Deidra Duncan: Until I Die

Deidra Duncan shows what happens to a country when becomes so divided:

I'm a big dystopian lover, whether the book is in the midst of an apocalypse happening, going to happen or if things have already gone to Shit and we are in the dystopian future, I want to read it. There are several types of Dystopian out there but recently there seems to be a surge of them that are focusing on countries turning to more traditional values, especially for those who are elite and high up in the army. This can seem very pointed of the time of events and calls for returning to traditional values in the United States, which coincidently is where this book takes place.

First off I will say that I did enjoyed this book. It had me hooked from the beginning and I was invested in the characters, the world the plot and I felt that Duncan did a great job of pulling the reader. 

This book is all about the relationship between Sophia and Lucas. You feel the pull between the two characters right from the first meeting even though things don’t go as either of them planned. You are in this story for them and that is about it, as there are not really any side characters that you get to know. I’m not sure what to think about Sophia, I liked her as a character but I felt like Duncan had her contradicting herself all the time and maybe that has something to do with the time shifts in the book but I just felt something off with the overall flow of her character.

My main problem with this book is that I feel like Duncan pulled too much from another resent release and that is Manacled/Alchemized by SinLinYu. And it begs the question of where does it become inspired by instead of plagiarism. When I first became aware of this book, in the premise it states that it is inspire by Alchemized as well as the Handmaids Tale, so the reader and I would think Duncan is aware that these similarities exist and may be called into question.

The similarities between these books and are quite vast that if you have read Manacled/Alchemized  you will recognize the scenes that Duncan has written in this book. They are not verbatim to fully suggest plagiarism but there is enough there at times where I would find myself thinking that I have read this scene before. Even from Sophia's curly unruly hair and her working as a medic in the resistance that you can draw the similarity to that of Hermonie/Helena. 

Now where I think that Duncan was a bit different from the books listed above is that I did find this book was darker at times and she takes the fights scenes to a little more extreme as she is not relying on magic. I think she could have pushed it a bit more at times, but I understand why she held back in certain places. Additionally Sophia's backstory is very different and we do get some glimpses of that, as well as her overall role within the resistance differs. I did find that the further you read into the book Duncan does move away from similarities to Manacled/Alchemized almost like she had found her footing in the story she wanted to create.

So Yes I enjoyed this book. I liked the tension that Duncan created in the book as well as the suspense, especially towards the end when you realize that no one is truly safe. I just struggle with the fact that I don't know where the line is for inspiration and when it crosses past that. Would I read another book by Duncan, I would but I, like many who read this book, may be scrutinizing it a bit more than I normally would. 

Enjoy!!!

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