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tinkerleend's review
5.0
omg ich weiß gar nicht was ich sagen soll. Dieses Buch hat seine beiden Vorgänger übertroffen, und das Ende ist so emotional, dass ich nur mit Mühe Tränen unterdrücken konnte. Es ist einfach ein perfektes Happy End, und ich verstehe einfach nicht warum der Verlag es nicht ins deutsche übersetzt haben wollte.
neudorfl's review
4.0
4.5 what a satisfying ending to an excellent series! I'm ready to read them all over again.
belle33120's review
5.0
The ending to this series was PHENOMENAL.
I am going to talk about the whole series so here we go.
I loved Kieran and Waverly so much in the beginning of the book, so I was not expecting how much they would change throughout the series. Don't get me wrong, I still love them and their development throughout all of the problems they faced really showed what type of people they are. I absolutely HATED Kieran when he was captain of the Emryean. His congregations got me so angry especially since he KNEW Waverly was literally scarred from her time on the New Horizon. Also, when he put WAVERLY AND KIERAN IN THE BRIG AFTER JACOB ATTACKED THEM I WAS GONNA THROW HANDS. ALSO WHEN KIERAN PUT SARAH IN THE BRIG LIKE WHAT. He wanted to be a good leader SO badly and it just kept clouding his judgement. He finally got some redemption when he realized how bad of a person he was on the Emyrean when they were all boarded on the New Horizon. "The awfulness of the last months seeped into his body...He'd been such a liar."
This whole review is gonna be really messy so just bear with me.
I loved the side other "side" characters, like Arthur, Sarek, Tobin, Sarah, Samantha, Felicity. EVERYONE in this book was morally gray and I lived for it.
HOW ARE ALL OF THESE KIDS SO SMART. I FELT SO DUMB WHEN THEY CAME UP WITH ALL THEIR CRAZY IDEAS.
The whole thing with the parents that were captive on the New Horizon was so confusing at first, I was genuinely scared for them. And that doctor guy really had me trusting him at first. And Jared was SO CREEPY. He gave bad vibes the whole time so I was kinda expecting him to betray Waverly in some way. But the fact that on these ships its ok for old men to be with young women so they can have kids grossed me out. Like Felicity and that guy she was supposed to marry?? Gross. I'm happy she ended up with Kieran, I think he needed someone like her to stay with him.
Seth. Just. Seth. I am in LOVE with him. He is the definition of "I hate everyone but her." He was so broken after years of putting up with abuse from his dad and always being second compared to Kieran. He never had anyone and loved Waverly from afar for years while he had to watch her happy with Kieran. Then everything happens, and Waverly goes to save HIM from the brig even though it might kill her too. His reaction when he saw her broke me. AND HOW SHE CARRIED HER ALL THE WAY BACK UP OH MY GOD. AND THENNNN when he was asking her why she saved him and they started arguing and the tension was BUILDING UP. Then Seth's CONFESSION!!!!!!! WOW. My heart was going PITTER PATTER. "i don't care that i'm not good enough for you." AHHHHHHH They are literally perfect for each other. Seeing him so hurt in Flame was tearjerking, especially how he thought that WAVERLY WAS GONNA REPLACE HIM WITH JARED. GROSS. He always though he was gonna be alone, "then Waverly came back to the Empyrean. And they talked. And hope came back." His father always put him second to Kieran, but guess who ended up with Waverly?? SETH DID. AS HE SHOULD. His arm being amputated made me so sad and seeing Waverly sad also made me sad. But he loved Waverly so much that when he hear her voice, "suddenly everything hurt less." He loved Waverly SO much that he would have done anything for her, even let her be with *throws up in mouth* jacob if she wanted to. I don't know how many times he thought about Waverly and how much he said he loved her when he was in hiding on the New Horizon but it made me so sad for both of them.
Waverly honestly scared me in Spark when she tased Jacob while interrogating him and how she said she said it felt good. But that's why her and Seth are perfect for each other LOL. He completely understands her, unlike Kieran. After she killed Jacob's brother at the end of Glow, it was crazy to see how much she changed. I'm not gonna lie, she was such a baddie. In Spark, I think half of the time her thoughts were about how good it would feel to kill Anne Mather, and honestly don't blame her. She stole Waverly's mom, Samantha, her KIDS, her childhood, her innocence, everything.
