What do you think?
Rate this book
Conquer
When people awoke special abilities because of the bad things others did to them, it changed everything as they knew it.
Xandria’s time, life and memory are haphazard in nature but so is her mother. Xandria could either run from her or X can find her before she does. Either way it is a task too big for X to handle on her own though she would rather it be so due to past experiences.
Encountering four people with stories of their own, she offers to teach them how to use their supernatural abilities in exchange for helping her deal with her mother-dilemma. Meanwhile, they are hiding and running from Biology and Trauma labs or BT; the people that patrol their city searching for people like them. Knowing this they have many choices. They can run, they can hide, or they can fight. They can do so together or apart…They can do things the right way for wrong reasons or the wrong way for right reasons. Overtime this may change as they grow, get worse, better or repeat. Though before they become somebodies, they have to know that they are somebody. They have to conquer their flaws within themselves and with each other before They learn what it means to Conquer.
Xandria’s time, life and memory are haphazard in nature but so is her mother. Xandria could either run from her or X can find her before she does. Either way it is a task too big for X to handle on her own though she would rather it be so due to past experiences.
Encountering four people with stories of their own, she offers to teach them how to use their supernatural abilities in exchange for helping her deal with her mother-dilemma. Meanwhile, they are hiding and running from Biology and Trauma labs or BT; the people that patrol their city searching for people like them. Knowing this they have many choices. They can run, they can hide, or they can fight. They can do so together or apart…They can do things the right way for wrong reasons or the wrong way for right reasons. Overtime this may change as they grow, get worse, better or repeat. Though before they become somebodies, they have to know that they are somebody. They have to conquer their flaws within themselves and with each other before They learn what it means to Conquer.
- GenresEbooksScience Fiction
353 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 30, 2024
32 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 1, 2024
This is my first review of 2024, and while I went into this book with high hopes and expectations, I unfortunately had to DNF at page 116. While I do not like to give out 1 star ratings to books I did not finish (since there is always the possibility the writing and storytelling can pick up in later chapters) based on the little bit of skimming I did, it does not seem as though there was any substantial improvement in the quality of writing as the story progressed. That being said, my one star is reserved for the 116 pages I read prior to giving up on the book.
To begin, while the novel starts off with a relatively strong opening paragraph and promises an exciting premise, things almost immediately begin to derail from there. The first two chapters are almost impossible to get through. The transition between each of these scenes feels jarring to the point where I had to stop and ask myself, “wait, what?”.The first chapter in particular reads like one of those long dreams where there’s multiple dreams in one, but none of them are connected. Things were happening, i.e, conversations and movement, but the details on the setting or the necessary context I needed to have to UNDERSTAND why I was supposed to care were almost non-existent. Events also took place with no explanation or natural transition. For example, the main character “X” (short for Xandria) meets another character named Damien, and after almost NO substantial interaction or relationship development between the two, X just starts. . .opening up to him? I do not understand why a character presented as closed off and antisocial as X is so willing to not only let a stranger probe her about details of her home life the way Damien does, but within THREE pages of meeting these two are dating?????? Hello??? You can’t just spring that on the reader without giving us a reason to 1) feel invested in these people, let alone their relationship, and 2) give us a plausible reason to BELIEVE that this relationship would even happen in the first place. It just felt so random and out of place that I found myself re-reading to see if I might’ve missed something.
The second chapter was arguably even more confusing than the first. We’re introduced to a new POV character named Aruni who is at the deli with her friends, and there is supposed to be an action scene at the beginning of the chapter? I think? The issue is that the details are so scant and the flow of sentences is so choppy that it is almost impossible to figure out what’s supposed to be happening. Like at one point Aruni mentions that a neo-human is attacking and a massive icicle flies through the deli window, but when she looks outside there’s cars swerving around the icicle? So. . .which is it? Is there one icicle or two? Also the way Aruni and the others react to what is functionally a domestic terrorist event within the confines of their world, is supremely underwhelming (more on this later).
