Steph Reads: Morning Star: Book III of the Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown

Morning Star by Pierce Brown is the third installment of my favorite book series, the Red Rising trilogy. The book starts off where Golden Son left off...and its a pretty desperate situation. Darrow has been captured and subsequently tortured unsure of the fate of his friends and ultimately what his fate will be given he is in the hands of the Jackal. The book takes its time to get going as it relies on Darrow's own thoughts and recollections of past occurrences to get the reader caught up on the current situation, but sure enough, there are joyous reunions with new and old characters alike and the story follows Darrow's continued quest to overtake the broken society and convince all to break the chains that bind them.  My favorite character of this series is Sevro, the smart-mouthed and sharp goblin who is as jaded as he is witty and tough, and I was so happy to find he served as one of the main characters in this book with his personality a highlight throughout.

Without spoiling anything, I will say that this book was everything I hoped it would be as the perfect wrap up to my favorite series. It had violence, romance, conflict, love, war, defeat, and success. I appreciate the imperfections of our favorite protagonists that made the characters both frustrating but also all the more relatable. I'm excited for this series to be turned into films (rumored to be happening soon!), because I NEED this amazing world and its characters to be brought to life.

I will definitely be following Pierce Brown's career eagerly awaiting his next book because the way he writes is realistic even with the most fantastical elements and so, so addictive.

xxSJ

Check out my other Steph Reads posts!
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Baby Proof by Emily Giffin
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends by Courtney Robertson
Golden Son by Pierce Brown
The Hypnotist's Love Story by Lianne Moriarty
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Bossy Pants by Tina Fey
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
Someday Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarty
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
Splintered by AG Howard
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler

Steph Reads: Golden Son by Pierce Brown

"I'm Gold, bitch. What'd you expect? Warm milk and cookies just because I'm pocket-sized?"

         Golden Son is the second book in the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown and, in my humble opinion, it succeeded in being just as much of a page-turner as the first book.  The book picks up shortly after the first book ended--our protagonist, Darrow, is continuing his quest to begin a revolution as a Red (the lowest of the classes in this futuristic society), posing as a Gold, the God-like elite on top of the social hierarchy.  This novel focuses on Darrow's journey attempting to incite revolution while trying to maintain what his late wife, Eo, would have wanted. Darrow navigates the world of the Golds, attempting to gain power while being backstabbed and threatened and simultaneously finding true friendship and love.
         I loved this book and it took just as many exciting twists and turns as the first one. I appreciate that Pierce Brown managed to keep my interest with an entirely different plot line rather than recycling too many concepts and devices from the first novel.  In this story, we get new insight into this exciting and thought-provoking world Darrow lives in as well as further development of some favorite characters from Red Rising.
        I definitely recommend this novel and this series to anyone interested in fantasy, sci-fi, or adult fiction.  I liken this series to Hunger Games, only due to its dystopian themes, however I think it is a far better written and more adult. Definitely a 10/10!

SJ

Check out my other Steph Reads posts!
The Hypnotist's Love Story by Lianne Moriarty
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Bossy Pants by Tina Fey
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
Someday Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarty
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
Splintered by AG Howard
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler

Steph Reads: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Steph Reads has gone digital!!! My sister and brother-in-law were flabbergasted that I hadn't converted to reading books on my phone or iPad and told me it was a cheaper and easier way to get my bookworm on. They live about an hour away from me by subway and I had nothing to read or study on my journey back home from their place.  My brother-in-law so kindly gifted me the digital version of Red Rising by Pierce Brown to read on my phone on my way home. Knowing very little about this book, I dove right in, and let me just say... I flippin' loved it.

This story takes place in the future where Earth is dying and the main character, Darrow, is working as a miner to find precious elements to make the surface of Mars habitable. Darrow is a Red, a color marking him as the lowest in a system of classes ruled by Golds, the elite super humans. Darrow's perception of everything is shifted when he learns one day that the whole system is a lie--Mars is habitable and has been for years. The Reds working underground are slaves promised a future of living on the surface with other classes that will never be realized. Teamed up with a group of rebels, Darrow infiltrates the Golds' academy and undergoes a series of tests to prove himself worthy of being a leader. The final test is a true battlefield where more players than just Darrow have their own agenda.

This book had everything. War, love, humor, acts of vulgarity, acts of violence... this sci-fi novel fulfilled every requirement it takes to be a page turner filled with gasp worthy moments. I haven't read a novel in a while that gave such vivid descriptions of the characters, setting, and time, which is why this novel is easily my favorite I've read in the past 2 years.  I definitely recommend this novel if you're into science fiction and are looking for something more adult than Hunger Games or Divergent. This book is part of a series and is currently in pre-production for a movie!

xxSJ

Check out my other Steph Reads posts!
The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
Someday Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarty
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
Splintered by AG Howard
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler