I am a huge fan of young adult novels. I feel that they sometimes tackle tough subjects in a less encumbered way.

Blank is one such novel. The topic is what some could call a drive towards genetic 'purity' with residents of Oasis being matched for compatibility by their birthmarks. Yet, some children are born blank and ultimately taken from society. Along with the need to be marked, the society also frowns upon anyone who deviates from their genetic match.

This novel follows the path of a few different blank children and people who intersect their lives. You also meet some who fell in love with someone who was not their genetic match and try to escape to a safe haven community.

I was completely engrossed in this novel with serious dystopian tendencies. The end is left where the story could be continued. I hope the author decides to do just that as the themes of diversity and love are crying out for more.

I was really excited to have the opportunity to read this book after reading the description, however, I am a bit torn on how I feel about it.

First off, I will list what I did like about the book. I liked Almara and Darnell's character. They seemed to lack depth to me but they were pleasant enough. Though, if I'm being honest, I preferred the secondary characters like Coo, Jaylon, Amma, and Ahn to any of the main characters. They just seemed to have more substance to them than the main characters and had more engaging personalities.

I also love the dystopian theme and I thought that the set up and plot of this story was really well done. It takes from some popular ideas but definitely is still unique with its own spin on things.

And for what I didn't like. First off, Zale. I honestly thought his character was terrible. He is boring, whiny, impulsive and constantly talks about Allen (which felt really stifling and unnatural for this genre). They talk to each other like a parent does to a toddler. Also, Zale can't make it long without dropping f-bombs or other use of foul language. It really just makes his character seem highly uneducated, as he lacks a diverse vocabulary, and really crude. At the end of the book, I found some of his actions to be terribly selfish as well. As long as he has Allen, he doesn't seem to care about anyone else. Allen isn't too bad, but his character seems rather inconsistent as he jumps from being really helpful and knowledgable to having breakdowns. the next minute.

As an additional warning, this book is labeled as YA, but I highly disagree with that. It has TONS of foul language and mature violent content. As an adult I did not feel comfortable with some parts and had to skim because it bothered me so bad. There is no way I would let my child read something like this.

All three of the main characters lacked depth. They weren't very relatable or interesting, though I did enjoy reading Almara and Darnell's story. Often because of the other characters that helped make the story more interesting.

The story did seem to have some inconsistencies and the pacing seemed rather unbalanced at points, but overall it was an interesting read and left off on a huge cliff-hanger. I would probably be interested in reading the next book or a detailed review of it to see where the story goes.

A few things that would be nice to see in a sequel to this book: more dynamic growth in the main characters, WAY LESS bad language, and for Zale to finally drop his clingy attachment issues and become more independent (you can be in a relationship and still do things on your own!).

Thank you to NetGalley, Sabrina RG Raven, and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book description from Goodreads: "Confined to Oasis after the war people are genetically matched via matching birth marks. City Ordinance makes sure mutagen free status is maintained. But in a world of marked people, what happens when you're blank?"

The premise of this novel sounds so very interesting, right? Well, sort of. The pacing of this book was a bit odd. You have three characters: Almara, Zale, and Darnell. Almara and Darnell are Blanks, while Zale has removed his mark. Almara is the only first person perspective, while the other two characters are third person limited. Why? 

Anyway, so the beginning of the book (maybe the first six chapters or so) is absolutely amazing. Super interesting, high stakes events going on with all three characters (although their stories do not intertwine until near the end). It felt like the climax was at the beginning of the book. Then the next thirteen or so chapters are like one long falling action, until around chapter twenty when there is another climax, although it doesn't quite feel as epic as the beginning of the book.

That said, it is still an interesting concept. In this society, people are matched with their significant others based on a matching mark that they are born with. Blanks have no mark, and by city ordinance, are not see an human. Most Blanks are killed or secretly taken to a facility where they become test subjects. They are deemed unsafe because of their "genetic impurity" as it were.

Darnell is a Blank taken away to live in a cabin out in the woods somewhere when he was just an infant. When the authority finally comes for him, his mother is injured and he is on his own out in the world for the first time in his life.

Zale lives in a community that does not follow city ordinance. Far from the main populations, Zale's community allows same sex relationships (which is unheard of because marks would never appear on someone to allow such a thing). Zale and his partner, Allen, have removed their marks so they may live together as lovers. Blanks are also welcome in their community. But one day, everything changes when the Authority (or so they think) comes raging in to destroy the life they know.

As the events of the book progress, all the characters will find their stories intertwining.

Overall, this wasn't my favorite book, but it definitely wasn't bad either. The most negative thing I have to say is that I requested the e-galley AFTER publication, and there are so many...SO MANY typos that it was hard to focus at times. Some of the sentence construction felt off at times as well. That aside, I really liked the dystopian feel of the world and the general concept. The science behind some of the events and explanations was also rather interesting. While I do like the book, I feel like a number of events could have been moved around or done differently to make the book feel even more lively. With enough effort, I think a decent sequel in this world could likewise be an interesting read.

This started out as a 5, then I thought a 4 and by the end it had dropped to a 3. The ending was disappointingly open and apparently with no plans for a sequel.

The characters were a mixed bag, I liked Darnell and loved Zale but Almara was flat and under-developed, she had very little growth compared to the others. The world-building was rich and interesting and perfectly set-up for scope to expand into a series. I loved the authors take on the soulmate idea and I highly appreciated the inclusion of gay characters.

Thankyou to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and the author, Sabrina RG Raven, for the opportunity to read a copy of Blank in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I was drawn to this novel from the premise of the storyline. On the whole, I thought the actual story delivered a good, quick read. It was well written and kept me intrigued.

