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Breeders #3
The Benders
The third book in the award-winning, best-selling dystopian series.
They’ve escaped the Breeders.
They’ve broken out of the Citadel.
Now, after all they’ve been through, Riley, Clay, and Ethan know one thing for sure: nothing tastes sweeter than freedom. And no one can rest easy with Auntie Bell in bondage. The group journeys home to rescue her and liberate Clay’s town from the cruel Warden. But when an ally betrays them, they must face the very enemy they’ve been trying to avoid.
Captured and separated, Riley is sold to a slave-owner who uses human beings for sport, while Clay and Ethan become the latest in a series of lab rats to be poked and prodded. As a slave, Riley conceals her identity to survive among the other benders, but it’s only a matter of time before a dangerous job takes her life. Clay and Ethan find themselves a war zone between a madwoman and marauders. And the odd don’t look good.
They’ve escaped the Breeders.
They’ve broken out of the Citadel.
Now, after all they’ve been through, Riley, Clay, and Ethan know one thing for sure: nothing tastes sweeter than freedom. And no one can rest easy with Auntie Bell in bondage. The group journeys home to rescue her and liberate Clay’s town from the cruel Warden. But when an ally betrays them, they must face the very enemy they’ve been trying to avoid.
Captured and separated, Riley is sold to a slave-owner who uses human beings for sport, while Clay and Ethan become the latest in a series of lab rats to be poked and prodded. As a slave, Riley conceals her identity to survive among the other benders, but it’s only a matter of time before a dangerous job takes her life. Clay and Ethan find themselves a war zone between a madwoman and marauders. And the odd don’t look good.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 23, 2014
75 people are currently reading
316 people want to read
About the author
Katie French
62 books411 followersKatie French is an Amazon best-selling author in Young Adult dystopian romance. Her book, The Breeders, has had nearly 50,000 downloads and counting and was a semi-finalist in the 2014 Kindle Book Awards. It's currently free on Amazon. She also has a kids series starting with Portia Parrott and the Great Kitten Rescue for ages 5-9.
She works as a high school English teacher, a job that she loves even when it exhausts her. In her free time she writes manically, reads great books, and takes care of her two beautiful and crazy children. She aspires to spend as much time in yoga pants as possible. You can join her mailing list at www.katiefrenchbooks.com and receive two free full-length novels. Contact her at katie@katiefrenchbooks.com.
She works as a high school English teacher, a job that she loves even when it exhausts her. In her free time she writes manically, reads great books, and takes care of her two beautiful and crazy children. She aspires to spend as much time in yoga pants as possible. You can join her mailing list at www.katiefrenchbooks.com and receive two free full-length novels. Contact her at katie@katiefrenchbooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
January 9, 2020
Book three in the six book Breeders Series, a dystopian world where just one out of nine births are females, girls are a rarity.
This book focuses on the Benders, humans that are neither male or female, while men rule the world and woman are captured to breed, the Benders are brought and sold as slaves.
It's very clear that the Hunger Games trilogy has influenced the author a lot when writing this book which is an eye roll but I'm ok with it.
For me this is a constant three star series, the world building is passable, the female characters are so awful they leave you jumping for joy in celebration that the world is running out of females (as a female I feel I can say this), the plot feels like a copy of other books and the narration and spelling leaves a lot to be desired .... however ..... I do like to have a three star series on the go occasionally to break up those heavier and more consuming reads, so I'm ok with it.
Three stars.
This book focuses on the Benders, humans that are neither male or female, while men rule the world and woman are captured to breed, the Benders are brought and sold as slaves.
It's very clear that the Hunger Games trilogy has influenced the author a lot when writing this book which is an eye roll but I'm ok with it.
For me this is a constant three star series, the world building is passable, the female characters are so awful they leave you jumping for joy in celebration that the world is running out of females (as a female I feel I can say this), the plot feels like a copy of other books and the narration and spelling leaves a lot to be desired .... however ..... I do like to have a three star series on the go occasionally to break up those heavier and more consuming reads, so I'm ok with it.
