Book Review: Allegiant; Veronica Roth.

While I didn't end up enjoying this read nearly as much as I should have done, I do feel a certain amount of relief now that I've finally finished this series. It's been a long read in progress of mine and I'm not proud that it took me so much time. At least I can enter it into the 'Monthly Motif' challenge this month!

SOURCE: Bought
TYPE: Paperback

TITLE: Allegiant
AUTHOR: Veronica Roth
SERIES: Divergent (#1)
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins Children's Publishers
PAGES: 526
GENRE: Dystopian, Young Adult, Romance

RATING: 2.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered - fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature - and of herself - while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

What I Liked:

• I felt that Roth stayed true to her own style in this book, despite the fact that there were so many things I didn't like about it. Her writing was good and the story was full of twists and turns and remained as action-packed as I remember the previous series entries. It's clear that Roth has a lot of imagination and huge ideas about this series, so it was a shame that she didn't quite make it all fit comfortably.

What I Disliked:

• Tris and Four were my biggest problem in the last book, and here they only got worse. Tris got more stubborn, insensitive and reckless while Four became more hypocritical, possessive and controlling. Tris continued to be consistently angry with everything, and Four kept on being moody and unlike-able. It's a shame because I loved them both in Book One, but the constant arguing followed by kisses to attempt to persuade the reader that they're actually in love made me roll my eyes.
• I already thought that Roth had too many side-characters (and most of them were pretty two-dimensional and forgettable) but nevertheless she decided to add a whole bunch more to the mix, just to really test my memory to the limits. In fact, for me the 'outside world' was too overwhelming. There was so much info-dumping it gave me a headache and Roth used it as an excuse to include a bunch of unnecessary sub-plots that she'd cut short whenever she felt like. It was so frustrating!
• I've seen so many complaints about the ending, and while I hate going over old ground, it needs to be said. Potential spoiler here for those who haven't read it, but Roth's decision to kill of a main character might have been brave in a sense, but it was also gratuitous. It served pretty much no purpose other than to make sure that the ending was filled with drama and grief rather than any answers or closure for the huge amounts of loose ends that Roth left with the book. Basically, nothing seems to get resolved except the 'immediate problem', and we all know that in the world of 'Divergent' there are hundreds of 'immediate problems' so really we are no better off than at the beginning of the first book. Great.

Overall Conclusion:

It was my sister who told me that I would love 'Divergent'. She also told me I would hate 'Allegiant'. She was right on both counts. I know that many people are disappointed with this finale and I'm glad that I was not the only one but in a way, I kind of hoped I'd be one of the few who loved it because it's never nice to be disappointed. I guess it's not a terrible book with it's imaginative world and fast-paced thrills, I just felt that a series that began so well deserved a much better finish.

Book Review: Insurgent; Veronica Roth.

Yeah, this book took me a long time to get round to. I know. Honestly, I've been a little scared off of the series by the bad reviews for Book 3 that littered my Goodreads and Bloglovin' dashboard after it was released. Nevertheless, the time has come to judge the series for myself and so with that, here is what I thought of 'Insurgent'. Also, I'm entering this into this month's 'Monthly Motif' challenge!

SOURCE: Bought
TYPE: Paperback

TITLE: Insurgent
AUTHOR: Veronica Roth
SERIES: Divergent (#2)
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins Children's Books
PAGES: 525
GENRE: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance, Adventure

RATING: 4/5 Stars

Blurb:
Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.


Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever... because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.


What I Liked:

• The plot itself was pretty good! I never once felt bored while reading , nor did I want to put the book down for breaks or to, you know, live life. Veronica Roth's writing continues to be just as good as I remember it being before. She deals with action sequences, twists and turns very well also meaning my interest never wavered. The finale in particular was really gripping and impressive, and left me wanting to read the next book to find out what happens. What a cliffhanger!
• Tris is still the great character I remember her being. I loved that she has grown since the last book, with new fears and frustrations. She's just as badass as I remember her too and it is quite nice to see a female character perfectly able to get herself out of a situation without having to be rescued. And more importantly, no one really questions that (Dauntless is full of many girls as well as boys).

