The concept of this one hooked me, and i was excited that something that sounded so good was going to be a trilogy. However, I just didn't like it enough to read anymore.

The problem wasn't the characters or the story, I just didn't like the way it all came together and was told. It was slow, I know the story has been set up for the trilogy, but it was too slow. Drip feeding the story to keep you guessing for the other books back fired and made me struggle to finish this one and not take interest in the rest.

Maybe wait till all the trilogy is released and then jump in.

Y'all, now that I'm 30 I think I've actually aged out of proper YA. I didn't know when this day would come, but it has come. I requested The Undying Tower because it struck me as a fascinating premise but I somehow didn't let the age group register. So I had a fun reading experience which also reminded me that while the Undying don't age, I do. Thanks to Agora Books and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My sincere apologies for the delay!

Even though I'd technically noted that the protagonist was 16 and that The Undying Tower was marked as YA, it somehow didn't fully register with me until I got started with the book. And then I realised, very quickly, that this age group is no longer entirely my jam. I have adored Dystopian fiction for ages now and have enjoyed many of the YA books featuring it as well. I always knew a day might come when I kind of "aged out" of YA fiction to a certain extent. I don't think you have to be 16 to read a book featuring a 16-year old protagonist, not at all, but I do think a point comes where maybe you're no longer really engaged by their trials and tribulations? I've been reading more and more Fantasy fiction featuring "older" protagonists, in the sense that they're at least in their twenties, and this visit back into a younger protagonist therefore was intriguing. I had a bit more distance to the story of The Undying Tower because I couldn't entirely identify with the protagonist anymore, which by no measure means I did not enjoy my time reading this book. I had fun reading this first installment of The Undying Trilogy, but it was fun at a remove. The book does what it should, from a smooth pace to interesting action scenes and time for emotional beats. The themes it plays with, from classism and discrimination to health and autonomy, are very important and I'm glad to see a YA novel pick up on them. I probably would have been entirely into it ten years ago, which means I was fond of it now.

Sadie lives at least a century from now, in a UK which has renamed itself the Avalonia Zone and which is cut off from the rest of the world by a sea wall. When the Undying, people who stopped aging at 25 and seemingly live forever, were discovered, it triggered apocalyptic warfare and the Avalonia Zone is only slowly recovering. Sadie is relatively lucky though, if you ignore the fact her father needs a heart transplant desperately. Her world is defined by the difference between normal people and the Undying and aggression and retaliation against the latter mark Sadie's every day. When she is suddenly lumped in with them and finds herself at the Tower, Sadie has to start questioning what she knows, what she believes is right, and on whose side she finds herself. Sadie is a relatively convincing 16-year old who isn't out to save the world, who doesn't set out to become a revolutionary or save anything. She is quite blinkered, which is logical in this world, but she shows common sense throughout, which I appreciated. The world building is done largely through flashbacks and through the fact that Sadie is something of an odd one out at the Tower, so the reader gets a good, steady introduction to the world rather than an info-dump at the beginning. The other characters are built up well for what they need to be, with just enough details to make them stand out, but vague enough that the story can take them in any direction.

In The Undying Tower Melissa Welliver does exactly what she needs to do, which is establish its main character for the reader and her main priorities, before having everything in her life thrown into a tailspin. One thing I really appreciated about The Undying Tower as I pondered it after finishing was that while it plays with many of the tropes of YA Dystopian fiction, it manages to swerve those which we truly should leave behind in the 2000s. Romance is not a major plotline, there is no love triangle (thank God!), and the violence isn't overly sanitized to make it palatable. There is a real sense of threat in the second half of The Undying Tower and Welliver is actually willing to depict the horror as well. With all this, however, I still realised that I am no longer the audience for this book. I have read too many of them, first of all, which meant that I got the world pretty quickly and saw most of the plot twists coming. And I'm also no longer capable of spending this much time in the head of a 16-year old without getting a little over it. This is not at all an error or an issue with the book, however! I do want to make that clear, that is my reader preference which I need to be aware of. I've gotten to a point where my expectations have shifted slightly, so I need to read responsibly. I'm still pondering whether I would like to read the rest of the trilogy, as I am kind of intrigued where Welliver will take this.