We discover later that the neo-human terrorist is none other than X herself, and while there is nothing inherently wrong with this, I do take issue with the relationship between X and the rest of the supporting cast (more on that in a second). Leading up to this reveal there are several key moments that just don’t feel like they make much sense? At one point Aruni is in the backyard with her brother Liam and X just shows up, comments on how Liam is also a mimic (a type of neo-human), notes how that’s interesting, does some ice stuff, then dips. What. . .what is the point of this scene? No crucial or relevant details were added, we weren’t given any insight into the psyches of the characters, and I struggle to understand why she popped up at this particular moment. I understand that X’s appearance serves as the set up for her and her friends seeking her out (though why they decide to do this, I have no idea). Also, there is a slight plot inconsistency with this sporadic appearance that I’ll address a bit later in this review.
So after X’s appearance, Aruni and co. decide to start looking for her (would’ve loved to get some more insight into the rationale around this, since even though they have abilities, none of them know how to fight). As the search begins the reason why Aruni is able to eventually find X is because she sees a piece of chalk floating down the street. A piece of chalk. Floating down the street. And nobody else noticed this????? I’m surprised even Aruni noticed this. Chalk is small and she managed to notice this. . .on a busy sidewalk. . .and no one else did? I don’t buy that. Also considering the existence of neo-humans in this world, I don’t understand why Aruni would just immediately assume that X is the person behind the floating chalk. Couldn’t that be anyone else who possesses abilities? I digress.
Aruni is led to a hotel room where X (surprise surprise) is waiting for her and the two have a brief conversation before the others show up and there’s a fight scene that’s kind of difficult to follow. We find out quickly what X’s motivations are: she’s planning on breaking into a house in New City and she’s recruiting Aruni and her friends to help her. Here’s the plot inconsistency I mentioned before. Why is X recruiting people if she doesn’t know what their abilities are? How is she going to enlist Liam in her scheme when she had no idea he was a mimic until she heard him say he was? In Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, when Kaz was putting together his crew to break into the Ice Court, every single member of his crew was specifically chosen because of their abilities and how they would make the heist go smoother. He chose Inej for her stealth, Matthias for his intimate knowledge of the Ice Court, Nina for her abilities as a heartrender, etc, etc. This seems like X has almost chosen everyone at. . .random? And it just. . . the logic doesn’t hold up under a microscope. Then we have a bigger problem, which feeds into the next section: X needs to train Aruni and everyone else to use their abilities so they can aid her in her breaking and entering plot.
Wait. Pause. Back up. So not only did X not fully know all the abilities of the people she was enlisting, but she has to train them on top of that? At this point it doesn’t even make sense for her to do this. If all this work is required why not just enlist the aid of literally anyone else? I’m sure morally questionable neo-humans would be vastly preferable to ones who not only have no experience with their abilities, but have (to my knowledge) never committed a crime before. This plan just seems doomed to fail, honestly.
The next fiftyish pages were a bit frustrating to get through. Following X basically threatening Aruni and her friends to help her or else, we’ve now got X training each person one on one. Instead of the training being one chapter with like four pages per character, we instead get a chapter, followed by a flashback chapter of the character being trained, someone else being trained, then another flashback for them. Like this training moment starts at page 45 AND IS STILL GOING ON AT PAGE 116. The flashbacks could work but the way they’re staggered just messes up the pacing so now you’ve got this one moment being stretched out for 71 PAGES!!!
