Franny and Court should have been dead before 29. Mykal before 8. Yet, somehow, they managed to dodge their deathdays. In a word in which everyone knows the precise day that they will die, if anyone knew that they had survived, it would likely mean their deaths. Connected by a mysterious bond, they will do whatever it takes to raise the money for a chance to leave their ice-covered world to be able to live among the stars.

So, we have two guys – Mykal and Court and a girl – Franny. I can already see the love triangle forming...except it doesn’t. In probably the most refreshing, and pleasantly surprising subversion of a popular trope, Mykal and Court are the two romantically involved. Franny is awesome, and totally cool to be friends with them. I cannot even emphasize how amazing to read a story that didn’t assume a heterosexual relationship as the default, and which ALSO manages to have platonic friendship between men and women.

There were some issues with pacing in the book. I also found the first few chapters a bit confusing, since we’re just thrown into the world with not a lot of context about the meanings of some of the words or names. The bond was also a tad weird at time, but overall, I found the book a refreshing change.

This book is just not for me, so I'm leaving it with a neutral rating. I'm sure it will appeal to other readers!

4.5 stars.

[I was provided an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review]

I've always loved Krista and Becca's books, they always suck me in their worlds and make me not want to leave. Last night I think I dreamed the whole night about this world, about Franny and Court and Mykal. I loved that it wasn't solely focused on romance, I loved that there was plot and fantasy and it was different from the other books written by these authors.

The book was a little slow at first and it was hard for me to get fully into it, however since the beginning I felt the interest to keep reading and to get to know what was happening, even if I really wanted to speed things up a bit.

About romance [Speculation, might be SPOILER-ISH, might be not]

[About the romance, I'm still uncertain about this, so far it does not seem there's a triangle (romance wise) but I'm scared it could develop in the next books. I hate triangles, but for these authors I'm willing to give it a shot, I'm also tempted to guess that they will surprise us and there will be no normal labels to what will happen, I'm looking forward and receptive if there's some polyamory somewhere in between the story line, or maybe even some fourth characters come into play? Well this is just speculating...

Now I can't wait to keep reading about this world and what happens next but this books has not even released yet! I will hate the wait, but I'm sure it will be worth it!

The Raging Ones is Krista and Becca Ritchie's first foray into the young adult genre, bringing together their wonderful characterisation and friendships to a fantasy setting. I first fell in love with Krista and Becca's books last year (I know, late to the game as per usual) when I finally picked up the Addicted series. After hearing that their dreams of publishing their first young adult book were coming to fruition, I was so there and couldn't wait to strap in for the ride.

The Raging Ones is set in on a unique planet called Saltare-3 — a world that's permanently Winter, with skies covered in purple clouds that obscure the stars. On this planet, everyone knows the day they will die. Those with a death day between 0-12 are called Babes; those that live till 29 are called Fast Trackers; and those that live beyond 30 are known as Influentials. It's a unique class system that's horribly discriminatory, but none the less interesting. With Babes and Fast Trackers not believed to amount to much, they are often stuck with the manual jobs while Influentials are given the chance to study and flourish as they have more years to impact the world.

This all changes with three characters that discover they have survived their death days, even though this is impossible and has never happened before. Connected to each other through emotion, touch and taste, Franny Bluecastle, Mykal Kickfall and Court Icecastle bands together to escape the planet on the one and only spacecraft that Saltare-3 has. And good thing is, they're recruiting Influentials for their secretive Saga 5 mission.

As with any Krista and Becca Ritchie book, The Raging Ones has a wonderful focus on friendship and relationships. Court, Mykal and Franny's friendship is beautiful, and it was really interesting being able to be in each of their heads as they come to terms with how their lives drastically changed with the passing of Franny's death day. With no one to turn to but each other, the three of them navigates through the difficulties of a three-person link, all the while disguising themselves as Influentials for the StarDust program to become one of the Saga 5.

