Author: Shalini Boland
Book: OUTSIDE (plus THE CLEARING & THE PERIMETER)
Publication Day: August 22nd 2023
Buy Link(s):
OUTSIDE Book 1: https://geni.us/B0C9DQ82BWsocial
THE CLEARING Book 2: https://geni.us/B0C9DW3SC4social
THE PERIMETER Book 3: https://geni.us/B0C9DTWY72social
Description for OUTSIDE:
A quest for the truth. A fight for survival. A love like no other.
I’ve lived all my life in the high-security compound built by my father. He’s made sure my sister and I are protected. I’ve never set foot past the perimeter wall and my only knowledge of what exists beyond are rumours of wild landscapes and violent people.
When someone from the outside finds a way in, my little sister is killed. I’m shocked and devastated. Skye was just fourteen, and she had her whole life ahead of her. I’m only a teenager myself, but I am my father’s child – headstrong and determined. I vow to find the person responsible.
My best friend, daring and smart Luc, promises to help me and together we set off into the pitch-black night. As we follow the dirt track road into the wilderness, we realise surviving in the harsh outside world is going to be a lot harder than we thought.
With only each other to rely on, sparks begin to fly between us. As we navigate our way through dense forests and twisting hills, my feelings for Luc grow stronger. But then we’re captured.
I can’t bear the thought of losing Luc and I’m desperate to get home to my family. But will this new danger finally lead me to my sister’s killer? Or will the answers change everything I thought I knew about my world?
From USA Today bestselling author Shalini Boland comes a completely unputdownable, irresistible dystopian fiction novel of love and survival that will keep you flipping the pages until the end. Perfect for fans of Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games and Kiera Cass.
Description for THE CLEARING:
The clearing has begun. Children across the country are disappearing. And I’m the only one who can stop it…
There was a time when our world was open and free. Those days seem like something out of a dream. Now, I live in a walled community, protected by guards from the wilderness beyond. Everything felt safe, until the last few years. That’s when the rumours started. And then I saw with my own eyes they were true…
Children are being taken all over the country. Snatched from their homes, never to be seen again. As I look up at the stormy sky beyond the Perimeter wall, I realise I have to do something. I may only be seventeen, but I know where all those children are.
James Grey and his terrifying followers are hiding the missing ones in an old fortress. They’ve been training them to fight, creating an army that’s growing stronger day by day. My best friend Luc is by my side. Everything seems strange between us, since the night we kissed, but he’s pledged to help me in my quest to stop this madness.
Although fighting to end the clearing means returning to the last place on earth I ever want to go. It means allowing the chilling hooded figures to take us too. Luc and I are willing to sacrifice our own freedom in order to save so many others… but will we succeed?
From USA Today bestselling author Shalini Boland comes a totally addictive dystopian fiction novel of the fight between good and evil that will have you glued to the pages until the very end. Perfect for fans of Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games and Kiera Cass.
Description for THE PERIMETER:
The old world is gone forever. And this is our last chance to create a new one…
Sixteen years ago, the old world collapsed, and I was born into a time of chaos. I’ve been one of the lucky ones, living safely behind the thick walls of the Perimeter. But now an evil force is threatening to tear down everything we’ve built here. Our existence is hanging in the balance.
Cold, calculating James Gray and his army are trying to destroy the peaceful community we’ve worked so hard to create. We can’t run from it. We must confront it. This will be the final battle, the final chance to save our world – and ourselves.
Standing on top of one of the lookout posts, I take a deep breath and brace myself for what is to come. I wish I’d told Luc how much I love him, because now it might be too late.
Will we both make it out of this alive? And will our world be changed for the better, or fractured forever?
From USA Today bestselling author Shalini Boland comes a page-turning dystopian adventure of danger, love and courage that will have you on the edge of your seat. Perfect for fans of Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games and Kiera Class.
Author Bio:
Shalini Boland is the USA-Today bestselling author of seventeen psychological thrillers. With over two million copies sold, her titles are published by Amazon Publishing, Audible, Bookouture, Second Sky and Grand Central Publishing.
Shalini lives by the sea in Dorset, England with her husband, two teens and their increasingly demanding dog, Queen Jess. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer/songwriter, but now she spends her days writing (in between re-stocking the fridge and dealing with endless baskets of laundry).
She is also the author of two bestselling Sci Fi and Fantasy series as well as a WWII evacuee novel with a time-travel twist.
For all news and updates:
Website: http://someonewotwrites.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShaliniBolandAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShaliniBoland
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaboland/
Second Sky Email Sign Up: http://www.secondskybooks.com/shalini-boland
My Thoughts
Shalini had a great fantasy series that I first read and it drew me in like few of the books that deal with vampires. When this came up as a blogtour I jumped immediately on the opportunity.
On first impression this book has a bit of everything as in a crime and a society that is a dystopian version. I do enjoy that and this is very interesting and it feels like it is a bit young adult like due to the fact of who they are focusing on.
The plot is all motivated by revenge for Riley’s sister but there is only one issue that I find hard and maybe it’s just the fact that I don’t know the story of the dystopian society that has been created.
The premise is amazing and I love the concepts that the author puts forward. I am confused and wanted a bit more backstory of the world and of the parents as well since they are a major part of the book.
As a dystopian young adult book it was pretty good but had some weaknesses that kicked me out of the story at times. However I would read the second book to see if more is divulged.
I didn’t really like the family at all. Riley seemed to be over her sisters death way too easily and is replaced with revenge only.
The mother I found had no redeeming qualities as she seemed to forget that she had another child as well and that all she cared about was her grief and her addiction to alcohol.
However even when I dislike a character I can enjoy the book. Characters are meant to be unlikeable as well as likeable. The fact that you can still have an amazing premise and a good quality story without having characters that are well received is great.
Overall this was a solid attempt at dystopian and young adult. It didn’t quite hit the mark fully with me but it did have some great ideas. Revenge is a standard trope that we see a lot of. I also think that this story worked well with what we have been given of the world’s history.
Crazy Canadian Writing 