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efreads's review
2.0
after reading the first book i was very excited to read this book! though i was unbelievably bored. it had such great potential, no matter how good the plot was it wasn’t portrayed in an intriguing way.
it took double the time than reading the first book because i just couldn’t flip more pages. i recommend reading the first book only.
it took double the time than reading the first book because i just couldn’t flip more pages. i recommend reading the first book only.
nagam's review
4.0
Review originally posted on Rather Be Reading:
When I read Wither last year, these were some of the reactions I had to the book:
“I really enjoy books that take me to a place that I’ve never considered, and certainly never read about before. For those reasons, I applaud the author. There were situations that DeStefano wrote brilliantly that could not have been written any other way.”
“The writing was beautiful. Incredibly well done. I felt the emotions, pain, struggle, suffocation, conflict, and confusion that Rhine, the main character, went through.”
When I look back at my review of Wither, I realize how many questions I had pertaining to the world and the setting, how uncomfortable the story made me, but also how much it intrigued me. There was a lot of description so the reader would have a sense for how Rhine felt being forced into a polygamous marriage with Linden. I felt the anxiety and freedom when she was finally able to escape the mansion with Gabriel.
Book two, Fever, picks up immediately where book one ended. We see Rhine and Gabriel on the run where they are soon captured and taken to an old, broken down carnival. That same sickening sense of something is wrong here washed over me. Many girls who were rejected as wives had found a home at the carnival and were being pimped out to nasty men. It seemed as though the girls had lost hope and were biding their time; after all, they were going to die when they hit 20 anyway.
I’m not going to go into much more detail about what happens at the carnival; it’s definitely something the reader should experience on their own. I felt the pacing was a lot slower in Fever (but I wouldn’t say this is a bad thing). DeStefano definitely took her time building the story and making me anxious for something to happen. The timing allowed the characters to devise plans and it made the details of the setting sink in. I am a very impatient person, so I did want fast answers and more information because I feared there were things that would happen – would Vaughn (Rhine’s father-in-law) catch up to them?
The story felt a lot like this to me:
learn. learn. learn. learn. BAM! ACTION. learn. learn…
With the slower pacing, DeStefano surprised me a lot. Because there was so much build up, many moments or twists made me feel unprepared. They took me by surprise, in the best of ways, and I loved not knowing when to expect the next big turn. I found the story to be unpredictable and I felt extremely engaged.
Overall, I feel like I enjoyed Fever more than Wither. It’s rare to feel that way about a sequel, but I knew to expect uncomfortable situations in DeStefano’s writing. I accepted the world a bit more, and really enjoyed the grittiness of seeing the life outside of the mansion. The events felt more believable and DeStefano has me aching to find out what happens next.
If you read Wither last year, you definitely need to pick up Fever!
When I read Wither last year, these were some of the reactions I had to the book:
“I really enjoy books that take me to a place that I’ve never considered, and certainly never read about before. For those reasons, I applaud the author. There were situations that DeStefano wrote brilliantly that could not have been written any other way.”
“The writing was beautiful. Incredibly well done. I felt the emotions, pain, struggle, suffocation, conflict, and confusion that Rhine, the main character, went through.”
When I look back at my review of Wither, I realize how many questions I had pertaining to the world and the setting, how uncomfortable the story made me, but also how much it intrigued me. There was a lot of description so the reader would have a sense for how Rhine felt being forced into a polygamous marriage with Linden. I felt the anxiety and freedom when she was finally able to escape the mansion with Gabriel.
Book two, Fever, picks up immediately where book one ended. We see Rhine and Gabriel on the run where they are soon captured and taken to an old, broken down carnival. That same sickening sense of something is wrong here washed over me. Many girls who were rejected as wives had found a home at the carnival and were being pimped out to nasty men. It seemed as though the girls had lost hope and were biding their time; after all, they were going to die when they hit 20 anyway.
I’m not going to go into much more detail about what happens at the carnival; it’s definitely something the reader should experience on their own. I felt the pacing was a lot slower in Fever (but I wouldn’t say this is a bad thing). DeStefano definitely took her time building the story and making me anxious for something to happen. The timing allowed the characters to devise plans and it made the details of the setting sink in. I am a very impatient person, so I did want fast answers and more information because I feared there were things that would happen – would Vaughn (Rhine’s father-in-law) catch up to them?
The story felt a lot like this to me:
learn. learn. learn. learn. BAM! ACTION. learn. learn…
With the slower pacing, DeStefano surprised me a lot. Because there was so much build up, many moments or twists made me feel unprepared. They took me by surprise, in the best of ways, and I loved not knowing when to expect the next big turn. I found the story to be unpredictable and I felt extremely engaged.