It was so heartbreaking to see her in Flame and how alone she was at times. She still didn't know how to feel about Kieran and she was scared half to death about Seth, not knowing if he died staying on the Emryean. She didn't trust Dr. Carver or Jared or any of the elders and she couldn't even talk to her mom the same way ever again.
This book consisted of a lot of self reflecting since Kieran, Waverly, and Seth were alone for a major part of the book. Kieran finally realized how horribly he acted on the Empyrean; Waverly was worried for Seth and angry at herself that she pushed Kieran away, because now she had no one; Seth was literally on the run, so he obviously had a lot of time to pine over Waverly and how dumb he was to stay on the Empryean.
The PLOT TWISTS IN THIS BOOK KILLED ME. Jacob and his wife?? Absolutely terrifying. But, I will admit that their plan was pretty smart. A bomb INSIDE of Kieran?? I was on the edge of my seat during the trial. And then came the best part: Anne Mather was finally killed. Yes, I know Dr. Carver is still in power and that's bad too. Anne Mather was a despicable villain, BUT her character was written so well. The way she was able to manipulate people and gain support so quickly scared me. But Kieran and Waverly were so smart when it came to handling her because they knew she couldn't be trusted. Her character is so complex because at times, I also found myself sympathizing for her and the women on the New Horizon because they WERE sabotaged. But still, it doesn't excuse everything she did.
The ending. I think it ended perfectly. Waverly stayed friends with Kieran and both of them showed how they have grown as people, accepting their mistakes and moving on with them. Waverly's letter to Kieran was a bittersweet closure for them. "I'll always love you and remember you for what you are: a completely decent, brilliant man who, just like me, sometimes tried too hard." I agree with Waverly that Felicity will make Kieran happier than he could have been with Waverly. He needed someone as caring as Felicity to keep him grounded and remember what it's like to feel loved and have something to live for.
I really thought Seth died when Waverly was on the new planet and said that she wished Seth could see it. I was on the verge of tears. But, that was exactly what Miss Ryan wanted to happen -_- I mean it worked. I was SO happy when I found out that he was just on the ship waiting for her.
I agree with Seth that Captain Jones didn't deserve to be the first one buried on the new planet. But oh well, I guess.
Waverly and Seth's ending was perfect for them. I know Seth will be a great father because all he wanted was to NOT be his father. All he wanted was a family and now he finally has one with the girl he's loved his whole life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I first read this book because I heard that it had the "he hates everyone but her" trope but that is definitely not the first thing I would mention if I were to recommend this book to someone else. The romance was present but was a minor plot point, and was really only covered in the last book.
I probably should have written this review right after I finished the book, but I was still very much in shock and was scared that I would not do the books justice with my review.
I would love to talk to people about this series, so if you have read it and want to rant about something, feel free to message me :)
I am going to talk about the whole series so here we go.
I loved Kieran and Waverly so much in the beginning of the book, so I was not expecting how much they would change throughout the series. Don't get me wrong, I still love them and their development throughout all of the problems they faced really showed what type of people they are. I absolutely HATED Kieran when he was captain of the Emryean. His congregations got me so angry especially since he KNEW Waverly was literally scarred from her time on the New Horizon. Also, when he put WAVERLY AND KIERAN IN THE BRIG AFTER JACOB ATTACKED THEM I WAS GONNA THROW HANDS. ALSO WHEN KIERAN PUT SARAH IN THE BRIG LIKE WHAT. He wanted to be a good leader SO badly and it just kept clouding his judgement. He finally got some redemption when he realized how bad of a person he was on the Emyrean when they were all boarded on the New Horizon. "The awfulness of the last months seeped into his body...He'd been such a liar."
This whole review is gonna be really messy so just bear with me.
I loved the side other "side" characters, like Arthur, Sarek, Tobin, Sarah, Samantha, Felicity. EVERYONE in this book was morally gray and I lived for it.
HOW ARE ALL OF THESE KIDS SO SMART. I FELT SO DUMB WHEN THEY CAME UP WITH ALL THEIR CRAZY IDEAS.
The whole thing with the parents that were captive on the New Horizon was so confusing at first, I was genuinely scared for them. And that doctor guy really had me trusting him at first. And Jared was SO CREEPY. He gave bad vibes the whole time so I was kinda expecting him to betray Waverly in some way. But the fact that on these ships its ok for old men to be with young women so they can have kids grossed me out. Like Felicity and that guy she was supposed to marry?? Gross. I'm happy she ended up with Kieran, I think he needed someone like her to stay with him.
