| Title | : | The Pearl Savage (Savage, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 348 |
| Publication | : | First published June 14, 2011 |
ASIN B00563HRPM
Seventeen-year old princess, Clara Williamson, lives an old-fashioned existence in a biosphere of the future.
When her sadistic mother, Queen Ada, betroths her to an abusive prince of a neighboring sphere, Clara determines to escape Outside, where savages roam free.
Clara escapes tyranny only to discover the savages are not the only people who survived the cataclysmic events of one hundred forty years prior.
Once Outside, Clara finds herself trapped, unable to return to the abusive life of the sphere while facing certain danger Outside.
Can Clara find love and freedom with the peril that threatens to consume her?
Cover art by Phatpuppyart.com
The Pearl Savage (Savage, #1) Reviews
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Did I read the same book as everyone else? I thought this was atrocious! I see so many people writing about Blodgett's great writing style, but to me it was stilted and sometimes incomprehensible - random, important words seemed to often be missing. She also couldn't decide if she was writing a Victorian romance or a caveman porno. It doesn't matter, she failed at both.
There's no description of the world these characters are in. Other than hot, steamy air, you never get a feel for what this world is like. It should have been really interesting setting, but I could never picture any of it in my mind.
What do these characters do and feel? You never find out. The characters themselves are the same - flat and uninteresting. These people are trapped inside giant spheres. Doesn't anyone go stir-crazy and just want out? Apparently they are all perfectly content in their blank, I-have-no-idea-about-it world.
I shouldn't have finished the book, but I kept waiting to get to the part where it became good! -
This is what I get for randomly putting on free or cheap ebooks on my Kindle without previewing them first. Of course, you really can’t tell how good or bad a book’s going to be until you’ve read, but still. After finishing this, I wanted to slap myself.
First off, this is so boring that I ended skimming the last quarter of the book just to get to the end. I don’t care about any of these characters. They’re all the same stereotypical YA dystopia/paranormal/fantasy-esque leads—plain girl who’s super special and needs protection; Love Interest 1, a douchebag; Love Interest 2, nice guy who turns into a douchebag; and the jilted best friend who ends up as Love Interest 3. (Because a love triangle just isn’t enough in this book.) And the writing. This is ultraviolet prose at its worst. I’m assuming that the overtly flowery language is supposed to be a result of the antiquated society, but it’s just awful and stilted. And this isn’t even adding in the massive abuse of ellipsis’s and italics, used almost to the point of parody. (And I’ve been guilty of italic abuse.) It’s the weakest possible way of writing conflict and tension, and honestly, the author should have gotten a decent editor to look over this.
The world-building is weak. There’s a quasi-steampunk society of spheres that used to be the United States, constructed during a massive meteor strike in the 1890s. I could possibly run with this. except it feels more like an excuse to shove the heroine into pretty dresses. But then we find out that there’s two societies of ‘savages’ (*seethe*) living in the outside world. And one of the societies has a modern way of living with nice houses and community centers and democracy and nice clothes, but they’re not as nice as the ones in the sphere. And the other outside society is a band of pillagers. What pisses me off here is that there is no difference between either one of the two ‘main’ groups aside from outside appearance. This is supposed to pick up a hundred and forty years after the prologue scene, and both groups conveniently have a similar culture and manners of speaking? Oh, and by the way, using overly flowery archaic language is not the default speaking pattern for time periods pre-late 20th century. I can somewhat excuse the use of it in the sphere, but the use of it in the 1890 flashback is WRONG. You can’t put any old fashioned language into a certain time period, just because “Oh, well, it’s old-timey!” And why do the people living on the outside have the exact same way of speaking? Even coming from the same source, the differences in the culture would have differences in the speaking patterns and terminology. And yes, there is more than enough time for cultural differences to emerge. (Sorry, doing research on the 1890s right now /research rage.)
But research fail is not why I hated this book.
So, the plot of this book is that the one major clan—the civilized one—is looking to negotiate an exchange with the people of the spheres for women to breed with the clansmen. And they would really like some for the members of the Band, who all inexplicably have gills despite being inland. Oh, and Love Interest #1 spies on the super special Princess being abused and wants to protect her from her abusers, and Love Interest #2 is a misogynistic abusive jackass who wants to take Princess Mary Sue and show her who’s really in charge.
I’m surprised at myself that I didn’t give up at this point.
