Dear God, I love this series. I’ve seen it hanging around the shelves forever. I don’t know why I never picked it up. Wait. I know why. The cover was so drab and, well, miserable. I thought, who is that supposed to entice? Apparently, everybody! The Enclave series is beautiful and haunting and desperate. It’s mystery, horror, creepiness, romance, desolation, emptiness, action and basically every other descriptor you can think of all rolled into a hell of a read. After devouring it one sleep-deprived sitting, I realized the cover truly does this book justice.
And so do the first five sentences!
I was born during the second holocaust. People had told us legends of a time when human beings lived longer. I thought they were just stories. Nobody even lived to see forty in my world. Today was my birthday. Each one added a layer of fear, and this year, it was worse. I lived in an enclave in which our oldest had seen twenty-five years. His face was withered, and his fingers shook when he attempted the smallest tasks. Some whispered it would be a kindness to kill him, but they meant they didn’t want to see their futures written in his skin. ~ Ann Aguirre, Enclave.
So, I shared a lil more than five. Sue me! LOL. This book is truly one of the best I’ve read in years. It pulls you deep into Deuce’s world without the slightest bit of effort. The romance is slow building, realistic and sweet. I love how detached Deuce is and how she doesn’t swoon as easily as other girls her age would. This is due to how the world is and where she grew up, of course, but Deuce’s standoffish behavior is a cool way for her to play hard-to-get without actually playing anything. Her naïveté is perfect and Ann weaves it into her personality flawlessly. Because the blurb did factor in to my purchase of this book, I will include it now.
WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups-Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.
As a Huntress, her purpose is clear–to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.
Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.
As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known. ~ Ann Aguirre, Enclave.
The price on this Kindle version is a bit more than 3.99, but it’s still worth it. These books will take you on an adventure you shouldn’t want to take, but won’t be able to step away from.
LIVE MESSY© 