Runaway into the west with Maddie Collins and Boone Gallagher. In order to step into the future, both must come face to face with their parents heartbreaking past. Texas Secrets is a tale of long held secrets and shocking revelations. Maddie and Boone are caught in the middle of circumstances beyond their control. Maddie has the home she always wanted, if she can survive the prejudices of a cowboy who sees her presence as a betrayal of his family legacy. Ms. Brashear spins an emotional tale of legacies, redemption and a betrayal that spans generations. Out of the ashes of tragedy comes a rebirth of love. Brashear and Dove give this broken home a heart.

This slaggin' series has made my eyes sweat more than any other in a long (I'm talking not since Harry Potter long) time. It's so.... You connect with the characters. All of them. You feel for the bad guys, even. Everyone has their struggle. They all have something that you can connect to. Even the Jackal.

This is the third (and final) installment in the Red Rising saga. But a new book is coming out in January (Iron Gold), taking place ten years after the events of Morning Star. 

I don’t know why I did not pick this up earlier. I’ve read Golden Son in January 2016 and absolutely loved it and was so excited about Morning Star. But I have no idea why I did not buy it straight away and it took me a whole year to decide to buy it (then almost another year to decide to read it…). Anyway, I finally picked it up and this book was a hell of a ride. 

 

I have to admit that I was a bit confused at the beginning and had to read recaps of Red Rising and Golden Son. I still had difficulty with character’s names; I often read the book with the Red Rising Wiki open on my phone. But as soon as I was a bit more comfortable with all the names, I could not stop. So many things happened here and it gave me all the chills. 

 

This book is full of amazing complex characters; you cannot hate all the "villains", nor like all the "good people". They all have so many qualities and as many flaws, I just can’t pick one favourite. I love them all.  

 

I love how war is depicted, it not the utopist thing I’m used to in most (YA) books. War is cruel and it takes many sacrifices when you want to rebuild a society. I loved how the author handled this whole concept in the book. 

 

So many things surprised me, I cannot count the times I thought “I did not see that coming!”. Especially towards the end of the book, there is this ginormous plot twist when I almost banged my head on the wall (true story, I had to stop reading for at least 10minutes). 

 

I definitely recommend this series to anybody who loves science fiction and YA. It is a bit more complex than most YA books I’m used to, but not as complex as “non-YA” sci-fi books. It’s really an amazing series where friendship finds all its meanings. It is full of brutality and raw emotions that will leave you speechless.  

 

(THE ENDING!!! :o ) 

4,75 stars. I used to have this as a three star read, because I read it back in the day when I still rated books on one big scale. Nowadays I realize that there's no point in comparing "fun" books with "serious" books because I read them for completely different reasons. It's like trying to use the same criteria for rating a cheesecake and a pizza, just madness.

What I love about The Morning Star are the characters, the world, and the writing. Even with all the ridiculous jamesbond-esque gadgets Shadow has, or the way team Templar seems to be able to bend the law to suit themselves, the writing is just so good that I don't really pay attention to any of that. The author can sell it to me, which is all that matters.

These books are so much fun, even when they take a turn for the serious, and I'm going to be continuing on to the next one right after I've finished reading all the extras between Morning Star and Double Down.

I'm a little late to the party in reading this series. It's been on my TBR list for a while. I'm going to review all three together, but will avoid spoilers. This is a wonderful series. At first I classified it as YA, but it's really New Adult or a Crossover genre with adult. I also think it will appeal to sci-fi and fantasy fans because, while it's in the future and based mostly on Mars, the society is very much based on the ancient Greek culture with influences of epic fantasy with horse riding and swordplay. Think Star Wars Jedi Knights battling with light sabres. I'm recommending this to anyone who loved Hunger Games, with the warning that there is a lot of violence and is a bit sexual/crude for tweens.

First, let me start out that I really loved the main character, Darrow. His character development from sheltered slave teen to twenty-something rebel was well done and believable. I also credit Brown with spanning the story over time. It's frustrating when these trilogies happen over a couple years and you are forced to believe the main character really grew and changed from oppressed to leader overnight. Darrow also does a lot of self reflection, demonstrating he is thinking through the ramifications of his actions, making him a more believable narrator.

What I think is the best part of this series is the deep relationships he forms across the colors, showing interest in their differences, and never doubting their similarities. That's the overall message here, I think. And it couldn't be more timely.

I highly recommend this series, but plan to read all three together to get the most benefit.