Incomplete story

At first glance: The summary alone is catchy. I even told the author she had me at the second sentence.

After I finished what was available: Loved it! The silba are like the equivalent of Reptilians and the treatment of humans as livestock, considering that humans are higher on the menu, is horrible. The author takes the time to immerse the reader in a different world that is disturbing; one chapter in particular towards the beginning of the story shows this dystopian at its worst. The best part of all is the author doesn't shy away from it. The details in that scene, but in particular the entire story, were phenomenal. And even though the main character Rachel is like nine years old, seeing this world through the eyes of a wild child (a human that was free before she was captured) and how she interprets the different thinking of the slave born humans is incredible. She sees it through the eyes of a child (who was free), but had to grow up fast after being captured, and yet even then she's wise beyond her years. I especially enjoyed the scene where Rachel first met Alice.

Another great scene/chapter was chapter eighteen; it's the very definition of unwanted attachment. Alice doesn't want to become attached to Rachel, but its happening. It was written and described beautifully and my heart hurt for not just those two but for the others as well. Judith and Sarah's attachment hit me, but not the way it did with Alice and Rachel in that chapter eighteen scenes. Of course, that is my interpretation of it, but it could easily be interpreted in different ways. Honestly, this really shows great flexibility in the authors writing! The ability to have a scene be interpreted in different ways is pleasing for readers because not everyone thinks alike.

Stpolishook is a truly gifted writer particularly by the array of emotions she can pull out of her readers. Horror, anger, heartache are all present and the scenes that are meant to be heart wrenching truly are just that.

I'm surprised how much I feel for these characters, even the ones that had so little time it the story. It's a cruel world they all live in and the reality of Alice and Magnus's friend-relationship (which really seems a lot more, but both seem to be rejecting it) is heart breaking. I am curious to know the life span of the silba though. I think some more background information on this species that has made it to the top of the food chain would be interesting, yet not necessary for the story to progress.

As a lover of forbidden love and a romance junkie, I do have to say that I was hoping for a time skip where Rachel grew up to be especially special and fell in love with a silba (and vice versa of course!) Yet, the author has the talent to continue a series of Rachel aging and then eventually get to that. *wink wink*

Humans are at the top of the food chain and always have been. But what if they weren't? What if another took our place and decided to raise and exploit us as we have every other animal on earth? Welcome to a world after humanity...

No one is exactly certain where the sibla came from. Some say they evolved from humans long ago, slowly taking power as their numbers increased. Taller, stronger, and longer-lived, than homo sapiens it isn't too hard to imagine. Now humans must face a reality in which they are no more than animals, domesticated beasts bred for their master's various needs and hungers. Rachel Turner is only eight years old. Born in Demin, one of the last remaining free human settlements on earth, she has never been forced to face the reality of life under a sibla master, living a carefree existence in her hidden village. Magnus Kendrick is a sibla farmer with a sizable estate on which he raises all manner of livestock, from chickens, to sheep, to...humans. He is also the man destined to purchase Rachel's life.