The Rift Uprising by Amy S. Foster review + giveaway!

The Rift Uprising by Amy S. Foster
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: October 4th, 2016
Pages: 380
Song I Played While Reading: Starboy by The Weeknd
Rating: 4.5 stars

Seventeen-year-old Ryn whittaker is a Citadel: an elite, enhanced soldier specially chosen to guard The Rift, a mysterious and dangerous portal to alternate Earth's that scientists cannot control or close. Trained from the age of fourteen, Ryn can run faster, jump farther, and fight better than a Navy SEAL-- which is good when you're not sure if a laser-wielding Neanderthal or an ax-wielding Vikings is trying to make it through The Rift and into your world.
But Ryn's military conditioning and education have not prepared her for a boy who crosses through- a confused young man, seemingly lost and alone. Though there's an immediate physical reaction, it's his intelligence and curiosity that throw Ryn off-balance. The stranger asks disturbing questions about The Rift that Ryn herself as never considered -- questions that lead her to wonder if everything about her life and what she's been told for so many years have been lies. 
Are Rifts as dangerous as her leader say? Should her people really try to close them... or learn how to travel through them?

I was blown away by The Rift Uprising. It threw me for a loop, because I hadn't been expecting anything super great from this. And even though it had its flaw's, Foster fucking nailed this.
Her writing was a little stiff at times, alternating between breathtaking accounts of human nature and what Ryn has to go through everyday to survive, to almost a robotic tone. I struggle a little in the beginning because I couldn't find Ryn's voice. It was there, but smothered by sentences that would be clipped and precise. I couldn't tell if this was just the way Foster wrote, or if it was to make Ryn appear more solider-like. Either way,  I got used to it, and eventually found Ryn, who turned out to have a startlingly amount of depth to her character. Even in the beginning, she struggled: with lying to her parents and brother, to wondering what lengths she would go to to defend her people, to trying to see herself from the perspective of the people and creatures tumbling through The Rift. She was extremely open-minded, but never found that inner spark until Ezra came and started asking questions. And even then, she never blindly followed ARC (the people she was working for), so she actually stopped to consider what he was asking. It was nice seeing someone who was loyal to a cause, but not completely imperceptive.
This was one of the rare occurrences when I didn't really care for the love interest and the romance. This could've had zero romance, and I would've been totally okay with it. (This may not seem weird to you, but I'm a romance FREAK.) But it didn't bother me. His existence to the storyline, while vital  for obvious and not so obvious reasons, was honestly a moot point for me. Now, who's existence was not a moot point was Levi. For anyone that hasn't read this, Levi is an extremely talented Citadel and kind of a dick. He wouldn't be on my radar if there wasn't something to him that interested both me and, apparently, Ryn. He got on her nerves like no other, and she constantly found herself trying to explain herself to him, or impress him in some way. And he obviously feels some kind of way towards her, because there's this huge scene at the end that's so obviously a foreshadowing of something. The whole scene could've actually not existed and the story would've been fine, because it only pushed the agenda of his character arc. I'm extremely curious and excited to see what kind of role he plays in the next two books.
And speaking of plots, Foster really worked her own way into this one. Even though this kind of story has been written before, it stands out. This whole Rift thing is why I was so hooked: there were so many interesting aspects to it, along with the government that accidentally created it. I really don't want to go into detail, because I don't want anything spoiled for you when you read this, but just know Foster did her homework. Everything is well-thought out and fits in place, with enough open-endings to ensure we're hooked by the end. Granted, while the ending definitely left on a cliff-hanger, I think the cliff-hanger was too big. It's leading up to this big event, with small tasks that Ryn has to accomplish, and we get almost all of them done before it's cut off. Something goes awry, and it just ends. But not in a dramatic, end-of-the-world way; more like you tried doing something, it didn't wrap up like you planned it would, so now you're on your way to finishing the last task and then it just ends. Kaput. So I wish we had finished that last thing, because I think that would've been the perfect ending. Enough of a cliff-hanger to have us bemoaning the long wait till the next book, but with enough closure that we're confident in the cause.
Overall though, this was fantastic. It's perfect for any sci-fi/action fans out there!

Buy Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Giveaway

Three (3) finished copies of The Rift Uprising.

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About the author

Amy S. Foster is a celebrated songwriter, best known as Michael Buble's writing partner. You might recognize her wrk in his four hit singles, including "Home" and "Haven't Met You Yet." She has also collaborated with Destiny's Child, Diana Krail, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groan, and a host of other artists. She is also the author of the novel When Autumn Leaves. When she's not in a studio in Nashville, Amy lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. The Rift Uprising, her YA debut, will be released on October 4th!

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