I think the strongest point in this book is definitely the relationships that Krista and Becca have built. There's not a huge focus on romance, but I can say that Court and Mykal's relationship is definitely one that many readers will fall in love with as they battle with their feelings and not being able to touch, especially when they're both linked mentally and emotionally with Franny (who can feel everything that they do).

Unfortunately, I have to admit that I expected more in this book. It's a very unique concept, but the plot felt quite rushed and lacking overall. I'm not sure if it's because The Raging Ones have gone through publisher edits, but it doesn't feel like it's of the same high quality as Krista and Becca's other contemporary works. Or perhaps because I'm so used to their contemporary writing, young adult fantasy just doesn't seem to click well for them?

Regardless, I felt like a lot of important plot points are skimmed over or have been left unanswered — eg. why does everyone have a 'castle' last name?! Secondary characters were not fleshed out (which is very different to the twins' other books), and even the simplest question like 'what would Mykal, Franny and Court do if all three of them didn't make it into the Saga 5 mission?' is skipped over

I enjoyed the book overall — and that cliffhanger ending did leave me wanting more! — but I can't say that this is their best work. I will, however, pick up the next book in the duology as I want to know what the heck is going to happen next.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an eARC on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Raging Ones is currently available for preorder.

Firstly, Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

This is a wonderfully crafted YA sci-fi/romance that keeps you thoroughly entertained from start to finish. The story begins with Franny who manages to skip her death day in a world where everyone knows the day they will die. She then meets Court and Mykal who have also skipped their death days and these three now become linked sharing each others feelings.

In order to avoid detection, they apply for a space mission to spend the remainder of their days on a different planet if they are one of the five chosen. There are so many things happenening to each of them as they try and work their way through the space mission, including not being kicked out early as well as remaining undetected.

The final chapter is an absolute doozy and has been set up well to lead into the next story of their journey. I loved the inter-woven feelings they each shared throughout and really felt connected to them. A fantastic and epic YA journey. Loved every minute.

First of all, I want to thank Wednesday Books for allowing me to read The Raging Ones in advance through NetGalley, my opinion remains, nonetheless, entirely my own.

The Raging Ones was in my "really exciting books to read list", so you can imagine how happy I was when I got to read it sooner!!!

It was such an amazing read, with adorable characters, breaking your heart many times throughout the story. 
Fluent in sarcasm and in the art of being ”smarter than you”; it is just impossible not to fall in love with our three main characters. Mykal and his heart of gold, Franny, and her wild spirit, and Court and his uncanny ability to know everything. 

The plot is very well developed, Krista and Becca, have (and I'm not surprised) surpassed themselves with this sci-fi/fantasy new novel. As a fan of science-fiction, I have been transported into a whole other world, with a different view on technologies, and particular ways of behaving in society. 
I was amazed by the description of the different planets and the backstory to it. With The Raging Ones, we are left wondering what would our world looks like in the year 3525.

I immediately found a similarity with the movie In Time and the idea that we all have a clock that counts the days we have left.
I adored the fact that time was used as a central theme throughout the story, the idea of a world where everyone knows when they are going to die and celebrate that day like it is a birthday is an intriguing concept.

My favorite part of the story is definitely the bond that ties our three characters. So close and yet so different. But they are just perfect together, and they complete each other.

This book has its quota of unexpected events, and mind-blowing plots as well.
And I am definitely not over that ending, and I need to know what is going to happen next!

For me, The Raging Ones deserves to be part of the category "most anticipated books of this summer"! 
And I highly recommend sci-fi/fantasy fans as well as fans of Krista and Becca's other books to read The Raging Ones, you absolutely won't regret it. And for all the Addicted Series fans, you might find some resemblances between the characters.

I give this book 5 stars, for its originality, plot-twist, comic and sarcastic dialogues, character development, and heartwarming friendship! 

