Review: Wordless

Title: Wordless (Words Made Flesh #1)
Author: AdriAnne Strickland
Word Count: 336
My Rating: 4.5 TURTLES: A really great read, I highly recommend!
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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review

Description:
“The Gods made their Words into flesh, giving privileged individuals the powers of creation...”

In Eden City, a member of the illiterate wordless class would never dream of meeting the all-powerful Words ... much less of running away with one. So when a gorgeous girl literally falls into his lap during a routine trash run, seventeen-year-old Tavin Barnes isn’t sure if it’s the luckiest or worst day of his life. That girl is Khaya, the Word of Life, who can heal a wound or command an ivy bush to devour a city block with ease. And yet she needs Tavin’s help.

By aiding Khaya’s escape from the seemingly idyllic confines of Eden City, Tavin unwittingly throws himself into the heart of a conflict that is threatening to tear the world apart. Eden City’s elite will stop at nothing to protect the shocking secret Khaya hides, and they enlist the other Words, each with their own frightening powers, to bring her back.

Review:

My college counselor, of all people, gave me this book to review last year. She was related or connected to the author in some way and gave me an autographed copy for free because she had been looking at my college applications and knew that I ran this blog. It took me an incredibly long time to get to this book since I was busy with school and always reading other things, but I wish I’d gotten to it sooner since it is one of the better books I’ve gotten for review in a long time.

The world-building, for one, was spot on. A big factor for how well I enjoy a book is how well I feel I am immersed in the story. If the world-building is sub-par I always feel like I am wondering around in a picture with blurry edges, but Wordless was crystal clear, and the whole premise was incredibly interesting. I also really liked the characters, Tavin and Kaya are a loveable pair, and even characters who aren’t “likeable” are still distinctive and interesting. Another factor of enjoyability for me is if the book makes me feel things (besides frustrated, that doesn’t count) and I definitely felt for what Kaya and Tavin were going through, which made me even more invested in the story.

If I had to say something that I didn’t like about this book it would be that some of the big reveals or plot twists were a bit cliché. Sure, I may not have seen them coming directly, but once they happened I wasn’t surprised since I’ve seen it happen in other stories. That’s not to say I don’t like these clichés, some of my favorite stories use them or are founded on them, but it’s something I definitely noticed, especially since the set up of the story is so original.

Wordless is a great Young Adult fantasy superhero story and I would definitely recommend it! Honestly, even though it is small press, I’m surprised this book is more widely read. It’s easily as good as some of the best-sellers I’ve read.

Disclosure: this post contains links to an affiliate program (Amazon), for which I receive a few cents if you make purchases.