The Orphan's Code

by C.R.R. Hillin

Welcome to the city of once the seat of a vast empire, now a chaotic hive of oppression, civil unrest, and corruption. Within its walls, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people intertwine. A rogue thief narrowly escapes arrest again and again as he takes revenge upon the soldiers and nobles who prey upon the weak. A homeless girl hunts for her next meal and a way out of the city past the guards at the gate. Four teenagers hide in the ruins, fugitives of the law working desperately to protect and feed the group of orphaned children in their care. A clandestine organization of women with mysterious powers sends one of their own to serve as a spy in the royal court. The last remnants of the royal family spread tendrils through the city’s vast criminal network, slowly enacting a decades-long vendetta. And the man who usurped the crown sits uneasily on his throne, hanging onto his kingdom by a thread even as he seeks to create a new empire. And all of them, though they might not know it, are searching for the same the heir to the throne, missing since birth and about to come of age. The people are waiting.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

508 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2018

About the author

CRR Hillin lives in Bavaria, Germany. She is a proud eccentric in many different ways and always down for fighting the system. Queer, autistic, and disabled. Life is too short to read books you don't like.

Reviews

[†Reviews of a FearStreetZombie† · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please excuse my language in this review, but I swear if you read this book (please read it) you will understand why I have been screaming the last 20 minutes.


I admit, I have called a ton of books a roller coaster. But this book was the MASTER roller coaster. It's the coaster that EVERYONE wants to ride. That has a line backed up for MILES!

This book left me breathless and shaky and screaming. Y'all, I don't have the fucking WORDS for how I feel about this book! All I want to do it shove it in people's faces and scream "READ IT NOW!" then watch over their shoulders going "uh huh. Uh huh. I know I know. Yep. Fucked up, yeah?"

No one better ask me what this book is about because I can't tell you. That's how amazing this book was. "Lol nope, you better fucking read it." I'll tie you down and turn the pages for you. (I'm kidding) But yeah. Lol this book will haunt me for life.

Hillin is such a amazing writer! While I read, I forgot I was real. Lol Her writing is so powerful that once you start reading, you're gone. Lol And the characters.. Oh man, there is so much I want to say about the but I'm still screaming.

I adore Rose. I hated Rose. You can ask Hillin. Lol I hated Rose with a passion but she promised I would love her, and she was right. I loved seeing her GROW. When you read a book, a character is usually set a certain way and nothing changes them - They are who they are. While Rose was this hard character, over time she didn't become soft exactly, but she opened..... Exactly like a Rose. Soft but if you fuck with her, she will make you bleed.

I really loved the Orphans. *hard laugh* love(d). Can I just leave it at that? I have never wanted to beat a book to death in my life because of characters. That was so sudden that it just left you screaming "What kind of shit is that!?" over and over. I'm gonna leave it at that because it just pisses me off all over again. I don't want to damage my book by throwing it. Just saying. Lol

The only thing I wasn't all about was the kings part of the story. I mean yeah, he has a massive role to play in all this but I'm not sure of it's because he is just disgusting or if it's because I was so enthralled with Rose's story that I didn't really care for his story. Don't get me wrong, the whole book is amazing but I don't really know how to explain it other than Hillin wrote him so well, I'm 99.99% sure when you read his parts, your skin will want to crawl off your body. He is just *gags uncontrollably*

THE LOVE STORY WAS AMAZING!!!!
If you say it's not a love story; First off, fuck you. Second, it's a love story and I fucking adore it. It wasn't instant love. Which most books are set on having. Not that I mind them, but it's amazing to have a change once in a while. But even though it wasn't instant love, when it FINALLY happened, the tension was like a rubber band popping. Like *boom*! It's mind boggling but in a awesome way!
They are so adorable together.

But that ending. Omgggggg. It left me exhausted. Not kidding in the slightest. I was shaking and breathless and pissed and crying. I have never in my life had a ending make me feel every single emotion in the span of a page in ONE line.

