I just couldn't make my way through this one! I didn't finish it - I'm sorry! It just wasn't for me. The pacing was off, and I didn't find her to be very likable.

In the Alskad Empire, nearly all are born with a twin, two halves to form one whole…yet some face the world alone.

The singleborn

A rare few are singleborn in each generation, and therefore given the right to rule by the gods and goddesses. Bo Trousillion is one of these few, born into the royal line and destined to rule. Though he has been chosen to succeed his great-aunt, Queen Runa, as the leader of the Alskad Empire, Bo has never felt equal to the grand future before him.

The diminished

When one twin dies, the other usually follows, unable to face the world without their other half. Those who survive are considered diminished, doomed to succumb to the violent grief that inevitably destroys everyone whose twin has died. Such is the fate of Vi Abernathy, whose twin sister died in infancy. Raised by the anchorites of the temple after her family cast her off, Vi has spent her whole life scheming for a way to escape and live out what's left of her life in peace.

As their sixteenth birthdays approach, Bo and Vi face very different futures—one a life of luxury as the heir to the throne, the other years of backbreaking work as a temple servant. But a long-held secret and the fate of the empire are destined to bring them together in a way they never could have imagined.

REVIEW

I absolutely love fantasies created in a new and unique world. This book definitely does that. It's absolutely phenomenal and empowering to females and members of the LGBTQ community!

I received a digital copy of this book from Edelweiss and Netgalley for an honest review.

This was a wonderful, enchanting, journey of a book. I thought the premise sounded interesting and it did not disappoint. It was full of great characters and detailed world building, that had a surprising darkness to it. I'm very much looking forward to what happens next.

Author: Kaitlyn Sage Patterson

Pages: 384

Release date: April 10th, 2018

*I received this off NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

So first off, let’s talk about this beautiful cover, because I wish I could see it in person because I read it off my phone. Like seriously this is one of my favorite covers, the colors and the font just goes together really well. So below I will post the Goodreads synopsis on the book, because it’s a little confusing to explain.

In the Alskad Empire, nearly all are born with a twin, two halves to form one whole…yet some face the world alone.

The singleborn

A rare few are singleborn in each generation, and therefore given the right to rule by the gods and goddesses. Bo Trousillion is one of these few, born into the royal line and destined to rule. Though he has been chosen to succeed his great-aunt, Queen Runa, as the leader of the Alskad Empire, Bo has never felt equal to the grand future before him.

The diminished

When one twin dies, the other usually follows, unable to face the world without their other half. Those who survive are considered diminished, doomed to succumb to the violent grief that inevitably destroys everyone whose twin has died. Such is the fate of Vi Abernathy, whose twin sister died in infancy. Raised by the anchorites of the temple after her family cast her off, Vi has spent her whole life scheming for a way to escape and live out what’s left of her life in peace.

As their sixteenth birthdays approach, Bo and Vi face very different futures—one a life of luxury as the heir to the throne, the other years of backbreaking work as a temple servant. But a long-held secret and the fate of the empire are destined to bring them together in a way they never could have imagined.

So the plot of this book is unlike anything that I have read in a while. The plot and story is a different type of story that has not been told much in Young Adult Fantasy before. The whole story line was different, that everyone was born with a twin, and if you lost one, you went crazy and died from grief. I really enjoyed the authors narrative a lot, and this book is told in dual point of view between Vi and Bo, and I didn’t find myself getting bored at all. Sometimes when you read a dual pov book, one character is more interesting than the other so you just want to read super quickly to get back to that character (which I am guilty of). I enjoyed all of the characters narratives and stories because they were all so distinctly different, and even though they weren’t the main characters, I did want more from them.

I will admit this was slow to read, I already read slow with books on my phone because I would much rather hold the book in my hand. At first the story line took a long time because the characters and plot had to be introduced so it felt kind of hard to get into at first. After the first few chapters, I got super into it, and couldn’t stop reading it in class! I feel like this book has a very distinct story and narrative to tell, and I feel like because of that, this Fantasy may not be for everyone, especially if you’re looking for a quick Fantasy to read. If you want to take the time to fully read this, then I would with my whole heart recommend you to do so, because I loved this book.

