Unraveling Words: Early Unraveling of Shattered Veil by Tracy E. Banghart

Title: Shattered Veil

Series: The Diatous Wars Book One

Author: Tracy E. Banghart
Genre: YA/NA Sci-Fi

Publication Date: May 9, 2014

When everything that defines you is stripped away, who do you become?

War has invaded Atalanta’s quiet villages and lush woodlands, igniting whispered worries in its glittering capitol. Far from the front lines, 18-year-old Aris Haan, a talented wingjet flyer, has little cause for concern. Until her beloved Calix is thrust into the fray, and a stranger makes her an impossible offer: the chance to join a secret army of women embedded within the all-male military.

Aris’s choice to follow Calix to war will do more than put her in physical danger; it will make her question everything she believes about herself. When she and her enigmatic commander uncover a deadly conspiracy, her expert flying may be the only hope for her dominion’s survival…and her own.

It’s Mulan meets Battlestar Galactica, with a heroine who is strong enough to save a nation…but only if she’s willing to sacrifice everything, even the one promise she swore she’d never break.

***

My Thoughts

A copy was provided through NetGalley and the author, Tracy Banghart, in exchange for an honest review

When I first read the blurb of this book the first thing that jumped into my mind was:

Yes, Mulan. A Sci-Fi Mulan! I was so excited!

It did have certain Mulan-esq aspects but it was sorely lacking in the funnies, but that's okay I still quite liked Shattered Veil.

Good points:

There was never a dull moment. There was always something going on. Training, drama, torturing, missions, death, romance, more drama. It never stopped.
The characters. They were all great, but what I liked the most is that because this is takes place in the middle of a war, a good percentage of the characters have prominent scars. They aren't all perfectly symmetrical and flawless, nor are they disfigured just so that Aris looks even better. Both Aris and the love interest have scars, some more apparent than others. It's such a nice change of pace from every heroine/hero being all incredibly hot and just perfect.
The friendships. I liked how they changed with how Aris changed. And I really liked the friends she made in her S&R unit.
Change. Aris goes into the Military right behind Calix to stay close to him. This does scream Overly Attached Girlfriend, and everyone tells her she is an idiot for making such a pivotal decision based on a boy and her feelings. But she changes, she starts finding out who she really is and what she can do. She starts out as this weak, coddled girl because of her illness when she was younger. Goes through some serious training, pushes herself to pass those physical exams so she could stay in the unit and she becomes a Flyer, she saves lives, and she finally realizes that who she is and what she is doing is much greater than Calix.

Shifting PoVs. There were 3 PoVs that it switched in between, the main one being of course Aris. The other two were interwoven every so often to see how the war was moving along. It was done quite well, and it really added to the tension of the story.

Not so good points:

World-building. There was obviously some world-building and it's sufficient up to a point, but I would have liked a lot more background info into the dominions and how they all came about.
Romance. This wasn't technically bad, I just wasn't quite feeling it. There is a very light love triangle, but that wasn't my problem. My problem stemmed from how she moved from one guy to the other. There weren't any I love yous exchanged with the second guy, there wasn't even any mayor kissing either, but it was just how she suddenly started seeing the other guy as a potential love that didn't jive with me. I didn't feel the spark, the chemistry. It just suddenly was. Even with this issue and how the book revolves around Aris getting to her one true love Calix, it's actually light on the romancing, which is much appreciated.
The resolution. It seemed almost too easy? I didn't like how fast the ban was lifted nor how fast Aris got over her issues towards the end. Which leads me to my next point.
The time flow. I'm not saying it was hard to keep up with since it doesn't jump back and forth in time, everything is chronological. My problem is that a lot of time passes by, if I'm not mistaken the book takes place during a year and yet it doesn't feel that way. To the reader, or at least this reader, it felt only like a few months, less than 6 for sure, which is why the romance and the resolution wasn't working for me. Technically speaking they moved at the right pace, but I just didn't see it that way.

All in all, this was a great book :)

I am not the Aris you knew, not the girl you left on the beach so long ago. Back then, I flew to please only myself. I didn’t know what I was capable of. I thought I was content to stay in Lux, to be your girl and forget the rest of the world.

But I was wrong. I can’t be content with that and neither can you. There’s a war raging, and we both have the skills and desire to help. It’s my duty just as much as it is yours. I am sorry I lied to you. But I’m not sorry I did what did. ~Mosquito