These books could only be reviewed as a series, so you’ll have go to the bottom to find my thoughts on the matter.
Legacy (Biodome Chronicles #1)
by Jesikah Sundin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Description (from Amazon)
She is from the past, locked inside a world within a world.
He is from the future, haunted by her death.
A sensible young nobleman and his sister live in an experimental medieval village. Sealed inside this biodome since infancy, Leaf and Willow have been groomed by The Code to build a sustainable world, one devoid of Outsider interference. One that believes death will give way to life.
All is ideal until their father bequeaths a family secret with his dying breath, placing an invisible crown of power on Leaf’s head. His untimely death most likely the result of murder. Now everyone in their quiet town is suspect. Risking banishment, the siblings search for clues, leading them to Fillion Nichols, an Outsider with a shocking connection to their family. Their encounter launches Fillion into a psychological battle with his turbulent past as he rushes to decode the many chilling secrets that bind them together–a necessity if they are all to survive.
Worlds collide in an unforgettable quest for truth, unfolding a story rich in mystery, betrayal, and love.
Are you ready to discover what is real?
Elements (Biodome Chronicles #2)
by Jesikah Sundin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Description (from Goodreads)
“Feelings are real. They often become one’s reality. But they are not always based on truth…”
New Eden Township is more than a dungeon for Fillion Nichols. Sealed inside the experimental Mars colony, there is no escape from anyone, especially the young woman who has haunted his life for nearly six years. To preserve his sanity, he focuses on one goal: decoding the mystery behind the Watson deaths.
Meanwhile, to prove his worth to the Daughter of Earth, a young nobleman ventures beyond the walls of the biodome and experiences the Outside world for the first time. But his quest takes an unpredictable turn when he meets Lynden Nichols and Mack Ferguson, who draw him into their world–an underground community also confined and isolated by society.
As worlds converge, each young man faces a choice that will affect the survival of an entire community. And to save the generation they fight for, both men must defy the boundaries of everything they know.
Cultures collide as The Biodome Chronicles continues in a compelling quest for truth, forging an unforgettable story rich in mystery, betrayal, and love.
Gamemaster (Biodome Chronicles #3)
by Jesikah Sundin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Description
“Spin the tales, Son of Eden. Weave them together. Make a reality all your own…”
Three years ago, Fillion Nichols was extracted from New Eden Township, poisoned, and arrested for sabotage. In three days, he’ll return and ascend as majority owner of the human experiment. New Eden proclaims that he’s a man of magic–one who will save them from the evils of the Outside world. But, as the newly appointed Gamemaster, Fillion knows that the truth is far more terrifying than the nightmares plaguing his sleep.
In order to live, something must die.
While the biodome community buzzes with activity over the Son of Eden’s return, Leaf Watson guards a dangerous secret. A secret that forces him to trade diplomacies of peace for declarations of war. Leaf’s energy is redirected, however, when he fights to save the life of his unborn child. Chin lifted high, Willow Oak marches into the Outside to represent New Eden in her brother’s stead. She longs to unleash her hurricane winds of justice upon the world that threatens her own. Yet when she sees the man who broke her heart, their combative grief endangers all.
In different worlds coded by the same illusions of power, Fillion, Leaf, and Willow must battle ever shifting images and perceptions––a necessity if they are to reboot their generation and save the community they swore to protect.
The future meets the past in this thrilling conclusion to The Biodome Chronicles, leaving behind a final question in the quest for truth.
Review(s)
Oh. My. Word.
This story was beautiful, haunting, captivating, and I couldn’t put it down. As soon as I finished book 1, I cracked open another book and decided I couldn’t read anything else until I’d finished this series. I snapped up books 2 and 3 and basically binge read the whole series (with the occasional break to recover, because dang, did this series slay me).
The only thing that bothered me was how the author left out big details pretty much every time something happened. While I enjoy mystery, it left big gaps in knowledge that kinda drove me nuts. Mostly in book 1, and still worth it.
To be honest, I wondered going into this series if I’d like it. I’d seen some of the author’s posts on reviewer responses, and I wondered if my response to Willow would be the same. That wasn’t the case for me. If anything, I think I related to her most of all. But after reading the books, I think Willow is my spirit animal (and kind of a reverse coin to Fillion, who is my new book boyfriend). 😛
Favorite quote: “My heart is broken and I grieve, for I have known love. Your heart is broken and you grieve, for you have not.” – Willow, Elements by Jesikah Sundin
*Sigh*
And scary! Good heavens, if this is any indication of where our future is headed (and boy, does it seem possible), we have a lot to worry about (hence, part of the need for multiple breaks).
Honestly, I can’t remember what exactly happened in book 2, since I read all three together. I do know it was difficult to put down, and I stayed up past my bedtime way too often, but that was all of the books.
Book 3 was perhaps the hardest to get through. The mind games were insane, the manipulation cranked to the max, the betrayal at an all-time high. Like, I literally struggled with whether to read it all as quickly as possible, or curl up in a ball until it was all over, lol. But seriously worth reading through to the end. Just beautiful.
The only thing that I have mixed feelings about is the final epilogue. While meaningful and sentimental, I kind of hate endings where we go past “happily ever after” to “life goes on”. Something about closing that final chapter on the lives of the characters the author made me love, even to show that they lived a good life and left a positive mark on the world they left behind, makes me sad. So if you’re like me, don’t read that last epilogue.
But otherwise, fair warning, if you pick up this book, you run the risk of falling into the must-finish-it-now-black-hole. But do it. And then we’ll cry together about how powerful this message is.
**These books do contain a lot of swearing (part of Fillion’s culture, and a stress-releaser he desperately needs), and some drug use. There is some sex, but scenes are fade to black/emotional-instead-of-physical in nature.
