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samanthajgreen's review
4.0
It was okay, not as good as the first one, but it was fine. I hate that this author got a series deal and is letting her books suffer.
trisha_thomas's review
2.0
I didn't love the first one but I was curious to see where the story went. I'm so sad that I didn't like this one.
The story was disjointed and confusing. I thought being with a BETA was confusing but with Elysia, it was even worse. She just seemed all over the place with a story that didn't seem to flow well.
The story was disjointed and confusing. I thought being with a BETA was confusing but with Elysia, it was even worse. She just seemed all over the place with a story that didn't seem to flow well.
anyavalkyrie's review
2.0
I read it, but I wasn't overly impressed. The character development fell short for me. I feel like the first book set up the story for something good and this book just wasn't it.
hazelloretta's review
1.0
I honestly hated it. Very unsatisfying ending. I loved the first book, but it felt like the author kind of just didn't feel like writing anymore after finishing Beta. Not worth your time.
elemenoreed's review
1.0
Vapid. Completely and utterly useless waste of paper starring teen girls who I am so glad really do not exist in this world. I'm still wondering, "Did I really just...read that?" and the presence of the book at my side proves that I did, in fact, waste three hours of my life on this drivel.
The book starts off from Zhara's point of view. The reader gets to see how she ended up being considered dead and cloned and how she was living prior to reuniting with Xander on clone beach, or "Heathen" as it was so called for no reason. Zhara was supposedly heartbroken over Xander's "betrayal" before he left to fight for clone rights, but she has no problem simply moving her lustful feelings to the clone who rescued her. She admits to cozying up to him for survival reasons and because she wants to be queen of Demesne once the clones successfully take over. Yes, that is an honest explanation. Let's twirl our hair and pop our gum and talk about how, like, totally cool it would be to, like, be queen with this super hot clone guy. But then she finds out that Xander is still alive and that he's on the island, so she tells Aidan, her current live in clone boyfriend, that she wants to go along to get Xander. And when she sees him, this is what she thinks, "I hate him, but I'll never stop loving him, and now he's here." And this basically goes on throughout the book with her feelings for Xander and her feelings for Elysia. Because she hates Elysia on sight because this girl has her body and face, but Elysia's are, like, so much better, and that's just so not even fair! So she returns home with Aidan and finds a field where there are flowers that she makes raxia from and she gets all high. And then Aidan destroys the flowers so she can't get addicted and she tries to get in his pants so she can see if he's hiding some raxia somewhere on his person. In fact, Zhara spends a lot of time commenting on how hot some guys are and how much she would like to be in their pants. I think "jump his bones" also floated around in the text somewhere. Another example, "Sometimes I wonder what [Xander's] holy appeal to me ever was. Then I looked at his obscenely perfect body and face, and remember. Yes, I am that shallow. Want." And she is all for helping Elysia get rid of her baby, but then she becomes super attached to the idea of the baby and how it is kind of hers because Elysia's body is kind of her body and blah blah blah. She has no character growth of any kind. Actually, no one has character growth of any kind. All of the characters are shallow and superficial.
Seriously, I feel like the author faced a lot of backlash because of how the previous book ended and how Elysia was basically being forced to carry her rapist's child because it was some kind of strange symbol of hope for the clones. So she ends the book with Elysia having to carry this child and then there's this kind of backpedaling going on here where Zhara thinks about how wrong it is and how Elysia's feelings should be consulted and all I could think about were the many reviews that called the author out on her treatment of Elysia and her pregnancy at the end of the previous novel. So, she basically almost quotes some of the reviews I read and then has the baby cut out of Elysia and put in an artificial womb. Baby problem solved? I dunno. I feel like this continued to be really poorly handled.
And I feel like Elysia's presence in this book was completely unnecessary. She added nothing to the plot. She just kind of existed so that there could be a source for Zhara's angst. She's not any good at combat, even after training, and all she does is moon over Tahir and whether or not she will ever see him again. And she constantly worries about becoming "Awful" because that means death is approaching. But honestly, I can't, as the reader, even be worried about that because you know the clones are going to live. And if Elysia and Tahir end up not making it, who would really care? In fact, the book might have been better had they not been in it.
And the first half of the book is all about insurrection. The clones are prepping for it. They have combat exercises and they are able to manipulate weather and cause earthquakes and all kinds of things. There is a ton of buildup to insurrection. Does an insurrection ever happen? Nope. The last book built up to it, this book built up to it. And guess what, all those clones practiced for nothing because
Don't pick up this book. Don't do it. It is completely useless. And for some reason there is going to be a third one. I would say, don't do that one either.
