Under My Skin by Shawntelle Madison

Everyone wants to either be a member of the Guild or work for them. Little does the populace know that the Guild hides sinister secrets…

Tate Sullivan is a sixteen-year-old girl from an impoverished town. All young adults are required to take a test through the Guild to see if they’re fit to become Water Bearers, essentially servants to the rich members of the guild. Those are are chosen to become Water Bearers never see their family again, but their stipends are sent to give their families a better life.

Tate’s results throw her into the extremely dangerous world of the Guild, where nothing is as portrayed on television.

Um, holy damn. This is hands down the best dystopian science fiction novel I have read all year, if not in the past several years. I liked this better than the Hunger Games and Divergent. It’s completely different than either of them, in fact, it’s completely different than anything I’ve ever read. I finished it within 24-hours because I couldn’t put it down.

There was no instalove. There was nothing extraordinarily special about the MC. The world-building was strong. The science fiction theories and methods of the government were extremely interesting.

General Dagon, the Guild member who buys Tate, is essentially injected into her mind to take over her body. Tate is a teenager who is in an terrible situation. She has no superpowers, just the sheer power of her will to live. I loved how normal she was—I could actually relate to her.

Again, there is a tiny bit of romance…but just a tiny bit. No instalove, nauseating declarations of love…in fact, at one point, Tate straight up tells her love interest that she has to deal with the Guild before considering running away with him.

I’m eagerly anticipating the second book, and rated this one a 5/5 on Goodreads. Under My Skin will be released on December 9th, 2014.

I received a free copy of this ARC ePub from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.