Speth Jime was a very compelling character in this novel. She was a smart and brave character, but most teen readers would relate to her. She was more complex as a heroine, with a mixture of emotions. I related to her motivation to reunite her family, but I liked that she was also worried about whether or not it was a good idea to try. It would have been much easier to run away with her group of ragtag followers to a safe place outside of all the dome civilizations.

The world inside the dome was fascinating to me, with it's strange legal system and currency of words. I didn't read the previous novel in the series, but wished that I had. I think that I would have enjoyed the novel even more.

This book was very fast-paced and had a lot of suspenseful action in it. I read it very quickly. I would recommend it to both girls and boys, even though the main character was female. The plot is full of adventure and would also make a good summer reading selection.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, All Rights Reserved, but by the time I got to this book, over a year later, I'm just a different person with different things I value in fiction, and this one worked a whole lot less. Still an interesting concept though.

After Speth and her crew knocked the wifi out in their dome, they leave to find Speth's parents. Outside is a world they have never experienced before, with things like the sun and moon. As Speth and her crew come into contact with work details and other domes, she finds that her silent stand has spread throughout the country and the nation is ready for an uprising. Speth's journey is dangerous for all, but she is desperate to keep what little family she has left, together.

This sequel was on par with the first novel. It addresses contemporary issues of immigration through a sci-fi/fantasy concept. The characters did not draw me in, so it was hard to connect with the story.

A fast paced book and a good read Access Restricted is the sequel to All Rights Reserved in the Word$ series. The book picked up right where the first one left off. And there is more action here, more adventure and quite a lot about morals and what's the right thing to do. We saw much of that in the first book as well. The adventure here takes Speth and her small group out of their own dome.

I was surprised at first that Speth knew how to drive a car, but she is quick on her feet with thinking, so likely she would pick up this skill quickly. There is some loss and surprises. I liked how genealogy and history was brought up, how the past isn't taught and without knowing one's past there is so much missing out of life.

The dystopian world here feels based on how corporations and the world could go with copyright laws, lawsuits and the rich ruling. Of course it's exaggerated but this shows the flaws more pointedly. A reason why I like science fiction type stories, they take an aspect and stretch it out to the extreme to show the flaws.

This follow up to the gripping All Rights Reserved sees Speth's character grow leaps and bounds. The unwitting leader of a revolution and of a city turned chaotic, Speth all the while is thinking of her indentured parents and the world beyond Vermaine. She longs to break free and go a journey of discovery, and with the help of some friends, she does. She also get's to see exactly how wider her influence and the revolution has spreadl. Filled with Adventures, psychotic enemies, selfless acts of bravery and emotional moments, I can hands down say that this book was as good if not better than All Right Reserved! I loved it!

Seething lives in a society where every word you speak has a price attached to it. If you speak too much, you could go into so much debt that you could be indentured for life. It’s a very restrictive way to live. Her parents were sent to another dome to work leaving her and her two siblings to live by themselves. Life was difficult for them. Seething wants to be reunited with her parents and live as a family. This is against the rules. There are several things Speth will have to overcome. Will Seth be able to do this?

It’s a fascinating novel to read. It is fast paced and has action besides several adventures. I found myself holding my breath at times throughout the story wondering what was going to happen next. It’s an interesting and suspenseful novel to read.

Access Restricted is more relevant than ever. Centered around a world where you are charged for every word you speak, main character Speth chooses to go silent in the first book, All Rights Reserved. In this sequel, Speth finally has a voice and is leading a revolution (somewhat accidentally).

I really enjoyed the first book and while this is a good follow-up and ending to the duology, it still felt lacking, or maybe a bit cliche. With so many dystopian novels out now, especially ones with a female main character unwillingly leading a revolution, it is hard to stand out. I do like the concept of Access Restricted and the world that Katsoulis has created. It feels like a Black Mirror episode and with the state of the world right now, it seems like a scary idea that could possibly happen.

This is a story that looks at freedom of speech, communication, and community. It shows what happens when greed and power corrupts people. It is a cautionary tale for 2018, but one that unfortunately gets overshadowed by the wealth of dystopian YA fiction that has saturated the market now.

** I received an e-ARC from Netgalley**

This book is the sequel to another one and focuses on what life would be like if all forms of communication were owned and you had to pay a fee to use them. One girl causes an uprising and the plot moves along. I wasn't really into this one, but did finish it. The writing was good, but it was just not the book for me. I am giving it 4 stars due to the good writing.

ARC provided by Harlequin Teen in exchange for an honest review.

