Full Review for RT Magazine - September 2012 Issue 
 [ARC copy provided courtesy of Edelweiss] 
 4 1/2 Stars! 
 A well-paced, heart-wrenching tale of loyalty, courage, and love - set in a darkly dystopian world some readers may find reminiscent of 'Reign of Fire.' Redwine presents convincing teenaged characters with potent prose and palpable emotion, all while never underestimating her audience. 
 Admittedly swayed by the gorgeous cover, I went into this book thinking I would immediately love the fiery heroine. Not so. It actually took this reader until about 1/3rd of the way through to get past the crippled grief and bullheaded impulsiveness to fully warm up to her. But that was okay, because instead, I immediately connected with Logan. Rational, studious, and noble, he was a far cry from the quazi-mysterious angsty badboy archetype that so annoy me about many recent YA novels. 
 The author captures masculine vs. feminine misunderstandings and awkward moments with with a believable and authentic candor. And in doing so, she conveys a concept that will ring true for those who've lived in close quarters with pain: that even in the middle of unfathomable stress and tragedy, humor still crops up to provide us both guilt and relief. The tunnel may be long, but there is always a light at the end of it. 
 My one complaint would be the Commander didn't quite feel fleshed out by the end, his brand of malevolent, ego-maniacal evil feeling just a bit one-dimensional. It was a little hard to believe someone wouldn't have assassinated him by the time the story takes place. But he's far from the only obstacle involved, and the intensity of the internal character conflicts makes him easy to set aside. 
 Favorite quote: 
 "Silent acquiescence in the face of tyranny is no better than outright agreement." 
 --Logan {Defiance}