Series: Sinners
Release Date: June 27th, 2013
To punish the guilty, he created the Hole, a place where sinners are branded according to their sins. Sinners are forced to live a less than human existence in deplorable conditions, under the watchful eye of guards who are ready to kill anyone who steps out of line.
Now, LUST wraps around my neck like thick, blue fingers, threatening to choke the life out of me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit, and the Hole is my new home.
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• Threat of Rape
• Attempted Rape
• Torture and violence
• Gaslighting
• Psychological abuse
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 1/5 stars
I can’t believe I actually finished Branded. When reading the blurb, I couldn’t wait to read the book; a kickass but vulnerable heroine and a protective hero, all wrapped up in a forbidden romance in a crazy dystopian society, sounded exciting. But neither Ketner nor Kalicicki were able to execute on the promise of their book. I think the most disappointing aspect of Branded was the romance, it was neither realistic and didn’t feel like the type of love you would give your life for.
I don’t want to join all the other reviewers who didn’t like or understand Lexi, but in the end, she was just disappointing. However, considering the amount of torture she went through at home and then what she was subjected to in the Hole, I wasn’t surprised or disappointed with her shaky personality and her teetering between ‘trying to be badass’ and ‘cowering.’ Her being in shock made sense, since the Hole is quite literally hell on earth… and not a place many people would be able to maintain their sanity.
My main complaint about Branded is the forbidden relationship between Lexi (a sinner) and her guard, Cole. First, what just didn’t make any sense, was the logistics of why Cole was protecting Lexi, a sinner, as in unworthy of protection. It came across as an inferior plot device to create the ‘forbidden’ aspect of the romance and also as a way for the two characters to meet. Lexi, although branded a Lust sinner, also doesn’t have to work the street (i.e. prostitute herself) like other Lust brands… which again made no sense! The authors also made Cole flirt with one of Lexi’s fellow nurse colleagues for the first half of the book (ish) which again makes no sense seeing as how relationships between guard and sinner are forbidden and Cole (at least to me) didn’t seem like the casual romp type. Again, another poorly disguised plot device. I also just didn’t get what either of them saw in the other. Lexi seemed to always be thanking Cole for saving her and always worrying about him putting his life on the line to protect her, but it is Cole’s job! He’s not doing it out of the kindness of his heart! Cole was also very ‘meh’… he didn’t cause any butterflies whatsoever and turned into an asshole at the end of the book (which I thought was out of character and just another way for the authors to create conflict).
Eventually, Lexi is reunited with her brother Keegan, but he’s (obviously) no longer the little boy Lexi remembers. Instead, he’s one of the leaders in the rebellion. Still, Keegan’s mentality towards the government is consistent with how the guards of the Hole (and the government) view the sinners, which is not indicative of a promising future. He literally equates to taking a life as nothing: “you get desensitized to it pretty quickly.” This would worry me… as it should anyone whose goal is to achieve a better world. But does Lexi say anything? No! She just nods (even though she’s worried about her brother’s mentality) and is eventually convinced by Keegan that he’s right.
Keegan also brings up their mother, who Lexi (obviously) has an adverse reaction to, figuring she’s the one that accused her of Lust and got her placed in the Hole. But, Keegan suggests that their mother did Lexi a favour by accusing her, insinuating that their mother did it to send Lexi to Keegan. But neither Keegan nor Lexi mentions the HUGE plot holes with this:
1) Keegan didn’t even know Lexi was in the Hole; and
2) her mother could have accused her of any other sin. However, Lexi’s mother chose Lust despite the fact she’d have known how Lust sinners are treated in the Hole (Lexi was basically hunted, continuously sexually threatened and more).
If it indeed was her mother’s goal to get Lexi to the Hole, she should’ve at least done it safely… not put even larger of a target on her back!
Now for why I found Lexi so disappointing: she was a doormat! Seriously, every time she was confronted, she caves. During the start of Branded, the Doctor gives Lexi a dressing down about how she can’t behave selfishly and has to think of others… even though she was almost raped and severely wounded just a few days ago. You’re apparently not allowed to be depressed or feel sorry for yourself even when you are going through terrible things. Later in the book, Cole and Keegan get into an argument about Lexi fighting in the rebellion, and it eventually turns into Cole versus Keegan, with no consideration of what Lexi actually wants. They fight, and finally, Lexi says she’s going to fight in the rebellion (which is Keegan’s side) BUT doesn’t assure Cole that means she’s choosing Keegan over Cole.
Keegan in general just pissed me off… he always got his way because he just didn’t care for Lexi’s feelings. He was just another man in Branded that took Lexi’s freedom from her. He was also the biggest asshole when it came to judging Lexi and Cole; he basically banished Cole from their compound and LEXI DID NOTHING! I think the worst moment of Lexi and Cole’s romance was when they are reunited towards the end of the book, and Cole’s saying how much he missed her and was always thinking about her and Lexi thinks to herself,
I didn’t really think of Cole that much, nor did I really miss him.
If that’s true, then why would you have started a romance with someone that could’ve gotten you both killed? I feel that kind of love would mean that you’d always want to be with them (or at least be missing them if they were away).
Branded was really disappointing. I didn’t like a single character, and there were so many plot holes and obvious plot twists that it just made the book a chore to read. I can’t get over how promising Branded was, but the reality is it is probably one of the worst books I’ve read.
