Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan
Source: Bought new
Series: Yes
Rating: 3.5
Goodreads Summary:
Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.
But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.
This book is not what I first expected, I do have to get something out of the way before going into too much detail and it is something I wish I knew before I read this book so I could have been more prepared. This book brings a large religious portion into it near the end which comes out of nowhere and sadly to me felt a little preachy. I have my own views on religion and I found this book tried to force you to share the author's views.
The book starts off strong, Waverly is a typical teenage girl, the only difference being is she is part of the first generation to be born in deep space. Early on in the book, her boyfriend, Kieran proposes to her and before she can fully process the request they are attacked by there assumed ally ship and things start going downhill. Waverly and Kieran are separated, and Kieran is stuck with Seth who Waverly cannot fully comprehend what she feels for him. As Waverly fight to survive and reunite with her family and friends, Kieran is fighting to keep control. As the captain to be, power automatically falls to him during the time of crises but not everyone is keen about having Kieran in control.
Waverly has a lot to deal with, her culture is pressuring her to marry Kieran and become a young mother, but Waverly is not sold on the idea and starts thinking about a life outside of the one that has been set for her. Kieran was a little pushy, I was not a big fan of him. In the beginning I thought he was ok, maybe asking a little too much of Waverly but not a bad person, but once things start happening on the ship he seems more interested in power than actually helping others. I understood to a point why he acted this way but I found it hard to forgive him. Seth is a complete wild card and really it's hard to know where he stands. He does some pretty awful things but then he seems to change so it is really hard to tell who is the real Seth. Is it the tyrant or the misunderstood boy?
The story is about living on a spaceship heading towards a new planet because earth is no longer inhabitable. The people chosen for the ship were hand chosen while everyone else was left on earth. The life on the spaceships was divided by religious and non-religious but the lines start to blur and the book becomes very religious which seemed completely out of context for the story. Kieran starts to push his new found beliefs on others and the strain between inhabitants on the ship start to grow. The novel is action pact which the point of view switching between the two ships and through the eyes of Kieran and Waverly.
The ending of this novel made me change my thoughts about it. I really enjoyed the beginning but the ending I found rushed and quite frustrating. I am unsure if I want to continue reading this series, I gave this a 3.5/5 because I did really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the novel but sadly the ending is keeping me from giving it a higher rating.
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