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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Originally posted on my blog The Daily Bookmark
Fever was a very different story from its predecessor, Wither. The best way I can describe it was a whirlwind of events and emotions, tears, stress, worry and adventure.
Fever picks up exactly where Wither left off - Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the Ashby mansion and have hijacked a boat to flee to Manhattan where Rhine hopes to find her twin brother, Rowan. But it turns out that it's not that simple. Unfortunately, their boat finds land long before intended. Between South Carolina (or was it not quite?) and Manhattan and beyond, the pair are never too far from danger and peril. Vaughn, master of the Ashby mansion, for some strange reason is close on their heals at all times and heartbreak, intrigue and dangerous situations peek around every corner.
I really prefer the sophomore books of a series. Although I had some hang-ups with Fever, it was no exception to that rule. One already is well-acquainted with the characters. The general basis behind the story is well-understood and the plot wraps around you like an old, warn familiar sweatshirt. In places, I definitely felt this nostalgia in Fever. Lauren DeStefano did a wonderful job of carrying the same people from book one to book two.
We even got to know a little bit more about each of these characters. Gabriel was a stranger to me in Wither. I didn't understand him at all because I just didn't know him. Can I say that I know him better now after reading Wither? Sure, of course. But I'm still unsure about him. He toyed with drug addiction so easily. He followed Rhine, not just out the mansion, but out of every seemingly safe place they encountered, without question. But his willingness to do so, despite the flight response screaming out to me, never gets fully answered. Everybody has a motive and when you live to be 25 at the most, it makes no sense to me why he would be so careless with his time for a girl he seems to like just okay and puts him dangerously close to shortening his lifespan even further.
Rhine, I thought, improved as a person. I felt her sort of grow up a little in Fever. She had more understanding of her situation and realized the repercussions to her actions. She questions Gabriel on why he came with her. She accepts that finding her brother isn't going to be a simple task. She even battles with herself about whether leaving the mansion really was the best idea. Minor things but I really began to like Rhine, whereas I tolerated her before.
I spent the first two hundred pages or so dredging through. Nobody wants to dredge through reading because then it feels more like a chore. But I couldn't help it. The storyline was just too out there. The settings through which Rhine and Gabriel traveled seemed to come straight from a hallucination induced by taking some sort of drug. I get that the world DeStefano created wasn't meant to be straight-forward but I just felt it got a little too crazy. A circus/carnival/prostitution mecca to a fortune-teller's shack in the middle of nothing to a hotel owned by a crazy person and potential rapist. It was just too much. And that was before New York! The part I found most difficult is that while all this was happening, I didn't find it riveting enough. Sort of like those infomercials where "But wait, there's more! If you call within the next 20 minutes..." Wamp. Wamp. Wamp....
Then they reached Manhattan. And that's when I got hooked. The story was dark and creepy but interesting. The pace was perfect and the questions grew. Then things grew darker and more mysterious. I won't give anything away but Rhine grew into an even better character for me. The scenes near the end were so nightmarish and hell-on-earth but I couldn't help admire Rhine's strength. She made her decisions knowing the potential (and likely) consequences. She faced the crap that was thrown her way as an adult.
Finally, some of the questions from Wither were answered or my hang-ups there were better explained. Vaughn's a villain, there's no doubt in my mind here. Fever helped confirm Rhine's beliefs on what happened before and just after she came to the mansion. The political environment of this world DeStefano created was more fleshed out. And I had more of an appreciation and understanding of how the cure then virus led to this dystopian society.
Unfortunately, some questions were not answered. Some new questions were formed and still not answered. Why the 20/25 ages? The mention of the significance behind Rhine and Rowan's names yet never understood. The introduction of the tarot cards - Emperor and Empress. Why does Linden all of the sudden have angst against Rhine? How do you go from cure of everything to the creation of a new virus that affects everybody when viruses are not genetic? How is it possible that the US is the only above water country when the vast majority of the rest of the world is at higher elevation? Does this mean they've been deceived and there is more to the world?
Unlike Wither, Fever ended on a cliffhanger making the wait for book three in 2013 near impossible. Up until this point, I felt that Fever could have been a standalone. The premise to what happens in Wither is so clearly explained that a reader picking up Fever would have no problem following along.
All around, I liked Fever but it doesn't stand out to me. Yes, it was dark and touched that ugly place in my mind where my nightmares spend their days (which I enjoy, by the way) but the hang-ups really bugged me and long-awaited Wither resolutions never came. I hope that the final book in the trilogy will rectify all of these questions for me.
Fever was a very different story from its predecessor, Wither. The best way I can describe it was a whirlwind of events and emotions, tears, stress, worry and adventure.
Fever picks up exactly where Wither left off - Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the Ashby mansion and have hijacked a boat to flee to Manhattan where Rhine hopes to find her twin brother, Rowan. But it turns out that it's not that simple. Unfortunately, their boat finds land long before intended. Between South Carolina (or was it not quite?) and Manhattan and beyond, the pair are never too far from danger and peril. Vaughn, master of the Ashby mansion, for some strange reason is close on their heals at all times and heartbreak, intrigue and dangerous situations peek around every corner.
