Challenge Corner discussion

Book One Description: In the future, the world is at war.

For the last decade, King Lazuli of the Eastern Empire has systematically taken over the world. No one knows much about him other than a series of impossible facts: he cannot die, he has not aged since the conflict began, and he wants to rule the world.

All Serenity Freeman has known is bloodshed. War has taken away her mother, her home, her safety. As the future emissary of the Western United Nations, the last autonomous region of the globe, she is responsible for forging alliances where she can.

Surrender is on the horizon. The king can taste it; Serenity feels it deep within her bones. There is no other option. Now the two must come face to face. For Serenity, that means confronting the man who’s taken everything from her. For the king, it means meeting the one woman he can’t conquer. But when they meet, something happens. Cruelty finds redemption.

Only in war, everything comes with a price. Especially love.

Ch 5 - (view spoiler)[ Ick, these representatives make my stomach turn. I am trying to understand that they are desperate and as such think it is ok to do something like sending a young girl into this kind of situation. But I gotta think that I would have at least told her ahead of time. (hide spoiler)]
Ch 8 - (view spoiler)[ Laura Thalassa does such a good job of creating these unlikable characters that we can't help but want to see get together. I don't particularly like Serenity or the King, but damn it if I can't flip the pages fast enough to see how their love/hate thing works itself out. (hide spoiler)]
Ch 16 - (view spoiler)[ Oh man, this battle of wills is going to be good! (hide spoiler)]
Ch 22 - (view spoiler)[ Whoa so much has happened. I can't believe that they can keep the King alive for way past his time, but they can't cure her cancer. I'm also not surprised that Will ended up being the greedy bastard that he is and just wants to use her. I'm glad she stood up to him and said no to his proposal. (hide spoiler)]
Finished - (view spoiler)[ What the what? I'm confused about what happened in the tunnel, why didn't Marco and Serenity just go with the King? Was I reading so fast that I missed the grenade blocking the way or something?

So now her memory is going to be gone, but it seems like her instincts to dislike the Resistance guys are still there - I just don't trust that they will stay that way for the next book. I foresee them brainwashing her against the King and trying to reinsert her into his inner circle as a spy/assassin. But....that still doesn't solve the cancer problem - I was under the impression that they didn't have a whole lot of time to get her into that Sleeper thing.

If this is one of those series where in the last chapter the MCs finally admit their love only to have one of them die - I will be PISSED OFF!!! (hide spoiler)]

Ch 6 - (view spoiler)[ For a minute there, I thought he might not give her the memories back - but at least he knew that if she ever found out it would not go well for him. (hide spoiler)]
Ch 13 - (view spoiler)[ Oh good, maybe that will allow her to get all her memories back. I like them as a team. (hide spoiler)]
Ch 20 - (view spoiler)[ Aww, she's changing him into a better man. SEE!! I love them together. (hide spoiler)]
Ch 26 -(view spoiler)[ Oh no!!!! Just when they were starting to be normal happy people. I hope they don't blow up the world in their grief. (hide spoiler)]
Finished - (view spoiler)[ What the what! 104 years and the war is still going, and he never let her out - well who did???? (hide spoiler)] Well darn, now I need to read the next one!