Three stars.
May 1, 2015
I really hope there is another book coming out. The ending leaves you with more questions. There was no closure.
March 17, 2021
“The Benders” is the third instalment in Katie French’s YA/NA dystopian series “Breeders”, which is set in a future version of the US at the end of the twenty first century, in world where women account just for 10% of the total population. The main character (Riley Meemick) is one of the last free surviving females, as her own mother escaped the Breeders, the group of scientist intended on ‘fixing’ the male/female ration discordance and repopulate society by very unethical and cruel methods.
Riley, Clay and Ethan struggle continues: theirs seems to be a life on the living rerun, first hiding from the system, then escaping the Breeders’ facility, afterward fleeing from the religious fanatics at the Citadel, the euphoria of freedom doesn’t last long though, as they go back home to free the town from the Warden, Riley is captured and sold as a fighting-slave, while Clay and Ethan are hold as experimental subjects and suffer the twisted Breeders experiments. The focus on the story lies on the nature of the Benders, thus genderless subjects who are sold as slave in a society, where women have to breed, and men rule everything. The world keeps on getting even complexer, while Riley and Clay’s romantic relationship flourish against the dystopian background of the series.
A very well-written story, with credible and relatable characters, and an exceptionally complex, realistic dystopian world, that is nevertheless easy to follow. The arc-story is action-packed in fast-paced, with very interesting plots and subplots, unexpected twist and turns, and good balanced mix between character development, action, dystopia, and romance. An interesting read for all fans of “The Hunger Games”, “Divergent”, “The Gender Game” and “The Thaw Series”.
Riley, Clay and Ethan struggle continues: theirs seems to be a life on the living rerun, first hiding from the system, then escaping the Breeders’ facility, afterward fleeing from the religious fanatics at the Citadel, the euphoria of freedom doesn’t last long though, as they go back home to free the town from the Warden, Riley is captured and sold as a fighting-slave, while Clay and Ethan are hold as experimental subjects and suffer the twisted Breeders experiments. The focus on the story lies on the nature of the Benders, thus genderless subjects who are sold as slave in a society, where women have to breed, and men rule everything. The world keeps on getting even complexer, while Riley and Clay’s romantic relationship flourish against the dystopian background of the series.
A very well-written story, with credible and relatable characters, and an exceptionally complex, realistic dystopian world, that is nevertheless easy to follow. The arc-story is action-packed in fast-paced, with very interesting plots and subplots, unexpected twist and turns, and good balanced mix between character development, action, dystopia, and romance. An interesting read for all fans of “The Hunger Games”, “Divergent”, “The Gender Game” and “The Thaw Series”.
May 21, 2020
Riley Meemick has managed to escape with Ethan and Clay from the Believers at The Citadel. It is now her mission to find and liberate her Auntie Bell. Fate is a cruel mistress and Riley is taken prisoner only to be sold into a gladiator-type sport. Ethan and Clay are captured by Clay’s deranged mother and are used in her twisted experiments.
French’s third novel in The Breeders series, The Benders continues to explore the romance between Riley and Clay in a dystopian world where fertile women are a prized commodity. As with the other books in this series, it is fast passed and full of tension.
There are six books in this series as this review is written. I plan to read them all. The world-building is some of the best I’ve read.
5 out of 5 stars.
French’s third novel in The Breeders series, The Benders continues to explore the romance between Riley and Clay in a dystopian world where fertile women are a prized commodity. As with the other books in this series, it is fast passed and full of tension.
There are six books in this series as this review is written. I plan to read them all. The world-building is some of the best I’ve read.
5 out of 5 stars.
January 12, 2016
INITIAL THOUGHTS
I was looking forward to reading the next installment of the Breeder's Series but as it had been a while since I read Bk#2 The Believers in this series so the only thing I was wondering about was how quickly I would fall back into the series and if I would forget any of the important details.
MY REVIEW
I purchased this one from Amazon UK back in April 2015 and its just taken me an age to get the time to read and review it.