So, Princess Mary Sue tries to run away from her abusive mother, and manages to nearly get raped by her just-as-abusive fiancé, and in turn, gets kidnapped by the Band and faints. *seethe* She then wakes up in a perfectly nice four-poster bed and learns that the savages aren’t quite so different after all, ‘Colors of the Wind,’ learns that women are supposed to be delicate fucking flowers who can’t even defend themselves and are only good for popping out babies. She and one of the other women go to bath in the woods with the misogynistic asshole, who decides that this is his chance. And then we find out the Princess’s real super-special ability: she’s referred to as a select. Which means that any member of the Band who comes in contact with her is so fucking overcome with their hormones that they essentially molest her and she just stands there and does nothing. And it gets fucking better—the end of this book is the ENTIRE Band lining up to sexually assault this girl, who just stands there and lets them do whatever they want, with the entire community watching and deciding which one member is most suitable for her to mate with.
FUCK. THIS. NOISE.
Fuck this book. I’m not even touching on the absolute fail on the abuse that crops up in the characters’ past—trust me, that pissed me off too—but good fucking God. We do not need another YA book that tells girls to be doormats and let guys do whatever they fucking want because “It’s hormones!” and that the only thing a woman is good for is her vagina. And not to mention, this is fucking sexual assault this girl is going through, and it’s fucking okay with everyone? Because it’s for the greater fucking good? NO. NO NO NO NO.
Oh, and there’s a sequel hook at the end that deal with fucking mermaids that barely gets explained. I’m not bothering, and you shouldn’t even bother with this book. Fuck this book. -
Originally posted to:
Bookish Blog
OH. My. God.
I loved this book. SO MUCH. I've read this book 3 times already and still can't seem to get enough of it! I'm a huge fan of Tamara Rose Blodgett's brilliant works. She's made of win and her stories speak right to my heart. Every time I pick up one of her novels (whether it's the Savage series or her wicked awesome corpse-raiser series, Death) I just want to lock myself away from the rest of the world and read. Just read. Devour the whole thing in one sitting and then re-read, slowly savoring every word. Not caring about anything but the story, the characters and the fabulous atmosphere of the world she created. It's my happy moment. My pink bubble of happiness. My guilty pleasure. SPA for the soul and mind.
The Pearl Savage is the first novel in the fantastically imagined Savage series. It's a beautiful and touching tale of love, friendship, sacrifice, destiny, promises and difficult choices. It's a fight for freedom and equality, struggle against abuse, depiction of greed and howling injustice in the world driven to the brink of extinction. Above all, it's a marvelous, wonderfully narrated, multi-layered and complex creation, written with passion and something I like to call the wow-factor.
"Their history clear in that regard, they needed to be ever-vigilant with the savages. The Time Keeper had made it known that they were a people apart, possibly not even the same species."
In 1890 something horrible happened. Some sort of natural disaster (most likely an asteroid hitting the planet) almost drove humanity to extinction. The ash-covered earth was no longer inhabitable, and so "The Guardians" created the spheres - steam-engineered, impenetrable bio-zones, where people could live normally, breathing purified air. Not everyone could be saved, though, as there were only 19 spheres created. Sick or old people were left behind. Miraculously, some of them managed to survive and adapt to the hostile environment. People gathered together, creating clans. A new race of men was born - the Band - bigger, stronger, and with gills to help them breath. The Band protected the clan, taking special care of the precious females, so fragile and sparse in number. Unfortunately, not every clan out there is governed fairly, some of them are nothing more than criminals, aggressive, despicable and violent.
Clara, a seventeen-year old red-head girl, is a princess in the Kingdom of Ohio. Her life is the opposite of a fairytale, though. Her father, King Raymond, had passed away, giving in to the untreatable sickness, and ever since then her mother (Queen Ada) had taken to the cup. She's a horrible person, who doesn't care about anything other than alcohol and will stop at nothing - even if it means selling her own daughter - to get her precious grapes for wine production. Abusive, violent, cruel and nasty, she often takes her rage out on the poor Clara, who dares not stand up to her, afraid that her People will suffer punishment. When Queen Ada promises Clara's hand to a bilious prince of a neighboring Kingdom, Clara, together with her trusted friends, plots an escape plan. She saw the savage outside the sphere, she knows people live there, and if living outside the protective walls of bio-zones can grant her freedom from the never-ending abuse and humiliation, then she is willing to give it a try. What she doesn't realize, though, is that the Clan people have their own plans for her, and it's not necessarily something she will be happy about, either...
