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martha_is_reading's review against another edition
3.0
Ahhh what to say about this book? I loved the original trilogy when I first read it as a teenager, and was delighted to find that I still loved it when I reread it last month in preparation for reading this new instalment. However, I think the gap between the third and fourth books really shows here.
This series is classic YA in that there's lots of drama and teenage crushes and cheesy romance - but I loved it in the original. The balance was just right between developing romances between the characters and their overall mission. Unfortunately in this one, the cheesy romance seemed to have been increased tenfold, and I found it incredibly distracting. Suddenly everyone was calling each other 'sweetheart' and 'baby' and it was gross! There was suddenly more jealousy and immaturity that hadn't been there before. This one felt far more teenage than its predecessors and that was a real shame. I also felt there was a dramatic shift towards technology, as if acknowledging that this book is being released in 2018 - the problem is that it's set immediately after The Key ended.
My final issue was that suddenly EVERYONE is Immortal/Eternal - where's the jeopardy in that?! It's also not clear how/why Ethan became an Immortal? When Lorian and Dartemis bestowed agelessness on Isabel and Dillon, they became Eternal. It would imply that being Immortal is in your DNA (as demonstrated by all of the other Immortals who are children of other Immortals) and being Eternal is something that is granted to you. So how was Dartemis suddenly able to make Ethan immortal?!
It wasn't all bad by any means, I enjoyed being back in that world again and gobbled this up in a day. I thought Dillon's journey was the most interesting and it was an extra layer to have Jesmila's perspective and see what was going on with The Order.
Overall, an exciting opportunity to revisit a much loved world but it didn't quite live up to the original trilogy.
This series is classic YA in that there's lots of drama and teenage crushes and cheesy romance - but I loved it in the original. The balance was just right between developing romances between the characters and their overall mission. Unfortunately in this one, the cheesy romance seemed to have been increased tenfold, and I found it incredibly distracting. Suddenly everyone was calling each other 'sweetheart' and 'baby' and it was gross! There was suddenly more jealousy and immaturity that hadn't been there before. This one felt far more teenage than its predecessors and that was a real shame. I also felt there was a dramatic shift towards technology, as if acknowledging that this book is being released in 2018 - the problem is that it's set immediately after The Key ended.
It wasn't all bad by any means, I enjoyed being back in that world again and gobbled this up in a day. I thought Dillon's journey was the most interesting and it was an extra layer to have Jesmila's perspective and see what was going on with The Order.
Overall, an exciting opportunity to revisit a much loved world but it didn't quite live up to the original trilogy.
calissa's review
This book is an entry in the 2018 Aurealis Awards, for which I am a judge. Any review will be withheld until the results of the awards are announced.
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