Seth. Just. Seth. I am in LOVE with him. He is the definition of "I hate everyone but her." He was so broken after years of putting up with abuse from his dad and always being second compared to Kieran. He never had anyone and loved Waverly from afar for years while he had to watch her happy with Kieran. Then everything happens, and Waverly goes to save HIM from the brig even though it might kill her too. His reaction when he saw her broke me. AND HOW SHE CARRIED HER ALL THE WAY BACK UP OH MY GOD. AND THENNNN when he was asking her why she saved him and they started arguing and the tension was BUILDING UP. Then Seth's CONFESSION!!!!!!! WOW. My heart was going PITTER PATTER. "i don't care that i'm not good enough for you." AHHHHHHH They are literally perfect for each other. Seeing him so hurt in Flame was tearjerking, especially how he thought that WAVERLY WAS GONNA REPLACE HIM WITH JARED. GROSS. He always though he was gonna be alone, "then Waverly came back to the Empyrean. And they talked. And hope came back." His father always put him second to Kieran, but guess who ended up with Waverly?? SETH DID. AS HE SHOULD. His arm being amputated made me so sad and seeing Waverly sad also made me sad. But he loved Waverly so much that when he hear her voice, "suddenly everything hurt less." He loved Waverly SO much that he would have done anything for her, even let her be with *throws up in mouth* jacob if she wanted to. I don't know how many times he thought about Waverly and how much he said he loved her when he was in hiding on the New Horizon but it made me so sad for both of them.
Waverly honestly scared me in Spark when she tased Jacob while interrogating him and how she said she said it felt good. But that's why her and Seth are perfect for each other LOL. He completely understands her, unlike Kieran. After she killed Jacob's brother at the end of Glow, it was crazy to see how much she changed. I'm not gonna lie, she was such a baddie. In Spark, I think half of the time her thoughts were about how good it would feel to kill Anne Mather, and honestly don't blame her. She stole Waverly's mom, Samantha, her KIDS, her childhood, her innocence, everything.
It was so heartbreaking to see her in Flame and how alone she was at times. She still didn't know how to feel about Kieran and she was scared half to death about Seth, not knowing if he died staying on the Emryean. She didn't trust Dr. Carver or Jared or any of the elders and she couldn't even talk to her mom the same way ever again.
This book consisted of a lot of self reflecting since Kieran, Waverly, and Seth were alone for a major part of the book. Kieran finally realized how horribly he acted on the Empyrean; Waverly was worried for Seth and angry at herself that she pushed Kieran away, because now she had no one; Seth was literally on the run, so he obviously had a lot of time to pine over Waverly and how dumb he was to stay on the Empryean.
The PLOT TWISTS IN THIS BOOK KILLED ME. Jacob and his wife?? Absolutely terrifying. But, I will admit that their plan was pretty smart. A bomb INSIDE of Kieran?? I was on the edge of my seat during the trial. And then came the best part: Anne Mather was finally killed. Yes, I know Dr. Carver is still in power and that's bad too. Anne Mather was a despicable villain, BUT her character was written so well. The way she was able to manipulate people and gain support so quickly scared me. But Kieran and Waverly were so smart when it came to handling her because they knew she couldn't be trusted. Her character is so complex because at times, I also found myself sympathizing for her and the women on the New Horizon because they WERE sabotaged. But still, it doesn't excuse everything she did.
The ending. I think it ended perfectly. Waverly stayed friends with Kieran and both of them showed how they have grown as people, accepting their mistakes and moving on with them. Waverly's letter to Kieran was a bittersweet closure for them. "I'll always love you and remember you for what you are: a completely decent, brilliant man who, just like me, sometimes tried too hard." I agree with Waverly that Felicity will make Kieran happier than he could have been with Waverly. He needed someone as caring as Felicity to keep him grounded and remember what it's like to feel loved and have something to live for.
I really thought Seth died when Waverly was on the new planet and said that she wished Seth could see it. I was on the verge of tears. But, that was exactly what Miss Ryan wanted to happen -_- I mean it worked. I was SO happy when I found out that he was just on the ship waiting for her.
I agree with Seth that Captain Jones didn't deserve to be the first one buried on the new planet. But oh well, I guess.
