Severed Ties (Jagged Scars, #2) by Jo Schneider

Wendy is no stranger to death - she killed her first Skinny before she was ten - but the slaughter of her own family is personal. Pelton's betrayal to the Den planted a wicked seed in Wendy's heart that is slowly growing into a ravenous monster bent on revenge. Its rage is bleeding into her dreams, her nightmares, and her waking hours, staining everything, including her sanity.

When the monster almost overpowers her, Wendy decides she should leave Shelter. But before her friends will let her go, a plague sweeps through the complex. Doc doesn't have the meds they need to cure it, but the map Wendy wrestled from Pelton could lead them to a place that does. Now, Wendy must hold her mind together long enough to keep everyone she knows from dying. Again.

I absolutely loved Fractured Memories! So, when I got to the end and discovered that by signing up for the author's newsletter, I could read the next book in the series for free, I jumped on it and immediately signed up and downloaded Severed Ties. 

I loved this book just as much as the first one! It continued to develop the dystopian world and story, with just as many twists and turns as the first book.

Again, this book left off at a great point to start the next chapter of Wendy's journey but didn't leave me checking to make sure that the book was actually over. This book also refrains form trying to shove romance where it doesn't belong. Wendy is working through some MAJOR trauma. To try to shove her into her first romantic relationship ever, while she is still struggling with so many other things would just be wrong. Again, I am thankful that the author did not ruin her book by placing the cookie cutter YA love triangle in the middle of it.

She doesn't let a crush on a boy dominate her thoughts and make everything else irrelevant. She doesn't change everything and become an idiot just because she has a crush on a guy. Throughout the book, Wendy remains a complete badass who will do anything to save others.

This was an AWESOME follow up to Fractured Memories! I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

Please note: While I desperately want to download book #3 right now and continue reading (I immediately pulled it up on Amazon, as soon as I finished reading), I have another trilogy to read and review in the next two weeks that I committed  to first. :( So, I will be waiting (somewhat patiently) to continue reading and see what happens next!

I received a copy of Fractured Memories for free through The Review Chain in exchange for an honest review.

      

Fractured Memories (Jagged Scars #1) by Jo Schneider & $20 Amazon GIVEAWAY

Sixteen year old Wendy never knew the world before the Starvation. She's learned to put her trust in her knives, and her confidence in her fighting ability. When the Skinnies attach her compound, she's the lone survivor. 

Injured and near death, Wendy is rescued and nursed back to health by mysterious strangers. Her saviors offer her a place among them, but trust has never been one of Wendy's strengths, and suspicion soon leads to evidence that these people might be the group who killed her family.

The decision to get her revenge, and take the settlement down from the inside out is easy. Keeping her distance from those she must befriend in order to make it happen proved to be much more difficult.  

About the Author:

Jo Schneider grew up in Utah and Colorado, and finds mountains helpful in telling which direction she is going. One of Jo's goals is to travel to all seven continents - five down and two to go.

Another goal was to become a Jedi Knight, but when that didn't work out, Jo started studying Shaolin Kempo. She now has a black belt, to go with her shoes, and she keeps going back for more, because hitting things is fun. An intervention may be in order.

Being a geek at heart, Jo has always been drawn to science fiction and fantasy. She writes both and hopes to introduce readers to worlds that wow them and characters that they can cheer for. Post Apocalyptic survivor stories are one of her favorites, as illustrated by her five book JAGGED SCARS series.

Jo lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her adorkable husband, Jon, who is very useful for science and computer information as well as getting items off of top shelves.

Author Links:

Website: http://joannschneider.com/dir/
Facebook: https//www.facebook.com/JoannSchneiderAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jschneider.writer/

Review:

I went straight from reading Poisoned Iris to reading this book. I literally jotted down a few notes for my review after finishing it and picked up this book. So, I had to read a few chapters to transition from Irisya's world to Wendy's.

Fun tidbit: When the author describes the marketplace, it reminded me of the same kind of common area described in Divergent. 

This book was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I really can't pick out one thing that I didn't like about it. It was very well written and original and had a great story.

I LOVED Wendy! She is super-strong and super-smart, and even when she tries not to let emotions and human connections influence her actions, she shows her humanity. 

I was SO EXCITED when I got to the end of this book and there was a note, saying that if I signed up for the author's newsletter, I could download the next book in the series for free! Needless to say, I immediately downloaded and started reading Severed Ties. However, at that point, it was already almost 3am (yes, I stayed up that late to finish this book), and even though I did not have to work the next day, I had tons of homework to do and needed to get some sleep. I do admit trying pretty hard to talk myself out of going to bed so that I could continue reading (duh!).

This was my thought that night (and almost every other night, before I go to bed), even though I know it will always turn into "just one more chapter," after that! 

 

I must also point out that this book does not have much of a romantic aspect, which is refreshing, and I don't think the author could have successfully thrown in either the clichè love triangle or created the super intense crush/romantic interest with an existing character, without taking away from Wendy's story and character. Thank you, Jo Schneider!

I think the author did a great job with Wendy's character! She is strong and independent and is a badass that can do just about anything, yet is constantly underestimated.

I can't (and won't) wait to see what happens next with Wendy and her new friends!

Right now, I am about 3/4 way through the next book in the Jagged Scars series, Severed Ties, so stay tuned for my review next week! Expect reviews of the next books in the series soon!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Giveaway:

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