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Unbanded
Not yet published
Expected 16 Jun 26Anna wants her memories back. All of them.
___
I shouldn’t be alive.
The Unbanded rebels did something to my mind before my brother rescued me with a city patrol…at least, that’s what I was told when I woke up. There’s a gap in my memory from the past year.
My brother says I should rest and recover. My handlers say my mind can be cured if I’m patient. They all say I should trust the emotional regulation of the band on my arm and the basan in my veins.
Except they aren’t telling me everything.
Maybe they’re right to mistrust me.
All I know is I was on a mission. A mission that isn’t complete. A mission that holds answers about who I am, the bands we all wear, and the rebels’ supposed plan to use them against us.
I’ve forgotten something important, and there’s no time for patience.
I need to know what happened. What I did and why. Otherwise, I may find myself helping my enemies.
Or worse—betraying my friends.
If you enjoy the action and stakes of Hunger Games and the setting vibes of City of Ember, you will love the characters and world of Unbanded. Read today to discover the truth hidden behind the experiments on Anna's mind.
___
I shouldn’t be alive.
The Unbanded rebels did something to my mind before my brother rescued me with a city patrol…at least, that’s what I was told when I woke up. There’s a gap in my memory from the past year.
My brother says I should rest and recover. My handlers say my mind can be cured if I’m patient. They all say I should trust the emotional regulation of the band on my arm and the basan in my veins.
Except they aren’t telling me everything.
Maybe they’re right to mistrust me.
All I know is I was on a mission. A mission that isn’t complete. A mission that holds answers about who I am, the bands we all wear, and the rebels’ supposed plan to use them against us.
I’ve forgotten something important, and there’s no time for patience.
I need to know what happened. What I did and why. Otherwise, I may find myself helping my enemies.
Or worse—betraying my friends.
If you enjoy the action and stakes of Hunger Games and the setting vibes of City of Ember, you will love the characters and world of Unbanded. Read today to discover the truth hidden behind the experiments on Anna's mind.
- GenresDystopia
416 pages, ebook
Expected publication June 16, 2026
About the author
Hope Ann
18 books187 followersHope Ann likes to think of herself as an undercover resistance fighter in the battle for truth. In reality, her bluntness and sarcasm make her anything but ‘undercover.’ The oldest of nine children, she has an arsenal of experience ranging from jiu-jitsu, living in the Dominican Republic for two years, and working with troubled teenagers.
Her greatest struggle is realizing she can’t do everything, but it hasn’t stopped her from periodically trying.
Based in central Indiana, her day-to-day life involves brainstorming theories about Sanderson’s Cosmere with her husband, collecting situation-perfect memes, and struggling to remember the difference between ‘effect’ and ‘affect’. She is a writing coach and the author of the Legends of Light series.
Her greatest struggle is realizing she can’t do everything, but it hasn’t stopped her from periodically trying.
Based in central Indiana, her day-to-day life involves brainstorming theories about Sanderson’s Cosmere with her husband, collecting situation-perfect memes, and struggling to remember the difference between ‘effect’ and ‘affect’. She is a writing coach and the author of the Legends of Light series.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
I was hooked from the first page of the prologue. The feeling of waning adrenaline being replaced by caution and wary anticipation is what grabbed me. Then everything just explodes (literally) and you and the main character are trying to figure out what in the city levels is going on? Who am I?! What am I doing?! What is the truth? Who can I trust?
Anna our fearless protagonist, is quite fierce and sometimes vulnerable but in an understandable sort of way. She's asking and answering all these questions as she goes. Her character develops in a very believable way.
There's just enough of the fantastical in this book to remind you that this is a story but not enough for you to remember that while reading it.
Hope Ann really puts you in the first person hot seat and it's a ride that I quite enjoyed. By the end you'll hate Kagan's guts, and maybe the rest of him, just as much as I do.
Anna our fearless protagonist, is quite fierce and sometimes vulnerable but in an understandable sort of way. She's asking and answering all these questions as she goes. Her character develops in a very believable way.
There's just enough of the fantastical in this book to remind you that this is a story but not enough for you to remember that while reading it.
Hope Ann really puts you in the first person hot seat and it's a ride that I quite enjoyed. By the end you'll hate Kagan's guts, and maybe the rest of him, just as much as I do.
Review of advance copy received from Author
One of my new favourite Hope Ann books :)
May 16, 2026
Just to be clear, I'm giving this five stars, and no, it's not just because I'm friends with the author.
Let's begin, shall we? We've got a no-nonsense heroine in Anna, and if you know me, you know one thing I love is strong heroines. Her voice and point of view are so strong. I was truly in her head and seeing the world through her eyes. Think a little bit like Katniss in The Hunger Games, while also being a unique character in her own right.
The dystopian world is unique and interesting. I loved the concept of this city being built in levels and the challenges a city with that structure might face--as well as why someone would end up living in a city like that anyway.
I'm not normally much of a romance girlie, but the subtle hints of it throughout this story were perfection, and I'm actually here for it.
Finally, the story raises intriguing questions about truth and emotion and how the two influence each other. Regardless of the conclusions these characters came to, it made me think about how I've found truth in my own life and where those ideas have come from. And that's the highest praise that I can give a book--it made me think.
Sensitive topics/content:
-abuse/torture
Representation:
-disabled (side character who has lost an eye)
Let's begin, shall we? We've got a no-nonsense heroine in Anna, and if you know me, you know one thing I love is strong heroines. Her voice and point of view are so strong. I was truly in her head and seeing the world through her eyes. Think a little bit like Katniss in The Hunger Games, while also being a unique character in her own right.
The dystopian world is unique and interesting. I loved the concept of this city being built in levels and the challenges a city with that structure might face--as well as why someone would end up living in a city like that anyway.
I'm not normally much of a romance girlie, but the subtle hints of it throughout this story were perfection, and I'm actually here for it.
Finally, the story raises intriguing questions about truth and emotion and how the two influence each other. Regardless of the conclusions these characters came to, it made me think about how I've found truth in my own life and where those ideas have come from. And that's the highest praise that I can give a book--it made me think.
Sensitive topics/content:
-abuse/torture
Representation:
-disabled (side character who has lost an eye)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews