Enclave by Ann AguirreMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Deuce's dystopian world is grimy, underground, dark, and real. The characters are gritty and the rules are harsh, but it makes sense since you can tell times are tough. This book had a lot of elements that reminded me of other stories I've read, but in a good way. It didn't feel like it was a copycat, it just felt like the underground world made sense. Her group of people were rigid and rule-bound while some of the other underground villages were much less so. Some of those living underground adapted to the dark, and some turned into Freaks (still not sure where these gory Freaks came from, maybe a mutant virus?). I loved the interactions, characters, and storyline that was developing underground. I was also a huge fan of Fade, her obvious love interest.
But then she went up top. First of all, I feel like above ground should have been saved for a second book, because the situation/problems were completely different. But then again, I probably would have then given this second book a much lower rating. We barely got time to know the characters, and I was constantly annoyed with Deuce. Another male character is introduced in this above-ground section, named Stalker, and he's set up to be a sort of rival for Fade. I understand she feels a bond with his brutal sensibilities since she wanted to be cold and calculating as a Huntress underground...but...as a reader, I just couldn't like him. And I started to dislike her for her treatment of Fade at that point.
Basically, expect a really awesome start and s a sort of slow finish. It's still pretty well written and a fairly easy read (heck, I read it in a day). I just have hopes that the next book will be more along the lines of the underground part of this book.
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