My Review: A Time to Speak, plus giveaway!

"With a strong enough voice, there can be change." - Solomon Hawke

Description:
What happens when you live longer than you wanted to?Parvin Blackwater wanted to die, but now she's being called to be a leader. The only problem is, no one wants to follow.
The Council uses Jude's Clock-matching invention to force "new-and-improved" Clocks on the public. Those who can't afford one are packed into boxcars like cattle and used for the Council's purposes.Parvin and Hawke find themselves on a cargo ship of Radicals headed out to sea. What will the Council do to them? And why are people suddenly dying before their Clocks have zeroed-out?


Nadine's long and boring bio (her words, not mine):
I am an adventurer, fusing authentic faith with bold imagination. I never received my Hogwarts letter, but rest assured I’m no Muggle (and would have been in Ravenclaw House, thank you very much.) This Harry Potter super-nerd has been known to eat an entire package of Oreos (family-size) by herself, and watches Fiddler on the Roof at least once a year. I write about brave living, finding purpose, and other worlds soaked in imagination. My dystopian trilogy (The Out of Time Series) challenged me to pursue shalom, which is now my favorite word (followed closely by bumbershoot.) When I’m not taste-testing a new chai or editing fantasy novels, me and my knight-in-shining armor (nickname: “hubby”) are out pursuing adventures.




My Review: 5 stars

Warning: this book may break your heart.This is the second book in Nadine Brandes’ Out of Time series that follows Radical Parvin Blackwater. I’m pretty new to the dystopian genre, having only read Nadine’s two books. I knew the basis of the genre, but I didn’t realize how deeply it could effect me. Both of Nadine’s books are excellent, that I don’t doubt, and they’ve both left me with much to think about. I picked up this book knowing that it would probably break my heart a bit, as the first one did, I just didn’t realize to what extent. And that isn’t meant to dissuade anyone. I loved this book! I just want to give fair warning that this isn’t a light read. Sometimes it’s dark, it’s heavy, the story carries weight and caused me to pause and think. I personally love a book that draws me so thoroughly into it that I do react. That I want to pitch it across the room, or cry, or run and tell my friends about it. Those are the books that I love the most, because they become almost real to me and I believe that it takes a gift to add that kind of weightiness to mere words.

Nadine does a fantastic job of returning me to Unity and to Parvin’s world. I love all of the characters that return and how she continued to build their ranks with new names and faces. I especially loved getting to know Solomon and watching Parvin grow even more. She’s definitely had quite the journey and I enjoyed seeing how that changed her, made her stronger. Though she has learned a lot, there is still yet more for her to find. I enjoyed following her as she grew, became a leader, and saw her vision happen. She is so realistic and I appreciated the fact that she’s never shown as perfect, or some pinnacle to be reached, but rather she’s broken. She is weak and sometimes she’s hurting, but she doesn’t surrender, even when it would’ve been the easier road. She’s a character that I found myself cheering for the entire way.

I also find myself fascinated by the world that Nadine has created and all of the gadgets that go along with it. I’ve never been much of a sci-fi person, but now I’m curious. There are so many ideas of what is possible and I love the way she explored them. They are definitely advanced, but not so far beyond my knowledge that I couldn’t comprehend. Her details are also wonderful. I could almost feel the cold and the elements, hear the waves and smell the sea. I loved how the story so thoroughly engaged me.

I have to admit that I almost envy Parvin’s faith. Though she’s been shaken and she has questions, she trusts. After giving it some thought, I really wonder if I could say the same. She’s tested beyond what she thought possible and found that God is so much stronger than anything they could imagine. I loved watching her faith grow and seeing her become more confident in who she is and who God called her to be. I loved how real this topic was throughout the book and how it played such a large part into their every day lives.

I honestly don’t have big complaints. My only negative comment is that I really disliked how the story ended. Major cliffhanger and just a “really?!” moment. I turned the last page, expecting another, and it was just over. I was anticipating that to some extent, because the first one ended the same way, but still. Really?! That being said, I definitely have incentive now to read the third book ASAP, though I think it may be a few months before it releases. I am so excited to read it and will most likely begin pestering the author shortly regarding a release date and how long I’ll be forced to wait.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction (oh, and I also highly recommend reading the first book before this one if possible!)!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author for my honest review, which I have given. I was not required to write a positive review and have not been compensated for it in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my review!  And if you just skipped right past it to get to the details about the giveaway, then I completely understand.  :)
I'm giving away a Kindle copy of either A Time to Die, the first book in Nadine's Out of Time series (click on the title to see my review), or A Time to Speak.  Winner's choice.  If you'd like to enter, but don't have a Kindle, never fear!  You can download the Kindle app to any smartphone or tablet for free - so a free book and a free app!  Can't go wrong there, right?  
My giveaway will be open until Midnight EST Wednesday, April 6th.  To be entered you simply need to do two things:

1) Leave a comment telling me something that made you smile today.

2) Include your email address in your comment - a spam deterring format such as sample[at]something[dot]com is recommended.  If you don't leave your email, I won't have a way to contact the winner, so please do!

And that's it!  I'll draw a winner using Random.org Thursday morning and will email them directly after! 
Thank you for taking the time to come by!  I hope you have a delightful day!
Oh, and if you'd like to learn more about A Time to Speak, as always, links are below!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble