Book Review: Branded by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki

 

Branded by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki

Fifty years ago The Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society. 

To punish the guilty, he created the Hole, a place where sinners are branded according to their sins. Sinners are forced to live a less than human existence in deplorable conditions, under the watchful eye of guards who are ready to kill anyone who steps out of line.

Now, LUST wraps around my neck like thick, blue fingers, threatening to choke the life out of me. I've been accused of a crime I didn't commit, and the Hole is my new home. 

Constant darkness. 

Brutal and savage violence. 

Excruciating pain. 

Every day is a fight for survival. 

But I won’t let them win. I will not die in the Hole. 

I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter. My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story.

- Good Reads

I found out about this book through author Lindsay Cummings on Instagram and I had heard others rave about it as well. I decided to start following the authors on IG and the more I heard about Branded the more I just HAD to read it and boy am I glad I did! This book is really great and I think it should be as big as The Hunger Games!

The story is about young adult Lexi Hamilton, a girl with a dark past (and let me tell you the girl has got some serious luggage.)  Lexi is a strong girl but she doesn't seem to see that in herself until the latter part of the book. Branded is set in a futuristic world where there are seven deadly sins...

Lust - blue
Gluttony - orange
Greed - yellow
Sloth - black
Wrath - red
Envy - green
Pride - purple

When Lexi is accused of the sin of Lust she is sent to the Hole, the grimy, dangerous and down right sketchy place where all accused live together in harsh conditions and under the surveillance of the Commander, a mysterious leader. The place is crawling with creeps and guards. Which brings me to Cole.I HAVE to talk about Cole for a moment! What a hunk! Dark eyes, dark hair and a killer body! Cole is Lexi's gaurd and he goes above and beyond for her to keep her safe. Not to spoil much more ill stop there..

I will say that this book stands out to me among other dystopian books because of the character development, the characters themselves and the setting. Not to mention you can't at all tell that there are two authors it's very seamlessly written!

Recommend age:

14+

On to the ratings!

Stars...

0 = none 10 = tons

THE FEELS:

One word....Alyssa. (if you read the book well then you know.)

10/10

Violence:

There is a good bit of violence in the book. it could be worse though which is why I'm giving a

7/10

Sexual content:

There is a lot of sexual tension between characters and a lot of kissing.But nothing like fifty shades of gray so I'm giving a

6/10

Crude language:

There are minor curse words throughout the book but nothing severe. 

6/10

Other elements:

I found three grammatical errors in the book. One was two words without a space between, another was quotation marks in the wrong spot and a cpuple more were misspelled words. Now, I don't blame the authors for these errors seeing as how I'm sure someone had to have edited the book other than the authors themselves.  

Over all:

Over all I have really enjoyed the book. I look forward to the release of the sequel Hunted in 2015! I give Branded a

9/10  

Xoxo,

- Sarah