Dawn of the Vie (Immortal Aliens #1) Review

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in return for a review. 4 stars!!! I really enjoyed this book tremendously. I thought the concept was quite original. In the sense, that the story is set in a dystopian world but also has a kind of supernatural twist to it. I will get into this a bit more in detailed but first, I'll just summarise the plot a bit for you all. I would like to mention here that I think the cover doesn't really do this book justice. It is colourful but very distracting. I feel there are two many elements going on. Maybe if it was pared back to a more minimalist style with the galaxy seen behind an vampire with dripping fangs or something? I don't know. But it's just too much. The story is set a future where Earth has been invaded by immortal aliens called Vie. They are essentially like vampires but they are more advanced in terms of technology and abilities. Society has broken down into three distinct groups where the Vie are on top and they have enslaved most of humankind for food, entertainment and work. Those that are at the bottom of the social rung are called Anemies. Since they are nutritionally deficit, they are considered pretty unless by Vie or so it seems. Our MC Justin is an Anemie. However, he is quite special as his blood might be able to kill a Vie. One day, he comes across a Vie named Alex who kidnaps his younger sister in a raid. He soon realises that he cannot be compelled. The story then follows Justin in his attempts to rescue his sister and keep himself alive. The worldbuilding was pretty decent or so I thought. All of the Vie, humans and anemies live in a biodome which blocks UV rays. I would have liked to see more of the world described with regards to weapons, buildings and such to get a better understanding of things but this is a minor fault. I thought the pacing was pretty fantastic. The plot jumps from one twist to another rather seamlessly. There is plenty of action and it doesn't drag on. We get resolutions and there aren't any plot holes as such which is great for a series starter. I think the author has built up quite a good base to take the story further. Plot devices really helped the story progress in a natural way and were not placed for the heck of it. I thought the writing was pretty good as well. There were hardly any grammatical errors or problems with sentence structure which was a big relief. I really liked reading this story from a boy's perspective. I think it lent a more grittier feel to the story. There was also a harder edge as to emotions and the overall feel to the society and it's impact on the characters. I thought Jason as a MC was a pretty complex character. He is clever, sarcastic but at the same time has a vulnerable side to him. He really loves his sister and wants to help those around him. Yes, he comes across as selfish at times. But it's understandable, he doesn't want to have the burden of responsibility that being a saviour entails. Alex, on the other hand, is pretty interesting. I would love to get to know his motives better. I think his interactions with Justin were the best. I loved their conversations with each other and how they are tried to figure the other's point of view. It was also funny to see how Alex dealt with Justin's stubborn. That got on my nerves as well. With regards to the romance, I am not such a huge fan of it. Sara as a character really lacks depth in her personality. I feel like the author didn't take much time on coming up with a decent backstory for her. I also feel that there is not much chemistry between her and Justin. I mean, after the reading the book, I still can't recall one instance where I felt they belonged with each other. It's like they were put together just for the sake of it. I also feel that Sara comes across as a pinhead. I mean she doesn't really have any opinions of her own and she uses Justin as a kind of safety net. Unfortunately, I don't like girls who can't fend for themselves. It would have been nice to see Justin with a girl who was more independent. This might have helped him grow as a character as well. Hopefully, we'll see more character development with Sara in book two *fingers crossed*. I found the minor characters to be pretty engaging. I have no faults with them. We get to know quite a bit about them. They are quite integral to the storyline which I thought was good. I also liked how the author portrayed Vampires in this novel. I am glad that they were not described as your usual "sparkly" type filled with teenage angst. But they are the real blood thirsty beings. So, we do get some pretty gruesome chapters. Overall, the novel was a great read. I am sure fans of dystopia and YA paranormal stories will enjoy this one a lot. It is worth adding to your ever growing TBR list :) I am definitely looking forward to book two and I can't wait to catch up again with these characters.

#dystopia #youngadult #vampires #scifi #aliens #LauraDiamond