The Undying Tower is a perfectly decent YA Dystopian novel, which plays with all its themes and tropes but avoids many of the pitfalls that marked the genre in the last decade or two. For those in the YA age group, I'd wholeheartedly recommend it, even if I'm no longer its target audience.

Would rate higher if the MC didn't get on my nerves with her attitude towards Undying. Also, for someone so smart, she does a great job being obvious to some things I felt were fairly obvious, but I guess that people CAN be blind to truths they don't want to see. Will still read the next books so I can see if she hopefully grows away from her biases, because I still enjoyed the book fairly well.

The Undying Tower is an original and unique story. A captivating read which vividly builds a world that makes you very excited to read the sequel.

The story:
In a world of scarce and dwindling resources, what could be worse than people who never die? Who need food, shelter, and healthcare for hundreds, maybe thousands of years? For the ‘normals’ in society, life is pretty safe and controlled. But for the Undying, it’s a different story; stripped of any rights, they are forced to work in dangerous and menial jobs for minimum wage, and executed for the smallest of crimes. Sadie Abbott is sixteen years’ old, and has lived a privileged life as the daughter of an Inquisitor. But all that changes on the day her world is literally blown apart, and she finds herself sentenced to serve her time in a mysterious facility. Sadie is determined to get back to her real life, but to do that she’ll need to decide who to trust, what’s really important to her, and find out what’s really going on in The Tower.

My thoughts:
As a big fan of dystopian fiction, I really enjoyed reading this YA novel by Melissa Welliver, which is the first in an intended trilogy. Set in the not-too-distant future of the Avalonia Zone, living forever is something to be feared and despised, and the author does a great job exploring this idea – from the implications on resources to what it means for religion (after all, if people never die, what does that mean for the afterlife?).

Sadie is an appealing protagonist, who is driven by a determination to help her family and friends, whatever the risk to herself; whether that’s those she knew in her life before or the new band of unlikely friends she makes in The Tower.

The author has created a vivid world, and the reader is given lots of great detail about how the society has become what it is, both through Sadie’s story in the present and in a series of flashbacks leading up to the event that changes her world. But there are still more secrets to be revealed, and the end of the book sets things up nicely for the next instalment of the story. I look forward to finding out what is next for Sadie and her friends, and recommend this book to all fans of YA and dystopian fiction!

There is a population of people who reach the age of twenty-five, typically, and simply stop aging. These people are ostracized and controlled, hampered in their existence and beaten down because they are simply better than the majority of the population. They are smarter, stronger, faster; they don’t age and they also heal faster than the average human. After a terrorist bombing, Sadie discovers that not only is she Undying, but that her absent mother is, too, which is where she got the gene. Sadie goes undercover in the Tower, a prison and testing center for Undying, blackmailed into doing so by the government so she can discover who is really responsible for the bombing. Those who are imprisoned in the Tower are all underage, children who are biding their time until they turn eighteen and will either be allowed back into society, such as it is for Undying, or they will hang. I sense notes of The Hunger Games, of course, and also Darkest Minds, as one might in a futuristic dystopian novel.

Sadie is very logical, an artist who draws from life and can taste colors and feelings. She comes to conclusions quickly, and is often right. A lot is told and not shown. The slow introduction is scattered, covering current events with several flashbacks throughout the first bit of the story. It makes it somewhat difficult to follow for a few minutes before the story surges forward. I gained my footing easily enough and was happy to keep reading. The characters, aside from Sadie, are underdeveloped, but, considering where they are and what they are doing, it makes sense that Sadie wouldn’t be able to get a good read on them. What she does see and infer leads to interesting characters with intriguing possibilities for the future, since this is the first book in a trilogy.

I really enjoyed the usage of synesthesia, how it was an Undying trait. The logic behind the Undying, and their existence in the world, reminds me of many dystopian short stories and novels, namely Harrison Bergeron, and The Hunger Games. The Undying are better than normal humans, which is why they’re treated so badly.