Access Restricted takes off right after the events of All Rights Reserved. I didn’t know how Katsoulis would follow the first book, but wow. After i finished this book i was speechless (Ha) and amazed at how happy i was with how Katsoulis finished this duology.

I didn’t know how this book would go for me, as i thought that All Rights Reserved was a bit slow at times, but boy was i wrong, this book was packed with action and non-stop conflict. With each chapter the stakes rose and rose until the ending and let me tell you what an ending. With about 15% of the book left i was panicked and thought there was no way everything could be resolved with this kinda time left, but i was wrong, so wrong. Then it ended and i was so happy about everything. It was a great end to a great series.

Overall it gets a ⅘ stars from me.

This will be posted on my blog 8/28

Speth and her friends struck a mighty blow for free speech by liberating Portland from the tyrannous lawyer Silas Rog, but his sister Lucretia isn't about to sit back and let peons express themselves without paying the rights holders. Their headlong flight across a shattered America fills in a few historical blanks, but the action really doesn't pick up until Speth and Lucretia square off. Speth the accidental revolutionary comes into her own as she realizes just how much has been taken from her and her people. The finale of this litigious dystopian duology delves into a surprising variety of topical social issues.

Obligatory shout out to Gregory Scott Katsoulis, Harlequin Teen, and Net Galley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m excited to be writing my first book review for a book I received through Net Galley. I am doubly excited that it happened to be the second book in a series that I have been semi sorta waiting for. It’s the small moments like these folks.

I had read the first book in Katsoulis’ Word$ series All Rights Reserved last year for my book club. It was my selection as I had read the synopsis and was instantly intrigued by the story. This was back when I was only posting reviews on Goodreads so if you’re curious how my first experience in this series went you can check out that review HERE.

Spoiler alert: it did not go well.

The first in the series was a let down to say the least, but It wasn’t throw book against the wall bad so I was willing and maybe even a bit eager to read the second installment. This is why I jumped at the chance when I saw it was available through Net Galley. Not wanting to be disappointed a second time I figured a review in exchange for a book was a good route to take.

This story feels a bit jumbled, especially in the beginning. I felt like we were jumping all over the place and I didn’t know what was happening. I was stuck in a strobe light feeling along a wall but ultimately I just ran ahead and hoped for the best. If I had tried to go back each time it felt like it jumped on me I don’t think I would have finished this book. The whole start of the story follows Speth, Margot, Henri, and Kel as they figure out what to do next now that the WiFi is down.

GOOD POINT: I liked finding out that it was only specifically their dome that was taken down, the rest of this horrible world continues they it was in the first book. I have to admit this is a smart way to continue to have conflict in your story. However, I’m not sure if it was me missing it in the first book or if it was something he threw in after the fact in this book, but I don’t remember this being the case at the end of All Rights Reserved. The idea was good, the application was a bit splotchy.

In the end Speth decides to go find her indentured parents at Crab Creek. The group changes as Saretha has to stay behind to heal and Kel remains to see that through. Those that travel are Speth, Margot, Henri, Margot’s little sister, Sera, and Norf-lo. They manage to get out of Portland, find a map that Speth miraculously commits to memory, and then leave the domes entirely.

They are chased, attacked, kidnapped, and some killed along the way. For me personally A LOT of this could have been trimmed down. The writing was haphazard and a lot of the interactions served no purpose for the story. I get that this is a hard thing, as a writer I am also having a hard time following the rule of cutting if it doesn’t progress the story. I just wish Katsoulis’ editor had been more insistent about it. The only part that played a part in furthering the story line was the kidnapping.

GOOD POINT: I liked the addition of Keily (not sure if I’m spelling that right). She was like a second Kel and while I am all for more characters like that it didn’t feel like she was her own separate character from Kel. All we got to see her do was rescue Speth (who should have been left behind honestly) and then she is part of the group that messes with the WiFi at the end. I’m just saying a more developed character that was her own person would have been preferable. Still liked her though.

After this point the group ends up as refugees in what is essentially Mexico and Texas combined. They realize the only way they can stay there is if the United States has broken international law, otherwise they will be released back into the US, directly to the Rogs. They decide that Saretha (Who has joined back up with Speth by now) is the key because of the Carol Amanda Harving fiasco from the first book. We are then taken into a lack luster climax that really leaves me confused. Like is there going to be a third book or is Katsoulis done with this story? The book doesn’t really give any clues to that, aside from the fact that I believe that Henri might make a come back. Who knows.