The guard watched the shy female with Joseph of the Band. He kept his smirking to himself. His time would come. A female would not be his weakness. He would bend her to his will.
Um, awesome much?!
The Pearl Savage is such a vibrant and deliciously imaginative tale! A one-of-a-kind, breathtaking, touching and charming, but also often thrilling and disturbing story. It's beautiful. Simply beautiful. I've never come across anything like that! It's so freaking unique! Tamara Rose Blodgett did a fabulous job creating a phenomenal steampunk world with a fancy, lyrical XIX-century-ish language straight from the Victorian era. The setting and the costumes, the characters and the way they express themselves, the sparkling atmosphere and evocative descriptions - all that makes for an exquisite and thoroughly compelling read.
Some promises a person could not keep, even if their lives depended on it.
It's the kind of book that requires 100% of your attention 100% of the time. You need to focus on what you're reading and skimming through is strictly forbidden, otherwise you'll miss all the essential details that are hidden throughout the whole story. Seriously, every word accounts for something. There are bits and pieces of information that may seem unimportant, but trust me, they are. Blodgett doesn't waste time and paper blabbing away, she creates a complex and well thought-out plot line. If you skim through, you'll just end up frustrated that you wasted your time.
She was unlike any of the females he had seen, which were rare in his clan. A female was highly prized and safeguarded. His eyes caressed her face, the skin like cream from the cow, her eyes like the sea near his cousin's clan... hair the color of fire burnt down to embers.
I loved the narration style! I'm not a big fan of different POVs, but in The Pearl Savage it worked so well! You get to learn what the main characters think - and not only just Clara, Charles and Bracus, but even the evil little traitor who is plotting something totally evil (like all the evil traitors usually do). And I know that you must be thinking "gee, that sounds like a lot of POVs and the whole thing must be quite confusing", but really, it isn't. At all! Tamara cleverly changes the font style each time the POV switches to the next character, everything is pretty clear and straight-forward. The complexity is there, but it's not in the least overwhelming or annoying. What can I say? It works perfectly! I enjoyed the flashbacks, too! For once you actually knew those were flashbacks, instead of wondering "where in the world this passage/chapter just came from?!"
Clara was such a wonderful heroine! Brave, strong, thoughtful and caring. So lovely, sweet and, um, very hot! :) A redhead in a corset dress, with pearls in her hair? OMG, how insanely awesome is that?! I can totally imagine this book being adapted into a fantastic movie! I found the characters to be realistic and believable. Sophisticated. Well-drawn and vivid. I genuinely cared for them, especially Clara and Charles. The bad guys, though? Aw man, you will love to HATE them! And I'll bet you, you will swear under your breath at least once while reading about their evil schemes!
The bottom line is: This book totally blew me away. It's the coolest thing ever. I mean, come on! Victorian era + steampunk + freedom quest + love?! WIN! An absolute must-read! -
What can I say about this book without being a gushing fangirl. Tamara is great at creating worlds and characters that you can love. Clara is definately one of those. The book started out slowly at first because I had to adjust to the language and characters. It definately picked up within the first few chapters.
In this book there are two seperate worlds the world of the sphere which has kingdoms and is run entirely off of steam. The opposite is the "the outside" which is full of "savages" with gills. (But don't worry they are hunky savages). The outside is a bit more back to nature obviously. They do have a settlement and are quite advanced for being left to perish by the Evil Ones.
The reader then learns that perhaps the civilized sphere dwellers are the true savages as Clara suffers non stop abuse from her mother and future husband Prince Fredric (what-a-tool). She has true friends in her maid, bff Charles (who pines for her) and blunt Sarah. When she escapes/is taken outside she soon learns that her future is more than just future monarch (if douche bag Freddie doesn't beat her to death first). She maybe able to save the dwindling tribe of savages. She enjoys the short time she spends with the few women of the clan. And most definately enjoys her time with a certain male Band memeber.
The worlds are rich and filled with drama and suspense and the characters are beautifully developed. Queen Ada is the perfect villan and I was very happy for what happened to her. I can't wait to read what happens next. Will tool boy Fredric return? Will Clara choose the right man to be by her side? Will Charles learn to chillax? I don't know but I am going to go buy the next book RIGHT NOW so that I can find out!!!!