What I Disliked:

• A lot of the other characters in the book, I'm sorry to say, felt a little one dimensional. There are a huge number of Dauntless that I remember being merely mentioned in Book 1, and then are treated in Book 2 as if I'm meant to know them all, their personalities their likes/dislikes and family. It got pretty confusing. Honestly to me, they felt like cannon fodder. A lot of them were severely injured or killed and I really felt like Roth had written them in purely for that. I wish I could have known them well enough to actually be sad about it.
• Though the plot was good, I could tell that this was a filler book because it got a little repetitive. They were running, then staying at a 'safe' house, then running again. I felt like I was being taken on a guided tour of each faction (though the layout of the city was so confusing). Also while on her travels, I began to get confused about who Tris was actually travelling with. When Caleb appears at the end, I realised I had no idea when he'd actually disappeared. And at another point, Marcus suddenly popped into the conversation when I had no idea he was part of the group.

Overall Conclusion:

I did really enjoy this book, but certainly not as much as I loved 'Divergent'. The plot had me pretty hooked, the writing style flowed beautifully and Tris is a fantastic heroine. Unfortunately, I felt a little let down on the quality of the other characters in the book, and despite a cracking finale the rest of the book felt a little repetitive. Also, despite adoring Four and his relationship with Tris before, his hypocrisy when it came to trust and secret-keeping really got on my nerves here. Hopefully he calms down in Book 3!

Book Review: Divergent; Veronica Roth.

I finished this book as promised and my goodness, I just feel so happy. It has been such a long time since I have read a book and loved it this much! It took me a while to get round to it, but my sister kept nagging and nagging me to start it and I learnt from this what I always learn when that happens. Listen to my sister. This book was so amazing, I'm typing very fast and very excitedly, so I'll get onto the review before either I or my laptop explodes! Seeing as it contains characters that could be considered warriors and rebels, I'll include it as a Monthly Motif entry.

SOURCE: Bought
TYPE: Paperback

TITLE: Divergent
AUTHOR: Veronica Roth
SERIES: Divergent (#1)
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins Children's Books
PAGES: 489
GENRE: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance, Adventure

RATING: 4/5 Stars

Blurb:
Sixteen-year-old Tris is forced to make a terrible choice. In a divided society where everyone must conform, Tris does not fit.

So she ventures out alone, determined to discover where she truly belongs. Shocked by her brutal new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her.

The hardest choice lies ahead.


What I Liked:

• The characters were probably my favourite part of this book and so I'll start there. Why? Because they weren't too perfect. Tris in particular fits into this category. Sometimes when you read a book the young heroine (or hero) is just too selfless, too brave, too heroic. Tris was different to other main characters I have read before because at times she could be cruel and selfish. The whole point of the book was that she wasn't quite selfless enough. She wasn't unlikeable though, she was human. And I felt it added another layer to her that I enjoyed reading.
• The world that Veronica Roth wrote was both original and creative. I could see it all in my minds eye which I think is important when reading. I liked the imagination that went into it and I thought the plot itself was pretty distinctive. There were plenty of plot twists, the pacing was just how I liked it and it did go in directions that I didn't expect which was a good thing.
• Let's talk about the romance. I really do not like insta-love and I think I was most terrified that this book would suffer from that. But it didn't! The romance build-up was exactly how I liked it. The chemistry was definitely there but they didn't fall in love, or have a confusing first kiss too quickly. They were cautious friends first and I really enjoyed the build-up. 

What I Disliked:

• I really wanted to see a little more of some of the characters. In particular, Tris' parents. I felt like there was so much more to explore, how hard it was for her to leave them and her mother's past in particular. They felt barely touched upon but I understood the need to focus on other aspects of the book too.

Overall Conclusion:

What a great start to July, this book was fantastic! I loved the plot premise, the pacing, the constant action and the characters we met. The main character was well-written and the romance was really well done. Perhaps there could have been a tiny bit more added to some elements of the book but I thought this was an amazing start to a promising series and I can't wait to get onto 'Insurgent'.