Here's what Chris Fried, expert book reviewer, had to say about Melody 8
Melody is a seventeen-year-old girl living in a post-apocalyptic world where music of any kind is completely banned. A township is ruled over by a brutal warlord and his cohorts. All the while, Melody and her mother try to survive their bleak existence. But when the warlord comes to their home, it’s just the beginning of the changes that will forever alter Melody’s world. And everything that she thought she knew will be upended and thrown out the window.
Melody is, on the surface, just an average teenager, just trying to live day by day. However, she has a mysterious past she never knew about and how she discovers this is just one of many surprises in store for the reader. I felt the immense emotional pain of the multiple traumas she endured. The struggle to manage her anger and sorrow at the revelations that are shared with her is a difficult one.
This is one of the authors many strengths as a writer – he firmly places you in the mind of his protagonist and you don’t just read about Melody’s adventures, you experience them as if you were in her shoes. The visceral feeling of living in this world filled with sadness seeps into your soul, painting a vivid portrait of a peaceful town gone dreadfully wrong.
As readers, we also learn more about how this dystopian world came to be and why music is something to be feared. Once the shroud of history has been lifted, the full horrors of this universe are breathtaking to behold. The action moves swiftly and one jaw-dropping bombshell after another is revealed. It feels like a boxing match after I’ve been punched multiple times. It’s just that intense and it only increases with each passing chapter.
This world is intriguing in all the right ways and filled with a distinctive background and many shocking moments. And just when you thought there was nothing else to share, the author dangled the biggest cliffhanger of all in front of my face and I was begging to know more about what would happen next.
This series is off to a terrific start with an awesome premise, characters you care about and the potential to tell an epic saga of a world gone wrong. This post-apocalyptic adventure invites you to dive in, feel its despair, harrowing danger and just a bit of hope for the future while rooting for Melody to try to endure and succeed. Given that this novella is the first book in a series, I must discover more about this world, Melody’s unique role in it and the destiny that lies in front of her. I can’t wait for book two!
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