Review: Torn True Love by K.D. Ferguson

Torn True Love by K.D. Ferguson

Release Date: July 11th 2013
Publisher: Rebel Ink Press
Format: eBook
Pages: 149
Genre: Young Adult – Romance, Dystopian
Source: Author for review
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Everyone has a choice. Abide by the government’s rules and regulations and you may live the average life. Or you can become a Sweeper. Krissa Channing’s destination was clear until Braiden entered her life and clouded her future.

Krissa’s future, which once seemed so promising, is compromised when her relationship with Braiden is forced by the hands of the government. The pressure of an automatic pairing pushes them both down a path they never dreamed they’d travel.

While Krissa accepts the change, Braiden revolts against the government leaving Krissa alone, her heart torn. Should she follow the rules and regulations and continue down the road mapped out for her? Or should she go against everything she’s been taught and follow after her true love?

I was lucky enough to meet the author at YallFest 2013 and she was nice enough to send over a copy of her novel for me to review! 

This is a dystopian novel about a 17 year old girl name Krissa Channing. She is an only child that lives with her mother and father in the textiles district. There are seven other districts that are each assigned a job by the government. The other districts surround the big city named Headquarters. It has always been Krissa’s dream to move to the big city when it came time for her picking and pairing. The pairing is the government’s version of marriage so they have some control over it. She has just gotten out of a rocky relationship with her first “real” boyfriend Chance. She is trying to find a new guy for her pairing all while finishing her senior year at high school. She soon finds herself in a relationship with Braiden, Chance’s best friend. Let’s just say it doesn’t go so well.

Braiden is draped in mystery. We don’t know what has happened to his real father. When Braiden and Krissa break the rules, Krissa’s whole future suddenly is compromised.  Braiden’s father has had a very big impact on how he looks at the pairing, having kids, and the government in general, and because of this I’m not sure why he chose to be in a relationship to begin with. He really doesn’t show any affection towards Krissa although she is madly in love with him. He is pretty much a big jerk to Krissa and I can never relate to people who put up with that stuff.

I just found myself getting mad at Krissa. She was a weak character that let this borderline abusive relationship continue on. She seemed to know it wasn’t right but swore up and down that she loved him and that her future couldn’t go on without him. Thankfully the frustration was also included in the characters of the story, such as her mom and her friends.

I liked all the other characters in the book, especially Krissa’s mom. There is a certain scene where Krissa could be in a lot of trouble with her parents but I really liked how her mother handled the situation. Her father comes off as sort of mean when we are first introduced to him but he is a good character too. Krissa had some good friends although I wasn’t sure I how I felt about her ex, Chance.

I would have to say this is one of the more believable dystopian worlds. In this book you pretty much have a choice on everything you do and the government gets the final say. I could totally see that happening. Some of these dystopian books are way to government controlled and I have a hard time believing people would let that happen. If that is the type of book you are looking for then this isn’t it. We had a small backstory on how the world became what it was but there was still a lot of questions I had about the government. The ending was a “to be continued” so I hope the next book goes into more detail on that and what is outside of the city.

I didn’t have any problem with the writing style and I liked the idea of the book. Just a warning though... There is quite a bit of sex in this book. Along with drinking and marijuana. They seemed to get drunk quite a few times, they would also rent out hotel rooms for before dance parties. Because the story would jump forward in time quite a bit I couldn’t tell if they really got drunk that much or if it just seemed that way because of the timing.

I still would like to read the next book so I can find out what has happened. I hope Krissa gains some strength in the next book also and learns to stand up for herself.

If you would like a quick easy read then I recommend this book!

  

My Rating:

*This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. 

YALLfest 2013!

I had no idea there was such thing as YALLfest until my husband I started researching to find ones that are close to my hometown. (No luck on that by the way.) This was happening on November 2. That night I decided that I really wanted to go, even though it is an 11 hour drive. My husband decided it was too big of a trip on to short notice so he said he wasn’t going. So I decided to ask my AMAZING sister if she would like to take the random road trip with me. (Keep in mind that she doesn’t really read these types of books.) She said YES! So by Monday afternoon I had booked us a hotel and mapped out our trip.

(This is the aforementioned AMAZING SISTER)

I had to go pick my sister up in Kentucky on the way their so I had left about 10:30 Friday morning. With the pit stops and whatnot, we ended up at our hotel in North Charleston, SC at about 10:30 pm. That was way too long of a trip. We went through a couple tunnles which was pretty neat. We also drove through the mountains but it was dark by then. We got great pictures on the way home though.  

We just chilled at the hotel for the night but were up bright and early to eat breakfast and take the 20 minute drive to Charleston for the book festival. The book festival was held at Blue Bicycle Books. A cute little used book shop in the middle of town. The authors were set up in the shop, a café next door, a small courtyard (which was super cute), and in a large tent set up next to the book shop.

 

There were 50 authors there and they were all doing panels and autographs. Since this was my first time at a book festival and my first chance to get books signed by authors, I decided to forgo the panels and just get the autographs. I was able to get every book but two signed! (One I will explain in a minute.) I talked to all the authors, handed out some business cards, and was able to pick up some swag. I also purchased a t-shirt that I was able to get all the autographs on!

(Leigh Bardugo)

(Veronica Rossi)

(Rachel Cohn & David Levithan)

(Tahereh Mafi & Ransom Riggs)

 

(Marie Lu)

Check out the video to see all the books I was able to get autographed.

 

 

The only autograph I wasn’t able to get that I really wanted was Ransom Riggs. He came down with a bout of food poisoning and had to cancel his signing at the last minute. (Literally last minute, we were all standing in line!). We ended up with a couple free YALLfest totes and a promise that we could come back and get a signed bookplate.

We did come back but unfortunately we were told that they wouldn’t be in until 1pm the next day. We planned to be back on the road well before then. The lovely people at the bookstore said they would gladly mail us one though! I am still waiting on that… We did a little bit of shopping then headed back to the hotel for the night.

 

 

Once again, we were up bright and early to head home. This was the longest drive ever. Only because I knew my husband and children were waiting for me at home. I really wanted to sleep in my own bed too.

 

If you ever get the chance to go to YALLfest I highly recommend it! This was its third year running and it has apparently gotten better every year. I can’t wait to go back next year!