Review Detail

L.E. Sterling’s TRUE NORTH is the second in her True Born trilogy. The series takes place on a dystopian Earth where Dominion is the home of Lucy and Margot Fox—Upper Circle twins who somehow hold the key to stopping the plague that has decimated the world’s population and caused a societal structure that has definite “haves” and “have-nots.” TRUE NORTH picks up where the first book in the series, TRUE BORN, left off. Lucy and Margot have been separated—Margot has left Dominion with the girls’ parents, and Lucy has been left behind as the ward of Nolan Storm, the powerful leader of the True Borns. True Borns are genetically modified humans who do not contract the plague and serve in a variety of violent capacities.

TRUE NORTH focuses on Lucy’s search for her sister and offers plenty of background information to flesh out the first book in the series. Lucy is being protected by Jared Price, an incredibly attractive True Born who is fixated on her, and their relationship takes center stage through much of the book. While Lucy tries to pinpoint Margot’s location, she and Jared share many heated moments designed to make the reader swoon, and their romance has a bit of a TWILIGHT feel to it at times.

Though not particularly fast paced, TRUE NORTH keeps things moving at a decent clip, and the book will certainly entrance readers who enjoy tense love scenes. Lucy is a great character despite her weakness for Jared Price, but the one to watch in this novel—and hopefully the final book in the trilogy—is Alastair, the young man who helps Lucy for reasons that are not yet revealed. When book 3 comes out, he’s the reason I’ll be picking up a copy!

Overall, TRUE NORTH is a typical second book: it lacks a bit of excitement as it sets the stage for book 3, but it does the job of the middle child in a series: it sets everything up for the conclusion and leaves readers awaiting that final installment.

My thanks to YA Books Central and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.