Thank you Tamara for writing another excellent story that I can escape into! -
The abundance of dome living within Dystopian novels is making me nervous. It really seems like a possibility. In The Pearl Savage something happens in 1890 that makes the Earth rather inhabitable. The young, healthy people were selected to live within the spheres, while the old and sick were left outside. 140 years later, time inside the spheres is frozen. The people still speak like they're in 1890, retained the mannerisms, as well as the fashion, but outside it's much different, much more savage. Clara, a princess in the sphere, dreams of exploring her wild surrounds, but of course that's not allowed.
I immediately felt terrible for Clara! She's such a nice, considerate, and helpful person. She cares about the people of her Kingdom and even works among them to do her part despite being royalty and against her mother's wishes. Her mother is a drunk, as well as physically and emotionally abusive. She even sells Clara's hand in marriage to get grapes for her precious wine! On top of that, Clara's betrothed, Frederic, is a total pig! He treats her like property and is also abusive! No wonder Clara wants out of the domes! The savages also want Clara out of the dome for their own reasons.
I really loved the contrast between life inside and outside. Outside women are few in number, so they're heavily protected and revered. This is so much different than how Clara is treated, and it in part motivates her kidnapping by the savages. The outsiders live in clans, governed by presidents and advisers, protected by the Band. While those inside the spheres still have royalty and guards, which involve alliances and trade. The spheres have no true weather and are often humid due to the steampower, while the outsiders get to enjoy direct sunlight and wind and rain. It was also interesting how both groups viewed their 1890 ancestors so differently. The outsiders view them as the "Evil Ones" who have condemned them to this harsh lifestyle, and the insiders see them as the "Guardians" who saved their lives.
We get to see all of these differences and more in detail thanks to the multiple POVs, and the fact that our main character spends time in and out of the protective spheres. It was also very interesting, and exciting, when the two groups collided Outside. There was a bit of a standoff between a group of guards from the spheres and the Band, and I had no idea how that was going to to turn out. There were some twist of events that I most definitely did not see coming. It'll be interesting to see the consequences of this collision.
The Pearl Savage has action, drama, romance, and corsets. It basically has a little bit of everything, but enough of what's important to make this an interesting and engaging read. I loved the minor supernatural twists near the end, and I can't wait to see how that plays out in the following book. There's also a love-square happening, which has strange dynamics, and I have no clue who Clara will choose!
Read more of my reviews at
Pinkindle Reads & Reviews. -
I picked this book up because of the post-apocalyptic world and the interesting backdrop of Victorian versus Science Fiction. The main character, Clara, is likable and a strong female lead, which accounts for most of the reason I stuck with the story as long as I did.
The Pearl Savage does have some merit, providing a unique world with a workable plot. The main character certainly had potential, tolerating the abuse of her drunk mother in order to protect her people from the mistreatment they would certainly suffer without her interference in royal affairs. However, the writing is off putting, giving you the insight of almost every character in the book.
The characters are simple and undeveloped. There are two main "villains," which is definitively the category they belong to, being "modern" versions of fairytale antagonists. The Queen only interest is wine and the abuse of her daughter, and her reason for both these activities is not explained in the first 75% of the book, which is all I could bear to read. The other villain is a neighboring kingdom's Prince, who is explained to be crazy because of too much inbreeding within the royal family. To put it simply, the evil Queen is an alcoholic and the evil prince is some kind of deranged hemophiliac. Neither character is interesting and the narrator devotes entire sections to explaining their boring and stereotypically evil thoughts.
The romance is confusing. As I said, I didn't read the end. What I did read is either leading up to some kind of love triangle, with very underdeveloped relationships, or a very bum-hurt savage leader, who seems like he'd probably boo hoo cry about the Princess hooking up with another savage.
To sum it all up:
Writing Style: C-- started strong with the language and descriptions, but the narration and dialogue were lacking, to say the least.
Plot: C -- Setting and backdrop were very intriguing, and had a lot of potential for a very dramatic and exciting romance, but failed, miserably.
Characters and Character Development: F -- boring characters with little to no development throughout the story. Their backgrounds were hastily constructed and explained in a most matter of fact way. The antagonists were simple and possibly the worst I've read in a long time.
