Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

For a YA Dystopian novel, I really enjoyed it! The characters held great depth and the storyline was fast paced and we'll thought out. I definitely believe this is a gripping take that many YA readers will enjoy!

Great storyline with good strong characters. Very well written. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Read about 50 pages in this book and didn't like it, not my kind of writing so I DNFed it and send it to the pile. So sorry!

After the craze of The Hunger Games and Divergent series, I have been itching for a new dystopian series for quite some time.

Along came The Rising Storm, book 1 of the Paradigm series. I was a bit apprehensive at the start as I have such high expectation for the dystopian genre. It’s literally one of my favourite genres and so I was concerned that might not live up to expectations. I was glad that it did.

There are many reasons why this debut novel by Ceri A. Lowe was such a compelling reading. Firstly, because the story is told from the point of view of two different characters. I know what you are thinking “But Ana that isn’t anything new.” Well if you let me finish. Yes, we have had various stories were it changes from one characters point of view to another, but in this case these points of view are over 80 years apart.

Alice is telling her story from when the storms first started and how the building of a new society began. Carter is telling his story from after he wakes up from cryonic sleep into this new world. Most dystopian novels rarely show us how things started, and I find it quite interesting to see the beginning of the “end of the world”. Alice is such a great character that really drives the plot forward, Carter not so much. He has his moments of likeability.

Secondly, I love the fact that is set in London. It’s nice to know that a dystopian can be set anywhere else apart from the U.S.A. Plus the fact that I live in London makes it all a bit more real and scary.

Overall, it was a truly enjoyable read, packed with action and beautifully crafted settings. A must read for all dystopian fans, and since it finishes at such a crucial point you will be begging for the next book in the trilogy. Thankfully is actually coming out soon, this summer to be precise.

Rating: ★★★★☆

The Rising Storm by Ceri A. Lowe is available as an e-book and you can get it now on Amazon.

Thanks Bookouture and Noelle Holten for sending me an e-copy of The Rising Storm in exchange for my honest review.

*FangirlSince1988 xxx

I am a massive fan of dystopian novels, so was really looking forward to reading this after I was part of the cover reveal a couple of weeks ago.

The book is a brilliant example of YA Dystopia, but completely different at the same time. It follows two different people in two completely different time lines, one from a time where the storms start in 2018 and another 90 years in the future.

The way the world is written about and the way the people act is really well written.

I really liked the way that Alice was written about, in the first timeline, and the way that she witnessed all the devastation and helped create a new society was really well written about.

The story is so well written that it makes you want to keep on reading and I really can’t wait for the next in the series.

Opening with a bang, THE RISING STORM by Ceri A. Lowe keeps up the energetic pace with this compelling dystopian novel.

After abnormal storms change the world as we know it, Alice is needed to rebuild civilisation but things are not always as they seem and soon Alice is not sure which world she wants to inhabit - the old or the new. While at the same time Carter is being trained to be a future leader and he is determined to be the best that this world has ever seen but when he witnesses how harsh and secretive the Industry truly is, he begins to question everything that he has been taught, and when secrets from the past come to the surface, it will begin a new journey for everyone ...

I'm always a little weary when books are compared to The Hunger Games as I feel they are being set up to fail by comparison but THE RISING STORM really doesn't disappoint. Gripping, well-paced, with plenty of grit, strength, and danger throughout, this novel is unique and fresh and I became fully immersed in the drama. And that ending will leave you wanting the next instalment!!

​THE RISING STORM by Ceri A. Lowe is a cracking story and perfect for dystopian fiction fans.

Every so often I really enjoy reading a dystopian story it really is a true escape as there is usually danger and you also get to see the ways in which a world can change along with it's inhabitants. So with that in mind I jumped at the chance to read The Rising Storm. So what did I think... Well I enjoyed following both Carter and Alice's story although I guess it did take me a couple of chapters to settle into things. I thought both story strands worked really well within the book and each character offered a different feel to the plot. If I had to choose a favourite I would have to say that Alice's story just slightly edged it for me and it is probably down to the fact that I was so intrigued about the storms that I loved hearing her first hand experiences of it. The transition from one character to the other was pretty smooth and I easily became invested in both characters just for different reasons. Although both characters are equally determined to survive and create a better society for everyone.

The plot moves fairly quickly with little bits of information revealed slowly but surely and I would say that there are also some differences to the usual dystopian story that makes it stand out a little bit more for me. Even though it is a YA story don't let this put you off I still think it will appeal to all ages after all I'm in my thirties and I really enjoyed it! This is the first book in the series so be prepared to instantly want to read the next book I know that's how I felt anyway.

