Blog Tour, Review, & Giveaway: Vanquished by S.E. Green

Welcome to the Vanquished blog tour!! This book is a New Adult Thriller! It was published November 10, 2015.

Vanquished by S.E. Green
Where society’s elite go to explore their darkest desires. And where promises of freedom are just manipulative lies.

For a price, the world’s most powerful people can have their darkest desires. On a private island hidden in the ocean, they may hunt humans for game, attend gladiator-style fights, participate in elaborate orgies, and freely indulge in all the deadly sins within the cosplay of ancient times.

Abducted from their life in Miami, Valoria and her younger sister wake up in this secret society, wherein Valoria is condemned to the fights and her sister is taken away to become a sex slave.

Now “property” of a sadistic tyrant, Valoria joins other men and women captives who are forced to fight and maim for others’ enjoyment, to run in their hunts, and participate in deviant fantasies. And she’s under the cold, watchful eye of Alexior, a hired trainer with his own agenda for being involved in the twisted decadence.

After surviving several near-death ordeals, a defiant Valoria focuses on her training and against all odds soon becomes a favorite. But she fights for one thing and one thing only—to be reunited with her sister and to be freed.

But promises of freedom are sometimes just manipulative lies . . .
Age: New Adult
Review: 4.5 stars
This book surprised me. When I read the blurb, I thought that I wasn’t going to be into it. In fact, I purposefully postponed reading this book in favor of other books that I purchased. But once I read the first few sentences of this novel, I knew I’d be hooked.

With many books, I can tell by the first few pages if I’m going to be entranced in it. This book did that in just a few lines. The author so eloquently wrote the story that I forgot I was reading a story. Many times I found myself with my Kindle a few inches from my face because I was so into what was happening. I felt for all of the characters.

Valoria is kidnapped and sent to this world called Saligia. Saligia is truly a world where society explores their darkest desires, but completely non-consensually. All of the “slaves” held there are there against their will, made to service and please the “elites.”

Valoria lives for her sister. The only reason she makes it as far as she did is for her sister—to get her out of this world, to help her, to see her alive and well. So it is for her that she does anything she has to in order to survive. Valoria is such a special character. She is incredibly strong—not just physically, but mentally. She went through so much and was able to still keep her humanity where many would have lost it. There were parts that I thought she’d die or submit to the craziness, but she never did.

Valoria made friends: Camille, Gem, and a few others. I never really thought much of Camille and Gem in the beginning, but mostly because we, as readers, were seeing Valoria develop and we needed more backstory. Once that was established, we got to see more of other characters being fleshed out. Camille and Gem were also strong, but they kept their humanity as well. It was really nice to see some kindness between these girls because this book was filled with so much horrible things happening to everyone. Camille and Gem were the kindness of this book.

I didn’t know what to think of Alexior for a very long time. He was such a mystery—being nice but then following the orders of the “elites” to train the warriors. I never really knew if he was on the “good guy” side until more towards the second half.

Sera was a curious one. I originally disliked her because of the things that she did and said to Valoria. However, I acknowledged that she was just as much a victim as everyone else was. Sera acted in ways that I did not predict, and I didn’t see her as an “ally” until more towards the end of the story, though I never saw her as evil like I saw the elites.

I really liked Ignatius’ backstory. I can’t say much more without spoiling things, but he was a great character.

Dominus is the man who oversees the people here, with a few exceptions. He is one of the elites, and I hated him with every fiber of my being, especially after we discovered what he’d done.

This book is full of surprises and always leaves you wondering if things will turn out well or not. But I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this novel. I raged, cried, hoped, and had my heart broken with Valeria. I recommend this book to people who aren’t put off by gore, but also like a relatively happy ending. It’s not what I would call a thriller—I’d call it more of a dark fiction type of novel. But all in all, this book was really good, and I recommend it to those who like action, thrill, and justice being served.

A free copy of this book was provided by the author via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Book links: Goodreads * Amazon * B&N

About the Author

S. E. Green (aka Shannon Greenland) is the award winning author of several novels including the teen thriller, KILLER INSTINCT, and the spy series, THE SPECIALISTS. She lives off the coast of Florida with her very grouchy dog. Find her at www.segreen.net

Website * Goodreads * Facebook * Twitter

By entering the giveaway, you are accepting my giveaway policy.
Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)
$25 Amazon gift card and 3 e-copies of Vanquished
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Follow the rest of the tour here.

Yours,
This book tour was organized by Xpresso Book Tours. The giveaway is sponsored and administered by the author.

Labels: , , , , ,