I am intrigued by the worldbuilding, with so many things outlawed. Spices, religion, politics. And yet Sadie is able to pursue an art track in school. What use is art when free thought is impossible? As might be assumed from the rest of my review, I recommend this book to anyone who loves dystopian novels as much as I do! The characters are compelling and there is just enough of a mystery to hold my interest, even if some of the plot points are a little predictable.

My thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to review. I LOVED this and I cannot wait for the sequel! A wonderful start to a series. Wonderful writing, gripping plot, cool concept, and brilliant characters.

It's a good one, but it's not my type of book. I was expecting to like because I liked the synopsis but it didn't affect me.

It is such a cleverly crafted #novel I am really impressed it is a debut. So accomplished with a wonderful main protagonist, Sadie, who has the most fascinating attribute: she smells, tastes, hears and see colours when she feels an emotion! How awesome is that!

All the ingredients are there, you get engulfed in the story, you cry, you laugh, you get horrified (if you don’t something is bound to be wrong with you 😂), you have to contain your anger towards all this injustice (or not!)!

A word of caution… you’ll get hooked from page 1 and won’t be able to put it down!

In this #dystopian world, The Protectorate is oppressing the Undying, but The Alchemists, a group of elusive rebels, continues to fight for freedom. When she gets arrested after a bomb goes off, Sadie is sent to prison and will undergo a fantastic transformation.

The pace is perfection, with the last 50 or so pages excruciatingly salivating… Tome 2 cannot come soon enough!

Come and join us down in Avalonia, and embark on Sadie’s discovery journey, you won’t regret it!

I approve, in general, of experimenting with dystopian fiction. Welliver has taken some familiar plot elements and combined them in an intriguing way. We don't get a lot of books that explore the potential downsides, culturally, to extended lifespans. We have the familiar: a character raised in relative privilege, adjacent to power, desperate to help her father and unwilling to recognize the negative aspects of her society. The world is, as we would expect, devastated by war and climate change. Some of the explanations for isolation and subjugation are hard to accept but this is the first in a series, so there is room for those ideas to be further developed. The characters, though, are a bit inconsistent and underdeveloped. There plot is a bit tiresome with some unnecessary complications and belaboring of motivations and certain plot points.

“What if living forever is a death sentence?”

I do love me a distopian YA trilogy, so of course I was gonna request this book on Netgalley once I read the description. And I’m happy to report that I was not disappointed! This book was definitely a great way to start off the trilogy. It’s an interesting world, with interesting characters and a good plot. I’m so here for the premise that there’s a difference between two parts of the population: a part that doesn’t age and a part that feels threatened by that and what it might mean for them. The oppression and fight for equality felt very timely! I can’t wait to see what’s next in the following books.

Sadie, the main character, is definitely the person we find out the most about. She’s a badass (not in the Katniss kind of way, but honestly who is), smart, brave and strong. I loved her character development throughout the story. The way she was confronted with her prejudices and learned from her mistakes felt so realistic and I really appreciated the way the writer did that. For me personally, the book could’ve been a bit longer because I would have loved to find out some more about the other characters and to have more interactions between Sadie and her newfound friends. I’m really hoping we’ll get more of that in the next books!

“There just aren’t enough of them. Less than five percent of the population are born Undying. They are the minority. And minority always loses.”

Another thing I liked was the fact that there was no love triangle or love story in general, it honestly felt like a breath of fresh air. Not every book needs to have a love story or someone pining after someone else to be good (in my opinion). I do have a feeling there will be some of this in the next books, because Sadie definitely likes someone (no, I’m not gonna spoil who) so I’m sure we’ll see how that develops.

This is a story about strength, injustice, equality, fighting for what’s right and finding out who you are/want to become. It has some good plot twists (and not all of them I saw coming). If you loved and miss books like The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner and Divergent, I think you’ll really enjoy this one!

Thank you to Netgalley, Agora books and Melissa Welliver for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall rating: ★★★½

Wow! I didn't think there was much new to be done in the dystopian category, but I am thrilled to be proven wrong. Sadie had to kinda grow on me, but eventually I found myself rooting for her. She did feel more real after awhile than many YA "strong female leads." Great pacing and an interesting plot, and who doesn't love a cliffhanger?