Overall, I feel like I enjoyed Fever more than Wither. It’s rare to feel that way about a sequel, but I knew to expect uncomfortable situations in DeStefano’s writing. I accepted the world a bit more, and really enjoyed the grittiness of seeing the life outside of the mansion. The events felt more believable and DeStefano has me aching to find out what happens next.
If you read Wither last year, you definitely need to pick up Fever!
singsthewren's review
4.0
I read the first book in this series a long time ago, when I was working at Chapters and books rained down from the sky like - well, like rain. It took me a few years to get around to reading the sequel, despite enjoying the first one. It was a little bit.. expected. Nothing too surprising. Good, but not great. So that's why I was so happy when the sequel blew me out of the water.
This entire book reads like - aptly - a fever dream. Everything is beautiful and scary and hazy and stumbling, and we careen forever at a breakneck pace as the world whispers and shivers around us. Characters are a bit of a blur, and the world is big and scary and wild, but we are so hooked we don't mind how lost we sometimes feel.
The world opens up a bit more in this book, as is often the trend with a YA series, and luckily does not let us down (unlike some sequels I can think of). I read the whole thing in a few days and rushed out immediately to buy the conclusion despite the pile of other books in my house. Definitely recommend.
This entire book reads like - aptly - a fever dream. Everything is beautiful and scary and hazy and stumbling, and we careen forever at a breakneck pace as the world whispers and shivers around us. Characters are a bit of a blur, and the world is big and scary and wild, but we are so hooked we don't mind how lost we sometimes feel.
The world opens up a bit more in this book, as is often the trend with a YA series, and luckily does not let us down (unlike some sequels I can think of). I read the whole thing in a few days and rushed out immediately to buy the conclusion despite the pile of other books in my house. Definitely recommend.
missmary98's review
4.0
I think I preferred the first one, and parts of this one really confused me, but it was still a good book.
appelkers's review
4.0
This book was very much to my liking. The pacing was right, the writing was creative, the storyline was good and the dystopian world was interesting. I simply could not put this book down, it was such a captivating story. All of the above mentioned factors just came together perfectly in this book.
The pacing was not too slow neither too fast. I never had the feeling that I missed something because I was just getting an overload of information. But I never felt like skipping ahead just to get a move on the story either.
I really liked the writing, it just made it easy to get sucked right into the world. I could easily imagine how horrible it would be to live in this house where you were being kept against your will. Just like I understand how she sometimes felt as if it wasn’t too bad.The only thing that bothered me sometimes were the slight repetitions (stating again that they died of the fever, etc.).
This world in which the new generations die so young is very interesting. Because it has the pro-nature followers (those who think the human race should just die out) just like there are people who desperately want to save their children and the human race with them. I also really liked the concept of Rhine being stuck in a house where she could have everything she wanted except for the thing she wanted the most, her freedom.
Rhine is a very relatable character for me, she handles much like I would have done if I had found myself in this horrible situation. She wasn’t needlessly rebellious nor extremely compliant. Rhine’s relationship with her sister wives were very interesting as well, they were all married to the same man and because of that they were all stuck in the same situation, though each wife handled it differently.
The pacing was not too slow neither too fast. I never had the feeling that I missed something because I was just getting an overload of information. But I never felt like skipping ahead just to get a move on the story either.
I really liked the writing, it just made it easy to get sucked right into the world. I could easily imagine how horrible it would be to live in this house where you were being kept against your will. Just like I understand how she sometimes felt as if it wasn’t too bad.The only thing that bothered me sometimes were the slight repetitions (stating again that they died of the fever, etc.).
This world in which the new generations die so young is very interesting. Because it has the pro-nature followers (those who think the human race should just die out) just like there are people who desperately want to save their children and the human race with them. I also really liked the concept of Rhine being stuck in a house where she could have everything she wanted except for the thing she wanted the most, her freedom.
Rhine is a very relatable character for me, she handles much like I would have done if I had found myself in this horrible situation. She wasn’t needlessly rebellious nor extremely compliant. Rhine’s relationship with her sister wives were very interesting as well, they were all married to the same man and because of that they were all stuck in the same situation, though each wife handled it differently.
booksfornikol's review
Stačilo mi už jen přečíst 150 stran, ale kniha mě vůbec nebavila, už jsem dál nemohla pokračovat.
Postavy pořád jen spaly nebo byly pod nějakou drogou. A hlavně už jsem nechtěla číst o světě, kde dívky umírají ve 20 letech, takže jediné k čemu jsou dobré, je být něčí manželkou.
Prvnímu dílu jsem dala 4* a opravdu jsem si ho užila, ale tenhle už nedávám. Ani nejsem zvědavá, jak trilogie skončí.
