Take a photo of a barcode or cover
I read the whole book in one day, which I haven't done in probably ten years or so. It clipped along at a breakneck pace and was exhilarating and thrilling to read.
Scott Westerfeld's prose is addicting as always, and even though it's been a long time since I read the initial Pretties series, it was easy to submerse myself in the setting. And what a setting! Again, there have been massive changes in the intervening years (one thing that can be said for Westerfeld and this series is that he's not afraid to shake things up), and I loved finding out about what the different city-states were doing and how they were using the available tech. The set-up of the book - a hidden twin raised as assassin-bait/an assassin herself - was much different than the previous novels and a good hook. The explorations as to what that did to her (and Rafi's) psyche was great, especially because Frey was a hugely unreliable narrator. I enjoyed reading between the lines to see what the city and their father truly was.
The heart of this story for me was the relationship between the two sisters, and I grew attached to both of them extremely quickly. Both broken in their own ways and trying to survive, truly trusting each other, it's like catnip to me. I was so happy when they were reunited near the end, and devastated when they were separated again at the very end (why Frey why). But the set-up for the next book was excellent and while I'm sad I can't read it right away, I'm thankful I will be able to in only a couple months. I just hope Rafi is actually present through the second book, as while she loomed large over the narrative, she was physically missing for most of the book and I love her to pieces.
The father felt real in an awful sort of way, with his mix of cunning, narcissism, paranoia, and refusing to ever admit any mistakes. I appreciated that it would take more than a good speech to get an entire city of citizens living in fear to rise up, as it makes sense and makes his inevitable downfall sweeter.
The only real disappointing thing for me was the romance that took up quite a bit of time. I've never been a huge fan of YA romances generally (and at least this one didn't involve a love triangle, thank god), so I did find myself reading the romance parts with less enthusiasm. Especially given how fast everything happened - I realize this is her first boyfriend and she had a unique upbringing, but Frey was ready to give up so much for him really quickly. I'm especially bitter that the romance is effectively the reason that the sisters were split up again - I was looking forward to how their relationship would change given how much they've individually changed now that they would be out from under the thumb of their father. Ah, well, at least the deceptions spiced it up a bit and it didn't drag out for too long (and there was no love triangle).
Overall the book was great and I'm ready for the sequel!
Scott Westerfeld's prose is addicting as always, and even though it's been a long time since I read the initial Pretties series, it was easy to submerse myself in the setting. And what a setting! Again, there have been massive changes in the intervening years (one thing that can be said for Westerfeld and this series is that he's not afraid to shake things up), and I loved finding out about what the different city-states were doing and how they were using the available tech. The set-up of the book - a hidden twin raised as assassin-bait/an assassin herself - was much different than the previous novels and a good hook. The explorations as to what that did to her (and Rafi's) psyche was great, especially because Frey was a hugely unreliable narrator. I enjoyed reading between the lines to see what the city and their father truly was.
The heart of this story for me was the relationship between the two sisters, and I grew attached to both of them extremely quickly. Both broken in their own ways and trying to survive, truly trusting each other, it's like catnip to me. I was so happy when they were reunited near the end, and devastated when they were separated again at the very end (why Frey why). But the set-up for the next book was excellent and while I'm sad I can't read it right away, I'm thankful I will be able to in only a couple months. I just hope Rafi is actually present through the second book, as while she loomed large over the narrative, she was physically missing for most of the book and I love her to pieces.
The father felt real in an awful sort of way, with his mix of cunning, narcissism, paranoia, and refusing to ever admit any mistakes. I appreciated that it would take more than a good speech to get an entire city of citizens living in fear to rise up, as it makes sense and makes his inevitable downfall sweeter.
The only real disappointing thing for me was the romance that took up quite a bit of time. I've never been a huge fan of YA romances generally (and at least this one didn't involve a love triangle, thank god), so I did find myself reading the romance parts with less enthusiasm. Especially given how fast everything happened - I realize this is her first boyfriend and she had a unique upbringing, but Frey was ready to give up so much for him really quickly. I'm especially bitter that the romance is effectively the reason that the sisters were split up again - I was looking forward to how their relationship would change given how much they've individually changed now that they would be out from under the thumb of their father. Ah, well, at least the deceptions spiced it up a bit and it didn't drag out for too long (and there was no love triangle).
Overall the book was great and I'm ready for the sequel!