This book was SO GOOD. Seriously. I couldn’t put it down. And when I did put it down, all I thought about was picking it back up for wanting to know what was going to happen.

Now, full disclosure, Labyrinth starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly is my favorite movie. Of all time. Ever. So I discussed with my best friend the possibility that this book was only amazing to me because I was imagining THAT world. Once you get into the labyrinth part of the story, there are “dangers untold and hardships unnumbered”… BUT… they’re different. AND THEY ARE SO GOOD. Oh my goodness. I don’t want to give any of the obstacles away but they’re so clever and so dangerous and so… elaborate.

As for the characters, I was kind of annoyed with Zadie at first as she was so helpless allll the timeeee. Someone would start picking on her and she would mentally wish for Landon to swoop in and save her. But I soon learned there was a reason we were taken through that part of her character. She had to grow. She had to learn. Being a Blank scum who was considered worthless around her town was all she knew and it came to be how she saw herself. I love where the author took her character and I enjoyed her journey up to that point.

I’ve been known to love the dark characters in books and this book was no exception, Dex was my favorite. The mystery and the way he does what he has to do no matter the cost… Maybe he’s evil but it. 😈 Let’s just go ahead and add him to my fictional boyfriend list.

This is a YA novel… BUT, that didn’t stop the author from making some brutal decisions throughout the story. I loved that aspect. Given the situation of the book and the setting, there’s no room for romanticized words or actions and the author sure doesn’t try to force them in. We get some pretty heart wrenching scenes in this book. The author really doesn’t show any mercy. For ANY character. So, prepare yourself for that. I wasn’t ready.

This was honestly such a good book but I NEED THE SECOND ONE. There’s going to be a second one… right? Meredith???

4/5 stars

When her best friend Landon goes missing, Zadie a non-magical 'Blank' will do anything to save him. Unfortunately, that may mean joining forces with Dex, a mysterious and magical killer that lives in the Labyrinth, in order to navigate the Labyrinth's perils and save her friend.

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the blend of fantasy and science fiction with a few thrills. There were definitely a few twists that kept you on your toes and I'm still wondering what's going to happen next after that ending!

Setting
There was definitely a magical and otherworldly beautiful feel to Zadie's world. A good portion of the story takes place in the city of Trinnea and the other half takes place in the Labyrinth. In this story, Zadie's post-apocalyptic world was brought on by a drought a hundred years ago therefore no one travels through the labyrinth to the palace of the Leader or beyond the city to the desert. The city of Trinnea gave me the feeling of a sci-fi desert border town with it's ominous red clay labyrinth, cacti garden, stone houses, burning sun, and air bikes. The skilled and Blanks, or magical and non-magical humans, gave the world a feeling of fantasy. The physical and society separation between the skilled and blanks added to the turmoil within the story and made Zadie the nonmagical under-dog you wanted to root for! Part of the story does take place inside the Labyrinth and that was when the setting became more of a fantasy adventure. The Labyrinth is basically made up of things trying to kill or trap anyone that enters and it adds an element of horror, action, and thrilling adventure to the overall story.

Characters
Zadie, a blank, was the non-skilled, non-magical heroine of the book. She was overall very likeable even though she made some annoyingly stupid mistakes at times. This wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact she has no magic and seems like a smart girl. Basically her only true power or defense was her brain and she consistently made poor decisions. There were also times that I felt frustrated for Zadie living inside the solely magical city of Trinnea with her magical family. Society didn't make it easy for her living as a blank. Her one friend was Landon. He was famous throughout Trinnea as 'Limitless Landon' due to the amount of powers he possessed, but he ignores society's opinions and still treats Zadie as a friend. Dex was the mysterious evil character of the story and I liked not knowing much about him at first. I loved how the backstory between characters played out throughout the entire story including the distance between Zadie and her sister, how Zadie and Landon became friends, and more about the mysterious Dex. I loved the lack of information dumps and how everything was given piece by piece! It allowed the reader to discover characters and past events throughout the story instead of it being shoved down our throats which I very much appreciate!

