Xpresso Book Tours: The Polaris Uprising (Polaris #1) by Jennifer Ibarra

The Polaris Uprising by Jennifer Ibarra
(Polaris #1) 
Publication date: October 30th 2013
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

Amazon | B&N

* I got a copy of this book from the tour organizer in exchange of an honest review.

In less than seven years, eighteen-year-old Ryla Jensen will succeed her father as the president of Neress, a nation where all citizens are cared for from the moment they’re born. Fed, sheltered, even educated—every need of theirs is met.

The only price they pay is their free will.

Groomed since childhood to take on a role she’s not even sure she wants, Ryla’s only escape from the pressures of duty is her sister, Alanna. But when her eyes are opened to the oppressive regime her father built, she begins to question everything she’s set to inherit—and finds herself at odds with her sister’s blind allegiance to their father.

Torn between loyalty to her family and the fight for freedom, Ryla must decide just how far she’s willing to go to make a stand and risk losing the person she loves most in the world: Alanna.

I was so excited upon receiving this book for review for Xpresso Book Tours that I just jumped right in, especially since I have been having an increasingly good luck with authors that are new to me lately.

The story is about two very different sister's that are daughter's of the president of Neress. They live in The Palace under their father's rule. Ryla is the youngest, and the more ambitious. She is to one day when she turns of age to take over her father's role and become the president of the country. Alanna is the oldest, who opens up her own clinic and is already set to marry Owen. In a country where jobs are decided based on your aptitude and marriage on your best genetic make up and not love, citizen's are believed to have been taken cared of since the day they are born.

Until Ryla finds herself open up to a world she never knew existed and the things that her father might have been promising and telling them behind close doors, that are far from the truth. As Ryla is set to take over her father's position, she also starts to learn that the world her father had told her about and what is out there is completely different.

Twisted, thrilling, an absolutely exciting. Ibarra delivers a well put together first start of a new series. The plot was intriguing and very much character driven. Luckily I found both sisters to be very good at it, and the two different stories and different events that they had to lead had really effected their characters in the end. I loved Alanna and Owen and I absolutely liked Ryla and Tyson in the end as well. There is friendship and struggles and romance that even with a cliffhanger ending had you savoring and wanting every moment.

There is only but one thing that really bothered me and that was the fact that this book had elements similar to Landry Park. A naive daughter set to take over and not allowed to go to a University. A tyrant father who believes that his rule is for the best. A bunch of lower ranked people who are afraid of their own shadow thanks to the rules. And secrets that are also revealed to the main character by the boy love interest.

In the end thought, it did have it's own appeal that did make it different and I applaud Jennifer for bringing this novel to the table.

AUTHOR BIO 

Jennifer Ibarra grew up on a steady diet of books, Star Wars, and other fantastic feats of the imagination. Her debut novel, The Polaris Uprising, is the first book in a trilogy and mixes dystopia with family drama, romance, and political intrigue.

She lives in Silicon Valley, where she does marketing for a tech company and spends her time running, cooking, baking, and keeping up with celebrity gossip.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Tour wide giveaway

Open internationally

-25$ Amazon GC, Signed ARC + Swag

-20x signed ARC + Swag

a Rafflecopter giveaway