jillian

3 stars for YA dystopian romance, 2 stars for my taste*, 2.5 overall.


Interesting premise, slow to start, excessively descriptive, flat characters, lovey-dovey stuff with added dystopian drama, ends on a cliffhanger (damn you!).


This book tries to be character driven, but personally it was the plot that kept my intrigue. Which, I realize goes against my usual distaste for most tropes of this genre, however it was original enough** to keep me mildly entertained. Is my curiosity piqued enough to finish the series? Eh, we'll see. Right now I'm not dying to find out what happens next.


The audio narration was one of the better I've listened to, however the voice actor (Sarah Drew)'s
portrayal of Alex's character was rather annoying. Then again, Alex was extremely annoying. Lena was too. But, I think teens will love them anyway. Maybe I'm just a crotchety old 20-something...


Overall, not the worst I've ever read, but forgettable enough.


*I don't really like romances. Or dystopian fiction. Why'd I pick this up again...?

**Meaning it lacked the post-apocalyptic, post-industrial, kids killing kids, disease***, war, famine mentality of most dystopian books. Also, there was the blessed lack of a love triangle. Thank. God.

***Yes, there is "disease", but not in the traditional sense.