Review: Unique
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 31, 2014
I've never read anything like this before, this was a unique concept. The story is set in a parallel universe that is polar opposite to our own. It is ruled by women and men are oppressed. Men are owned by women either by marriage, as a concubine or a servant. The women are tall, muscular and taught to fight. Slim, pretty, boyish men are deemed attractive and are often castrated in order to retain their boyish looks. The author did an amazing job of world building.The story is told from alternate points of view, Mia and Eben's. I preferred Eben's point of view, I can't put my finger on why, perhaps because there seemed to be more emotion from his point of view.Mia, an ex marine, has been taken to the parallel universe to train a group of male freedom fighters. She's great at getting the men to band together as a team and overcome some of their submissiveness. Emotionally she's not quite as strong as she appears. She suffers with guilt over things that happened in her past and is afraid to let anyone get too close to her.Eben has lived his whole life as a mine slave. He's considered unattractive in his world due to his large build and masculine features. For years he's been taking care of his friend, Gavin. Unlike Eben, Gavin has feminine looks and has used his looks to his advantage. The dynamics between Eben and Gavin are interesting, there is some resentment on both sides that is never fully resolved in this book. I hope it will be explored more in future books.I loved all the characters and I suspect Gabriel and Lance will feature more in later books, I loved those two. Although Mia and Eben are attracted to each other, nothing really happens between them until right at the end of the book. It didn't exactly end on a cliffhanger, but things were left unresolved to be explored in the sequels.I really enjoyed this and couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading the sequels and  recommend this to anyone who enjoys dystopia.I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.