Monarchy

by Laura Pritchard

In the times after the reformation, the leaders of the new world have created the perfect society. There is no exaggerated wealth or famishing poverty. There is no starvation or crime or disease. The citizens of the sectors are secure and well nourished, forever protected by the life the Monarchy have so gracefully afforded.

No one mentions the things that are lacking. Constance thinks about it often.

At the age of sixteen, Constance is snatched from her family in a twisted ceremony called 'Removal.' Forced to reside in the Citadel, the fortress of the Monarchy, she faces a brutal induction to evolve into a soldier of the Brigade; sworn peace keepers of the sectors. While she grapples with the feeling of revolution that rage in her mind, Constance is trained by Calloway, the guard with an elusive past who shadows her every move.

Remaining peaceful, however, is the last thing on the minds of the inhabitants of sector six. Uprisings and rebellions are common place with her own kinsfolk being injured and killed as a consequence. When the time comes, Constance must decide which side she will choose in a battle that will determine her future. It is a choice that she should never have to face; weighing her own life against the lives of those that she loves.

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Genres: Dystopia

185 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 26, 2017

Reviews

[Kayla Krantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monarchy is the first book of the Monarchy trilogy focusing on a dystopian society broken down into sectors in a similar way to The Hunger Games. Constance isn’t happy with the Monarchy, the rulers of her society, but she’s content living her life in sector six with her brother and father. That is until one day she is chosen to become a member of the Brigade. Following strength she didn’t know she had, she bands together the other kids chosen from other sectors and becomes the one they depend on.

This book not only focuses on the breakdown of a “perfect” society, but it pushes the characters into facing situations that make them question everything they think they know. How far will they go in order to survive? Will they be broken or will they preserve? Recommended for all fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games!

[Fuzaila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author, in exchange of an honest review.

This book was so similar to Divergent, unexpectedly so. The concept was same, the execution is where it differs. Anyways it was a quick, easy read.

Constance and Prior are siblings, living in sector six, of the six sectors under the rule of The Monarchy. No one knows who the monarchy is comprised of, or what it actually is. Only that they are the reason people have food on their plates and are taken care of.

Constance, being the elder daughter, is forced to join the brigade through a Removal Ceremony. She undergoes training with others, where the trainees are forced to bow to the monarchy and comply with their every will. There are rebels in the sectors, and Constance has to fight people of her own sector, or else risk the hatred of the Monarchy.

My thoughts -
-The writing was good and easy to read. But it felt kind of detached at times. I found myself thinking of things while reading, which was a first for me. I need books to distract me, not be the source of my distraction.

-The plot was poorly thought out - unoriginal. There were many instances where events were just skipped past and are explained later. It was confusing, not to mention annoying.

-The character development was scarce. Constance was bold and determined at first, and then she turns all cowardly. It didn’t make sense.

-The romance felt forced. It clearly was established to make the story interesting. I don’t think it worked.

-I loved the relationship between Theo and Constance. Their kinship was really good.

-Daisy and Lex might be my favorite characters.

-The cliffhanger at the end was expected, yet surprising.

All things considered, I would like to read the next book to know what happens further. Because no one deserves such an ending -_-

[Kyra Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author of this book, Laura Pritchard, for this generous opportunity 😚

☆☆☆☆☆ ~ 5/5

First off, this book to me was very much Divergent X The Hunger Games... probably leaning more towards Divergent. I can say I enjoyed it though!

I loved the raw and real emotions portrayed in the book. I felt like it made the characters relatable and I felt a real connection with them.
I loved the romance, felt myself a little giddy at times 😂
It was nice and sweet. The friendships, relationships and the torn apart family. All very real and I really felt for Constance throughout the whole thing.

I did find that the story started off slow. But when I hit a certain point, I legit could not stop reading it! There were a quite a few grammatical errors but I'll let them slide because of how much I actually loved this book. I'm literally so upset that I can't just grab the sequel and stay up all night to read it 😂😂

So yeah, overall it was an amazing read, would 100% recommend and I absolutely can't wait for the next book in the series 😍😍

[Leigh Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monarchy by Laura Pritchard, 233 pages, April 26th 2017, Genre: Dystopian. Warning: May Contain Spoilers.
 
Review by Leigh Holland.
 
