#ReadRedRising (feelings and fancast)

Throughout the month of December, I've been taking part in a readalong in conjunction with Hodderscape: #ReadRedRising. It involved, you guessed it, reading (or in my case, rereading) 'Red Rising' by Pierce Brown, ready to move on and read the second book in the series, 'Golden Son', in January. 

If you'd like to join in with #ReadRedRising, it is not too late! Just Tweet using the hashtag and join the conversation - 'Morning Star', the third book in the series, is not out until the middle of February, so you have time to catch up! 

I'm going to keep the ending as spoiler free as I can (if you want to read my full spoiler review, you can view that here) as we're still on week four and I'm aware not everyone will have finished, but the earlier parts are fair game!
At its simplest, 'Red Rising' is a book about rebellion. Darrow is a Red, part of the lowest cast of a society ruled by Golds. He's chosen to be the leader of a rebellion, in which he gets Carved into a Gold: his Red sigils get removed from his skin and replaced, his eyes get switched with those of a deceased Gold, and his entire being is recrafted and put through harrowing rehabilitation and training to get used to the changes. Darrow is then inserted into the Institute - the school that Golds attend to help them become all powerful leaders in their future - in an attempt to infiltrate the system and become an apprentice to either the Augustus or the Bellona families, the most powerful families on Mars.
Oh, yeah, did I mention this book was set on Mars? Do I even need to continue, or has that sold you well enough?
At the Institute, Darrow learns the hard way what it means to be a Gold. The first challenge is the Passage, in which you're pitted against one of your fellow Golds in a fight to the death: survival of the fittest. Following the Passage, the survivors must participate in  a war scenario, in which they need to take control of as many of the opposing clans as they can. The winning house will automatically receive more prospects in their future, while the Primus - the head - of the house will be guaranteed a placement with one of the most powerful families that exist. Darrow knows that he needs to be Primus of House Mars, and he knows that House Mars need to win the challenge; he'll go to any lengths to achieve that end.
What follows is a terrifying rollercoaster of emotions, in which caring for characters is dangerous and will likely result in heartbreak and you'll definitely hate yourself for reading the book. But Pierce Brown is a brilliant writer, and all of the bloodshed and violence that is portrayed is necessary to the plot - there are no throwaway character deaths for shock value in this novel.
Even if you don't like sci-fi, it's close enough to dystopian - the corrupt government, the fight against them - that I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy it anyway. In fact, this time last year I hardly read sci-fi, but 'Red Rising' really started my appreciation for the genre: it's a highly accessible title.

Now, the really exciting thing about 'Red Rising'? It's actually in the process of being made into a film. So I decided that as well as writing a short review to tickle your tastebuds, I'd make a fancast of who I think should play who in the movie: it definitely won't be a film that you want to miss.

Alexia Fast as Eo:

I hadn't heard of Alexia Fast until I started doing this fancast, but as soon as I saw her I knew she'd be perfect as Eo. Eo's optimistic, young and beautiful, which makes her early death in the novel so surprising: I think Alexia would portray her brilliantly.  

Jamie Campbell Bower as Priam:

Priam isn't a character that's in 'Red Rising' for long, but he's important anyway, so it felt appropriate to cast him. I think Jamie Campbell Bower would play him well, because he'd make an impression and you'd genuinely be shocked when he didn't appear for longer in the film.

Luke Mitchell as Julian:

Darrow makes fast friends with Julian, which makes it more difficult when he's pitted against him in the Passage. Luke Mitchell looks like the kind of guy that you'd love to be friends with, but I'm sure he could also portray the angst and desperation that Julian struggles with. 

Beau Mirchoff as Cassius:

There's something about Beau's look in this image that screams Cassius at me. Imagining him blond, with a smug grin on his face and a razor in his hand: I can't picture anyone else playing the character that strongly. He also has a bit of a resemblance to Luke Mitchell, so he would play his brother well. 

Blake Lively as Quinn:

I don't know if Blake Lively would be too old to play Quinn, but when they talk about how beautiful she is and how Cassius can't take his eyes off of her, I think you'd need someone with Blake's looks. 

Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Sevro:

Sevro is wild and smaller than all of the other boys, but he has a strength that beats them all. I think Thomas Brodie-Sangster could perfectly embody that character, with his wolf skin and his crazy howling. 

Chord Overstreet as Roque:

I think it would be good to see Chord acting in a more serious role than Glee, and 'Red Rising' could be the perfect place to explore that. He has that brooding, introspective look perfect for a poet. 

Teresa Palmer as Lea:

Lea follows Roque around like a puppy dog for the first half of the novel, but she quickly comes into her own. 

Greg Finley as Pax:

Pax au Telemanus is a tank, and while Greg was an absolute sweetheart in 'Star-Crossed' (well, by the end at least) he definitely looks the most likely to be able to play Pax convincingly due to his build. If Greg doesn't play Pax, he could quite easily play Titus. 

Zendaya as Antonia:

Or, more specifically, Zendaya as Cut Throat as Antonia. Antonia is a badass, a backstabber and an all around awful woman: Cut Throat looks like she'd be just as terrifying.

Ashley Benson as Mustang:

Not just because I absolutely adore Ashley Benson, but because Mustang is caring and often underestimated due to her looks, so I think Ashley's baby face would work well for that role. She also kills it as Hanna Marin in Pretty Little Liars, so I'm sure she'd be able to cope with the role.

Jack Gleeson as Jackal:

 

After seeing him portraying Joffrey Baratheon, any evil horrific characters are always played by Jack Gleeson in my mind. The Jackal is completely unhinged.

Darrow:
I couldn't actually cast Darrow. I know that's a complete cop out, but I kind of want Alex Pettyfer to play him and he's too old now - I think it would be brilliant to get a unknown actor to portray the part.

I hope you enjoyed my fancast, and participating in #ReadRedRising. Comment below if you can think of any characters I've missed that you could cast, or if you think you could choose someone to play Darrow!
If you haven't been participating in #ReadRedRising, don't forget to start: you can pick it up for just £5.99 on your Kindle device. If you have been, don't forget to start #ReadGoldenSon tomorrow - I can't wait to finally move on to the second installment of the series, because I've been waiting all year. 

FANCAST: 'Infinite' by Erica Crouch (+ review!)

I am both excited and sad to say that today is the official release day for the final book in Erica Crouch's Ignite series! I'm excited, because it's really about time this book was released on the world - I can't wait to see what everyone else thinks about it, because I really enjoyed it. But I'm also really sad, because over the last six months while I've been reading the Ignite series, I've really fallen in love with Pen and Michael and Azael and their story, and I really didn't want it to end.

There are infinite ways to die, and the fates are calling for blood. After evading Azael since her betrayal, it's finally time for Pen to stop running and face her desperate brother. But she won't have to challenge him alone: the rebel army of New Genesis is ready to stand strong and fight to secure the future they believe in.

As Azael spirals deeper and deeper into darkness, and Pen grapples with her new leadership role, a familiar name rises to power whose decisions have the potential to rewrite everyone's future. Dangerous secrets, silent traitors, and unraveling fates means that time is running out. There's no telling who will survive the final battle. 

In this thrilling conclusion to the Ignite series, Pen and Azael return to finish what they started over a millennia ago.  

I don't even really know what to say about this final installment -

- but I'm going to give a little spoiler free review (for the final book, there might be spoilers from earlier in the series!) here, if I can get enough words together to express my thoughts.

'The world is so full of unnecessary people. It is my job to erase them. No one has to order me to do so; I know that it's what I'm meant to do. It's the only purpose my life has anymore.'

If you've read the previous books in the series, you'll know that at this point in time Pen and Michael are with New Genesis members in London, attempting to retrieve the piece of his soul that was separated from him when he was reincarnated. 'Infinite' picks up basically where 'Incite' finished - but instead of just getting Pen and Azael's perspectives in this third novel, we also get to see inside the mind of Lilith, which lends itself to some of the most dark and twisted writing that I've ever read.

