Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Jen's review of "Fever" by Lauren DeStefano

Fever (The Chemical Garden #2) by Lauren DeStefano
Publication date: Feb 21st, 2012
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Number of pages:  341
Format: Paperback
Description: Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.
The sequel to "Wither" was probably one of the most anticipated books in this genre for 2012, but one I didn't really get around to reading until recently. 

I loved 'Wither'. It was everything I wished it would be. But it seems in terms of 'Fever', I didn't like it as much as I had hoped I would.
We find Rhine and Gabriel on the run after escaping from the mansion and the horrors that await them there. Rhine is on a mission to try locate her brother, who she hasn't seen since she was taken many months prior.

But life on the run isn't what they thought, and they stumble into situations that they probably hoped to avoid.
But at least they did have one another to rely on in the world, as they search for her brother.
We get introduced to a few new characters with new situations that they find themselves in, but I longed for the mansion and the old characters that we saw in book 1.
I wish I liked this book more than I did, but I kept hoping things turn around. I think the last 100 pages did make up for the previous part of the book. 
We did get to see old characters again, and I was happy. Its like how things should have been.
Yes, I understand they had to get out of there because of Linden's father, who is a bastard..

I personally find Gabriel and his relationship with Rhine a little boring. I am more of a Linden fan, and love his relationship with her so much better.
There were scenes toward the end of this book that made me swoon, and sigh. I look forward to what the final book in this trilogy brings.
I hope we come full circle, and clear up the mystery of this illness. I would hope that is what things have been building too.. a cure, of some kind.

On another note, the cover is gorgeous. I do like the uniqueness of the covers and how they are different than other YA books around. The model for Rhine is gorgeous, but I am not sure what the significance of her surroundings is.

Rating -- 3 out of 5




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