Synopsis:
In the ruins of dystopian London, the Empire rules through fear and fire.
“Everyone knew about ‘The Flames’ and how much trouble they had caused the Empire. They were the only rebel group anyone knew of that had lasted longer than a few months without getting caught, leaving candles behind whenever they snatched somebody out of the Empire’s grasp. To get involved with people like them is stupid. So stupid.”
Ever since her parents were murdered by the empire’s agents, Jacks has been living on the street as a pickpocket trying to keep away from trouble. When she accidentally witnesses the rebel group ‘The Flames’ in the middle of an operation she is unwillingly swept up into their world, and has to decide if she’s going to go back to looking after herself or join the rebellion and help them fight for the people of London Ruins.
She knows that getting involved was stupid, but does she really have a choice?
Review:
This story takes places in a place called New London which is under rule of Emperor Donovan. He is a cruel and evil character, and under his orders DRT agents burn down houses and kill rebels who pose even the slightest of threats to the empire.
This story starts with Jacks, a homeless pick pocket who lives in the generator section of a block of flats and The Flames are a group of people, known to all but never seen who save others from the grasp of the empire leaving a candle burning for each person they save. Jacks has lost too many people that when she lands right in the lap of The Flames in a chance encounter she's reluctant to stay with them.
The characters are relatable, Jacks is small and seems to find it hard tot rust and confide in others which is really understandable once you read about her. She doesn't see herself as anything other but a homeless pickpocketing girl barely getting by in the London Ruins. Zira is the leader of The Flames and when you read her she's a really tough cookie, sometimes reckless and uncontrollable but smart and a great, strong leader but even she has her fair share of secrets. Corry is a nerd, able to decode different codes they read to obtain any information, he's quick to trust Jacks and is a kind boy. he also happens to be utterly in love with Zira and doesn't care about showing it. Jeremy is the most like Jacks as he was homeless too, they understand each other better than the others understand each of them and they bond quickly. Jeremy does believe he is useless to The Flames but he is an engineer and once Jacks is a round, finds himself useful. The remaining 2 main characters are twins, Addy and Finn, much like Corry, Finn is an utter nerd, computer geek, know it all whatever you wish to call him, its him. He creates devices the flams can use as defence against the agents. Addy is a quirky girl happy to help and very vibrant. She cares deeply and can easy put on a façade to fool whoever she needs to.
The book does switch between the points of view of 4 of the characters, Jacks, Zira, Corry and Jeremy which gives you a variety of great content that when intertwined with the rest gives a really great story. I loved the ratio of speech to description as I didn't find there to be any stage where one outweighed the other which is always a great thing. I found myself laughing at certain things Jeremy would say, he was a great character and would be the sort of person I would want in my friendship circle as well as all of the others for their personality traits.
When it came to the end I was able to realise how real the characters felt to me, they were just that good. I'll probably find myself reading this book again in the future and I really can not wait to see what Danielle has up her sleeve as this was such a great read. its an easy 5/5 from me and a recommendation to anyone who likes the dystopian genre, if you like a mix of love, friendship and strength.
Thank you to Inkitt for providing me with a copy for a honest review.
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