Book Review: Clanless by Jennifer Jenkins

Clanless by Jennifer Jenkins

Pages: 300
Publish date: October 4th, 2016
Publisher: Month9Books
ASIN: B01KIHPZCW
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US

Striker Gryphon has lost his position of honour among the Ram, and is now a hunted man. A traitor.

Zo, the object of his affection, was murdered by members of his former clan. To honour her memory, he journeys to the highly secretive Raven “Nest” to warn strangers of their impending demise—though it could cost him more than just his pride.

He doesn’t know that Zo is very much alive and in another part of the region assisting Nameless refugees over a mountain swarming with wild men known as “Clanless.”

As each struggle to make sense of what their lives have become, they fight and claw to reach the Allied Camp, their last hope in bringing peace to the region.

But the road back to one another is treacherous and uncertain. And freedom will come with a price.

Clanless:

This review of Clanless contains spoilers from book 1 – Nameless.

After reading Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins, I knew that I had to get right onto reading Clanless. The ending was intense and I needed to know what was going to happen next.

Clanless starts off where Nameless left off. The protagonist, Zo on the run with her sister, Joshua and a few more that joins them on the way. Zo and the crew are attempting to find refuge and allies that can help them fight. However, they are on the run from both the Ram’s wrath and the ‘Clanless’ – wild men that hunt in the woods.

Again, I really enjoyed Zo as a protagonist. I loved her strength and her determination, to not only keep her sister alive but others that have joined her. In Clanless we get to see a weakness of Zo, her love. Her love for everyone around her, not only makes her a liability but slows her down. Believing that Gryphon has betrayed her and could be dead – she lets this grief get a hold of her, however, I liked it. In the previous book, Zo didn’t show too much emotion, but that was thrown all out in window in Clanless.

Gryphon is a traitor. Well to his people he is, Gryphon has lost his position and honour amount the Ram and now is on the Run. Through Clanless the reader is able to see a whole different side to Gryphon. One that wasn’t even evident in Nameless and even though there is a stark difference – I think I like this one better.

Gryphon is not only on the run, but believes that Zo is dead and it’s his fault. For her, he goes on a journey to find the Raven people. He wants to warn them what is coming. But, when the world that he thought he knew isn’t the same, it’s a struggle. Gryphon emotions are quite raw throughout Clanless and sometimes it was hard to believe that he could show so much emotion.

A thing that I loved about Clanless was the friendships. Zo and her sister. Oh gosh, my heart could break for them. Both have gone through so much and their bond was beautiful. We see a lot of protagonist/sister bonds in YA – but, I think that Jennifer Jenkins explored it so well.

Zo and Joshua have a very interesting relationship. They grew fond of each other in Nameless, Joshua more than Zo, but they still had this distance. However, with the how the first book ended, the reader is able to see them both grow and share in their grief for Gryphon.

One of my favourite things about this series is the world building. It’s fantastic. In the first book, we are dropped into this world and as the story went on, we found out more. And it carries on into Clanless. I love the layers of the world that Jennifer Jenkins has created. We aren’t thrown into the world and then information is chucked at us, but it’s treaded to us slowly and beautifully.

Clanless is a ‘survive in the wild’ type of book. With everyone on the run trying to get places and not be killed. While finding out more about the world, the plot moves on and the reader is taken on a journey with the characters.

Overall, I enjoyed Clanless. It’s an epic journey of surviving, strength, grief and finding out who you are. It is about joining forces, creating allies and finding out who the real enemy is. It has exceptional world building, intriguing character, a plot that runs wild and friendships that are knotted together. Trust no one, because you don’t know who is going to stab you in the back.