shannonmiz
Written on Jan 28, 2020
We Set the Dark on Fire was quite good, and I was definitely looking forward to this sequel/finale. Especially after hearing that it would be told from the other side's perspective, and ultimately finding out it would be in Carmen's point of view. Nothing wrong with Dani's, but it can be fun to change things up! So let us talk about what I enjoyed and what fell a bit short!
The Good:
- • Like I mentioned, Carmen's POV was a great choice. I'm sure it would have been fine from Dani's too, but I loved getting to see the other side of the war. Especially since we kind of knew from the first book (and this isn't a spoiler) that the world Dani was living in was kind of terrible.
- • It reminded me of 3%. I think it was probably the setting near the water paired with a rebellion against the people trying to pretend that their little city was some kind of utopia. Also, 3% is awesome and so having that vibe is just always a really good thing, end of story.
- • Snippets into Carmen's past were great. And not just Carmen, but the history of the rebellion. It was great to see that they cared so deeply for each other, and their cause.
- • I loved the strength that Carmen and Dani possessed, each in her own way. Can't go too deeply into this because spoilers, but each woman had to be bananas tough to get through the crap they'd been through.
- • I definitely loved Carmen and Dani together, and hoped they'd find their way to each other. I loved them in the first book, and now that they knew that they cared for each other... what would happen when they were separated?
The Not As Good:
- • Some things seemed rather... obvious to me. I mean, I could tell from fairly early on what was going to happen to who to a pretty high degree. Maybe I am just really intuitive, but probably not.
- • Being inside Carmen's head a lot meant a lot of repetitive themes. Girl is worried about whether Dani will be able to give her transgressions, worried about her friends, etc, and I totally get it! But there are phrases that kept being repeated and I just... I mean, I get it, she is brutal and worried about what Dani will think. Plus, I think had it been in first person in Carmen's head would have helped me connect to her and these feelings a lot better. Third person narrative in one character's head can be... a lot. Especially when said character spends a ton of time by herself throughout the story.
- • Some threads just got dropped without resolution or mention. Nothing major-major. The main plot is resolved, I assure you. But I had some questions at the end like "oh hey what happened to those folks?" or "but wait why didn't anyone mention that thing"? You know, the questions we ask when trying to be vague and ward off spoilers.
- • The pacing felt a bit off. Some parts of it seemed a little draggy, while the end bits seemed too fast and/or easy.
Bottom Line: A decent sequel that wrapped up the duology nicely, I definitely look forward to whatever the author does next!