than I did. It probably lost a star with me just because I hate love triangles so much so anyone who don't mind them will automatically be at an advantage.

Source: Received from Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Giveaway Details:

Tiffany Truitt and Entangled Publishing are hosting a tour wide giveaway to win one of paperback 3 copies of Naturals. You can enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Winners will be announced via the widget and will be contacted directly by Entangled Publishing - I have no responsibility for this giveaway and no control over any of the details.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Naturals - Tiffany Truitt

If you enjoyed Chosen Ones, the first book in Tiffany Truitt's Lost Souls series then I'm sure you are eagerly anticipating the release of the sequel Naturals in April 2013. It seems like a long wait doesn't it! Well to tide you over until the book is released I'm really excited to take part in the Naturals cover reveal.

What do you think? I love the cover model's hair! I also think it matches well with the cover for Chosen Ones. I have the first book on my kindle but it would be very tempting to buy print copies of both books just to have these covers sitting on my shelves! I've included the Chosen Ones cover below so you can easily compare the two.

Here is the blurb for Naturals but please note that this does contain spoilers for Chosen Ones so stop reading if you haven't started the series yet!

About Naturals: Tess is finally safe from the reach of the Council, now that she is living in the Middlelands with the rebel Isolationists. With James having returned to Templeton, she easily falls back into her friendship with Henry, though her newfound knowledge of Robert’s chosen one status still stings. Even surrounded by people, Tess has never felt more alone. So she’s thrilled when James returns to the settlement, demanding to see Tess — until she finds out that it’s because her sister, Louisa, has been recruited into Tess’s old position at Templeton, and that the dangerously sadistic chosen one George has taken an interest in her.

About Tiffany: Tiffany Truitt was born in Peoria, Illinois. A self-proclaimed Navy brat, Tiffany spent most of her childhood living in Virginia, but don’t call her a Southerner. She also spent a few years living in Cuba. Since her time on the island of one McDonald's and Banana Rats (don't ask) she has been obsessed with traveling. Tiffany recently added China to her list of travels (hello inspiration for a new book).

Besides traveling, Tiffany has always been an avid reader. The earliest books she remembers reading belong to The Little House on the Prairie Series. First book she read in one day? Little Woman (5th grade). First author she fell in love with? Jane Austen in middle school. Tiffany spent most of her high school and college career as a literary snob. She refused to read anything considered “low brow” or outside the “classics.”

Tiffany began teaching middle school in 2006. Her students introduced her to the wide, wonderful world of Young Adult literature. Today, Tiffany embraces popular Young Adult literature and uses it in her classroom. She currently teaches the following novels: The Outsiders, Speak, Night, Dystopian Literature Circles: The Hunger Games, The Giver, The Uglies, and Matched.

For more information you can visit Tiffany Truitt on Twitter or at her blog.

So what do you think of the Naturals cover? Have you already read Chosen Ones or is it on your wish list? I'd love to know what you think of the series so far and if you're excited about the next instalment!

Review: Chosen Ones - Tiffany Truitt

In the not-too-distant future, the world was irrevocably changed when women mysteriously lost the ability to reproduce. Faced with humanity’s extinction, the Council of Creators was begun to find alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak but uncomplicated for sixteen-year-old Tess until she begins work at Templeton, a Chosen Ones training facility, and she meets James. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew. Will she be able to stand up to her oppressors, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

The Lost Souls Series:
Chosen Ones
Naturals
Further titles and release dates to be confirmed

Visit Tiffany Truitt's website for more information

Review:
In a futuristic dystopian world where women are no longer able to have children the human race is facing extinction. This isn't helped by the constant war that rages between the survivors. The Council have created a race of Chosen Ones who are powerful and deadly beings that are supposed to protect the remaining humans and take their place as soldiers in the war. But everything isn't what it seems and the protectors aren't always looking out for our best interests. When Tess is sent to work at a training facility for the Chosen Ones she starts to realise the depth of corruption among those who should be protecting her but who can be trusted and how much is she prepared to pay to stand up for those who need her help?