As far as characters go I could not stand Speth or Saretha. They were the worst and like I said in my review of the first book, I could have done without them completely for this one.

Speth keeps flipping back and forth from “I didn’t want this, I’m no leader.” to “We have to fight and I can lead the charge.” to “I just want to find my family, that’s all that matters.” to “We have to sacrifice people for the greater good.” She was like a fish caught on land flip-flopping around trying to find water to drown in. I literally grumbled at some lines she said in the book. It’s so disappointing to me when a character is not only unrelatable, but super annoying as well.

Saretha – she is pretty much brainwashed to the point of unforgivable. She won’t forgive Speth for Sam’s death in the first book (which I kinda get, but it gets dragged on….) She also talks about how Speth is just straight up ruining everything and nothing will get better and they should have stayed in Portland and become so poor that they become indentured. I’m pretty sure at some point I just yelled at her “Then fucking go back already!”

How do you make the main character so awful and then follow that up with her sister being a twat?

To the writing now – it was definitely a solid effort for a draft I am assuming will not be the final one that gets published. There are things that can be polished over for sure, but I don’t have a real issue with Katsoulis’ writing as a whole. I didn’t notice many grammar mistakes, it was more the consistency of the plot line and the bumpy transitions. I hope that the final draft that will be published gets all those kinks worked out.

I would say if you enjoyed the first, you will most likely enjoy the second.

Expected Publication Date: August 28, 2018.

BAD POINT: The only way for this world to absolutely get to the point that it does is if every single person is so reliant and compliant that they do nothing. Sorry Katsoulis, but humans aren’t made that way. Either a revolt would have happened a lot sooner or it wouldn’t be so damn easy to take this shit down. Pick one.

First let me say that I should have known about Word$ series way before now. About a month ago, on one of the Facebook book groups I follow, someone posted about All Rights Reserved. The person gave a quick synopsis and it sounded really good. I took a screenshot of the post and saved the book on my TBR list. I got into a bookfunk and was trying to find something to pull me out. I went looking through my book screenshots, saw the saved post, and began looking up All Rights Reserved. That’s when I saw that Access Restricted was about to come out. I quickly got a copy of All Rights Reserved from the library. This book quickly pulled me into this new world.

The Word$ series is a young adult dystopia series. It is set in a future where everything you say and do costs you. This in turn creates a corrupt system in which only the wealthy can get by. Thanks to Speth in the first book, a revolution takes place to try to change the system. Access Restricted follows Speth on her crusade to right the deceptive system.

Honestly, I was hesitant to begin the sequel. All Rights Reserved was really good. Often with these lesser known series, the subsequent books are not as good. I knew there was so much that needed to be covered in the second book, and I was worried it would not have the same feel as the first. Katsoulis did not let me down! It picked right up where the first book ended. I did not feel like I had missed anything. I was able slip right back into Speth’s world.

This is an amazing finish to this duology! The Word$ series is very well written. The story is told seamlessly and never bored me, which is hard to do. The character development made me even more attached to the characters than I already was from the first book. The atmosphere given is perfect. I was to visualize this world like I was watching a movie and not just reading a book. The plot was solid from start to finish. Any holes in the first book were filled by the end of this book. I really enjoyed everything about this book.

I would highly recommend this book. Read the first one first of course. It really is makes you think about what is happening in the world today and how something like this could really happen.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Access Restricted" by Gregory Scott Katsoulis. I thought that the story was written very well and the plot was really good. I really enjoyed the first book in this series and this book was exactly the same! I thought that the plot was very well written and it was a very exciting and fast-paced. The book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! The only reason why I could not give this book a five star was that the book was a little bit cliche.

This was such a great sequel. The first book was so good I looked forward to reading this. The book did not disappoint. I will be recommending the series to everyone.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review. This book was a most anticipated 2018 release. I read All Rights Reserved around this time last year as well..

This book sadly let me down a bit. I did not finish the novel I made it roughly 25% through it before having to put it down. It was slow moving for me, and since I already knew the world from book one I felt that the remaining world building fell flat. This could all be attributed to the fact that I am in a bit of a reading funk. WIth that being said I do plan to reread this book at a later date. I loved the first book so much, I loved the world, the morals and characters,

I gave this book 2/5 stars, this rating could change when I do the reread. I will still be recommending this book though because I love the premise of it, it's extremely thought provoking. It brings up a ton of serious problems in the world, as well as problems that could occur.

I will be posting a review on my blog (courtney2028.wordpress.com) on Wednesday July 18, 2018.