Branded by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki

Branded (A Sinners Series #1) is about a young girl named Lexi who is arrested for a crime she did not commit. In this not too distant future all those who sin are branded around the neck with the color of their crime, and sentenced to a lifetime of servitude in the Hole. As a beautiful girl branded with the crime of Lust, Lexi is an immediate target in the Hole. If not for the guard assigned to her—Cole—she never would have survived. A whirlwind of action and romance, Branded concludes with a heart wrenching finale.

I would like to begin by saying I received this book as a Read and Review from Goodreads. What I did not know at the time was that this isn't published in print. Branded is a self-published novel and can be purchased for a dollar or two on any e-reader. Often times self published books aren't very good, and there's a reason they have to be published by the author. But I will say I'm surprised this novel hasn't been picked up by a printer yet, because it is really fantastic.

Branded immediately became one of my favorite books. First of all, Lexi, the main character, is wonderful. Not only is she smart and beautiful, but she has a real head on her shoulders. As a heroine she doesn't make stupid choices (with the exception of once) and remains fairly balanced throughout the novel. There is an honest use of compassion in this story. The author doesn't just talk about what a good person Lexi is, she demonstrates it through her actions and words.

Cole is wonderful. Could you ask for a better male hero? In my mind, doubtful. This isn't one of those abusive relationships often featured in YA novels these days. Cole has Lexi's best interests in mind, and from the beginning works hard to keep her alive. Right off the bat as a guard he is kinder to her than the others, which shows the empathy his character really has. As his feelings for Lexi grow throughout the book we really see the more sensitive side of Cole come out, and it's really nice having a genuinely kind person in the story.

So now that I've gushed about the wonderful main characters, I have to mention a few tiny details I didn't appreciate as much.

First, the letter that Lexi writes to Cole before he leaves, describing all the terrible things that her stepfather did to her was cheesy. It was a wonderful tale and actually explained a lot of strange things that had been going on with Lexi's character throughout the book. But honestly, it was too much of a story. She goes into graphic detail in the letter, which is great for the story because we finally find out what drove her to attempting suicide, but in reality I feel like the letter would have been much simpler.

Second, Lexi falls into a stupor when Cole leaves, which was too Twilight-esque for me to really appreciate. I understand missing someone, that much, but it doesn't turn you into a robot. From the author's perspective, I understand it's hard to keep a plot interesting when one of the main characters is away, but there are methods other than having your other lead go into a coma.

Lastly, the ending. I'll admit I enjoyed it, but I'm bias because I fell so hard for the story in the beginning. Honestly the ending was too coincidental. Spoiler alert! Her stepfather is also the Commander? I mean, come on. Sure it gives Lexi some closer and there's poetic justice to it all, but what are the chances? It simply falls too far outside the realm of reality for me to believe.

The ending was adorable, though I'm not sure how much room is left in the storyline for a sequel. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely want another book with those characters, but I feel like a lot of the fun of the story came from Cole being Lexi's guard in the Hole. I'm afraid that if the authors do plan on publishing a sequel (which I assume they do since they named this as the first in a series) they will fall into the Hunger Games trap and send Cole and Lexi back into some kind of enclosed setting.

Regardless of my concerns if and when the sequel is published I will definitely be getting my hands on a copy.

Four Stars and my heart.

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

Branded on Goodreads