REVIEW: Uprising by Jessica Therrien

Pub. Date: May 28th 2013
Publisher: ZOVA
Pages: 386
Readership: Young adult
Genres: fantasy, mythology

Elyse has done everything she can to protect her friends from The Council's reach. As long as they believe she's dead, she has time to rest and train for war. And war is inevitable.  

When Kara arrives with the news that Anna and Chloe have been captured, Elyse is faced with the realization that no one is safe until The Council is stopped and Christoph is destroyed. She doesn't need a prophecy to tell her to lead an army. Christoph has done the one thing that ensures she'll fight to the death. He's threatened the people she loves.  

It will take more than the words of an oracle to help them fight against the most powerful Descendant alive. To break The Council's oppression and rise up against a plot so many years in the making, Elyse will need to get dangerously close to her enemy. So close, in fact, she may not survive.

Woo!! Book two! I was so excited for book two since I loved Oppression. Uprising was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint me.

I loved seeing the growth of Elyse over the two books. In book one she was shy, if not a little scared of the world. She was reserved, she kept to herself and kept people at arms length except Anna and Chloe. But over the course of events in the two books, Elyse grows into such a strong, pragmatic, leader who doesn't crack under the pressure of the Descendants or the prophecy. If anything, it only gives her more conviction and strength.

Uprising is action packed. From learning more about Christoph and how creepy and evil he is, to gathering allies to legitimate battles, there is no shortage of things happening. Jessica threads it all together wonderfully without missing a beat. There are twists, turns, lots of death (it is war, after all) and tears. I was a little worried about a particular plot point and how it was going to turn out but I worried for naught; it fit into everything wonderfully and the story would have been off without it.

The mythology throughout the book was also phenomenal. I loved learning about all the different abilities that the Descendants we were introduced to had. There was such a variety of them that I have to applaud Jessica for her creativity.

Overall, I really enjoyed Uprising. It didn't suffer from the sophomore book slump that some do. It was well paced, action packed and very enjoyable. Definitely pick up Oppression if you haven't already started the series and then pick up Uprising right after!!

★★★★ 

I REALLY LIKED IT 

*Thank you to Jessica Therrien for providing a copy for review!!

PURCHASE 

(amazon) (amazon kindle - only .99 cents!!) (the book depository)

BLOG TOUR - GUEST POST + GIVEAWAY!: Uprising by Jessica Therrien

Title: Uprising (Children of the Gods #2) 

Publisher: ZOVA Books 

Release Date: May 28, 2013 

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Pages: 384

Jessica Therrien follows up her bestselling novel OPPRESSION with UPRISING, the second book in the Children of the Gods series.  

OPPRESSION, translated and sold around the world, was one of the best selling YA novels of 2012. UPRISING continues the story of Elyse, William and the Descendants. 

Elyse has been in hiding for most of her life. Only now she’s hiding with William, and she knows who she’s hiding from. The Council wants a child Elyse and William have yet to conceive, a child who will be the next oracle, and who will provide the final piece to a plan Christoph has been organizing for years. Charged with leading the rebellion against Christoph and his Council, Elyse feels well out of her depth. But she has good friends and strong allies who are willing to fight with her to the end, regardless of how far they have to go, and how many lives will be lost in the process. They have one goal: to live freely and openly with the rest of humanity, out from under The Council’s oppressive rule. The stakes could not be higher for Elyse and the Descendants longing for freedom. They'll have to learn to fight if they want to stand up against The Council, and to find allies in a world ruled by their enemies. The hardest part of waging a war is knowing who to trust. Elyse knows their uprising will change the world. She doesn’t realize it will change her, too.

FIND THE BOOK

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OPPRESSION (Children of the Gods #1)

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First off, thanks for having me over, Rebecca! I’ve been really looking forward to this post. Not only do I love sharing my music with other people, but I’m always looking for new writing songs. I’m hoping some of your blog visitors will share some of their favorites as well. 

Some writers need coffee. Some need a routine. Some like the bookstore or their favorite café. Me? I’m all about the music…

Here is my Uprising (Children of the Gods #2) playlist: 

Pull My Heart Away – Jack Peñate 

Titanium – David Guetta (Feat. Sia) 

Cosmic Love – Florence + The Machine 

Bloodstream – Stateless 

Crosses – Jośe González 

Skinny Love – Bon Iver 

I Go To Sleep – Sia 

Get Higher – Paper Tongues 

Wide Awake – Katy Perry 

Sweet Disposition – Temper Trap 

Almost Everything – Wakey! Wakey!