I was really intrigued with the premise of the story so have been looking forward to reading this book for ages. Unfortunately although I enjoyed it I didn't find that it wowed me as much as I was expecting it to. Having said that I'm still interested enough in the world that the author has created that I will definitely want to pick up the sequel when it is released. I felt the beginning of the book was a little slow and I found it hard to follow the world building in places, sometimes you were given so much information in a short period of time that it made it hard to get my head around things. Once I'd got to grips with the world and the story got going the pace really picked up and the book became much more enjoyable.

Tess was an interesting character but one that wasn't particularly easy to identify with at the beginning. She starts off quite cold and emotionless, especially considering the events occurring in the opening scenes of the book and I didn't think I was going to like her at all. However, the more you get to know her the more you realise that she is putting on an act because it is expected of her. In the world she lives in women have been given the blame for the problem humanity is having reproducing, they are considered over-emotional and it is said that they have made the men weak because of this. Therefore, anyone who shows any kind of emotion is considered a trouble maker and in the world Tiffany Truitt has created the last thing you want to do is draw attention to yourself. As you get to know Tess you can't help but admire her, particularly when she stands up for someone she doesn't even know very well at a great cost to herself. I did find her a bit of a contradiction at times though - in parts of the book she was incredibly naive and slow to put two and two together whereas at other times she showed a knowledge you didn't expect her to have considering her previous actions.

I enjoyed the romance between her and James but I never felt that we got to know him as well as I needed to for things to be completely believable. Things happen just a little too quickly for my taste but I think anyone who enjoys forbidden relationships will like them. The concept of the Chosen Ones is fascinating, the idea of these children being created in laboratories and not being woken up until they are physically like teenagers was creepy and quite frankly scared me. The world that the author has created certainly isn't a comfortable one for the natural humans - it isn't meant to be.

After events in the last third of the book I'm really curious to see how events play out in the next book. I'm not quite sure how I see things resolving in the future so it will be interesting to see what happens. Although Chosen Ones wasn't my favourite book of the year it is certainly unusual in it's premise and well worth a try if you like this kind of dystopian world.

Source: Received from Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback:

Book Trailer: Chosen Ones - Tiffany Truitt

I'll be posting my review of Tiffany Truitt's debut novel Chosen Ones later today but I thought I'd share the book trailer with you first. I just have to say how much I love the song they used!

In the not-too-distant future, the world was irrevocably changed when women mysteriously lost the ability to reproduce. Faced with humanity’s extinction, the Council of Creators was begun to find alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak but uncomplicated for sixteen-year-old Tess until she begins work at Templeton, a Chosen Ones training facility, and she meets James. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew. Will she be able to stand up to her oppressors, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

The Lost Souls Series:
Chosen Ones (US Release Date = 12th June & UK Release Date = 28th June)
Further titles and release dates to be confirmed

Visit Tiffany Truitt's website for more information



What do you think? Is this a book you have on your wish list or have you already got your hands on a copy?

Cover Reveal: Chosen Ones - Tiffany Truitt

I'm very excited to be able to share with you the cover for Tiffany Truitt's debut novel Chosen Ones which is being published in April 2012 by Entangled Publishing.  This is the first book in a new YA dystopian series and it sounds fabulous!

What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?

Sixteen-year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak, but uncomplicated for Tess as she follows the rigid rules of her dystopian society, until the day she begins work at Templeton, the training facility for newly created Chosen Ones. There, she meets James, a Chosen One whose odd love of music and reading rivals only her own. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew, and as the veil is lifted from her eyes, she uncovers a dark underground movement bent not on taking down the Chosen Ones, but the Council itself. Will Tess be able to stand up to those who would oppress her, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

For more information visit Tiffany Truitt on Twitter or at her blog.

So what do you think of the Chosen Ones cover?  I love it!  Do you have this book on your wish list?