And I can't wait to get my hands on the book when it comes out August 14th, and read it again!

tw: drug use, death of a parent

Science fiction is so great. And even though I have only read a little bit of it, I think it's the bees knees because literally anything is possible because it's science. (I now have that guy from that 80's song screaming "SCIENCE!" stuck in my head) This concept-of knowing your death day- falls under that concept of cool science fiction even if it is a tiny bit morbid.

However, this book was not without its faults. While the concept of the death day was cool, I didn't quite understand the ages. More specifically, how an 8 (eight) year old can learn to drive a car. Yes, you read that right. Franny learned to drive at 8 (eight) years old. It just makes me wonder if the developmental stages were different or maybe I read it wrong. There were some other spoilery things that happened that made me very confused on the aging processing. Once you read the book, you'll understand what I mean.

Speaking of Franny, the cast of characters was pretty great. They all-Court, Mykal and Franny- were awesome and brought something new to the table. I adored the female/male friendships that didn't lead to romances. We need more of that in YA literature. While I didn't bond with any specifically, I adored Mykal the most. He was the most down to earth guy I've seen in YA literature. Plus him and Court?? Adorable!

But I must bring up another negative. I was confused by the bond the three shared. It is mentioned that they can't read each other's minds but only feel each other's emotions. But yet, they seemed to know when one of them was reading a book or tying a shoe. It just confused me and seemed inconsistent. I hope it's better explained in the next book as the ending kind of shed some light on a lot of different things.

Despite my complaints and confusion on certain aspects, I think this was a great start to what I'm sure will be a rocking series. I can't even begin to imagine where this is going to lead, especially with that cliffhanger ending! Until then, I will eagerly be awaiting the return of what I'm sure will be one of my favorite trios.

I need the sequel to this now! Please. I *need* to know what's going to happen next.

Krista & Becca are two of my favoritest authors ever. I love their work. Every time they come out with a new book, I get all grabby hands and can hardly wait to read it.

The Raging Ones is different than anything else I've read from Krista & Becca. It's a young adult sci-fi/fantasy novel. Their bread and butter has been new adult and romance. However, if you have any doubts that Krista & Becca can't handle something outside their norm, prepare to be amazed. This novel exceeded any expectations I could have had.

While this book is sci-fi/fantasy (and really interesting!), at the core of novel is a deep and emotional bond between three very different people. This is were Krista & Becca shine! No one does relationships (family, friendships, and romantic) like they do. Their writing is so believable, so intense. You can feel the connection between their characters.

I am beyond excited to get my hands on the sequel as soon as possible. I can hardly wait to see Franny, Mykal, and Court's relationships continue to grow. I am so intrigued with the story line and what's going to happen next.

I taste blood from a blow that split my lip. “There can be no winner between us.”
Mykal releases my arms. “Then it’s a good thing we’re not at war with each other.”
We’re together. A team. The three of us.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an arc of this! This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2018 and I was ecstatic when I got the mail! Moving on to the review - It doesn't disclose any more information than the synopsis above does except for the obvious hidden part below.

The concept of the book was really interesting and original. It's something I didn't come across in SciFi before and I was immediately intrigued. The story is set in a world where people can find out the day they die with the help of advanced technology. This has a great impact on their role in society. The story revolves around three characters who outlive their death day.

The Raging Ones features a unique group of characters (you don't hear me saying this often about books) who're really well written. My heart ached for them when their backstories were revealed and it wasn't long before I was attached to them.

Court reads the challenge in my features, asking him to say it all again.
Unwavering, he tells me, “You are loved by two boys.”
“Just two?” I joke with a tearful laugh.
Court rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile attached.
Their friendship is the strongest I’ve ever had.

Mykal, Franny and Court are a dynamic trio. After they outlive their death days they become linked to each other. This bond brings them together and is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. It's raw, pure and intense, unlike any other.

The romance in this book was the cutest. I ship it and I ship it so hard. (view spoiler)

My only issue with the book was that it was a little slow for my liking and I found myself losing interest at some parts but the friendships kept me going. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating when I say that their friendship is to die for. Another thing I noticed was the vague explanations or the lack of explanations for certain things but I guess it's not a stand alone for a reason.

