Ohana Reads: Blog Tour: True Born by L. E. Sterling

Hello and welcome to the True Born Blog Tour! Today I have for you my review of True Born, and an interview with the author, L.E. Sterling! I hope that you enjoy!

True Born by L.E. Sterling

Release Date: May 3rd, 2016

Read: May 2nd-8th, 2016

Publisher: Entangled: Teen

Series: True Born Trilogy, #1

Format: Hardcover, 304 pages

Source: Raincoast Publishing in exchange for honest review.

Description from GoodReads:

Welcome to Dominion City.

After the great Plague descended, the world population was decimated...and their genetics damaged beyond repair.

The Lasters wait hopelessly for their genes to self-destruct. The Splicers pay for expensive treatments that might prolong their life. The plague-resistant True Borns are as mysterious as they are feared…

And then there's Lucy Fox and her identical twin sister, Margot. After endless tests, no one wants to reveal what they are.

When Margot disappears, a desperate Lucy has no choice but to put her faith in the True Borns, led by the charismatic Nolan Storm and the beautiful but deadly Jared Price. As Lucy and the True Borns set out to rescue her sister, they stumble upon a vast conspiracy stretching from Dominion’s street preachers to shady Russian tycoons. But why target the Fox sisters?

As they say in Dominion, it’s in the blood.

Review:

Evolve or die.
When first discovering Raincoast Publishing, they let me sign up for their blogging newsletter. That is where I first discovered True Born. From there, they asked if I would like to participate in the blog tour for it, how could I say no?
When first setting into the book, I went in assuming that the novel would be completely about rescuing Lucy's sister, Margot. To my surprise, the beginning didn't go down exactly as I had thought. It was a nice surprise to have things switched up, and to be able to actually get behind the reason for the kidnapping with Margot by Lucy's side.
I loved the two sisters together, they were so dedicated to each other, to protecting each other, that I couldn't help but admire them. In some cases it reminded me of my sisters and I, even if we're at each others throats some times. I even loved how the twins were actually separated at birth, especially their "birthmark". It will always serve as a reminder that they are one set. I don't think I could do with their "extra" connection though, to be stuck like that to one of my sisters would probably drive me insane.
My only concern with the novel was Lucy's connection to Jared, I just felt like they got too close to each other way too fast. And they way that he trusted her, right then and there. Life just doesn't work like that.
True Born was a thrilling novel to read, and I'm thankful to Raincoast for sending me a copy to review! I will definitely be checking out the sequel when it releases!

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"You're like a little kitty cat. All cuteness and claws."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Dystopian, Half Human, Disease, Powers

What lead you on the path of the Lasters, Splicers and True Borns? What gave you the inspiration for the great plague and everything that came with it?

Hi, Stephanie, and thanks for having me here! It’s a great question - with a bit of a

complicated answer! The first lines of the original draft of the novel were the lines

that now open chapter two, and as they tumbled out of me the mythology of Dominion City

was pretty much set: “By your eighteenth birthday you’re supposed to know. They’re

supposed to tell you. Splicer. True Born. Laster.”

But if there are three types of people in True Born, they are figures that exist in

reaction to their environment and the disaster that looms over everyone’s lives. This

might be a bit depressing to relate, but the plague in the novel is what I would call

“speculative fiction.” It’s an extrapolation and mix between what I think we are

globally doing to the environment – the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we

drink – and what effects that is having on our bodies, on our very DNA.

I think I can safely say that I carry some huge anxieties about that! To make matters

worse, I’ve spent the past several years learning about disease and medicine from some

of the top scientists in the world. If the plague is sort of an all-consuming picture of

where I think we’re heading, so too are the medical advances of the novel. Gene

therapies, pinpointing genetic mutations that lead to disease… we collectively stand at

the threshold of a whole new era of scientific marvels – a new age of discovery.

Please tell me that doesn’t sound too dark!!

L.E. Sterling had an early obsession with sci-fi, fantasy and romance to which she remained

faithful even through an M.A. in Creative Writing and a PhD in English Literature – where she completed a thesis on magical representation. She is the author of two previous novels, the cult hit Y/A novel The Originals (under pen name L.E. Vollick), dubbed “the Catcher in the Rye of a new generation” by one reviewer, and the urban fantasy Pluto’s Gate.
Originally hailing from Parry Sound, Ontario, L.E. spent most of her summers roaming across Canada in a van with her father, a hippie musician, her brothers and an occasional stray mutt – inspiring her writing career. She currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.