Also without spoiling, if you think Vi and Bo are meant to be star crossed lovers, then boy are you wrong, because this book had so many plot twists that they were throwing at the reader that at one point I literally was like “what is going on????” It was like baseball, they just kept throwing more and more at you, which isn’t bad because I do enjoy a good plot twist, and although the beginning of the book does allude to most of what happens in the end I still really enjoyed it even though I had a vague idea on what was going to happen. And I am happy that this is supposed to be a duo-logy, because I felt like there were so many unanswered questions that I had and I was disappointed that they weren’t answered, but there will be another book.

Overall I did really enjoy this book, I found the story line to be different and unique with the whole twin story, I enjoyed the writing even though it was a little standard, and I found the characters and world building to be a classy as heck, so if you’re looking for a good Fantasy book to read lately, I would recommend this one!

3.5 stars

This had a more unique premise than some of the other YA fantasies I've read.

But, parts of it definitely fell a little flat for me, mainly some of the exposition and background.

As much as I love the idea of lots of people having twins and there being this overwhelming grief that leads to violence after a twin dies, I felt like it wasn't explained well enough. The whole thing wasn't explained well enough.

Besides my countless questions, mainly how/why does this happen? which is never explained, some of the exposition was presented funkily.

I get that an author wants to avoid being criticized for infodumps (everyone wants to avoid those), but is it necessary to never explain anything? I was very confused for most of the first couple chapters because words like dimmy were thrown around and never explained and some of the vernacular was a little more obscure and took a lot of context to figure out.

It was hard to discern what was just gibberish and what was actually important vocabulary, and the way a lot of the fantasy concepts were introduced needed more explaining in my opinion.

Sure, they were incorporated, but not ever explaining them to avoid infodumps isn't exactly better, in my opinion. Similarly, I felt like some of the fantasy aspect clashed a little.

Remember in the Superman movies where they fight on Krypton with not just beastly dragon-like creatures, but also with like, machine guns. It doesn't really mesh together well and it feels like they tried to mix sci-fi and fantasy together.

(see image below for fantasy animal plus machine guns)



I got a lot of the same vibe in The Diminished, most notably from how they had solar panels but other parts of the novel were weirdly underdeveloped, such as their farming system and how they have back breaking rock carrying work. I felt like if they had the technological development of solar panels, why didn't they have other developments too?

That being said, I still found the whole concept to be original and enjoyed how Patterson included that mysterious conspiratorial subplot plus ~things~ that involve Bo and Vi. The twin thing felt a little average, but some of the other aspects of the plot were very engaging for me!

I did think it took a while to get to the spicy part and the last half read a lot faster than the first. The characters don't even hear of each other until, like, the 50% mark which divided the story up kind of oddly for me. It was a little slow in the beginning, but the end really sped up and I know book 2 is going to be hella lit from this.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the last half especially, and I think die-hard fantasy fans will definitely like it. It's one of the better fantasies I've read, although I don't think it's one of the super best. I'll still be reading book 2, though, because I think there's a lot of potential with that book more so than this one.

4 stars!

"I came up feared and hated for a thing I had no control over in a world divided."

I thoroughly enjoyed The Diminished and found it to be a solid debut novel that had me on the edge of my seat by the final chapters!

The Diminished follows two main characters, Vi Abernathy and Bo Trousillion. Vi is one of the diminished, having lost her twin at a young age and raised in the temple amongst other diminished and orphans. Bo, on the other hand, is single-born, destined to be named heir to the crown of the Alskad Empire. The Diminished is truly a tale of two cities - despite growing up within miles of each other - Vi and Bo have been dealt very different hands. However, their lives will come to twine around each other in ways neither would have expected.

I did feel that the pacing was a bit slow at first, as the story's premise was gradually set and the world was built. I was a little weary as I felt as though there wasn't a whole lot happening during the initial chapters, but the story makes up for it later on. Stick with it!

