Reviewed by bookishzelda on
This is one of my favorite concepts of alter universes. That each action we take creates a spin-off universe with the action we didn’t. Branching out, creating an infinite number and the fact that some other universes are already destroyed due to those alternate choices. I also like that
There are many interesting facets to this book. One is the two Lillians. Even though Lily and Lillian are the same they are both different too. It’s the whole nature vs nurture, they might have a basic similar nature but their experiences in life have influenced who they have become. They have different things and had different experiences and even different love lives and pains. Where Lillian was the one betraying, Lily was the one betrayed. It’s very cool to see this play out and makes for a complicated romance story.
Speaking of complicated this is one of the most complicated love triangles I have ever read. It’s not just a bit of forbidden love since Lily doesn’t plan on sticking in this universe. It’s the fact that there are two of the same girl, although different. Can you really separate the two. Is loving one inevitable because you love the other. Lots of thoughts in my head. Lots of thoughts...all though I think Josephine is excellent at writing great love stories. We might be experiencing Lily’s love story now but you can also tell that Lillian had a great one to share as well.
I enjoyed the characters including the good, bad and ugly. I thought you could see where some of their actions are coming from. They are just bad because they feel like it, there are things that pushed them in that direction or triggered them. I thought their backgrounds were well developed in that sense. There was focus on them but not overly focused.
The ending is fantastic and although it has me clammering for book 2 sooner rather than later. I really liked how it turned out. It’s got me wondering what is going to happen but also summed up well enough that I wasn’t angry.
I loved the plot, the characters and the writing. The flow was perfect, the world vivid in my mind.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 25 May, 2014: Finished reading
- 25 May, 2014: Reviewed