Waverly and Seth's ending was perfect for them. I know Seth will be a great father because all he wanted was to NOT be his father. All he wanted was a family and now he finally has one with the girl he's loved his whole life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I first read this book because I heard that it had the "he hates everyone but her" trope but that is definitely not the first thing I would mention if I were to recommend this book to someone else. The romance was present but was a minor plot point, and was really only covered in the last book.
I probably should have written this review right after I finished the book, but I was still very much in shock and was scared that I would not do the books justice with my review.
I would love to talk to people about this series, so if you have read it and want to rant about something, feel free to message me :)
nadinee24's review
4.0
Spoilers for previous books in the trilogy, however this is a spoiler free review of Flame.
Flame picks up almost immediately after the previous book, Spark. The Empyrean is destroyed and the crew is on their way to the New Horizon. Waverly aligns herself with the rebel group, but she may be in over her head. And Kieran is offered power through Anne Mathers.
Flame is a very interesting book because almost the entirety of this book is the political movements of the group of people in charge and the rebellion group. So the reader gets to see what each side is willing to do to win and how each side is willing to accomplish their goals. This book has a lot of frustrating moments. That isn't a bad thing. I was invested in the characters and their future.
This book is full of actions and twists and turns that you won't see coming. It answers all the questions and ties everything up nicely, but not too nicely. The only thing I wish this book had was more of the ending (you know what I'm talking about if you've read the book). Maybe even a fourth book to carry the events of the story would be awesome.
Overall, I would recommend this trilogy to people looking for an action packed space adventure that also has a deeper meaning if you're willing to look for it.
Flame picks up almost immediately after the previous book, Spark. The Empyrean is destroyed and the crew is on their way to the New Horizon. Waverly aligns herself with the rebel group, but she may be in over her head. And Kieran is offered power through Anne Mathers.
Flame is a very interesting book because almost the entirety of this book is the political movements of the group of people in charge and the rebellion group. So the reader gets to see what each side is willing to do to win and how each side is willing to accomplish their goals. This book has a lot of frustrating moments. That isn't a bad thing. I was invested in the characters and their future.
This book is full of actions and twists and turns that you won't see coming. It answers all the questions and ties everything up nicely, but not too nicely. The only thing I wish this book had was more of the ending (you know what I'm talking about if you've read the book). Maybe even a fourth book to carry the events of the story would be awesome.
Overall, I would recommend this trilogy to people looking for an action packed space adventure that also has a deeper meaning if you're willing to look for it.
ashesmann's review
3.0
Pretty good conclusion to the series. I'm happy about it. I think. Seth and Waverly are together, Kieran and Felicity. I think the couples work, though for whatever reason while I loved Waverly's scenes with Seth- I didn't want to read about Kieran and Felicity. I know Felicity dealt with a lot, but she did abandon everyone. Kieran is super quick to absolve any guilt from that while he still doesn't always look for the good in Waverly.
My physics problem this time- gravity. We learned that the ships gravity is generated as it accelerates to it's destination. In this book aren't they at a standstill? The one has been completely decommissioned for a bit so it would be either stationary or at least slowing down. Yet nobody is floating...
Anyway. The end.
My physics problem this time- gravity. We learned that the ships gravity is generated as it accelerates to it's destination. In this book aren't they at a standstill? The one has been completely decommissioned for a bit so it would be either stationary or at least slowing down. Yet nobody is floating...
Anyway. The end.
kim_ammons's review
5.0
***Review of the entire trilogy***
4.5 out of 5 stars (for each one)
I read the first book of this trilogy, Glow, last year, and it was a book that grew on me more and more as I looked back on it. I reread it recently so I could finish the trilogy, and I wasn’t disappointed.
So we have two massive ships on their way to New Earth: the Empyrean (where the main characters live) and the New Horizon. The New Horizon should be way ahead of the Empyrean (they left a year earlier), but everyone’s talking about how they can see the New Horizon just up ahead. We also find out in the first chapter that there are no children on board the New Horizon (there were fertility issues on the Empyrean for years, but they solved them, and now the oldest young adults on board are 15 and 16 years old). Suddenly the New Horizon attacks and kidnaps all of the young girls on board, leaving all of the boys to run a damaged ship with most of the adults dead or gone.
