Liu Apple Apple itibaren Ustechko, Ternopil's'ka oblast, Ukrayna
Where to start. Ok, I had a few issues with this book and that is why it didn't get a higher rating from me. Not to say it wasn't a good book or that I didn't enjoy it. Cause I did. But I definitely think their were a few flaws. The was a lot of hype around this book before I read it. I constantly saw people are twitter posting how amazing it was, so maybe I just had really really high hopes for it. With that being said I don't think it was a bad as some of the other goodreads reviews have been saying it is (gosh some people are really harsh/mean). My main problem with the book is something that I notice a lot in the first book of series. It just seems like everything is a little jumpy, and maybe just a little too easy. Kate meets Henry for like 5 mins, and she already believes that he could be Hades. She is such a strong girl and I expected her to put a little bit more of a fight. I also had an issue with how easily she fell in love with him. And maybe it's because we don't get to see a ton scenes where they are together when he visits her at night. It just seemed a little rush. And for someone who "doesn't date" she sure did fall for him fast. I really like Kate as a main character. I love strong girls and you don't get stronger than girl who has been taking care of her dying mother for 4 years. Her friendships with James and Ava came on kinda fast but Kate is undeniably a great friend. And though she makes a few mistakes, and faces some hard challenges, she never gives up and is never afraid to admit when she is wrong. Henry is such a dark and brooding character. He has lost the loved of his life, and while looking for a new "wife" has gotten some girls killed. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for him cause sometimes he was just so pathetically heartbroken. I was really scared that he wasn't going to fall for Kate, but once he finally let his guard down their scenes together were really sweet. There are some many great secondary characters in this novel that I can't wait to see what Aimee is going to do with them, and how they are going to be involved in the next installments. All together, minus the few issues I had with the book, I have high high hopes for the next books in the series.
I struggled with this book, it's supposed to be brilliant but I didn't enjoy it. It took several starts to finish it but I plugged away thinking I must be missing something and apparently I still am!
This was a really interesting adolescent story - kids placed in a world that they could not control and figuring out how to get out! Interesting dynamics plus true ingenuity! Read it with my daughter for her 7th grade summer reading.