Name: The Diseased Ones
Rating: 3.916666666666667 (12 reviews)
ISBN: 9781947392700

Danielle Harrington

Life is easy in 2647, unless you're a Diseased One.

The Hollis Timewire Series Book 1

The Diseased Ones

Tatiana Alvarez 

Actual Rating 3.5

Divergent meets Renegades in this dystopian novel by author Danielle Harrington. Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review.

Hollis has just turned 16 and has prepared for The Test her entire life. This test defines what she will be and if her blood is pure enough for her society. Luckily, no one has carried the diseased ones trait in their blood for 12 years. As Hollis waits for her blood test to come back, she grows more worried the longer it takes. 

Expectedly, Hollis is figured out to be The Diseased ones, which now makes her public enemy number one. While her government and even her parents are trying to get rid of her, a strange girl appears and suddenly takes Hollis to a secret hideout full of The Diseased Ones.

There, Hollis has to come to terms with her own powers. Not only that, but she is realizing that what she has been taught her entire life could possibly be built upon a lie. The very people she was told to hate seem more like family than her actual family. Now Hollis needs to decide what path she is going to go down.

The writing in this book was good and fast moving, which I appreciate. The plot is interesting, though nothing original. I blame this on the genre, simply because there is only so much you can do in a dystopian world without it sounding like many of the others in its genre. Besides that, I will still entertained as I read it. It reminded my a lot of Renegades by Marissa Meyer, so I think that also caught my interest.

I did not connect with Hollis as much as I would have liked, but I also know that she spent 16 years of her life completely brainwashed by her society. So it helps me understand her motives a little more, but I don't think I would call her a likable character. I think that is the intention though. She needs to prove herself to her group and her reader.

Loved the side characters! Though I typically gravitate towards them more.

This book ends on a cliffhanger, so I'm excited to see where book two takes us! Can't wait to read it!

After the government's brutal attack on the Diseased Ones, Hollis Timewire must wade through the carnage of her treacherous mistake. The survivors want justice, and now Hollis faces impending execution. Each day, she must prove herself to be a model community member. But chopping firewood for the new camp in the forest isn't enough. Hollis longs to redeem herself, and this sparks an idea to rescue the little boy from the Testing Center. Stealing the government's secret weapon might just be the perfect way to destabilize the system?-enough to bring the whole thing crumbling down. But unseen forces are at work. The world is not what it appears to be, and society has a dark secret that not even Hollis is prepared to face.

The Unseen Ones

Actual rating: 3.5!

Thank you to the author for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Book one ended on a cliffhanger and book two picks up exactly where the previous book ended. Unknowingly, Hollis has brought great destruction to the compound. The government found their location and while most of them got out alive, over 100 people were killed, including friends. Now it is time for Hollis to atone for her crimes. 

Hollis Knows that she has lost everyone she cares about. They all look at her as if she were a monster, and she can’t even blame them because she feels like a monster. On the day of her trial, Hollis is forced To listen to the council as they decide her fate. With things looking bleak Hollis begins to lose hope. However, her teacher Jonas, is willing to give her a second chance and Ultimately convinces the council to do the same. Now Hollis needs to prove to everyone and herself that she deserves to be there. 

Most of the Story takes place of the 30 days Hollis has to redeem herself before coming before the council again. Although this setting doesn’t change that much, there is a lot that goes on. Naturally not all people are happy that Hollis is still alive while they are left ones are dead. She is faced with hatred and angry glances Around every corner. An attempted murder even happens, but Hollis preservers through it all. 

I enjoyed the storyline of this one because I like the idea of redemption arc. Those are always my favorite types of stories. I also liked that this book focused on the little boy that took my Hollis’s powers And wanting to rescue him.

There were a few things that made me disconnect with Hollis, but this book is also YA and I am not a teenager. Because of that it was a little bit harder to connect to Hollis, but I did find myself working her more in this book than the previous one. Especially her character growth.

The authors writing is simple and quick to read. This is definitely a book that can be read in one sitting and be enjoyed. I can’t wait to see where this story is headed. It definitely has a lot of potential.

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

Actual rating: 3.5/5 stars

THE DISEASED ONES has many classic dystopian elements that are bound to draw in fans of this genre: a corrupt government, a group of rebels, a heroine who needs to sort through the lies and truths of the life she’s lived thus far.

The year is 2647 and the story starts on the day of our protagonist’s 16th birthday. In order to become a citizen of the world and established member of her society, Hollis must first pass a test that will determine if she has a biomarker, a gene that brings a mutation of the mind and inhuman abilities. Those who possess the biomarker are the Diseased Ones, and they are society’s worst enemies. Unfortunately for Hollis, her test reveals the presence of the biomarker and indeed a dangerous, powerful ability manifests in her time of distress. Hollis is able to escape immediate execution thanks to the prompt rescue of other Diseased Ones, who take her to their secret refuge. Life with the Diseased Ones, however, isn’t easy. With her world turned upside down, Hollis must understand how much of her life was a lie and if the Diseased Ones are telling her the truth, all while learning to control her power. Can Hollis trust the Diseased Ones? Is her government truly the enemy? Which side will she choose? To find out, you’ll have to read the book!

The Diseased Ones’s plot holds so much potential! Where there is scheming, there is drama and where there is drama, my interest is piqued. Having the narration limited to Hollis’s perspective is a bit limiting since we only experience the world through her eyes, but I was still able to enjoy the political aspect of it all. The whole concept of the Diseased Ones was very interesting and well done. I loved how many different abilities were featured: elemental summoners, super speed, teleportation—you name it! 

I was especially fond of the secondary characters. Hollis’s group of friends was hilarious (especially my darling Ben), and though the middle part of the book where Hollis was training was a bit slower than the rest, I still enjoyed it thanks to the interactions between characters. I also really loved Hollis’s friendship with Tiffany. I will never get tired of saying that supportive friendships between women is what we want to see in YA books, so I was very happy with those girls!

The romance element wasn’t very prominent, but the little that is there didn’t make me feel particularly invested. Perhaps it’s because Keith and Hollis were the characters I was least interested in, so I need more time with them and more build-up to appreciate their relationship. I understand Hollis is only sixteen, but despite what she goes through, I was a bit frustrated with her decisions for the majority of the book.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would 100% recommend it to fans of dystopian novels like Shatter Me. Not all the elements clicked with me, but this is a series and I believe the cliffhanger will bring forth a lot of growth…and a lot of drama *insert evil grin here*. Can’t wait to see what comes next!

Thank you to the author for sending me a copy to review. All opinions are my own.

THE UNSEEN ONES was a wild ride! The story picks off immediately after the events of The Diseased Ones and not without delivering serious blows to my heartstrings. From the very first pages, the stakes are immediately higher for Hollis and the other Diseased Ones. Her decisions in the previous book have an impact on all of their lives, and now Hollis must deal with the consequences of her actions and struggle to piece together what has been broken.

Hollis’s character development was one of my favorite parts of this sequel. In the previous book I mentioned that she wasn’t one of the characters I felt any particular draw to, but it’s like the author seized the opportunity to draw me away from the distracting secondary characters and force me to sit down and live in Hollis’s mind. It takes strength and courage to admit to your mistakes, and Hollis shows that in this book. Her humility to accept the consequences of her actions and her determination to deal with everything dealt to her in this book was something I really admired. This girl pulled out some serious attributes and I can officially say she won me over!

Another thing I really enjoyed was her bond with Jonah. I already loved this mentor/father figure in the Diseased Ones, but I feel like the special bond we’d already seen in the first book was even more evident when faced with the hardships of this installment. I can say without the shadow of a doubt that their bond is my favorite in the series, though I have to say I’m also growing very fond of the understanding between Hollis and a certain little boy that’s giving me strong found family sibling vibes!

The only minor issue I can point out is a bit of a slower middle with some detailed training scenes that affected the otherwise quicker pace of the rest of the book, but other than that, I really enjoyed this sequel and can’t wait for what comes next. Danielle Harrington loves to deliver awesome reveals in her endings only to leave us hanging on amazing cliffhangers!

Lindsay Hanz

** spoiler alert **
           I found this book because the author reached out to me!!! 

So I really enjoyed this book! The plot is such a great idea and the world was really cool to read about and explore! It’s like a dystopian take on the world but with superpowers and even more advanced technology. Oh and no emotions either! 

I found that so fascinating, that society deemed emotions as problematic and in order to be deemed a citizen/adult, you can’t show any emotion! The book has some great underlying themes and I really liked the struggle the MC faces because of the pressure that society has put on her. 

The characters were also great and I enjoyed the arc that Hollis herself had to go through. She grows over the course of it and realizes how the government has blinded her to the truth of what really happened with the Diseased Ones. 

Hollis also struggles with her power and this was such a great conflict for her to go through. It really added to the story that she had to constantly fight herself to do what was right and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The only thing that bothered me was Hollis’s gullibility and her tendency to be naive. She is really stubborn in accepting the truth and can’t make up her mind, which makes sense in the context because if you’re raised to believe one thing all your life, it’s hard to accept a different form of the truth. But even after being shown proof and the reality of the situation, she still refuses to accept what’s right in front of her. 

Overall, this was a really great, enjoyable read and I highly recommend you give it a read!

Manish Narayan Pandit

Hollis is a girl trying to join society after she fails the bio-marker test.
On her 16th birthday shocking news that she can't enter the list of citizenship for this world as she is the diseased one and she is forced underground. Just like I did you will fall in love with the character of Hollis.
Hollis sets out to figure out what the truth really is and how it can allow her to rejoin society, but can she bring this together.
The plot is basically set in the year of 2647.

Her writing style is fluid and suspenseful, full of rich descriptions that move the story forward and paint a vivid picture in your head without being too overbearing. The ending is twisted and absolutely shocking, and it left me on the edge of my seat, yearning for more!



Book kept me engaged the entire time. It was hard to put the book down to do other things. The characters had great personalities and development. I can't wait to see where the series goes.

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

That feeling when a book makes you wish you had cool superpowers, like the ability to teleport and say goodbye to public transport. 

The Diseased Ones is the first book in a dystopian series called The Hollis Timewire Series. Set in 2647, the story follows Hollis, who on the day of her 16th birthday needs to undergo a test that will determine if she has a biomarker, a gene that causes a mutation that grants people inhuman abilities. If Hollis doesn’t have the biomarker, she will be a member of society. If she does, she could face immediate execution. Unfortunately for her, Hollis does indeed have the biomarker, but she’s rescued by the Diseased Ones, a group of people just like her. Now that Hollis has discovered her new abilities, she lives in hiding with the other Diseased Ones, where she must learn to train her powers and determine who she can really trust. 

This read had many elements that I enjoy in a good dystopian: a fishy government, a kickass heroine, rebels with power, and lots of drama. I loved the concept of the Diseased Ones with their different abilities. It’s like the love child of X-Men and The Tomorrow People, which I love! (The Tomorrow People was a show that The CW rudely decided to cancel after its first season, thus depriving me of Luke Mitchell, and it’s a big reason why I still dream I can teleport.) 

As far as characters go I really liked Hollis, even though I didn’t always agree with her decisions. She’s sixteen in a difficult situation, so she’s allowed to make a few mistakes. What I especially liked about her is the fact that she’s willing to stand up to help people in need, and we often see that in her interactions with Ashton, who is a character that often acts like a bully. But my favorite character is probably Jonah, who is one of the leaders of the Diseased Ones and becomes a mentor figure for Hollis. He’s calm, patient, supportive…Exactly the kind of person I love to read about! I also really liked Tiffany and her friendship with Hollis. 

The Diseased Ones is the perfect read for fans of dystopians and readers who enjoy reading about people with powers (like me!) After that ending, I’m dying to see what happens next. 

Thank you to the author for sending me a copy. Opinions are my own.

What an exciting sequel!

The Unseen Ones, book two in The Hollis Timewire Series, picks up right where the previous book left off in a whirlwind of action and emotions. The stakes are higher than ever, and Hollis has to face the consequences of her choices. How can she redeem herself when she put the Diseased Ones at risk? That is Hollis’s objective throughout the book. To do better, to be part of a community that had taken her in and given her shelter when she needed it the most. 

I liked seeing Hollis’s growth in this second installment in the series. Her disposition to do good only increased here, because Hollis is aware she made a mistake and wants to fix it. Because she knows the government is using a little boy as a secret weapon, and she wants to save him at all costs. Hollis is a hero—flawed, relatable, and all the more likable because of it. 

My favorite character in the series, however, remains Jonah. He has all the qualities I love seeing in a character. Jonah truly feels like a father, not just to Hollis but the whole community. I felt like we had even more page time between him and Hollis. I like his role as a mentor in Hollis’s life, and I like their dynamic.

I didn’t mention anything about the romance in my previous review, but I’d like to add a note on it now. There’s tension between Hollis and Keith after what happened at the end of the first book—rightfully so—and this adds drama to their relationship. I’m not sure if I’m fully aboard this ship yet, but I think that with a few more scenes in the next book, I will be invested. 

Again, The Hollis Timewire Series is perfect for fans of dystopian reads. Read the review for the first book, 
  The Diseased Ones
, in the book's page.

The Diseased Ones The Hollis Timewire Series Book 1

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