Romance: D -- Untapped potential. No build up. No development. -
I cannot bring myself to finish this book. Good thing I got it for free.
The prologue seemed extremely promising: some kind of world disaster is imminent, but Guardians have set up protective spheres for a certain amount of the world's population. One unsaved man and his wife, slowly dying outside the spheres, say goodbye to their daughter.
Sounds pretty cool, right?
Then Chapter One hits. And suddenly it's some oh-no-arranged-marriage story, complete with paper-thin villains and clothing that's reverted centuries to super-tightly-laced corsets. Oh, and did I mention the savages?
You see, the savages somehow manage to live outside the spheres, in some kind of *gasp* democracy instead of the monarchies inside the spheres (which...again, what's with the reversion to centuries-old practices? I don't really want to read more to find out if this is addressed anywhere). And in every instance of the word, Blodgett italicizes savage. Which is really irritating. And the context in which these savages are written really doesn't do anything to critique its very old, racist use to describe American Indians--even though these new savages appear to be white.
...not quite done on that critique, I'll finish this later. -
The Pearl Savage was a very unique and exciting story! The way the world is plotted out and so many interesting characters made for a very fun read. You really feel compassion for Clara as she goes through one trial after another. One of my favorite things in a story is when you have men fighting over the heroine and there is certainly no shortage here! I will definitely be following this series further!
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This book could've been so good, but it fell flat for me. I thought the size discrepancy between the Band and the women of the sphere was both strange and a bit disturbing, at least in the way described. I found it unlikely that everyone wanted to be with Clara. The ending was uncomfortable to read, the test scene, and I just couldn't wait until that was done. I'll still read the next, because some things were revealed that I'm curious to see where they go, but I'm not sure how much more than that I'll read.
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This is a very well written novel. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting; I’ve read Blodgett’s other book, Death Whispers, and I knew she was a great writer, but she still blew me away with this novel. It’s completely different from Death Whispers and, if I didn’t already know that Blodgett wrote them, I’d never think that the same writer was responsible for both novels. They are so completely different, yet both beautifully written.
What I really love about this novel is that Blodgett keeps the story fresh and original—I’ve never read anything like it—and she maintains an almost archaic tone throughout the prose and dialogue, never straying into modernization or slang, which I’ve noted a lot of authors do accidentally when trying to write a novel from another time period. It is obvious that Blodgett has put a lot of time and love into this novel, perfecting the language and causing the reader to transport to another world entirely, becoming lost within the pages of this epic novel.
Although the story takes place in the future and is superior in terms of technological advances (a sort of steampunk novel), the society seems to have backtracked as well, at least in terms of language, giving it a historical feel while at the same time lending itself to both the paranormal and fantasy genre. I thought it was ingenious that 19 states in the USA are kingdoms within themselves, set inside a sphere, as the outside air is tainted and savages roam the land. Although the background concerning the Guardians/Evil Ones is not fully disclosed, including how the divide between the sphere and the outside world truly came to be, the story will maintain reader interest through the constant action and fascinating love triangle of sorts—and the sequel is set up to answer any ensuing questions one might have.
To read my full review:
http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20... -
This one is really a 4.5, but I rounded up since I can't do half stars. When I started the book, I was a bit hesitant. The language is very different and took a little getting used to, so if you don't like books that read differently than how we speak in 2012, I don't suggest this. Anyway, the story itself was really unique and almost immediately captured me. It shocked me a LOT, which was great because I don't like predictability. The first half of the book I was SO sure of who the mystery guard was and I was totally wrong, TWICE. I love that. I almost instantly connected with our protagonist, Clara. It was easy to like her and to feel her emotions with her. The characters around her I thought were pretty well written. The background characters stayed in the background (but not too far back), and the main characters stayed up front. I won't lie though, as I'm sure it wasn't the intentenion of the author, Charles annoyed me. I felt like he should've come across as the guy we swoon over and want Clara to end up with. Instead I felt like he was that guy on a tv show that doesn't know how to act. Almost every time I saw his name I was annoyed and near the end, I was even more annoyed with him.. but that's ok. The rest of the story made up for my negative feelings for him. I really enjoyed this book and am going straight into book two because I will lose my mind if I don't! I won't say why so I don't spoil it for anyone.
