Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway ~ Runners by Sharon Sant

Hey guys! Welcome to my stop on the Runners Blog Tour hosted by Fiction Addiction Book Tours. Click here to follow along with the tour schedule. :D

Title: Runners

Author: Sharon Sant

Published: June 8th 2013

Publisher: Immanion Press

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction

284 pages

Source: Review copy

Blog Tour organized by: Fiction Addiction Book Tours

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~ Synopsis ~ 

Elijah is nothing special. He's just a skinny kid doing his best to stay one step ahead of starvation and the people who would have him locked away in a labour camp - just another Runner. But what he stumbles upon in a forest in Hampshire shows him that the harsh world he knows will become an even more sinister place, unless he can stop it. 

As past and present and parallel dimensions collide, freedom becomes the last thing on his mind as he is suddenly faced with a battle to save his world from extinction. But before Elijah can find the courage to be the hero the world needs, he must banish his own demons and learn to trust his friends. And all the while, the sinister figure of Maxwell Braithwaite looms, his path inextricably bound to Elijah's by a long dead physicist, and hell bent on stopping Elijah, whatever the cost.

~ My Review ~ 

My Rating: 4 / 5 

Runners is a different kind of dystopia with adding science fiction into the mix. I was taken by complete surprise when the story took a direction I never saw coming, even though I had read the synopsis and thought I understood what the story was all about. 

When I began reading, I couldn't help but feel like I had been mislead. The story seemed really slow with much of the same things happening over and over - one of the group would get hurt, or their shelter was discovered and they would be forced to leave. Now that I look back, I still think the book took too long getting to the meat of the story, but the premise is still genius. It just would have worked better to get there sooner so as not to lose the reader in the process.

The main character, Elijah, was so frustrating! He made terrible decisions that cost the group their sense of safety and the fragile trust they had in him. Xavier never liked him and had wanted to leave him in the beginning, which I thought was harsh but as the story progressed, I started thinking maybe they should have left him behind. I soon learned Xavier is a hypocrite as he's keeping secrets of his own - huge secrets that I never would have guessed in a million years.    

Sharon Sant's writing is flawless, and she can definitely bring you into her world without any distractions. The world she describes is harsh and depressing, which is exactly as she intended in order to tell this story. There were a few words I had to look up which I found out were British slang so then I didn't feel so bad for not knowing their meanings right away. I was happy with the shocking direction the story took and still can't get this world and these characters out of my mind. 

~ Purchase Links ~ 
Amazon | B & N | Smashwords

~ About the Author: Sharon Sant ~

Sharon Sant was born in Dorset but now lives in Stoke-on-Trent. 

She graduated from Staffordshire University in 2009 with a degree in English and creative writing. She currently works part time as a freelance editor and continues to write her own stories. An avid reader with eclectic tastes across many genres, when not busy trying in vain to be a domestic goddess, she can often be found lurking in local coffee shops with her head in a book. Sometimes she pretends to be clever but really loves nothing more than watching geeky TV and eating Pringles.

Sky Song is the first installment of the Sky Song trilogy. Book two, The Young Moon, is also available and book three, Not of Our Sky, is due for release early May 2013.

~ Social Links ~ 

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