Series as a whole: good writing, mostly believable world, good pace. The series suffers from the trilogy problem--there is really only enough plot for two books, but authors and publishing companies love trilogies, so... Also, the ending to the series was pretty weak. If Happily Ever After was the end goal, it could have A) come sooner, and B) happened for more characters (I think one of the last deaths was almost completely unnecessary).Main characters were mostly decently rounded out, though I often questioned the decisions that they made. To explain further, the characters would express that they had conflicting emotions, but then always choose the path of one set of emotions--generally the choice that is the worst for their well being and the least like the choice I would make. Maybe the issue is that teenagers have limited life experience, and therefore writers expect them to make really dumb decisions, which makes the character feel unrealistic. Or maybe it's just expedient to have the character make a poor choice, as then the story can unfold in a way that is easy for authors to write, and that keeps the plot moving forward. Basically, every time Rhine let Vaughn take control again, always against her best interests, I wanted to scream. This is a common reaction for me when reading YA, or watching teen tv shows (Pretty Little Liars, for instance), so instead of screaming I just kept turning the pages. I STILL think this series is not as great as everyone says it is. The scenario is just weird, a house that runs independently of the supposed desolated world around them, sister-wives and this villain that never actually DOES much. Sex, drugs, prostitution etc. It's all just a very strange "teen" romance. I will say that out of all three I think this book is my favorite because the characters are a little more evolved (though it took three books to get there) I really wish there was better character development and a little more action. The THIRD book is the first time Chemical Gardens are even mentioned! I'm 50% done with the read and there's not much more explanation of it. Also, most of the characters are meek, spineless, drugged up and dull. BUT! This is a trilogy set and I read the first two, so I MUST finish the series.
What do You think about Verbreken (2013)?
Much better then the second one xx tied everything up pretty much m connected all the story lines xx
—Reuben
It was good but I felt like the book was missing something.
—Mani
Sooo good! A good last book and a pretty good endong!
—Pretzel22
