disneydamsel1's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Just Shy of 4 stars. I think Marcellus as a character could have been written better. I think in an effort to make some of the females seem strong, the men came across weaker. Overall I liked the book and think it was a solid trilogy.
wretchedtheo's review
This is sad. I really didn't want to DNF this book as I have been an avid fan of the System Divine trilogy ever since the release of the very first book. I followed the releases faithfully, and preordered the 2nd and 3rd books. I have been a diehard fan of Les Misérables since high school and so I was very captivated by this sci fi retelling.
However, the third book disappointed me. I wasn't expecting to be disappointed - I went into Suns Will Rise fully prepared not only to love it, but even to overlook any details I might dislike. That's how eager I was to appreciate this book. However, the two authors took the retelling in a direction that I strongly dislike. I feel like it disregards and disrespects the spirit of the original source material in a way I just can't reconcile myself with. Spoilers below, I'm going to tell you what narrative choices Brody and Rendelle made that convinced me to drop this series 2 books and 240 pages in.
<Spoiler>
1. They turned the Friends of the ABC into a terrorist group. Their main crime? Wanting to use violence in an uprising. The protagonists of Suns Will Rise strongly believe that the only way to overturn an abusive status quo is peaceful protest and heart to hearts with the enemy. I just...no. it's giving Hayes Code Les Mis to me. It felt like the authors, although well intentioned, confused the June Rebellion described in Les Misérables with the actual French Revolution. They even replace Enjolras with an invented character, "Maximilienne", as the leader of this group which - guess what they named it instead of Les Amis de l'ABC? Wait for it... tHe ReD sCaR. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ And if you were hoping to see your favorite barricade boys transposed into a sci fi setting? Tough luck. Combeferre? I don't know her. Jehan Prouvaire? He's a random old fisherman with no connections to the Amis. I'm in pain.
2. They turned Alouette/Marcellus/Chatine (space!Cosette, Marius and Éponine) into a basic YA love triangle. I just... I can't. I can't anymore. Terrorist!Amis made me groan but Marcellus kissing Chatine was my last straw. That's when I looked at this book and decided to stop lying to myself that I liked it. I kept reading after the terrorist!Amis because I hoped that the situation would get turned around, it would come out that they weren't actually in the wrong, it was propaganda by General Bonnefaçon (space!Marius' space!grandpa) to keep the two rebel groups apart from each other...but no. Brody and Rendelle really did decide to get rid of any nuance in their retelling. I'm so sad typing this. Major disappointment.
Also, idk if it's just me, but the writing quality seems to have gone down too. The characters aren't as interesting anymore and none of the jokes HIT.
However, the third book disappointed me. I wasn't expecting to be disappointed - I went into Suns Will Rise fully prepared not only to love it, but even to overlook any details I might dislike. That's how eager I was to appreciate this book. However, the two authors took the retelling in a direction that I strongly dislike. I feel like it disregards and disrespects the spirit of the original source material in a way I just can't reconcile myself with. Spoilers below, I'm going to tell you what narrative choices Brody and Rendelle made that convinced me to drop this series 2 books and 240 pages in.
<Spoiler>
1. They turned the Friends of the ABC into a terrorist group. Their main crime? Wanting to use violence in an uprising. The protagonists of Suns Will Rise strongly believe that the only way to overturn an abusive status quo is peaceful protest and heart to hearts with the enemy. I just...no. it's giving Hayes Code Les Mis to me. It felt like the authors, although well intentioned, confused the June Rebellion described in Les Misérables with the actual French Revolution. They even replace Enjolras with an invented character, "Maximilienne", as the leader of this group which - guess what they named it instead of Les Amis de l'ABC? Wait for it... tHe ReD sCaR. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ And if you were hoping to see your favorite barricade boys transposed into a sci fi setting? Tough luck. Combeferre? I don't know her. Jehan Prouvaire? He's a random old fisherman with no connections to the Amis. I'm in pain.
2. They turned Alouette/Marcellus/Chatine (space!Cosette, Marius and Éponine) into a basic YA love triangle. I just... I can't. I can't anymore. Terrorist!Amis made me groan but Marcellus kissing Chatine was my last straw. That's when I looked at this book and decided to stop lying to myself that I liked it. I kept reading after the terrorist!Amis because I hoped that the situation would get turned around, it would come out that they weren't actually in the wrong, it was propaganda by General Bonnefaçon (space!Marius' space!grandpa) to keep the two rebel groups apart from each other...but no. Brody and Rendelle really did decide to get rid of any nuance in their retelling. I'm so sad typing this. Major disappointment.
