Saturday, October 3, 2015

Book Review: Gambit by C.L. Denault

Gambit
(The Prodigy Chronicles #1)
by
C.L. Denault
Genre: Young-adult, Fantasy, Dystopian and Romance
In Earth’s battle-ridden future, humans have evolved. Those with extraordinary skills rise to power and fame. Those without live in poverty.

Sixteen-year-old Willow Kent believed she was normal. But when a genetically-advanced military officer shows up in her village and questions her identity, long-buried secrets begin to emerge. With remarkable skills and a shocking genetic code the Core and its enemies will do anything to obtain, Willow suddenly finds the freedom she craves slipping through her fingers. Greed, corruption, and genetic tampering threaten every aspect of her existence as she’s thrust, unwilling, into the sophisticated culture of the elite Core city. To ensure peace, she must leave the past behind, marry a man she’s never met, and submit to the authority of a relentless officer with a hidden agenda of his own.

Her life has become a dangerous game. How much will she sacrifice in order to win?


5star

Do you ever read a book that made you want to unread them right after you finished reading it? No, not because it wasn't a pleasant experience but because you want to read it again for the very first time?

Gambit made that impact to me. I wanted to unread the book because I want to savor each moment. I finished this book all too fast, thanks to its fast-paced plot. Now I want to start and meet each and every character again. I want to go back, and meet Reece, Asp and Willow all over again.

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"I sucked in a lungful of air and kept from heaving up the contents of my stomach. This was terrible. Our lives were in danger, and the girl with the strongest skill of all couldn't handle it. Some weapon I was turning out to be."
I was pleasantly surprised after reading Gambit. I'am honestly putting off writing review in this wonderful book because I'm so scared I won't be able to do this book justice with my review. But I have to try. I need to atleast try.


Willow Kent has lived a quiet life with her family in the outlying lands, where their main goal is to keep their family from starving. That is, until a core officer shows up in their tavern door that her life was turned upside down. Turns out Willow is a missing heiress of the Roanoke family, a powerful family from the Core, where DNA will dictate your stand in the society.

Gambit was so well-written that I just can't get enough of it. This is exactly how I want my Dystopian read to be. Great, intriguing world-building, A rather complex one at that. The core city was set-up in futuristic Europe, specifically in London, as the Big Ben is still up and working, the only thing that's left of our world, makes you left wanting for more, fast-paced plot, swoon-worthy Romance, and the characters, oh man, they are one of the best part of this book!
"I'm not here to keep you from experiencing pain. If I held back all your struggles, you'd never grow."
Willow Kent. Her growth throughout the duration of the book is commendable. Not just with her skills but with her way of thinking as well. She has a great skill, pretty superior, being a second-phaser that she is, but we didn't see much of her strength here, since she didn't have much of a training, hopefully on the sequel, we'll get much more of it. She made mistakes, a whole lot of it in fact, but that's fine! That's what makes her more realistic in my eyes.

Then there's Reece. The cold-blooded Core Commander, whose mission is to bring Willow back to the Core. Reece is the kind of character I think, readers will either hate or love, there's no inbetween. I have no idea in all honesty at first that he's going to be Willow's love interest, not that I'm complaining really, I'am one of those people who loved Reece despite his hard and rough personality. He's not one of those people or men that Willow can sway and bend to her liking, he's a commanding officer, one that is used to being followed and respected.
"Ogre!"
"Brat," he retorted. "I thought we were past your low tavern behavior."
Their age differences fascinates me and it just add to the appeal of their relationship. Reece, despite his obvious cold demeanor, is still a complete mystery for me. There were a lot of issues going on around him that wasn't answered, like his problem with the guardian and his upbringing. At some point, I can compare him to Aaron Warner, in his own twisted, dark and swoony way he does care, people might see it differently, but that's just the way he thinks he's built for it, atleast he has consistency.

The side characters were awesome too! Aspen, Tem, Hart, Morry, Fenn, Rush, The Ritters, which I developed a fond fascination after the last encounter and even Thess. I'am hoping we'll get to see more of him in the sequel. I would just give anything to hear any news at all for the sequel. Plus that wonderful cover is totally relatable with the story! I can't help but think that everything about this book is just perfect for me!

I THINK I HAVE JUST READ ONE OF MY BEST READ IN 2015... I'm not even exaggerating. I'm sure this isn't the last time I'm going to read this book!

Beware that this is the first installment in the series, so expect a lot of world building, a whole lot of plot development, but not much of resolutions given at hand. This book obviously set-up the stage for much awaited sequel, how many times did I mention the sequel now? A LOT! Because I just want to read it.. badly.

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Overall: I would love to recommend this book to everyone who loves their Dystopian read, with romance & sexual tensions going on, swooning, great secondary characters, beautiful writing and DNA alteration/superpowers!


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C.LDenault
C.L. Denault is a speculative fiction writer who loves dreaming up tales of adventure and intrigue. A former systems analyst, she gave up her nerdy code-writing skills to stay home with her children (including a son with special needs), and currently lives among the vast stretches of cornfields in Illinois.

Writing and blogging are two of her passions, along with drinking coffee and watching sci-fi and horror flicks. When she’s not hanging out with her family, she can usually be found at a library or tucked away in the shadowy corner of a hip coffeehouse. She’s also been glimpsed sneaking into her garage, late at night, to work on her time machine.

She enjoys connecting with people (especially those from other planets, dimensions, and the future). To find her, just visit her website or The INFJ Café. Or use a Stargate. Whichever is easiest.

Author Links:
Website|Goodreads|Twitter|Facebook


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