Collapsed: Book One of The Illusion of Truth

By: Jenetta Penner

Narrated by: Shoana T. Hunt

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

The world is split in two...and either side could be fatal for her.

In a society of extreme haves and have nots, Tenly Hawkins is firmly the latter.

Born into the Cobalts, the lowest rung of society, she's done everything possible to escape her fate. She's obeyed all the rules...earned her way out of squalor. So, when she finally manages to secure a position in the Premier Workforce, she's sure all her hard work is about to pay off.

But as it turns out, life among the elite Scarlets isn't as rosy as it appears from the outside. There's growing civil unrest between the progressives and the traditionalists - not to mention the corruption and cover ups.

Caught off guard, Tenley soon finds herself squarely in the middle of the danger and her dream life about to burn to the ground.

The only person she can trust is her best friend, Kalib. Too bad Kalib has some lethal secrets of his own.

For Tenly, only one thing is certain. Make a false move, she could lose a lot more than her position...

Everyone she loves could end up dead.

©2020 Jenetta Penner (P)2021 Jenetta Penner

Formulaic

The story is interesting, but it's not different enough from other series to hold attention for people who read a lot of YA Fiction.

Collapsed

Tenly has spent her whole life working toward getting into the Premier Workforce so she can have things a bit better than her parents. But she soon finds out it isn't always greener on the other side of the fence, any little thing can get her kicked out and her parents punished. It would be so hard but the lady scarlet wants her out but the man scarlet hand picked her for his daughter to learn from but which has the higher hand, which is the one she needs to be careful of? Tenly's life as a poor cobalt was filled with education and love, her charges, is more restrictive even though she is a rich scarlet.

This was a great book so much packed in so few pages, that I can't wait for more. If you got the audio you are in for a treat with the lovely voice of narrator Shoana Hunt bringing the story to life through her voice. This is truly a wonderful book/audio-book and I can wait to dive into more of the series.

Ready for more

I'm a fan of Jenetta Penner's work so I'm excited for more to come from this series. There are many reveals at the end you won't see coming. One you probably will, the rest were surprising.

Exciting new series!

As a fan of Jenetta Penner, I was excited to listen to this first book in the Illusion of Truth series. I found the story a bit similar to Hunger Games and Divergent but with its own world building and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Highly recommend if you enjoy YA dystopian fantasy with great world building and fun tech.

My thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with a promo code for the audiobook. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

a must

A must read, an absolute amazing world building that Jenetta has created in the same world as Configure.

Very enjoyable

I enjoyed this book. Writing is great, storyline is believable and the narrator did a great job. This book kept my interest and has left me wanting more. It did end with possibilities wide open. A great clean read! Thank you!

enthralling

Totally addicting and kept my interest the entire time. Looking forward to more books in this series. Awesome storyline and characters and great narration.

Must-Read

Collapsed is a compelling new series set in the same dystopian universe as Penner’s incredible Configured trilogy. The book started out as a story about a young woman who will do whatever it takes to make a better life for herself. But Tenly’s journey leads her to something much bigger than herself. The world she lives in is on the brink of change and she suddenly finds herself needing to figure out how to find her place in it.

At first, Tenly is a strict rule follower. She refuses to let anything get in the way of her goals. Her determination and ambition, however, make her suspicious of her best friend, Kalib. She was a terrible friend there for a while. I have a sinking suspicion that there are others among her who are far less trustworthy. But after certain events bring her into a dangerous world, she not only realizes how badly she treated Kalib, but she finds a courage within herself that she didn’t know she was capable of.

Truthfully, this book hits a lot of themes that are super relevant right now. Arguments and hatred between different groups of people, class warfare, and even a budding viral pandemic.

The book doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, per se, but there are still a ton of loose ends and a lot of story left to tell. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series for answers.

A great start to the series

If you're born into the Cobalt life you're looked down on and have to live in the tenements and work for hardly any coinage and food.
If you're a Scarlet life is richer and the Cobalts work to make things for you.
Tenly is a Cobalt, her parents both work hard in factories but barely have enough to eat. Tenly is desperate to get out of the tenement and have a better life even if it means working for the Scarlets and leaving her parents. Her best friend Kalib doesn't want her to go. But she has to first pass the test to change her life. But things aren't always better in the other side.
This book is brilliantly written and narrated. I had already read the book but it really brings the story to life when it's narrated well and this was. Thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for the next one.
I received a free copy of this book from the author but the opinion expressed in this review are my own.