I really prefer the sophomore books of a series. Although I had some hang-ups with Fever, it was no exception to that rule. One already is well-acquainted with the characters. The general basis behind the story is well-understood and the plot wraps around you like an old, warn familiar sweatshirt. In places, I definitely felt this nostalgia in Fever. Lauren DeStefano did a wonderful job of carrying the same people from book one to book two.
We even got to know a little bit more about each of these characters. Gabriel was a stranger to me in Wither. I didn't understand him at all because I just didn't know him. Can I say that I know him better now after reading Wither? Sure, of course. But I'm still unsure about him. He toyed with drug addiction so easily. He followed Rhine, not just out the mansion, but out of every seemingly safe place they encountered, without question. But his willingness to do so, despite the flight response screaming out to me, never gets fully answered. Everybody has a motive and when you live to be 25 at the most, it makes no sense to me why he would be so careless with his time for a girl he seems to like just okay and puts him dangerously close to shortening his lifespan even further.
Rhine, I thought, improved as a person. I felt her sort of grow up a little in Fever. She had more understanding of her situation and realized the repercussions to her actions. She questions Gabriel on why he came with her. She accepts that finding her brother isn't going to be a simple task. She even battles with herself about whether leaving the mansion really was the best idea. Minor things but I really began to like Rhine, whereas I tolerated her before.
I spent the first two hundred pages or so dredging through. Nobody wants to dredge through reading because then it feels more like a chore. But I couldn't help it. The storyline was just too out there. The settings through which Rhine and Gabriel traveled seemed to come straight from a hallucination induced by taking some sort of drug. I get that the world DeStefano created wasn't meant to be straight-forward but I just felt it got a little too crazy. A circus/carnival/prostitution mecca to a fortune-teller's shack in the middle of nothing to a hotel owned by a crazy person and potential rapist. It was just too much. And that was before New York! The part I found most difficult is that while all this was happening, I didn't find it riveting enough. Sort of like those infomercials where "But wait, there's more! If you call within the next 20 minutes..." Wamp. Wamp. Wamp....
Then they reached Manhattan. And that's when I got hooked. The story was dark and creepy but interesting. The pace was perfect and the questions grew. Then things grew darker and more mysterious. I won't give anything away but Rhine grew into an even better character for me. The scenes near the end were so nightmarish and hell-on-earth but I couldn't help admire Rhine's strength. She made her decisions knowing the potential (and likely) consequences. She faced the crap that was thrown her way as an adult.
Finally, some of the questions from Wither were answered or my hang-ups there were better explained. Vaughn's a villain, there's no doubt in my mind here. Fever helped confirm Rhine's beliefs on what happened before and just after she came to the mansion. The political environment of this world DeStefano created was more fleshed out. And I had more of an appreciation and understanding of how the cure then virus led to this dystopian society.
Unfortunately, some questions were not answered. Some new questions were formed and still not answered. Why the 20/25 ages? The mention of the significance behind Rhine and Rowan's names yet never understood. The introduction of the tarot cards - Emperor and Empress. Why does Linden all of the sudden have angst against Rhine? How do you go from cure of everything to the creation of a new virus that affects everybody when viruses are not genetic? How is it possible that the US is the only above water country when the vast majority of the rest of the world is at higher elevation? Does this mean they've been deceived and there is more to the world?
Unlike Wither, Fever ended on a cliffhanger making the wait for book three in 2013 near impossible. Up until this point, I felt that Fever could have been a standalone. The premise to what happens in Wither is so clearly explained that a reader picking up Fever would have no problem following along.
All around, I liked Fever but it doesn't stand out to me. Yes, it was dark and touched that ugly place in my mind where my nightmares spend their days (which I enjoy, by the way) but the hang-ups really bugged me and long-awaited Wither resolutions never came. I hope that the final book in the trilogy will rectify all of these questions for me.
I enjoyed this book, but it seems to have fallen into the dreaded "sophomore slump" that so many second novels in a trilogy fall prey to. Fever lacked the urgency that Wither did, and it failed to keep me as hooked. It felt like nothing much happened until the end of the book, and the hallucination sequences left me as confused as Rhine was as to what was real or not. I liked the new characters that were introduced but hated how they were just abandoned in the final 80 pages or so--I hope they return for the final book. All in all, Fever was an okay sequel but failed to live up to the first one. We'll see how Sever wraps everything up.
Better than the first book... But that's not actually saying much.
There was a lot going on in this ok, so much that I feel like I missed something in trying to keep up with what was going on in the story. I'll read the third one, but I wanted more from the second one.
Really enjoyed this sequel, though struggled to remember what had happened in Wither, since I read the first one almost a year ago. Still found Fever entertaining with good characters and vivid descriptions. Looking forward to the 3rd!
