BOOK REVIEW | The Raging Ones by Krista & Becca Ritchie

Title: The Raging Ones
Author: Krista & Becca Ritchie
Series? Yes, the first in a duology.
Pages: 352
Publication Date: August 14, 2018
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: I received an ARC of The Raging Ones via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In a freezing world, where everyone knows the day they will die, three teens break all odds.

Franny Bluecastle, a tough city teen, dreams of dying in opulence, to see wealth she’s never known. Like the entire world, she believes it’s impossible to dodge a deathday.

Until the day she does.

Court Icecastle knows wealth. He also knows pain. Spending five years in Vorkter Prison, a fortress of ice and suffering, he dreams of life beyond the people that haunt him and the world that imprisoned him.

Mykal Kickfall fights for those he loves. The rugged Hinterlander shares a frustrating yet unbreakable connection with Court—which only grows more lawless and chaotic as their senses and emotions connect with Franny.

With the threat of people learning they’ve dodged their deathdays, they must flee their planet to survive. But to do so, all three will have to hide their shared bond as they vie for a highly sought after spot in the newest mission to space. Against thousands of people far smarter, who’ll live longer, and never fear death the way that they do.

Goodreads 

Many moons ago, I requested an e-ARC of The Raging Ones on Netgalley. After I was accepted, I didn't do anything with it. Since one of my goals is to make my Netgalley ratio is 90 percent, I was determined to read some of my old e-ARCs and got started with The Raging Ones. While it might have taken me months to finally open up The Raging Ones, I am so glad I decided to finally read it. 

The Raging Ones is the first in a series by author duo Becca and Krista Ritchie. Known more for their adult romance novels, The Raging Ones marks their first foray into young adult territory. This YA fantasy is told in three different point of views: Franny, Court, and Mykal. In this fantasy world, everyone has a death day; people are born knowing what day they are going to die. Because of this, there are different castes: Babes, Fastrackers, and Influentials. Franny, Court, and Mykal escape their death days. Instead of dying young like they are supposed to, they survive the next day, and the next. When they escape their death days, these three teenagers are linked. They can feel each others emotions and actions. Scared of becoming test subjects or being hunted down, Franny, Court, and Mykal devise a plan to pose as Influentials and enter into a competition in which 5 winners will man a spaceship. 

Some of the reviews I read on goodreads and other blogs mentioned that the points of view weren't distinct and they all blended together. At first, this was a problem for me. I could differentiate Fanny's POV pretty easily, but Mykal and Court's were a bit harder. There are headers to each chapter telling you who was narrating, but I made a bad habit of not checking those. As I progressed through the book though, this wasn't an issue. The characters become more distinct and the readers learn more about them, and their personalities came through more. The different POVs were easier to pick up on once the three go reach the training portion of the book, since they are all struggling with different things. 

The one thing that didn't work for me was the slow pace. I love my fast-paced books, and The Raging Ones was pretty slow, especially in the beginning. The book picked up in the last act, but I struggled with the pace for about half the book. This is a subjective critique though, so if you like your slower paced books, this won't be a problem for you. 

One of the things I loved was the romance in this book! I'm not going to spoil who gets with who, but I think it's pretty obvious who the main "ship" is early on. I will say this: I love the rep in this book, and the romance is done so well. The two characters care for each other so much, and since we get both their POVs, we see how deeply. Outside of the romance, the relationships among everyone was wonderfully done. The friendships were so believable and realistic. I appreciated that Franny, Court, and Mykal weren't immediate besties and they had to work to be cohesive.

Last but not least, I want to talk about the ending of The Raging Ones. Holy crap. I love how it ended, and I think it will make for an excellent sequel! I was on the edge of my seat reading, and while it wasn't a perfect ending, I loved what happened with the spaceship. And then....the reveal at the end! What?! Krista and Becca Ritchie really played on reader's assumptions, and I was so taken aback with the twist.

The Raging Ones is a great entry into the young adult fantasy genre. Though I struggled with the slower pace at first, the world Becca and Krista Ritchie built was fascinating. I struggled to differentiate among the three POVs at first, but as I became more acclimated to the novel, the characters became more of their own. I enjoyed each POV for different reasons, and I think they work really well together. The romance was lovely as well, and I liked that it wasn't a huge part of the book. The third act was wonderful, and a great culmination of both the internal and external conflicts. After the massive twist at the end, I am eagerly anticipating the sequel, The Last Hope. 

With that, I give The Raging Ones
4 out of 5 Flowers!

Have you read The Raging Ones? What did you think of it? What is your favorite book written by Krista & Becca Ritchie? 

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Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!