The cover features staircases within a warehouse that features near the end of the book? Or perhaps a it's a scene of a broken down house that was once a treasured home to a family. Either way it sets the tone of the book really well. The cover looks grim and in this book things begin to look quite grim for both Clay, Ethan and Riley.
So would this cover make me pick this book up from a bookstore shelf? As I love the dystopian genre and usually can't resist browsing those shelves in bookstores I reckon I would definitely pick this one up to learn more about it. So I guess the cover does its job well.
So my only worry had been forgetting anything from book two The Believer's, I needn't have worried as there is a great recap at the very beginning of this book. After reading that it felt as if I had only just put book two down! To say this book is action packed and fast paced is an understatement. This book is told mostly from the points of view of Clay or Riley but there is some from Ethan's point of view too which I really enjoyed, as well as it fitting in really well with the telling of the story. I enjoy the writing style of Katie French, she really makes you visualise the scenery that is around the characters she writes about. For example, "The plane looks like an eviscerated chicken carcass with the meat picked off"
Katie is also good at making you care about them and understand the actions and decisions the characters make and why they make them. I loved the description of how Clay felt at one point in the book, "Needles the size of drinkin' straws seem to be wormin' their way through my grey matter" Katie is absolutely brilliant at building up the tension with one character and then quickly shifting to what is happening with the other character too. She really keeps you on the edge of your seat. The ending of the book leaves you a little up in the air, whilst making you think "Oh wow" and "what is going to happen next" as well as "what more can these characters take?" There really are some fantastic descriptions that I think everyone can relate to and imagine such as "Some run around like candles on legs" and "Stubborn as cement shoes"
Clay has talked Riley and Ethan into believing he still has friends back in his old town and he simply needs to turn up to lead the revolt against the Warden. Sadly things don't go to plan in fact they go downhill rapidly with Clay and Riley being separated once again. That's when the book slips into the two stories, Clay, Ethan and a well loved earlier character, Betsy, returns though she has been damaged almost beyond recognition. It is Clay's somewhat deranged mother, Nessa, that has been doing experimental operations on Betsy! Betsy is tasked with keeping an eye on both Clay and Ethan. Nessa seem's determined to recreate Clay's old room where he lived with his father. In fact she has looted his old home down to the smallest detail. Nessa also operates on Clay's hand, improving it's function, so she is totally nonplussed when Clay doesn't run into her open arms being grateful. Nessa is further annoyed when Clay does not accept her deception in styling, dressing and calling Ethan by his younger brothers name Cole.
All the while the boys are going through this Riley has been taken to a bullet factory owned by a man who call's himself Lord Merek. Lord Merek dresses in old fashioned finery and has many wives. When Riley is examined by the doctor of the compound "Doc" she has a difficult decision to make. Come clean as a female and end up as Lord Merek's next wife, or hide amongst the workforce of the compound made up of benders. Riley meets back up with Nada, a bender whom Clay and Riley rescued from a trader. It turns out Nada is the adoptive sister to Doc so kind of useful to know. Nada and Riley are assigned to work in the gun powder section, the most dangerous job. They realise how dangerous it really is when another bender dies in an horrific way right in front of their eyes. So it's understandable they put their names forward for the Tournament that Lord Merek announces. The tournament will have hand to hand combat, and need wit, speed and skill to survive and win it. The person who wins will get to take one other person with them and be given their freedom.
So as you can see there is oodles of action, and a super fast pace in parts. I feel I could talk forever about this book and only just scratch the surface! Secrets are revealed, lives are sacrificed, those whom you thought would never survive do so. This book is a great addition to a so far brilliant series. I highly recommend this series of books.
So did I enjoy the book? I loved it from the first page to the very last!
Would I recommend the book? A must read for a fan of this series. If you haven't started the series I recommend that you do.
Would I want to read more of this series? Oh yes, definitely!
Would I want to read more books by this author? I would certainly take notice and have a closer look at books by this author.
FINAL THOUGHTS
How much more can these characters go through? What's going to happen next? Will the characters be reunited again soon? Love the series and can't wait to read more.
