by Paola (link)
Genre drama, thriller, dystopia
Pairings Zaylor, Zike
Length 17 chapters
Status Completed (first book in the series)
The Innocents is a story unlike other hanfics in that I could see it as an actual story and not just fan-fiction. It reads very much like a thriller or mystery set in a dystopian world and I am a huge fan of dystopia so I was immediately won over. This story quickly reminded me of The Giver as well as a recent trilogy I have been reading, Matched.
I just love the way Paola is able to write such descriptive sentences that I almost feel as if I am in the story itself. I also tend to be a fan of the POV switches but Zac’s POV is my favorite one to see things from. He just reminds me of such a broken child and I want to hug him through most of the story.
The story may have hints of hancest which I know the general majority of fans don’t like but I do. Though the hancest isn’t even as major as it is in other stories. It’s more about their relationships and love for each other (platonic in my views) than the actual romantic love. I like stories that show the side of the brothers where they rely on and can’t survive without each other, maybe because I tend to think that in real life it is nothing like that and I just want to cling to that fantasy.
Besides the Hanson’s and my love for them in this story, there is another character I came to love as if he was one of them and in a way maybe he is. Jesse Spencer who Paola cast with the face of Jesse Spencer ;). He just fits right in with the boys and I think he is the perfect character to teach them the ropes of the new world after they leave their cult. He also has amazing chemistry with Taylor, even if he could pass as a Hanson sometimes. Eerily he could pass as Taylor’s twin in my head.
I loved how the story concluded and how Paola left it open for the Second book which I need to start reading at some point very soon 🙂
Review by Elizabeth (tumblr)