I liked this book, but was kind of mad at Rhine, because she left Cecily and Linden behind. They're like my two favorite characters. I really don't know if I want Rhine to end up with Linden of Gabriel. I know that she has to wind up with Gabriel, but that doesn't mean I want her to... My mental picture of Maddie probably isn't right. She doesn't look malformed at all, just adorable. I like Silas, and want him to go find Lilac/Grace. I hate Vaughn so much, but I'm glad she with Cecily and Linden. I'm also mad he didn't try to take Gabriel back, but glad he didn't because he wouldn't take Maddie. Holy shoot!!! She knows where Rowan is. The first time I read this book, I thought Rowan was visiting her in the hospital. Nope, now I know she saw him on TV.
Spoilers for Wither and Fever within-be warned!
I loved the cover for first book Wither. Seriously, I talked about it a lot. I didn't love the story within quite as much but I was still eager to know what came next for Rhine and Gabriel as they broke out of the compound.
However I realized fairly quickly that I did prefer the setting at the mansion where Rhine was confined with her father-in-law Vaughn, her forced husband Linden, and her sister wives. I don't really like stories where they're constantly on the run, away from something, in this case the threatening Vaughn who will never let Rhine permanently out of his clutches (Note: I do like quest novels where they're going toward something). However they do have a goal of reaching New York so that Rhine can search for her twin brother Rowan.
I don't want to share too much about this plot but I would say that I would break the book down into four parts: the carnival brothel (or as April humorously called it Cirque du Brothel), extended period journeying on the road, arrival in New York and settling down in an orphange, and finally Rhine returns to the basement of the mansion so that Vaughn can continue his experiments on her. For me, the book increased in interest the more I read with me vastly preferring the concluding location, which was haunting and gripping with Rhine on the brink of madness and almost always in pain. Then there was the ending, the last word in fact, which ensured that I will be returning. I was fearful as the pair fled but the menace increased one-hundredfold once Vaughn was a constant presence. We never knew when he would return to try out some other drug on Rhine and the days pass fitfully. It was great!
That is not to say that there weren't great moments throughout. There were some amazing descriptions with color and touch, for example. At some times, I felt the focus was more on the writing rather than the characters or plot which accounted for a bit of a lag. For people who like that though, this should be an amazing read.
Overall: Honestly I was neutral about reading this second book and only grabbed it because it happened to be on my library's shelf. Now that I am done, I am very glad I did because this was a roller-coaster ride for me and I am eager to complete the trilogy.
Cover: Part of the reason I took so long to read this book was that I found the cover less attractive than Wither. I *love* that purple and still enjoy looking at the cover. This one is kind of busy although if Rhine is holding a tarot card, that is relevant to the plot.
I loved the cover for first book Wither. Seriously, I talked about it a lot. I didn't love the story within quite as much but I was still eager to know what came next for Rhine and Gabriel as they broke out of the compound.
However I realized fairly quickly that I did prefer the setting at the mansion where Rhine was confined with her father-in-law Vaughn, her forced husband Linden, and her sister wives. I don't really like stories where they're constantly on the run, away from something, in this case the threatening Vaughn who will never let Rhine permanently out of his clutches (Note: I do like quest novels where they're going toward something). However they do have a goal of reaching New York so that Rhine can search for her twin brother Rowan.
I don't want to share too much about this plot but I would say that I would break the book down into four parts: the carnival brothel (or as April humorously called it Cirque du Brothel), extended period journeying on the road, arrival in New York and settling down in an orphange, and finally Rhine returns to the basement of the mansion so that Vaughn can continue his experiments on her. For me, the book increased in interest the more I read with me vastly preferring the concluding location, which was haunting and gripping with Rhine on the brink of madness and almost always in pain. Then there was the ending, the last word in fact, which ensured that I will be returning. I was fearful as the pair fled but the menace increased one-hundredfold once Vaughn was a constant presence. We never knew when he would return to try out some other drug on Rhine and the days pass fitfully. It was great!
That is not to say that there weren't great moments throughout. There were some amazing descriptions with color and touch, for example. At some times, I felt the focus was more on the writing rather than the characters or plot which accounted for a bit of a lag. For people who like that though, this should be an amazing read.
Overall: Honestly I was neutral about reading this second book and only grabbed it because it happened to be on my library's shelf. Now that I am done, I am very glad I did because this was a roller-coaster ride for me and I am eager to complete the trilogy.
Cover: Part of the reason I took so long to read this book was that I found the cover less attractive than Wither. I *love* that purple and still enjoy looking at the cover. This one is kind of busy although if Rhine is holding a tarot card, that is relevant to the plot.
This one just didn't grab my attention the way the first book in the series did. Rhine is extremely irrational in this book, and Gabriel seems flat and two dimensional. I loved Maddie though, and I am hoping that we will see more of her in the next book.
Even slower than Wither...with stranger circumstances & less of a point. Hopefully the bridge between two better books. I am awaiting the sequel.