Pacing
This story had a decent pace in the beginning while Zadie was in Trinnea. It was still faster than most stories while allowing detailed world building and character interaction while the reader figures out all the characters in play. Once the story shifts to the Labyrinth, I thought it had a faster pace and became more of a thrilling adventure with quiet spots here and there for more character backstory.

Overall
I really liked this story overall with it's magical setting, fast pace, thrilling Labyrinth adventure, twists, and characters you want to know more about. However, I was a little frustrated with the character's poor choices at times and a little torn on the ending. I loved and hated the ending at the same time. I wanted so much more and felt a lot of issues were still left unresolved! I'm truly hoping there will be another book! I really need to know how Zadie, Landon, Dex and the town of Trinnea are faring after that ending!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, North Star Editions and Flux for allowing me a chance to review this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I greatly appreciate it and truly hope to read the next story in this series soon!

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

2.5 stars. I would have given it 3, but where’s the ending? Is there going to be a sequel? Because the way this book ended was not an ending—it was what you’d expect at like the 75% mark of a book.

But let’s set that aside for a moment.

I found this book interesting though occasionally flawed. The idea of a society in which some citizens (the Skilled) have 1+ supernatural abilities and others (Blanks) do not isn’t new. But all of the new info presented at the end puts kind of a different spin on things. The labyrinth itself presented a number of unusual challenges, both physical and mental. I found it very odd how this society seemed to eschew marriage and monogamy. Zadie and Chantry are half sisters—they share a father and are the same age. Landon and Valerie shared the same parents, and they were in a monogamous marriage, which shocked Zadie. I found that aspect of the story weird. And from a genealogical standpoint, it creates quite a mess. Not to mention there’s bound to be a lot of unintentional incest when people can’t be sure who their dad is. Just saying.

What I meant by “flawed” was that sometimes characters’ actions or attitudes were rather inconsistent. I don’t mean in the way that people can be inconsistent in real life; I mean that sometimes the characters said or did things that just felt off. The last few chapters in particular are what really drove my rating down, as they just didn’t . . . fit. I get what the author was trying to do, but they way it was done felt a bit overdone.

Zadie (17) was an okay character. She was constantly relying on other people to save her, but at some point she recognized that and began making and effort not to be helpless. Dex (?—I could figure it out, but he’s about Zadie’s age, probably a little older) was an intriguing character. I grew to like him, but I also suspected he wasn’t as bad as he and everyone else believed. Landon (17) . . . I liked him a lot, and then last night something occurred to me, and it all went downhill from there. He was one of the big flaws for me because Landon in the last few chapters really didn’t feel like Landon throughout the time Zadie knew him, yet he insisted he hadn’t changed. I disliked Chantry, probably more than the other guards—they were mean, power-hungry girls, while she was a girl bitter at her sister for something that she (Zadie) really couldn’t control.

Also, it bothered me how much various characters resented the sibling relationships of other characters. Nadine was angry Chantry helped get Zadie out of the bunks instead of helping her. Zadie resented that Landon frequently went to Valerie’s aid or spent time with her. Zadie was also bitter when Dex “chose” his sister over her (though that situation is a lot more complicated, and it’s understandable that she was angry in that circumstance). But for all the times Zadie was resentful, she never stopped to think about when her own sister chose her over someone else. I would say that sibling relationships are more important than best friendships and high school crushes (though not marriages, for the record).

I think I saw somewhere that the author might consider a sequel sometime. If she doesn’t write one, there’s no reason for anyone to read this book because THAT IS NOT AN ENDING. Not a single character has reached an end point.

Note: Some swearing. And ending that’s not an ending.

A death-trap filled Labyrinth stands in the way of you, everyone you love and your entire town's salvation. Logically what do you do? Run in and hope that you come out of it alive... I guess.

Gah. I am so torn about how I feel about this book. I think a 3.5 stars is what I'm thinking right now. Reason why I don't feel like its 4 stars? It was sooo slow to start and it was hard get into it at first. I really had to force myself to keep reading it because there was literally no connection to the characters until about half way through the book.
Zadie is pretty cool- other than she doubts herself for 99% of the book(which can get kind of frustrating). You can do it Zzzzssaaaiiidddeeeee!!
Landon of course is always the hero saving his damsel in distress best friend from terrible things all the time. - cliché.
Dex is a disturbed murderous evil monster... he was by far my favourite character in the book- know why??? Read it and you'll find out! (He is the reason why I finished the book).

Overall though, the book was pretty good. The story has some serious potential to be a GREAT book. Once you get past the half way point it becomes a good book, full of twists and turns that are intriguing and make you keep reading. There's also quite a few unanswered questions throughout the book that keep you glued to the pages. If the characters had been more intruguing at the beginning and the story didn't drag on for the first part of the book, it would have definitely been a 4 stars.

Enjoy!

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for gifting me with an E-ARC in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I rate this a 3 out of 5 Stars.
The prose of this book was promising, and very creative. I was excited to read this one. However, something just fell short for me. I feel like this would be better suited for a younger reader. The cover is beautiful, and I did like the immersive world that the Author built. I really can tell she enjoyed telling this story.

Zadie is a great main character in this book, but she was born a "blank". I liked Zadie right away.  This book was faced paced for me and I like the ride it took me on. This book reminded me of the "maze runner" movies.   I really liked those movies.  I was rooting for the characters and the book kept me wanting to read more. I think I will try the next book or more from this author. The ending worked for me even if it left me hanging. *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

In the near future humanity has been divided in to those with "skills" (magic, telekinesis, etc.) and those without called "blanks". The skilled community looks down on and abuses those without skills to the point of practically enslaving them. Zadie was born a "blank" and tossed out by the community of Trinnea when she was six years old to live and survive on her own. She indentured herself to work in the mines, until one day her mother and friends had scraped enough money to purchase a pass for her to return to Trinnea. Still shunned and hated by the community Zadie works each day only interacting with a few others, including "Limitless Landon" her childhood friend who is so named because of the limitless amount of "skills" he has. All is normal until one day when the town is taken over by outsiders and Landon goes missing. Zadie must attempt to work her way through the Labyrinth, a massive structure that was constructed to keep citizens separate from their "Leader", in order to attempt to save the town and Landon. What will happen to her as she takes on the labyrinth, its' monsters, and the "devil" inside named Dex?

Loved this book! Loved the female protagonist, her struggle, her optimism, everything. Excellent read, well written! Enjoyed it so much that I added to my to purchase list! Kudos for developing such an interesting and diverse universe with a hero with flaws! Love!

4.5 stars

Oh, how pleasantly surprised I am about this book! Well, I guess “pleasant” isn’t quite the right word because I AM SHOOK. But we’ll get to all that in a bit ;)

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley, Flux from North Star Editions, and Meredith Tate for providing me with an arc for her novel! Though I am extremely late in posting this, I hope I can spread the novel around so it can get the attention it deserves.

Now for the fun stuff. I SO SO SO loved this book! I was immediately drawn in by the writing and the steady world-building. We see around the little town, then we learn of its prejudices, and then we see glimpses of our main character Zadie’s past. Needless to say, I was really impressed by Tate’s introduction of the setting and the characters. Tate feeds us just enough to make us slightly suspicious but not really... Well, I don’t know how else to describe it, but I will say this: at first, I was suspicious a certain event typically of YA was going to happen, but as the novel progressed, I completely forgot about it.

And then, as if we needed more awesomeness, Zadie has to flee inside a maze full of booby traps and scary things… like, what?! That’s freakin’ awesome if you ask me. And never once did I think, Aw man, this is kinda cheesy. Heck to the no. Ok, yeah, I loved the world, if you didn’t get that yet.

Character development is also something I want to note, because I really felt the characters’ pain and why they have the weaknesses they do, and I respected the way Zadie and Dex support each other.

And on that note, Zadie and Dex!! I’m not even going to put spoiler thingies on that because if you read the description and if you’ve read even one YA novel, then you know the endgame is Zadie and Dex, alright? Ok. Anyways, going into this, I thought there was going to be some insta-love, I’m not gonna lie. But there was a really nice progression into their feelings for each other.

Of course, I could gush for a while longer, but as this brings me perfectly to my only (slight) complaint, I will stop the gushing. As much as I love Zadie and Dex, every once in a while I wish the good guy would get the girl; for reals, nowadays it’s always the “bad boy” with a secretly golden heart who gets the girl. Classic Stelena or Delena dilemma, ya know?

Lastly, I have to address the cliffhanger CUZ OMG I’M DEAD AND NEED TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPENNN. You seriously won’t expect it at all, because you’re gonna read it. You’re going to, right? Yes, of course you will, because it’s sooooo good! AND THIS BETTER NOT BE A STAND-ALONE!

I’ll just stop this now haha. Au revoir!




Oh, and if you enjoyed this review, be sure to follow me here on Goodreads so you can experience even more of my weirdness! ;) I also have an instagram dedicated to books @ashton_reads if you’d like to follow that as well. I love you guys!

Great worldbuilding and a fantastic storyline. Connected almost immediately to the characters and couldn't put it down! I look forward to reading anything this author has to offer.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley who approved my request for reading and reviewing this Young Adult Fantasy/SciFi book. In no way does this influence my opinions. I’ll try to keep it as spoiler-free as I can!

This was an exciting story, the way Tate came up with the concepts and fictional names/places were cool, but it seemed to drag a bit to point where I forgot that it was split into three parts to distinguish the three settings. Good idea but the second part dragged on a bit too long. I loved the beginning though, as it immediately drew me into the story and the chapter ended with some action starting. That’s difficult to do, and Tate managed that perfectly.

Onto our main character, Zadie Lynn. At first, I liked her alertness and the fact that she was sincere but not in a way where it made her weak. She saw right through everything, and even though she’s lucky enough to live in Trinnea, she knows how they treat Blanks. It’s quite sad just because you’re physically marked as not being Skilled, you’re picked on. However, from part two, Zadie becomes the most oblivious thing known to mankind. It’s like her intelligence and instincts die as soon as she enters the maze.

For the minor characters who are the most important, not because they’re skilled, but I love them each. From the start, I knew Tate would do something more with Dex. That he wouldn’t just be the creature in the labyrinth. I love his backstory, how the author crafted it and connected it with Trinnea and the Stone Palace. I hope to see more of Dex in the future. I’d prefer him over our next character—Limitless Landon. That name already struck egotistically. I don’t know I tried to like Landon throughout the story but couldn’t find the spark. Maybe because he winked too much or deemed superior to others. I don’t know but when I first read about him, limitless being that he’s got an unlimited amount of skills…that was cool.

The other characters, in short, would have to be, Chantry (Zadie’s sister) who I found out to be such a coward like she treated her little sister like crap even though she already gets it from Skilled people. Their relationship is included in the story, but it didn’t seem like it was going anywhere, just added more worry and guilt to Zadie. The so-called Leader who lives on the other side of the labyrinth in the Stone Palace. When we’re introduced to him in the second chapter, I instantly found it fishy. That was a Hunger Games moment when President Snow just showed up on everyone’s screens, but in TRL, we’re never actually introduced to the Leader, only virtually.

The challenges in the maze weren’t significant at all, but I guess that was the only way that Tate could create a relationship with the two characters. The challenges they faced revealed their pasts and sides that they don’t show other people. Creative way but too long. 

I think power was an essential theme throughout the novel. As we read on, we believe the leader controls everything, but in Zadie’s eyes, she and the other Blanks are still traumatized by the Warden. There’s also the Skilled who rule Trinnea when the Leader isn’t present. They demand authority over the Blanks. It’s mostly shown in part three, for reasons I can’t explain but you’ll figure it out sooner or later. 

My favorite and most exciting part of all time, and I’m sure you know this by now…was Dex. Even though he’s the supposed villain, his story alone touched me. I sensed that there was something about him but not so much in a way that I preferred him than Landon. Trust me, by the start of part three you’d latch onto Dex immediately. 

Overall, I liked the idea of this book and how power is shown. Most of the characters weren’t to my liking, but their purpose and backstory kept me going. Even though I rated this 3/5 stars, I’m willing to read the sequel and see what happens to everyone...

An intriguing fantasy/YA novel which is fast paced and beautifully narrated. The story talks about prejudices and preconceived societal norms, isolation, abuse as well as family, love, friendship and bravery. The story is about Zadie who is not accepted by Trinnea, their country, because of being “unskilled” but still risks her life and her sanity, to help save her family and the same people who spurned her. She takes the help of the Devil of Trinnea to save the hero only to find, the devil is not as bad as he is supposed to be. Among all the lies and tricks of the maze, Zadie has to choose who to trust and how to save the people she loves.
Meredith Tate weaves an adventure through her words and makes us fall in love with the characters. I was in a trance while reading this because it was quite unputdownable. Even though it was a bit predictably cliché, the character development and the fast pace more than made up for it.
My Rating : 3.5/5

The idea of The Red Labyrinth intrigued me and while I was very interested in this booking going into it, it just didn’t quite do it for me. As a YA dystopian fantasy novel felt very reminiscent of other well known YA dystopian fantasy novels and at times the cliches were a little overwhelming.

The world building was interesting and I did enjoy a lot of the moments between Zadie and Dex. Seeing their relationship build kept me turning pages, but on the whole, this book just felt a little like a mash up of other books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book. I’m on the fence about this one. The plot is interesting and doesn’t feel recycled from every other YA out there but the main character did feel a bit recycled. She was the young rebel who knew more than the adults. A bit cliche. The setting was interesting though and I think those who enjoy Victoria Aveyard’s books will enjoy this book.

Danger waits at every turn in this fast-paced adventure.

Zadie is a blank, her hands branded to make sure everyone knows she's part of the lowest class. Non-blanks posses magic and look down on her. But Zadie has come to terms with that...more or less. Her town is the only inhabitable place left on the planet and protected by the leader who lives in a castle beyond the deadly labyrinth. No one has ever survived even being a few minutes in the labyrinth, only her best friend has been able to dash in and out to save someone who gets dragged in by the labyrinth's evil resident—Dex. But when her town is take over by evil forces and her friend disappears into the labyrinth, Zadie is determined to do her best to save them all. If she can survive Dex and the other deadly dangers.

When I started reading this, I was quickly reminded of The Maze Runner. Unlike Dashner's world, the people living in the town are doing fairly fine and aren't trying to escape. The break between the talented and blanks creates instant sympathy for Zadie, who is a kind young woman and knows 'her place'. She still has a bit of a rebel streak in her, but it doesn't overpower her personality. There's also a bit of sibling problems thanks to her older sister being talented and not wanting to show her care for Zadie in any open way.

The first chapters of this book had me bound to the pages. There is a lot of tension and secrecy surrounding the maze and Zadie's circumstances. Even the slight romance begins with her best friend hold and are sweet. It's when she enters the maze and meets Dex that things wobbled a little bit.

Dangers lurk around every corner in the maze—brutal and evil ones. The various traps and creatures are rich and create a very intriguing atmosphere. There is no easy way through, and to see how Dex and Zadie make their way through the maze did keep me on the edge of my seat. There are tear jerking moments and enough depth as well to make the characters vivid and worthy to root for. Still, there were holes in some of the world building, and logic didn't always hold or was simply contradictory. Even Dex...a character with so much dark potential...quickly fell into a normal, young adult role. The read was still intriguing, but it seemed to miss it's mark and left me a little disappointed. Even the ending wasn't what I expected and rushed through. Despite all of this, I still enjoyed the read, though. So, I'm giving it 3.5 stars and rounding up.

