Review: Feuds by Avery Hastings

Feuds by Avery Hastings

In this breathless story of impossible love, perfection comes at a deadly cost.
For Davis Morrow, perfection is a daily reality. Like all Priors, Davis has spent her whole life primed to be smarter, stronger, and more graceful than the lowly Imperfects, or “Imps.” A fiercely ambitious ballerina, Davis is only a few weeks away from qualifying for the Olympiads and finally living up to her mother’s legacy when she meets Cole, a mysterious boy who leaves her with more questions each time he disappears.
Davis has no idea that Cole has his own agenda, or that he’s a rising star in the FEUDS, an underground fighting ring where Priors gamble on Imps. Cole has every reason to hate Davis—her father’s campaign hinges on the total segregation of the Imps and Priors—but despite his best efforts, Cole finds himself as drawn to Davis as she is to him.
Then Narxis, a deadly virus, takes its hold--and Davis’s friends start dying. When the Priors refuse to acknowledge the epidemic, Davis has no one to turn to but Cole. Falling in love was never part of their plan, but their love may be the only thing that can save her world...in Avery Hastings's Feuds.

Publishes in US: September 2nd 2014 by St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: YA Scifi
Source: Macmillan via Netgalley
Series? Yes, Torn, the 2nd releases in 2015

Buy it: Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound Book Depository

Author stalk away: ~twitter

 

    Feuds was on my radar because I am attracted to anything ballet in books or movies. I've never danced, but I am engrossed reading about it. Its so graceful and beautiful and requires such dedication and heart. Along with the dancing, there is also this virus, which is another element that would have drawn me to Feuds and its beautiful cover. 

   It was a bit slow to set me up and make me like Davis, the female main character. But her dream of dancing and the way that she even daydreams about riding horses makes me like her. Cole, the male main character is a fighter in hardcore underground fights, and besides his toughness, something about him drew me to him. Maybe its his strength or maybe its the sense that he is working so hard and he seems to have something driving him. Also, the way he was concerned about the girl at the party right after he met Davis made me know that he was compassionate. 

   I liked how they got together, and even though it was under false pretenses going both ways, because of the manipulation of Cole by Parsons, Davis' dad's rival for government. Cole didn't know she was his daughter, and Davis didn't know that Cole wasn't a Prior. 

    The world set up was pretty easy to grasp. They seem to be in the future quite a bit, and the Priors have plenty of genetic programming to be sick less often, and chose genes so they are stronger and better able to learn and succeed in general. But there are those on the outside, the Gens they call themselves that haven't had the genetic treatments and are on the outside of the living arrangements and they are the workers. 

    The virus element was interesting too. They don't go into much on how it was created or why they are vulnerable besides saying it was an effect of all of the gene therapy. The Priors were in denial that they were getting sick and they were just throwing out bodies in the Slants, outside where Priors live and also where the Gens fight in the Feuds. 

    The Feuds, or the fights that Cole participates in played more of a part of his character growth and showing what he is fighting for, his family, rather than just for the sport of it. It was also more of a thread in the story than Davis' dancing. That really didn't play as much of a role as I thought it would, but it may in the future books. 

    This is a series that I will be continuing, because while I felt like it was a semi-ending, nothing really was wrapped up to my satisfaction, and want to see how things will change for the better in this society. 

Bottom Line: Great series beginner with characters I enjoyed.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Have you ever been interested in dance?