The Naturals
Official Stuff –
Author – Tiffany Truit
Pages – 352
Publisher – Entangled Teen
Series – Lost Souls
Summary –
Tess is finally safe from the reach of the Council, now that she is living in the Middlelands with the rebel Isolationists. With James having returned to Templeton, she easily falls back into her friendship with Henry, though her newfound knowledge of Robert’s chosen one status still stings. Even surrounded by people, Tess has never felt more alone. So she’s thrilled when James returns to the settlement, demanding to see Tess — until she finds out that it’s because her sister, Louisa, has been recruited into Tess’s old position at Templeton, and that the dangerously sadistic chosen one George has taken an interest in her.
My Rating – 3 Stars
*I received a digital copy of this novel from Netgalley on behalf of Entangled Teen*
This review will contain spoilers for the first book in the series, Chosen Ones. You can go here to read my review for the Chosen Ones.
Tess, with the help of the rebels, her Chosen One boyfriend James, her childhood friend Henry, and her brother-in-law Robert has escaped the Council. Tess is one of the few women in the world that can reproduce. That makes her valuable to the rebels and dangerous to the council.
She’s forced to leave James behind and half of the rebel community hates her because she had a relationship with a Chosen One or what they call an “abnorm”. She does make a few friends, McNair, one of the rebels who traveled with her, Sharon an older woman that’s also able to produce children, and Lockwood, a teenage boy she’s been assigned to work with.
Lockwood is extremely likeable. He’s a bit of a loner but is full of witty one liners. Sharon is a leader and also something of a broodmare. She is the only woman in the colony that can reproduce and let’s just say…she has.
Most of the book is her and Henry adjusting to her their new life. The rebel community does not them well, in fact at one time, they dump shit on her. (literally. shit.) And her worrying about the younger sister she treated like crap for most of the first book and then abandoned. And plotting how to get her back.
I still find the basic plot very interesting. Though it still is not explained why women can no longer have children, it is hinted that the Council had something to do with it and it started long before the war and the council taking over. Which makes me wonder the backstory of the war, I mean deeper than the one Tess gives.
However….
The summary gives away part of the plot twist and most of the events in the summary don’t happen until the last 20% of the book. Tess is twice as bratty and whiney. Within a few days of her and James being separated, she is looking at Henry’s lip and “missing being kissed.” The LOVE OF YOUR LIFE has only been gone a few days and you’re already like “damn…I need some dick…” Ugh.
She totally uses Henry and I hate that. Henry ain’t exactly perfect either and he definitely pulls some bullshit but Tess just uses him and tosses him aside. (Reminds me of another popular young adult series…..)
Another issue I have is the rebels only saved Tess because they thought she would take over for Sharon trying to repopulate the Earth with Naturals. I find that deeply disturbing.
There are a few other plot holey-things that bother me like her mother’s alcoholism and the fact that the Council only creates male Chosen Ones. But a huge plot twist at the very end of the book will probably make me pick up the next book.
It’s not all that bad for a quick beach read but I wouldn’t invest much into the series.