Shattered Veil (The Diatous Wars, #1)by Tracy E. Banghart
Publication Date: February 28th 2014
377 pages
Buy Links: Amazon | B&N | TBD
Book Description:
For Aris, a talented wingjet pilot, war means sacrificing everything: her home, her name, her face—and the one promise she swore she’d never break.
In the small village of Lux, everyone flies wingjets, but nobody flies them like Aris Haan. When she’s not dancing through the skies, she’s spending every minute with Calix, whom she’s loved since childhood. They plan to Promise, but instead he is sent to defend their dominion against a bloody invasion. Determined not to lose him, Aris follows, joining an underground network of women inside the male-only military. Using secret technology that allows her to pass as a man, she becomes “Aristos”, a Flyer in a search-and-rescue unit.
As Aris grows stronger on the battlefield and more comfortable in her guise as Aristos, her personal mission becomes less and less clear. When she and her enigmatic commander, Major Vidar, uncover an astonishing conspiracy that could destroy everything, she must make a choice that will determine not only the fate of her heart, but the future of her dominion.
I have to say, when I started reading Shattered Veil, I was really confused. I didn't know what was going on, who was who, I just had a big WTF on my mind. But then as the story progressed, I started to get a sense of some things and slowly became really interested in the story.
Aris lives in a small town of Lux and she has her whole life planned out. On the upcoming Selection she will be selected for Environment and her boyfriend Calix will be selected as a Mender, after that, they will Promise and eventually get married. But when Calix gets selected for Military and they don't Promise, everything changes. Calix is off to Military, but Aris gets an opportunity to join the Military as a flyer, undercover, pretending she is a man. She accepts in hope to find Calix and be able to spend some time with him, not really knowing what she was getting herself into.
Beside that main storyline, we have another parallel story going on. This story follows Galena, Ward of Ruslana. I found these parts of the book to be less interesting than those that follow Aris. I guess I was really into what was going on with Aris that I found the Galena parts disrupting. It was like reading one chapter of this book, and then the next chapter was from another book. I knew there had to be more to it then just two parallel storys, but I was really anxious to find out what it is. I have to admit, everything happened with a reason and it was all well planned and wrapped up in the end. I think the whole worldbuilding was done well.
The thing I liked the most in this book is Aris. To see a character develop, change and mature so much in just one book is amazing, and it's not in a way that is not beliavable, it was done perfectly! Tracy E. Banghart really does know what she is doing. Aris' "transformation" to a male, Aristos, was also really refreshing. Instead of pretending to be a male, like in sooo many other books, there is a Diatous Veil that creates an illusion which allows her to look like a man on the outside, but still be what she really is.
The romance was kinda put in the second plan. I really didn't expect this. I thought Shattered Veil will be mostly romance, but it wasn't. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the romance parts of this book even though it was completely different from what I expected. Without spoiling too much, it really surprised me, but I like it more this way.
Shattered Veil, after starting out not that great, turned out to be a really enjoyable read, and I'm happy to say that I'd recommend it to anyone and am happily waiting for the next book in The Diatous Wars.
Tracy E. Banghart is a cheesy movie–loving, fantasy football–playing (go Ravens!), globe-trotting Army wife who began “practicing” her craft at the age of five, when she wrote her first story. She loves visiting the international friends she met while pursuing her MA in Publishing and spends a portion of every summer at her family’s cabin in Canada, where she finds inspiration and lots of time to relax on the dock. She lives with her husband, son, two lazy dogs and one ornery cat. When not writing or spending time with her family, she is on a mission to bake the perfect cupcake.
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Thanks so much for being part of the tour! I'm so glad you enjoyed Shattered Veil (after the rocky start ;-)). It makes me SO happy when I hear folks talk about how much they liked Aris and her journey...I feel really passionate about her character and the transformation she goes through.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! You really did a great job with Aris.
DeleteThank's for stopping by!
I'm very interested in Shattered Veil. The story sounds original and fresh. I'm glad to hear that the story doesn't revolve around the romance and that the story and characters can really be developed without being clouded. Thank you for the great review and giveaway!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a very interesting book! thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway! Sounds like an interesting read :)
ReplyDeletethanks for the giveaway, book sounds great
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