The Rising Storm has engaging characters and a fast paced plot that will take you on quite a journey!

Four star from me!

With thanks to Noelle at Bookouture for my copy. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Seriously, can we talk about that ending. This book..... OMG. I am like so upset that I don't know what is gonna happen next. WHY!!!! How long do I have to wait until the next book comes out!!! Carter and Alice please wait for me.
This was a complete page turner.

I would give 10 stars if I could!!

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't' read that many YA SCI FI books so this is not my normal genre. The story was good in this one but a little confusing as it was written in the third person, from two different points of view at two different periods in time. Carter live in the present day post apolcalyptic world while his counterpart Alice, is alive when the world goes through the actual apocalpyse change and her point of view when society changed. The new world was really interesting, how the Storms flooded the planet and people died, and then how technology advanced with big business taking control (kind of where we are headed right now in real life minus the floods! SCARY!!!). Alice was an interesting character while Carter wasn't really--he was kind of boring. The contrast between them made me not love the book that much--it wasn't terrible but maybe just not my thing. Interesting take how Global Warming will affect the world in the future though which I liked. Big cliffhanger at the end...thanks NetGalley!!!!

I love books that fall in this genre and having previously devoured the Maze Runner and Hunger Games series I was very keen to get my hands on this book, it sounded right up my street and having read it now I am so glad I got a copy of the first book in this trilogy!!

It is a very easy read and although I am an adult I will fully admit to having a love for YA books - the plot in this book was great and I was hooked straight away. It was a complete distraction for me and I loved being able to escape into the book. The characters were great too and very likeable!

Four stars from me, thoroughly enjoyable and looking forward to the next book in the trilogy!

Thank you to Bookouture for my copy of this book. I am a HUGE YA Dystopian fan so when Bookouture mentioned they had a YA Dystopia Trilogy coming I was oh so very excited.

This book is set in two different timelines. One is set in the present day, with Alice the other is set 90 years in the future, with Carter.

In the Prologue we meet Carter who is about to be frozen for an unspecified amount of time. The reason for this is hinted in the book but not explicitly stated. We then dive 90 years into the past and meet Alice. We hear about the storms and the ugliness that Alice has to endure. She is an extremely brave young girl. When we return to Carter he is being woken up after 15 years. We then flick between the two timelines for the rest of the book, each chapter is dedicated to one timeline.

I have to say I was extremely suspicious of Pardigm Industries. They have been prepared for the storms for a long time. I’m almost tempted to say they caused the storms to create the world that they wanted. But that’s just my suspicious brain.

There were a few things I didn’t really understand. The first was the difference between Descendants and First Gens. It’s a little unclear. My understanding was that the Descendants were from the first group to leave after the storms but I wasn’t really sure about the First Gens. Were they the rest of the population that was saved? There also could have been a bit more explanation of something’s in Carter’s time. What is fauclate? How did the Model come into existence? (this one might actually be answered in the rest of the series).

I think that there are some things in Carter’s time that Alice would not have liked. She wanted everyone to be equal but it’s clear that this is not the case. I think that there will always be those that will try to put themselves above others in anyway they can.

As the book unravels I was extremely torn. I understand why Alice made the new world the way she did. It was the best way then but for Carter’s time I can see why things need to change. Seeing the book from two different POV really forces you to think about the difference in their worlds.

I enjoyed Ceri’s writing style. It was easy to read and the pace was good too. This book set up the two timelines very well. There was a lot of world building here which is essential for a dystopian novel. I absolutely loved the ending. I thought it was a perfect set up for the rest of the series, which I cannot wait for.

Sometimes I see a book and the very fact that opinion is divided fuels my interest. This story goes back and forth between Alice from the past when the world as we know it changed and then forward to Carter a boy awoken from a cryogenic sleep. Essentially we see how Alice rises up against all odds to become a fabled scout of what is known in the future as the Industry . She’s bright, adapts easily and yet there’s a softness to her that recognises others have needs.
Yet it’s Carter who dominates and his findings when he comes back to what he thought would be a perfect job. Carter has always known he should be Controller General but he is tested and forgets the one thing that can change everything, there are other candidates waiting for the position. A world full of secrets, punishment and even termination. Rebellion threatens the Industry but is Carter doing the right thing or being led down a slippery path ?
I didn’t mind jumping about from Alice to Carter although if honest wanted a little more information initially as we walked along with Carter. The ending made their connection very clear and I understood exactly why the author chose to write her story this way. My slight niggle is that I really wanted more of the here and now with a stronger world building and if brutal I didn’t really understand Carter or really connect with his cold, selfish personality. The ending however left possibilities for Carter to step up and if a rebellion is on the cards then they just might have found the perfect leader ! Not a perfect book but still an interesting one .
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Well!!! It's a little while since I read a YA dystopian future novel, but it's one of my favourite genres, so I was really looking forward to reading this and I wasn't disappointed. The story is told from two points of view. Alice was there when the storms hit and through her eyes we see how the survivors dealt with the catastrophe and their thinking as they started to build a new world. Fast-forward 90 years into the future and we meet Carter, who is a contender to be the new Controller GeneralCarter in a world that is not as harmonious as is once was.