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Sorry, just not into the huge amount of physical abuse and near rape and the fact that every available male in the story wanted to have sex with this fragile young thing for no reason (but that doesn't count for the men that have gills on their necks and spend no time in the water--for them, they feel the mating pull thing that weirdly takes away even more of this girl's free will)... Also, the big gill men who want to bone her? They have a strange fascination with "affectionately" wrapping their hands around her tiny neck. I love fantasy, but this just fell apart for me from the beginning and continued to get worse. -
I knew I would have to read the Pearl Savage as soon as I read the sample.I was looking for something a little different and Blodgett delivered. A combination of great description and well used dialogue makes the futuristic yet Victorian setting of the novel believable and engaging.Combine that with a very likeable main character and some very intriguing leading men and Pearl Savage is a book that shouldn’t be passed up. I am anxiously awaiting the next book!
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Absolutely AWESOME new series! I was captive immediately by the Clara's strong personality and strength of character even in the face of great adversity. Can't wait to read more...
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🎁 FREE on Amazon today (1/9/2021)! 🎁
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Actual Rating: 2.5
When I picked up this book on my Kindle, I was excited to read something that was a bit sci-fi/fantasy and this looked like it would be an interesting read. It follows the story of seventeen-year old Clara, a princess in a future world, who escapes to the Outside, a place ruled by savages. The synopsis of the story drew me in at first. A princess who wishes to escape an abusive mother and an arranged marriage escapes to the Outside, the area that lays beyond her sphere. What she finds is that the savages that live there are not as savage as they are believed to be.
What I loved:
I'll be honest, there wasn't much that I loved about this book. I found it a very difficult read to get into. It was a blend of dystopian and steampunk with a historical twist and the mish-mash didn't do the book any favors. That being said...
What I liked:
I liked the concept for the story. It was imaginative and had great potential.
I especially liked the character of Anna. I found myself wanting to know more about her and where she came from. I really liked watching her coming out of her shell and seeing her love blossom with Joseph.
I liked how the character of Prince Frederic was done. He reminded me of Joffrey from Game of Thrones. That is what I pictured when I read him. Very sadistic and wanting to force the princess to love him through physical abuse.
What I didn't like:
Again, I didn't like the mish-mash of genres that were present. It made it a bit difficult to follow. Also, there were entirely too many POVs for me to follow. I feel that it could have been streamlined.
I wasn't a fan of the pace of the story. It seemed to take forever to get into where things really started happening. I was anticipating more action earlier in the book.
The romance in the book was really tough for me too. I expected a bit of romance, even a love triangle (which is typical in YA), but a love quadrangle (perhaps even a quintangle or hexangle...is that a word?)? It just wasn't for me.
Overall, this book just wasn't for me. It took me a long time to get into the story, and when I did, then ending left me disappointed. I don't think that I'll be picking up the rest of this series. I read ahead to see the synopses of the next books in the series and I'm satisfied in knowing essentially what happens. I'm going to try the Death series to see if that is something more my speed. This one didn't ring my bell. -
Let me first start off by saying a HUGE thank you to Tamara for giving me a second chance with her. I had to call a DNF (Do Not Finish) with one of her books. It just wasn't for me. But being the generous author that she is...she offered me a chance to read a different book from a different series of hers. And once I started I knew I would love it. So unlike anything I have read. Almost a mixture of Steampunk/Dystopian/Fantasy.
Living in the confines of her Sphere, Princess Clara is treated anything but royal like. Clara lives with the abuse at the hands of her drunk mother, Queen Ada. And now her betrothed, Prince Frederick, is also abusing her. Willing to risk the Savages and the possible tainted air outside her sphere, Clara and good friend, Charles, concoct a plan to escape into the Outside.
Little did she know that the Savages living in the Outside have other plans for her. They hope to use Clara as a means for negotiating a truce to have their people and the sphere-dwellers live in peace together. But what starts out as a well laid plan soon disintegrates and all hell breaks loose. Will Clara find the freedom she so desperately seeks? And will the Savages be able to find peace among the sphere-dwellers in order to help save their own?
The people of the sphere still live, talk and dress as if they are back in the late 1800’s. And I absolutely loved it. They enter these spheres when the Earth was covered in Ash. And it’s as if they were stuck in that time period for the next 140 years. Luckily the people Outside still survived after the destruction on earth, but they were always considered Savages. The whole idea that Tamara came up with was unique and fascinating. I truly became addicted to both life styles the people inside the spheres and out lived.
