Riders by Veronica Rossi Pages: 384
Published by Tor Teen on February 16, 2016
Series: Riders #1
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic, mythology, Romance
Source: Bought Hardcover
Also in this series: SeekerNothing but death can keep eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.
While recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can’t remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.
Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen—Conquest, Famine, and Death—are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence.
They fail.
Now—bound, bloodied, and drugged—Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he’s fallen for—not to mention all of humankind—he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger.
But will anyone believe him?
Riders is the first book in the Riders series by Veronica Rossi. Riders is the story of the new incarnations of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. I found riders to be a well planned out, and super interesting read. I blew through this book super fast and immediately reached for the second book in the series. (I think I read both books in 1.5 days.)
I think what intriged me the most about this story was the format it was told in. It is mostly told in flashback style. The book starts out at the end of some big event, where our main character, Gideon is being interrogated. There is so much mystery surrounding Gideon, and his interrogators. I was instantly hooked. Who were they? What do they know on their own? What is going on with Gideon. As the story progresses we get to follow Gideon as he is introduced to his new life as “war”, and we join him on the journey to find the other horsemen, and figure out what is going on. I really loved the pacing and the writing style. It is highly descriptive and it flows so naturally. The pacing is brisk and the story was captivating from start to finish. When I finished book one and grabbed book two, what immediately intrigued me was that the summary was from another character’s point of view. (Daryn) She is a really interesting character as well, and I was super excited to see the next book through her eyes.
I loved the whole cast of characters along with the concept of the story. I think Gideon and Bastian are my favorite. I just heart Bas. But equally as strong as the characters, was the plot. I loved the adventure style quest we got to go on to find the horsemen, and there was tons of action, fighting and bad guys to keep me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I have already binge read the second book in the series, and now I am hungry for more. Riders is an addicting, fast paced read! Come back Tuesday for my review and giveaway of the sequel, Seekers, which heavily features Daryn!
Be sure to stop the blog again on Tuesday to see my review of Book 2, Seekers along with an awesome giveaway!
About Veronica Rossi
Veronica Rossi is a best selling author of fiction for young adults. Her debut novel, UNDER THE NEVER SKY, was the first in a post-apocalyptic trilogy. Released in January 2012, it was deemed one of the Best Books of Year by School Library Journal. The series appeared in the NY Times and USA Today best seller lists and was published in over 25 foreign markets.
Her second series for young adults will begin with RIDERS (published February 16, 2016), the story of four modern day teens who become incarnations of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and the prophetic girl who brings them together.
Veronica completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA and then went on to study fine art at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. She is a lifelong reader and artist. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she has lived in Mexico, Venezuela, and all over the United States, to finally settle in Northern California with her husband and two sons.
When not writing, Veronica enjoys reading (it’s worth repeating), painting, and running. She does NOT like anything involving numbers, the addition of them, subtraction of them, you name it. They terrify her. Her obsessions generally lead to fictional works. Currently, she’s exploring New York City during the Revolutionary War.
Don’t tread on me. (If you know what that means, then you are my people!)
What else? This is getting more fun, isn’t it?
She–okay, I–am a huge fan of the SF Giants and the Golden State Warriors. I know, I know. Book types and sporty types shouldn’t be one in the same, but what can I say? I’m breaking the mold. Continuing. I have an irrational love of elephants. They make me cry, but it’s the best kind of cry. On other end of the spectrum, I abhor the shrill squeak styrofoam makes when it’s coming out of a box. Just typing that sentence made me want to scream. Needless to say, Christmas is great, but also really tough on me.
It’s probably time to wrap this up. If you’re here, it’s likely because you’ve read one of my books, or because you’re thinking about reading one of my books. Either way, thank you. Writing fulfills me like nothing else and I feel exceedingly fortunate to also call it my profession.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Yay, I’m so glad you liked the first installment, Michelle! I can’t wait to see your thoughts tomorrow for Seeker. 🙂
Oooo. Sounds like a good one. And I’m LOOOOVING that cover! 😀 Thank you.
aahh, I think I had this on my wishlist before then totally forgot all about it (because so many books!!). This sounds like a great read. I’ll have it up on my wishlist. I’d also love to read what you and others think of the sequel 🙂