Born with a love of fantasy, and an out-of-control imagination, E.K. Frances has been creating stories all their life. Whether travelling the world, or walking the dog, their mind is always dreaming up a new adventure.
Dark, gritty, broken worlds; fast-moving plots, and morally grey characters; blurred lines between right and wrong, and plenty of twists. If you like the sound of that, you will enjoy E.K. Frances’ books.
The Battle is the 4th book of E.K. Frances' Hybrid series and it continues to deliver a riveting story that is at once extremely dark and brutal, but offers signs of caring and loving. The story continues to follow the main character, Seb or Sebastian Parker, a totally Light Alpha, now in his mid teens, as he is on his way to possibly becoming the most powerful being ever. IF the Prophecy is to be believed. Reading the series, you tend to forget that he's so young, as he's suffered so much at the hands of his teachers, his father, his allies and enemies as well as the humans he's ever met, all out fear or ignorance and supposedly to shape him and keep him from destroying the world. Or saving it, depending on their interpretation of the Prophecy. They alternately want him dead or controlled or manipulated to their beliefs and interpretations. For Seb, even as he finally seems to find love with his girlfriend, Sam, something is always amiss. Some punishment awaits him for whatever he does. He even questions if Sam's devotion and love for him is not also somehow contrived to keep him someplace, as all he's known his whole life is abuse in the most brutal fashions and never ending betrayals. Frances has woven a tale of powerful beings and normal humans that are at odds with each other and while it looks like fantasy, it mirrors our real world. The abuse in her books is mostly physical, but the lies and deceit by almost every character that calls Seb 'friend' has destroyed the main things that any child, any person needs to avoid becoming a monster - Truth and Trust. And even with that, Seb manages to maintain his Light nature and general moral compass, even while being easily swayed and manipulated, because he wants to end or avoid any more abuse. The reaction of a child. The books are engrossing and beg to be read. The characters are fantasy caricatures, but real enough to believe and get invested in what happens to them. No one is entirely who or what they seem, so you need to keep reading to understand their real nature and objectives. Seb and Sam capture your heart. But The Battle does not reveal all and leaves you hanging once more with a new element to ponder. I expect I'll need to wait for the next installment for that. It's a very good read and I highly recommend it.
The battle is book 4 in the hybrid series by E.K Frances. The story continues following Seb, who is a light Alpha and shows his journey to becoming one of the most powerful being ever according to the prophecy. Despite everything Seb goes through, he still manages to be a caring teenager, no matter what is thrown at him. E.K Frances has done it again with another well written novel and despite its dark and brutal nature, any sensitive issues are handled with care. The battle had me gripped from the very first page and I kept reading till the end and it left me wanting more. I highly recommend the Battle and the rest of the hybrid series and I can't wait to read the next part in the series. 💖I was gifted a copy of the battle from E.K Frances in exchange for a honest review.
Sebastian has joined with Arturo, supposedly the 'Dark', but he has light inside of him. Can Arturo be the 'Dark' of prophecy when all he has done is help Seb? Seb is torn between his friends, his teachers and his family, getting insights from all sides that seem plausible, but don't paint the whole picture. Is it the Academy that is evil, are the humans telling the truth, is Arturo's plan for the future honest, is there something more going on. Seb is too innocent, trusting and light to see the whole picture. Will this be his downfall? The fourth book in the series, best read in sequence, races you towards the final showdown. I can't wait to read book five. I received a complimentary copy from the author in return for my honest review.
The epic battle between ‘light vs dark’ continues in this gripping fourth book in The Hybrid series by E.K. Frances. I’ve enjoyed all three previous books in this series and this one didn’t disappoint. In a dystopian world where alphas fit into one of four classes, Seb (Sebastian) is a quad-brid; who has embraced his ‘dark’ side, and must now learn to control his ‘light’ and ‘dark’ tendencies. Most of his allies want to see him dead because they fear his ‘undecided’ nature and he may be the most powerful dark alpha in two thousand years. Arturo, his dark leader, is training Seb to be malevolent and cruel but it seems Arturo is holding something back. What is he not telling Seb? Can Seb consume the dark and convert it to light? Will he find his true purpose and fulfill the prophecy? Read to find out! Well written and executed YA fantasy with just the right amount of action and carnage for this audience.
As soon as I started reading these books I've been unable to stop, and am so glad I discovered this author. As a voracious reader who constantly has her nose in a few different books, I recommend this series for sci-fi, fantasy lovers.
This was a constant back and forth. I’m just not sure of any ones motivation is. They seem to say one thing then go back on it. I just don’t get it. At this point I think Seb should go dark and destroy everything. Seems very simple and straightforward to me. Well, I have one last book to finish, might as well read it.
These books are literally so confusing. I can't keep anything straight. It hops around way too much. I unfortunately need to finish the final book to know what happens, but honestly, I wouldn't want to read them again.
This is a great dsytopian fantasy series for teens. No spice, just lots of teen trauma and bulling with mistrust for good reasons from a male perspective. Main character can be irritating and choppy at times, but maybe it's my age.
Waiting for 3rd book of Alpha series to see how Daniel and Sébastien relate.
Definately recommend for teens!
Commented added after finishing both series:
I really enjoyed this teen dystopian fantasy series! The MC is male with a great supporting cast of good and evil. Makes me want to reread the Hybrid series after finishing New Dawn.
I recommend reading the prequels before starting on the Hybrid series. New Dawn was just released so I didn't read them in order.
They are very well written and New Dawn really pulled on my heart strings like the Hybrid series did.
A good series stays with you and these did that for me.