I have to say I really enjoyed this story and thought the world building was tremendous - so much detail I was there every step of the way. I think the beauty of this sort of story is that you makes you stop and think. The scenario pained here is perfectly feasible if we take global warming to the extreme and it's interesting to think, if we had a clean slate, what we'd want to do differently.

I loved the characters of Alice and Carter and seeing them develop throughout the story, which I felt was really well-paced. But the ending... OMG how could you do that to me?! Can't wait for the next one and to see what happens to Carter...

My thanks to Net Galley, Bookouture and the author for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Dystopian and YA are two of my favourite genres so I was excited to get suck in to the first book of this trilogy. I loved how the story was told over two timelines: Alice at the point of the world’s collapse and Carter in the future that has adapted to the new way of living and is oblivious to how the world was before the creation of the Paradigm society.

In all honesty I preferred Alice’s narrative; witnessing the devastating effects of the vicious storms that rip London apart and how ten year old Alice survived (and eventually thrived) horrific scenes to eventually lend a hand in the creation of a new society was gripping. Her policies are rightfully questioned by Carter years after the event but at the time she believed what she was doing was for the greater good. Go Alice! Also, as I’ve mentioned, I’m a huge fan of dystopia and more so in the destruction and survival of people in the immediate aftermath. I’m not sure what that tells you about me!!

Where Alice was building the future and safeguarding future generations, Carter has his eyes opened to the truth of his family and the harsh reality of mankind’s history being erased. He begins to question the politics of the Paradigm which is pretty awkward as he has been raised to be a leader of the people and the powers that be are not comfortable with him questioning their authority. I did enjoy seeing his beliefs change throughout the story.

The Rising Storm is a great start to the trilogy and I will definitely be reading the rest.

THE RISING STORM is the first book in the new Paradigm Trilogy – and what a great scene setter it is. The good things about Dystopian novels is that it frees the author to follow their own particular ideas on how dreadful a society can be – so there is no right or wrong to world building. So the challenge is to place characters in your world that the readers are going to relate to, who they are going to care about. Ceri A. Lowe produced not just one, but two main characters who had me cheering them on sometimes, and tut tutting when they missed something that I felt was obvious. Carter and Alice take it in turns to tell us the story of the Paradigm Society from very different viewpoints – how the society is currently, and how it was at the beginning.

The books open with a prologue – Carter is sent to the freezing chamber and he thinks this is a good thing as he has high expectations for his future role – while at least one other thinks it is a bad thing and asks for it not to happen. The reader immediately feels compelled to ask two questions - why are they being frozen? Followed by – why is one happy with the idea and the other isn’t? Cue Alice and our witness to the end of the world.

Alice is alone in her flat when she witnesses the devastation of the first catastrophic storm. While it is not really stated – storms start to increase and cyclonic winds now batter Europe on a regular basis – global warning has hit. Millions of people are killed – either in the storms or in the floods that occur as a result of the torrential rain. Paradigm Industry has sensed somehow this is going to happen, and they have set themselves up a fortress/ark to protect survivors until everything settles down. Alice is among those rescued. Alice is alone as her dad died before the book started and her mother is prostituting herself to pay the rent and bills. Her mother disappears in the first huge storm. Inside the safety of the fortress, the rescued population are no longer allowed to read or listen to music as it is these recreational activities that lead to the downfall of the world. Alice is a tough little cookie as a result of fending for herself so it makes sense that she has the smarts to rise up and become a responsible member of the system – and one of the chosen few to go out and scout once the floods die down. Films are made of these scouting expeditions to be shown to the populace.