The book starts off from Zhara's point of view. The reader gets to see how she ended up being considered dead and cloned and how she was living prior to reuniting with Xander on clone beach, or "Heathen" as it was so called for no reason. Zhara was supposedly heartbroken over Xander's "betrayal" before he left to fight for clone rights, but she has no problem simply moving her lustful feelings to the clone who rescued her. She admits to cozying up to him for survival reasons and because she wants to be queen of Demesne once the clones successfully take over. Yes, that is an honest explanation. Let's twirl our hair and pop our gum and talk about how, like, totally cool it would be to, like, be queen with this super hot clone guy. But then she finds out that Xander is still alive and that he's on the island, so she tells Aidan, her current live in clone boyfriend, that she wants to go along to get Xander. And when she sees him, this is what she thinks, "I hate him, but I'll never stop loving him, and now he's here." And this basically goes on throughout the book with her feelings for Xander and her feelings for Elysia. Because she hates Elysia on sight because this girl has her body and face, but Elysia's are, like, so much better, and that's just so not even fair! So she returns home with Aidan and finds a field where there are flowers that she makes raxia from and she gets all high. And then Aidan destroys the flowers so she can't get addicted and she tries to get in his pants so she can see if he's hiding some raxia somewhere on his person. In fact, Zhara spends a lot of time commenting on how hot some guys are and how much she would like to be in their pants. I think "jump his bones" also floated around in the text somewhere. Another example, "Sometimes I wonder what [Xander's] holy appeal to me ever was. Then I looked at his obscenely perfect body and face, and remember. Yes, I am that shallow. Want." And she is all for helping Elysia get rid of her baby, but then she becomes super attached to the idea of the baby and how it is kind of hers because Elysia's body is kind of her body and blah blah blah. She has no character growth of any kind. Actually, no one has character growth of any kind. All of the characters are shallow and superficial.
Seriously, I feel like the author faced a lot of backlash because of how the previous book ended and how Elysia was basically being forced to carry her rapist's child because it was some kind of strange symbol of hope for the clones. So she ends the book with Elysia having to carry this child and then there's this kind of backpedaling going on here where Zhara thinks about how wrong it is and how Elysia's feelings should be consulted and all I could think about were the many reviews that called the author out on her treatment of Elysia and her pregnancy at the end of the previous novel. So, she basically almost quotes some of the reviews I read and then has the baby cut out of Elysia and put in an artificial womb. Baby problem solved? I dunno. I feel like this continued to be really poorly handled.
And I feel like Elysia's presence in this book was completely unnecessary. She added nothing to the plot. She just kind of existed so that there could be a source for Zhara's angst. She's not any good at combat, even after training, and all she does is moon over Tahir and whether or not she will ever see him again. And she constantly worries about becoming "Awful" because that means death is approaching. But honestly, I can't, as the reader, even be worried about that because you know the clones are going to live. And if Elysia and Tahir end up not making it, who would really care? In fact, the book might have been better had they not been in it.
And the first half of the book is all about insurrection. The clones are prepping for it. They have combat exercises and they are able to manipulate weather and cause earthquakes and all kinds of things. There is a ton of buildup to insurrection. Does an insurrection ever happen? Nope. The last book built up to it, this book built up to it. And guess what, all those clones practiced for nothing because
Spoiler
in the end, all it takes is Xander (yes, just one person), using borrowed clone powers to start an earthquake that basically destroys Desmesne. And it all goes down in the last twenty pages of the bookSpoiler
Anyway, the clones end up back on Demesne. Elysia is reunited with Tahir and they're all twitterpated and everyone comes to find out that Tahir's parents are trying to make a vaccine that will cure teenagers of "the awfuls". Yup, you know, like terrible two's, but for teens. And then all parents will have docile and obedient teens who won't engage in any kind of risk taking. You see, if First Tahir had not been a risk taker, he would not have surfed waves too big for him and died. Teens wouldn't get all strung out on raxia. They wouldn't argue with their parents. And then the parents wouldn't have to have all the stress of going through this period of child rearing. I just can't even. This is the stupidest thing I think I have ever read. But it's all "for the greater good", except that this concept was used a lot more accurately in Harry Potter. And the "imprinted" phrase comes up again. Sigh.Don't pick up this book. Don't do it. It is completely useless. And for some reason there is going to be a third one. I would say, don't do that one either.
booklife4life's review
4.0
Title: Emergent
Series: Annex #2
Author: Rachel Cohn
Rating: 3.5 stars
Recommend to?: Clone lovers :]
My Review:Having loved the first book in this series so much, i dived right into this one upon finishing Beta. Sadly i was disappointed a bit.
It dragged in the middle badly. Probably could've taken out like 100 pages and the story still would've been fine.
This just didn't live up to the same hype the first one did.
I still will continue the series because the ending still left a lot of things unanswered or they didn't even really address it at all in the book even thou it was something major in the last book!!!
Series: Annex #2
Author: Rachel Cohn
Rating: 3.5 stars
Recommend to?: Clone lovers :]
My Review:Having loved the first book in this series so much, i dived right into this one upon finishing Beta. Sadly i was disappointed a bit.
It dragged in the middle badly. Probably could've taken out like 100 pages and the story still would've been fine.
This just didn't live up to the same hype the first one did.
I still will continue the series because the ending still left a lot of things unanswered or they didn't even really address it at all in the book even thou it was something major in the last book!!!
lomantuo's review
4.0
Easy and entertaining read
The ending felt rushed but overall a really good read. Characters and their dynamics with each other were well thought out.
The ending felt rushed but overall a really good read. Characters and their dynamics with each other were well thought out.