Book Review - Noble Conflict

Title: Noble Conflict
Author: Malorie Blackman
Publisher: Doubleday Childrens
Release Date: 6 Jun 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0385610421

Synopsis
Years after a violent war destroyed much of the world, Kaspar has grown up in a society based on peace and harmony. But beyond the city walls, a vicious band of rebels are plotting to tear this peace apart. It is up to the Guardians - an elite peacekeeping force - to protect the city, without ever resorting to the brutal methods of their enemy.

When Kaspar joins the Guardians, he has a chance encounter with a rebel - a beautiful girl named Rhea. Haunted from that moment on by strange visions and memories - memories that could only belong to Rhea - he realises he hasn't been told the truth about what the rebels really want, and what he's really fighting for.

My Review
If you know me at all you will know that I love Malorie Blackman. Her Noughts and Crosses series is still in my top 5 series of all time and I can't see that ever changing. I met her in October too and she is an absolutely lovely person, really kind and funny and great to talk to. Based on that you can imagine my excitement when I heard another new book was coming out. They had copies of it for sale to be signed when I met her but I couldn't afford one, I got one of my older books signed instead. I requested this book at the library instead but it took a very long time to come in. 
One of my friends, a fellow Blackman fan said he had tried to read it and had struggled a bit, but all other reviews I saw were positive so I was looking forward to getting stuck in.
We meet Kaspar on the day of his graduation into the Guardians and are thrown straight into the action. I actually liked the opening of this book a lot, it's very punchy and gets straight into it. Made me want to know more about who and why these things were happening. I read the first 60 or so pages really quick and found myself being absorbed into the story. This isn't the usual sort of thing I would read but I was prepared to dive straight in. 
I found it quite hard to relate to Kaspar though, he jumps in first and asks questions later, meaning he makes a lot of mistakes but he never seems to learn from this or stop to think, causing even more mistakes and problems. I just didn't really like him. 
Rhea however, she was far more interesting, you actually don't know much about her but the mystery of her is part of the appeal. I wanted to know more and how she fit in with everything.
There was quite a lot of mystery in this book, it leaves you questioning why everything is happening and who is really behind it. But I have to be totally honest and say that I didn't really care too much. I was vaguely curious and invested enough to read the entire book but I wasn't really excited about it and by the end i have to admit I skim read a little bit.
After getting so involved in Malorie's other books and feeling like I was part of the story, I felt this one kept me on the edge a little bit.
It isn't a bad book and I found parts of it very exciting and I would be pulled in a bit more but I just didn't feel the usual magic. 

My Rating