Darkness Falls- A.E. Faulkner ♥♥♥♥

Darkness Falls- A.E. Faulkner
330 pages

The entire concept of this book is fascinating to me. What if nature gets tired of us and fights back? I think it rings even more true because I can see it happening, albeit to a lesser extent, in real life too. I was pulled in for the concept but stayed for the characters.

Everything is through Quinn’s perspective. I think she's a reliable narrator, and the way she processes all the story's emotions and the situations they find themselves in feels relatable. My only real complaint about her is she reads as older than 16. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I had to keep reminding myself that she isn’t in her early twenties.

I had a few issues with some of the side characters, but it wasn’t so much the writing of them but their personalities in general. Which made them seem more realistic. Rarely do we find all people around us pleasant to be around all the time. I think it adds more depth to the story that I was annoyed with them.

I think the only character I have a true issue with is Jasmine. The drastic portrayal of her flips on its head almost fast enough to give me whiplash. I understand what the goal was, but I felt like it was too sudden to be easily believed. I don’t want to veer into spoiler territory, so forgive the vagueness, but even the reasons given for all stages just don’t vibe with me very well. Her entire dynamic felt forced.

I have some issues with how one of the major plot points is playing out. I feel like not enough of it was resolved to end the book. There can be elements that arch through an entire series, I’m good with that, but it felt like too much was left open-ended. When I finished the book, it just didn’t feel… complete. This only becomes a concern for me because it makes me worry I will invest a lot of time and energy and emotions into these characters only to have the end of the series as a whole leave too much unsaid or undone. So, color me concerned.

Overall, I liked it. I think it’s a good read! I plan to read the rest of the series sometime this year, and I really hope there is a solid and comfortable ending. Doesn’t have to be a happy ending, necessarily, but I want to feel like I’m ok with walking away. However, I want to mention… while the majority of the book is well-written, one thing that really threw me off was the dialogue. Sometimes two people would talk in the same paragraph. A few times, I had to go back and look at it again to make sure I knew who was talking. I did get used to it by the end of the book, but it was a little grating.

Rating ♥♥♥♥

Graduation Day- ♥♥♥♥

Joelle Charbonneau- Graduation Day

391 pages

This one didn’t resonate as well as the previous two. It was still good, it was just missing something the other ones seemed to possess. One of my biggest complaints is lack of a solid conclusion. There are some answers, but not enough. Since this is the last book of the series, I shouldn’t feel like I waiting for another book. The intensity is there though.

Cia and Tomas go through a lot in this book. They have to make a lot of hard choices, and attempt to figure out who can be trusted. Some of their friends will surprise you (both good and bad). It seems like everything was moving along at a good pace. I wonder if the reason it doesn’t sit right with me is the ending. I’ve been wondering if Charbonneau created too many twists and surprises and wasn’t able to efficiently rein them in at the end.

Overall the series was really good and definitely worth the read. The flaws I found with this book, while annoying, wouldn’t cause me to reconsider recommending it.

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review (including spoilers), click here!

Independent Study- ♥♥♥♥♥

Joelle Charbonneau- Independent Study

310 pages

Some parts of this book move a little slower than the first book, but I still really liked it. The setting at University is much different that it was in the testing, but some of the same vibes still come through. You get an even deeper look at the system Cia’s world has created. I think some of the intense interest there is because of what her world says about ours. The way we live now, all the choices we make, the leaders we put faith in… that almost brought the end of the world. They are now dealing with the fallout of our mistakes. Some of it feels like it could happen, we could be pushed into that situation. While I have always loves dystopian novels, this one feel the most realistic of a future for us. It’s scary, but fascinating to watch how things are rebuilt.

Cia goes through a lot of character changes. It is something that was interesting, but at times hard to watch. I really felt for this girl. Tomas doesn’t seem to have the same personality and inner conflicts that Cia deals with, but that’s almost understandable. The two of them have such different perspectives on things. They are from the same place, but some experiences just seem to color the world differently for them. Tomas was a little less endeared to me in this one. I didn’t dislike him, but I didn’t like him as much as in The Testing.

The writing is really well done again. The way the information comes in keeps the story interesting without feeling like it is dragging. I have a few minor complaints about the plot, but they don’t take away from how much I like the book. I like her choices of imagery a lot, and her word choice even more so.

The ending was also really well handled. It gives a clear end to the major ark in this book, setting up the next book, and still leaves you mostly satisfied. Based on this book and the previous one, I am really interested to see what other kinds of things Charbonneau has written!

