I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review. This is one of the coolest Sci-Fi novels I’ve read in a very long time. Apparently the earth is now split into two republics. The Rural Republic, where they abstain from most forms of technology, do only farming and “allegedly” do not swear. The description reminded me of the Mennonites, that they refuse certain technologies. Then there is the Mountain Republic, and the Avian race. This story has a great plot and so many twists, I feel for Junco as she feels so confused as to who she can trust. She flees the RR and now, both the republics and the Avian race want her. When you find out why, it will most certainly shock you. ( )

Junco Coot is a teenage girl who has been trained as a sniper with unusual intelligence and a rigid upbringing. When her father dies, she finds out that everyone wants her, including "alien" aves (bird) people, and her own military. Eventually, she is rescued by Tier, one of the aves who has been ordered to bring her to the band. It turns out that she is part aves herself, and she undergoes morph where she gains her wings and bird-like claws. Very involved story in which she discovers that she has been betrayed and lied to throughout her life. Good books, but they go on a little too long.

**No spoilers.

3.5 Stars


This one isn’t going to be easy to review. I’m torn. I had a hard time deciding on whether to round up to 4 stars or down to 3. I ended up on 4, because I felt the story was unique enough to stand out. On the one hand, I liked the MC, the world is unique, and there are many twists and turns to the story. On the other hand, there were very long periods of info-dumping via long, boring conversations.

Junco Coots, aka Whosoever-named-me-fuckin-hated-me, is one kickass MC. She’s a foulmouthed smartass who is trained to kill and she doesn’t take names. She reminded me of myself, actually, phenom sniper that I am, with her “wtf’s” and “fuck this shit’s”. I don’t shy away from colorful language and so, I wasn’t perturbed by hers at all. Rather, I was amused. If you’re a sensitive fuckin flower, though, you’d best stay away from this one, lest it make your virgin eyes bleed.

So yeah, Junco Coots or Junco Scoots, as my eyeballs like to read it (immature snicker), is pretty badass. She seemed older than her 19 years, undoubtedly due to the fact that this is a NA and not a YA. There's no corny teenage angst, no typical love triangle, and no insta-love. Though I did feel that Junco's feelings for Tier, the male lead, progressed a little quickly, it wasn't instant and it wasn't love. She also wasn't a Mary Sue. She's a hothead, but that's better than being a wet blanket or a doormat. She's had a rough past and on two occasions I teared up. I really wasn't expecting that. Despite the infodumps and the long lulls in between the heart pounding action, I definitely grew to care about Junco. It was hard not to, because her circumstances kept changing via twists and turns and never for the better.

Tier was pretty hot. One thing I enjoyed immensely was the rapport he and Junco developed while they were on the run. While the long convos about what was happening to Junco were super-boring, their personal convos in getting to know each other were sweet and fun to read. Junco liked him, but she wasn’t so easily swayed that she fell at his feet. She felt more than I would have thought she would so quickly, but she managed to hold her cards fairly close to her chest. Tier made a concerted effort to get Junco to trust him, which, given his role in the story, wasn’t easy. There’s a lot we still don’t know about his past or where he came from and I’m looking forward to learning more in book #2, which many have said was a much better read.

I’m giving this 3.5 stars, because in between the major twists (that blew my mind on more than one occasion), there was just waaaay too much talk in this book. Numerous characters spent a lot of time dumping info on Junco in between very action-packed scenes and I found it jarred me out of my riveted state. Huss did manage to throw me for a loop time and again, but I’d rather a lot of things had played out, rather than have been spelled out. I’ll definitely be reading [b:Fledge|15764009|Fledge (I Am Just Junco, #2)|J.A. Huss|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363477917s/15764009.jpg|21466525].




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Although this book was more violent than what I normally read, the descriptions were not overly graphic. This is the type of novel that you just can't put down because it's so fast-paced and contains so many twists and turns that you just have to keep going. I would definitely recommend it to sci-fi fans. ( )

Junco Coot lives in a future version of Earth, where there are humans and the alien Avians, who are on Earth to reclaim something stolen from them long ago.

Junco is a fascinating character, a real tough girl with pretty outstanding military training. She may be the best sniper in her Rural Republic if not even more of the world than just her country. And to confuse matters, she is also a World Champion Aerialist a few times over.

After her father's death everything in Junco's world unravels and all she thought she knew to be true is being called into question. Junco will have to make some serious decisions on limited information without really knowing which sources are the accurate & honest ones.

J. A. Huss has crafted an interesting world that is futuristic and yet still recognizable, as are her characters, which is a real feat since some are human and some are alien. This first book in the series certainly pulls you in and I plan to read the rest of the series all in a row, and hopefully won't have to wait too long for the newest book to come out. ( )