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pink_panther25's review against another edition
1.0
Suuuuper disapointed with this 3rd & final book. If you didn't like how the Divergent series ended, you're not going to like this book either.
The first two books had an awesome storyline with consistent characters that fought for something bigger than themselves. Then the author decided to change the whole purpose of the characters in the 3rd book. The story took a super abrupt left turn, the characters were flat, & then wrapped up with an ending that felt rushed. I LOVED the first 2 books & am really sad with how this series ended.
The first two books had an awesome storyline with consistent characters that fought for something bigger than themselves. Then the author decided to change the whole purpose of the characters in the 3rd book. The story took a super abrupt left turn, the characters were flat, & then wrapped up with an ending that felt rushed. I LOVED the first 2 books & am really sad with how this series ended.
maemi_ame's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
jessdone's review against another edition
3.0
I think the series wrote itself into a corner in the second book. The tech kept evolving, at that growth rate, there's a point where it's hard to keep the story grounded or to imagine a logical ending.
Even in the end, the series strove to consider everyone's view point, but the time jumps or writer's fatigue or something else muddied those perspectives. I didn't really connect with any of the characters where in past books I'd connected with all of them, even "evil" ones.
In the first two books, Roselle was empathetic, clever and an excellent problem solver. This book still strives to frame her as a clever problem solver, but readers are left out of the process. It's unsatisfying and feels like a deus ex machina. Arguably, the whole book is a wordy deus ex machina, which I think is what's so disappointing.
I love the concept of a "real" world and a "virtual" world, but how we got to that concept and what was done with it was lacking. There were so many mash ups we could have seen, The Matrix, Inception, Ready Player One, etc. Instead of building on these possibilities or distinguishing her story from these, Bartol creates hallow echoes of these ideas. They lack life or direction of their own, and that made me sad as a person invested in the series.
Even in the end, the series strove to consider everyone's view point, but the time jumps or writer's fatigue or something else muddied those perspectives. I didn't really connect with any of the characters where in past books I'd connected with all of them, even "evil" ones.
In the first two books, Roselle was empathetic, clever and an excellent problem solver. This book still strives to frame her as a clever problem solver, but readers are left out of the process. It's unsatisfying and feels like a deus ex machina. Arguably, the whole book is a wordy deus ex machina, which I think is what's so disappointing.
I love the concept of a "real" world and a "virtual" world, but how we got to that concept and what was done with it was lacking. There were so many mash ups we could have seen, The Matrix, Inception, Ready Player One, etc. Instead of building on these possibilities or distinguishing her story from these, Bartol creates hallow echoes of these ideas. They lack life or direction of their own, and that made me sad as a person invested in the series.
devansbooklife's review against another edition
2.0
I am so disappointed. The ending felt rushed and there were a lot of twists that did not make any sense. I loved books 1 and 2, however this one just ended in a fast wave that felt forced. Two books worth of world building and development lead to disappointment. I feel a little robbed.
_lexis_library_'s review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book just felt wildly misplaced from the other two books.
When were gods even mentioned before now?
How did we go from corrupting the government from the inside to mind controlled AI zombies?
I finished the book just to see what happens but it just wasn’t where I thought or wanted this series to go.
The ending was rushed ace lackluster if I’m being honest. We don’t even get the satisfaction of a huge battle between Crow, zeros, numbers, and the Roselle crew. It’s like she’s all powerful now. Who needs Allies when you can control molecules?!
I wish I could have stopped at book 2 and imagined the rest myself….
When were gods even mentioned before now?
How did we go from corrupting the government from the inside to mind controlled AI zombies?
I finished the book just to see what happens but it just wasn’t where I thought or wanted this series to go.
The ending was rushed ace lackluster if I’m being honest. We don’t even get the satisfaction of a huge battle between Crow, zeros, numbers, and the Roselle crew. It’s like she’s all powerful now. Who needs Allies when you can control molecules?!
I wish I could have stopped at book 2 and imagined the rest myself….
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
4.0
I’m a little conflicted over this one. Not because it’s bad, far from it. Bartol goes all out with her imagination and creates an even more thrilling realm with good characters, emotion, and strong action. But it quickly veers from what I remembered from the series, and opens up whole other concepts I didn’t think possible for this universe.
Roselle is herself, strong-willed, powerful, brave, and determined. I love seeing her in any role, especially as she dealt with some wild twists and people trying to control her. Watching her with Reykin, who also underwent a good change, really impressed me. I’m also a huge fan of Cherno, who needs his own book.
The action is solid and the pacing is fast. Potentially too fast. And here is where I ran into some speed bumps. The story takes on a fantasy element that seemed to come abruptly for me, and expanded well out of sci fi. I think with a little more time and length, it could have been expanded and better understood. Now, it’s basically God Mode all the time.
