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The Roving #1
unFocused
Hilary lives in a world that is supposed to be "perfect." The government provides all of the basic necessities and if you want additional items you can take on non-governmental work or odd jobs to earn luxury dollars to buy pretty much anything you could desire. The downside? She's assigned a career she hates, a place to live that she's never even been to before, and a guy she's supposed to marry that she's not even sure she likes. In fact, she's not sure she can ever feel that way about any guy, period. Oh yeah, and this all happens to everyone when they turn 17. Hilary tries to make the best of it but goes through a series of events that make her question who she is as a person and whether or not "perfect" can ever really exist, no matter what they want her to believe.
204 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 4, 2015
2 people want to read
About the author
Roselyn Jewell
11 books5 followersI'm an author, a wife, a mother, a friend, a sister, a daughter, and so much more! I've always loved reading and found myself wanting to continue the stories I loved so much, which is how I started writing. Now I've finally reached my dream of being published. My novels are mainly romance, though there are a lot of other elements as well. My books prove that you can have the romance and the passion without having to sacrifice great plot lines or strong character personalities.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 10, 2015
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to author Roselyn Jewell.)
“There’s no room for homosexuality post-21st Century Pandemic.”
This was a YA dystopian about a homosexual girl, stuck in a system where homosexuality is a crime.
I felt quite sorry for Hilary in this story, she didn’t get the job she wanted, and she didn’t get the pairing she wanted either. It wasn’t her fault that she was homosexual, and for everybody to be of the opinion that homosexuality was wrong, wasn’t really very fair to her.
“I think that blonde girl might be a homosexual, Mrs Kraft,” she says, pointing directly at me. “And I, for one, don’t feel comfortable sharing living quarters with a homosexual.”
The storyline in this revolved around the romance element of the story, with regards to the homosexuality of Hilary and some other members of her group. There was also a bit of a story about Hilary’s new assignment, and a case surrounding some camera’s that had been found around the city.
“Someone in this city has cameras planted throughout Milwaukee, catching people in compromising situations and revealing deep secrets when they don’t know they’re being watched.”
The ending to this left us with a bit of a cliff-hanger, with Hilary just having discovered something important.
6 out of 10
“There’s no room for homosexuality post-21st Century Pandemic.”
This was a YA dystopian about a homosexual girl, stuck in a system where homosexuality is a crime.
I felt quite sorry for Hilary in this story, she didn’t get the job she wanted, and she didn’t get the pairing she wanted either. It wasn’t her fault that she was homosexual, and for everybody to be of the opinion that homosexuality was wrong, wasn’t really very fair to her.
“I think that blonde girl might be a homosexual, Mrs Kraft,” she says, pointing directly at me. “And I, for one, don’t feel comfortable sharing living quarters with a homosexual.”
The storyline in this revolved around the romance element of the story, with regards to the homosexuality of Hilary and some other members of her group. There was also a bit of a story about Hilary’s new assignment, and a case surrounding some camera’s that had been found around the city.
“Someone in this city has cameras planted throughout Milwaukee, catching people in compromising situations and revealing deep secrets when they don’t know they’re being watched.”
The ending to this left us with a bit of a cliff-hanger, with Hilary just having discovered something important.
6 out of 10
June 14, 2019
This was not what I was expecting. While I expected Hilary to be homosexual and into girls I did not expect homosexuality to rule the book! I feel like the rest of the plot is lost amongst that battle.
In her community, homosexuality is not accepted and heavily frowned upon so Hilary is constantly defending herself against liking girls. She has a one track mind on her career goal. So when she is sent off for a job she didn't want, with a boy she doesn't like to a city she doesn't wnat to be, it is easy to sympathize with her. No real life choices here apparently.
SHe is set up to work as a detective and I saw some great story potential. Yet every couple clicks of the pages of my kindle and it was clear the real focus was her homosexuality, others sexuality and the lack of acceptance.
I felt like it was being slapped in my face and way too much attention there and if I wanted that to be the only focus my time would have been better spent at a Pride Festival or something.
So much potential is lost here. Possible dystopian society plot and black market secrets overruled by a Pride Festival in novel format it seems. Potential was here but the focus was way too strong in one area and had I known that area was going to be such a focal point, I would not have read the book to be honest. Just not my cup of tea but it does not mean others cannot enjoy this.
While the world building needs work, the characters have potential and Hilary is easy to get a story from.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair/honest review*
In her community, homosexuality is not accepted and heavily frowned upon so Hilary is constantly defending herself against liking girls. She has a one track mind on her career goal. So when she is sent off for a job she didn't want, with a boy she doesn't like to a city she doesn't wnat to be, it is easy to sympathize with her. No real life choices here apparently.
SHe is set up to work as a detective and I saw some great story potential. Yet every couple clicks of the pages of my kindle and it was clear the real focus was her homosexuality, others sexuality and the lack of acceptance.