I was looking forward to reading the next installment of the Breeder's Series but as it had been a while since I read Bk#2 The Believers in this series so the only thing I was wondering about was how quickly I would fall back into the series and if I would forget any of the important details.
MY REVIEW
I purchased this one from Amazon UK back in April 2015 and its just taken me an age to get the time to read and review it.
The cover features staircases within a warehouse that features near the end of the book? Or perhaps a it's a scene of a broken down house that was once a treasured home to a family. Either way it sets the tone of the book really well. The cover looks grim and in this book things begin to look quite grim for both Clay, Ethan and Riley.
So would this cover make me pick this book up from a bookstore shelf? As I love the dystopian genre and usually can't resist browsing those shelves in bookstores I reckon I would definitely pick this one up to learn more about it. So I guess the cover does its job well.
So my only worry had been forgetting anything from book two The Believer's, I needn't have worried as there is a great recap at the very beginning of this book. After reading that it felt as if I had only just put book two down! To say this book is action packed and fast paced is an understatement. This book is told mostly from the points of view of Clay or Riley but there is some from Ethan's point of view too which I really enjoyed, as well as it fitting in really well with the telling of the story. I enjoy the writing style of Katie French, she really makes you visualise the scenery that is around the characters she writes about. For example, "The plane looks like an eviscerated chicken carcass with the meat picked off"
Katie is also good at making you care about them and understand the actions and decisions the characters make and why they make them. I loved the description of how Clay felt at one point in the book, "Needles the size of drinkin' straws seem to be wormin' their way through my grey matter" Katie is absolutely brilliant at building up the tension with one character and then quickly shifting to what is happening with the other character too. She really keeps you on the edge of your seat. The ending of the book leaves you a little up in the air, whilst making you think "Oh wow" and "what is going to happen next" as well as "what more can these characters take?" There really are some fantastic descriptions that I think everyone can relate to and imagine such as "Some run around like candles on legs" and "Stubborn as cement shoes"
Clay has talked Riley and Ethan into believing he still has friends back in his old town and he simply needs to turn up to lead the revolt against the Warden. Sadly things don't go to plan in fact they go downhill rapidly with Clay and Riley being separated once again. That's when the book slips into the two stories, Clay, Ethan and a well loved earlier character, Betsy, returns though she has been damaged almost beyond recognition. It is Clay's somewhat deranged mother, Nessa, that has been doing experimental operations on Betsy! Betsy is tasked with keeping an eye on both Clay and Ethan. Nessa seem's determined to recreate Clay's old room where he lived with his father. In fact she has looted his old home down to the smallest detail. Nessa also operates on Clay's hand, improving it's function, so she is totally nonplussed when Clay doesn't run into her open arms being grateful. Nessa is further annoyed when Clay does not accept her deception in styling, dressing and calling Ethan by his younger brothers name Cole.
All the while the boys are going through this Riley has been taken to a bullet factory owned by a man who call's himself Lord Merek. Lord Merek dresses in old fashioned finery and has many wives. When Riley is examined by the doctor of the compound "Doc" she has a difficult decision to make. Come clean as a female and end up as Lord Merek's next wife, or hide amongst the workforce of the compound made up of benders. Riley meets back up with Nada, a bender whom Clay and Riley rescued from a trader. It turns out Nada is the adoptive sister to Doc so kind of useful to know. Nada and Riley are assigned to work in the gun powder section, the most dangerous job. They realise how dangerous it really is when another bender dies in an horrific way right in front of their eyes. So it's understandable they put their names forward for the Tournament that Lord Merek announces. The tournament will have hand to hand combat, and need wit, speed and skill to survive and win it. The person who wins will get to take one other person with them and be given their freedom.
So as you can see there is oodles of action, and a super fast pace in parts. I feel I could talk forever about this book and only just scratch the surface! Secrets are revealed, lives are sacrificed, those whom you thought would never survive do so. This book is a great addition to a so far brilliant series. I highly recommend this series of books.
So did I enjoy the book? I loved it from the first page to the very last!