There are several societal and historical elements touched upon in this book and I enjoyed the way the author related each one, even if only subtly. First, was the LGBT representation. One of the main characters is gay, but it's never made into a big deal, it doesn't overtake the storyline. It's totally acceptable in this culture and I loved the way it was handled. Second, women in traditionally male roles. Again, no big deal. If anything, it was mentioned as odd when a man held a traditionally female role in this world. That's just how things are (right on!). Third, the racism connection. In this world, people are not mistreated for the color of their skin, but instead the status of their twin (or lack thereof). Those who have lost a twin are treated as dangerous scum, followed by the superstition that they could succumb to the grief of their loss at any moment and essentially go postal on those around them. I felt like this representation connected well with the racism seen in the world today. Fourth, the connection to the slave trade. There is an island colony in the Alskad Empire where the impoverished travel to find work. While they are not necessarily forced to travel there - their contracts (typically sold via a "broker") last years at a time and many are sent to work on the plantations across the island. Many never live to see the end of their contract. In general, the author has done a fine job taking very real elements and weaving them seamlessly into this fantasy world.

Lastly, this is a novel driven by its characters. While Vi and Bo's stories are thoroughly interesting, they meet some fantastic secondary characters along their journeys that help to fine tune this story into the gem it is. I loved the banter and relationships built between Mal, Quill and Swinton - plus there are other characters I just need to learn more about and discover the status of! There is a healthy dose of mystery to this story that is very central to the characters and I cannot wait to see where things go!

I received this copy from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you are a fan of the YA trend of terrible monarchies with lovable and reformatory rulers, you will probably like this one too. It's getting a little stale for me, with books like The Selection, Throne of Glass...insert 20 more titles here. This does have an interesting mythology at least, where everyone is born with a twin and emotionally linked with them until one dies. The rulers for some reason have no twin, and the next leader is chosen from a pool of single borns, rather than have the queen pass the throne on to her kids. I feel like in this world marriage and romance would be creepy boundaryless affairs since twins are together so often and need each other so much that a spouse would be jealous. Would they have to bring their twin with them if they moved? What happens when a married twin loses a twin? Does your brother in law's health and life become your concern since if he dies, you lose your husband too?
The protagonists are likable, and I really liked that a future ruler would be gay without huge scandal or concern, and how normal it seemed. The world felt vaguely (vaguely!) like His Dark Materials with all the concern for how a twin lived a half-life without their other half. For a moment I felt like I was reading about Lyra and her daemon.
The world building is okay, but the rich are usually just evil, and the poor feel like they are on revolutionary watch, just waiting for the book to end to boil over. The writing is solid, and the book is decent, but it doesn't really stand out from every other "teen monarch wants to make change" book out there.

Vi has lived her whole life a diminished since her twin died so young. Her whole life she has spent tampering down her temper and envying all the twins, not because of the privileges they have, but for the wholeness they have. Bo is a singleborn and soon to be named heir to the throne of Asklad. Their lives somehow intertwine despite the fact that Vi is headed to a life of servitude and Bo a life of luxury.

The Story-
This story wasn’t much like anything I read, however, that doesn’t mean it was the best thing I read. The biggest feat this book provided was a complex world that I haven’t seen in any other book. Unfortunately world building isn’t everything, and the lack of a plot that actually created the desire to continue the book had me wishing that the story would just get on with it.

The pacing was a little off kilter, as sometimes having multiple POV can cause. There were times where one character had several chapters dedicated to their voyage over, while the other character has little mention to the same voyage. Too much time was spent on food. I’m not joking, there were so many moments in the book where the author spent a lot of time describing the food they ate. While it adds to some aesthetic appeal in the world, it didn’t actually add anything to the actual story.

The World Building-
The Alskad empire provided quite a bit of world building. There is a rich history that we are briefly introduced on that explains why everyone, except the select few chosen to rule, is born with a twin. I wish it was explained a bit more thoroughly the ramifications early on what the loss of someone’s twin can cause, not just the fact that they are called a dimmy, looked down upon, and at some point succumb to a rage. I did love the idea of the connection that the twins could feel from each other and what it meant to the relationship they had and how it built them as a characters.

I think one of the biggest points this book offers is a world where there is LGTBQA+ rep that naturally flows. Because a singleborn can be born from anyone, not just an already established royal family, it was not stressed for royal relationships to be hetero to provide further heirs to the empire. With that understanding, the culture of the people seemed to be open to whatever orientation someone chose, without batting a lash or making a big deal out of it. It was simply a normality.