I felt like it was being slapped in my face and way too much attention there and if I wanted that to be the only focus my time would have been better spent at a Pride Festival or something.
So much potential is lost here. Possible dystopian society plot and black market secrets overruled by a Pride Festival in novel format it seems. Potential was here but the focus was way too strong in one area and had I known that area was going to be such a focal point, I would not have read the book to be honest. Just not my cup of tea but it does not mean others cannot enjoy this.
While the world building needs work, the characters have potential and Hilary is easy to get a story from.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair/honest review*
April 10, 2015
(I received a copy from the author, In exchange for an honest review.)
Actual rating - 3.5
Hilary was an okay character, and at times I felt quite sorry for her.
I didn't love any of the other characters for most of the story, but one character grew on me near the end.
The mystery in this could be a bit slow at times, but it still held my interest, as I really wanted to know who was behind it!
The romance side of the story didn't make a proper appearance for the main character until near the end, but I quite liked it.
This ended on a cliffhanger, so I'll definately be reading the second book when it's released to find out what happens next!
Actual rating - 3.5
Hilary was an okay character, and at times I felt quite sorry for her.
I didn't love any of the other characters for most of the story, but one character grew on me near the end.
The mystery in this could be a bit slow at times, but it still held my interest, as I really wanted to know who was behind it!
The romance side of the story didn't make a proper appearance for the main character until near the end, but I quite liked it.
This ended on a cliffhanger, so I'll definately be reading the second book when it's released to find out what happens next!
April 16, 2015
I'm still undecided on how many stars I will give this book but it's probably 3.5 stars.
The world building was okay and there were some explanations as what to happened in their history.
The main heroine in the story is Hilary Larkin who has the dreams on becoming an aeronaut and hoping to have an okay Couple Assignment. Hilary is actually attracted to girls at the same time she still questions her sexual orientation and also in denial. She also has a Roving personality which from what I understand as something of observing things that other people don't actually do. The story progresses when Hilary was assigned to be an Armistice Officer (which isn't her top choice) and being coupled with a guy she has no attraction for. It gets interesting when Hilary's mentor is on a case about the black market in which if Hilary proved to help solve the case, she just might get her dream job afterwards.
The story mainly revolves around Hilary questioning her sexual orientation and about her job. The romance in the story is very mild since nothing happened till near the ending and when she finally accepted about herself. I actually felt sorry for Hilary especially when she lost her dreams about becoming an aeronaut and for her lack of love life. At the same time I was annoyed with her character being a hypocrite in the beginning and when she acts like it's the end of the world for her. At the same time, I liked how she wanted to prove herself especially to her mentor and when she realizes that she could just be herself.
I'm happy for her when she finally found someone she could be with and I like how the author made the couple assignments for them. It turned out for the better.
I won't spoil how the assignment of Hilary goes but I had my suspicions which were accurate. So when it happened I wasn't that surprised except for the bigger plan was.
Although I agree that their system needs to change. No system is perfect because there would always be a fault in it. I realized too with them, that they don't really have equality.
The ending was a cliffhanger in a sense when things came to light especially from what Hilary discovered. I would like to continue reading even if it's different from my usual type of reads.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The world building was okay and there were some explanations as what to happened in their history.
The main heroine in the story is Hilary Larkin who has the dreams on becoming an aeronaut and hoping to have an okay Couple Assignment. Hilary is actually attracted to girls at the same time she still questions her sexual orientation and also in denial. She also has a Roving personality which from what I understand as something of observing things that other people don't actually do. The story progresses when Hilary was assigned to be an Armistice Officer (which isn't her top choice) and being coupled with a guy she has no attraction for. It gets interesting when Hilary's mentor is on a case about the black market in which if Hilary proved to help solve the case, she just might get her dream job afterwards.
The story mainly revolves around Hilary questioning her sexual orientation and about her job. The romance in the story is very mild since nothing happened till near the ending and when she finally accepted about herself. I actually felt sorry for Hilary especially when she lost her dreams about becoming an aeronaut and for her lack of love life. At the same time I was annoyed with her character being a hypocrite in the beginning and when she acts like it's the end of the world for her. At the same time, I liked how she wanted to prove herself especially to her mentor and when she realizes that she could just be herself.
I'm happy for her when she finally found someone she could be with and I like how the author made the couple assignments for them. It turned out for the better.
I won't spoil how the assignment of Hilary goes but I had my suspicions which were accurate. So when it happened I wasn't that surprised except for the bigger plan was.
Although I agree that their system needs to change. No system is perfect because there would always be a fault in it. I realized too with them, that they don't really have equality.
The ending was a cliffhanger in a sense when things came to light especially from what Hilary discovered. I would like to continue reading even if it's different from my usual type of reads.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews