In Stung, Bethany Wiggins crafts a unique dystopian world where a bee virus wreaks havoc, turning humans into mindless creatures. Fiona’s journey to survive and uncover the truth is intense and action-packed, with a strong heroine at its center. Though the romance can feel predictable, the engaging premise and fast-paced narrative make this a must-read for fans of dystopian thrillers with a twist. A thrilling mix of survival, mystery, and unexpected danger!

This title was archived before I could download it - I am unable to read for a review at this time, and would no longer gravitate toward this title.

DNF

Right from the start, it was clear this book was not going to work for me. The opening scene is dramatic, yes, but the fact that she innately knows to hide the tattoo frustrates me endlessly. It's such a convenient plot device and makes little actual sense. 2020 also was not a good time to go back and try this, I'll admit. But I can't help comparing it to the pandemic in McGuire's Newsflesh, which is believably done and highly scientific. If I'm going to read one, I want it to make sense.

Fiona wakes up to a world she doesn't recognize and she doesn't remember ever going to sleep. The tattoo on her right hand is unrecognizable and she's not sure what it means. She doesn't know that those who have these tattoos have become beasts that linger in the sewers and hunt the unbranded. Meanwhile, there are people who live on the other side of the wall who have dedicated their lives to kill all those who bear these tattoos. Fiona realizes she has woken up on the wrong side of the wall, branded with a tattoo that marks her as a beast. Why is it that she feels completely normal?

This is definitely one of the better YA dystopians. Most YA dystopian books all seem to blend in together with nothing new to offer. The idea behind this book was very creative and original, something I rarely see being done in YA as well.

Yes, we see the typical YA romance that happens in a dystopian, but I don't think it had those insta-love vibes that other YA books usually have.

The ending was pretty well done for a YA book which also surprised me. I think I will pick up the sequel at some point to find out what happens next! An overall fun read if you're craving a YA dystopian!

Requested and downloaded this book back in 2013 with every intention of reading it but then it expired on my device before I had the chance. Have felt bad about that and as a result haven't wanted to leave a review but with more and more publishers relying on Feedback ratings I need to clear out some of these older titles in my queue.

*NOTE: This is a review of the entire duology.*

I've had the Stung duology on my tbr for a very long time. It's one of those series where the synopsis has always intrigued me, but it kept getting pushed to the bottom of my stack of books because I kept adding more and more books to my tbr. Recently, a readathon happened and I decided it would be the perfect time to read the duology. I loved it. I wish I would have read it sooner.

The Stung duology was everything that a dystopian series should be. It was thrilling from beginning to end. It didn't shy away from taboo topics that actually would happen in a post apocalyptic society, such as rape. The premise of the bees going extinct is something that I could easily see happening in our society with the way things are going in our world. The book made me aware of everything we would lose if that happened. Most of the things I had never even thought about, or connected with bees at all.

Typically I don't like it when books in the same series are from different character perspectives, but the Stung duology pulls it off well. I loved both Fiona's perspective, and Jack's perspective equally. They both brought different elements into the story line. In fact, I might have actually liked Cured a little better than Stung because the reader was introduced to Kevin, who quickly became my favorite character. I loved how mysterious he was, and his snarky sense of humor.

The only thing that disappointed me about the duology was that I felt that the ending was rushed. I would have loved to see the journey to where the main characters ended up in the end. Otherwise, I thought the Stung duology was absolutely perfect. I can't wait to read Bethany Wiggins' other books. I hope she continues writing sci-fi books. I recommend this duology for dystopian lovers everywhere, and preppers.

I give The Stung duology: 4/5.

I started reading this book and it didn't catch my attention for a bit but sadly I ended up DNF this book. Sorry for the late review.

DNF'ed at 40% - I'll be honest, I tried a lot to get into this book, but it was just too creepy for me to read.