Another aspect that was woven in was the oldfashioned male/female roles were reversed. Jobs such as “papergirl” or the captain of a ship being a woman were just a few ways that emphasized the point of the traditional male dominate world was not coalescent with the one featured in the book.

The Characters-
Bo-Though he was such a naive little brat, his intentions are good, so he falls into what most may consider the cinnamon roll category. The entire time I wanted to slap his hand and tell him to stop being so trusting and put him in my back pocket for safe keeping. His vulnerability made him sweet and likable.

Vi-This girl has the fierce loyalty that everyone wants in a best friend. I enjoyed reading her character arc as she went from a girl focused on just surviving to a girl with a mission.

The strength of this book lies in its fascinating and original post-apocalyptic society. The two protagonists’ stories are told in alternating chapters as they circle slowly but inexorably closer to finding each other. The villains are appropriately evil, but then the heroes aren’t so pure or so obvious. We’ll see what happens in the sequel....

I ended up liking this more than I thought I would. Some of the plot is somewhat predictable, but overall the world building and the characters kept me coming back for more.

The story is told through alternating chapters between Bo and Vi. I enjoyed both of their stories, although I found Bo to be a little bit whiney and frustrating at times. They both have grown up under very different circumstances, but they have some similarities. They are both smart, resilient and strong. Vi also tries to help those who need it and feels guilty when she can’t. Bo trusts a little too easily, and sometimes this works out for him but doesn’t at other times.

There are lots of fun secondary characters throughout the story that are worth mentioning. Quill and Mal are twin brothers that Vi meets in her travels. They are both sweet and very endearing and don’t seem afraid of Vi because she is diminished. They go out of their way in fact to help her better her situation, although that doesn’t really work out well for her in the end. Swinton is also a diminished and is the one to help Bo in his search for Vi. He is also sweet and a bit of a flirt, but I really like him and Bo together. Curlin is a childhood friend of Vi’s who betrays her, but tries to make up for that betrayal at the end. We don’t get to know her as well as the others, but she has an important role to play in the story.

The plot unfortunately is a bit predictable, but it is still a fun and interesting one. There are a few surprises that I didn’t see coming, especially the role that the Temple and the Shriven (the religious enforcers) had in the great scheme of things. The writing is also well done, with lots of nice descriptions of this world. The world building was spread out enough that you never felt overwhelmed by it but would just go with the flow of the story. There is some romance between some of the characters and for the most part I found it sweet and not too overwhelming. The romances certainly don’t rule the storylines of the characters, but were nice additions to it.

I loved the world that the author has created here, and it was that more than anything that kept me reading. I really liked the background legend that explained why everyone was born as twins, it had to do with the moon breaking in half but I won’t say more than that. I have worked with lots of twins over the years and I have always noticed that connection that they seem to have that is different than the usual sibling bond, and the world this is set in takes that bond and expands on it. I found it fascinating that when one twin dies, the other soon dies or goes insane and starts killing others. Not all twins seem to share this fate, but most do. Also, the twins seem to need to stay near each other to feel the connection, they can travel away from each other, but apparently not for long. Some other aspects of this world that are worth mentioning, women seem to have the more dominant roles in business and the armed forces. It is mentioned several times that Mal and Quill’s dad is the only man to reach a high rank in the navy. Sexual orientation is no big deal, you love who you love and that can be anyone of either sex. The religion that rules over this world is also interesting and ends up playing a larger part in this story than you initially think they will.

Overall this is a story worth checking out and maybe adding to your TBR. There is at least one more book planned and I will definitely be looking out for it. I want to know how Bo and Vi’s story ends.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital arc of "The Diminished" by Kaitlyn Sage Patterson. The premise of this story is very odd and so I was a bit unsure of my interest in the story. I was pleasantly surprised 20 pages in when I realized I wasn't counting the pages as I read but simply enjoying the story. I could almost hear the main character talking. The writing style really brings the characters to life. The world building is strange but in the best way. I didn't feel like I had been there a hundred times which is beginning to be an issue with YA fantasy. This story is very original and entertaining. If you enjoy YA fantasy this story is not to be missed.

