Sovereign

Antius Ascending, Book 1

By: E.R. Arroyo

Narrated by: Corinne Bupp

Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Chemical warfare has obliterated most of the world, including America, and the survivors have turned into feral beasts, save one colony, Antius, the last remnant of civilization. Seventeen-year-old Cori (aka Citizen 1206) only longs for wide open spaces and freedom. But Antius has no use for such things, just mindless drones to serve in a place with walls, fences, and laws - a lot of laws, which Cori constantly breaks. So she's spent years plotting her escape, which is the only thing that will save her from the colony's deranged leader, Nathan. She isn't looking to be a hero, and she certainly isn't looking to fall in love, but she just might do both.

©2012 E.R. Arroyo (P)2015 E.R. Arroyo

Excellent narration

I read this book a year or two ago, and I got a different angle listening to the narration. This is the story of a teenager, Corey, who lives in a dystopian compound following some apocalyptic event. Her best friend is a tech & science whiz named Dylan. The narrator sometimes sounds like a Whitney teenager, sometimes like a confident young woman. Which is pretty much how I perceived her from reading the book. Although this is YA appropriate, this adult enjoyed it very much. I look forward to the audiobook of the next book in this series.

Action Packed, Fast Paced And Amazing

I will start off by stating I received a free audible download of this book as a read for review.

I was a little skeptical about this book when I started. It's of the YA genre and, for the most part, is not my thing anymore. However, it didn't take me long to get hooked.

I found Sovereign to lack the whiny main character that usually turns me off from the genre. In fact, I loved Cori! She was distant and cold, but daring, rebellious and sassy. She's a fighter in a world that demands conformity and rallies those around her to fight for something better. Earlier on, Cori's touch phobia is introduced. She physically recoils and draws away from all forms of touch. Why? I had to know why!

Cori was a mystery in beginning. A mysterious back story. An intriguing touch phobia. A drastically different way about her than those around her and I had to know why. Seriously, it was a burning desire. What could I do but read on?

Corey lives in Antius, a vast network of bunkers and buildings that people to weather the devastation of nuclear fallout. Antius is initially governed by Cornelius, the creator of the bunkers who took people in. Cornelius has also personally taken Cori under his wing, personally bringing her in after her father was killed and teaching her to defend herself from bullies when she was younger and new to the colony. He is the kindly father that Cori lacks and so desperately yearns for. However, in a suddenly and twisted turn of events his son Nathan rises to power.

Nathan. He is a slim ball. Even without saying it, every word he speaks in sinister. You can always tell he is plotting some sort of evil. Props to Cori for not hauling off and punching him right in the face any time he's around. It wouldn't have helped but he sure as hell deserved it.

Nathan rules Antius with an iron fist. Upon rising to power, he immediately sets some changes in motion. All seventeen-year-olds must immediately report to their assigned trade. Up until this point, this was done at eighteen. This sudden shift means Cori is out of time to escape Antius. Her plans must change. She must bide her time and blend in until an opportunity presents itself.

There were so many good characters. Dylan. The quiet giant with a dark secret whom I couldn't help but love. Tidus. He wasn't a major character, but he reminded me of a character from my favorite Final fantasy so he instantly sealed a place in my favorites list. Tyce. The leader of the savages. The same type of people who killed her father. He's dark and dangerous. He's like a wolf waiting to come in for the kill. I want to see more of him!!!

The plot was fast and amazing. Even in the slow moments, there was so much going on, so much intrigue as Cori tried to find a way to escape, that I was always on my toes.

But this was only the beginning. I can't wait to read the next book and find out what happens to Corey and Dylan and the rest of Antius. And I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll get my wish to see more of Tyce.

My first thought post-listen was "Woah."

Cori will always be an outsider.  She thinks and acts differently.  She is not originally from Antius.  Brought in after her father was killed by "savages" and raised by a benevolent leader.  This leader suddenly passes and Cori's world is turned upside down.  She is forced into the military a year before she was supposed to be and pushed almost beyond her limits.  She has to escape, she must escape, she will escape.  Follow Cori and her closest friends attempt to leave the only place they've ever known for the unknown outside.

Narration was done by the Corinne Bupp (which I thought was awesome because the main character and the narrator had the same first name).  Cori (the narrator) absolutely kills it.  She was able to use the perfect voice for Cori and gives a wonderful performance.  She gives each new person we meet in the book a new voice so that the reader is not totally confused throughout.  The production and voice quality were perfect.  No issues at all.

My first thought post-listen was "Woah."  Which was quickly followed by "Oh, please tell me the series is written and that there are more audiobooks on the way.  Well Ms. Arroyo, if you are reading this, please know that I (and I'm sure others) would love to hear the second book in this series voiced by Corinne.