These books are gripping, and they aren’t cookie cutter at all. That’s one of the reason I love them so much; I couldn’t ever quite predict what would happen next. Let me warn you, though, that they get fairly dark (mostly the first one, in my opinion). A lot of things are alluded to rather than explicitly shown, but there’s lots of talk of assault in various forms, and lots of people die. I gave my husband a short summary of the first one and all he said was, “Jesus…”
But these books are also just really freaking good. Everything is a moral grey area. All of the characters are morally grey throughout all three books, villains and heroes alike, and I really appreciate how deeply fleshed out every single character is. They’re all very real. I felt myself constantly changing my opinion of the characters because every scene had me empathizing with different sides.
The second book in particular, Spark, is an amazing political drama; I couldn’t believe how entertained I was throughout that whole book. Very little action, but the intrigue was fascinating. The third one, Flame, might have been my least favorite, just because the first half is a little slow and I don’t know if I believe the way that characters choose to deal with situations in that book. It comes across like it wants to read as a great game of political strategy, but it felt a little forced and unreal to me. Still, the trilogy as a whole was just so freaking well done and captivating.
I'm rounding up to 5 stars for each of them, but I can’t quite explain why I feel like a 4.5 star rating is more appropriate than 5, because these books hit all my buttons. I've added them to my Favorites shelf as well my “books I want to own” shelf (I’m very picky about what books I own–I’m more of a library reader). They feel just about (but not quite) perfect to me, and I highly, highly recommend them to pretty much everyone.
(Cross-posted on Youth Book Review)
4.5 out of 5 stars (for each one)
I read the first book of this trilogy, Glow, last year, and it was a book that grew on me more and more as I looked back on it. I reread it recently so I could finish the trilogy, and I wasn’t disappointed.
So we have two massive ships on their way to New Earth: the Empyrean (where the main characters live) and the New Horizon. The New Horizon should be way ahead of the Empyrean (they left a year earlier), but everyone’s talking about how they can see the New Horizon just up ahead. We also find out in the first chapter that there are no children on board the New Horizon (there were fertility issues on the Empyrean for years, but they solved them, and now the oldest young adults on board are 15 and 16 years old). Suddenly the New Horizon attacks and kidnaps all of the young girls on board, leaving all of the boys to run a damaged ship with most of the adults dead or gone.
These books are gripping, and they aren’t cookie cutter at all. That’s one of the reason I love them so much; I couldn’t ever quite predict what would happen next. Let me warn you, though, that they get fairly dark (mostly the first one, in my opinion). A lot of things are alluded to rather than explicitly shown, but there’s lots of talk of assault in various forms, and lots of people die. I gave my husband a short summary of the first one and all he said was, “Jesus…”
But these books are also just really freaking good. Everything is a moral grey area. All of the characters are morally grey throughout all three books, villains and heroes alike, and I really appreciate how deeply fleshed out every single character is. They’re all very real. I felt myself constantly changing my opinion of the characters because every scene had me empathizing with different sides.
The second book in particular, Spark, is an amazing political drama; I couldn’t believe how entertained I was throughout that whole book. Very little action, but the intrigue was fascinating. The third one, Flame, might have been my least favorite, just because the first half is a little slow and I don’t know if I believe the way that characters choose to deal with situations in that book. It comes across like it wants to read as a great game of political strategy, but it felt a little forced and unreal to me. Still, the trilogy as a whole was just so freaking well done and captivating.
I'm rounding up to 5 stars for each of them, but I can’t quite explain why I feel like a 4.5 star rating is more appropriate than 5, because these books hit all my buttons. I've added them to my Favorites shelf as well my “books I want to own” shelf (I’m very picky about what books I own–I’m more of a library reader). They feel just about (but not quite) perfect to me, and I highly, highly recommend them to pretty much everyone.
(Cross-posted on Youth Book Review)
siyun's review
1.0
i read the first 2 books in this series 8 years ago, when I was deeply obsessed with YA dystopian book.
i picked this book up because frankly, i just wanted to cross it off my 'tbr' list and finish the trilogy.
the book just did not capture my interest, i lost interest pretty much halfway through and skim read the rest.
how could the plot be so boring????
the characters are as flat as a ruler and completely ruled by their hormones.
