Crippled Hope (Jagged Scars #4) by Jo Schneider

Reeling from the fall of Shelter, and mourning the loss of too many friends, Wendy and the battered survivors must leave their broken home in search of another. As Jeff tries to keep the council together, Wendy rallies the remaining fighters in their defense, but more deaths and a clash of wills divide the people. Some insist they fight, others wish to run while a growing number desire to surrender to the Primate, falsely believing he will show them mercy. 

Up until now, Wendy has been able to slash her way out of anything, but her knives prove useless as hunger, disease and discord threaten to rip not only the group apart, but also the growing relationship between her and Jeff. 

Review

First of all, for those who have not read the first three books in the Jagged Scars series, check out my reviews of Fractured Memories (#1), Severed Ties (#2), and Shattered Dreams (#3).

**WARNING: Contains spoilers from first three books!!!**

The series is the story of Wendy, who is a ferocious fighter. She is a super smart and super dangerous. She lost her home to Skinnies (zombie-like people-ish things) and was saved and brought to Shelter, where she struggled to fit in and start learning to trust others. She ended up making friends at Shelter, but then it is threatened by the same person who ruined her home and killed her family: The Primate, who was working with Pelton, who taught her everything she knows about fighting, then betrayed her. At the end of Shattered Dreams, only a small fraction of the number of people that lived in Shelter survived blowing it up to save them all from the Primate and prevent him from taking over and gaining access to their advanced technology.

Crippled Hope picks up right where Shattered Dreams left off. The survivors from Shelter are moving through the tunnels they used to escape and get away from the Primate and his Skinnies.

These books definitely move fast! Just about everything that can go wrong does, and there are so many twists and turns thrown in. The series does that from the beginning. It is action-packed, but not rushed. The author gives you plenty of character and plot development in between the action.

All I could say after finishing this book was OMG!!! I'm so mad that I can't read the next book yet! I was thinking that the book was going to end at a certain point and was cool with that stopping point, then the author threw a major curveball. Then the book just stopped. OMG!

So far, I've loved absolutely everything about this series, but the ending to this book is frustrating if you don't have the next book to keep reading.

The author has done an amazing job with this series, though. Each book left me needing to read the next one and find out what happens next. However, there was usually a nice stopping point at the end, setting things up for the next book in the series, without making me too upset that I didn't have the next book yet. That was not the case with this one.

Each book has made me ♥ Wendy more and more! She stays true to her bad ass self throughout all the books, but she continues to grow and develop as a person throughout each one. And of course, I still ♥ Jeff and Kev! They were great in this book, as always!

If you haven't read the first three books, I encourage you to check them out immediately. If you have read the first three, this book will not disappoint! It's amazing, but the ending might frustrate you, since the next book in the series has not been released yet.

GoodReads says that the 5th book in the series, Broken World, will not be released until at least this December. I don't know if I can wait that long to see what happens next!

I received a copy of this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review.

                     

Shattered Dreams (Jagged Scars #3) by Jo Schneider

Wendy has wrestled the monster in her head into a corner where she hopes to keep it at bay. Thanks to her and the other fighters, Shelter is safe, but the victory didn't come without loss. During the Writing on the Wall - a tribute to the dead - Mike announces his plan to go after Pelton and his people. Wendy is the first to volunteer. 

But Jeff has other ideas. He asks Wendy and a few other trusted fighters to join him on a team that will go in before the main force and wreak havoc in the complex. The price? Wendy has to lie to the rest of her friends and pretend to date Jeff to cover for the time they spend together. Which would be okay if Wendy didn't actually have feelings for Jeff. But the worst part, the part Wendy isn't sure she can live with, is that Pelton might get away, and she will never avenge her family.

Excerpt from Shattered Dreams

When Wendy got to the computer lab, she keyed in the code and turned the handle.

Wendy pushed the door open. 

She'd expected it to be deserted, but Hound and Cal were huddled around a set of three computers, their heads together and their finders typing like mad.

Jeff was in the far corner.

"Doesn't anyone sleep around here?" Wendy muttered.

"I figure we can sleep when we're dead," Hound said with a grin.

Wendy shook her head and moved to the computer that had the typing tutorials on it. She'd been through them all a few times, but she still wasn't quite fast enough to do most of the drills Mike put them through. It had taken her a while to accept it, but this skill might be as important as fighting at some point. Hopefully the need to use such skills would never fall on her, but if it did, she wanted to be prepared. 

The screen came to life, and Wendy clicked on the icon for the tutorial. The familiar picture of the keyboard came up, and she positioned her hands on the real keyboard. 

Man. Tan. Fan. Pan.

Wendy kept up with the pace of the tutorial. The words got longer and more complicated. She got lost in it for a while, then the faint hiss of a chair moving told Wendy that Jeff had stood. A few footsteps and she knew he was coming toward her. 

The letters started to pop up on the screen. Wendy tried to relax and let her muscle memory do the work. 

Jeff's footsteps got closer. He pulled out the chair next to her and sat. 

"You don't have to watch me," Wendy said. "I think I've mastered loading the tutorial." She silently rejoiced as her fingers kept going, even when she was talking. They slowed down, but didn't start typing what she was saying, which had happened more than once.

"I finished my stuff. Thought I would say hi."

"Hi."

The "i" slipped into the word rock. Wendy made a face.

Jeff continued to watch, which made Wendy a little nervous. After a few minutes, she glanced over.

"What's on your mind?"

Jeff scooted his chair toward her, and leaned in until his lips were just inches from her ear.

"I've been thinking. I might need to use you as an excuse to keep Matt off my back."

"Okay." Lock. Tock. Sock.

He leaned closer, and whispered. "I mean, I think I need to tell him we're, uh, seeing one another."

Wendy furrowed her brow as "clock" came up. "What do you mean?"

"Like boyfriend and girlfriend."

Wendy's fingers froze. Her mind froze. Her neck froze, and she could have sworn it cracked as she turned to meet his gaze. "What?" she whispered.

Review

I absolutely loved Fractured Memories and Severed Ties, so when I got the opportunity to join the author's review team and read the rest of the series, I jumped at the chance to read more!

I had high expectations for this book, after reading the first two books in the series, and this book definitely didn't disappoint!

I can't say enough good things about this series! I love everything about it!

I even like the romantic aspect, which, if you've read pretty much any of my other reviews, says A LOT. The author didn't slap a cookie cutter love triangle in the middle of this story, and she didn't turn the main character into an idiot over a stupid crush.

I ♥ Wendy! She is a total badass! I can't decide if I like her or Jeff more, but I know that I ♥ ♥ ♥ them together!!!

The ending of this book was perfect. It set things up perfectly for the next book in the series, without leaving me too upset that I didn't have the next book yet to immediately keep reading.

I definitely recommend this series! If you haven't read the first two books yet, I encourage you to check them out! I promise, you won't be disappointed!

I received a copy of this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review.