Review: Raksha by Frankie Rose

Pretty in Pink, working with Girl's Heart Books Tours is excited to have a review of Frankie Rose's new Dystopian novel Raksha. 

For those of you who just said "Huh?  What's Dystopian fiction?" according to Questia.com it is, "a genre of fictional writing used to explore social and political structures in a dark, nightmare world." 

Yeah, I had no clue either!

Blurb

She has no name. 
She has her knives; her training; her halo. 
The first and second give her the tools and the skill to defeat the opponents she is pitched against each month. The third frees her from pain and fear. From any kind of emotion at all. Everything is as it should be. Everything is as it should be, until… FearPainAngerHappinessDesireGuilt
Love.
When a newly-named Kit escapes the Sanctuary after killing her best friend, the last thing she needs is another knife in her hand. Or Ryka, the damaged, beautiful blonde boy, who she refuses to let save her. Still learning how to process the onslaught of her new feelings, the sights and sounds of Freetown are overwhelming and strange. There are a hundred differences between her old home and her new one, but one thing remains starkly similar: the matches. Yet where the blood in the Sanctuary landed only on the colosseum floor, Kit will quickly learn that a river of red runs through Freetown’s very streets. 
Freed from the oppression of a society who stole her right to feel, the true horror of her old life leaves Kit wondering if she really has been freed at all. Would she be better off without the crippling horror of all the blood on her hands, or is the love of one boy worth living through all the pain?
Raksha is the call of the dead. The rumbling chant for fresh blood from the other side, the demand for sacrifice. The colosseum is behind Kit. The fighting pits await.
You have been called to the fights.

Author's Bio

 

 Frankie Rose was born in the United Kingdom, but now lives with her husband in sunny Australia. 

She officially makes things up for a living, and when she's not doing that, she is generally making paper birds out of receipts and old lists or taking photographs that make her smile. 

My Review

 

*My usual disclaimer:  I do not post spoilers, and I like to keep my reviews short and sweet.*

This was my first book to read by Frankie Rose, and I will definitely be reading more.  In fact, I have already signed up for another tour/reviews of books she wrote.  The story reminded me from the very beginning of The Hunger Games, but there were enough differences for me to still enjoy as a new story.  I liked the strong female character, who strayed from the "norm" for a girl.  All in all, a very good read, I would definitely recommend.