The story had the perfect arc.  Sometimes with a series the author will leave a lot of things on the table, leaving the reader to feel gipped or like they didn't get the whole story.  This is not one of those stories.  Upon finishing this, I could theorhetically walk away and be okay.  I know enough of what is going on that I am comfortable with where it was left off.  With that being said, I do not want to walk way from this series.  I found it absolutely fascinating and interesting.

I love a good dystopian.  One of my favorite all-time books is 1984.  Sovereign was written perfectly.  I rarely say that about books.  I can usually find one flaw, but with this, I really feel like I was given a wonderful story, told perfectly, by a character that I feel for.

Cori is strong, misunderstood, and severely damaged, but that just made me love her more.  I really felt for Cori throughout this book.  When she felt mad, I felt mad.  When she was confused, I felt confused.  Just a sign of an incredibly hashed out character and story.

If you like character-driven storylines, you will love this.  If you were a fan of The Hunger Games and Divergent, I think you just found your next series.  Take some time, read or listen to this story and fall for Cori like I did.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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read the book

not to be mean but the book is way better. I cant get into it, I feel like someone is reading to me.

Strong Female

Any additional comments?

I really liked this story of a strong, yet emotionally vulnerable Cori. Her fight to escape the dystopian society she lives in and escape the cruel leadership is engaging.The narrator did an excellent job and has a pleasant voice.I would recommend this series to any fan of the YA/dystopian and post apocalyptic genres.I purchased a copy of this e-book but received the audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Very fun ride!

Really enjoyed going on the adventure ... a teen struggling to find hope and humanity in a dystopian future. Nice pacing and imagery throughout.
it left me anxious to dive into the next book!

Escape is her only option…

Cori has lived inside the walls of Antius for the majority of her formidable years. Her father was killed by “savages” when she was only 10 and the survivors inside Antius picked her up and saved her. She wants back out because she wants to know if there is more. The system within and it’s new brutal leader want to keep her imprisoned here forever, but she has other plans.

The narration for this was done by Corinne Bupp. What a perfect narration. Seriously, Corrine absolutely killed it. Her and Cori (ironically with the same name) were one in the same. She had a perfect performance as Cori. Throughout the entire book, I thought she did a wonderful job voicing the other characters too — so that you could understand who was who.

So, I want to start my review portion of this by saying E.R. Arroyo — if you are reading this PLEASE make the 2nd book into an audiobook and PLEASE sign Corinne Bupp again. I know that I can read the second book, but I would love to hear it performed by such a wonderful voice actor.

Also, this is the first book I’ve read in quite some time that I think should be a movie. After I was about 25% through the story I almost considered looking up to see if the film right has been sold somewhere. It was written that well, and combined a lot of my favorite parts of my favorite books and movies. It was part Hunger Games and part Divergent. It also felt part The Island (movie by Michael Bay) and part another book/movie I can’t remember when writing this. It really had my senses tingling throughout and I can’t say that about a lot of other books.

The main character Cori was wonderful. Arroyo does such a wonderful job penning Cori that I really feel like I know her. When she would feel hopeless, I felt hopeless. When she felt rage, I too felt rage. Arroyo captured the essence of her so masterfully.

The story had the perfect arc. I’m always worried when I see that there is a series of books planned because sometimes authors can leave a lot of questions unanswered under the rouse of “to be continued” logic. When I was listening to this I knew it was part of a series, but I did not know if the series was still planned, finished or anything. But, Arroyo didn’t leave many questions unanswered. I could walk away from the story now and feel happy with where it was left off. I don’t want to, I want to finish it as soon as possible — but now I’m going to eagerly await the second book being released on audiobook and pray that it is!

Overall, if you enjoy dystopian stories like The Hunger Games and Divergent — you will definitely enjoy this. It’s part post-apocalyptic and part dystopian. Something bad happened, and now they are trying to survive and thrive. The even cooler part is that it’s not about zombies, which is a nice change of pace for me also.

Arroyo is a masterful storyteller, and I am currently adding more of her stories to my queue.

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How far will you go to get what you want?

Received the audio copy of this book for an honest review, this did not change my option on the book at all, I also have an e copy of the book as well.

This story follows Cori though her chapter in life behind the walls of Antius, her every thought is to get out from behind those walls and be free. Relationships are reconnected, some new, some severed for good, some are pushed to the limit. Secrets that Cori did not want to know anything about are surfaced. Lies that she was always told, are not true.
I loved the adventure and twists in the book. It was a great read. .

Good Book

I really enjoyed this story. It showed that even in not idea situations you can be free. Even if you just have hope. I like the characters and the plot. I cant wait for the rest of the series to be released on audible.

Great listen!

Completely engaging story from the beginning to the end. Lots of action. Well-rounded characters. And characters I want more of in the next installment. Must start the second book soon because I NEED to know what happens!