    Monarchy is a futuristic dystopian novel reminiscent of “The Hunger Games”. What will a person do to survive? Will they betray their morals? How far will they go? How will the bitter trials one must endure for survival in a threatening world change those who go through them?
    In humanity’s past, we became divided into the extremely wealthy and the horrifyingly impoverished. With wealth unequally distributed, the poor turned to crime to survive. Disease, famine, and misery ruled mankind, with the exception of a wealthy few. A revolution changed the social order, as it always seems to in such circumstances. A new, perfected social order was established under the elusive “Monarchy”; a world where nobody goes hungry or lacks for basic needs such as clothing, shelter, medicine, or food. The cost of this perfection is the loss of privacy and a controlled society in which young adults are taken, trained, and assigned roles in the society. Most of those taken from the various sectors are thrilled to be part of the society and to serve. However, some are not- such as Constance, the heroine, and a few of the other recent recruits she’s training alongside. Constance manages to create loyalty among her group for each other rather than the Monarchy. This is forbidden. The only loyalty can be to the Monarchy. The trainers torture them through a series of brutal tests, culminating with one that breaks their loyalty to one another. Finally, they are ready for their assignments. Constance is assigned as a tower guard, a prestigious position for a new recruit. However, Constance learns about the horrible events happening around the various sectors and her doubts about the efficacy and goodwill of the Monarchy continue to grow. She wonders if she will ever see home and her father again.
    Written in the first person, the reader identifies easily with Constance and her love of home and family, her uncertainty about the future. The plot was straightforward, the book well-written, and the main character well-developed. This book leaves off on a cliffhanger and is part of an upcoming trilogy of works. I enjoyed reading Monarchy. I’d recommend this book to readers who like dystopian novels similar to The Hunger Games.

[Cindee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good started off slow but then picked up the pace pretty quickly. I really want to read the next one that cliff hanger was a bit much. I give this book 5 stars for how it just because a book I could not stop reading once I really started.

[Sharon Mariampillai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy from the author, in exchange for an honest review.

Actual Rating: 4.15

Thank you Laura Pritchard for the opportunity to read your book. This was a great read. The story is thrilling, action-packed, and similar to Hunger Games. The main character, Constance was very relatable. I thought she was strong, and interesting to learn about. I thought her friendship with Theo was more of a sibling relationship than best friends. Also, there was some romance between Calloway and herself. The other characters were great and also relatable. The ending was a cliffhanger. I want to know what happens next. I can't wait to read Book 2. Overall, an enjoyable read.

[Syeda Hadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Stay Strong'
The story is one of the most amazing I've ever read. At the start, it wasn't like that, the first few chapters - and then, Boom! The explosion of the amazing story line was so surprising, that i'm still reeling.
Mix Divergent and The Hunger Games, and what do you get? This book. Laura Pritchard has given us a heroine who isn't like our normal run-of-the-mill main characters. She is sullen, pessimistic - and lets face it - totally ourselves. You look in the mirror, and that's who you'll see.
Most heroes and heroines are people who stand atop the mountain in front of you. they are untouchable, unreachable. Constance, from this story, is some one who grabs your hand and pulls you up, with pitfalls and boulders in the way. She was one of the few heroines that i could relate with, and one of the few who seemed real from the start.
She cared for Prior, her brother, and loved her father despite the way he treated them. Her reaction to Annabeth, who seemed weak at the start, was the same as any of our reactions would have been. She walked away. After all, what do you normally do when you see some one in any sort of trouble? You don't help every time, Do you?
Constance made mistakes, learned from them. She tried to stay strong, be the leader that her friends needed. But in the end, she failed them. Monarchy broke her. And it was so real, and saddening. Monarchy broke all of them.
But Daisy, the one recruit who hadn't shown much depth before the second part of their training (When Daisy, Constance and Theo were training as armed guards under Calloway), suddenly bloomed. There relationship was rocky and that of a bully and a Victim at first, but Daisy's seemingly callous words were the ones that shocked Constance back to reality - 'Stay Strong, Constance', as her Father had said. And now, they're friends, especially once Constance learnt what happened to Daisy and her Sector.
Then, there's Theo. He starts off a friend and ends up a brother - with a VERY awkward interaction in the middle. He seemed like a person who'd end up one of the best, of the recruits, but then he shot the gun, it hit Susanna and he became human, all of a sudden. He was also thrown into the spotlight when his sector, Sector Three, started a riot - and riots were always put down, like what happened in sector One, where only orphans (Children) were left.
There's also Annabeth. Poor, Sweet, Weak-seeming Annabeth, who ends up surviving with the best of them.
Ah, let's not forget Calloway. Constance said - before she knew who he was, even - 'The Bed, the clothes, the food, My Guard.'
Sensing anything? Me too! Before, when he was just her guard, Cal was a silent presence. A so very soothing presence that grounded Constance and helped her through the induction. she fell for him, plain and simple. And then, when she was promoted to an Armed Guard position, he was her trainer - 'My savior and now my tormentor' - and she nearly hated him. Turns out, it was all he could do not be nice to her. And so... Well, I was a bit disappointed at when they got together. Their growth before and after they got together was amazing, both as people and as a couple, but their getting together scene was very, very sudden.
Now that I think about it, though, it actually fits, with what they were going through.
Now, the best part about the story, that I absolutely loved, was the end. You see, the four - Constance, Cal, Daisy and Theo - were stationed at Sector six. Constance's home. She jumped at every sound, and basically prayed that nothing would happen, because then she'd have to shoot people from her own district, and right then, their guns had live ammunition.
And then, of course, she jinxed herself. Others started getting beat up - she was only focused at Cal, though. He was her boyfriend, after all - and she was captured.
You know, one would think that being from some where would grant you immunity. And strangely, turns out, it did. Then she's put in front of one person that she had known her entire life. Her Father. '"Hello, Constance. I have a little mission for you."'
And then the book ends. I mean, that is seriously one of the best cliffhangers EVER. It left me face-faulting. Really! Now I'm biting my lips and wondering when the next will come out!
This book is, to sum this all up, a dystopian universe filed with adventure, friendship, loss, cruelty and yet, loyalty. And that in itself makes it worth the read.
If you like The Hunger Games and Divergent, I'm positive you would like this book.
'"You are from the sectors always. You will never be one of them. And when this is over, I will come for you."'

