Book Review: The Selection (Sapient Salvation Book 1) by Jayne Faith

Title: The Selection
Author: Jayne Faith
Series: Sapient Salvation #1
Pages: 282
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤

Twice a year, the alien Lord Toric demands a selection of human women between the ages of 18 and 20 to compete for a place in his harem. Maya must get through just one more selection and then she can marry the man of her dreams. She should have been safe, but when a young woman who was supposed to compete dies the day of the selection, Maya is forced into the competition.

Thrown into the fight of her life with no preparation, Maya must shed her innocence and win Lord Toric’s favor. And there is only one winner in the competition. The losers will be sacrificed. Will she survive the first round, or will she pay the ultimate price for her inexperience?

I have previously read The Selection by Kiera Cass and absolutely loved it! I found that both books are extremely similar, except Faith's is geared towards a more mature audience and includes aliens. In addition to Cass' series, this book also tends to incorporate some elements from The Hunger Games. Overall, I would say that Jayne Faith's novel is The Hunger Games meets The Selection (Cass) meets aliens.

It may seem like there is a lot of different elements being thrown into this book, but somehow Faith manages to make it all mesh seamlessly. I really enjoyed how their is a bi-annual culling of both men and women, who then must compete in various survival scenarios. However, the real competition is within both groups, for there can only be one male victor and one female victor. This makes for an interesting dynamic between "obligates."

The story was really enjoyable, but ended too abruptly. I hate when books do that! I felt like after such a slow start (background stuff) that the story was finally getting to some action, and then "wham!" The end. I just wasn't prepared for the story to end, even though the status bar at the bottom of my kindle indicated it's upcoming end.

"May we all find what peace we can, collect as many moments of happiness as possible, and know gratitude in every breath."

Book Review: The Awakening (Sapient Salvation Book 2) by Jayne Faith

Title: The Awakening
Author: Jayne Faith
Series: Sapient Salvation #2
Pages: 200
My Rating: ❤❤❤

Maya survived the first Tournament challenge only to learn that new and powerful enemies lurk in the Calistan palace. Even Lord Toric’s affection and guards aren’t enough to keep her safe, and she's still on her own in the Tournament--the alien lord is forbidden from interfering. As the list of deadly foes grows, Toric and Maya must uncover the traitor in the royal family who aims to murder Maya and destroy the Calistans' chance at reclaiming their homeland. Will Maya summon the strength and luck she needs to meet her highest destiny?

I enjoyed the first book in this series and was a little saddened to see that the second book didn't really live up to my expectations. It started off good, but then started to lag when I got towards the middle of the book. However, after a while it picked back up again, and then once again, it ended abruptly.

One thing that I absolutely loved about The Awakening was how we were able to get more points of view than just Maya and Toric's. I wasn't expecting the perspective change, but am so thankful that Lunaria's point of view was thrown in. Turns out, I really like her character!

Despite the slowness towards the middle of the book and the cliffhanger, I still like the overall story and am extremely interested to see where Faith takes it. I just have way too many questions that I desperately need answered!!