Postavy pořád jen spaly nebo byly pod nějakou drogou. A hlavně už jsem nechtěla číst o světě, kde dívky umírají ve 20 letech, takže jediné k čemu jsou dobré, je být něčí manželkou.
Prvnímu dílu jsem dala 4* a opravdu jsem si ho užila, ale tenhle už nedávám. Ani nejsem zvědavá, jak trilogie skončí.
blodeuedd's review
2.0
I can't even snark that much as nothing happened in this book, and people were drugged much of it too. Hug disappointment.
But first, really..really?! She ends up in a brothel. But does she get sold to the next costumer. Oh no, of course not, instead she gets put on display. Now that is just bad business. If the girl is that damn pretty and special then sell her body. But we can't have that happen to our heroine. So do not let her end up there then. It set the tone for the book and I did not like it. This is supposed to be a horrible future and she *big eye roll*. Lame.
The other problem with the book was that I did not care. Book was tough provoking, here I did not care either way. Women dying at 20,whatever. Women sold to slavery, yawn. Yes you can see my problem. The whole book suffered for it. Nothing happened, she talked with Gabriel (did I feel they were in love..no.) Scary evil father-in law, well ok he was good, cos he was actually evil. The only good thing is the mad scientist.
And how is this series gonna end. Oh I am sure she is the cure for it all. Did this book made me want to read the next? No thanks. I mean, it was still ok, cos I finished it in no time. It was simple.
But first, really..really?! She ends up in a brothel. But does she get sold to the next costumer. Oh no, of course not, instead she gets put on display. Now that is just bad business. If the girl is that damn pretty and special then sell her body. But we can't have that happen to our heroine. So do not let her end up there then. It set the tone for the book and I did not like it. This is supposed to be a horrible future and she *big eye roll*. Lame.
The other problem with the book was that I did not care. Book was tough provoking, here I did not care either way. Women dying at 20,whatever. Women sold to slavery, yawn. Yes you can see my problem. The whole book suffered for it. Nothing happened, she talked with Gabriel (did I feel they were in love..no.) Scary evil father-in law, well ok he was good, cos he was actually evil. The only good thing is the mad scientist.
And how is this series gonna end. Oh I am sure she is the cure for it all. Did this book made me want to read the next? No thanks. I mean, it was still ok, cos I finished it in no time. It was simple.
jodiesbookishposts's review against another edition
2.0
What a let down! I’m hoping that it is just a mid-series slump and that the final Chemical Gardens book will pack a punch.
amachonis's review
4.0
I wouldn't really say that I was sad that Rhine and Gabriel made it out of the mansion in book 1 (Wither), but I was sad about leaving the story behind there. I couldn't stop reading about the sadistic things that Vaughn was doing in the basement and the drama on the wives' floor. I was really wondering if Gabriel would find freedom worth it on the outside because I knew they would struggle. Though I found Madame pretty interesting, I hated the entire part of the book where they were in her red light district. They were drugged and made to do things against their will, and when Vaughn showed up, their escape was surprising in the sense that it wasn't very realistic. I did really enjoy Rhine's reading with the psychic, who knew about Rowan. When Rhine got to New York, I'm glad she was able to get Maddie, Lilac (or Grace's) child to her grandmother and safety. Rhine's home was destroyed, so that was a big letdown for her. I thought, though, since it had been a year, she should have been more prepared for something so catastrophic. I enjoyed the character of Silas in the orphanage and for a fleeting moment thought there would be a fling between him and Rhine. All this time, Gabriel has been more of a caregiver than a lover. He's devoted to Rhine especially when she falls ill. It seems Jenna warned him to take care of her since she realized Rhine was being experimented on as she was. Luckily, Rhine didn't decline as fast as Jenna did. The end of the book was riveting. Rhine goes with Vaughn willingly after she realizes how sick she's become. He reveals a lot to her -- that he was the one who made her sick with the candies she loved, how he killed Jenna (just a confirmation, really), and how he found her: a tracking device in her thigh. For a period of time (weeks? months?) she is put through test after test and kept heavily drugged. She sees her former domestic Deirdre and Cecily also finds out she is back. Cecily makes a big mistake in not telling Linden, who is still in his bubble of oblivion and holographs. Vaughn has lied to her and said that Linden disowned her (I never believed that since Linden is so tenderhearted. She may have broken his heart, but he's not a monster like his father.) Rhine is taken to a hospital where she begins to recover. The curtain is pulled back from Linden's eyes, though he doesn't 100% believe everything yet. There is a moving scene between husband and former wife at the end of the book. I immediately started the 3rd book upon finishing the 2nd -- the ending was just that good. So, even though I didn't love a lot of the book, overall is was well-written. Once you read the 3rd book, you appreciate things you didn't know about when you first read them....