Would I recommend the book? A must read for a fan of this series. If you haven't started the series I recommend that you do.
Would I want to read more of this series? Oh yes, definitely!
Would I want to read more books by this author? I would certainly take notice and have a closer look at books by this author.
FINAL THOUGHTS
How much more can these characters go through? What's going to happen next? Will the characters be reunited again soon? Love the series and can't wait to read more.
December 17, 2020
Book three and aiming to get the next book? I guess I liked it! I am growing to like the characters. Even if the world is dark and they keep finding themself in dangerous places being experimented on or enslaved and lots of running and hiding.
I've been listening to the book on Kindle Unlimited. In this case, Audible, narrated by Carla Mercer-Meyer. I love how well she acts out the characters.
This is a dark dystopian series. Yeah, I don't know why in the darkness of 2020 I choose to read these, but I guess it has kept me more optimistic than others as I know it could get worse. Let's read these and prevent this from happening!
Now on to number four!
I've been listening to the book on Kindle Unlimited. In this case, Audible, narrated by Carla Mercer-Meyer. I love how well she acts out the characters.
This is a dark dystopian series. Yeah, I don't know why in the darkness of 2020 I choose to read these, but I guess it has kept me more optimistic than others as I know it could get worse. Let's read these and prevent this from happening!
Now on to number four!
August 11, 2018
A Great Continuation of This Series
Always an avid lover of stories set in dystopian futures, I have been pleasantly surprised by what is considered a young-adult dystopian series (and I haven't been a young adult for about 20 years). Great character development and continuity between books. My only constructive criticism would be a few typographical errors and Clay's sudden, disjointed transitions to a southern drawl, but they don't distract from the story. I just happen to have OCD! I am officially hooked...
Always an avid lover of stories set in dystopian futures, I have been pleasantly surprised by what is considered a young-adult dystopian series (and I haven't been a young adult for about 20 years). Great character development and continuity between books. My only constructive criticism would be a few typographical errors and Clay's sudden, disjointed transitions to a southern drawl, but they don't distract from the story. I just happen to have OCD! I am officially hooked...
January 18, 2021
Karrie's Kritiques found another 5 star
Katie French did it again with The Benders. From the beginning of the Breeders series it all just took on a life of its own! I realise the author worked her ass off to write such an entertaining series, yet it seemed to just write itself it was all just so very seamless and original! One of my favourite dystopian series ever!
Katie French did it again with The Benders. From the beginning of the Breeders series it all just took on a life of its own! I realise the author worked her ass off to write such an entertaining series, yet it seemed to just write itself it was all just so very seamless and original! One of my favourite dystopian series ever!
October 10, 2021
This was a NDF for me. It was a decent exercise in dialect and world-building, but the characters were inconsistent even in the first half of this first book--not to mention, if women were rare, how did we end up with three in a single family/together, even if they were not blood?
June 4, 2023
Action in a Dystopian World Full Of Secrets!!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this series!!!:-). This Dystopian world is INTENSE!!! There was TONS of Action & Adventure in this one!!! The characters are PHENOMENAL!!! Looking forward to where this journey heads next!!!:-). LOVED IT!!:-)
LOVE LOVE LOVE this series!!!:-). This Dystopian world is INTENSE!!! There was TONS of Action & Adventure in this one!!! The characters are PHENOMENAL!!! Looking forward to where this journey heads next!!!:-). LOVED IT!!:-)
April 27, 2018
Wow!!! Wow!!!! Wow!!! I loved it. I was hooked after the first sentence.
Kept me turning through the pages to see what happened next. One of my all time favorites.
Kept me turning through the pages to see what happened next. One of my all time favorites.
May 3, 2019
Bendes
Benders a cross between both sexes. It's sad when it's better to be a bender than a girl, breeder quality. Betsy breaks my heart and Ethan is a keeper.
Benders a cross between both sexes. It's sad when it's better to be a bender than a girl, breeder quality. Betsy breaks my heart and Ethan is a keeper.
June 21, 2022
After listening to the first two books, I couldn't find this one on audiobook so I decided to read it. It was just okay. Not nearly as good as the first two.
