Secondborn

Secondborn, Book 1

By: Amy A. Bartol

Narrated by: Kate Reinders

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

Firstborns rule society. Secondborns are the property of the government. Thirdborns are not tolerated. Long live the Fates Republic.

On Transition Day, the second child in every family is taken by the government and forced into servitude. Roselle St. Sismode's eighteenth birthday arrives with harsh realizations: she's to become a soldier for the Fate of Swords military arm of the Republic during the bloodiest rebellion in history, and her elite firstborn mother is happy to see her go.

Televised since her early childhood, Roselle's privileged upbringing has earned her the resentment of her secondborn peers. Now her decision to spare an enemy on the battlefield marks her as a traitor to the state.

But Roselle finds an ally - and more - in fellow secondborn conscript Hawthorne Trugrave. As the consequences of her actions ripple throughout the Fates Republic, can Roselle create a destiny of her own? Or will her Fate override everything she fights for - even love?

Please note: The audio references supplemental material that is not included with the purchase of this audiobook.

©2017 Amy A. Bartol. (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Bella Swan's Cousin

I was really hopeful that this would be a good read. The world of it was intriguing, and I kept hoping throughout that it would get better...For the lead character to become someone! Didn't happen. The characters are bland and plastic, except for just a few, and the lead is annoying and superficial (and yet, every single male in the book is drawn to her and pledge their loyalty and devotion to her at every opportunity). I finally had to just give up at Chapter 25. I couldn't take the weird plot shifts and the idiotic response of the lead, Roselle. Decent performance, interesting world and premise...awful characters and cringe worthy dialogue.

Plot with enough holes to make a fishing net

I've never read/listened to a book that made 'the willing suspension of disbelief' so difficult. It's like that moment in a horror movie when you wonder, "Why aren't they just using their cell phones?" Except it's a constant assault of those moments, which makes the book almost unreadable.

waste of time and $$

Same old story about a strong woman whos life revolves around the many males who worship her. Sure she has female friends but they aren't that important to her. She even admits to using them just to get closer to a guy.

Im so sick of these kinds of books. They are just cheesy damsel in distress tales masquerading as a strong female.

great for a teen

If I were 15 years old I would have loved this book. but at my age I found it predictable and wanting

Formulaic, predictable but still mildly entertaini

Covers the same basic ideas as lots of dystopian fiction. Not lots of novelty in the plot or characters. But entertaining enough. Good enough to help pass the time during long commutes.

Very different

This is a really unique idea for a Society. Although we already know that cultures exist where firstborn children are preferred, in this society, secondborn children exist only to be servants and soldiers - and to be heirs if a firstborn dies.

But this has a downside, as some secondborns decide to kill older siblings in order to improve their status. This, in turn, has created a society that fears secondborns, and this treats them even more badly.

Creating a society where the most denigrated citizens make up your army? Yeah, that’s just setting yourself up for a rebellion.

Great narrator!

I struggled to put the book down. Kate is a great narrator and I enjoyed the influctions and her voice. there are a few narrators out there I'm not as big a fan of. the story is good, with a mix of power struggle, love, and finding oneself.

The YA novel I've been waiting for!!!

The only book series that truly hooked me from the beginning to the end were Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Twilight. I have read many other books and series but just haven't found another great page turner until now. It's too bad we have to wait until 2019 for the series to be completed, but in the meantime I will absolutely be picking up some of this author's other books. I highly recommend Secondborn if you're looking for a really good Young Adult genre novel!!!

Story okay, performance was good

Repeating signifiers: He/she murmurs, growls, orders, was irritating to me personally. The story had an overall interesting concept but was handled with lopsided grace. It doesn't leave me wanting to read the next book, but if I didn't have anything else to listen to, I'd try it.

Creative, but just okay for me

Very imaginative, but ended kind of abruptly. I realize it's the first in a series, but this first installment didn't have a conclusion or a cliffhanger. It just ended. Also, this story was a bit more YA than I expected - not a bad thing, but might be important to potential readers. The narrator was fine.

First class not second

A very good story. Exciting with a continuity of thrills and adventure. Very plausible story line had me unable to put my iPhone down and keep on listening. First of a trilogy ifbyhr other two books are as good it'll be money well spent . Narrator is top class and makes everything more enjoyable .

Great kick ass female lead

This book has a great lead and lots of twists and turns so many possibilities have been built that you just don't know what will happen next !

liked the story line but had a few issues

The story line was good and interesting however the narration didn't always work.
the voice was too relaxed and tranquil especially during the action/fighting. there was not sense of thrill, danger, urgency or anything and fell flat.

another slight problem was that I felt things were a little spoon fed and things like 'a year later' was repeated so many times. ok we got it, time has passed. I don't feel like the story flowed well but again the idea was good just wasn't 100%sure on the execution or performance.

The romance wasnt believable, rushed, predictable and slightly irritating. Seemed as though there was a need to include a romantic aspect for the audience however it wasnt poorly done and a little overlooked... just wasn't believable even for a young romance.

Different

Not my usual genre, I purchased this on a whim and am glad I did. I found this book interesting, almost addictive, albeit a little reminiscent of Hunger Games. It is relatively fast paced and this first book was well worth the credit.

Interesting enough

I think the plot for the book is an interesting one, however it should have been thought though better as i can already see a few plot holes, parts that didn't make sense and parts could have been written better.
The way the romance part of the story is written sucks, it was too rushed and there was no real chemistry between the characters.

I can't put my finger on it, but I felt something was missing, I didn't feel the excitement of wanting to know what happens next that i felt when listening to "The gender game" or "The children of Eden".

I am interested enough to want to know what happens next, hopefully the next book in more interesting.

Probably not intended for my demographic

My daughter and I recommend books for each other and she had been recommended Secondborn by a friend. She is early 20s and I'm mid-fifties.

I like the idea of the story and the characters are credible. The story is written in the first person which makes it easy to include the thoughts and feelings of the main character. Everything covered in the book is her experience. I find this style of writing dilutes the reality of the book for me. A bit like someone describing a meal rather than eating it yourself. My main reason for thinking a mid-fifties bloke isn't the right target audience comes from the thoughts, feelings and observations of the teenage girl who is the key character. There are lots of descriptions of muscled men in tight-fitting uniforms and extended narrative getting into the inner thoughts of a young girl, her loves, fears and ideas. I marked it three stars because of the above issues and also because the story ends very abruptly. I have read a number of trilogies and series and believe each individual book should be a self-contained story that feeds a continuing story as the series continues. I don't feel Secondborn has an ending which is a little frustrating. I am unlikely to continue the series.

really enjoy a strong female lead

I love a book with a strong female lead, action and a little bit of the lovey Dovey stuff(not too much) After searching for books to read that catch my interest i found this. Its different to most things on the market. I'm looking forward to the next book already. I'm in my 30's but like fantasy and sometimes its difficult as this category is mostly young adult and can be written a little too young for me - with too much 'teenage girl problems'. But this wasn't too bad if you liked hunger games or the girl who dared . Then I'm sure you will enjoy this .

Exciting and Intriguing

A great story that is well written and narrated. Makes you want to keep on listening.

loved it

fantastic story. i think this could be the next hunger games, it would make a fantastic film!!

Surprisingly good!

Was a little put off by the whole first born second born angle however really enjoyed the story.