Waverly: rotates between thinking about Kieran, Seth and Jared. When 1 of them annoys her, she starts missing the other ??? That whole 'romance' plot with Jared was just disgusting. I thought he was another stupid teenager making heart eyes at Waverly but no, he is a full ass grown adult (40+) and just being a pedophile?? and Waverly finding him attractive was annoying but became problematic when his age was revealed. And the scene where he sexually assaulted Waverly was just ignored. nice.
Seth and Kieran: i am struggling to think of 1 useful thing they did and failing.
Seth is really stupid, he was a fugitive and all he did was spray graffiti, how life changing!!
Kieran: making heart eyes at Felicity because ..... i have no idea why.
how convenient that Kieran has to go back to the enemy ship so he can have 5 children with Felicity (i LMAO, guess they do not have condoms on spaceships) and Waverly get to have her happy ending with Seth.
Thank you, NEXT
i picked this book up because frankly, i just wanted to cross it off my 'tbr' list and finish the trilogy.
the book just did not capture my interest, i lost interest pretty much halfway through and skim read the rest.
how could the plot be so boring????
the characters are as flat as a ruler and completely ruled by their hormones.
Waverly: rotates between thinking about Kieran, Seth and Jared. When 1 of them annoys her, she starts missing the other ??? That whole 'romance' plot with Jared was just disgusting. I thought he was another stupid teenager making heart eyes at Waverly but no, he is a full ass grown adult (40+) and just being a pedophile?? and Waverly finding him attractive was annoying but became problematic when his age was revealed. And the scene where he sexually assaulted Waverly was just ignored. nice.
Seth and Kieran: i am struggling to think of 1 useful thing they did and failing.
Seth is really stupid, he was a fugitive and all he did was spray graffiti, how life changing!!
Kieran: making heart eyes at Felicity because ..... i have no idea why.
how convenient that Kieran has to go back to the enemy ship so he can have 5 children with Felicity (i LMAO, guess they do not have condoms on spaceships) and Waverly get to have her happy ending with Seth.
Thank you, NEXT
booksofamber's review
4.0
This review was originally posted on Books of Amber
The wait between the end of Spark, and Flame’s release has been torturous. Spark, the second book in the Sky Chasers series, pretty much broke me. I had a breakdown on Goodreads, cried all over Twitter, and basically didn’t want to go on. I’ve been anticipating Flame for a year now, and I am happy to confirm that it lived up to my expectations.
While I do not think Flame is the strongest book in the series – that title goes to Spark – I think that Amy Kathleen Ryan did a great job of providing an exciting climax, wrapping up her characters’ stories, and leaving the reader feeling some sort of closure. A lot of the time you don’t get that. I am often disappointed by endings, because I tend to build up the story so much in my head that it simply cannot meet my expectations. Flame did, though.
Waverly is back, and she’s as badass as ever. She broke my heart in Flame, as she goes through so much, while still standing strong and trying to protect everyone that she loves. I adore her. She has such a huge heart, and really cares about her family and friends. When she saw her mother again for the first time in ages, my heart split in two. The same goes for when she came across old friends and allies. Waverly is definitely one of my favourite YA protagonists.
Let’s get Kieran out of the way. I still despise him, and I don’t understand why certain other characters were telling him that he’s a good man, despite all that he’s done. He’s not a good man, he’s a complete arse who let power go to his head. I did enjoy reading from his point of view this time, because there was less religion, and more attempts at saving people. But I will not forgive him for what he has done.
And then there’s Seth. Seth, who I kind of stan, because he’s so broken and epic. In the previous books, we learnt that Seth’s father was abusive and unloving towards his son, and I really liked how Amy Kathleen Ryan kept mentioning this fact, and having it affect Seth in such a way. It’s important to his character growth, and abuse really does stay with you forever.
I loved how, in Flame, there were multiple different villainous characters. There were several different teams at play here, and many characters with questionable morals and mindsets. It kept the plot flowing, and there was always something going on, no matter whose chapter we were in at the time. Once again, Anne Mathers is intriguing and yet kind of vile, but we’re also introduced to several other levels of psychopath here. Even I found some scenes uncomfortable to read, and I read pretty much anything.
There is an epilogue-type chapter which shows how the characters ended up, and for the most part I really liked it. I think Ryan pulled it off very well, and it gave me the closure that I needed. As well as a heart attack at one point because ASHES. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know what I mean.
