Worth (Gray Zone, #2) by Adrienne Wilder

Worth (Gray Zone, #2) by Adrienne Wilder
Stars: 4/5

Length: 196 pages
Blurb
Give us your poor, your unwanted, your criminals... that’s the unofficial motto of Atlanta’s Gray Zone, the no man’s land between the city and the Dens of the Kin—the dragons. Between Liam, the two brothers he’s cared for most of his life, and their abusive stepfather, they account for all three categories.

Liam was fifteen when he made the arrangement: as long as he let his stepfather sell his body, his brothers would be safe. Scarred inside and out from years of horrific abuse, Liam is stunned when Jericho, a Lesser-Bred—a dragon’s mixed-blood offspring—makes a pass at him, and he is helpless to resist.

Then Liam’s stepfather welshes on their deal and sells Liam’s brother into the trade, and once again Liam resolves to do anything to save him, even get involved in a million-dollar kidnapping scheme that could get him killed. But that’s not his plan. Now that he has Jericho, Liam knows his life is worth fighting for.

Overall
Although I really enjoyed this story, and love broken characters (plus abused rent boy!), this story didn't quite earn a 5-star rating. I'm not sure exactly what is keeping it from reaching that point, as I can't really think of anything really negative about it. It has good writing, a good story, interesting plot and characters and a fun world, but I still don't feel like it's a 5-star book. Maybe I'm in a blase mood, maybe the characters weren't new/creative enough. Still, a good book, definitely worth picking up.

Strengths
Liam is horribly, horribly abused by his step-father and his johns, is struggling to protect his brothers, and works his butt off so that the boys have all that they need. He's not a weak character, just exhausted and trying to continue to fight to survive while being a little broken emotionally. This pushed all kinds of lovely buttons for me and it was well handled; nothing was described too gruesomely but it didn't ignore the horrors that he's endured. Liam is a lovely character and his struggle is beautiful.

While the plot was more predictable than the first, I still enjoyed watching it unfold. Like a play you've seen before, knowing what happens doesn't make the characters' performances any less interesting. And with Liam in the center, there are plenty of interesting actors on this stage.

I liked how certain elements of the Kin world were handled in this story better than how they were handled in the first. Whether the author assumed people would be reading this book second and would recall from the first novel, or just didn't want to focus as heavily on those aspects, the more pared down descriptions worked well.

Weaknesses
This still suffers from having a glossary in the front. In addition, there seemed to be even more words defined, while not that many additional concepts were used. While it's easy to skip over this, it's hard for the reader to know if anything important is going to be missed by doing that. In this case, I didn't feel like reading the glossary was too advantageous, as the narrator knows very little about Kin society and anything the reader would need to know is explained in the story.

Plot was somewhat predictable, although this didn't damage it's enjoyment much.

Requested this book for review.

To Adam With Love by Adrienne Wilder

To Adam With Love by Adrienne Wilder
Stars: 4.5/5

Length: 230 pages
Blurb
Adam's mother brought him as a child to the Gray Zone, the no man's land between the crumbling city and the Dens where the Kin-the Dragons-and Lesser-Breds-their mixed-blood-offspring-live. He was different, not completely Human, and she knew fear and prejudice would drive people to do horrible things... like a father trying to kill his son. Five years later, Adam's father is behind bars and Adam has come home to the Zone, the last place anyone would expect innocence, loyalty, and devotion, to complete his becoming Lesser-Bred and find his best friend and only love, Ean.

But Ean has a life of his own. He's always wanted to belong to Batu, the Male Kin who has watched over him since childhood, but now Ean's caught in a deadly trap of biology and vengeance: he isn't enough to feed his beloved Adam during the dangerous transformation, and Kin won't allow an emotional bond in their midst. Years ago Ean lost Adam after failing to keep him safe. Now that Adam is back, will a simple feeling give Ean the strength to defy everything he's ever known and keep them together?

Overall
I put this book off again and again because going in I knew it was going to be a darker novel and I kept telling myself I wasn't in the mood. However, while it is a darker novel, it's not bleak. It takes the reader along a twisted path full of thorns and prickers, but it doesn't rip out the heart, stomp on it, then stitch it back in. Instead the central themes are love and emotions, as Adam is afraid of losing his humanity, and Ean is slowly trying to understand his own humanity beyond physicality.

Parts of this story dragged for me, but only because I wanted to know the ending and how the author worked out all the different problems that the characters were facing, which speaks highly of the plot that Wilder created. I would recommend this to most, but for readers of fantasy and dystopian futures, this should definitely be something to check out.

Strengths
While he's not mentioned in the blurb, there is actually a love triangle involved in the story. Ean and Adam love one another, but there is a young man named Brian from their past who also loves Adam, and Adam feels attraction in return. The play of these three characters was amazingly supple, to the point where I thought I knew how things would end up, but little moments would leave me guessing how exactly the lovers would pair off.

Speaking of the end--without spoiling everything, since spoilers would damage the enjoyment of this book, I feel―I really liked how everything unfolded and was resolved. I had one minor niggle involving Adam's father, but overall I was surprised, pleasantly, with what happened. I definitely wasn't expecting things to go that way, but it also didn't blindside me.

Wilder creates a very interesting and thought out world here, and I look forward to reading more of it in the second novel Worth. Although there wasn't much explanation for why there was a nest of these dragons who masquerade as humans, and it's never mentioned if there are other nests, I enjoyed the ample information that was given. The world, word usage, and culture surrounding the Kin was detailed without bogging down the story and felt organic within the plot.

Weaknesses
Most (if not every) chapter started with a flashback from when Adam and Ean were kids. While this was vital for supplying history about the characters and building up their relationship, especially in the beginning, it also became a little tedious toward the end when events were quickly unfurling and I wanted the story and I wanted it immediately. In someways it interfered with the natural flow and I felt it could have been used more judiciously, but it in no way ruined the book.

There is a glossary in the beginning that goes over many of the terms that are used pretty consistently through the book. While this works in paperback from, in ebook form it becomes pretty much inaccessible. For the most part the reader can use a single reading of the glossary and context of sentences to know what is happening, and by the end the words are second nature. However, I found two words (chela, which means claws, and chetra, which means humans) to be near enough in spelling that the first instance of chetra had me confusing it with chela. A minor inconvenience that was easily fixed by context clues, but for readers who have difficulty with learning new vocabulary, be advised.

Requested this book for review.