By the end of the book, I was left me with so many questions and I can't wait for them to be answered in the sequel. I also hope we get more of the secondary characters, especially kinden and gem (whose banter was so entertaining). The authors did a pretty good job with their first Sci/Fi and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us in the next one!

"He threw his arms around me like I'd been his long-lost friend. I hugged him like I was meeting my soul again. There are some moments and some feelings that I can't even explain. I'm a young man of medicine and science and logic, but the sentiments I wield for Mykal transcend all three."

“Why do you call me little love?”
“I extend an arm around her shoulders, my lips curving upward. “My pa talked a lot, and he’d often tell me”—my mouth brushes her ear—“Beyond the mountains, Mykal, the old say that those who die young find little love. No time for more, yeh see, but if that’s so, then I’ll be surrounding myself with a little love over a great big love any day of the week.”

I'm so impressed! I am obsessed with Krista and Becca's romance books and they are my all-time favourite authors, so it's so different reading a sci-fi fantasy of theirs, but this was amazing! They took such a different route than what most YA books would take, and I'm so happy with the result. The concept of the entire book was so cool and interesting. I was emotionally invested immediately from the dedication, each character's introduction, and I had tears in my eyes reading the acknowledgments.

As always, I love Krista and Becca's characters. Franny's sass, Court's seriousness, and everything about Mykal. The bond and connection between those three was so interesting and beautiful, and the only trio I can think to compare it to is Tessa, Will, and Jem from The Infernal Devices. That being said, the romance in the book was different, and what most would not expect when a YA book has two boys and one girl as its main characters.

Mykal really stole my heart, because here you have this big, muscular boy with a crooked nose and hard-hearted eyes who loves to kiss Court's cheek and pester Franny while also calling her 'little love'. He was so sweet and protective. His relationship with Court was adorable and so full of love, and I appreciated that in this world no one batted an eye that they were two boys. Zimmer really surprised me, and I love how he came back and was rooming with Franny. That scene where they first shared a bed really changed how I felt about him because we actually got to know him, and I loved the friendship that he and Franny are forming. I was so happy when he showed up on the starcraft! Court's relationship with his brother was complicated and sad, and I loved how much Court loved his brother. I'm happy with how the truth came out, and I'm so interested in how it's going to continue to develop in the next book.

That ending! So many questions! Bravo to Krista and Becca, because I was not expecting it at all.

My only complaints about this book would have to be that some of the scenes that were heavy on space stuff or the planet history were kind of slow, some topics regarding the deathdays weren't entirely explained (which actually might have to do with what was revealed in the ending), and made up swear words take some getting used to. It didn't bother me after a while, though, since to be fair, this book takes place very far into the future, and with the ways that their society has so completely tried to separate the age groups, it is believable that they would use different words.

The strongest part of the book was the characters and their relationships. I genuinely loved the characters so much in this, and as usual, Krista and Becca are so strong in writing multidimensional characters who don't follow any a specific trope. They all feel and express a wide variety of emotions that I really appreciate in all of their books.

So looking forward to reading the next one, and the wait will be a long one! Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC!

"The three of us - we're an odd sort, aren't we?"

* * * *
4 / 5

The Raging Ones was a fantastic read. It was so creative – set in a frozen world with a lilac sky where each individual knows which day they will die on – and the characters were so compelling. Massive kudos for not including a love triangle between the two male characters and the female one; instead The Raging Ones cultivates a powerful friendship alongside a gay male romance.

"I have a history." His widened eyes blaze with raw memories. "Where is it?" Dying. Dead. Gone. "In my hands."

It’s Franny Bluecastle’s deathday. No one has ever survived theirs, she believes, until the day that she does. Franny’s a Fast-Tracker, someone destined to die between 12 and 29, and she lives like it: drugs, sex, and rock and roll. When she wakes up the day after her deathday, Franny doesn’t know what to do with herself – like most Fast-Trackers, Franny has been counting down the days until her death with a sense of glee. Upon waking she finds that her mind is intimately bound with two men – she senses their bodies and their emotions.

