Blog Tour + Review - Dominion by J. Kowallis

by - Tuesday, May 16, 2017




Dominion
(The Enertia Trials #4) 
Author: J. Kowallis
Publication date: May 19th 2017
Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
Genres: Dystopia, Suspense, Sci-Fi


WE ARE THE FIRST
WE ARE THE END

“I didn’t want to wake up. Sometimes I almost wished I hadn’t.”

With Reggie’s death, Nate and the others are forced to continue on in their attempt to defeat Roman with the help of The Rising—a rebellion movement thriving in the bowels of Public Two. 

New faces and mysterious secrets—hidden technology, lies, and darkness—from within The Rising shake the balance of their trust. 

When an unimaginable encounter infiltrates the rebellion, true identities are revealed and loyalties torn apart. In the end, there’s only one target that matters: Roman—and they’ll do anything to stop him from claiming dominion.

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Excerpt

“You’d think that somewhere in the time line since the year nineteen hundred, mankind would have learned to design formal clothing specifically for the purpose of comfort.” I pull at the fabric around my crotch and try to stop it from strangling my balls. “I mean, what the hell is this stuff?”
Nate looks at me. Leaning up against the wall near the doorway, he hasn’t even made a move to pick up the outfit that Su gave him. I don’t blame him. His is even worse than mine. At least mine doesn’t make me look like what I can only describe as a cross between a flashy mermaid and a hunter.
“I think if maybe I just shift everything to the right . . .” I adjust myself and my face pinches in disgust, mirroring the discomfort my pants are causing me. “Nope. That shit doesn’t work either.”
“You know, you can just refuse to wear it.”
“So I can stay behind with the little kids? No way. I’d dress like a chick for the chance to get out of here for the night. Speaking of which, you’d better put on your clothes, Princess.”
“Shove it up your ass, Roy.”
I smirk at him and reach over for the sheer, darkish-silver, shirt-thing that Su tossed me earlier. I can’t lie; the fabric feels like water. Cool, liquid, soft water coating my skin. “Holy shit, that’s nice,” I say, dropping my chin to look down. The fabric is designed to pull from underneath my left armpit and reaches up for my right shoulder almost like a lop-sided bunched neckline. The best part of the ensemble? The sleeves that have gloves designed into the cuffs.
“I can see your nipples.”
“I will shove your head up your anus. I swear I will.” I grimace.
Nate chuckles darkly, then his eyes wander over to his outfit again.
“It’s not going to change into camo and military boots, you know.”
“Think the harpy would come in and accidentally set it on fire for me?”
My lip curls, amused. “Watch it. That’s my harpy you’re talking about.”
Nate folds his arms and presses his lips together.
“All right. I feel like I’m vacuum packed, but I’ve got a damn good-looking mug to compensate. I’ll see you down at the entrance with everyone else. Get moving.” I grab the door handle and stop myself when he rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “What is it?”
He crosses his arms. “It’s nothing.”
“Good. And Nate?”
He turns to look at me.
I look out into the hallway, and seeing it bare, I close the door again and face him. “Look, I know we’re going into a night club tonight with the whole team. A whole team of people whose lives depend on you. There’s going to be alcohol in pretty much everyone’s hand. I’m going to warn you right now; if you have even a drop . . ..”
“I got it.” His words may agree with me, but I’ve learned that if I ever used that tone with Ransley she’d flame my ass. He may claim to be sober, but I’m worried. I’m worried this backdoor plan of his isn’t going to work. I’m even more worried that if he gets his hand on a drink, not only will something go wrong, but a lot of people will die.
“Swear to me. There’s not a chance in hell you’ll reach for a single drink while we’re there tonight. Because the only thing that matters is killing Roman. The only thing. You see Lobb, you let him go. You start hurting for Reggie, push that shit to the back of your mind. You get a craving for whiskey, you spit it out. We either leave with a dead Roman, or we leave with a dead Nate. Do you get what I’m saying?”

Nate rises to his feet, towering over me by a couple inches. His voice is dangerously deep. “I’ve got it, princess.”


               

"Years ago, we were designed to be the first of our kind, and today, we will be the end." 

It's not every day you stumble upon a series that challenges your mindset and questions your existence. There's the kind that gives you the tingles, some wrapped around your heart like a warm blanket, others might induce a slight shiver, and then there's the kind that stopped you dead in your tracks, stunned you into a reading stupor and you, for once, felt goosebumps on your skin because everything,EVERYTHING, was earth-shattering and mind-numbingly good. 


Requesting a reviewing opportunity for Afterimage was the best dang decision I have ever made.

Until today, I thank God for helping me discovering this hidden gem. 

After my fair share of post-apocalyptic novels, there's a certain element that you ought to expect from a dystopian plot. But fair warning, I've experienced NOTHING quite like the Enertia Trials, J.Kowallis proved to be a brilliant mastermind yet again. From Afterimage to Encender and Duality, each book was so unique and cleverly written it has a voice of its own. I loved Nate and Reggie in Afterimage, Ransley and Roydon in Encender, and ended with a massive heartbreak in Duality. But Dominion, oh, it triumphed them all. 

In the end, there’s only one target that matters: Roman—and they’ll do anything to stop him from claiming dominion. 

With the devastating turn of events in Duality and that cliffhanger ending, I was more than ready to dive into Dominion, yet it killed me to just know that things will be worse than it already is. My heart ached for Nate, he who has suffered so much from the start only to have someone he loved ripped away from him once again. I wanted to read Dominion because I was curious enough to how the story would continue, especially with an essential character of the story gone (which was a first for me), but J. Kowallis has the superpower to catch you blindsided, her plot twists will catch you off guard and she did exactly just that with the prologue. 

The world building was the one aspect that amazed me to no end. The detail in the setting was so vivid, I felt every word. Running through the Public roads, dodging attacks from the Public Guards, Roy splitting into gazillion Roys and Ransley setting everything on fire, it was action packed alright, I haven't had so much fun in ages! The mass destruction blew my brain to bits, no, I'm pretty sure Ransley fried them. 

And if there's a person who could rock multiple POV's, yes! You found her! I've never read a book with so many characters and voices and still able to connect with them all at an emotional level. I couldn't bring myself to hate any one of them, not even Roman. I should probably add that Nate, Reggie, Roy and Ransley's POVS are my favorite (duh). I loved the fact that the characters are so diverse and unique, and we get a chance to see the story through their eyes, to understand who they are and what they are all fighting for. 

Not to mention, the story kept you guessing till the end! Every chapter was a new mystery to solve and new crappy problems to deal with. Ugh. All the frustration and anger, I felt it deep in my bone, yet I appreciated the fact that the author does not sugarcoat the harsh reality to soften the blow, I ate it up like a kid starving for candy on Halloween and craved for even more. I was holed up in my reading cave, racing through the pages like a madwoman on a dateline, and trust me when I emerged 6 hours later, bruised and scarred yet with the utter feeling of contentment. IT WAS PERFECT. 


One on hand, I am glad that it was all over, on the other, I'm not ready to let all of them go. It was sad that the series has come to an end, but their story will forever be one that is close to my heart (sappy much?) 


The series shifted the paradigm of the dystopian genre, hands down, the best one I've read yet!





J. Kowallis grew up in northern Utah, graduated from Weber State University’s creative writing program, and lives in Utah with her Mini Schnauzer, Etta. She enjoys dreaming about, flying to, and writing about distant lands (real or unreal).

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