That last line. If it had to be written on my headstone, it wouldn't be a damn lie either. Lol

If you have a chance to read this book, please read it. It's so amazing!

My all time favorite quote from this book is:
"Being selfish makes you rich 'an gets you what you want. Bein' good gets you fuckall."

[Athena (OneReadingNurse) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly I have to apologize for taking forever to post this review!

The Orphan's Code is a whopper of a novel. The main storylines follow the terribly ruthless King, the main character Rose, a clairvoyant seeress, and a few other characters whose plots spiral towards each other towards the end. Long story short: the book might be LONG, but each plot line is unique and interesting in it's own way and I was never bored.

Romero (the king) is absolutely terrible, I was gripping the Kindle immediately as the book opens on torture and a public execution that is described in amazing detail. The King was my favorite backstory to uncover - the amount of cunning and political intrigue in the palace is by no means the main plot line (but I hate kids so...)😂

Bermeia is overpopulated and in unrest, and the desperation of the people is palpable through the pages. Everyone in the lower city is poor, hungry, and restless, and the orphans are seen as criminals and the worst of the scum. The water turns bad as things get worse in the city (the reason why will make you😳) . A lot of novels will describe the social structure and situation within a city/populace, but I felt like this novel did one of the best jobs of this. When the refugees were described and Hillin went as far as to create songs in other languages for them, I just melted reading it.

So the storyline, worldbuilding, torture, and palpable stress of the city that clung to the novel are the strong points in my eyes - now let me try to talk about the main characters.

Rose and Kayo are both orphans, and drove me nuts. They drove each other and everyone around them nuts. Rose was an orphan living on the street, who stumbled upon Kayo and his family of stray children. The teens tending and providing for the orphans rounded out the rest of the main characters. It took Rose a long time to learn how to be a part of a group, and I did enjoy following her progress. The "romance" made no sense though, Kayo was literally so bad at relating to Rose (or anyone else) that I wondered if he had a true disorder (nurse talking) other than just trauma upon trauma and teenage angst. He was lost in his role as rogue vigilante city protector but his bipolar-ish personality just didn't make sense, and some of their decisions leading up to the end.....? I am rambling but this was what dropped my rating, they could have been so many things, but not together. P.S. I was honestly shipping him and Dominic😂

Also the swears. Hillin created a whole street slang complete with accents and foreign languages (impressive), she writes BEAUTIFUL sentence structure and is clearly a very good writer, then throws in random fucks and modern slang. Not a big deal at all but it was the only thing in the novel that threw the time period.

Anyway- Cliffhanger. Omg. I didn't realize it was a series but I need book 2, yesterday!

I would definitely recommend for any fans of fantasy!

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The fight was over, and he had lost."

Before I started this book I had no idea that I would end up loving it so much. Everything about it blew me away. I cannot put into words how much talent C.R.R. Hillin has. She has written a book that I will forever love and fangirl over.

The Orphan's Code proves that you don't need to be a bestseller to be fantastic! I feel like lately I've been caught up in all the popular book releases and so I got into the mindset that the more well known a book is the better it is. But that is completely wrong and this read proves it.

As each chapter began I would instantly be drawn into the story. I loved how we didn't get too many details about what was going on at the start of the chapters and how the story would slowly be revealed after a few pages. The different perspectives worked so well in this book! I loved the way it would change with almost every chapter and give us a different view into a situation.

Each of the characters is complicated and amazing, but also very broken. Finding out some of their backstories really did break my heart. This read is packed with character development and even the secondary characters are just as complex and interesting.
Rose is such a fascinating character. It's obvious from the start the huge effect her past has on her current actions. I feel so bad about everything she has had to go through and even though she makes some big mistakes she does so because she doesn't see any other option.
The name Kayo brings so much joy to my heart. Anytime I'd see his name in the book I'd speed up my reading so I could get to his scenes... I might be a bit obsessed.
The King... ugh. He was amazingly written but I really hate the guy. Every chapter he was in made me either want to throw up or throw something. He was everything I need in a villain, and I wish him nothing but death in the second book.