"I'm a young man of medicine and science and logic, but the sentiments I wield for Mykal transcend all three"

Court Icecastle was imprisoned in the most famous and high security prison on the planet. At least until he escaped and dodged his deathday. He found himself linked to Mykal Kickfall, a Hinterlander who lives on the frozen plains and was a Babe, destined to die as a pre-teen. For years the two have been intimately close and planning to escape the planet via selection by a secret space mission run by StarDust. To do this, they need to pass as Influentials, individuals who live for at least thirty years.

I really, really loved the setting of this book. The deathdays concept was a little confusing but very well explained and integrated into the world of the book. I loved how Court and Mykal had a pre-existing relationship that was complex and their chemistry was real. I loved how Franny, wild and unstable Franny, was added into this little duo and their relationship was built around figuring out this weird emotional bond and balancing all their desires, rather than forcing any romantic tension.

"I'd rather her like the ass that I am than love the god that I am not"

The writing and plot was where this book fell down a little for me. Each chapter rotates between Franny, Mykal, and Court and is written in first-person present tense. Each character has a very individual way of narrating, so you can always tell whose chapter you are in – Court is more logical, more in pain; Mykal uses lots of slang and his voice is soft, gruff, and loving; Franny is confused and angry, searching for purpose in a life where she has no idea when she will die. The problem for me was that the narration was very stream-of-consciousness and could sometimes be a bit directionless and switch between past and present confusingly. Likewise, the plot was a bit weird. One moment this is a sort of dystopian novel, then we’ve gone into an academic/selection test, and then into full on weird-alien sci-fi. I loved most of it, but sometimes I put the book down and thought “what the heck”.

Overall, The Raging Ones was incredibly original and such a page-turner. All three main characters are compelling as individuals and as a group – I adored them all!

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book.

I knew Krista and Becca from their Addicted Series, and being a huge fan of them and their writing it was very exciting when I found out they were publishing a YA novel. It did not disappoint, and I cannot wait to possibly read more from these characters.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.
Wow wow wow. This fantasy debut from the Richie sisters (queens of steamy romance) was absolutely perfect! Mykel, Court, and Franny are such vivid characters and their bond is simply brilliant. I loved everything about this book and was enraptured from beginning to end. Bring on the sequel!

I found it to confusing and couldn't connect with the plot or the characters. It's too bad, because plot line is very interesting. Not he right book for me.

I love this book already! I want more of Franny, Court and Mykal.

Franny, Court and Mykal reside on an icy planet where everyone's deathday is marked the day the are born. There are three classes of people: Babes (deathday in childhood), Fast Trackers (deathday in late childhood to late 20's) and Influentials (deathday beyond 30 years). Deathdays are set in stone and there is no way around them, yet somehow Franny, Court and Mykal have all managed to dodge theirs and have a link due to dodging their death days.

Ultimately they end up all working toward one goal: earn 15,000 bucks so they can gain entrance to Space Saga mission and escape icy planet. Figure out their shared emotional/food eating connection. Try to pass as Influentials.

Ultimately I loved Franny best. I don't typically love gay romances but this one was acceptable and well written. Franny is so fun and spunky. I loved Court's older brother. Did not understand the villain at all, will need to read book 2 to understand more. Ultimately love this 1st book in a series and am so thrilled to hear more! 5/5.

WOW, I really loved this. The story is romantic which can totally be a hit or miss for me in sci-fi, but this one felt interesting. The plot is super fun, engaging and interesting. The book does not feel too long, but almost too short. I love the idea of "hey, you... so here is your death date, good luck". Well, more or less. How they divide up the people are very interesting and I want to say you can drag some relevance into todays society..