In a world where almost everyone is born with a twin the diminished, those who have lost their twin, are feared and shunned. Most diminished follow their twins in death, unable to live without their other half. Those that don't ultimately snap from grief, dispensing violence to anyone in their path and must be put to death.
15 year-old Vi Abernathy is one of the diminished, her twin died in infancy, although she has not succumbed she has had a hard life as a laborer in the temple. As Vi's 16th birthday approaches she is ready to seek out a new life away from other to live out what life she has left in peace.
There are rare cases of singleborn that occur in each generation. Bo Trousillion is one of these precious few who are thought to be given the right to rule by the Gods and Goddesses. Celebrated by the people and born into the royal line they are destined to rule. As Bo approaches his 16th birthday he is being prepared to take over the throne.
A twist of fate and long kept secrets will bring Bo and Vi's together and change their lives forever.

The Diminished has a premise that drew me in and sounded very interesting. Its a dystopian world where almost everyone is born as a twin. The main reason I deducted a half star is because while reading the plot summary I already had an idea of where the book was headed but it took a long time for the book to actually get to the intersection of these two individuals. I enjoyed the characters and the story was well written it just felt like Bo and Vi's individual story lines took up most of the book and some areas felt a bit slow going. Overall I really enjoyed this YA fantasy and would recommend it to others.

This book has an incredibly engaging and unique premise. There is something about ~twins~ that I find endlessly fascinating, and this world explores that in a new way. As is trendy right now, there's a lot of court and political intrigue happening. At first I got a little bogged down by many relationships--some romantic, some not, some overlapping, some not--both platonic and not. But once I felt like I had my feet on the ground, I really enjoyed the rest--and loved the ending! Even if it left me really wanting the next book.

THE DIMINISHED is an incredibly rich, imaginative fantasy debut that I loved. It's set in a world where almost everyone has a twin. Those born alone, the Singleborn, lead of life of exceptional privilege. Those whose twins have died are the Diminished – the permanent servant class of the Alskad Empire. The story follow Bo, a Singleborn heir to the throne struggling to accept his destiny, and Vi, a Diminished, desperately trying to escape her fate. From adventure on the high seas to romance and kissing, this book has something for everyone.

While the Alskad Empire is a wholly unique, fascinating realm, what I admired most about this book is that it has important things to say that the reader can take back into the real world. From its analysis of cyclical poverty to its take on using scapegoats to maintain cultural order, I think this book will have many readers asking questions about the world of Alskad and the world of their own.

There are a lot of things in this book that I really enjoyed but overall I feel like I spent more time trying to separate all the threads of the plot to better understand the workings of the story itself and was left feeling a bit confused and underwhelmed.

“The Diminished” is told in a duel narrative following Obedience, Vi, a young women living a hard life after losing her twin at birth and abandoned by her mother at a sanctuary living under the constant threat of losing herself to grief. On the other side we have Bo, the soon to be crowned prince with the world at his fingertips trying to navigate his new responsibilities amongst members of the court who would sooner see him dead in order to make their claim for the throne.

The concept of twins and the importance of that bond that’s expressed throughout the novel was one of my favorite things, it was interesting to see how those partnerships complimented or harmed each other and how the lack thereof affected the remaining sibling creating this world where one often did not survive without the other.

Where things got a bit jumbled for me was trying to understand the world itself. There’s the royal and high society aspect which was fine, a lower order of servants, a resistance, a religious order, a group of people who were a set of twins fused into one person, and there may or may not be magic at play. There’s a slow build to everything but once all of these elements get thrown into the mix it creates a conflict I’m not sure was intended.

There’s also a romance thing that I’m not sure how it’s going to work there’s some suggestion of a love triangle and then on the other side we have something that happens rather quickly and at a rather strange time given the gravity of the moment they were sharing it didn’t seem like it would work but I’m willing to see how it plays out in the final book.

Overall this isn’t a bad beginning to a new series there’s definitely a lot of new things that I haven’t read before that other readers can find enjoyable and I hope that the issues I do have get time in this next book to straighten out and become more clear so there can be more of a focus on the actual plot and not on all of the variables that go in to making it something worthwhile.