The storyline was perfect. Something was always going on to catch my attention and I never knew what twists it was going to take next. But I don't want to accidentally give anything away so I'll just internally freak out instead.
I loved the insight into two very different lives, how the rich live compared to the poor. And I loved seeing how these awful worlds intertwined with each other. Both just as messed up and broken as each other.

I'm amazed by the way the author used songs to set the tone of some of the more important scenes. She did all this while expanding the culture of the world.
While I'm talking about the world I need to say how much I loved the way it was written. In quite a few of my previous reviews I've critiqued the world building but I cannot find fault with how it was done in this book. I know exactly what was going on with the world, I understand the religions and culture, but instead of zoning out while this was all being explained I was drawn into the story instead.

That ending... Oh. My. Goodness! I need book 2 to be released! I can't say anything about it but just trust me when I say... IT WAS AMAZING! I wanted to scream, cry and if I wasn't reading it on my Kindle I would be thrown it across the room.

C.R.R. Hillin is an exceptional writer and I can't wait for the day that I see her name on the NYT best seller list.

[C.R.R. Hillin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well it's my own book but personally I loved writing it. Five star experience.

[Noor Kamaluldeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is totally worth reading, I highly recommend it!

Synopsis:

Welcome to the city of Bermeia: once the seat of a vast empire, now a chaotic hive of oppression, civil unrest, and corruption. Within its walls, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people intertwine. A rogue thief narrowly escapes arrest again and again as he takes revenge upon the soldiers and nobles who prey upon the weak. A homeless girl hunts for her next meal and a way out of the city past the guards at the gate. Four teenagers hide in the ruins, fugitives of the law working desperately to protect and feed the group of orphaned children in their care. A clandestine organization of women with mysterious powers sends one of their own to serve as a spy in the royal court. The last remnants of the royal family spread tendrils through the city’s vast criminal network, slowly enacting a decades-long vendetta. And the man who usurped the crown sits uneasily on his throne, hanging onto his kingdom by a thread even as he seeks to create a new empire. And all of them, though they might not know it, are searching for the same boy: the heir to the throne, missing since birth and about to come of age. The people are waiting.

The opening line of the novel is this statement "They deserved it.", and suddenly I felt as if I was right there, in the dungeon, watching Romero (the King) torturing Liam (a teenager boy who gets caught trying to assassinate the King) trying to to get information out of him. by the end of the first chapter, we see that Liam is burned alive to set an example for the likes of him. As the story unfolds, we are introduced to different characters, Kayo, headstrong, loyal, goodhearted, Dominic, a friend, a brother, and always has Kayo's back, Rose, a homeless thief with trust issues, aggressive but once she feels welcomed, she shows a heart of gold, Alysia, takes care of everyone around her and many others who are important to the plot.

I fell in love with this novel, from the first sentence I was hooked! I liked the build-up of the events, and how the characters' lives are intertwined with each other. At first I didn't know that the novel has a sequel; I was nervous as I was reaching the final pages with no sign of any resolution, and when I finished it my reaction was "NO! no no no noooo!" I need to know what happens next. The end is such a cliffhanger that it left me on the edge of my seat! I did not expect the events will turn out the way it did! I can't wait for the sequel to come out, hopefully soon enough!

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying I don't normally read YA or enjoy it much, in fact I tend to avoid it completely. So this should say a lot! Although The Orphan's Code is shelved as a YA book and it makes sense why when you read it, I couldn't even tell because I was so immersed in the story. The writing was perfect and had me anxiously flipping through pages as the plot unfolded.