What are you listening to these days?

Well me personally, right now I can't get enough of Paramore and Fall Out Boy. They're all I've been listening to for months!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessica Therrien is the author of the young adult paranormal fiction series Children of the Gods. Book

one in the series, Oppression, was published by ZOVA Books in February of 2012 and became a Barnes & Noble best-seller shortly after its release. The second book in the series, Uprising, will be available in May of 2013.

Aside from her Children of the Gods series, Jessica’s work can also be found in a published collection of flash fiction stories called Campaigner Challenges 2011. 

Out of over 350 submissions her story, The Soulless, won first place for people’s choice and fourth place in the judging round of Rachael Harrie’s Writing Campaign Challenge. Her story, Saved, is also available as part of the anthology. 

Jessica currently lives in Chula Vista with her husband and is working on book three in her Children of the Gods series. (goodreads) (twitter) (website) (facebook)

Jessica was also lovely enough to offer up a signed copy of Uprising and some bookmarks for giveaway!!

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BOOK LAUNCH! Uprising by Jessica Therrien

UPRISING (Children of the Gods #2) by Jessica Therrien 

Jessica Therrien follows up her bestselling novel OPPRESSION with UPRISING, the second book in the Children of the Gods series.  

OPPRESSION, translated and sold around the world, was one of the best selling YA novels of 2012. UPRISING continues the story of Elyse, William and the Descendants.  

Elyse has been in hiding for most of her life. Only now she’s hiding with William, and she knows who she’s hiding from. The Council wants a child Elyse and William have yet to conceive, a child who will be the next oracle, and who will provide the final piece to a plan Christoph has been organizing for years. Charged with leading the rebellion against Christoph and his Council, Elyse feels well out of her depth. But she has good friends and strong allies who are willing to fight with her to the end, regardless of how far they have to go, and how many lives will be lost in the process. They have one goal: to live freely and openly with the rest of humanity, out from under The Council’s oppressive rule. The stakes could not be higher for Elyse and the Descendants longing for freedom. They'll have to learn to fight if they want to stand up against The Council, and to find allies in a world ruled by their enemies. The hardest part of waging a war is knowing who to trust. Elyse knows their uprising will change the world. She doesn’t realize it will change her, too. (goodreads) (facebook)

BUY THE BOOKS!

OPPRESSION (Children of the Gods #1)

(amazon) (amazon kindle) (b&n) (book depo)

UPRISING (Children of the Gods #2)

(amazon) (amazon kindle only $0.99!) (b&n) (book depo)

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Oppression was one of my favorite reads of 2012 and I've been eagerly awaiting the sequel since. It's finally here!

Jessica has asked that those of us participating in the launch to write up a post about our favourite supernatural power or what it would be like if a supernatural race was exposed to human society. I'm going to do both but I'll keep it short and sweet.

My favorite supernatural would be the power to wield fire. Think of Pyro from X-Men. I've always had a fascination with fire. I think it's just totally badass if you were able to wield it! I would love to be able to just create a fireball out of thin air in my palm and send it across a room. Maybe even if those that can work fire were immune to it, sort of like Daenerys Targaryen. Fire cannot kill a dragon, after all!

I think that if a supernatural race were exposed to human society it would cause chaos. Personally, I would LOVE it but I am only one person. I don't think I would be alone in that but as a whole, people are afraid of what they don't understand. People fear what is different from them. History proves that humans are even afraid of our own. I think if a supernatural race were to be exposed, it would cause a war. And one that we might not be able to win. It would not be a good thing.

(But I would still totally want to see a supernatural race be exposed.)

ABOUT JESSICA

Jessica Therrien is the author of the young adult paranormal fiction series Children of the Gods. Book one in the series, Oppression, was published by ZOVA Books in February of 2012 and became a Barnes & Noble bestseller shortly after its release. The second book in the series, Uprising, will be available in May of 2013.

Aside from her Children of the Gods series, Jessica’s work can also be found in a published collection of flash fiction stories called Campaigner Challenges 2011. Out of over 350 submissions her story, The Soulless, won first place for people’s choice and fourth place in the judging round of Rachael Harrie’s Writing Campaign Challenge. Her story, Saved, is also available as part of the anthology.

Jessica currently lives in Chula Vista with her husband and is working on book three in her Children of the Gods series.

(website) (facebook) (twitter) (goodreads)