*REVIEW* Oppression by Jessica Therrien

Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the average person, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Among so many of her kind, she should not be very remarkable--except for the prophecy. Some believe she will put an end to traditions, safeguarded by violence, which have oppressed her people for centuries. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning--and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.

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   Being a lover of books that twist Greek Mythology and the Gods I was really excited to start this book. I mean not understanding what she really is and having to move around and hide all of the time can't be easy.  Doing it on your own just makes it harder and the fact that she can't get close to anyone ever is hard.  Getting into the book I found out that this was all I expected and some of what I didn't.  


  Elyse was interesting to read about.  Growing up and having to keep a secret has made for a lonely life and the people that she is close to she has to watch grow old and die.  Throughout this book I found that Elyse was a very strong protagonist.  There isn't much complaining and carrying on about what no one told her and why no one helped her.  She does get angry but hey who wouldn't.  There is a great many rules to learn but Elyse seems to be made to break and bend them.


  William and the others you will meet are awesome as well.  Everyone is from a different line so you get quite a mix of interesting friends.  By different line I mean they came from a different descendant and inherited something in particular from that God/Goddess.  I guess this is part of why I enjoyed this book. The fact that everyone isn't someone reincarnated but someone all their own, someone new carrying on from the original.


  The other fun thing is the bad guys.  The bad guys are kinda supposed to be the good guys.  Like they genuinely believe that they aren't the bad ones.  At some points I wanted to believe it too but then they do something (not going to say what) and I shake myself out of my little bubble and smarten up!   There is actually a lot of interesting things that I have to say about these people but I will let you come to your own decision about them.


  There is a good and steady plot that keeps you interested throughout the book.  I found that there was a couple spots that were a bit repetitive to me but it was only upon reflection that I noticed this because I was so involved that I didn't notice while reading!  Overall this is a fun and steady read.  Also forgot to mention that this is Jessica Therrien's awesome start to what seems like a great series!