Again, I did like this book more than dislike. There are great twists, drama, thrills, and a fairly satisfying conclusion for all. Not what I expected, but fans of the series should give this finale a chance!
Roselle is herself, strong-willed, powerful, brave, and determined. I love seeing her in any role, especially as she dealt with some wild twists and people trying to control her. Watching her with Reykin, who also underwent a good change, really impressed me. I’m also a huge fan of Cherno, who needs his own book.
The action is solid and the pacing is fast. Potentially too fast. And here is where I ran into some speed bumps. The story takes on a fantasy element that seemed to come abruptly for me, and expanded well out of sci fi. I think with a little more time and length, it could have been expanded and better understood. Now, it’s basically God Mode all the time.
Again, I did like this book more than dislike. There are great twists, drama, thrills, and a fairly satisfying conclusion for all. Not what I expected, but fans of the series should give this finale a chance!
empr23rcrds's review against another edition
My fan girl review: OMFG I LOVE THIS SERIES I NEED MORE TEAM REYKIN ALL THE WAY *SQUEAK*
My sane adult reading YA series review: I really love the potential of these characters and their stories, (and maybe I’ve been spoiled by our binge watching on demand culture) but I really feel this could have been one good sized book OR 3 slightly longer/more in depth books. I can see where the author was going and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the adventures of a neglected and sheltered rich girl turned bada$$ and savior....but there is always room to establish the world we’re about to dive into, room to build certain relationships *, room to bring it all together in the end without skimping on the chase and take down of the icky badguy. I’ll re-read this series again and again but I’ll always wonder what could have been.
* having read the entire series now, the relationship between roselle/hawthorn/reykin makes a bit more sense to me now. Hawthorn being like anyone’s first whirlwind romance in a confined space (emotionally and physically) while reykin was definitely a bit more of a rational arrangement.
My sane adult reading YA series review: I really love the potential of these characters and their stories, (and maybe I’ve been spoiled by our binge watching on demand culture) but I really feel this could have been one good sized book OR 3 slightly longer/more in depth books. I can see where the author was going and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the adventures of a neglected and sheltered rich girl turned bada$$ and savior....but there is always room to establish the world we’re about to dive into, room to build certain relationships *, room to bring it all together in the end without skimping on the chase and take down of the icky badguy. I’ll re-read this series again and again but I’ll always wonder what could have been.
* having read the entire series now, the relationship between roselle/hawthorn/reykin makes a bit more sense to me now. Hawthorn being like anyone’s first whirlwind romance in a confined space (emotionally and physically) while reykin was definitely a bit more of a rational arrangement.
stassi444's review against another edition
2.0
It was a disappointing end to a series that started so great. Somewhat disappointed in her with the way this story ended
ameserole's review against another edition
3.0
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rebel Born was a book that I was so excited to dive into. It has been a while since I've read the previous books in this series but I honestly didn't care. Again, I was just so excited so I figured that hey - things might come back to me. Yeah, they didn't.. it was rough.
YET, I still enjoyed this one. It did start off a bit slow for me and I just kept waiting for it to get better. Unfortunately, it was just okay. Not going to lie, the first two books were way better in my eyes. That being said, I did enjoy the route of going more sci-fi-ish this time around but I just ended up being confused in some places.
If I could change one thing about this book it would be the 'villain'. Agent Crow just seemed lame to me this time around. It didn't surprise me that it was a computer program with hopes of taking over the world and everyone in it BUT it's like I wanted more. Something was missing for me and that's probably why I feel meh towards this one.
Ugh, I hate that I fell meh! Overall, I really wanted to like this so I'm disappointed that it didn't turn out how I wanted it to. Maybe with a series re-read my opinion might change?
Next year. Maybe.
Rebel Born was a book that I was so excited to dive into. It has been a while since I've read the previous books in this series but I honestly didn't care. Again, I was just so excited so I figured that hey - things might come back to me. Yeah, they didn't.. it was rough.
YET, I still enjoyed this one. It did start off a bit slow for me and I just kept waiting for it to get better. Unfortunately, it was just okay. Not going to lie, the first two books were way better in my eyes. That being said, I did enjoy the route of going more sci-fi-ish this time around but I just ended up being confused in some places.
If I could change one thing about this book it would be the 'villain'. Agent Crow just seemed lame to me this time around. It didn't surprise me that it was a computer program with hopes of taking over the world and everyone in it BUT it's like I wanted more. Something was missing for me and that's probably why I feel meh towards this one.
Ugh, I hate that I fell meh! Overall, I really wanted to like this so I'm disappointed that it didn't turn out how I wanted it to. Maybe with a series re-read my opinion might change?
Next year. Maybe.