I received a complimentary copy and was drawn enough into this story to want to leave my honest thoughts.

At first glance, this book sounds similar to The Maze Runner (which I was not very fond of) but Red Labyrinth is much more and exceeded all of my expectations.

Trinnea, a town surrounded by a mysterious and magical labyrinth in which the Skilled (people with extraordinary powers) are elites while Blanks (people with no extraordinary powers) are oppressed and isolated to the outskirts of society. Meanwhile, the menacing and elusive Dex haunts the labyrinth keeping Trinnea's citizens from leaving.

I was hooked from the first few pages. Meredith Tate does an excellent job developing this post-apocalyptic world and weaving it into the plot without info-dumping everything. I enjoyed the fast-paced plot and the intrigue of the character's backgrounds- it kept me engaged in the story.

I liked that Zadie was an ordinary girl. She's a Blank in a society full of Skilled and combined with her abusive past, she doesn't have much self-worth or confidence. But by no means is she a weak character- she's determined and is trying to do her best with the skills she does have.

I also really liked Chantry and hope for some more character development from her. She came across as a compelling character especially with her complicated relationship with her sister, Zadie and I can't wait to read more about her.

Dex and Landon... even though they are part of a love triangle I liked how they enhanced Zadie rather than taking away from her character. Their clashing perspectives and motives were interesting and I liked that there was no "right" answer to the overarching conflict.

I didn't really like the ending though. The plot is building up to this major climax but it felt so rushed that it feels as if the climax is cut short. I did like the plot twist- didn't see it coming but I didn't like that the "villain" just info-dumped his evil scheme (I wanted it to be more of a suspenseful discovery and not the villain revealing everything).

Overall, this book was way better than I expected it to be. Cannot wait for the sequel because I need a resolution after that abrupt cliffhanger ending.

*Thank you to NetGalley and its publishers for providing a free ARC*

Although the writing was fairly average, the pacing felt off, and many of the twists were somewhat predictable, the concept was fairly interesting (and occasionally dark) and Zadie was a likable and relatable main character.

Though Red Labyrinth's plot sounds like a Maze Runner clone, it has nothing in common with the series from James Dashner except the fact that there's a maze.

In Red Labyrinth, people with special skills live under the close watch of The Leader - a person who lives in a palace separated from the rest of the populace by a dangerous, trap-filled maze. Those who enter the maze - if they escape at all - return as a hollow shell of themselves, unresponsive and with vacant stares.

Zadie is a blank - a person with no skills who's shunned by the others. She quickly finds herself in harm's way when she must enter the maze to save her loved ones. Traps, strange creatures, and other maze-related difficulties stand in her way of reaching the palace.

I was leaning towards a 5 based on enjoyment - while typical YA tropes abound, Tate's writing flows well and the world building works well enough. The maze's traps are unique and it's a pleasant read.

However, I disliked where things went. The finale's turn of events seemed rushed, and a certain aspect feels very, very familiar if you've read many other popular YA novels, such as Red Queen. I was disappointed by this and also didn't buy why it happened. Plus, Zadie's goes full-on trope with statements of rebellion and revenge. Groan :(

Hence the reduction of 1 star. Overall still a great read and I look forward to the sequel, but I hope that the story can focus on its unique elements rather than staying its course on a well-worn path.

*Received a free ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Who is Dex? And the secret of the Labyrinth?

The town Zadie lives in has very little love for her. She was born a Blank, a person who has no Skills. The laws in Trinnean requires that Blanks be exiled to the wastelands, and to survive most sign their life away to work in the Bunks, to receive food, a place to stay, and back breaking work. The Bunk is where she meets Landon, who becomes her closest friend. Somehow her ma pays the fee for reentry into Trinnean.

