The Way

The Vemreaux #1

by Mary E. Twomey

How far would you go to save the people you love?

In a world not divided by race, creed or color, but by blood type, Blue Anders finds herself on the wrong end of fortune’s mercy. Born with a lesser blood type, Blue is raised in The Way, a work camp for A-bloods.

Now Blue must fight against and alongside her violent brother to free their people and end the slavery forced upon her family by the blood drinkers. Standing up to her sociopath brother will be difficult, but admitting what she wants when she meets an intriguing man from the ruling class just might be impossible.

If you like dystopia romance, underdog tales, and a female heroine on a mission, this vampire trilogy is the page-turner for you.

Genres: Dystopia, Fantasy, Young Adult, Amazon, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Romance

396 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2013

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Mary E. Twomey lives in Michigan with her three adorable children. She enjoys reading, writing, vegetarian cooking, and telling her children fantastic stories about wombats.

While she loves writing fantasy, dystopian, and paranormal tales for her readers, Mary also writes romance under the name Tuesday Embers.

Visit her online at www.maryetwomey.com.

Reviews

[[ J o ] · Rating 2 out of 5]

A difficult book for many reasons. It was written sufficiently well and there seemed few YA cliché-tropes to make me vomit, but everything else left a lot to be desired.

All of the characters had one personality trait and that was it, and they were all hideously self-serving and incredibly teenage. If I wanted to hear teenagers whinging about how they knew everything and had feelings that no one else ever had (like, ever) I'd go to Tumblr.

The blatant omission of one blood-group might have been intriguing if the whole blood-type was explained even a little bit. I assume an after effect of the nuclear war, but that seems convoluted and far-fetched. And why do they need blood when iron supplements would obviously work just as well? It felt a bit messy, and the annoying characters didn't help.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short version: The Hunger Games meets Twilight. The author sucks you in (I couldn't put it down), but ultimately, nothing actually happens in this book. It's all just a setup for the next book.

[lou brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot thin,did not explain WW3,why the division by blood types(as a nurse I found this premise odd)and what was the fountain of youth. Ended anticlimactic,not sure if I want to read the next installment.

[Coco.V]

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[Anastasia Kinderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will suck you in and not let you go until you're done reading it. The premise is intriguing and I found it thought-provoking. A lot of times in movies and such we assume that if something like the Fountain of Youth was discovered the thing that would keep people from it would be lack of money and/or power. In this series however, what keeps people from the Fountain of Youth is not money or power but something they can't change: they're blood type.

The portrayal of the Vemreaux is also convincing and well-done. They're the bad guys but rarely do people just go out and do terrible things cuz they feel like it, they always find a way to justify it to themselves (even if it's bull to everyone else). That's what the Vemreaux do and instead of just being faceless bad guys you get a feel for their humanity and conflicts with their current social order.

Overall the book was a good read and I enjoyed it very much. I knocked one star off though because I found the constant bickering between Elle and Baird tedious and annoying and because the scenes with Blue and Sam were kinda cliche (and annoying as well). This book is definitely worth your attention.

Note: I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Amanda Shelley-Masters · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing story!

This Book Was Given To Me By The Author In Exchange For An Honest Review

A little slow in the beginning but quickly picking up speed this is on of the most unique stories I have ever read. Mary Tworney is a wonderful author who keeps you guessing and pulls at your heartstrings again and again.

I was fascinated by every part of blue and her families world as their lives went from children in the way to adults in the outside world. Again and again they found the strength to go on to push forward and I couldn't have been prouder! My fav of them all would have to be Elle she kept them all together and kept them from killing each other...lol...she was spunky, sassy and full of life and the others loved her for it.

I so can wait to see what happens next on Blues adventure! I really like the boys Liam, Alec, Sam and Brody. They will make a good team and I hope they all succeed.

If you haven't red this yet do so now as it is an awesome story!

***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official.
For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng ***

[Tabby Shiflett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book surprised me. It's got a great storyline, some pretty interesting characters, and an emotional intensity that pulls the reader in. There's a lyrical darkness that accompanies the plot and some comforting but natural humor mixed in as well. I recommend this YA/NA novel to readers of dystopias, especially fans of the Wither series. I look forward to the next book in this series.

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[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

World War 3 results in a new world order - where people are segregated by blood type.. A, B, O.. (I kept wondering what happens to the ABs, like me :) ). The Vemreaux are the "master" class who feed off the Os and use the A's as slaves / servants. But one of the 'slave' class can save them all :) Interesting concept and really enjoyed book 1 - still debating whether or not to spend my $$ to buy book 2!

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, WHAT A THRILL!!