**special thanks to netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

This book was a slog. I picked it up because of its super cool premise: a world where nearly everyone is born twins and when one twin dies, the other inevitably falls into grief-stricken madness. Like, a whole sibling-relationship-centered <i>world</i>? That sounds right up my alley!

Unfortunately, the first part drags. It took me 3 days to finish the first fourth of the book; I considered DNF-ing, because the overwhelming feeling I had was just "MEH" and why should I spend my time crawling through this book, when I have ten other books stacked by my bed that I'm chomping at the bit to finally read? I powered through, though -- because starting a book is a COMMITMENT -- and the good news is that the plot picks up around halfway. The latter half of the book went much quicker because the intrigue of uncovering the Suzerain's evil plot and the tension of wondering what's going to happen when Bo discovers his family's secret kept my attention.

The problem is, the action and plot starts picking up speed in the second half. The first half of <i>The Diminished</i> is carried almost entirely by worldbuilding, characters, and relationship dynamics. As a person who doesn't need a lot of plot to be happy and would be overjoyed by great, compelling fictional relationships even if the plot were super shoddy, this would be fine with me. Except that the characters and relationships... are not great and compelling. The worldbuilding is fine. Bo and Vi were... fine. Neither of them really grabbed me, though, and the motivating relationships that were to provide the main thrust of the first part of the book were emotionally nonexistent.

It was weird how, in a whole world based on the relationship between twins, it was the twin relationship that felt lacking most of all. This is supposed to be a HUGE part of both Bo and Vi's characters: he is singleborn and she is diminished. The fact that they lack a twin defines their whole lives, their identities, and is a massive emotional factor for both of them. To understand them we need to see what it is they are missing so badly, but none of the twin pairs in the book really help us understand why Bo and Vi would want a twin.

Overall, the biggest thing shared by most twin pairs seems to be a vague, apathetic antagonism. Sawny and Lily, Claes and Penelope, the indentured servant women at Phineas's house in Ilor... even Quill and Mal, who come closest to having a real relationship, seem to live like two cats who tolerate each other's presence in the same house and only try to kill each other once a week. As far as I can see, the much-talked-about magical "twin bond" might as well be a curse that just binds you to some random person for life: you try to ignore each other, but you're trapped having to live together until you die. With this backdrop, Vi and Bo's loneliness loses all emotional thrust, and so does the moment they realize they're NOT actually alone.

A related issue: in a story that turns on the fulcrum of sibling relationships, there is WAY too much romance. The majority of all relationship-focus in this book is centered on the several random romances. Bo has two major ones, and Vi has a love triangle. These, again, had zero emotional weight and just took up a ton of boring pages. Is this book about siblings, or young love? <i>The Diminished</i> doesn't have enough pathos in all its pages to pull off even one of these well, and trying to do both at once ends up making both fall totally flat. The plot is the only really interesting thing about this book and, when it doesn't even really start until halfway through, it is absolutely not enough.

4 stars for The Diminished

Set in the fictional land of Alskad, where being a twin is the status quo, Vi grew up as a Diminished - the lowest caste of society. Diminished are created when a twin tragically dies. Hated and feared by those around her, Vi was raised by the Anchorites of Penby to understand that she had no value and will one day lose her mind. Because of their volatile nature, Diminished are policed by Shriven, the guerrilla army of the church of Suzerain. Despite her circumstances, Vi commits a crime against the church is sent to Ilor as punishment.

On the other side of the world, Bo, born an only child, is preparing to rule. Surrounded by comforts but also vipers in velvet clothing, Bo fights his own insecurities about his upcoming coronation. The story comes to a head when Bo's fiancé and his mother are tragically killed. He learns of a secret that could tear the nation apart and sets off on a quest to Ilor to stop this from happening.

The Diminished was a fun read with interesting concepts that I have not encountered before. As other viewers mentioned, same sex relationships are painted in a refreshing light in the novel. The closest comparison I could make for The Diminished is Mistborn. With loose parallels between the Inquisitors and the Shriven. And while there is no magic in this novel, the action and mystery more than make up for that.

Overall 4 stars for a great debut. I look forward to the sequel.