The Pledge (Pledge #1) - Kimberly Derting

Review: The Pledge 

Author: Kimberly Derting

Rating: 4/5

Genre: dystopia, sci-fi?

Recommend To: fans of Article 5

Plot: Taking place in the country of Ludania, we have a tyrant queen who can move to another body when dying from old age. A queen for all eternity. And we have a class system enforced by language, which I thought strange at first, but Derting makes it work. Basically, after people were forbidden to learn a language other than their own class language and the universal language, the ability to learn was lost. Yet, Charlaina can understand all languages, an ability that puts her in greater danger than thought before. She fights to save her younger sister and ends up with the help of a handsome soldier, Max (yay). Finally, they have a rebellion running through the city. Yeah there is a lot going on but I absoltely loved every minute of it. 

The Characters: If there is a place the book was lacking, this was it, but I didn't have much of a problem here. The characters were thought out and obviously had more depth than I previously thought (ahem Brooklynn). Other than that, Charlie could be a bit dense at times (seriously, Max and Xander was so obvious) but other than that, she cared and was strong. Max was a definite hunk and he was definitely courageous and all so yay. But my favorites were Xander, Eden, and definitely the Queen. She was an awesome villain. The female villains are always worse, and more fun to hate.

The Romance: Maybe it was choppy at first, but it was cute and fun to love. Max was pretty dang adorable at times. Again Xander and Eden were probably better as a couple but I liked both. Hopefully in the next book it'll show more of Max being supportive and all. 

The Style: I loved Derting's Body Finder series. So I suppose thats a huge reason why I loved the Pledge so much. From a reader's standpoint, it lacked a little. From a fan's standpoint it was absolutely ah-mazing and it couldn't possibly be loved more. I loved the world where language represents who you are and I loved the legend of the lost royal legacy. Plus the Queen was just so evil.....

Overall: Romance could use some work, it was very insta-loveish but I hope she and Max will learn more about each other. A great first book to a series with a great setting and exactly the kind of plot I love. Breakneck speed, rebellions, romances, secrets, its all there