"At first glance, the premise sounds bizarre. We've heard of division by personality type, by production, by the willingness to be controlled by the government—
But... Blood type? Seems kind of strange; what makes one type of blood better than another? Answer: the Fountain of Youth. Discovered decades earlier, this Fountain...." [read the rest of the review on The Upstream Writer]

[J. Thomas-Like · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly addictive story with a plot line I've never heard before. The characters are engaging and I could NOT put the book down. This author is creative and forward thinking. Kudos for a completely entertaining and wild ride on the first book of this series!

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world is divided into three continents and people into blood types where A-class are the workers in The Way. A place where labour is what counts and where you are eliminated once life expectancy has been reached. On the opposite side are the B-bloods – the Vemreaux - who are granted extra life years after being dipped in the Fountain but then need O-blood to keep them going. The B-bloods are being killed by something called the Predator, but there is a prophecy that someone called “The Light” will be the one to bring it down.

Blue Anders and her brothers, Baird and Griffin, work in The Way and Blue has a secret. She has a destiny to fulfil and Baird is going to make sure she succeeds no matter what. No matter how much brutal physical training he puts her through. No matter how much mental anguish he heaps on her. No matter how much love he withholds from her. When Baird and Blue are bought and manage to leave The Way, they come across some influential people who may be able to help them in their quest. But since this might mean a profound death, will it solve the problem?

This idea was something I’d not come across before and the way Baird treated Blue in a place I couldn’t quite get my head around drew me in to try to understand why. This then led to wanting to know more about the prophecy, so I soldiered on. The POV jumps didn’t really bother me, and yes, this is definitely YA because some of the characters were so stereotypical it was laughable. Yet when I really looked at how Liam, for example, spoke and viewed the world, it was through the lens of royalty and showed how out of touch he really was.

The book is longish and many places feel drawn out and rather a setup for later things. I kept looking at the pages left and thinking that there would be some sort of climax even if it did lead into the next one but when the end came all too quickly, it was as though the whole first book just got Blue ready to head off. While that in itself is not a bad thing, it leaves me feeling like the idea was unfilled and something needed to be “finished” in this book.

Many of the characters I “got”. I understood their motivations and frustrations. Apart from Grettel. And don’t say she came into herself when Stephanie allowed her to see the possibilities. Nope. Just a crier who I was getting so annoyed at reading when the tears rolled down her cheeks or sat on her eyelashes or whatever. As for Blue being able to get around and waitress with “a curtain of hair covering her face as she looked down subserviently at her feet”. Hmm.

The book had some proofing issues but nothing that was too jarring. The biggest thing was probably questions left open. Not necessarily about the lead into the next book, but the bits of info missing like other blood types, or more about WW3. And I want to know what goes into Baird’s drinks to make them so successful.

It’s a good book with an intriguing premise and the cover on Amazon is beautiful. I’d recommend it just because of Blue’s journey and the fact that she is able to be a badass while still embracing her vulnerability. I do want to find out what happens to her!

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up the audiobook trilogy on Audible and decided to get the books once the story caught my imagination. The narrator for the trilogy doesn't really work for me and I find myself enjoying the story more by reading it.

The Way is about a dystopian world where there are two classes. Vemreaux are the ruling class and have a type of blood that basically allows them to extend their life by becoming a type of vampire. The change allows them to live longer, become stronger and begins a craving for blood. Waywards are the working class and controlled as slaves or indentured servants in America. Something is killing the Vemreaux. No one knows what it is that is killing them, and the only hint of hope is a prophecy that speaks of a Wayward female that will fight the killer.

Blue is the Light that is spoken of in the prophecy. She grows up as another slave in the Way and she endures the harshest training to become a strong fighter. A fearsome warrior, naive of the world and destined to die fighting in a battle, Blue struggles to live by the rules that her brother made to turn her into a killing machine.

I really like the characters and the way they are portrayed in the story. The interactions that define how fierce and profoundly ingenious Blue is can be awful and touching. At times, it's hard to clearly see the world and dynamics of the story but the draw of Blue and her story is very strong. The way her small family loves and protects her is clear. I can't wait to see what happens next.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dystopian future. set. after a WWIII where people live in a strange caste system separated by blood type. Then there is the ruling class of made and born vemreaux. (kinda like a vampire). Blue and her siblings are of the lowest class and live in a work camp where she tries to hide her true nature. She is the center of a prophecy that says she will save the vemreaux. So basically Blue, her brother, and a handful of friends hide her until they can figure out what the prophecy actually calls for her to do.



This was ok, it definitely kept me reading to see what happened next...but I also feel like it took way too long to get anywhere. I like the idea that we didn't have to go through Blue discovering what she was but I also think there could have been a bit more world building/history for things to flow just a little better. And my last complaint is that there were a lot of POV's, there were times that I really wasn't sure who was who. So all in all not bad but I don't think this is a series that I will continue.

[Shania Dansie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book/trilogy. I don't read books to pick them apart I read to enjoy them.

That said.. I felt like it was a little jumpy. If there were multiple characters in that scene every other paragraph was a new character. Which was confusing at times for my reading style.