Bermeia is a city of unrest ruled by a mad king desperate for power and eliminating anything that stands in his way. Enter the hero of the people the Black Death, an unknown masked vigilante opposing the false King any way that he can. When the Black Death is finally captured and publicly executed, the people's hope seems to go along with it until a new person takes up the hood, striking fear in the tyrant. Meanwhile a group of orphans, the lowest outcasts in the city, struggle to survive hidden away in the lowest parts of the city awaiting for the return of the exiled prince who will be their savior.

The narrative flips between different characters creating an intertwined plot from multiple perspectives. Personally I loved reading the Romero chapters (the villainous king). I'm always fascinated by the bad guys and his perspectives were brilliantly done.

All the characters were excellently done and so well written I wanted to punch them in the face at times. Great plot and filled with constant action and page-turning scenes. My only complaint is once again I started a series that's not finished and book 2 isn't out yet :( (and on top of a great cliffhanger ending).

So with series I hold off on the five stars until I can finish it because it changes my perspective by the time I read the saga in it's entirely. But a great read for fans of adventure and fantasy. Def add The Orphan's Code to your list!

[Elsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won The Orphan’s Code in an Instagram giveaway and was sent the book by the author.
Firstly, I’d like to start this book review by stating that this book is not for the faint hearted. The Orphan’s Code is 496 pages long! So bear that in mind if you do intend on reading it. This book is by no means a quick read.
I was daunted by the size of the book when I received it from the author. But I’m not one to back down from a challenge and decided to give this book ago.
The only negative feedback I have about this book is the text font size. I felt the font size was extremely small and could have been slightly bigger.
The Orphan’s Code is the ultimate fantasy novel. This book has magic, a cast of complex characters, a well-developed setting, a power structure/system government and a central conflict at the root of the story which made it a complelling read.
I can tell this book has been a labour of love for the author because of the detailed descriptions, complex plot line and sheer imagination by creating an epic fantasy world in which the reader can escape into.
Even though I found this book a challenge to read because of the complex plot line and length, I enjoyed it. My favourite character in the book is Rose because of her tough girl attitude which mellows a bit towards the end of the story. I also didn’t expect this fantasy novel to develop into a touching love story which I found unique.
This book definitely deserves five stars and I can’t wait to see what happens in book two, The Sword and the Rose.

[Kate Spakles · Rating 5 out of 5]

ckkcckckckkc well damN this book was very very good.

The writing is brilliant and the characters are created so well. I have honestly never hated and loved a character as much as I do with these (mostly love though).
It is honestly so refreshing for a YA book to have quality realistic characters. It makes a nice change from the useless 'perfect' heros in most young adult fictions these days like Mare Barrow (red queen) and Feyre (acotar).
Rose is the strong badass female we deserve who is written so realistically and can actually stand up for herself unlike most other annoyingly useless 'strong female mains'. Mare Barrow could never.
Ahhhhh I cannot get over how good this was omg. Within the first 12 pages I had already fallen in love with a character (Liam)– who although he wasn't there for long may be the coolest and my favourite character written.

ahhhh The Orphan's Code is such an underrated book and in all honesty, fantastic and you should go buy it rn and give it the love it deserves.
dksjan.jdjh,j.dsn/k I need the next one noWwww.

[Maryam · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this book is better than most YA books in that the main character is not a Mary Sue, she's not incredibly pretty without knowing it, none of that sort of nonsense. However it does have it's weaknesses.

The foremost among these is the wishywashyness of the main characters. Their actions often make no sense, and seem to happen for the sole purpose of driving forward the plot. For example, one minute Alysia and Artemis are stridently defending Rose and saying how her actions are completely understandable, thanking her for selling the cloth, etc., and the next they're talking about how she's going to leave any second and steal anything that isn't nailed down, or yelling at Kayo about how he never should have brought her and that she's only a burden. I felt like instead of the characters driving the plot, they were being used as plot devices.

With that being said though, I did think the king, his wives, and the Lucy were well done. Their motivations actually made sense and their interactions were mostly believable. The world building is pretty on point and the detail of the shopkeeper berating Artemis really adds some realism. The storyline is also a good one and I would be interested to see what happens next.

