4 stars 
 Initial Impressions:Dualed was a very exciting, fast-paced book. I was definitely racing towards the end, dying to know how it would end between West and her Alt. 
 I did have some minor complaints though. It took me just a little while to finally click with the romance, but most of all.... Why the need for Alts in the first place??? If Kersh is so anti-war, why have a constant violent battle between Alts? The whole purpose of the Alts is to have only the strongest survive - I get that - But the whole point is to have the strong ones in case war broke through the borders of Kersh and the Alts would have to defend it. But still..... Anti-war + the whole idea of Alts didn't mesh for me! That was one thing I couldn't look past. 
 Otherwise, it was a good read. Nothing knocked my socks off, but quick and pretty enjoyable. 
 Review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide: DUALED is a tough one for me to review. It was definitely one my more anticipated reads of early 2013... So where did I end up with this? I guess the answer is still excited, but confused. 
 There's no doubt that DUALED is reminscient of the action-packed and somewhat gruesome battles that we all loved about The Hunger Games, but where as THG had a strong world in which it was based, I felt like DUALED needed to be challenged a little bit further before the dystopian future-world of Kersh became believable for me. Even within the first few pages (page 23 to be exact) and explanation of Kersh, I was confused. Kersh is described as a city that put up its walls to keep out the war that was going on and taking over the rest of the world. So what baffled me is, why set up a complicated system in which the children and teenagers of Kersh are destined to kill each other off in a brutal fashion? Surely there's a better way to make your city stronger other than killing off the weak in a public and violent fashion. I didn't see how this promoted Kersh as a peaceful place in anyway. It made them seem even more brutal - Killing off the weaker Alts just for the sake of having a stronger army IF the war ever broke through. Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks had a great review that even opened up more questions I didn't even know I had - I won't go into all the details because she says it so well herself, so check out her review if you're ready to analyze it more! 
 Now. If I completely overlook the confusing foundation of the plot, I actually really enjoyed reading DUALED. I thought the book was very action-packed and fast-paced to keep the reader flipping pages and racing to find out what happens between West and her Alt. At the same time, we have the conflict of West and Chord - two people who you can tell have an attraction to each other, but being constantly pushed apart as West tries to distance herself from Chord to keep him safe. It kept me guessing whether they would end up together in the end of the book or if Chord really would end up tangled in the mess of West's epic battle with her Alt. And I'm not even going to get started on all of the "different"- sounding names in the book. We all know I struggle with that. 
 I'd have to say that the action carried me through the book. With the conflicting basis of the plot and the push and pull of West & Chord's relationship getting repetitive, I still came out enjoying the book overall. The positives won over the negatives for me in this case and I actually came out the other side with a positive feeling about the book as a whole. Maybe it's because I was always hoping it would be great? Although usually that sets me up for disappointment. I guess you'll just have to try it to find out!