Trinnean is surrounded by desert and the only way out seems to be to the home of The Great Leader, protected by the Red Labyrinth. And the labyrinth is haunted by Dex.

I love this book! There is so many different things to touch upon, that this review can go into many of the rich details. This story is well crafted with a plot that hooks you from the beginning and a great twist in the ending. Meredith Tate is now on my favorite author list and this is my new favorite book!

I did receive an ARC in exchange for a review.

Thank you NetGalley and Flux for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love dystopian tropes, which is why I was originally drawn to this book.

Right away, we emerge into a grin, post-apocalyptic world that consists of Blanks (magically inept) of Skilled (varied magical abilities on a ranking system). The caveat? You’re born into these classes.

The story follows Zadie, a Blank, whos best friends with a Skilled, Limitless Landon...and of course, love is blossoming!! YES!!!

Once Zadie actually goes through the challenges of the Labyrinth, the plot loses a bit of steam. Additionally, the end of the story is a bit rushed, which is unfortunate.

Overall, I enjoyed the story.

3.5/5 stars.

3.5/5

One of the first movies I remember watching when I was a kid was Labyrinth from Jim Henson. The fantasy tale starring Jennifer Connelly as Sarah and David Bowie as the goblin King Jareth gripped me from the start. I was about 8 or 9 when I first saw it and since that fateful first viewing, I’ve probably watched it over 1000 times. Also since that fateful first viewing, I’ve easily been intrigued by any movie or book that focuses on labyrinths.
Which brings me to The Red Labyrinth.

I’m a newer Net Galley person, and I thank the author, publisher and website for sending me an ARC copy to review. I still feel such a rush and it’s such a privilege to be approved to review a book.

I typically don’t read many YA releases, but over the last number of years, I’ve become more intrigued with the burgeoning genre. Mix in some sci-fi and fantasy and I knew I’d enjoy this tale. The cover art hooked me and I couldn’t wait to delve into it.

I found Meredith to be a deft story teller. She laid out the basic premise of this post-apocalyptic world quickly and efficiently and I believed in the “new way” of life rapidly. The town they live in has two types of people, Skilled and Blanks. Skilled have powers, physical abilities that allow them to do different things. Your number (1, 2, 3 etc) indicates how many Skills you’ve been born with. Blanks have none and are considered the low class citizens. They’re either tossed outside the border wall that surrounds the town or they’re enslaved to work in the mines.

Zadie, the main character is a Blank. The story follows her as she tries to reconcile her past with her current life. She’s best friends with Limitless Landon, the towns golden boy. They’ve been friends for ages and it’s now bordering on love.

In the middle of the town lies the labyrinth. Myth has it that it was created to protect the Leader, who lives in the centre in his golden palace.

The Labyrinth is a mysterious fixture. Within is the character Dex who’s a monster and is blamed for the mindless blanks that return to the town after entering for one reason or another.

The story gets going after the town is held hostage by some new arrivals and Landon goes missing. Zadie decides to enter the Labyrinth and hopes Dex will help her get to the palace in order to save her mom, sister and Landon.

The story starts to lose some of its luster the further along we go through the labyrinth. It’s clear this story was written to be a part of a longer story arc, I’m assuming a trilogy, and Tate gives us bits and pieces of character back story as it goes, compelling us to continue reading and getting further into the tale.

The ending fell rushed and jumbled. As though everything we’ve read up to that point was undone within a few paragraphs and I was left angry and confused over this odd turn of events. I think it would’ve been better served overall to have ended the story when the palace comes into play and let the ideas after it be expanded upon in a second book.

As much as it fell apart at about the 75% mark, I still want to know what happens. I want to find out the resolution for these characters and find out just what the heck the end game is. That speaks to Tate’s character development and how invested I was able to get into this story.

Overall a decent introduction to this world, but I was left wanting more.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2672683380