Review Tour and Giveaway: Hatred Day (Hatred Day, #1) by T.S. Pettibone

Book Blurb:

In the year 2052, it's not love but hate that unites the world.

Humanity is unified against the Inborns, an extraterrestrial species with godlike intelligence and abilities whose arrival on earth caused an environmental and biological crisis.

Enslaved and despised even by her own Inbornkind, 18-year-old Snofrid Yagami reawakens to the world after having her memories stolen and is certain of only one thing: she will do anything to ensure her freedom. But her resolution is soon tested when the son of a high-ranking human official is murdered and her home city becomes the center of the interspecies war, one that might see the Inborns purged. Desperate to find a way out of the city for herself and her family, Snofrid risks making a deal with the manipulative Inborn Commander, Hadrian, and his brutal cadre of soldiers. Her task is simple: take part in a historic hunt that will bring wealth and fame to all who survive. Unfortunately, Snofrid’s role is one in which survival is rarely seen—the bait.

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My Review:

4 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Aliens, Another-World, Dystopian, Supernatural--

During a time of unrest between the humans and the mystical species who came to earth years before, Snofrid has gone missing. Her brother and a friend end up rescuing her in a slave auction, but that is only the start of her problems. Sno has had her memories erased with no known way to get them back. She is trying to figure out details about her life such as who anyone is, and pretend to be a human when she is not. But an attack on a leader’s son causes a rift in human interactions, and Sno may be in over her head.

In a future earth, humans live with a species (multiple species actually) of creatures (aliens?) that all have special abilities and strength, and most can blend into society so nobody is sure who is human or not. Not only is there unrest due to that, but the earth has experienced something (yep vague because it is never explained why the earth is this way, but oh well) that caused it to be unrecognizable to the earth as we know it today. The landscape is unknown, the air is not breathable so everyone has to wear gasmasks outside, technology seems like magic, and cultural identities blend together to create one culture really.

My biggest problem was the feeling of confusion that permeated my reading experience. Not only was I learning about a brand new world that I was not really sure of, but then words were used in other languages that I don’t know and never were explained. I guess maybe I am not familiar enough with Japanese (I think) culture to get the references to objects, food, people, ect, but I was not sure what was being discussed or described throughout the book. It left me floundering a bit, which in turn caused me to disconnect with the story. Also, there were some other things I was confused by that were never explained or never explained to my liking, such as trees that grew underground. The book is suppose to take place on earth sometime in the future after aliens come down, but why are trees underground? Did something happen so a new world was built on top of the current world, trapping the trees and potentially ruins? And don’t trees need sunlight to grow, so how is this all possible? Yes, this may seem like a small detail, but this like many other pieces did not fit into my knowledge base or were explained and I kept mentally picking at them. I am totally fine with underground trees, mind you, I just need a reason or explanation or something besides the fact they are there.

One thing the story did that I really liked was the memory flashbacks that Snofrid receives through the use of a spelled mirror. This was a tool that helped the character discover what she was missing, but ti was also a great way to let the reader experience the development and depth of who Sno is and the interpersonal relationships with the characters around her. There would have been no other way for me to really understand her relationship with her Shadow (who I love regardless of everything, and yes this is not a love story, but man do I wish they threw caution/law to the wind to be together) as well as how she became connected to the illegal businesses in the slums as well. The book did an excellent job of creating characters with unique personalities and motivations, making them so vivid it was as if I really knew them. I do enjoy character driven stories, and this was that as well as tons of action to match the fast paced plot.

I can honestly say that I have never read anything like this before and I am interested to see what will happen next. This is for anyone who likes dystopian/sci-fi worlds with non-stop action and danger.

I received this title in return for my honest review

Author Bio:

T.S. Pettibone are the authors of The Hatred Day Series. Expected publication for book two, Verdict Day, is 2017.

T.S. Pettibone is the pen name of identical twins, Brittany and Nicole Pettibone. They were born in California, grew up in Kansas, and these days, live and write in California. On the rare occasion that they break from writing, they enjoy taking their dog on night walks, reading books by long deceased authors, drinking too much coffee and tea, traveling the world, making friends out of strangers and trying new things.

You can find them on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter and their website

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Most of the characters in the book are Inbornkind, who possess supernatural abilities or talents such as super speed or healing. Leave a comment on this post as to what supernatural ability you would like to have if you were an Inbornkind for a chance to win a paperback copy of Hatred Day!

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Blog Tour provided by Xpresso Book Tours