REVIEW: The Catalyst by Helena Coggan

The Catalyst by Helena Coggan
Published by Hodder & Stoughton on 19th February 2015
Pages: 448
Source: *Received from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Rose Elmsworth has a secret. For eighteen years, the world has been divided into the magically Gifted and the non-magical Ashkind, but Rose's identity is far more dangerous. At fifteen, she has earned herself a place alongside her father in the Department, a brutal law-enforcement organisation run by the Gifted to control the Ashkind. But now an old enemy is threatening to start a catastrophic war, and Rose faces a challenging test of her loyalties. How much does she really know about her father's past? How far is the Department willing to go to keep the peace? And, if the time comes, will Rose choose to protect her secret, or the people she loves?

Thrilling and dangerous, this novel surpassed my expectations by miles! I really like the cover, it is simple but it stands out; the cover of the hardcover is my favourite though as in the centre it has a silhouette of Rose and her father.

Having won the war, the Gifted are superior to the Ashkind. For the past eighteen years they have been divided, but there are more divisions within the Gifted, they just don't know from who. But when faced with their worst enemy, the Department must try to solve their mysteries whist a traitor is in their midst, and Rose and David Elmsworth must protect their secrets with their lives.

Rose is an incredibly powerful and strong-willed protagonist. She was easily likeable for she wanted to do everything she could to help those around her, but would do anything to protect the ones she loved. What I also liked was though she was strong and a model fighter, who displayed little emotion and was trained to kill, she still had conflicted emotions over killing others, unless they threatened the ones she loved. She acted on instinct and was an interesting protagonist to read about, seeing the difference from the character that she was, wanted to be, and who she believed she was.

The plot of this novel was amazing, I was certainly not expecting it. Coggan is a terrifically talented author who created this dark and addictive world, ridden with secrets and lies, but also displayed true imagination and depth to the novel. The imagery was phenomenal and I could constantly picture the scenes occurring meaning I was unable of get it out of my mind when not reading. For me, it was the cleverness and intricacy of the ending, though I was originally confused when reading the first time round, the last couple of chapters really answered you questions and the way Coggan illustrated it was truly smart and intriguing; I had definitely not seen it coming.

This is a thrilling and addictive read, that was certainly darker than I expected it to be; the ending was also perfect. I am very excited for Coggan's future works.