Review ~ Breeder (An Arrow's Flight Novel) by Casey Hays

Breeder 
(An Arrow's Flight Novel)

 by Casey Hays

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"God does all these things to a man--twice, even three times--to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine down on him." ~ Job 33:29-30

Beyond the Village, nothing exists . . . except devastation. A war waged by men and their hateful weapons long ago made it so, and my people--the women of the Village-- are the only survivors. This is what our history lessons teach us, and this is what we are to believe. But I am sixteen now . . . and I question everything. The Archer has spoken, but I have no desire to heed his command. I long for more.

In a world demolished by war and ruled by the hands of Fate, individual choices have become obsolete. Essentially, there is only one requirement: Bow the knee to the wisdom of the Council without question. Many of the women in the Village have acquiesced to this mandate, including some of Kate's closest friends. But Kate longs for something more; she hears the call of another life. On the day of her sixteenth birthday celebration, the reality of what this means invades her with a vengeance, and she is forced to contend with her own moral conscience. Kate's destiny has always been the Pit--the life of the breeder--which she is expected to embrace without complaint. Her rebel's heart, however, refuses to comply with Fate's demand, and what she finds in the Pit draws her one step closer to learning the truth about herself and the Village. And it changes the course of her destiny for all eternity.

My Review:
5 out of 5 stars

Kate, a sixteen year old girl, lives in a village of women who believe that their lives are determined by the constellations and Zodiac signs and the women are guided with the help of the village council and their wretched leader Mona.  Of the several "jobs" a girl is tasked with when she turns 16 is to become a Breeder.  A Breeder's sole purpose is to have babies and keep the population growing.  Well, how can they have babies, if there are no men, you ask?  Well, there are men, and they are kept in the 'pit' and are deemed 'stock'.  The 'pit' is a horrible place 50 feet underground, and the men are kept in prison-like cells and basically treated like crap.  Because the village leadership believes that the fall of humanity was caused by men, they keep them separated from the village population so not to corrupt the 'new world'.

Kate has been destined to be a Breeder since birth, and has spent her childhood learning everything she needs to know in order to seduce a man so she can become pregnant.  The goal for all the Breeders is to have baby girls, because if by chance a baby boy is born and proven to be unacceptable 'stock', they murder the poor innocent baby.  Kate has been dreading her 16th birthday because she is determined she will not become a Breeder.  Sadly, she does not have a choice and is thrown in the 'pit' to meet her mate.  The mate that was chosen for her is a very different guy named Ian.  Turns out, Ian was captured by Mona from another village because she felt that Ian and Kate would produce prime offspring.  Little does Mona know, but Kate and Ian develop a friendship and a love that will defy everything the village stands for.

This book was totally AMAZING.  It captured by attention from page one and kept me captivated until the very end.  This was a very refreshing and intriguing take on the dystopian genre and I admire the fact that it was Christian based.  This story was well-written and flowed effortlessly throughout and I applaud Ms. Hays for writing such an amazing story.  I can't wait for the next installment of this wonderful series!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: The Grumpy Dragon (January 15, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0988188058
• ISBN-13: 978-0988188051