A lot goes on in the story, so pay attention. I mean it’s not a complicated story to follow…but so much goes on you will want to stay focused. Almost every character in the book has their own agenda when it comes to Clara, so lots will happen. And just when you think Clara will end up with someone, the author shakes things up a bit and you are left thinking ‘did she really just do that? Oh yeah, she did. I loved how I had no idea what was coming next; always taken completely by surprise.
Revenge, pride, lust, sacrifice, friendship, and power all play a part in this fast paced, phenomenal story. -
I am completely stunned by this novel. I went in expecting a different read, and I came out of it knowing that it was the BEST read of 2011. Easily.
There are so many excellent stars to this novel. That I'll just have to name a few.
- The writing! I loved it and how beautifully the words flowed together. You can see the effort and time the author put into the novel.
-The story itself is something that I haven't seen in the YA genre. The plot was something that I won't forget in a long time... It is set 2030, and world has collapsed after the days of ash. There are 19 kingdoms built up, such as "kingdome of ohio", "kingdom of kentucky". Each of these kingdom's has a sphere built around them, to protect themselves from the Outside. But there are people on the outside, and Clara the main character sees them in the forest from her window... I'll zip my lips from here, although I'm itching to write and tell the rest of the story.
I found Clara to be a brave heroine. And I am probably one of the pickiest readers out there. I roll my eyes at all the simpering, weak kneeed heroines we see in all kinds of genre, but espeically YA. She was a refreshing change. Her life has made her strong. From dealing with her mother, Queen Ada who is more interest in her "cups", to Prince Frederic, her betrothed, who is...well,read it to find out.
There were so many twist and turns that you NEVER see coming. And I found my self reading frantically at the end to see what would happen. I've never been so torn in my life over what Clara should choose to do. (and pick)
I recommend this book to anyone who loves an amazing romance, paranormal, and just a geniune good story.
Top novel for me of... a lot of years to come. -
I read this book all the way through once and realized how unique it is from the many books published. As I reread through it now I see just what it was that made The Pearl Savaage one of my favorite books in a long time.
Aside from the whole new world
Tamara Rose Blodgett has created, in which the people who live in the spheres follow monarchies and those on the outside have a president, the characters were realistic and made the story come alive. There's something about Clara that makes me want to stop and carefully read when she speaks. She's wise beyond her seventeen years. She's a lovable character because of how she treats others and handles her own bad situations. The idea of the Band was superb right down to their physical description. I liked reading Bracus' thoughts(along with other members of the Band), too. His first up close encounter with Clara gave me goosebumps and I knew, at that point, how much I would enjoy the story.
Certain events in the story were unexpected and my initial guesses of what would happen didn't happen in quite the way I predicted. I really loved that about the story because sometimes when I expect something to happen in a story, and it doesn't happen, I'm disappointed. On the other hand, when an author writes something even better than what I predicted, I'm elated that I haven't wasted my money.
I'm terribly excited to see how Clara's story unfolds in the next book of the series, The Savage Blood! -
I was not exactly sure as to what to expect with this novel but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I was blown away by the story and the way you were instantly connected to the characters and the trials they went through. I end up connecting with characters when I read books but never have I connected with them so soon when reading this book. Blodgett is able to write in a way that keeps the story fresh, original and even maintains the same tone throughout without straying into modernization or slang that some writers end up doing. You can tell that Blodgett put lots of love and time into this novel because of the way she has perfected the language which causes the reader to be transported to another world entirely.
This was more of a romance novel than suspense but it is still able capture the reader and create suspense in the characters actions and holding onto information until just the right moment. Usually, I really dislike romance novels but this one was able to capture my attention and keep me involved with just the right amount of passion and romance without making it mushy.
I love the fact that Blodgett does not leave the end of the novel hanging on for dear life but leaves it in such a way that it can be open for a sequel which makes you want more and want to see where the journey will go next.
I am very much looking forward to reading the sequel "The Savage Blood" and to see which man Clara chooses and what happens with the sphere and the evil Prince Fredrick. -
Unfortunately I had too many problems with this book as in with its world-building and characters alike to actually enjoy it.
It seems to me this dystopia was a clash of too many ideas, which together created a great mess.