Well worth a read.

In a world of marked people, life is unfair to those who are unmarked known as blank. We get a vision of people who are happy with the fact they don’t have to choose who are going to live their life with. As soon as you're born you have someone for you genetically it’s your perfect partner. We get to know through the book the dark side of that perfect lifestyle. Like any society there are always those who are left out and, since they are a danger to the welfare of this idealism, treated as aberrations.
Good characters, each one with engaging stories of love, drama and suspense. The way their story constructs around this marked system is very interesting.
I liked the fact I couldn’t predict the story, there was always something to surprise you, good or bad. I also liked the way was written and with different narrations helps the reader get a better global perspective of their world.
The ending was a little disappointing, so I hope there will be a sequel. I would love to know what happens next. I enjoyed the book and I would recommend to anyone who likes dystopia sci-fi.

This book was a little difficult to read, and it took me a while to get into. But really freaking good. It kinda reminded me of Divergent.
I recommend it! Looking forward to reading more from this author

I really enjoyed this book. I'm not sure why it is described as a YA novel as there is a lot of violence, swearing and it is quite harrowing in parts in terms of deaths.

I thought it was really well written and I enjoyed the different voices and narration.

the ending was slightly disappointing but I guess it is a set up for the next book if this were to be a series.

I would recommend this book and found myself wanting to talk to others about it - which to me is a sign of a good book!

I Seriously loved the turn of events at the end. And the suspense! This is a Very engaging love story. The power of love, from tragedy comes a triumphant and endearing story. I enjoyed every page of the story.

I loved plot of Blank! Wonderful characters, Darnell as naive as he was. Almara headstrong, and a will to live. Zell honestly not a fan....This is a world where Blanks are seen as defects, and are put to death, the society doesn't want them seen or to interact with them..Why? Well they love in a world where everyone is born with a birthmark, and which allows them to find their person, soulmate. To be without a birthmark makes you a problem....

An edgy and suspenseful book! Blank, written by Sabrina Raven, is definitely worth the read! The story centers on several different characters, Almara, Zale, and Darrell, are all experiencing the Marked Region from different places and circumstances. All of their stories collide towards the end, bringing the story to a climatic end with a hopeful, but unfortunate ending. Of all the stories, Almara's is most emphasized in the book. I had a hard time with some of the dialogue and sub story lines, like the operatives in Condor Pointe, but nothing ever took away from the major plot and focus of the story. There were a few too many betrayals for me. By far my favorite part of the book were the tanks! The descriptions and collision of story lines at that point blew me away! I could not put the book down. The ending leaves you wanting a lot more for Darrell and Almara. Almara needs some redemption for sure! Perhaps a sequel to this book?! I would recommend this to dystopian sci-fi lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with a copy for review.

In a dystopian post-war world, people are genetically matched with their 'soulmate' to ensure perfect genetics. Most people are born with a marking that will allow them to find their matching soulmate, but some people are not born with this - they are born blank. This novel follows three blank individuals: Almara, who was secured in a facility for blanks as a child; Darnell, who was hidden from the government by his mother since childhood; and Zale, who chose to have his mark removed and voluntarily go blank in order to be with the man he truly loves.

I really enjoyed this book! I was first drawn to it because the concept of a world where people are matched to their soulmate sounded really interesting. It was great to read a story that put a twist on this trope with the soulmate matching being entirely genetically determined and having no concept of love or attraction play any role in the soulmate pairings. I especially liked how the world building thus allowed for one of the main characters, Zale, to fight against the system and have his mark removed so that he could be with the man he loves, Allen, as the genetic system doesn't take LGBT+ individuals into account. 

As the novel follows three different individuals, whose storylines slowly interconnect, the perspective often switches and leaves you on constant cliff-hangers wondering what was happening with the other characters. This was a little jarring at first, but I began to really enjoy this aspect of it and getting to see so many different sides of the world they were living in through the different characters who all began the story in very different ways. The characters themselves were well-developed and interesting and I found myself getting completely invested in their individual storylines.

Overall, this was a great novel and hope that there will be a sequel to follow on from the events at the end because I really want to know what happens next!

Almara, Darnell and Zale are the main characters in this book. Every chapter it changes.
Almara was born without a birthmark, a Blank, so she cannot be matched with a partner in life. She’s not welcome in the world. Her mother tries for her to have a normal life, but when she finds out more, the authorities find Almara and put her in the cube.
Darnell lives with his mom outside of the city. She’s protecting him, because she knows what happens to the “Blanks”. One day, authorities find them and he escapes and his journey begins.
Zale lives with his partner Allen in a place where he and others who have birthmarks are welcomed. They didn’t want to be partnered with their birthmark-partners and have the birthmarks removed, to be with the ones they love. Their compound gets attacked and when the chance of revenge comes days later. He gets captured.

This book started out slow. Finally by 60% it got interesting and fast paced. The characters get together by the end, but the ending?? So disappointing. At 99% to put in a plot twist and that epilogue...that is why I’m taking off one star of my review.

I received this ebook from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

Dnf. This was a good idea, but rushed and the jumps between characters was not handled well - I had no time to form a connection to the character before it switched and I was lost.
The world building lacks substance - we know there are blanks, and marked, but not about the assumedly post apocalyptic World they live in, nor what the general rule is.
Dialogue is stilted and unrealistic.
Feels like first attempt soulmate fanfic.

This book was a bit difficult to read if I'm being honest. I felt at time it was rushed in certain areas. Definitely could have dragged it out more. The whole concept of the storie was really interesting and has got me wondering where the story will go