Blog Tour for Switch (New World) by Janelle Stalder; Review

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: August 27th, 2013 
Finished Date: August 4th, 2013

Publishers: Self - Published 
Source: For Review

Format: Kindle
Pages: 240

All’s fair in love and war. 

Two thirds of the world's population has been wiped out, devastated by the worst war earth has ever seen. Still standing amongst the ruins is a mind reader who finds herself on the wrong side of the war. Everyone does what they must to survive. When the rebels bent on bringing down the New World leader start to rise up, it is her job to make sure they stay down where they belong. That is, until one rebel sneaks past her defences and into her heart. Love will blossom from the ashes, but will it be enough to save them, or will it mean the end of them both?

*This book is for mature audiences due to sexual situations, violence and strong language. NA

 

The Review: 4.5 Flowers! Wow, I loved this book and I devoured it in one sitting. 

 

At 16, Charlotte Hatcher’s life is irrevocably changed starting with her mothers death right in front of her eyes. When her mind reading talent is exposed she is then faced with the option of joining the New World Order as ‘weapon X’ or die, she obviously takes the living option and becomes the greatest weapon in a tyrannical leaders arsenal as he all but destroys the world, decimating humanity with nuclear war & terrorist attacks. 5 years later, Charlotte, now known as Dinah is still doing her thing, no one knows who she is but all fear ‘weapon X’, but as more & more people come to her with ‘walls’ in their minds, built to block her out, her job is becoming increasingly difficult. After a revealing run in with a rebel leaves her in precarious situation her own walls start to crumble – why does he bring out this response in her? Why is he the only one to see past the ‘weapon X’ persona? – leading to her leader sending her undercover to expose the rebellion, find out where they are, what they’re up to and to take them out once and for all. Dinah doesn’t count on falling in love, she also doesn’t know that a lot of things have been kept from her…. Until now. 

So yeah I loved this book, anyone who knows me, knows I don’t usually enjoy dystopian topics as much as my usual reads but this is definitely one of the reasons why I still continue to read them, waiting for a gem like this. I loved everything about it, the characters were great, I connected with all of them especially Charlotte/Dinah – how could you not empathise with her when the first time we meet her she is forced to watch her mother be shot in the head and is forced to make a decision to help the people who did it whilst kneeling in her blood? Then she leads the life of a recluse, never exposed, only a handful of people knowing her true identity and the only friend she has is the one who killed her mother. It was great to see her blossom at the hands of the enemy & their forbidden love, I enjoyed reading of her going through self-doubt about their relationship, questioning everything, analysing everything, the way a teenager would do if not in her situation. It made me smile to see her gain some love, some happiness and experience at living instead of being locked away, hidden from the world. 

 

I absolutely loved the plot, with the New World Order taking over the world, it is really plausible that this could happen and I liked the way it was brought into the story. I liked that there was rebellion and that for as long as the ‘NOW’ has existed so has the resistance, albeit more secretive and I loved the way it tied in with our characters. The plotting and the secrecy where excellent ways of keeping my interest and there is a huge secret that had me turning page after page, waiting for it to come out – I loved it! I really liked the romance between the two lead characters, forbidden romance is always the best with its stolen moments and longing for the ‘next time’, I was even invested in the tentative one between a couple of others, I like how in all of the dreariness that the world now is, that love can shine through and not only show some hope but become a catalyst for change. This is an amazing start to a new series that definitely hits the spot, my review will certainly not do this book justice as there are lots of plot points for you to discover, filled with secrets, lies, twists & turns, that I just ate up and I will be waiting desperately for book two – especially following that cliffhanger! 

Janelle Stalder was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario. At an early age she developed a love for literature. Her debut novel, Eden, was the first book in a series of four, released in September of 2011. The second book, Eden-West, was released in July of 2012, and the third book, Eden-South was released in March of 2013. The fourth book of the Eden Series, Eden-East, will be release at the end of 2013. She is a strong supporter of other independent authors, and loves to interact with her readers. When she's not writing, Janelle is at home with her husband, two children, Aiden and Elora, and her two furry children, Alice and Lily. She now resides in the small town in Ontario in her old, possibly haunted, century home.

Author Contact Information:

Facebook: Janelle Stalder / Twitter: @jmstalder / Website: www.janellestalder.com

Email: jmstalder@gmail.com