Also, idk if it's just me, but the writing quality seems to have gone down too. The characters aren't as interesting anymore and none of the jokes HIT.
the_most_happy_1533's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this book! I thought this series really found its voice in the second book and it continues in this novel. Les Miserable is still clearly the inspiration and will be enjoyable for Victor Hugo fans but it goes beyond and holds it's own! Overall a great read!
carleneslibrary's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
texasbelle's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
abby_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
This book was impossible for me to put down. The characters, plot, and prose (though cheesy at times) were so loveable and entertaining. I was fully engrossed and by the end I was at the edge of my seat. Here are my pros and cons for this novel:
PROS
- Chatine!!! I LOVE her. We love a badass female with daddy issues. She’s funny, smart, and deals with real issues throughout the novel.
- Alouette: Alouette’s character arc was extremely fun to follow. I think her development as a character made a lot of sense!
- Plot: super entertaining. could be slow at parts, but I still couldn’t put the book down
- Minor Characters: Love them. Although I do have some issues with Gabriel that I’ll mention later
- Chatine + Etienne: they’re so cute. I love them so much
CONS:
- Length: This book was pretty lengthy, probably more so than was necessary
- Marcellus: I didn’t really enjoy Marcellus as a character personally. He felt boring and one dimensional
- Gabriel: Don’t get me wrong—I LOVED Gabriel. He provided some humor and lightheartedness that the book needed. But the authors kind of reduced him to only comic relief, when he could be much more. In fact, in the earlier books he had a personality. In this book, he’s basically a girl-obsessed annoyance to the other characters. I think his character deserved more attention—he isn’t even mentioned in the summary for God’s sake.
- Romance: Besides Chatine + Etienne, the romance in this novel didn’t do it for me. Marcellus kind of just sees like he’ll make out with anyone, Alouette’s romance scenes feel unnatural, and Gabriel and Cerise (though cute) could stand to have more chemistry. Even more than that, I really dislike how the romances ended up playing out in the epilogue
- Epilogue: I have a love hate relationship with this epilogue. On the one hand, it does effectively wrap up the series. But on the other, it ignores Gabriel and Cerise completely, and is extremely vague about where Alouette, Chatine, and Marcellus end up.
All in all, I give this novel 4 stars for being amazing, but having some small issues.
PROS
- Chatine!!! I LOVE her. We love a badass female with daddy issues. She’s funny, smart, and deals with real issues throughout the novel.
- Alouette: Alouette’s character arc was extremely fun to follow. I think her development as a character made a lot of sense!
- Plot: super entertaining. could be slow at parts, but I still couldn’t put the book down
- Minor Characters: Love them. Although I do have some issues with Gabriel that I’ll mention later
- Chatine + Etienne: they’re so cute. I love them so much
CONS:
- Length: This book was pretty lengthy, probably more so than was necessary
- Marcellus: I didn’t really enjoy Marcellus as a character personally. He felt boring and one dimensional
- Gabriel: Don’t get me wrong—I LOVED Gabriel. He provided some humor and lightheartedness that the book needed. But the authors kind of reduced him to only comic relief, when he could be much more. In fact, in the earlier books he had a personality. In this book, he’s basically a girl-obsessed annoyance to the other characters. I think his character deserved more attention—he isn’t even mentioned in the summary for God’s sake.
- Romance: Besides Chatine + Etienne, the romance in this novel didn’t do it for me. Marcellus kind of just sees like he’ll make out with anyone, Alouette’s romance scenes feel unnatural, and Gabriel and Cerise (though cute) could stand to have more chemistry. Even more than that, I really dislike how the romances ended up playing out in the epilogue
- Epilogue: I have a love hate relationship with this epilogue. On the one hand, it does effectively wrap up the series. But on the other, it ignores Gabriel and Cerise completely, and is extremely vague about where Alouette, Chatine, and Marcellus end up.
All in all, I give this novel 4 stars for being amazing, but having some small issues.