It doesn't explain how the world comes to how it is other then they fought over money and tried to blow each other up. BUT you don't really need to know that for this story.

I wish that we had a little more background on how the Vemreaux came around it's really vague. But again not super essential to the story plot. I did question the use of blood, if it's not a necessity why use it?

It pulled me in and I had feelings about the characters. I was laughing and screaming at them. I read the 3 books in about 6 days. I wanted to keep going. I wanted to see the characters develop and grow. It was overall a really good book.

[Racheal Munoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually liked this book, but I can't read the rest in this series because the POV was making me insane. It took me several days to finish and that's extremely unusual for me. If it wasn't for the POV switching what felt like mid-sentence I think this could have been really good. The tense also probably needs some work? My brain was so focused on the POV and knowing who was talking/thinking/etc that I was having a hard time following the tense, but it felt wrong too.


Anyways, entertainment wise I'd give this a 4. It gets the 3 because I had such a hard time actually reading it. I think if it were to be put through an editor it'd probably be really good. The premise was interesting.

[Hilda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise: WW III has taken place and the people are divided by blood type, with B- bloods being the ruling class and A-bloods becoming the lesser people. The B bloods drank the blood of A-wards. I kept wondering what happened to the O-bloods like me! Like I said, interesting premise, but I heard this on Audible and the narrator was absolutely awful. She used nearly the same voice for each character, so oftentimes it sounded like she was just reading the book aloud. I stuck with it and was left with a huge cliffhanger. Don't know if I'll invest the time & money to get the other volumes.

[Ashley Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been an awesome book... but definitely did not meet my expectations. The plot was great but the writing itself was not up to par. The book is so long but a lot of it is just fill.. definitely not needed for the story. There was wayyyy to much POV switching, sometimes I would be reading as the mind of one character and the very next sentence I would be in the mind of another. I enjoy reading from different perspectives but not jumbled together. If written or edited better this book would have been a 5 star for me.

[Amanda Greathouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different take on vampires! Loved the change.

In this first book we meet Blue and her brother Baird, born into a world after World War 3 has changed the world. Let me say I wasn't sure about this book until about 35% in, which to many that seems like a lot of pages before you really become taken over by the story and the characters. All I can say is that it is worth it. One part of the story was a little predictable for me, but overall the author does a great job of making you feel for these characters and the world they love in. Read and enjoy, this is just the beginning.

[Burn After Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second time around I had to drop the star rating from a 4 to 3.
The story is pretty boring for more than half of the book but also, the series never gives you a clear cut image of the world these people are living in or of why things are the way the are. However I will always love this series because these CHARACTERS are some of the best and most intricate I have ever come across in a book or book series.

[Lindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Head scratching

Ok never read any of the authors books. It was awkward to read and the names were confusing to fit into story. Blue and sub characters were pretty interesting. Her brother was ruthless without emotion, but really if you didn't take out the emotions could you send your sister to die? Loved how kick a$$ Blue was.

[Chelsea Psenicnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a little slow to start and to be honest I wasn’t able to get into it until at least 50% through. There was a lot of dialogue between character groups that helped give you an idea of the dynamics, but some of it wasn’t really needed. On more then one occasion I wanted to throat punch Baird. I ended up really enjoying this read and I am starting the second one.

[Levia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concentration camps eek

I really didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. It's a hard read though. This society is segregated based on their blood type and the "bad blood" people are in my opinion very mistreated. Poor upper society having to depend on a savior from those they've treated as slaves. I have some theories on the predator. This was an intense read.

[Nikki Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

you must read this!

If you like dystopian books that make you feel anger at the injustices that the victors generously give the ‘losers’ of a war they never fought!
If you carry outrage that the underdog is the only one who can scare the true bogyman away!
Then I think you may like this first book of 3.

[Sabrina Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

I love Blue, Baird, Elle, Grettel. And that goodbye with her brothers.?! Ahhh. Serious waterworks! I loved this book, the unique world, and the fabulous cast of characters. Highly recommended. Can’t wait to read the next one.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a little slow in the beginning but needed to be to set the story just right. By the end I was crying in my office at work and went through at least 3 kleenex. Starting "The Truth" as we speak.

[Kelly Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jumps straight into story without any real background to how it became that way. You learn a little later some of the background but there should have been a prologue before the first chapter really as an intro.

Rollercoaster of emotions through the book. With heart wrenching scenes.

[Gillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 2.8. This book was such a slow starter it took me two-thirds before I stopped forcing each chapter. The plot has more holes than a woodpecker’s tree. And then…it got good and I want to see what happens.

[Erin Stratman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this series like at all, I really tried but no thanks. It was too disturbing and impossible to relate to the characters or feel anything for them. Hated it.

[Gwynneth Ott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slave, torture and death

If you knew nothing of how the world worked, would you hide? If the future of the world depended on you would you shy away from it?

[Laura Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous series with a story that pulls you in and keeps you!