The three perspectives mean that we get to see all of the events going on from the different angles, which is both a good and bad thing. In the big fighting scenes it's an absolute blessing - there's so much going on that it would get confusing at times without the other perspectives, or we would always feel as though we were missing something. However, it does make the pace of the novel slow down a lot through the other scenes - there are bits when nothing really seems to be happening, so there's just a lot of talking or internal ruminating on past situations, which was hard to get through but definitely expected with all of the loose ends needing to be tied up in this final installment.

I'm not going to give anything away, but just know that I did shed a few tears throughout this novel and I definitely wish the series didn't have to come to an end, but you won't be disappointed with what Erica Crouch decided to do with it. I had been quite apprehensive about this final book (I'm notorious for never finishing series because I get too nervous about their endings) but I've come out of it just wanting to go back in and read the series all over again. It progressed so well throughout the three books, developing and growing more with every installment, and I definitely rate this series very highly as a whole. This final installment wasn't as flawless as the second book, which was definitely my favourite volume, but it was still much better than most of the books I've ever read, and I love all the characters and the writing style utterly and completely. 

Thank you, Erica, for writing such a brilliant series, and please don't take too long before you come out with another book!

If you're still not sure if 'Infinite' is the book for you, I've included a small excerpt below, just to completely convince you...

Descending the stone stairs of the tower, I shove all thoughts of Jeremy aside. When I crash out into the courtyard, I see her. It's like running into a wall. It stops me dead in my tracks, seeing my sister for the first time since she betrayed me. 

She's dressed in dark, sturdy leather, and her skin is the color of the spidering ice beneath her. Her shoulders are back--the slump she'd held herself in over so many years ironed away by defiance. There's a new strength about her that I can't quite pin, and when Michael reaches out to touch her, a roaring begins in my ears. I'll cut his fingers off one by one. Then maybe I'll feed them to the birds.

The wind tosses Pen's hair across her face for a moment before I can see her more clearly. She's dark and deadly, her eyes bright and her weapons at the ready. All of her muscles are poised to strike at anything that comes near her, and I drink in the picture of my warrior sister. This is who I always wanted her to be: a fighter, forged from iron and bathed in blood. She could rule Hell by my side. If others saw this version of her, they'd understand.

But no one's seen this rendering of Pen. They saw the weak girl splashed with ink. The small demon who ducked her head and spoke to herself too often. They see a traitor, a coward, an angel-lover.

I want to kill her. I want to save her. 

I don't know which one will win out tonight. 

I know you're really pumped for 'Infinite' now, so I'm pleased to be able to give you the chance to win a copy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Because Erica is doing a Q&A when the 'Infinite' blog tour finishes, you can leave your comments with your questions, that way you're killing two birds with one stone and entering the giveaway too!
If you just can't wait for the giveaway to be over, 'Infinite' is available on Amazon UK and Amazon US - so go, go, go!

Now, it's time for the real celebration to begin... To commemorate the release of 'Infinite', Erica has sent me her dream cast if the series was ever adapted into a movie! I agree with most of her choices, and had been picturing them myself while reading, so you'll have to let me know what you think about them down in the comments...

Kaya Scodelario as Penemuel

Dylan O'Brien as Azael

Hunter Parrish as Michael

Natalie Dormer as Lilith

Matthew Gray Gubler as Gus

Paige Hurd as Kala

Spencer Locke as Ana

Sam Claflin as Eligor

Kimiko Glenn as Zophiel

Harrison Knight as Zepar

Zendaya as Aym

Isabelle Fuhrman as Proserpine

Jake Abel as Raum

Xavier Samuel as Rimmon

Liam Aitken as Jeremy

Clara Lago as Eiael

And last, but definitely not least, Noah Lomax as Asher!


Isn't it such an amazing cast?! I would watch this movie instantly. Erica told me she can never decide on an actor for Lucifer, but I'm interested to hear who you guys would decide to cast as him? All throughout my reading I was imagining Mark Pellegrino, who played Lucifer in Supernatural, but I'm sure we've all been picturing different people!
And sadly, that's it for this blog post, and for the Ignite series. Another huge thank you to Erica, for letting me come along on this journey with her, and to Patchwork Press, an amazing publishing company who never put out a disappointing title. Just remember, if you have anything to say to Erica, or any questions to ask her, her Q&A is on June 30th and you can leave your questions in a comment down below!