Title: Feuds (Feuds #1)
Author: Avery Hastings
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (Macmillan)
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
In this breathless story of impossible love, perfection comes at a deadly cost.
For Davis Morrow, perfection is a daily reality. Like all Priors, Davis has spent her whole life primed to be smarter, stronger, and more graceful than the lowly Imperfects, or “Imps.” A fiercely ambitious ballerina, Davis is only a few weeks away from qualifying for the Olympiads and finally living up to her mother’s legacy when she meets Cole, a mysterious boy who leaves her with more questions each time he disappears.
Davis has no idea that Cole has his own agenda, or that he’s a rising star in the FEUDS, an underground fighting ring where Priors gamble on Imps. Cole has every reason to hate Davis—her father’s campaign hinges on the total segregation of the Imps and Priors—but despite his best efforts, Cole finds himself as drawn to Davis as she is to him.
Then Narxis, a deadly virus, takes its hold--and Davis’s friends start dying. When the Priors refuse to acknowledge the epidemic, Davis has no one to turn to but Cole. Falling in love was never part of their plan, but their love may be the only thing that can save her world...in Avery Hastings's Feuds.
My Review
I'm going to give you my thoughts of Feuds via a little story.
Once upon a time, there was a perfect princess ballerina named Davis. She was a poor little rich girl because she had no mother. She met a boy at a party and made out with him. That boy was Cole. He is poor and cage fights for money. From that first kiss, it was love for them both. See Exhibit A:
The thought of her sick, suffering ... it was almost more than he could take. The idea that it could happen shredded him. There was no reason for this reaction; he barely knew her at all, but he couldn't get her out of his head. The worst was the physical ache he'd felt when he saw her - the need to protect her, to wrap his arms around her and pull her to him, where she'd be safe in his arms. It was a compulsion he'd barely been able to control. — Cole, Page 67
Davis and Cole spent a lot of time fantasizing about the kiss and their unbelievably attractive new object of interest. (Ignore the part about the boy being a cage fighter because his face is perfect except for one tiny little chipped tooth.) Until, bum bum bah bum... Dramatic twist! A deadly virus begins to sweep the ranks of the poor little princes and princesses like Davis. *faints* What can they do?!
Yeah, I had to stop reading. I have seen a lot of good reviews for Feuds, but I just couldn't do the melodramatics of the instalove. I liked Davis a lot, but I guess I wasn't really in the mood to swoon over Cole. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that he only has minimal damage to his face and such from the fighting. I used to box a little as a hobby, and even I had my nose broken. I can only imagine what it would be like in a cage without gloves.
I did like the idea of the Narxis disease (not the name, mind you) and how it hit the genetically modified people. I could totally see that happening because when you start tinkering around with DNA, who knows what would happen? I'd have also been completely on board for an infodump about everything that had happened to make Columbus the center of the US. (I'm assuming they mean Ohio, but I'm on board for the sweet, cozy little town in Kansas having high-rises in the future.) If there had been more science and dystopia, I think I would have really liked Feuds. Unfortunately, it wasn't my book to write.
If you like your science fiction high on the romance, low on the science, then you'll love Feuds. I'm not unopposed to picking up the book again in the future when I feel like swooning.
Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond
To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received an advance copy of the book briefly for reviewing purposes through Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for an honest review. The book was likely provided to the tour by the publisher or author, which has in no way affected the outcome of my review. All opinions expressed are rambling, honest, and completely my own.
To be honest, I only wanted to read this because of the pretty cover. *Cringes* The cage-fighting sounded interesting too, but I'm definitely not on board with insta-love. From the sound of your review, it looks like this is one of those extreme cases of insta-love too. Great review!
ReplyDeleteDaphne @ Reading Until Dawn
Thanks, Daphne! Yeah, I couldn't power through. It was too much.
DeleteI have this ARC and I've been putting it off. Premonition, you think?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
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