Decades later we meet Carter. Carter has been groomed from birth to one day be the leader. He belongs to one of the original families – sort of the high society of the community. There are also lesser beings called Lab-made – test tube babies – which are second class citizens. He had been frozen as a 15 year old to be brought back as a candidate to be Controller General. While he's been frozen the political climate has changed and there's rebellion developing. He also finds out he is a father of twins, and he has to go through a series of test to prove he has what it takes to be leader. As the story progressed – the past and the present being propelled forward by the two storytellers – the links between the past and present are gradually revealed. While they never meet, Carter is aware of Kate as she narrates the scouting films.

I have to be honest did get a little confused once or twice – but that didn’t prevent me from loving the story and looking forwards to seeing what happens. There are some questions that haven’t been answered – but I am guessing there are going to be more revelations in the subsequent books.

This book is very unique and I loved how it was set up. The characters all were entertaining and there was so many nuances of this book that I kept trying to kwepbtrack of everything.

An easy and quick read but definitely an author to watch out for. Wonderful idea that was pulled off amazingly well

I liked half this book. Specifically, the half that dealt with the actual apocalyptic event.

I loved Alice and reading everything she went through. She was a butt kicking character who just rocked!

I did actually enjoy reading the contrast between Alice's days and our present day story with Carter. Most interesting was what the intentions of the originals were - rather than what history tells us in Carter's day.

But I didn't like Carter's story.

It was too generic YA dystopia with a little baby making thrown in for edge. Carter was one dimensional and there was no way on earth I could ever see him as 'THE ONE' (caps firmly intended.

I found myself wishing we were only reading Alice's story.

https://readinglife342128355.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/digital-review-the-rising-storm/

This was another NetGalley digital book that I had applied, and was approved for, in exchange for a fair review. I applied for this book because of the cover and the synopsis.

Now. One of my favourite YA book series is Hunger Games, another being Bone Season so the idea of trying a new YA Dystopian series definitely appealed to me. I applied, got the email approving me and off I went....

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I actually finished this on 05-Mar-2018 and I've struggled with how to write this review :( (I'm typing this up on 11-Mar-2018). I started reading the book on 26-Feb-2018 and at approximately 340 pages, this took me a significant amount of time to get through (by comparison, I've just read V.E.Schwab's A Gathering of Shadows in 4 days which also included work days...).

This wasn't a bad book, it just was hard work. As this is not actually out in print yet, I'll keep this review as spoiler free as I can...

Positives:

The writing. This author can write beautifully, like genuinely stunning! The flow and the descriptive narrative is beautiful. That being said, for me, it just does not work in a novel like this, the extended descriptive writing completely slows the book down and sucks any impact out of it. At one point there is about 2 pages worth of a description of a house Alice once lived in a long time ago. That isn't relevant to anything else other than Alice reminiscing.

A male protagonist in a YA Dystopian story. I found this unusual and intriguing. Most YA Dystopian books I've read have been primarily female characters with the males in the supporting cast.

The concept - The actual concept and plot of this book wasn't bad. In fact it was good, very good. If I had to liken it to anything I'd say this was almost the story of District Thirteen in The Hunger Games and how it came to being...

Negatives:

The writing - As  I said above, while this was stunning (man I'd love to see this author write a regency or historical novel) it didn't work with this story for me at all. This was my biggest gripe and where I really struggled. I found it hard to want to pick it up because it just didn't feel like it was going anywhere.

The past vs present - As you can see from the synopsis, we follow both Alice and Carter's stories and how they intertwine. This sounded good in theory, in reality I found it confusing and off putting. It was difficult at times to remember which POV/story I was reading. Part of this, I think, again goes back to the overly long descriptive texts. I almost forgot in a way what POV I was reading.

The ending. Without giving away spoilers, this didn't feel like an ending. I finished the last sentence and actually turned to the next page expecting the next paragraph/chapter/whatever/something and was faced with the acknowledgements. I actually went back and forward between the pages a couple of times to check I was right and that I hadn't missed something

The characters. Unfortunately neither main character did anything for me. I had next to no interest in either, which I don't think helped with my interest in the story. I didn't connect with either of them and a lot of the supporting cast felt weak and not fleshed out enough.

Overall this is a 2* read for me and not a book or series I will go back to. The Author however? Yes, if she writes something in another genre!

The writing style put me in mind of The Passage which is one of my favorite series. You get to meet characters from different time lines that are all connected to another. The story goes back and forth from past and present pretty easily. Alice and Carter are the two main ones we follow. You get a real feel for the hopelessness of the situations. Makes you think of how you would act if you just got rid of all your possessions and were just down to the necessities. The book could have been a bit shorter and still gotten the story across. I look forward to the next book in the series. I received an ebook and provided an honest review.