One thing that can be a bit frustrating is that you really are just thrown into the book. You don't get "HELLO SO MY NAME IS EPJDIJ AND THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING". I don't mind that at all, but I know for some readers it can be a challenge.

I'd absolutely recommend this one further to friends. It's such a fun and great read.

The raging Ones is kind of an odd duck: in many ways, it is completely original and in other ways, it hits every cliche tree branch in a freefall of logic issues and plot holes. Even though we aren't given much in the way of world building, I don't see how the authors are going to write themselves out of some issues that became glaring by midway through the story. The story does hinge on you falling for the characters; if you don't, it will be a slog through a rather stale mire. But if you do fall for them, you'll be rooting for them all the way through to the end with enthusiasm.

Story: Franny's deathday has come, as foretold at her birth. She's ready to die but can't line up the resources to make her last wish come true. Instead, she finds herself left out in the snow, scavengers tearing off her clothes and bums urinating on her as she waits to die. But she has unknowingly established a connection with two other individuals; saved by them, she finds that all three have somehow lived past their expected death days and now must learn to survive and continue in this new world. Court and Mykal and Franny are all linked mentally somehow - able to feel what the others feel. Into this confusion, Franny discovers that Court has a plan: they will apply for the Stardust program in an attempt to get off the planet. It gives them a goal in a world that now is terrifying: they could die at any moment and won't know it is coming.

The plot device of being able to feel each other's emotions/feelings was very underwritten and underdeveloped. They could feel some things but not others, sometimes feel something and sometimes not. It was all so convenient for the plot but I wish the authors had spent time developing hard and fast rules as to when/how something could be felt so as to be more believable and organic. They 'felt' each other at pretty random times - deep hurt, physical pain, emotional pain, touching a seat, tasting blood, swallowing, sitting on something soft - it ran a gamut of senses that really didn't seem to have a clear boundary of rules to make it logical.

Then, we had the really bad part: the 'tests' to get into the space program. All three not only need to learn to speak/talk/walk/look like the Influentials (those who will live long lives and so live differently) but one would imagine they would have had to have some kind of science training to go into space? In this world, all you need is money to pay the entrance exam, and then to memorize a card with a word on it, take some zero g tests/centrifugal force tests, some random piloting and lo: the 30 left get the positions. The 'tests'/trials were laughable and I can only imagine showing that to an actual astronaut. Imagine if all it took to pilot a space shuttle was some simple training and random "survival of the fittest' tests?

The characters are the three cliche archtypes that you find in every genre: brainy, gutsy, physically powerful (e.g., mage, rogue, warrior in fantasy). That most of the story focused on what one of the other main characters was feeling meant that we never really got much into the characters themselves until very late into the book: I have to admit to being very disaffected. On one hand, the characters were distinct (somewhat, though, considering they were archetypes) and had unique voices. But on the other hand, I never really liked any of them or was given a reason to want to follow them or root for them to succeed. I wanted each to have their own character development rather than trying to quiz it through the thoughts of the other two.

There is a cliffhanger at the end and a 'big reveal' that, although I didn't see coming at all, felt disingenuous: it's a surprise because we weren't given any world building. Some things are explained at the end but it all started to fall apart at that point when it did. Instead of being in awe of the great surprise, I couldn't help but feel disappointed: the book was written for the reveal rather than the reveal being a natural progression of the story.

In essence, the ending is a giant reset of the story with a completely new avenue to explore in the next book. But it once again looks like the typical YA of teens fighting the establishment a la the third Hunger Games book. I'm kind of over it, at this point, since I had high expectations of something different (at least it wasn't a typical unique snowflake female lead and some love interests....oh wait, never mind). So in all, not a terrible read but perhaps most disappointing in that it didn't meet expectations. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital ARC of “The Raging Ones” by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie. I was really impressed by this book. It has fantastic adventure pace with great characters. I really enjoy the sassiness of the characters. This book has great atmosphere. If you enjoy well rounded characters in a fun and exciting environment this is a book to check out.