This was an intelligent science fiction story.

The world and characters were well developed with great interaction.

A thoroughly enjoyable story.

I enjoyed "The Quelling" with it's scifi / dystopia content that somewhat reminded me of body snatcher but the people are still alive tropes, Meyer's "The Host" and some Star Trek. It's distinctly YA and I liked the plottwist in the end.

An impressive start to a wonderful and intriguing new series!

C. L. Lauder has created a rich and inviting world for us to join for this upcoming trilogy. This book really reminds me of the hunger games, with Kyjta being just like Katniss! I really enjoyed the uneasy alliances and the real ‘human’ emotional attachments that are on display despite being a total fantasy creation.

The idea of the stained skin which marks you for abduction is an interesting dynamic and one that, to me, is wholly unique. That’s quite a hard feat to accomplish in the fantasy/sci-fi world.

A fresh feeling new trilogy with a kick ass female lead, The Quelling trilogy is shaping up to be pretty awesome.

In a world where being stained by alien fluid causes your skin to glisten, you must be on the look out constantly for creatures spotting your stain and swooping down to capture you.

When I first started this book I was a little confused by all the different names of people and creatures. However I'm glad I stuck with it as very quickly everything fell into place and the story took off. Kyjta witnesses a small child, Calipsie, being taken and the story focuses on her mission to find her again.

Kyjta was a loveable character from the start. She was a force to be reckoned with, and I knew very early on she wouldn't let obstacles stand in her way of rescuing Calipsie.

I love sci-fi movies and shows, and have recently started getting into Sci-fi books. This book was definitely an enjoyable read for me, even being very new to the genre. The world building was easy to follow once all the people and creatures names were explained, and I felt like I could picture the characters. The story was very interesting and full of twists and turns. I think all of the politics and backstory explained throughout the book have also set it up perfectly for the rest of this trilogy, and I'm looking forward to book 2!

After reading many fantasy/sci-fi stories over the years this really is definitely different but in a really great way.
The new dystopian world that the author brings you to is well thought out and quite original in its concept.
Without giving too much away the heroine of the story is flawed but not always by her own hand.
However she joins a quest/ attack in the hope that she can save someone who is more than just a friend.
Definitely worth a read

This was a great overall concept for a scifi novel, I really enjoyed how good the concept was in the genre. I enjoyed getting to know Kyjta and I could understand why she did what she did. The world was a really interesting one and I was invested in reading what was going on. C. L. Lauder writes a great story and I would love to read more in this universe.

It genuinely upsets me that this novel didn’t come out when I was a young teenager. I was so discouraged with the soup of samey YA dystopias that it nearly took me out of reading altogether. This is nothing like those, but also not void of the aspects that make them appealing.

The Quelling follows a rescue mission in a dystopian world where a stain of alien fluid means capture to the north under the oversight of the brutal Rehman overlord. Rehmans lack a physical form outside of a squishy white orb, but they can (and must) use the bodies of other species. Humans (or Aurora Saurins) of course being the best suited. Kyjta our human protagonist forms an unlikely bond with a Rehman, Krainik, after being stained while plotting a deadly revenge.

The plot and the world it is set in are lush in ways that a summary can’t quite capture. A vibrant journey through judgement halls, occupied cities, vast deserts, and a homey potion maker's cottage. In fact it is so thick with lore that I think this book would have really benefited from a glossary of terms (without the kindle search function, I would have been a little lost at points).
As I read, I kept making notes of things that seemed contradictory or didn’t make sense to me, but genuinely every single thing that bothered me was soon revealed to be a part of something larger and far more interesting than I could have ever expected. The sheer amount of twists in this book is remarkable, perhaps it’s a little much, but for the YA genre I think it’s quite well suited. There were times where my jaw genuinely dropped. Whenever I would think to myself “oh, I hope Lauder didn’t forget about ___” I would turn the (digital) page and there it was.
The characters could have been a little more fleshed out. I would have liked to get more attached to them, perhaps just by seeing their inner thoughts or giving them more meaningful conversations with each other. However, I understand why this wasn’t lingered on for too long as it would have likely harmed the swift flow of the plot. Kyjta and Kranik had really nice chemistry (the cliff/ocean scene stands out as one of my favourites) and certainly still work as decent characters.
One crucial element of dystopias is social commentary, and I was very pleasantly surprised at how it was included in this very fantastical world which is totally unlike our own.
The scale in this book is really impressive, seriously, this rivals the epic fantasy giants while still being easy to read. The worldbuilding is unique and very cohesive. I can tell there was a strong editor involved.

I would absolutely recommend this book to fans of science fiction, YA, or honestly anyone looking for something unique and entertaining. Can’t wait for the next instalments to come out!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

It was a fairly easy read, and definitely would recommend to readers looking to dip their toes into the sci-fi genre!

The Quelling is a great new science fiction read worth checking out that starts a new series. Not a hard science fiction work, the book provides a relatively easy read for newcomers to the science fiction genre while appealing to casual and ardent fans alike. Fans of dystopian adventure tropes will enjoy the story line. Well worth checking out!