Review: The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons + Giveaway

November 7, 2015 Giveaway, Review 26 ★★★★

Review: The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons + GiveawayThe Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons
Series: Stand-Alone
Published by Tor Teen on February 10th 2015
Genres: Young Adult Dystopia
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating: 4 Stars
Heat Rating:half-flame

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Handmaid’s Tale meets Blood Red Road in Glass Arrow, the story of Aya, who lives with a small group of women on the run from the men who hunt them, men who want to auction off breeding rights to the highest bidder.
In a world where females are scarce and are hunted, then bought and sold at market for their breeding rights, 15-year old Aya has learned how to hide. With a ragtag bunch of other women and girls, she has successfully avoided capture and eked out a nomadic but free existence in the mountains. But when Aya’s luck runs out and she’s caught by a group of businessmen on a hunting expedition, fighting to survive takes on a whole new meaning.

2015 ADDICTIVE dystopian ya YAROMANCE

Guys, I could not believe this! I was going through my 2015 list, compiling my favorites for the year and I noticed that I have missed reviewing The Glass Arrow. At first I was shocked because I liked it so much, then I was confused and then I looked at my Goodreads shelf and everything came to light. I read The Glass Arrow literally the day before my son was born.

So despite this being several months late. I figured it was still better late then never.

Wow, I have to admit, this was my first time dipping my toes into Simmons writing and I do not regret it. The Glass Arrow, did it for me. It hooked me from the beginning and continued to hold on until the very end. It was wonderful, it was emotional, and it was addictive. I did not want to let this book go.

Simmons introduces us to a darker world where women are haunted, sold, and used as breeders. The girls that are caught in the wild are brought to this jail like place called the Garden, where they are groomed to be sold. Aya was born in the wild, outside of the city limits, and when she was caught, she did everything in her power to try and stay away from being sold in the auctions - injuries, fights, pissing off the woman in charge. I think the fact that she wasn’t born within the city is what drove her will for survival and her wild like instincts to keep herself from being sold like a piece of meat. She was strong, resilient and she did things that I probably would never have the guts to do. She also has a sort of a pet wolf Brax who I adored.

I was a little perplexed about the way these girls treated each other in the Garden. I was really hoping sisterhood would prevail at a time of need. In a way, later in the story, it does. Still, it saddened me how easily the girls accepted their faith, that this is all they think they will amount to.

The romance in this was slow building, and I was so happy that it was not insta-love. Kiran is a Driver, who is equally as brave as Aya. They meet when Aya get’s tossed into solitary due to her behavior, and after a rocky start they eventually form a kind of bond. Aya thinks that Kiran is a mute as he does not speak, and so there were a lot of one sided conversations between the two. Aya does not trust Kiran at first, but eventually it became kind of hard not to when he tries to help her.

The world building was fabulous. I was shocked how well Simmons had woven everything together into one Stand-Alone novel. For the most part, I think she has managed to cover everything and how the world worked. From how the girls were groomed to be sold, to Drivers, and the food pills.

The ending was action packed and a bit of a nail biter for me. I wanted to know what happens, how will it end. Daphne, one of the girls from the Garden and her sudden resilience surprised me. Her relationship with Aya is rocky and not well liked, but both do what they have to in order to survive. Aya is loyal to a fault and I loved that about her. I loved learning about her past and who she is. I applaud Aya for the sacrifices she had made, seriously the ending made me cry, and if you read the book you know exactly why. I almost gave up on the book there and then, I couldn’t believe it happened. I think that was the major part that took away 1 star for me from the book :(

Because I am feeling generous today I am giving away an e-book copy of this book from amazon, or B & N or wherever I can send a copy to you from. Open INT. Yay!

Rules

  • Must be 13 years old or older to enter. (People under must have a parent enter for them)
  • Must be a follower of the blog
  • Winners will be notified by e-mail within 72 hours of the giveaway ending and will have 72 hours to respond to that e-mail or else a new winner will be chosen. So please do not skip the option of putting in the e-mail that you check most frequently.
  • Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified.

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TB

26 Responses to “Review: The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons + Giveaway”

    • Lily B

      Yeah I really enjoyed this one, it makes me wish it was a series tho! There was just, it felt like it could have been you know?

      Reply

    • Lily B

      Yes it was! I was so glad I picked it up, the writing along rocked my world. It’s awesome that it also exceeded your expectations!

      Reply

  6. Lola

    I think it’s pretty awesome you can still write your review for a book you read months ago and can still remember what you liked about it. Your comment about the ending makes me curious and afraid of what happens. It sounds like a pretty dark world and I wonder how the author makes it all realistic and believable. I like the sound of the slow building romance! Great review!
    Lola recently posted…My To-Be Read List #15: pollMy Profile

    Reply

    • Lily B

      ha, yea I was surprised especially since I discovered around the same time I have started a few reviews for books I read around Feb but…. i can’t remember them anymore :(

      Reply

  8. Keionda @Keionda Hearts Books

    I can so see why you forgot about this book after all! And I’m pretty sure that is a good reason. teehee At least you still got to it after all of this time so kuddos to you girl! <3 As for the book, I LOVE a slow building romance and I love not knowing what exactly is going to happen next with the characters. The whole fact altho these are women here who are groomed and basically made to be used is just sickening! I would probably spend half my time in a fit of anger if i ever started to read this book. TRUE TALK GIRL!
    EPICAL REIVEW as always girl! xoxo

    Reply

    • Lily B

      oh yeah no doubt it left me feeling a bit angry, it was like an oh my god moment, you know? girls being used for reproduction and when she got sold to a guy who wasn’t of age, I was like…wow.

      Reply

  11. Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

    Yeah, writing reviews is pretty hard while giving birth 😉 Congrats on that, he must be at such a fun age now! But I do agree with you about this book, I really liked it. I mean, I see the appeal of a standalone, and it was done well, but since I DID enjoy it, I think I would have been cool with a sequel too 😉 Great review, especially several months later!!

    Reply

  16. Amber Elise @ Du Livre

    I’m impressed you were able to write this review despite having read it months ago! There are like three books I read about two months ago that I need to review, but I can’t because I remember NOTHING. Haha.

    I adored this book as well, and Kristen Simmons is the best human being ever!

    Reply

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