One thing that did bother me, however, was how all of the surviving characters had multiple children. The oldest character couldn’t have been more than twenty-five, and yet they already had a bunch of kids. One character had even just had their fifth child. Now, I don’t hate children, and I do think it would have been realistic to give a few of the characters some offspring. But this many kids in such a short space of time seems too much to me. The characters were teenagers when we left them, and no one on the ship had even hit thirty yet. I don’t know, it just felt like they were all having kids too quickly and too young, and as someone who doesn’t (currently) want children until she’s at least 28 or so, it weirded me out. It seemed as though Ryan was pushing the idea that having children in your early twenties is the way to go, and personally, that is definitely not for me.
Overall, Flame is a fantastic book, and I’m very pleased with the way that it ended. The characters remain superb, and they’re definitely the top selling point for this series. The were several instances where I thought everyone was going to die, and I loved it. It kept me on my toes. Now I’m going to have to find another spaceship adventure to keep me occupied.
The wait between the end of Spark, and Flame’s release has been torturous. Spark, the second book in the Sky Chasers series, pretty much broke me. I had a breakdown on Goodreads, cried all over Twitter, and basically didn’t want to go on. I’ve been anticipating Flame for a year now, and I am happy to confirm that it lived up to my expectations.
While I do not think Flame is the strongest book in the series – that title goes to Spark – I think that Amy Kathleen Ryan did a great job of providing an exciting climax, wrapping up her characters’ stories, and leaving the reader feeling some sort of closure. A lot of the time you don’t get that. I am often disappointed by endings, because I tend to build up the story so much in my head that it simply cannot meet my expectations. Flame did, though.
Waverly is back, and she’s as badass as ever. She broke my heart in Flame, as she goes through so much, while still standing strong and trying to protect everyone that she loves. I adore her. She has such a huge heart, and really cares about her family and friends. When she saw her mother again for the first time in ages, my heart split in two. The same goes for when she came across old friends and allies. Waverly is definitely one of my favourite YA protagonists.
Let’s get Kieran out of the way. I still despise him, and I don’t understand why certain other characters were telling him that he’s a good man, despite all that he’s done. He’s not a good man, he’s a complete arse who let power go to his head. I did enjoy reading from his point of view this time, because there was less religion, and more attempts at saving people. But I will not forgive him for what he has done.
And then there’s Seth. Seth, who I kind of stan, because he’s so broken and epic. In the previous books, we learnt that Seth’s father was abusive and unloving towards his son, and I really liked how Amy Kathleen Ryan kept mentioning this fact, and having it affect Seth in such a way. It’s important to his character growth, and abuse really does stay with you forever.
I loved how, in Flame, there were multiple different villainous characters. There were several different teams at play here, and many characters with questionable morals and mindsets. It kept the plot flowing, and there was always something going on, no matter whose chapter we were in at the time. Once again, Anne Mathers is intriguing and yet kind of vile, but we’re also introduced to several other levels of psychopath here. Even I found some scenes uncomfortable to read, and I read pretty much anything.
There is an epilogue-type chapter which shows how the characters ended up, and for the most part I really liked it. I think Ryan pulled it off very well, and it gave me the closure that I needed. As well as a heart attack at one point because ASHES. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know what I mean.
One thing that did bother me, however, was how all of the surviving characters had multiple children. The oldest character couldn’t have been more than twenty-five, and yet they already had a bunch of kids. One character had even just had their fifth child. Now, I don’t hate children, and I do think it would have been realistic to give a few of the characters some offspring. But this many kids in such a short space of time seems too much to me. The characters were teenagers when we left them, and no one on the ship had even hit thirty yet. I don’t know, it just felt like they were all having kids too quickly and too young, and as someone who doesn’t (currently) want children until she’s at least 28 or so, it weirded me out. It seemed as though Ryan was pushing the idea that having children in your early twenties is the way to go, and personally, that is definitely not for me.
Overall, Flame is a fantastic book, and I’m very pleased with the way that it ended. The characters remain superb, and they’re definitely the top selling point for this series. The were several instances where I thought everyone was going to die, and I loved it. It kept me on my toes. Now I’m going to have to find another spaceship adventure to keep me occupied.
carmensutra's review
4.0
Very, very dark Lord of the Flies in space-themed trilogy. The action was evenly paced throughout, as the world, history and characters were thoroughly fleshed out for the reader. Many trilogies these days fail in their ending, but I was very satisfied with Ryan's ending to this trilogy.