CRUELEST OBLIVION by MA Heard
Release Dates: November 7th
Genre/Tropes: Forced Proximity/Apocalyptic – Darkish, but not Dark/Grumpy / Sunshine
Over The Top Possessive & Jealous Alpha Hero – Touch her and die vibes/Unbreakable friendships & bonds/Soulmate kind of love
CRUELEST OBLIVION by USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author Michelle Heard, writing as MA Heard is NOW LIVE! Grab this all-new, full-length Dystopian Romance TODAY!
CRUELEST OBLIVION is book #1 and ends on a cliffhanger. SWEETEST AWARENESS will conclude the duet.
Grab book #1 of the Cruelest Oblivion Duet TODAY!!
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3gdxlbn
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3MDYaSj
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3CFlURk
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3yJc4Nk
Add to GR:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62679437-cruelest-oblivion
Blurb:
From USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author Michelle Heard, writing as MA Heard, comes a new, full-length Dystopian Romance novel.
Over the past four decades, the dome over our Ecocity has protected us from the deviants living in the forbidden territory. Since the great war ended, our lives have consisted of virtue and order.
Once a year, seven people are sent out to the forbidden lands to see if there are any deviants worth saving. None have returned, only increasing people’s fear of what lies beyond the safe border of the dome.
When I’m chosen as a crusader, the world, as I know it, is ripped from under my feet. In the forbidden territory, I learn things I never dreamed existed – a world I’ve been totally oblivious to. I meet people who freely show emotion and affection. People who dare make their own choices.
It’s frightening and the opposite of everything I’ve ever known.
Suddenly, I have to fight for my life. I’m thrown into chaos where time is running out to become a skilled fighter who will be an asset for the coming war. But my mind’s bombarded with questions – who’s right and who’s wrong? Which side should I fight on?
I don’t belong in this world filled with cruelty and depravity.
Then there’s Chance, my reluctant trainer. The man is the definition of deadly and so attractive I struggle to think straight around him. I’m also pretty sure he would love nothing more than to snap my neck. Cruel, impatient, and harsh, he’s a brute who seems annoyed by my existence.
Honestly, I’m not sure I will survive living with the deviants, never mind fighting in a war. Unless I find my courage and learn to fight for myself, I fear this new world will crush me.
My ARC Review:
This was my first read by Michelle and the first book in this dystopian duet, set many years in the future after the world has nearly destroyed itself, and the wealthiest families left got together and took control of the population, building an Ecocity with a dome for shelter and protection, and living a pure life built around the 7 virtues of humility, charity, chastity, diligence, temperance, patience and kindness.
Jai is approaching her 20th birthday, the time when she finds out whether she will become a wife (usually to a wealthy and powerful man) or a breeder (to be shared by men and produce children) – women are a rate commodity and men outnumber them greatly! Jai has been questioning everything the dome stands for lately, trying not to let her emotions show for fear of reprisal.
It turns out that Jai is to be a crusader, a role usually afforded to only 7 people in a year, who are sent out of the Ecocity to try and get any of the deviants in the forbidden land to be saved and return them to the Ecocity – no one has ever returned.
Life out of the Ecocity is violent and dangerous, and she quickly learns that everything she has been taught so far has been a lie. The only way she can survive is by learning to fight and show how tough she can be. Her reluctant saviour is Chance, who has been out of the Ecocity for the past 10 years and has learned how to survive, in the hope he can save his brother, Ethan, who came out of the Ecocity with Jai.
Chance is not happy to have Jai tag along, she was never part of the escape plan, his only concern is Ethan, but he finds himself helping her as she struggles to stay alive in this fierce new world, but he is drawn by how strong yet fragile she appears to be.
This was a really enjoyable read, I loved Jai and how she had to adapt and change to suit her new life, struggling yet persevering and fighting through her pain and torment, never surrendering. Chance has hardened himself to everything, having to be tough to survive and fit in, living his life until Ethan could join him was all he thought about, until Jai appeared and all that disappeared.
If you liked the Hunger Games or Divergent then this is for you, but less YA and more adult and darker, with violence and hot sexy scenes. I’m looking forward to the concluding book in this duet to see how it all works out.
About the Author:
Michelle Heard is a Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author who loves creating stories her readers can get lost in. She resides in South Africa with her son where she’s always planning her next book to write, and trip to take.
Connect w/Michelle:
Website: https://michelleheardauthor.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHeardAuthor
FB Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/118971435201074
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormichelleheard
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleAHorst
Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/michellehorst
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18108320.Michelle_Heard
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-heard
TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTd5K2HcN/
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