True Born (True Born Trilogy #1)
by L.E. Sterling
Publish date: May 3, 2016
Genre: YA Fantasy/Science Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads summary
Welcome to Dominion City.
After the great Plague descended, the world population was decimated…and their genetics damaged beyond repair.
The Lasters wait hopelessly for their genes to self-destruct. The Splicers pay for expensive treatments that might prolong their life. The plague-resistant True Borns are as mysterious as they are feared…
And then there’s Lucy Fox and her identical twin sister, Margot. After endless tests, no one wants to reveal what they are.
When Margot disappears, a desperate Lucy has no choice but to put her faith in the True Borns, led by the charismatic Nolan Storm and the beautiful but deadly Jared Price. As Lucy and the True Borns set out to rescue her sister, they stumble upon a vast conspiracy stretching from Dominion’s street preachers to shady Russian tycoons. But why target the Fox sisters?
As they say in Dominion, it’s in the blood.
My thoughts
I was pleasantly surprised to find most of my favorite elements rolled up together in the book. Like a beautifully baked cake with buttercream frosting. It was a delicious treat.
True Born is written mostly from Lucy's perspective. Lucy and her twin, Margot, have that special connection you hear twins talk about sometimes. But theirs is ramped up on steroids. Lucy can physically feel what is happening to Margot. So, when Margot disappears it doesn't take long for Lucy to feel it, and she takes off trying to find her.
That's where Jared and Storm enter into Lucy's life and things start to change. Lucy has more questions than answers throughout the entire book, and we learn some things right along with her but there's still a lot left in the dark to keep me coming back for more. What exactly are Lucy and Margot? That's the question of the hour.
Overall, this book was a very nice read. I enjoyed Lucy's character a lot and Storm and his crew are pretty bad ass. I found Lucy to be very relatable. She's been kept in the dark and she's finally seeking some answers. But the entire time she's scared of letting down her family and what this whole things means for her and Margot.
I would have like to have seen a clearer explanation of True Borns in the books though. After I finished reading, I found myself still confused about what exactly True Borns are and how they come to be about. There's some explanation but I still wasn't clear on the historical origins of True Borns.
True Born was nicely written and I didn't find myself stumbling over any grammatical errors. It get 4 stars and a thumbs up from me, so make sure you check it out.
** I was provided a copy of this book in return for an honest review
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About L.E. Sterling
For a while I turned my back on the genre in favour of ‘high-brow’ literary texts. Ironically, it was my doctoral degree that saw me circling back. There’s something about the way postmodern literature plays with the arcane that had me utterly fascinated, and it wasn’t long until I fell headlong back into my old ways and haven’t looked back since.
My first novel, which isn’t in the Urban Fantasy or Fantasy genres, isn’t high literature, mind you, even if it tangles with some serious statements about politics and the way our western world runs. My editor described it as something between Charles Dickens and The Catcher in the Rye: Serious Fun, in other words.
My second novel, Pluto’s Gate, is where I’ve come home to myself: it’s a contemporary retelling of the Demeter-Persephone-Pluto story from Greek mythology. Folded into the mix is a Shaman-in-training, a magical book, Underworld Gods, a world covered in ice, a three-headed dog, and one lousy ex-boyfriend.
But I’ll tell you this much: I believe in the power of words and stories to transform our inner worlds. Whether the characters be vampires or vagabonds, a good narrative sucker punches so-called reality anyhow.
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