This is a fascinating look at the effect that a person can have on another, even when the relationship last not even a week. Joshi created a nuanced and well developed character in Suna, who has a past that gets explored gradually and also a present in which she continues to learn and grow. Joshi also made excellent use of a setting, which in timeframe is well known but in location, not nearly as known which delighted the history nerd in me. I enjoyed this read.
After a few lackluster outings from Schwab lately, I was nervous about this conclusion to the series. I really enjoyed Vicious, but Vengeful felt like so much of a letdown. This book shows all of the groundwork that Schwab established in the middle book that came to fantastic fruition in the conclusion. Unlike Marcella Vengeful, Gabriel Gray made a ton of sense for a villain in this story. His devolution of character throughout the novel brilliantly showcase a lot of the work that Schwab has put in through the arc of the entire trilogy. I also thought that Schwab ended the series masterfully, not an easy feat to accomplish.
I enjoyed this look at a small piece of history that often goes overlooked. Books like this fit into niches that overarching histories of time periods either neglect or do not have room to discuss. Additionally, many of these histories do not talk about the lesser known, in this case, the women. I recommend this book.
I really, really wanted to be able to strongly recommend this book. Joseph’s prose is beautiful. He captures the young adult mindset in a way that does not dumb down the text or infantilize the characters. When the main character makes the mistake towards the end of the book that it gets a whole lot of action happening, I got really angry at the direction of the narrative, the choices that the characters made in response to him, and how things were being handled. After reflection, I realized that my issue is not the bigoted responses because, unfortunately, the current administration has cultivated an atmosphere of freedom to express these heinous views. In a rich, white, private school, like the one the main character attends, the prejudice expressed are not really a stretch at all. My major issue is the complete and utter lack of pushback on these mindset and absolutely any area. Recent examples, such as the transphobic slur that the current occupant in the White House used in direction towards the Democratic candidate for Senate in my state, as well as the horrific trauma exploitation by the Republican candidate for governor of Ohio, show that while these people feel able to express these things, there is loud and vocal pushback against it. This book lacked that pushback which made the horrific opinions and actions of the antagonists too cartoonish to be believed, even though I know that people believe and expressed things like this.
If I had not had this book on a few different TBR lists or the time to read it physically, I probably would have DNF’d. This is one of the books that I added to my TBR during the height of my NPR podcast listening days, which, as shown by the publication date, was quite a while ago. With a book like this premised on science to make predictions for how to help the future, 10 years makes a big difference, in this case, a depressing difference. I think it’s well written, just outdated.
I knew going into this read that I had no intention of continuing with the series. I enjoyed the first book well enough to persevere so that I could fulfill the HRCYED prompt (and other TBRs) that I had this book slotted in for. Even with that knowledge, this book failed to impress or engage even in the slightest. Also – and this was an error on my part – the whole time I read the book, I thought that this book wrapped up the trilogy and could not understand why things were wrapping up so oddly with just 45 minutes of the audio left. Obviously, this is book two. Whoops. I most definitely will not continue with the third book. I also do not plan to pick up books from Kemmerer again. My reading tastes have shifted away from her works.
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