Branded
Author: Abi Ketner and Missy
Kalicicki
Series: Sinners
Pages: 252
Genre: Dystopian
Publisher: Self
Synopsis.
(Goodreads)
Fifty
years ago the Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In
his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society. He created
the Hole where sinners are branded according to their sins and might survive a
few years. At best.
Now LUST wraps around my neck like blue fingers strangling me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit and now the Hole is my new home.
Darkness. Death. Violence. Pain.
Now every day is a fight for survival. But I won’t die. I won’t let them win.
The Hole can’t keep me. The Hole can’t break me.
I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter.
My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story.
Now LUST wraps around my neck like blue fingers strangling me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit and now the Hole is my new home.
Darkness. Death. Violence. Pain.
Now every day is a fight for survival. But I won’t die. I won’t let them win.
The Hole can’t keep me. The Hole can’t break me.
I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter.
My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story.
Review: 4 out of 5 stars
Branded started out
brilliantly, I found myself completely immersed in the story and flipping
through the pages, I would have given the book a solid five stars based on the
first portion of the book but at some point my interest tapered off and I found
myself pushing through it.
The world Ketner and Kalicicki have created is unique, brutal
and quite horrifying, The Commander has ordered people who commit one of the
seven deadly sins be branded with a colour which matches their crime and exiled
to the Hole which is more or less hell for humans, it’s his way of keeping the
society pure.
Lexi Hamilton has been branded with a blue mark which means
lust, a crime she doesn’t get a hearing for, she is instantly guilty and with
her stunning looks she becomes a prime target in the hole. Lexi was a character that
has been dealt a difficult hand, both in and out of the hole but she was
resilient and had strength which was needed to survive, but there was something
about her which I am struggling to pinpoint that left me conflicted about her
as a character.
 |
| Lexi |
Lust - Blue
Gluttony – Orange
Pride - Purple
Greed – Yellow
Wrath - Red
Sloth - Black
Envy - Green
Sloth - Black
Envy - Green
Ordered to guard Lexi is smexy, hardened Cole who I really liked, he would
pretty much do anything to protect her against the cruel society which I
appreciated but he was also one of the Commanders guards so I was wary about his motives and the kindness he showed, he was nothing like the other guards who seemed ruthless.
 |
| Cole |
Guards and sinners are forbidden to be in a relationship; it’s a
crime punishable by death but Cole and Lexi came to form a really sweet bond in
a world filled with injustice and pain, there were a few eye rolling moments
between them but I did find myself hoping they would get together.
Amidst the violence, filth and brutality we have some sweet
moments, especially with Cole’s clumsy yet protective dog Zeus who bought some
light humour to the story and also Alyssa who was a sweetheart, my heart broke
for her. All secondary characters were each fleshed out well, I admired Sutton and Bruno and the villain was pure evil and I was quite shocked by who he was, I also wasn't a fan of Lexi's brother Keegan, I didn't trust him at all.
I really liked the writing style, it flowed well but the
dialogue at times felt stilted, the world-building was wonderfully creative and
I’m curious to see what lies ahead for the hole and the revolt, the authors
have painted a dark and dreary setting that you can’t help but visualise, it
was absolutely disturbing how people were having to live to survive.
Overall, Branded is
an emotionally intense, action-packed read filled with pain, violence and a forbidden love
with many twists and turns you don’t see coming. A great debut for Abi Ketner and
Missy Kalicicki.
About the authors: Abi
and Missy met in the summer of 1999 at college orientation and have been best
friends ever since. After college, they added jobs, husbands and kids to their
lives, but they still found time for their friendship. Instead of hanging out
on weekends, they went to dinner once a month and reviewed books. What started
out as an enjoyable hobby has now become an incredible adventure.