Burn Out (Burn Out, #1) by Kristi Helvig

EgmontUSA | April 8, 2014 | 272 pages

 

Procurement

eARC via NetGalley.

My Grade

Plot: 5

Setting: 5

Writing: 5

Originality: 5

Characters: 5

Romance: 4

Overall: 29/30 = 96% A

Title/Cover Bonus: 5

Overall

Action packed sci-fi futuristic story about a girl and her guns.

 Summary

The last girl on Earth…just got company.

Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds just wants to get the hell off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth’s final years, a teenage girl yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become after the sun turns “red giant,” but discovers her fellow survivors are even deadlier than the hostile environment.

Trailer

None at time of review.

First Line

300 Years from now

Six months and counting, yet not a whisper of a fellow human to be found. — eARC edition

Most Memorable Scene

The impromptu physical exam.

Plot

What a great story. I read this so fast! As the reader we want to know what the heck happened to planet Earth. Why is Tora one of the last people living there? The plot unfolds beautifully full of self discovery, mysterious elements, action, a little bit of sexual tension and of course, the sun.

Setting

Planet Earth is being scorched by the sun all day and frozen and mutilated by wind storms in the night. Tora happens to live in a underground bomb shelter that I was very surprised to find was quite big and homely. The technical advancements were astonishing. Of course being 300 years in the future I would hope to see these sorts of advancements.

Writing

Written from Tora’s first person point of view. I enjoyed the writing very much. I felt immersed in the story. Everything fit well together and I didn’t find myself wondering what the others were thinking, which happens to me a lot when the point of view doesn’t change between characters.

Originality

This story is original because of the sun burning the Earth and the fact that Tora’s sole purpose is to protect the guns that her father created, which everyone wants to get their hands on. The story is futuristic and very sci-fi.

Characters

Tora is a great character. I loved learning about her and her family members. Their story is sad and tragic. When we find out the truth it broke my heart for Tora. What a heavy weight to put on yourself.

Tora has a longtime “friend”, Markus, who stops by with a group of his “friends”. The term friend is used very loosely here. The group is hostile at first but we get to know them all a bit better. Especially James.

Romance

We quickly notice quiet James and Tora’s attraction to him. There’s more to him than what meets the eye. I wish we could have learned more about him.

Title/Cover Bonus

Both the title and the cover are pretty great. I have nothing really to address on either one.

Ending

I was so upset! My eARC file from NetGalley had 2 copies of the book in ONE file! Therefore, when I got to the end of the book my progress was only at 50%! I kept thinking how awesome this book was because there was so much more to read. I was sorely mistaken a few page swipes later.

With that said I have to comment on the ending as good but not awesome. It reminded me of the ending to Catching Fire. But that’s okay because I can’t wait to read the next installment to this series!

Series

Since this is #1 I am assuming additional installments are planned.

Connect with Kristi Helvig

 Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of BURN OUT (#1) by Kristi Helvig.

Open to US and Canada shipping addresses only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
//widget.rafflecopter.com/load.js