Rating:

♥♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review (including spoilers), click here!

The Testing- ♥♥♥♥♥

Joelle Charbonneau- The Testing

325 pages

I had been wanting to read this book for a while. I wish I would have picked it up sooner! I really liked the setup of the story. While it isn’t a mystery, exactly, there is a lot of information that is withheld. It all kind of trickles in. The world Charbonneau is interesting, and so far only parts of it have been revealed.

I like the way human psychology is explored. There are a lot of points in the book that showcase the lengths people are willing to go for their own survival, and the lengths others are not willing to go. It puts morality on the line and bends it. Some of the choices are difficult, and they make you wonder what you would do if you had to make the same choice. Others seem easy… until you add in that your life in is danger.

Cia is such a great character! She is smart, thoughtful, and introspective. She also has a tendency to underestimate herself in most aspects of her life. She is relatable in such an amazing way. All of her actions as she is preparing to leave for the testing are very telling about her and her morality. Watching all of it being pushed to the limits was hard, but interesting.

Tomas is a typical popular boy, until he isn’t. The depth of his character was surprising to me. I guess that shows my bias. He brings a lot of interesting twists to the story. He is also a pretty solid character that makes the story better for being there.

The story was relatively fast paced, and kept my interest the entire time. The lulls in action were completely made up for with new information about the world and the people in it.

Rating:

♥♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review (including spoilers), click here!

Strike- ♥♥♥♥

D.J. MacHale- Strike

I have more thoughts on this books than the other two combined I think! Overall, this book is a lot better than the previous two. The writing, while still not great, is much better. There was a lot more showing instead of telling. I felt much more connected to the characters, and actually cared about what happened to them.

This is the final book, so you figure out what the goal of both sides is. I was close to guessing, but not quite on the mark. I feel like that will be the case for most people. The ending of the book is solid. Based on the course of the book I didn’t think I would be happy with how it ended, but I was. It fit it a really good way.

There are still some things that didn’t sit well with me. I don’t want to go too much into detail because of spoilers, but it mostly boiled down to the medicine they have. I just didn’t like it. They mention the medicine in other books, and you get to see even more of it here. It doesn’t ruin the book, it just feels wrong as you go along.

This book is getting an additional heart from me because this was the way the whole series should have been written. The intensity was much better, the characters were written better, it was just better.

Rating:

♥♥♥♥

For a more detailed review (including spoilers), click here!

Storm- ♥♥♥

D.J. MacHale-Storm

I have a lot of the same complaints with this book as I did with Sylo. The intensity was missing, some of the phrasing was awkward and wordy, and the characters just aren't likable enough.

Again, this story has such a fantastic concept with these great opportunities to capitalize on it and MacHale seems to miss them completely. When you mix in the botched attempt made to write in a love story.... it's just not that great. The attempt at romance really bothered me. It just doesn’t seem to fit with the story that’s already being told, it doesn’t add good content to the books, and I felt like it was all pretty cringe worthy.

I have the give the book credit for the last roughly 90 pages. The intensity picked up and the writing came across much better. It felt so much more authentic, and allowed me to bond with a few of the characters.  I know I said it after Sylo and was let down, but maybe there is hope the third book continues in the same vein that Storm ended.

Rating:

♥♥♥

For more detailed thoughts (including spoilers big and small) click here!

I had some help with this one! Spade wanted to help me read this book and he had some feedback!

Sylo- ♥♥♥

D.J. MacHale- Sylo

I’m struggling a little with what to say about this books. I liked it, but there was just something about it that felt off.

The entire book is a mystery. You follow along as the main characters try to figure out what is going on. I felt like the author was trying to give off intense vibes sometimes, but they just didn’t really work. The entire book moves along at a pretty steady pace. It’s not slow, it’s just not exciting. Events that should have been heart stopping were just a little more interesting, but it didn’t have that page turner quality.

I think the concept is fantastic. It’s set in a very realistic world, with relate-able characters. The problem is… I just don’t care about some of them enough. There are a couple that I feel attached to though. A few deaths hit me harder than others (not a spoiler, you can tell from the first paragraph that lots of death is coming). Only one of them gave me true sadness. The rest didn’t really bother me that much. I felt worse the other people had to handle it than truly sorry for the loss. I feel like there needs to be more focus on developing the characters and showing us who they are.

That all said. I did like the book. I will be starting the second one (probably later today). I am hoping as the series goes on the character depth will increase and I’ll get to rate the books higher.

Rating:

♥♥♥

For more detailed thoughts (including spoilers big and small) click here!