December 4, 2023
Not what I was expecting at all. But such a fantastic read. Kept me hooking right from the beginning.
March 11, 2017
5 stars!!!
Another awesome book by Katie French! She keeps me coming back for more! This series is amazing. Give it a try.
Another awesome book by Katie French! She keeps me coming back for more! This series is amazing. Give it a try.
January 16, 2015
No, no no no, please no!
*Breathes in, breathes out*
In this series, first came the Breeders. Second came the Believers, and in this third book came the Benders.
All three books of this series are captivating, nail-biting and action-packed. I'm not sure whether to call this series a trilogy or not, since the ending was pretty closed, yet did not bring any closure. After hours upon hours of investment in this series, I was left feeling flat, deflated and hollowed, with no hope of a continuity. With so much action and emotion going on all throughout The Benders, I was hoping for a respite at the end. A sweeter ending, perhaps, or at least something a little more optimistic. Rather, book three held endless emotional battles and physical battles alike, emotional roller coasters in each POVs, with very little rest between incidents, until the very last few pages.
(Hidden due to mild spoilers)
In conclusion, though the third book in particular felt stretched out and the ending felt rushed, I thoroughly enjoyed the trilogy. I will keep on hoping for a fourth book, even though all my questions could have easily been answered if The Benders had a couple more chapters... But, if you're looking for a very unconventional dystopian story, this would be it. My opinion may not be the same for you, so feel free to check it out! The plot twists will definitely keep you on your toes, so get ready for a couple sleepless nights spent reading!
1.16.2015
*Breathes in, breathes out*
In this series, first came the Breeders. Second came the Believers, and in this third book came the Benders.
All three books of this series are captivating, nail-biting and action-packed. I'm not sure whether to call this series a trilogy or not, since the ending was pretty closed, yet did not bring any closure. After hours upon hours of investment in this series, I was left feeling flat, deflated and hollowed, with no hope of a continuity. With so much action and emotion going on all throughout The Benders, I was hoping for a respite at the end. A sweeter ending, perhaps, or at least something a little more optimistic. Rather, book three held endless emotional battles and physical battles alike, emotional roller coasters in each POVs, with very little rest between incidents, until the very last few pages.
(Hidden due to mild spoilers)
In conclusion, though the third book in particular felt stretched out and the ending felt rushed, I thoroughly enjoyed the trilogy. I will keep on hoping for a fourth book, even though all my questions could have easily been answered if The Benders had a couple more chapters... But, if you're looking for a very unconventional dystopian story, this would be it. My opinion may not be the same for you, so feel free to check it out! The plot twists will definitely keep you on your toes, so get ready for a couple sleepless nights spent reading!
1.16.2015
February 15, 2017
Great!!!
Finally got to know more about the benders!
Intense medieval dark feel to it!
Finally got to know more about the benders!
Intense medieval dark feel to it!
July 20, 2015
In The Benders, Riley and Clay end up being prisoners again, albeit separated this time. Riley ends up as a slave in a camp run by a deranged bullet maker who runs his estate like a medieval castle. Meanwhile, Clay and Ethan are held prisoner by Nessa in an army compound. Both sets must fight to escape and reunite.
This book was a bit more interesting than the last. Riley and Clay are still at the mercy of lunatics, but at least things stay fresh with two different subplots and the whole plot about Riley's struggle was very captivating. It definitely kept me turning the pages. The world is still quite bleak with little hope, but the characters keep pushing forward. The novel does introduce a new hope though, a destination that Riley hopes to find one day.
As far as negatives, I would say a lot of my discontent revolves around Nessa. For most of the novel her intentions are never fully revealed, and the fate of her at the end was a bit disappointing to me (but I suppose could be necessary to keep the story going). She also seems to be very heartless and is impossible to relate to.
Overall, I enjoyed the book very much and am looking forward to future novels in the series.