[Butterflies And Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I'm gonna do the review without any spoilers so people who wants to read it would look at this comment and be like " good no spoilers so I can see how they feel about the book without getting spoilers"
I'm not gonna lie it was a bit of a slow reader, at least for me. It might be diffirent for others. I'm more of a sci-fi person so this book wasn't my style that much. But you gotta read something else sometimes right? So I'm glad I read this, because it was a great book.
This book is something different. You were able to feel the book and even actually imagine that happening in real world. The relationship between the characters are very touchable and also the characters past, which also is a way of how you feel the book.
There were many parts that was quite shocking for me, I was mostly like "wow no way, that just did not happen" but you know what it did happened and it was quite exciting to read
I really can't wait for the next one. I'm sure that it will be as shocking, exciting, touchable, sad and even happy as the first one. 💕😇😁😇💕

[Genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW

I am so glad that I read this book slowly because its the kind of book that needs to be savoured. Each chapter is so in-depth and you really get the sense of each character and how they are growing. In terms of plot, not much happens. It mainly focuses on Rose and how she adapts to living with a family of orphans, while in the background you have King Romero trying to find the prince and being a bully.

Usually I wouldn't like that sort of pacing but it was done SO WELL and I am truly in love with each character since they were the main focus. They are all broken in their own ways, especially Kayo. The way C.R.R Hillin writes about their trauma is definitely "show, don't tell". Rose's aversion to guys touching her tells you her history without her having to say anything.

Speaking of Rose, I absolutely adored her. She's feisty and rude but knows how to survive. Her struggle with feeling accepted is definitely something we can all relate to at some point in our lives. It made me constantly sad to see that Artemis, Dom and Alysia can't seem to trust her at all.
This has to be my favourite moment in the book, I genuinely laughed out loud:
Rose eyed the soldier for a moment, then crept closer, snatching Kayo’s sword from the dirt as she did. She drew it carefully, making as little sound as possible, and prodded him softly in the chest. He didn’t move. “Oh,” muttered Dominic, and she could hear the shrug in his voice. “I dunno, I guess he’s d—” Rose plunged the sword straight through the soldier’s eye. He convulsed once, shrieking horribly, then fell very still indeed. “Yep, he’s dead,” she said dispassionately, wrenching the sword free again. She turned to Dominic again and found him and Kayo both gaping at her, stunned.

So as I said, there isn't much plot apart from the odd chapter from Romero or Lucy's POV. The climax and plot twist was predictable too (I kinda guessed it less than halfway through the book) but it leaves enough of a cliffhanger that you will want to pick up the book. Which I will because I am not ready to let go of Rose and Kayo yet.

(gotta thank rosiethorns88 for doing a papercraft of those two because I never would have known this book existed otherwise)

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how to rate this book, because at some points I absolutely loved it, at some points it made me so frustrated that I only continued reading out of spite-because I was not going to put this incredibly long book down after investing so much time in it, and I almost always really loved the big cast of characters.

I absolutely LOVED our main-ish character Rose, even though she was annoying sometimes, but less so than Kayo, who annoyed me like 50% of the time. But also I can't not mention my fav, Alysia, who was the ONLY ONE who had any manner of common sense, and who I loved a solid 70% of the time.

Overall I liked it. I love character-driven stories, and characters who don't know about their pasts, and YA fantasy. But there were also some extremely boring segments, some typos, and some character decisions that realllly made no sense to me.

Also I totally thought it was a standalone, considering its length, and now I need the sequel, because, as mentioned above, I'm way too invested to stop here. AND I have so many unanswered questions, particularly about the backgrounds of our main cast of characters, and how the heck we're going to fix all the problems left unsolved at the end.

[Mackenzie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The opening scene of this book was INTENSE yet captivating enough that I couldn't put it down. I'm in love with the writing style and the multiple POVs in this book. It was such an emotional rollercoaster (in the absolute best way possible) and I really cannot wait to read the next installment.

