Welcome to the Blog Tour for Recruit of Talionis by C.J. Milacci, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: Recruit of Talionis
Series: Talionis Series #1
Author: C.J. Milacci
Publisher: Fayette Press
Release Date: November 3, 2022
Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi Dystopian
“Forget where you came from. Forget the life you knew. You are now recruits of Talionis!”
A teen with a dark past. A secret military force that kidnaps new soldiers. Can she survive as a Recruit of Talionis?
America has fallen.
Seventeen-year-old Bria Averton grew up in a small town of survivors near the ruins of Portland, Maine. It’s all she’s ever known — until she’s kidnapped along with hundreds of other teens and brought to the city of Talionis. A city no one knew existed.
The soldiers tell them the intense trainings are for the good of the survivors, and Bria resists being forced into a new life as a recruited soldier. But she soon finds the dangers in the city are greater than she imagined.
Escape is impossible, and Bria fears drowning in the evil of the city… and the guilt from her own past. But can she find hope, even here?
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | IndieBound | BookBub
My Review
Wow! It’s been a while since I picked up a YA dystopian read, and I couldn’t put this one down! I’m already anxious for the next release in the series. The setting of the story is in what we know as the North Eastern region of the United States, but it takes in the distant future following another world war among other events, and the world is a very different place. I liked that there was a map of the world with the new country names included, although it was also described well in the narrative. It was evident that a lot thought and planning went into the world building and development leading up to the city of Talionis.
At first I thought this just fell under a “clean read” category, however it definitely falls under the Christian fiction genre. It can be really hard to find good books in this category, and so that made me really happy. Although I have to admit that the spiritual content often felt forced and I wasn’t sure how it tied into the main plot, I still appreciated that it was present in a YA read like this.
I liked that Bria was not molded into a character that could do anything and everything like an all-star. While she did have her talents, she also had her weaknesses and fears. She was a protector at heart and that was her driving force. She helped others, and there were times she needed help from them. No one can do it all on their own, and I cherished reading a journey that showed that in such a positive light.
With danger lurking at every corner, and friends working together against the forces of evil, this was an easy book to pick up, and not so easy to set down. I was captivated from cover to cover and can’t wait to read the next in the series because I need to know what happens next! I highly recommend to fans of dystopian reads and to friends looking for cleaner reads for their avid reading teens.
*I received a copy of this book through JustRead Tours. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.
About the Author
CJ Milacci has found creating to be therapeutic in the chaos of life. Writing is her favorite way to create, and she seeks to take her readers on a grand adventure that begins with a single word. As a referee, she is always relearning the hard lesson that it’s impossible to make everyone happy, and she’s discovered that stories can be found anywhere, even on a lacrosse field. She is passionate about crafting stories of good overcoming evil, finding hope in the midst of seemingly hopeless circumstances, and true acceptance. Always willing to get real about hard issues, C.J. also enjoys the cheesiest of puns. She loves deep conversations, yo-yos, roller-blading, and finding reasons to throw a dance party. She chats about writing, her faith and the hope found in Jesus, bubble tea, and other fun adventures online (@cjmilacci) and at cjmilacci.com.
Connect with CJ by visiting cjmilacci.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
Tour Giveaway
(2) winners will each receive a print copy of Recruit of Talionis with swag and a $15 Amazon gift card!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight March 27 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on April 3, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
Sounds like a good read.
This sounds like a great story.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Sounds like a page-turner.