NOTE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a bit more interesting than the last. Riley and Clay are still at the mercy of lunatics, but at least things stay fresh with two different subplots and the whole plot about Riley's struggle was very captivating. It definitely kept me turning the pages. The world is still quite bleak with little hope, but the characters keep pushing forward. The novel does introduce a new hope though, a destination that Riley hopes to find one day.
As far as negatives, I would say a lot of my discontent revolves around Nessa. For most of the novel her intentions are never fully revealed, and the fate of her at the end was a bit disappointing to me (but I suppose could be necessary to keep the story going). She also seems to be very heartless and is impossible to relate to.
Overall, I enjoyed the book very much and am looking forward to future novels in the series.
NOTE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
February 3, 2015
First, there was The Breeders. Then came The Believers. Now, the third book in the Breeders series is available. And boy, it did not disappoint! It's not often that a third book matches the magic of the first book, but The Benders does just that. It may even be the best of the series so far!
As with the first two books in the series, this one is well-written and action-packed. What's different about The Benders is that the story is told from both Riley's and Clay's perspectives instead of just Riley's. In other books, the alternating narration sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, but in Katie French's capable hands, we get two compelling points of view that weave together to form a great story.
In The Benders, we're also introduced to new characters and new settings, making it feel like a fresh story. Make that two stories because Riley and Clay are separated early on. The result is a frantic roller coaster ride that left me turning the pages.
I won't spoil what else happens in this book, but I can't wait for book 4. If you're a fan of dystopian fiction, you have to read this series!
As with the first two books in the series, this one is well-written and action-packed. What's different about The Benders is that the story is told from both Riley's and Clay's perspectives instead of just Riley's. In other books, the alternating narration sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, but in Katie French's capable hands, we get two compelling points of view that weave together to form a great story.
In The Benders, we're also introduced to new characters and new settings, making it feel like a fresh story. Make that two stories because Riley and Clay are separated early on. The result is a frantic roller coaster ride that left me turning the pages.
I won't spoil what else happens in this book, but I can't wait for book 4. If you're a fan of dystopian fiction, you have to read this series!
February 6, 2015
This is probably my favourite of the trilogy so far and probably one of the best dystopians I've read both traditionally and indie published.
I was a little afraid going into it when I realised that the book is written in alternating POVs because when that happens in the third book of a series it usually means that the author is not so subtly try to kill off the previous POV character but thankfully the differing POVs actually added more tension to the story and for once the voices were actually different.
This one was full of action and I felt like the characters grew up a lot in this story. My only wish was that Riley would break out of the mold of YA heroines who are meant to be tough in a cutthroat world but yet still somehow manage to make it out of every situation without having to get any real blood on her hands.
Overall I loved this book and can't wait for the next installment.
I was a little afraid going into it when I realised that the book is written in alternating POVs because when that happens in the third book of a series it usually means that the author is not so subtly try to kill off the previous POV character but thankfully the differing POVs actually added more tension to the story and for once the voices were actually different.
This one was full of action and I felt like the characters grew up a lot in this story. My only wish was that Riley would break out of the mold of YA heroines who are meant to be tough in a cutthroat world but yet still somehow manage to make it out of every situation without having to get any real blood on her hands.
Overall I loved this book and can't wait for the next installment.
December 13, 2014
Definitely recommend the entire series!
Ms French is an excellent writer.....keeps you turning those pages and soaking up her story! Being a fan of dystopian genre, this Breeders Series is highly recommended by me....I have read well over 175 books in the past couple of years at a minimum. I've reviewed almost all of them and rarely give 5 stars.....but this series is so well written and the storyline so exciting and suspenseful......got me totally invested in her characters. I am crossing my fingers there is another book on this series....It cannot end here! Please, Ms French, don't keep us waiting!
Ms French is an excellent writer.....keeps you turning those pages and soaking up her story! Being a fan of dystopian genre, this Breeders Series is highly recommended by me....I have read well over 175 books in the past couple of years at a minimum. I've reviewed almost all of them and rarely give 5 stars.....but this series is so well written and the storyline so exciting and suspenseful......got me totally invested in her characters. I am crossing my fingers there is another book on this series....It cannot end here! Please, Ms French, don't keep us waiting!
