The Cerulean (Untitled Duology #1) - Amy Ewing
Book Synopsis: Sera has always felt as if she didn’t belong among her people, the Cerulean. She is curious about everything and can’t stop questioning her three mothers, her best friend, Leela, and even the High Priestess. Sera has longed for the day when the tether that connects her City Above the Sky to the earthly world below finally severs and sends the Cerulean to a new planet.
But when Sera is chosen as the sacrifice to break the tether, she doesn’t know what to feel. To save her City, Sera must throw herself from its edge and end her own life. But something goes wrong and she survives the fall, landing in a place called Kaolin. She has heard tales about the humans there, and soon learns that the dangers her mothers warned her of are real. If Sera has any hope to return to her City, she’ll have to find the magic within herself to survive.
Here is my unfiltered, unpopular opinionated rant:
Spoiler Alerts:
She is Cerulean and her blood is magic! You'll be hearing that line throughout the entire book... #sorrynotsorry.
Another unpopular opinion that didn't affect my rating:
She is the only straight girl in an all-Lesbian "planet/society"
Why did that fact have to bother so many people? It was the author's choice and it doesn't mean that everyone would like it, but to give a low rating because of that... that's just ridiculous.
Almost all the comments that I read on Goodreads.com had the words: worst book ever, I was expecting more, this was supposed to be a Sapphic society and pro book, but wow the cover couldn't even redeem it. Not to be on a rant here, but those people sound so ungrateful, not to mention some of them bought the book or won it and then are deliberately trashing it. Of course, I understand that not all books are winners, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but these comments were more than borderline mean.
They were ruthless.
Out of all of the sea of negative reviews, I saw a few good ones, and they were few and far between.
Anyway, mini-rant over. I've never read an Amy Ewing book before, and I thought that this one was a pretty good start, the concept was unlike anything I've seen in YA Fantasy before, and I thoroughly had a blast reading it. Yes, I agree that the writing wasn't earth-shatteringly good, but it did have some bright spots and I would look forward to reading more from this author in the near future.
What I loved about this book:
Obviously, hands down, 100% the cover, it's gorgeous and I love the blue hardcover version, it really adds to the whole experience.
Other than the cosmetic features, I thought that this book had interesting words and a marriage of old and new ideas that came together beautifully. For example, the setting and the time period, I would've liked the author to venture more into that, but all in all, Amy Ewing did a good job describing it all, I felt like I was a part of the book, and I can't wait to read the sequel!
Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5 Stars!