This a huge reason why I decided to check out. I purchased this book because I follow the author on Tik Tok, have been in a few of her lives, and really just wanted to support her, but I feel like the manuscript just wasn’t ready for publication. I can feel her passion, and the premise is one I really was excited about, but it needs so much work. Aside from my gripes about the story itself, I felt like I had zero opportunity to interact with anything happening because the entire story was just being told and spoonfed to me. I did not get to experience a character’s emotions. Instead I was told about them. There were just so many missed opportunities. For example, we have a scene with one of the characters, Venus, at a party. One scene ends with her heading downstairs and she sees a strange man. In the next scene we find out she’s been SA’ed by said man. Like??????? Could we not have fleshed that out even a little bit? It didn’t need to be a graphic depiction of the SA, but like. . .WTF happened???? Did Venus have any weird vibes from the guy? Did they even talk at all? Did he lure her somewhere? Did she even know him? I felt like I missed a massive chunk of narrative here, and in the scene that immediately follows this one the SA just turns out to be a thing that happened and is apparently a big deal but I just get told about how she responded to the trauma but I don’t see her experience any of it.
I also would have loved for some information regarding these terms that are used. Words like “BT” and “Neo-human” are casually and continuously used and I have no idea what they mean, why it’s important, or why I’m supposed to care. I think neo-humans have something to do with epigenetics cause one minute it’s “specific trauma equals this ability” and then there’s a moment when Liam (I think) is wondering if his abilities can be inherited by neo-human parents? Like is it one of these things or both?
There’s a ton of internal inconsistencies as well. Like in a September flashback Liam gets fussed at because he didn’t pick up Aruni and his mom tells him how she’s been shooting hair ties, but that hair tie incident happened in October in Aruni’s flashback POV so that doesn’t line up. I also wish I felt more grounded in the world as a whole. It’s supposed to be the 2090’s but we’ve still got things like iPods? Then at one point Liam mentions running from the BT and hiding in a cave and there's a bunch of empty, grassy plains but he’s also within walking distance of a city?? This just feels unrealistic considering the vibe is supposed to be a more futuristic society. Then there’s a moment when X teleports everyone to the locations for training and it’s like . . .where. . .where are we right now? What does anything look like? And it’s mentioned that she has teleportation but how does this ability even work? Does she visualize where she wants to go? Think the name of a specific place?
I also mentioned this earlier, but the characters just don’t have emotional reactions to like anything. Ever. Or if they do have reactions it seems disproportionate to what’s happening. Damien thinks X’s mom is hitting her and the conversation somehow shifts to them laughing about it. X attacks with icicles? Not a single note of panic or concern from anyone. Liam and Aruni find out their mom is a neo human? No shock, no betrayal, no nothing. And if neo-human abilities can be passed down. . .BT would most definitely know that. . .so it doesn’t make sense. . .that BT just. . .let them leave.
I hope the author doesn’t take this review too personally, or to the heart. I do not mean this as an attack on abilities as an author or a writer. She wrote a book, which is more than most people can say, and I hope her skills continue to progress, but I just really really wish she’d given this story to an editor, or anyone who could’ve pointed out these errors before she decided to publish.
To begin, while the novel starts off with a relatively strong opening paragraph and promises an exciting premise, things almost immediately begin to derail from there. The first two chapters are almost impossible to get through. The transition between each of these scenes feels jarring to the point where I had to stop and ask myself, “wait, what?”.The first chapter in particular reads like one of those long dreams where there’s multiple dreams in one, but none of them are connected. Things were happening, i.e, conversations and movement, but the details on the setting or the necessary context I needed to have to UNDERSTAND why I was supposed to care were almost non-existent. Events also took place with no explanation or natural transition. For example, the main character “X” (short for Xandria) meets another character named Damien, and after almost NO substantial interaction or relationship development between the two, X just starts. . .opening up to him? I do not understand why a character presented as closed off and antisocial as X is so willing to not only let a stranger probe her about details of her home life the way Damien does, but within THREE pages of meeting these two are dating?????? Hello??? You can’t just spring that on the reader without giving us a reason to 1) feel invested in these people, let alone their relationship, and 2) give us a plausible reason to BELIEVE that this relationship would even happen in the first place. It just felt so random and out of place that I found myself re-reading to see if I might’ve missed something.
The second chapter was arguably even more confusing than the first. We’re introduced to a new POV character named Aruni who is at the deli with her friends, and there is supposed to be an action scene at the beginning of the chapter? I think? The issue is that the details are so scant and the flow of sentences is so choppy that it is almost impossible to figure out what’s supposed to be happening. Like at one point Aruni mentions that a neo-human is attacking and a massive icicle flies through the deli window, but when she looks outside there’s cars swerving around the icicle? So. . .which is it? Is there one icicle or two? Also the way Aruni and the others react to what is functionally a domestic terrorist event within the confines of their world, is supremely underwhelming (more on this later).
We discover later that the neo-human terrorist is none other than X herself, and while there is nothing inherently wrong with this, I do take issue with the relationship between X and the rest of the supporting cast (more on that in a second). Leading up to this reveal there are several key moments that just don’t feel like they make much sense? At one point Aruni is in the backyard with her brother Liam and X just shows up, comments on how Liam is also a mimic (a type of neo-human), notes how that’s interesting, does some ice stuff, then dips. What. . .what is the point of this scene? No crucial or relevant details were added, we weren’t given any insight into the psyches of the characters, and I struggle to understand why she popped up at this particular moment. I understand that X’s appearance serves as the set up for her and her friends seeking her out (though why they decide to do this, I have no idea). Also, there is a slight plot inconsistency with this sporadic appearance that I’ll address a bit later in this review.
So after X’s appearance, Aruni and co. decide to start looking for her (would’ve loved to get some more insight into the rationale around this, since even though they have abilities, none of them know how to fight). As the search begins the reason why Aruni is able to eventually find X is because she sees a piece of chalk floating down the street. A piece of chalk. Floating down the street. And nobody else noticed this????? I’m surprised even Aruni noticed this. Chalk is small and she managed to notice this. . .on a busy sidewalk. . .and no one else did? I don’t buy that. Also considering the existence of neo-humans in this world, I don’t understand why Aruni would just immediately assume that X is the person behind the floating chalk. Couldn’t that be anyone else who possesses abilities? I digress.
Aruni is led to a hotel room where X (surprise surprise) is waiting for her and the two have a brief conversation before the others show up and there’s a fight scene that’s kind of difficult to follow. We find out quickly what X’s motivations are: she’s planning on breaking into a house in New City and she’s recruiting Aruni and her friends to help her. Here’s the plot inconsistency I mentioned before. Why is X recruiting people if she doesn’t know what their abilities are? How is she going to enlist Liam in her scheme when she had no idea he was a mimic until she heard him say he was? In Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, when Kaz was putting together his crew to break into the Ice Court, every single member of his crew was specifically chosen because of their abilities and how they would make the heist go smoother. He chose Inej for her stealth, Matthias for his intimate knowledge of the Ice Court, Nina for her abilities as a heartrender, etc, etc. This seems like X has almost chosen everyone at. . .random? And it just. . . the logic doesn’t hold up under a microscope. Then we have a bigger problem, which feeds into the next section: X needs to train Aruni and everyone else to use their abilities so they can aid her in her breaking and entering plot.
Wait. Pause. Back up. So not only did X not fully know all the abilities of the people she was enlisting, but she has to train them on top of that? At this point it doesn’t even make sense for her to do this. If all this work is required why not just enlist the aid of literally anyone else? I’m sure morally questionable neo-humans would be vastly preferable to ones who not only have no experience with their abilities, but have (to my knowledge) never committed a crime before. This plan just seems doomed to fail, honestly.
The next fiftyish pages were a bit frustrating to get through. Following X basically threatening Aruni and her friends to help her or else, we’ve now got X training each person one on one. Instead of the training being one chapter with like four pages per character, we instead get a chapter, followed by a flashback chapter of the character being trained, someone else being trained, then another flashback for them. Like this training moment starts at page 45 AND IS STILL GOING ON AT PAGE 116. The flashbacks could work but the way they’re staggered just messes up the pacing so now you’ve got this one moment being stretched out for 71 PAGES!!!