[Harini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monarchy is a dystopian fiction, and first book in the monarchy trilogy. This book focuses on different societies. When the protagonist is recruited into a new society she in a way becomes the leader.
This book is a lot like The Hunger Games and Divergent(two of my all time favorite series).
The writing was very good. the pacing was pretty good. And the plot was also great.
The plot twists could have been spaced a little bit further apart, otherwise a great read.

Overall, It was a good book and i would recommend it to people who like dystopian fiction novels.

*I received a copy of this from the author for an honest review*

[Paul Weil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well written novel set in a Dystopian future where a society is split into discreet sectors and ruled by the Monarchy, a kind of Post- Marxist ruling class that is reminiscent of Pol Pot's regime after the Vietnam War. The characters are very well defined and the writer does an excellent job of juxtaposing the implications of indoctrination with elements of rebellion, romance, and competition. I look forward to the sequel.

[Sarah G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think Hunger Games and Divergent mixed together to give you a starting point to how the world of Monarchy has been created and where things might go.

So as the eldest child in the family on her sixteenth year Constance is required to join the Brigade for the Monarchy as part of the Removal. She needs to be strong and not let them break her, something her father is adamant she does, first bit of advice he’s given her in years. She is to go to the Citadel to train to either become a peacekeeper, warrior, or another role within the Brigade if they aren’t strong enough, for the Monarchy and society. When taken from Sector 6 she is not alone, Annabeth is taken with her. At first she sees her as nothing more than weak from how she acted when the guards took them away. The longer she is with her though the more she sees that appearances can be deceiving as to be smart is as good a skill as being strong. Mental and physical strength is needed to survive but the whole idea of training is to break the new recruits so they can be molded into just the right way to be the perfect weapons of choice when or if the need arises.

The Monarchy felt the need to create the Brigade seemingly for the good of all people, not just themselves. The time before the reformation was bleak but now there is no poor/ wealth divide, no one going hungry, all are equal with what they have. Crime, disease and hunger plagued their society but things have changed. Nothing is ever quite as it seems though. They might not have those things but you just don’t want to mention what you don’t have – true freedom being on of those things.

When taken to the Citadel the training begins and it’s just as bad as they had been told. Their trainer Lex being the demon from hell, a complete hardass but needs to be so he can break them so they can become the soldiers he needs them to be. Each new recruit gets a guard (another Brigadier) to watch over their every move. They are your shadow, watching your every move, meant to intimidate you with barely a look. Everything they do is to break you, so to truly survive you need to be strong. But how much can you handle before your resolve snaps? New recruits need to stick together and they do (to start with anyway). That way they need to break the group of 15 not just one. Makes the Brigadiers job harder and your inner strength stronger. Not long before peoples characters start to change and they start to think of themselves alone.

Though Constance thinks of herself as alone, even with the others going through the same training, she feels a connection to her brigadier; one I think he feels too. She passes the training to become an armed guard, along with two others Daisy and Theo. It’s her brigadier who is now going to show them the ropes and she finally finds out his name, Cal. What they just went through was induction, now the real training begins and it only gets harder.

It seems Sector 3 (where Theo is from) and Sector 6 are starting to cause trouble for the Monarchy. The Brigade is soon going to be called in to stop it. Seems a rebellion is in the making and the new recruits are about to be thrown right into the middle of it.

Constance goes through a variety of emotions towards what she has had to become. Starts out hating the Monarchy with forcing her to become a member of the Brigade. Her views change as she starts to be viewed as a leader within the training programme. She wants to rebel but needs to learn what battles to push and when to hold her tongue as she may cause more trouble than help those that need it. They are made to believe that the Monarchy help to keep everyone alive but the more you learn you more you feel it’s more about control and experiments to play God. She needs to be careful of how many emotions she shows as dangers will soon find her. She may break and start to follow the rules but the more she learns about her new world the more she comes to resent it in different ways. She is made to do things she didn’t think she would be able too but needs to protect her friends. Theo, Daisy, Cal and her have created a unit, one that they strive to keep together but soon to be pulled apart.

You do get vibes from Hunger Games and Divergent within the story a bit but it’s still a good read with interesting characters that draw you into the world they are a part of.

I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest review.
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[Melleny · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75**

RTC

[Anupama C K(b0rn_2_read) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good one. Reminded me of Divergent series. Waiting for the next book