July 30, 2016
I can't stop reading these books, but I HATE what happens to the characters! This is the first of the three books in this series where the POV changes from Riley, to Clay and then sometimes Ethan. You have to get all these POV to get through the book, but it's weird that the author decided to do it now after finishing two books. It would have been nice to hear what Clay was thinking when they were at the Citadel... And why are we hearing about the Free Colonies now!?! They have been living in this society their whole lives and didn't know there were other groups besides the Breeders... what gives!?!
December 9, 2014
I've waited so long for this follow up book 3 that once I'd down loaded it I wasn't going to put it down till devoured. Katie writes thrilling story lines with nothing held back and there are some pretty violent passages. Our heroine gets bigger kickings then a football and Clay doesn't come off much better, but they're made of stern stuff. I hate writing spoilers in my reviews but on this occasion I will say we are treated to two thrilling stories in the one book. How? You'll enjoy finding out.
A definite 5*book and one to buy yourself and your friends for xmas presents.
A definite 5*book and one to buy yourself and your friends for xmas presents.
December 17, 2014
Enjoyable, but ending sucked
This book was hard to put down. It kept me intrigued until nearing the end of the story. This is were it fell apart for me.
The ending felt rushed, as if Ms. French was tired of writing the story and just wanted it to end. It also left you with a cliffhanger, but not one that left you stratified. I'm not sure if there will be another book or you will be left to your own imagination and have to figure out your own ending to Riley's and Clay's ending.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this; just wish it had a better ending.
This book was hard to put down. It kept me intrigued until nearing the end of the story. This is were it fell apart for me.
The ending felt rushed, as if Ms. French was tired of writing the story and just wanted it to end. It also left you with a cliffhanger, but not one that left you stratified. I'm not sure if there will be another book or you will be left to your own imagination and have to figure out your own ending to Riley's and Clay's ending.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this; just wish it had a better ending.
February 24, 2016
Similarly to the last book, I really like it at the beginning, it loses me in the middle and the ending is only okay. It's getting ridiculous how much awfulness these characters are put through. It's even more depressing in this book though because all the characters are separated. At least they had each other before. I didn't really like what happened to Clay, and Riley's storyline was so unoriginal. How many more times to we have to read about a champion fight to the death in dystopian books? Anyway, I hope it all picks up in the next book and the story starts to lead somewhere.
January 20, 2016
Anyone who knows me knows that I love the Breeders. I think that Katie French has done a wonderful job with this series and I can't wait to read more but this book fell a little short for me. I didn't really like the plot of this book but I also really liked the characters. Maybe the reason I didn't like it was because Clay, Ethan, and Riley weren't together and I HATED the end because of things that happened at the end to certain characters...
January 20, 2015
Really good
Okay, so did I love the book? Yes. Will I read the next one? Yes. I truly love the characters and I liked how the author told story from different points of view. What I don't enjoy is cliffhanger endings without even a proposed ETA for next book. The first two ended better.
Okay, so did I love the book? Yes. Will I read the next one? Yes. I truly love the characters and I liked how the author told story from different points of view. What I don't enjoy is cliffhanger endings without even a proposed ETA for next book. The first two ended better.
January 31, 2016
I loved the first two books. This one unfortunately seemed sub par with the story line going in crazy directions. The author is a great writer though. I sadly found myself skimming through chapters. I was tempted to just leave the book but I did want to know where Clay and Riley's story ended up. I'm not sure if I'll read book four or not.
January 12, 2015
Clay and Riley together again (or are they?) in the latest, most epic tale in the Breeders series. Story is just as spooky as the first two, with new & old villains, not to mention new friends, made it a great read, but I felt I needed more!! NEED MORE
January 12, 2015
Another great book
Awesome book a real page turner especially the parts with Riley. Can't wait for the next book! And the ending was very shocking with Nessa can't wait to find out what happens next.
Awesome book a real page turner especially the parts with Riley. Can't wait for the next book! And the ending was very shocking with Nessa can't wait to find out what happens next.
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