03 January 2013

Oppression by Jessica Therrien

Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the average person, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Among so many of her kind, she should not be very remarkable--except for the prophecy. Some believe she will put an end to traditions, safeguarded by violence, which have oppressed her people for centuries. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning--and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.

I think the best word I can choose to describe this book is "standard".  Elyse was ok as a developed character, but she kept acting out in the most ridiculous ways, especially for someone that's almost into triple digits in age.  The Twilight-esque romance felt forced and the stalkerish abuse of the boyfriend really bugged me.  The plot was mainly based on exposition of the secret world of the descendants and their powers, and it often felt as if the author was reveling in her cleverness over the worldbuilding instead of just showing it to us.  In all the book felt like a Twilight re-read.  If you're into that kind of thing I think you would love this book, but as for me I'll give it and its sequels a pass.

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