This book was read for the 2013 Don't Let It End Reading Challenge hosted by Fiktshun.
My thoughts: As far as I know, this is the last book in this series. Yet, there was no real resolution, no closure. Many ends are left loose, and the author even suggests a few more that are also left unsolved. If I didn't know that there are not any more books announced in the series, and that Kimberly Derting has a new and different series coming next year, I would have thought this was just another book in the series, not the last one. So... yeah, I'm not happy about that.
Also, that prologue? I hated it. I dislike when authors deliberately spoil the reader as to what's to come in order to keep the reader interested. Because with me, that goes in the opposite direction. The damn prologue made me think someone was going to die, and I spent the whole book trying to ignore that character so that the end wouldn't be a shock, and then that scene from the prologue happens, and I'm emotionally dumb about it. And the character was kinda of a favorite, and awesome things happen in this book to that character, but I couldn't care less. So, thanks for that as well, Kimberly.
In this installment, Violet is trying to deal with what happened in the end of The Last Echo, with getting back to her life, to the normal small things. She is reluctant to be a member of the team of kids with powers, but she has no choice. And then Gemma and Rafe are transfered to White River High, which complicates matters a bit. And then Violet stumbles upon a few dead bodies, and the hunt for yet another serial killer begins.
Ah, Violet... I really like her, she has an interesting gift, and she is fearless and protective of the people she loves, but sometimes, she could a little smarter. I know that Violet really doesn't want to be in the team, but one would have expected her to learn her lesson of not stumbling into unknown places following an echo. Yet, she does precisely that with the first bodies she finds. And then she keeps a couple of things hidden from Sara, the team leader, and she even gets annoyed when Jay and Rafe tag along on a potentially dangerous sleuthing trip. She can't do everything on her own, because she will put herself and others in danger. Only in the end of this book Violet learns that particular lesson, and only after everything goes wrong.
I was looking forward to spending more time with the team, so it was disappointing to barely see Krystal, Sam, or Gemma, and to not get to know them more. And it was disappointing to not see Violet actually evolve something as a character and become a team member. (And trust them somewhat and ask for their help.)
Meanwhile, Violet finds out some old diaries of her grandmother, and learns more about her and her grandmother's ability, and what happened in the past that may be linked to her team. But that plot thread is left very open, and we don't even get to learn more about who's behind financing the team. Both things are deliberately left unsolved, which doesn't make sense in the last book of a series.
I adore to watch Violet and Jay together. They are terribly cute together, they are mature, and they take care of each other. But I'm starting to think that Kimberly Derting sucks at creating conflict for them. In this book, and this has happened before, Jay and Violet have a fight, a fight about something really stupid that has me pulling my hair. However, they soon make up, because the reason they fought was really that stupid. If only they talked about things before acting like drama queens... The whole thing is a bit out of character, because as I've stated before, Jay and Violet are quite mature, so when they argue about these silly things, it feels forced.
And then there's the other reason Kimberly sucks at creating conflict for Violet and Jay: the pseudo-love triangle. It's very clear from the beginning that Violet and Jay are meant for each other, and Rafe doesn't change that in any way, despite the mixed signals Kimberly writes in the story. (And BTW, I liked the mixed signals in the last book. It made Violet think about Jay and her, and it made her think about what she wanted. Many people have temptation dangled in front of their noses when they're in a relationship with a significant other. It's how they deal with it that shows us the stuff they are made of. This time around, the mixed signals were a repetition, and brought nothing new to the story.)
Besides, Rafe is too good of a character to waste in being the Jacob of a love triangle. Seriously? This guy is broody, misterious, intense, and walks the fine line between good and bad. He is prime "main character in a paranormal series" material. And here he is, totally wasted being the third wheel of a love triangle. I'll never understand that. *facepalm*
I disliked the suggestion of him and Chelsea. First, because I thought he might be using her to try to make Violet jealous. And then because THIS IS THE LAST BOOK IN THE SERIES and it comes off too little, too late. We never see it being decently developed and and it felt like settling. Ugh, I don't want that for Chelsea.
It sounds like I hated, isn't it? Well, I liked it, truly, but I was too busy noticing these little things that irked me out to properly enjoy the story. I still love what the author does with the serial killers, and the chapters she does in their POV, because they feel realistic. I adore Violet's family, because they actually care. I enjoy Violet's gift and the descriptions of what she can do. There are many details of this world I like, and that I enjoy reading about.
BUT. This was a complete mess of a book. There was no evolution of the characters, and of the characters' lives. I might have tolerated that in a middle book of a series, but not in a last book of a series. Many things felt forced. And many other things never have a proper ending or a decent resolution - they are just left hanging. That epilogue was a complete joke. It felt like it was setting the tone for the next book in the series. If felt like it was promising a next book in the series. It didn't feel like the last moment I'd get to spend with Violet. It did not feel like the end. I feel cheated. Not mad, but definitely cheated. And disappointed. This could have been such a better book.
Pages: 400
Publisher: Headline
Gawd, parece que saltei desse barco a afundar-se a tempo, só pela tua review consigo perceber que este me ia irritar tanto ou mais que o livro anterior. Why Kimberly why :s
ResponderEliminarLOL, ias ter um enfarte com este, oh se ias. É que quase que parece que a Kimberly teve uma coisa e se esqueceu como é que se escreve, bolas. Devia ser proibido escrever uma coisa destas como livro final duma série, que raios, ficou tudo pendurado, e eu fiquei triste por isto me estragar a série. Até perdi a vontade de ler e tudo, ando para aqui a engonhar com o Under the Never Sky, coitado. :/
EliminarDeus me livre então. Tenho tanta pena, porque adorava a parte criminal minds destes livros, mas a Vi desespera-me, parece que não aprende nada com as experiências porque passa, e acho muita sacanagem a Kimberly ter-nos dado um casal fofinho no primeiro livro, só para depois meter cenas parvas nos seguintes para destabilizar, já para não falar no triângulo que me tira do sério. Para isso não fazia da Vi e do Jay um casal no início, que continuassem só amigos, claro que ia-me irritar na mesma. O_O É triste porque a Kim não precisava de ter optado por este caminho, não é preciso criar conflito entre um casal e meter triângulos do inferno pelo meio para se ter uma história, ainda por cima quando a autora consegue escrever tão bem a outra parte, os povs dos assassinos--basta olhar para o primeiro livro. Humph.
EliminarJá me aconteceu várias vezes, um livro estragar-me a leitura do próximo. :s
Espero que ainda venhas a gostar do UTNS, no inicio também não fui assim muito com ele, mas depois gostei imenso. :)
E está tudo dito. ;)
EliminarSim, o início é um bocado lento... e a Aria é mesmo parva, bolas, ela achava mesmo que o pai do outro a ia deixar safar daquela maneira? :reviraosolhos:
Ela é super parva no início xD e o Perry também me irrita, mas depois lá entram na linha :3
EliminarSim, imagino que sim... o Perry por sua vez é todo macambúzio e caveman. Mas em ambos os casos acho que é uma maneira da autora nos mostrar o quão diferentes eles são, e o quão diferente a sua vida foi até ali, e de nos mostrar as percepções que eles têm do "grupo" a que o outro pertence... é mais subtil do que pensava. :)
Eliminar