This a huge reason why I decided to check out. I purchased this book because I follow the author on Tik Tok, have been in a few of her lives, and really just wanted to support her, but I feel like the manuscript just wasn’t ready for publication. I can feel her passion, and the premise is one I really was excited about, but it needs so much work. Aside from my gripes about the story itself, I felt like I had zero opportunity to interact with anything happening because the entire story was just being told and spoonfed to me. I did not get to experience a character’s emotions. Instead I was told about them. There were just so many missed opportunities. For example, we have a scene with one of the characters, Venus, at a party. One scene ends with her heading downstairs and she sees a strange man. In the next scene we find out she’s been SA’ed by said man. Like??????? Could we not have fleshed that out even a little bit? It didn’t need to be a graphic depiction of the SA, but like. . .WTF happened???? Did Venus have any weird vibes from the guy? Did they even talk at all? Did he lure her somewhere? Did she even know him? I felt like I missed a massive chunk of narrative here, and in the scene that immediately follows this one the SA just turns out to be a thing that happened and is apparently a big deal but I just get told about how she responded to the trauma but I don’t see her experience any of it.
I also would have loved for some information regarding these terms that are used. Words like “BT” and “Neo-human” are casually and continuously used and I have no idea what they mean, why it’s important, or why I’m supposed to care. I think neo-humans have something to do with epigenetics cause one minute it’s “specific trauma equals this ability” and then there’s a moment when Liam (I think) is wondering if his abilities can be inherited by neo-human parents? Like is it one of these things or both?
There’s a ton of internal inconsistencies as well. Like in a September flashback Liam gets fussed at because he didn’t pick up Aruni and his mom tells him how she’s been shooting hair ties, but that hair tie incident happened in October in Aruni’s flashback POV so that doesn’t line up. I also wish I felt more grounded in the world as a whole. It’s supposed to be the 2090’s but we’ve still got things like iPods? Then at one point Liam mentions running from the BT and hiding in a cave and there's a bunch of empty, grassy plains but he’s also within walking distance of a city?? This just feels unrealistic considering the vibe is supposed to be a more futuristic society. Then there’s a moment when X teleports everyone to the locations for training and it’s like . . .where. . .where are we right now? What does anything look like? And it’s mentioned that she has teleportation but how does this ability even work? Does she visualize where she wants to go? Think the name of a specific place?
I also mentioned this earlier, but the characters just don’t have emotional reactions to like anything. Ever. Or if they do have reactions it seems disproportionate to what’s happening. Damien thinks X’s mom is hitting her and the conversation somehow shifts to them laughing about it. X attacks with icicles? Not a single note of panic or concern from anyone. Liam and Aruni find out their mom is a neo human? No shock, no betrayal, no nothing. And if neo-human abilities can be passed down. . .BT would most definitely know that. . .so it doesn’t make sense. . .that BT just. . .let them leave.
I hope the author doesn’t take this review too personally, or to the heart. I do not mean this as an attack on abilities as an author or a writer. She wrote a book, which is more than most people can say, and I hope her skills continue to progress, but I just really really wish she’d given this story to an editor, or anyone who could’ve pointed out these errors before she decided to publish.
December 30, 2024
Conquer has been one of my biggest anticipated reads for 2024! I had the amazing honor of beta reading this book and then getting to read it again with its final polishes! The book starts off with a lot of reverse dramatic irony (where the characters know more than the audience). It's done well to keep the reader engaged and invested. Sometimes it does feel like a couple things are moving a little too slow/fast at the beginning, but the ending makes up for it! Trust the process!
Something that I absolute adore in this book is how real the characters feel. Their flaws are human, even though the characters aren't completely human
Something that I absolute adore in this book is how real the characters feel. Their flaws are human, even though the characters aren't completely human
April 17, 2024
OMG I’M MORE THAN HAPPY FOR MISS TIANNA!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS MY LOVE!!!!
EVERYONE GO READ!!!
I enjoyed myself, there were parts where I laughed especially having read the beginning on NetGalley using the read aloud option. Those characters are too unserious!!!
