Book Review ~ Seeker

Seeker (Seeker #1)

by Arwen Elys Dayton
published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
expected release date: February 10, 2015
genre: YA, Fantasy, Sci-Fi,

**received e-galley from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Summary (Goodreads): Quin Kincaid has been put through years of brutal training for what she thinks is the noble purpose of becoming a revered ‘Seeker’.

Only when it’s too late does she discover she will be using her new-found knowledge and training to become an assassin. Quin's new role will take her around the globe, from a remote estate in Scotland to a bustling, futuristic Hong Kong where the past she thought she had escaped will finally catch up with her.

My Thoughts: I so wanted to like this book. The blurb and cover on netgalley grabbed my attention and had me requesting it. I started reading and understood why so many people had DNF'd this book, most around the half way point. I was there and had to force myself to finish, skimming most of the final chapters only stopping to read the parts that seemed important to the story.
The first thing that disconnected me from this story was the setting/time. We start on an estate in Scotland that sounded/ felt very highlander-ish and then next thing you know there are airships and other futuristic things that did not match the estate setting. While this could have worked, it just felt jarring to me and did not blend well.
The bigger problem was the characters. They really weren't likable and by the end even the one you thought you would be rooting for was unlikable. Quin is supposed to be the hero of this story. She seems to be at first when they are training and she is spending time with John. Once the training is over and she is going there and doing what her father says we find out what she is really like. She blindly goes along with everything her father says including killing children because "that's how she was raised". Then once she is free instead of doing the good she was always spouting about she decides to "forget" everything. Her cousin, also a seeker, is no better. When he is given a chance to do something better he turns to drugs in order to forget. Again another unlikable hero.
Then we have John. He comes to the estate to train to be a seeker and avenge his mother's death. Sounds like something you could get behind. Then he starts using the one weapon that he is terrified of because it was what killed his mother, and kills several people in the very same way.
The one redeeming thing and what made me read to the end was the Young Dread Maud. Her story throughout was interesting. The Dreads are the judges/law of the seekers and are  supposed to make sure no laws are broken. Of course this is not what happens. The middle Dread has taken up with Quin's dad and helps him even when it goes against everything they believe. She is the only one that seems to be able to think for her self even when she doesn't know what to do about the wrongs around her. I didn't really understand why she gave Quin what she did at the end. It was the only thing she did throughout that did not seem to match her character.
Overall, there was a lot of potential in this story it just fell short. The characters and backgrounds needed to be more fleshed out. It also would have helped if one of the three seekers had been likable and lived up to their billing.

Rating: 3