The multiple POVs in this book really worked! All of the characters have such unique stories, fears, personalities and wants, that it makes the story that much better to see it from the different view points. I also enjoyed that the writing style shifted slightly based on the character so their storylines popped out and made them more easy to follow and identify.

I really don't have any negatives on this book other than I need the second installment immediately! Can't say enough positives about this one and definitely am adding this to my favorites list!

Disclosure: I received an eARC from the author/Book Tour Company for review purposes. I'd like to thank Mágico Libro Casa Tours and the author for providing me this opportunity!

[Dana Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd give this one 3.5 -- the writing itself is very well done, and I enjoyed how both stories tied together at the end (although it was pretty obvious what was coming). I personally enjoyed the King's "story" a little more than the orphans, but only because that story line became a little repetitive in my opinion. I got a little weary of the teenage drama and angst, and Rose always being insulted and running off. Granted, the story is mainly about the orphans, so I think my feelings may be due to me being older than the target audience for this book. I also felt the book dragged just a bit, but again, because the writing itself is well done, I didn't mind too much.

Overall, this was enjoyable and I look forward to reading the next one.

[Amy Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this one. I've owned it for years and been hesitant to start the series because I didn't know whether it would be finished, but the series is being republished this year! I'm glad I gave this a shot because the writing is so readable, and I really enjoyed the main characters. My main qualm was that it was a little long, but I do think the republished edition is revised a bit. I am definitely curious to continue the series, and I hope the republished editions do get more attention!

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!! The ending!! Kayo. And Rose. And Dominic. Ajfiajsiadnej I loved it so much! It was so good and I can't wait to read the second one. I honestly have no words to express how much I love this book, the chapters are long and it takes a while to get into it to understand and I usually hate that about books but this was different. The long chapters actually intrigued me. The writing was so good too!

[Alannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Orphans Code is one of those books that reminded me why I love to read. The characters and world C. R. R. Hillin has created are truly special and it is impossible not to fall in love with them. It's a book that leaves you wishing for more and I cannot wait until the next book comes out.

[Catherine (Cather.reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I finally got around to reading this book and I really liked it! It was very well written and the characters are all well developed and easy to love. Cannot wait for the sequel in august!

[Ashley Tackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essence of this book is so charming! I’ve discovered a brand new world full of secrets!
I’m sure that book two is just as fascinating.

Special thanks to C.R.R. Hillin for gifting me this set!

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's just say this book had me hooked up from the beginning. I loved it so so much, and it's one of my favourites!

Also the dark and twisted moments were fantastically written (okay, the whole book is written fantastically but you know what I mean) and even though I'm a sensitive and soft human being I wasn't bothered at all!

Ahhhhhh the chemistry between Rose and Kayo is just...perfect yes. That love and hate relationship they have kept me excited troughout the story. I ship them hard ;)

OH AND THE MAP! I mean, who does not like books with maps... It was nicely designed and it really helped with the visualization.

And the emotionsss!! This book had me laughing, crying and screaming into my pillow in the middle of the night. The ending perfectly wraps up the book in a shocking reveal and leaves you waiting for the sequel.

Absolutely a 5 star read for me and C.R.R. Hillin, I cannot wait to read the second book because I know I won't be disappointed :)

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of my favorite reads for 2020. I felt like the characters existed outside of the words on the page, and each one had a distinctive personality. THE SETTING. I honestly fell in love with the city setting, and at times, I felt like I was also in their world, exploring the cities. Character development was also on point, as the characters matured through their own struggles. If you want a classic fantasy story, this would definitely be the book I recommend!

Small edit: Forgot to mention: THE ENDING! The last few chapters had me on the edge of my seat, flipping pages frantically, hoping for a break. The ending was fantastically written, and I can’t wait for the sequel!

[Marge Moen · Rating 5 out of 5]

2nd time even better than the first! Now on to book 2.

[Joanne van der Vlies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this one and it was incredible as always!!