Monday, August 11, 2014

Review & Giveaway - The Artful by Wilbert Stanton



Title:  The Artful
Series: Shadows of the City #1
Author: Wilbert Stanton
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Pages: 218
Goodreads Rating: 3.74/5 Stars
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult 
My Content Rating: Mature YA (References to sex, and some sexual scenes, though not graphic; Some language)

Summary from Goodreads: New York City, 2025: Everything is changed. The city that never sleeps is now a land of death and decay. A rampant virus has taken over and the survivors have become carriers, quarantined from the rest of the world.
Twist and Dodger grew up in the streets, the sewers and underground tunnels - their playground. They aren't heroes. They just like attention; and stealing meds from the rich and giving them to the poor is their golden ticket.

On their latest raid, they unknowingly steal a cure that puts them square between the ailing Emperor of Manhattan and the war hungry Governor of Brooklyn and forces them on a quest into the darkest shadows of their putrefying world.


Awhile back, I posted a book blast and giveaway for this book, which included a guest post of sorts - an interview with two of the main characters from the book, Dodger and Twist. The interview itself was so engaging that I decided I needed to read the book for the upcoming review tour!

The book is a dystopian that takes place after a strange virus wipes out a good portion of the population and leaves everyone else basically allergic to the sun. The rich now spend their lives in highrise buildings, using drugs to numb their pain, while the poor live in underground cities. Twist and Dodger (who are named after a book that the man who took them in once read) are Gutter Punks - they steal medical supplies from the rich and give them to the poor. But when they accidentally help steal something important, they are forced to get it back - or Dodger will die from a virus that he's been injected with. It's a race against time when the two try to get the mysterious object back before Dodger succumbs to the virus.

What I loved:
  • Gia.  While Dodger and Twist are running from Manhattan's guards, they end up saving a girl named Gia from a rape attempt. She isn't much of a victim, though - in fact she's extremely tough - and Twist soon finds himself enamored with him. She ends up joining up with with Twist and Dodger and helps them on their journey. Gia was definitely my favorite character in the book, and her story was the most interesting to me (though I did predict one twist that involved her story). 
  • Twist.  I really liked Twist, even though he was a bit wimpy and self-deprecating at times. Still, I found him to be likable. He started out as Dodger's sidekick, but throughout the book he set out to prove that he could stand on his own two feet. At first his efforts weren't terribly successful, but his character definitely grew as the book went on and by the end I was really rooting for him.
  • The ending.  I don't want to give anything away, but some things happened at the end of the book that really surprised me and opened up a whole new host of possibilities for the next book. It definitely left me eager to continue the series!
The negatives:
  • Pacing.  The first half of this book moved a little bit slowly for some reason. It wasn't that there wasn't a lot happening - I guess I just wasn't always interested in the storyline in the first half, though Stanton did tie everything together in the end and everything that happened in the beginning was necessary. The pace really picked up for me in the second half, though - and the story got MUCH more interesting.
  • Dodger.  I never really connected much to Dodger. He was a wise-cracking womanizer and he sometimes became just a little bit irritating. Since it was his life they were racing to save, I needed to connect to him a little bit more in order for the stakes to feel higher, but it just never quite happened for me.
    Overall The Artful was an enjoyable dystopian read, and the series has great potential.  I give this one 4/5 stars.


    ***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***

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    About the Author
    Wilbert Stanton was born and raised in New York City. From an early age, Wilbert decided he would either write books or take over the world; everything else was just a precursor to his end game.

    Along the way, he has studied Psychology, English, and Computer Science. He’s held jobs in a wide range of fields and met people from all walks of life. Wilbert is constantly learning and growing as a person, in order to solidify his dreams.

    In the end world domination was a bit tedious, so he decided to focus on writing books.

    Author Links:
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    Enter both giveaways, one for a signed copy of the book and another for an ebook copy!

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    Comments (18)

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    Sounds great, thanks for the chance to win this! :)
    Great review, Nicole! I love books that deal with viruses ending the world - or almost. I know I'm odd haha but dunno it's just terrifying and kind of plausible, if you ask me, so that makes it even scarier (especially now with the ebola thing). It sounds like it has really good characters, too. And even if the pacing was slow the ending sounds like it was worth it.
    My recent post Review: Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff
    1 reply · active 551 weeks ago
    Yes, virus dystopians are almost too creepily possible - it's scary to think about those sorts of things!
    A world allergic to the sun? sounds vampiric but wholly interesting. :)
    1 reply · active 551 weeks ago
    It does sound a bit vampiric, doesn't it. No vampires in this one, but some strange, murderous religious cult type people. :-)
    This sounds really good! I'm definitely adding it to my TBR list. I love a good dystopian :) Thanks for sharing!

    Tracy @ Cornerfolds
    My recent post Book Tour Review: Bound by Duty by Stormy Smith
    1 reply · active 551 weeks ago
    I'm a sucker for dystopians too. There are so many good ones out there!
    I'm from New York so I could really get into this book. Artful sound great I would love to read this.
    1 reply · active 551 weeks ago
    Yes, you'd probably really enjoy the NY references!
    This sounds like an interesting read Nicole. I love how the pace picked up for you and left you wanting more in the end! Great review!

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

    My recent post Teaser Tuesday #104 – Come Back by J.A. Huss
    Paij Slater's avatar

    Paij Slater · 552 weeks ago

    I have had this one on my TBR pile for a little while. It sounds so fantastic. Great review!
    I haven't read a dystopian book for a long while now! This looks like something that I'd really enjoy and could get me back into dystopian books, I've only been reading fantasy lately! Thanks for sharing :)
    1 reply · active 551 weeks ago
    I love both fantasy and dystopian - sometimes it's nice to mix it up a bit. :-)
    I look forward to this, thanks
    Ashley Jellison's avatar

    Ashley Jellison · 551 weeks ago

    I'm so intrigued and this needs to be on my shelf! I'm so upset I haven't heard of it before. Thanks for the giveaway!
    1 reply · active 551 weeks ago
    You're very welcome! Good luck!
    I read this book for the tour, too! :) I agree with you, I really loved Gia and Twist. Poor Twist! I felt bad for him when Dodger treated him like a sidekick, but Twist showed he can be his own person and is more than just a wingman. Gia was definitely tough. It was interesting how she fit into their dynamic duo they had going on, lol. I also think the pacing was a bit slow like you did. I would have bumped up my rating another star, but it was a good story I enjoyed. I'm glad you really liked this one, Nicole! :)
    My recent post The Summer We Fell by Amber Garza ~ Release Day Blitz!
    1 reply · active 551 weeks ago
    Yeah, I think the ending bumped my rating up a half star because I'm really intrigued now to find out where Stanton will go with it.

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