Sacrificed (The Last Oracle) Paperback – January 5, 2015

This book starts with the youngest daughter of the Oracle seeking to try and find a way to help her sister avoid becoming a Vessel for the Oracle. According to the Oracle, it is a sacred duty that each of her daughters must enter into when they turn 16. Clio, the youngest daughter, is currently 15 and her sister has just turned 16. Clio returns home to find her sister already gone and is very upset that she wasn’t even allowed to say goodbye. She believes that the Oracle doesn’t actually have any powers, but that it’s all just a hoax designed to keep her mother in power.The powers of the Oracle are passed down the maternal line by the Deities. When a new Oracle comes to power, her hair turns white and the Deities begin to send her visions to guide her. Clio believes her mother fakes having the visions that she uses as a means of controlling her worshipers. She even refers to her mother’s believers as a cult. Each of her sisters changed once they became a Vessel, seeming to become cold and distant. They will only tell Clio that she will understand once she turns 16 and becomes a Vessel of the Oracle too. Feeling trapped by a future that she has no desire to be a part of, Clio runs away, hiding for the night in the upper branches of a tree she used to climb with the Prince when they were young.While sleeping in the tree, she has her first vision. Clio “Sees” her mother and 3 of her 4 sisters being murdered by the King’s trusted advisor. Her 4th sister is sent as a sacrifice to a neighboring city that had murdered their Oracle. In the place of an Oracle, they now have a priest who rips out the hearts of living sacrifices atop a pyramid.Needing to save her sister, Clio disguises her now white hair by covering it in mud and hides herself among a group of slave girls being sent to serve as temple slaves for the Emperor. Unfortunately, once the slave train arrives at it’s destination, the girls who were sent to serve in the temple learn that they will be sacrificed by the priest to gain the Deities’ favor for the Emperor’s armies. Also, the day they arrive and before she has a chance to stop it, Clio sees her sister’s still beating heart torn out by the priest just before she and the other slave girls are locked away in cells to await their turn to be sacrificed.Clio must hide who she is or risk being immediately killed should they discover that she is the last Oracle. She has had no training as she wasn’t expected to become a Vessel for another year. The Visions sent by the Deities come without any control on her part, often happening at times when she has other things worrying her. Clearly, she is supposed to find a way to keep what she sees from coming to pass, but she has no idea how to make that happen as she is currently locked in a cell awaiting her turn as a sacrifice.There were a lot of twists and turns in this book. Some of them I suspected would happen, but many of them came as a bit of a surprise. The main character may have started out as little more than a whiney teenager, but she grew and developed into so much more during the course of the book. As usual, I have only given you the smallest part of the story that was told.There is so much more going on here that you really should read it for yourself. It was well written, well edited, and while it didn’t end at a cliffhanger, it was clear enough that there is still much more of the story to be told. It left me wanting to continue on and find out what will happen to Clio next. I will be looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

4.5 STARS!!!!I didn't much know what to expect going into Sacrificed. I'd seen the book advertised somewhere around the interwebs and thought it looked intriguing. Yes, I totally judge a book by its cover, and this one called to me. I wasn't disappointed to be sure.The book follows a storyline that is fresh and unexpected. The twists towards the end of the book compelled me to keep flipping through the pages until the wee hours of the morning. The action, the imagery, and the characters were all well written and drove the story forward. There wasn't a single point where I felt the story lagged. Everything about the book sunk in and stayed with me. I'm still thinking about the story several days later. (Hence the review).The only critique I could possibly give is that there were several repetitive things used throughout the story. I.E. certain imagery and names being used instead of he/she or him/her when the reader knew of whom the author was speaking. Both of these instances are easily overlooked in the grand scheme of how original and captivating the story is. I truly enjoyed Sacrificed and would whole-heartedly recommend it to any reader of fantasy, YA, or adventure!!!!Thanks for such a great read!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. Despite the buildup of reading the synopsis, the beginning dragged for me: it's clear Clio, the child-to-be-oracle, hates her mother and lives in a very sterile environment of a temple without love. But this beginning somehow did not make me care deeply about her and her future. I think this is what killed the rest of the book for me...somehow I didn't care deeply what happened to her.She experiences lots of conflict, but you know she will get out of the mess and sure enough she does...I guess it felt too prescriptive and predictable. I felt like we see her in various situations but they did not flow together. They just felt like a character being tested and I just didn't care...Overall, the writing was pretty good, but I'd say the story arc needs a bit of work. For a debut novel, this was a good attempt and I know the author will improve with time.

I won book two and naturally that prompted me to move this book up on my reading list.. I'm so glad I did.. Sacrificed is a stunning debut, and an awesome first book in a series. Set in a historic world, with oracles, temples and pyramids it differs somewhat from other books I've read, and yet it does have similarities to some of my favorite fantasy and dystopians as well..It reminded me the most of The Winner's Curse, both in been historical fantasy, but also as a story with a strong-willed and interesting heroine - one with potential to become as awesome as Kestrel from WC - and a likable, and rather plausible love-interest. The love theme as a plot moving factor almost always irritates me, but I do find it helpful in this book, and I did enjoy the chemistry, and budding relationship between Clio and Riece. There are some great side-characters too, and a most promising villain..I could continue to ramble on, but rather than elaborating, I recommend that you read this book!! Especially if you enjoy historical fiction, fantasy, dystopian, YA books, or if you find the mythology of oracles and deities fascinating...

Sacrificed!!! This is a 5-star book for me, cause as soon as I REALLY started reading it (and didn't just save it for those long minutes sitting in a waiting room, like I normally do with ebooks), I couldn't put it down.The world that Emily Wibberley build in this book, sucks you right in. The characters that she brought to life, will stay with me for a long time. Not just the main character Clio (she's 15 years old but she's so much more mature, of course she has her little moments, but she's seriously so strong and fierceful) but also those smaller parts like Maia. MAIA!!! Maia really got to me.I knew it was gonna hurt and it did.I went from hating Riece to absolutely loving him. Tirza. Oh how much I love that girl. (I seriously can't wait to hopefully read more about her in upcoming books).I LOVE the dialogs between Clio and Riece.Right from the beginning until the painful end of the book.I have never read a book about an Oracle before so that aspect of the book was totally new to me and I loved it. I loved the journey that Clio made, not just physical but also for herself. There was that one big twist that I didn't see coming at all and I loved it.UGH, I just need the next book