Sleepers (The Swarm Trilogy, #1) [Kindle Edition]

Megg Jensen (Author)

Book Description

An adoptee raised in a foreign land, sixteen-year-old Lianne was content with her life as handmaiden to the queen, until a spell cast on her at birth activated. Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can't calm the fires raging inside her.

Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she's always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen's alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?

Also by Megg Jensen:

The Initiate - a novelette bridging the Cloud Prophet Trilogy and The Swarm Trilogy

Cloud Prophet Trilogy:
Anathema
Oubliette
Severed

The Swarm Trilogy:
Sleepers
Afterlife
The Sundering

The Song of Eloh Saga encompasses all of the books above

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Exactly how does one write a review for a book that has them in the corner of their room, rocking back and forth, sucking their thumb . . uncertain of everything they have ever known?" - Stephanie Reviews

"I loved "Anathema", I really did, but "Sleepers"? It is quite possibly one of my favorite books so far in 2011. Megg Jensen has done it again. She's crafted a world that will pull you in from start to finish." - YA Book Haven Reviews

"Sleepers is a beautifully crafted young adult fantasy novel, that was extremely original and exciting from beginning to end. Megg Jensen created memorable characters with so many twist and turns I was surprised with every turn of the page." - Seeing Night Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 385 KB
• Print Length: 227 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1466224258
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: 80 Pages (July 20, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005DTRYNO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,774 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read Fantasy December 27, 2011

By Ashley M

Format:Kindle Edition

My copy of Sleepers by Megg Jensen is based on an e-book that I was sent by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. The following is that honest review and was in no way influenced.

Goodreads Summary: "An adoptee raised in a foreign land, sixteen-year-old Lianne was content with her life as handmaiden to the queen, until a spell cast on her at birth activated. Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can't calm the fires raging inside her.

Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she's always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen's alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?"

Despite owning an e-book copy of Anathema that I scored awhile back for free off of Amazon Sleepers was my first Megg Jensen book and what an introduction to her it was.

Since I was a little girl I've always rooted for the underdogs, the person [or people] that aren't widely regarded by the majority as the one[s] that will come out on top which made this the perfect book for me. It was all about the underdogs! And redheads! Who doesn't love redheads? [I have bought many a bottle of hair dye trying to become one myself!]

Lianne, our redheaded heroine, came across as so very real to me. She was a teenage girl, torn between two boys, two countries and two selves. I loved every moment of her journey of finding herself, determining who she really was and realizing that she was her own person and therefore free to not only be herself but make her own decisions. The rest of the cast of Sleepers were equally as great in their own ways; making their own marks and coming across as actual people that Lianne interacted with rather than cardboard cut-outs standing around to take up space.

One of my favorite aspects of this novel was that you could not take any knowledge given to you [the reader] as the gospel; someone was always there to contradict it, to challenge it, to make you question everything you thought you knew. Every time you think you have the ending figured out, you know who the bad guys are, you know what will happen next something else comes out of nowhere and blindsides you.

The ending floored me; I hit the next button on my Kindle about a dozen times trying to find the rest of the story. It was like I was watching a movie, something dramatic happened and all of a sudden the screen went blank. You can't leave me here! But she did. And now I'm desperate for a sequel; I have to know what happens next! I'm giving Sleepers by Megg Jensen a five out of five stars review. Go out and get a copy of Sleepers now, you won't regret it!

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Started out great, went downhill January 25, 2012

By jlc91

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I thought the first half of this book was really good. Very interesting. However, after that it quickly went downhill. Lianne was so inconsistent as a main character--one minute she's an invincible fighter, the next Kellan beats her up, then she's telling someone how she's one of the greatest warriors ever. I know that's something small, but it's just one example. I also felt like the author was trying really hard to surprise everyone, but too many contrived "surprises" left me disinterested. I won't be reading the rest of the series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A great fast paced story! February 28, 2012

By Liz @ Fictional Candy

Format:Kindle Edition

I didn't take many notes on this book, because I could barely put it down! It was a superb read, and I can't wait to read Book Two!

Lianne is a handmaiden to the queen of Fithia, Mags. But Mags is also a friend, one of the few that Lianne really has. Of course there's her boyfriend, Kellan, and the other adoptee into Fithia, Bryden. But that's about it. She's never really been a part of the society she lived in from the time she was a baby, and never knowing her own homeland, she was almost alone her entire life.

Then on the morning of her sixteenth birthday Lianne wakes up angry. It's not just a passing mood; it's a rage at what's been done to her, Kellan, and Bryden since they were adopted into Fithia as part of a treaty at the end of the war between the Dalagans and the Fithians.

Kellan is dark and sexy, the "bad boy" young girls dream about. He makes Lianne feel alive and ready to live, ready to fight. And then there is Bryden, the third adoptee. He was injured as a boy and has a permanent limp. He's book smart, not so much the fighter that Lianne and Kellan are. Odd man out, you'd think. That is, until Lianne wakes up angry. Bryden is the boy who brings her to calmness and serenity. Maybe not what she wants at the moment, but what she needs, right?

I really loved this love triangle. It was hard to tell who to trust at different points in the story. In the tug of war over Lianne's heart, I often felt myself switching sides between Bryden and Kellan. Lead with your heart, or lead with your head?

When Lianne goes through her "awakening" and she wakes up knowing the secrets that have been hidden from her for her entire life regarding the war between the two sets of people. I thought this was a very unique plot twist that I haven't seen yet...children under a magical spell until their sixteenth birthday. Brilliant idea, in my opinion.

Lianne is getting different information from almost every place she turns to for answers. I was right there with her, trying to figure out whom to trust and who not to. It seems no one really knows what the real answer is. Her whole life has been a secret and a lie.

When the truth finally comes out it is explosive! There is nonstop action, and I actually felt joy at the impending war that was certain to come next. I know, that sounds bad, right? But it meant freedom for the adopted kids who really never knew family, never knew their history, their people.

But wait! The secrets aren't over, oh no, not by a long shot. And when things are brought to light, and Lianne discovers that what you think is good is not always good, and what you thought was bad was not entirely wrong... well, it rocks her world and everything she believed. The plot twists in this story will definitely keep you reading and waiting anxiously to find out what happens next. As for me, I'm happily waiting until June of this year for book two, Afterlife.

More About the Author

Megg Jensen has been a freelance parenting journalist since 2003 and began writing YA novels in 2009. She owns 80 Pages, Inc., is a PAL member of SCBWI, speaks frequently at conferences and small groups, while juggling freelancing, volunteering, and family life. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, two kids, and their two miniature schnauzers, Ace and Tanu.

For more information on Megg please visit her website at http://www.meggjensen.com/.