An Outcast and an Ally
Caitlin Lochner
(A Soldier and a Liar #2)
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: April 21st 2020
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Dark secrets and conflicting loyalties abound as four superpowered teens are torn apart by war in Caitlin Lochner’s An Outcast and an Ally, the epic YA sequel to A Soldier and a Liar.
Lai, Jay, Al, and Erik are on the run after the military accuses them of being traitors. Tensions between everyone are high, but they have to stick together if they want to survive. And somehow stop the war that’s now in full swing.
But when Erik returns to the rebels to find answers about his past, Lai, Al, and Jay have no choice but to go to the Order―a peace coalition bent on stopping the rebels and dissolving the enmity between gifted and ungifted. However, the longer the war drags on, the more Lai’s long-kept secrets threaten to destroy everything she’s ever worked for. Sparks fly as the team constantly questions whether they can trust one another and everyone tries to navigate a war that will change everything.
Filled with the same high-stakes superpowered action and complex relationships as A Soldier and A Liar, Caitlin’s first book, An Outcast and an Ally brings this story to a dramatic and satisfying close.
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My Blurb (4 / 5 stars)
Some time has past since the end of A Soldier and a Liar and we find the four friends still together but fraught with tension. They must decide what to do even as each struggles internally with what they should do. In this book, we are given insights into all 4 friends as chapters alternate between all 4 POVs.
As was seen in the first book, Lai is a strong independent young woman, but she’s even stronger in this one as we see her break but only to surface stronger than before. Jay’s chapters were to me the weakest in this book as he seems only to serve as a little helper (even if his actual role in the Order wasn’t that little) and some sort of romantic interest (I found this even slightly lacking; yes, I wish there was a bit more spark).
Erik’s & Al’s struggles, however, were soul searching ones. All Erik wanted was to regain his memory yet finding out about his past self made him doubt whether that should be his priority in life. While Al’s purpose in life was to avenge her parents, she was derailed by what she actually found out and after all that she and the Order has been through, she begins to question what’s truly important in life?
An Outcast and An Ally is a novel about fighting for justice; it is filled with broken pasts, betrayals, but best of all, friendships and what that means. It is YA dystopian with characters who aren’t overwhelmed with anger and who aren’t afraid to think for themselves. It is a fascinating world despite the twists of betrayals for if one or two are willing to change, there is always hope.
Thank you Swoon Reads and Xpresso Tours for including me in this blog tour & ecopy of book in exchange of my honest thoughts
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About the author
I’m a nerd, traveler, and architecture enthusiast who worked as an assistant English teacher in Tokyo for three years before pursuing my MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Central Florida. I love reading and writing anything with magic, adventure, and complex found-family relationships. I can typically be found absorbed in books, games, or manga, or else obsessing over said books, games, and manga.
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Tien's Blurb 