Her mother pissed me off though for a second but it’s fine 🤭
I won’t say anymore buuutttt good job love for your debut!!!🤍🤍🤍🤍
3.75/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CONGRATULATIONS MY LOVE!!!!
EVERYONE GO READ!!!
I enjoyed myself, there were parts where I laughed especially having read the beginning on NetGalley using the read aloud option. Those characters are too unserious!!!
Her mother pissed me off though for a second but it’s fine 🤭
I won’t say anymore buuutttt good job love for your debut!!!🤍🤍🤍🤍
3.75/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 1, 2024
This book was a big struggle to get through honestly. I did end up DNF-ing it. The beginning is too confusing and I didn't really like how scenes jumped around. So many things weren't being explained and really, the lack of explanation didn't keep my attention. I thought I could wait it out but after 100 pages and still no understanding, I couldn't do it anymore. I follow this author on tiktok so I was really excited but I hope for the next one, it goes through an editor or something. The premise is great so I was looking forward to it but most of it doesn't make sense.
It's supposed to be futuristic dystopian but there's no consistency in what seems futuristic and what doesn't. There's 2010's ipods with wired headphones in like 2090 but people have powers and fancy gadgets. Damien uses his phone to solve a math problem, probably with Mathway, that I used in middle school. The first chapter is all over the place. Xandria is closed off but falling for some guy, Damien, really fast? But none of it is on page? She fights with her mom because... I don't really know. Just that her mom doesn't seem like her mom anymore and picks fights all the time but I don't think I understand why they escalate because it doesn't make sense on page.
When the POV suddenly switches and now its later in the future and Xandria has powers? The first chapter felt unnecessary. Then we introduce a ton of new characters at once who all are friends but suddenly have powers because Xandria showed them they do. Granted, I DNF'd at page 101 but I don't think I would've enjoyed the rest anyway.
Congrats on doing something I never could, write a book, but unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the end.
It's supposed to be futuristic dystopian but there's no consistency in what seems futuristic and what doesn't. There's 2010's ipods with wired headphones in like 2090 but people have powers and fancy gadgets. Damien uses his phone to solve a math problem, probably with Mathway, that I used in middle school. The first chapter is all over the place. Xandria is closed off but falling for some guy, Damien, really fast? But none of it is on page? She fights with her mom because... I don't really know. Just that her mom doesn't seem like her mom anymore and picks fights all the time but I don't think I understand why they escalate because it doesn't make sense on page.
When the POV suddenly switches and now its later in the future and Xandria has powers? The first chapter felt unnecessary. Then we introduce a ton of new characters at once who all are friends but suddenly have powers because Xandria showed them they do. Granted, I DNF'd at page 101 but I don't think I would've enjoyed the rest anyway.
Congrats on doing something I never could, write a book, but unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the end.
April 29, 2024
First off, congratulations to Tiana for an amazing book and so proud of her for the work and world she'd built so far!!
With imperfect superhuman characters that explore the flaws in humanity, to the love/hate relationship between a mother and a daughter that ANYONE can relate to, to bringing together a group of friends to help search for her lost mother... Tiana has a way to grabbing the readers' attention and leave them wanting for more.
That being said, I can't wait for book 2!
With imperfect superhuman characters that explore the flaws in humanity, to the love/hate relationship between a mother and a daughter that ANYONE can relate to, to bringing together a group of friends to help search for her lost mother... Tiana has a way to grabbing the readers' attention and leave them wanting for more.
That being said, I can't wait for book 2!
April 30, 2024
My only regret is I can’t ever read this book again for the first time. The absolute ride of character development flows seamlessly with the plot and I’m here for it. Usually I don’t like when books time jump between past and present, but every now and then, it’s done really well so congratulations to Tiana for this achievement. I can’t wait to see what comes next and I’m so glad to be one of the first people to read this book. If you keep writing, I’ll keep reading!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews