Justin
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The story wasn't bad. It felt a little brief and weird in a few spots. What killed it was the ebook itself. I had many parts where I would get one letter per page. It ranges from a couple words to multiple sentences of this. Needless to say, this made reading frustrating, because it was frequent. I'd rate the story a 3.5. Formating a -2.
1 person found this review helpful
Vanessa Gayle
I think that I am actually in shock right now. My chest feels funny. Okay, hear me out. My review is going to sound like I didn't enjoy this book, but let's put this out there right now...I did! One of the hardest things about being a serial series reader is that when I start a completed series the hype has been going on about the series for some time. It leaches into my bones and I sometimes can't escape from it or separate myself from it. And that is the bottom line with me, my feelings, and this book. I just had higher expectations going into it than I would have liked. Especially since Marie Lu is one of my favorite authors. I thought that the world building in this was presented very well. I loved all of the little details about the world that sprang up as the story progressed. I didn't feel overwhelmed with backstory or world-specific details. They were all introduced at perfect times. The world-specific details were very realistic and vibrant. I could feel myself in the characters' shoes and feel the world around me as I was reading. I did think that some of the world-specific details could have been elaborated on though. There were some things that weren't perfectly clear while reading. I thought that the powers could have been explained more. I actually had to go back and read the section of the book that detailed how they work because it was so short and underdeveloped that I missed it the first time. And even then, it was still not super clear. The story's plot was not lacking at all. I rather enjoyed the storyline. There were unexpected plot twists and plenty of suspense. I loved the darkness of the story. The story itself is not overly original - a sickness that sweeps the land and leaves those left behind with powers - but combined with the world building it became something special. What I liked best about the characters was the diversity and the fact that they were not flawless like most characters tend to be. A lot of the characters had physical marks, which is not so common a thing since no one wants their pretty character babies to be anything but perfect. More than that though, the characters had internal flaws which I think makes them stand out as more realistic characters. Apart from those things, I was a little disappointed in the characters. Or perhaps it was my reception of the characters. I can't really put my finger on what exactly made me feel so distant from them, but I didn't connect with the characters at all in this book. None of them. Which is sad because they had so much potential to me. Potential to be something great and overpowering. Instead, I did not like their voices at all. The romance did not do it for me in this. It was not very convincing. I liked that it did not dominate the story, but other than that I did not care for it. I felt the characters were very one-dimensional so I was bound to dislike the romance between them. Overall, this book didn't have the pop that I am used to from Marie Lu. I wasn't really feeling it. I admit that this story has plenty of potential, but as is feels mediocre. I enjoyed the world, but I could not feel the characters at all. I enjoyed parts of this book, and others I felt were lacking. I will probably continue the series at some point, but I'm in no rush. The rest of the books will probably be sitting on my shelf until I am in a TBR clearing mood.
3 people found this review helpful
Quinn Enestvedt
It's a really high-quality book, I just don't connect with the character personally. I can't really understand the darker emotions. Or maybe that's just what I tell myself. Either way, I couldn't really get into the mind and heart of the character.