This book was brilliant. Reminded me of a couple of books Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner and even Eve Of Man series. Was hooked from the very first page and struggled to put the book down. Can't wait for the next in the series.

Short Version: Interesting concepts held together in a cohesive narrative.

Long version:

The Plot: For me the plot is what drives this book, it’s interesting without being overly complicated. It delivers the right amount of reveals and twists and while I worked out some of them, some of them were truly surprising.

The World Building: Really enjoyed the world building, some really interesting concepts here.

The Setting: I wasn’t really sold on the wider world setting and geography, other than being told it was near-ish to London, I couldn’t really fix the location in my head, sometimes it read like it was in the US and other times like it was the UK. The tighter settings work better but they still felt a little two dimensional.

The Characters: This is the one area I need to keep reminding myself this is a YA book and the characters are not going to have the depth and nuance I expect and enjoy. The cast of characters is decent with some nice touches like the synaesthesia but there are some really tropey, eye rolling moments and it feels like the characters are there to deliver the plot and aren’t really instrumental to the plot happening.

The Prose: Well written and flows nicely throughout.

The Pace: Rips along and matches the plot beat for beat.

Conclusion: An entertaining read that comes at some deep social injustices from a different angle. It sets up book two nicely and I’m intrigued to see where the story goes.

The first book in a new era of YA dystopian. And I am here for it. This author slowly introduces you to the world instead of flooding you with a lot of information all at once. I can't wait to grab book 2!

'The Undying Tower' is Melissa Welliver's first novel and wow does she deliver a thrilling ride. From the first words, the reader is catapulted to a dystopian future where there is a division between 'normies' and a rising immortal portion of the population called 'The Undying'. These humans stop aging at age 25, but rather than celebrated for such an amazing scientific marvel, they are oppressed, villainised and subjected to gruelling labour and early deaths due to the overpopulation and pressure on waning resources. The world building here is really intriguing and I just know there is a lot more to find out in the sequels about these amazing immortal humans.

Our protagonist is Sadie Abbott who has been raised in a charmed life, suddenly propelled into a prison for teenage Undying on a dangerous undercover mission. On her way to weeding out a terrorist cell, she discovers truths about society which changes her fundamentally as a person. Her character arc is brilliant here, the reader convinced she is genuinely on a journey which is shaping her as a person and forcing her to grow up. The structure of the novel is clever to support this development, flashing back to pertinent moments prior to Sadie's incarceration. The twist this was leading to felt obvious from the outset but it did not undermine its power and my love for Sadie and Jasper as a pair.

Overall, this is an action packed first novel and I am impatient to read the sequels, especially after THAT ENDING. The array of characters, the world building and the underlying corruption bubbling through it all made this an excellent read. Please release the sequel tomorrow.... ;)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars

Sadie’s father works for the government, so she has always led a sheltered and privileged life. This is glaringly obvious in her naïveté, and her insistence that the government and police know what they’re doing and are always acting in the publics best interest. The big lesson in reality that she gets is needed and well done. I thought the revelations about what takes place in The Tower were interesting. The book does end on a big cliffhanger, and I am definitely looking forward to continuing the series.

Thank you to NetGalley & Agora Books for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A deeply dark tale, which slowly (but not too slowly) introduces you to Sadie and her world which is like no other. The story is interesting, never boring, with twists and turns and was paced so that you kept reading.

But not being a huge fan of Sci-Fi I just couldn't really get into this future world story but that isn't saying it isn't a good book, just not a book I was really into.

I do recommend this book for those who like this genre but for me it just didn't hit the mark.

The Undying Tower is a great YA dark, dystopia fiction that will grip readers from start to finish. Dealing with the issues of changing society and marginalization in society as it falls apart from war and environmental destruction, the main character undergoes a series of events which lead her to being part of the 'underclass' she never thought much of before.

I love dystopian novels and this is one of the best I've come across. It really gives a fresh take on the genre, with brilliant, fast paced writing that kept me invested in the characters and wanting more!

It's set in a post apocalyptic world in a place called the Avalonia Zone. The Undying Tower is the first part of a trilogy and it is perfect for fans of Divergent series and Hunger games. This first installment sets up the series well and left me desperate to find out what's next for Sadie.