The world is separated into savages and so-called aristocratic society stuck in Victorian era under the protection of steam-powered domes. However in the centuries since the domes creation this society hasn't bothered to monitor changes of the outside world so it comes as a great surprise for them that it's actually now livable. What kind of disaster made the atmosphere dangerous for humans in the first place is not very clear.
The savages have a confusing tribal system, but they have a president (presidents?) and they are not really savages. There comes the line about their genetic modification, specific breed of warriors and special mates for them... Eh, too much.
Clara's willingness to go through abuse of her perpetually drunken mother and a potential abuse from her fiance didn't make sense to me as well. Her people were behind her, most of the aristocracy was behind her. The elimination of the queen who is incapable of ruling properly should have been in the works, maybe not by Clara herself, but by certain groups among the aristocracy. Clara's plot to just escape and hide wasn't going to work anyway.
Oh, well. I know a lot of people loved this book, but sadly it wasn't for me. -
OMG let me just start off by saying that I always wanted to be an EVIL QUEEN!
I didn't think this book was going to go down like this, and at one point I was just like:
over all it was amazing! The story was very captivating, but too many hormones blowing in the wind for me too keep up:
Still great though:
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Okay, I'm confused. What did I just read?? Where is the world building? Why is this a dystopian book? Where is the science fiction? Why do these "savages" have gills? Why are they even called savages? What's up with the mermaid? Why does every male in this book want to sleep with Clara?
There are just questions over questions. I'm not saying this was bad, but as the beginning of the series, this shouldn't leave the reader confused about what's going on.
After I was done with the first book I just had tons of questions....
It also felt to easy at times. So the abusive Queen is killed, Clara becomes Queen and declares peace between her people and these savages conveniently Prince Frederic escapes so you just know he'll be back to cause trouble and now Clara will decide on a mate.
So is this book supposed to be a dystopian survival story or a me Tarzan you Jane, you come to my hut kind of story?
I don't know. -
It was a weekend of not needing depth, so this fit the bill. I liked that I did not have to think AT ALL while reading this book.
The story is a bit unique as to the setting, but SO similar to the typical love triangle stories that it made me a bit nauseous.
That said, I read it quickly on my Nook and actually started #2 in the Trilogy, so it did have some redeeming value. A few of the characters have potential, just not the main one.
As an aside, I've never read anything that mentions the possibility of rape so much, nor the continuous usage of the word "heat", without actually having any type of sex scene. I think that type of writing takes some sort of talent. (Just not sure if it's actually talent with redeeming value...)
I may start on one of her other trilogies to see if I'm thinking correctly about her writing style. -
I haven't finished yet, but I am forcing myself to finish this book because I started it. I actually really like the story concept, the way the plot unfolds, (especially the way she reveals character exposition) and the main character. She doesn't act like a lot of protagonist women I've read lately. She has healthy relationships with other women and doesn't act like a total mary sue; plus, she actually acts as smart/brave/strong as other characters describe her as being. that is why I gave 2 stars, because other than those elements, the writing is almost completely unreadable. The author seems to be trying to use an elevated language style that sounds vaguely Victorian, but it comes out as obtuse and disjointed. The sentence structure doesn't make sense half the time. I probably won't be reading the rest of the series because this book was so hard to get through.
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Review coming but have to say it was so good I immediately purchased part 2, The Savage Blood!
I was completely blown away by this book. I read it all the way through not even stopping when the electric went out. I just lit a candle and kept going. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a fast paced, action packed, fantasy written so well you forget reality book. Be warned it is a highly addictive series. So go ahead and get book two while your at it.
A full review can be found at
www.alaskanbookcafe.com -
dayuuum. that was what i can call reverse harem for the young adult.
it robbed me of precious hours of sleep.
the author's writing was beautiful, even when amidst blood and gore.
i loved clara, her character was not overdone.
and goodness, the band. hot hot hot. they're too much to handle, it was ridiculous.
the sexual tension.
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I am not sure what I thought the book would entail when first downloading it, but I have to say that it was one of the best books I've read in a while. The writing, the character development, the plot, the description....all of it was simply fantastic. In fact, I enjoyed the novel so thoroughly that I have just downloaded the second in the series, The Savage Blood!
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I was totally smitten by this novel. There aren't enough good things to say about it. It is very different and unlike anything i have ever read before. I will definitely be reading the sequel and bugging Tamara about it till it comes out =D
