Chelsea
Written on Mar 5, 2016
THOUGHTS WHEN I FINISHED:
I wasn’t really expecting anything going into this book. I didn’t read any reviews but I saw that it had a fairly high rating. While it was by no means a perfect books I found myself really enjoying it and I was a little sad when it was over. So sad that I started the next book right away!
WHAT I LOVED:
I think my favorite part of this book was the relationship between Josi and Luke. It was far from perfect and was border line insta-love but I really loved it. It’s one of those relationships where the author isn’t telling you everything so you think some things are a little weird but later on you find out more details.
I also really liked the idea of this world even though it could have been executed a little bit better. There were some gaps at times but I didn’t really care about them while I was reading. I only really noticed them afterwards. I loved that the author based her world around emotions. Anger has supposedly been “cured” but I’m sure you can imagine that curing an emotion doesn’t always end well. I like that anger was a huge part of this book. Our main character had too much of it and the other characters had none. It really messed everyone up.
The characters were all incredibly detailed while still giving us a little mystery. I don’t usually like multiple POVs but I found it really worked in this story.
Josephine: I love how she seems to be this incredibly badass, female heroine but she’s actually really emotionally unstable. She’s had a really rough life and now she’s getting weaker and weaker every year and she has no idea why. She knows she turns into this crazy version of herself every year but she blocks it out because she can’t handle it. We do see her get stronger throughout the novel though which I was glad for. She’s the character that develops the most.
Luke: I really love Luke. He’s basically the perfect guy. He strong, brave, athletic, and he loves to cook. He’s also a great liar which doesn’t turn out so well for him. Nobody is perfect right? But he truly does care for Josephine and I love how much he loves her.
Anthony: We don’t get as much detail about Anthony as I would have liked but I did love him too. He was the character that had been cured of his anger already but it was almost breaking through him. He had the hardest time I think because he couldn’t control his emotions anymore. I love that the author added him in as a character.
I’ve been getting bored of dystopia books lately but I was happy that this one didn’t quite fit into the typical plot we usually see. I loved the mystery aspect of the story. We never had all the pieces of the puzzle until the very end. There ended up being a resistance at the end so I’m nervous to see how that plays out because they’re usually all the same.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
The only part that really confused me was the going back and forth from the present to the past. I couldn’t keep the dates in my mind so when we switched again I had to stop and think “ok we’re in the past now”. The idea of switching back and forth was really cool because we got to see what happened in a different sequence than we normally would. I just wish it had been done a little bit better for people like me who apparently get confused easily.
REVIEW:
Characters - 5 stars
World Building - 4 stars
Plot - 4 stars
Entertainment - 5 stars
Writing Style - 4 stars
Total - 4 stars
WHO I’D RECOMMEND TO:
I’d recommend this to people who love The Program duology. I find it had a similar feel. The worlds both played on emotions and there was a lot of psychological issues happening. Even the love stories were similar in a way. They are by no means even close to the same book though! I just found they felt similar. I’d definitely say that this series is for an older audience though. Josi is 18 in the past and a couple years older than that in the present. There’s violence, sex, and just crazy things happening so I’d almost classify this as a new adult book. Don’t let that turn you off though!
QUICK REVIEW:
This is a great book for dystopia lovers who are looking for something a little different. The world and characters are all imperfect and that’s what makes the story. You’ll fall in love with Luke and Josephine as their story slowly unfolds one piece at a time. The mystery of what’s happening to Josephine paired with the wonderful romance makes for a really interesting and intense story. It’s definitely a book you don’t want to miss.
