This review contains spoilers. If you don't want to be spoiled click away. (No wait)
Okayy let's start with Chains. My sister recommended this book to me and of course I didn't read it until two years later. Why? Because I'm lame. And historical fiction is boring. Just kidding, this book was a lot more that I expected it to be, and I'm really glad I read it. It's beautifully written and completely understandable, making the book enjoyable and hard to put down. The story takes place around the time leading up to the Revolutionary War, and is about a young negro girl named Isabel who slaves for a Loyalist family, the Locktons. Isabel is stubborn and strong spirited, and she works hard and dreams of freedom. She does not care much for the war, let alone what side she's on, for her main focus is finding away for her younger sister Ruth and her to stay together and escape slavery. She later on meets Curzon, a slave boy who is a spirited Rebel. He convinces her to spy on the Locktons for information about the British. In return he promises to do whatever he can to help them gain their freedom. This book is so unique in many ways, and it's definitely a piece that has you stuck until the end. The events that take place make reminds you continuously how cruel the Americans were to slaves.
The novel is powerful and honest, allowing the reader to realize the actually pain and hardships the slaves endured. "She cannot chain my soul. Yes, she could hurt me. She'd already done so...I would bleed, or not. Scar, or not. Live, or not. But she could not hurt my soul, not unless I gave it to her."
Moments of joy are brief and scarce. Every chapter I'm constantly harboring small hope that something great will happen for Isabel and her sister. Only, things just seem to get worse and it sucks. (Not the book, it's just so hnghghh ugh distressing.) Mrs. Lockton sells Ruth off somewhere and lies to Isabel about the location. Isabel gets branded on her face. Curzon goes to war and is taken prisoner. Every day is a hardship for Isabel, but in the end she escapes Mrs. Lockton's evil grasps and takes Curzon with her. And that's where the book ends.
Forge is from Curzon's perspective instead of Isabel's, I actually liked this book better for only a few reasons, one was because Curzon was totally adorable when he thinks about Isabel. (He has a crush on her but refuses to acknowledge it.) So the story picks up only a few weeks after it left off. After a fight, Curzon and Isabel had split up; Isabel went to go look for her sister, and Curzon, without meaning to, joins the Continental Army. There, Curzon makes a few friends and one or two enemies. You can see how he matures more and sees things in a new perspective. You also find out that Curzon has a deep dark secret pertaining to his name. While struggling to survive in training Curzon unhappily reunites with his old master, Mr. Bellingham. Mr. Bellingham had previously promised him if he joined the army in his place, Curzon would gain his freedom when the war was over. However when they were reunited Bellingham pretended that such a deal never existed and forcefully took Curzon back with him. Ughhh.
When Curzon had arrived at Mr. Bellingham's home he was surprised to see Isabel working there. (Oh what a coincidence!) She too had been taken there and was now a maid. Curzon and Isabel are awkward with each other at first but soon begin to warm up again. And yayy Curzon finally shows his true feelings for Isabel and tells her his secret about his name, and they kiss and it's all wonderful. But seriously that's all I got from this book. (Just kidding...) Soon after they sort out an escape plan and free Isabel from the neck chain that kept her from leaving. But of course Mr. Bellingham finds out about their plan to run away and corners them. He basically brutally beats Curzon, but then (woohoo) Isabel saves the day by knocking Bellingham unconscious. Go Isabel, too good so OP. They escape, and with the help of Curzon's soldier buddies both of them join the army. Isabel must pretend to be a boy and that's about where the story ends.
There's supposed to be a third book called Ashes, but that still hasn't come out yet. So many loose ends to be tied and I really hope it's a happy ending... I'm super psyched and I hold great expectations for the next book.
