Mundie Moms

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Book Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

To Be Released on: November 15th, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher to review
5 Stars: I Couldn't Get Enough of this Book
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime -quoted from Goodreads

A spellbinding fantasy that fans of both Kimberly Derting's and YA paranormal books will fall in love with. The Pledge has a little bit of everything in it. It's a mix of both fantasy and dystopian, has a fabulous romance, friendship, loyally, a bit of mystery, strong family ties, a rebellion, swoon worthy chemistry, and well written characters. This story took me by surprise and I loved every moment of it. I was completely enraptured in what was going on, even though some of the plot line was easy to predict. I loved the way the story was written, and the perfect manner in which the plot unravels. I loved being a caught up in Charlie's story, learning more about her powers and the world she lives in.

Charlie for me was a fabulous character to get to know. I loved her family ties, her down to earth personality and the fact that even though she was raised in a lower class, she often times wanted to defy the rules set upon them, which also had drastic consequences like being sentenced to death if they looked someone of a higher class in the eye when they were speaking to them. Charlie also has a remarkable gift and it was completely understandable why her parents went to such great lengths to hide. I loved her family dynamics and the lengths Charlie's parents would go to protect Charlie and her sister, and in turn the lengths Charlie would go to protect her little sister. Charlie such a well written heroine and I really enjoyed the manner in which she grows as a character through out the story.

The romance and chemistry between Charlie and Max was fabulous! I loved the way it was developed. It was just right, but left me wanting more. It wasn't a love at first site one, but one that developed over the course of the story. I wanted to high five Charlie a few times, because even though she was attracted to the mysterious, strong, tall and handsome Max, she kept her emotions in check and made him work for it. She kept brushing him off, and in turn I loved how prescient Max was with Charlie. I LOVED Max. His devotion to his cause and to protecting Charlie made him that much more swoon worthy. There's a fabulous best friend, the secret revelation of who Max really is and the reasoning behind Charlie's special power that made this story even more exciting.

The Pledge's world is both fascinating and truly unique, which is one of the reasons why I loved it. It has this timeless feel about it, as it's a mix of both the old world and a futuristic one. The people are divided by social classes and are ruled by a Queen, an evil one at that. Even though she gives evil a whole new meaning, I found myself totally intrigued with Queen. She has an magical ability that allows her to live on, even when her body doesn't. By ensuring only women rule this kingdom, the Queen's soul lives on through the next in line. I loved that element of surprises that Kimberly throws into the story with her characters and the events that take place. There were times I felt like I should have caught onto something sooner after a revelation happened, but Kimberly did such an amazing job with her story, that I never had a chance to pause and figure it out.

There is no shortage of action, and surprises in this book. The Pledge surpassed my love of Kimberly's writing style w/ the Body Finder series, and I'm a big fan of that series. Her characters are always so well developed, her stories are written in a very believable way, her character chemistry is captivating, and her world building is so well crafted! I honestly didn't know what to except with The Pledge, and what I got was a story that I didn't want to have end. I wish this book was double in size, but I'm sure even if it was I would still be wishing for more pages. I can't wait to get back into this world! I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of this series. This book is on my list of favorite books from 2011! I highly recommend pre-ordering it today!

11 comments:

  1. I am so excited for this book :) And even more excited that I see it's getting good reviews!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dawn- I'm excited to read the published copy. I'm curious to see if there's any changes from the ARC to the final copy. It's such a great read!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for reminding me that I have an eGalley of this! Only 11 days left to read it...

    ReplyDelete
  4. ooh! i'm at page 105, and this review makes me want to jump back into the galley. great review!

    ReplyDelete
  5. We're so glad that you liked it -- thanks for the review! We've been looking forward to this one ever since we first saw the cover. Can't wait to get our hands on it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ashelynn- Thank you so much!! Oh keep reading it, it gets even better.

    We Heart YA- Thank you so much! I think you'll love it!! It's such a fantastic read.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for the review! I've been going back and forth with reading it, but I am definitely going to read it next now!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kristina- You're welcome!! I hope you enjoy it!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great review. I am a new follower from PR&UF @ GR.
    I am hosting a 150 follower giveaway and would love it if you entered. congrats on over 3000 followers..i hope to be in your shoes one day :) Stop by for coffee and a review anytime:
    http://kimbathecaffeinatedbookreviewer.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Pledge had failed to impress me with the language division concept that becomes the groundwork of this series, although she did manage to captivate me with the story alone and also the paranormal element involved in the monarchy. In the end, the sinister, haunting add kept me curious and glued to the book until the last page.

    ReplyDelete

Labels