Reviews

Chaos by Sarah Fine

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I adored this trilogy, especially the first and last book. I fell in love with the characters. You could connect with the characters and they all were very strong and well-developed. Even the characters that you should hate, you still love because they are written so well.

I also loved hearing about the different lands that you could be in during the afterlife. I could picture everything so clearly and get into the story. I was also soooo happy with the ending so that just makes the whole trilogy that much better. Overall, this is one of my favorite series.

lizzy_22's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 stars

I made these comments at The Midnight Garden and I add this caveat: despite being disappointed in the choices Fine made in Chaos this series comes with a big ole RECOMMEND from me. My favorite of the trilogy being Fractured.

I finished Chaos this morning and admit to be being a little disappointed. I felt that just when I thought I was prepared for the ultimate sacrifice with it’s huge emotional payoff, the punch to the gut was wasted by an almost easy out. I wasn’t looking forward to what seemed like a forgone conclusion, but I was READY for it.

This is all not to say that I don’t love this series and think that it does so many great things that we don’t usually see in YA. But I felt like Chaos jumped around too much, we were not allowed to feel any loss long enough before we moved on from the near misses and some relationships skimmed the surface instead of delving in and really making us care. I think that Fractured took the risks that we should have seen more of in Chaos as the story wound to its conclusion and bc it didn’t, the story suffered for it.

But, but…..Malachi!! ❤️❤️❤️

avora's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5

Satisfying ending to the series. I would have rated this higher but it was so cheesy. Most of the other reviewers loved the romance aspect of Malachi and Lela's relationship, but I thought it was heavy handed. I liked the idea that love heals and makes you stronger, but to make it literally heal physical injuries had me eye-rolling. The other annoying part was how useless Lela could be: someone says something to make her angry, she freaks out and runs in without thinking, and then gets herself so hurt she becomes a liability OR she lets despair or emotions about Malachi cloud her judgment and becomes a useless sack of depressing. I wish she used her brain a little bit more to control her crazy overreactions.

Besides the issues that I had, there was a good amount of action, touching reunions, and plot twists that kept me interested. I'm glad I finished the series and am looking forward to reading other books by the author.

alexperc_92's review

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5.0

With an heart pounding conclusion "Chaos" becomes one of the most action packed novels, I've read this year!

When Lela bargains again with the Jugdge, she never expects what her mission will be. Along with old, new and forgotten allies she will travel to the cruelest part of this otherworld, where Malachi suffers worse than Hell.

The emotions, the battle scenes and the messages Sarah Fine passes through her witting are worth to be remembered.
An excellent read!

marissameows13's review

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5.0

What an amazing trilogy. I am so surprised that this series has not gotten the attention it deserves. It took me a bit to get into the first one, and I was yelling at so many characters in the second book, but wow book three made it all worth it. An explosive and satisfying ending for sure. I can’t wait to read stories from the shadowlands to have an even better understanding of the other characters, plus some sneak peaks of their futures. I was so invested in Lela and Malachi and I won’t spoil what happens to them, but I think everyone should find out (:

raven168's review

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4.0

This time around, it's Ana's turn to be captain. Though, it's really only over Lela so I can't say it's a big deal. After jumping off the cliff to see the Judge sooner, Lela is caught by the urked Raphael and gets her audience. In order for the Judge to let her go to the Mazikin city, she is tasked with two assignments. To kill the Mazikin queen, and destroy the portal. Not long after that she finds out that she will be going with Ana as her captain. With the help of Raphael, they gain entrance thru the sealed dome and into the city. Well, kind of. Pretty much captured right away, they get themselves chained to carts heading to the meat factory. But they manage to free themselves and get away. After an ambush, they get discovered by Takeshi. He helps them along and shows them some places, including the square where Malachi is being repeatedly tortured each night. Ana loves Takeshi so she trusts him, but Lela finds it harder to do so. He has been here for long and has stated he only lives to protect himself, that she can't help but question if he's still the same man that Ana knew. After getting caught by the Smith, her fears of him abandoning them only grow. Until the last minute he comes to their rescue and they escape. Though not without injury. Lela had been run threw. And here's where the weird part of the city comes in. Apparently this place is hell, but as corny as it sounds, love has the power to heal. Luckly for Lela, her birth mother is around and actually loves her enough to heal her. Finally they manage to rescue Malachi, but only to get ambushed and captured again. With the amazing power of love, Lela is able to heal him of most of his wounds. And they go to meet their captor. Who turns out to be on the same side. So with the Tanner as their ally they manage to get into the bone palace. Things get pretty crazy, but eventually one mission gets completed.

Spoiler

I don't think I care much for how the queen was killed. I mean, she was thrown into the portal off a car... And I was wondering what was going to be done with Lela's mom when they made out of that realm. Like, would she be a part of her life after? But it was a pretty good outcome having her sacrifice herself for Lela.

And then twist! Allies become enemies and things are looking pretty hopeless. Surprising Lela, one person turns out to not be who she thought and with their help her and Malachi manage to complete the second mission and get away. I would like to say safely, but Malachi has been brutalized yet again. With all he goes thru, you can't help but admire him sometimes. Moving along, enemies turn out to be allies and there's one last thing they have to do. Get out. With so many losses along the way, Lela thinks she is done. She WANTS to be done. But the Judge won't let her go yet. Despite all that was destroyed, the Mazikin who were already in the land of the living are still here. Which was interesting, because I was expecting the story to end with the death of the queen and such. Now it's only Lela and Henry left to stop them. At first. Juri is really enjoying being in Malachi's body and takes full advantage of what it does to Lela. And she has such a hard time dealing with it that she wants to give up. But not wanting to let Malachi down, and everyone else, she shores up her determination and goes home to find a fantastic surprise waiting for her.

Spoiler

I loved how Malachi appeared there like that and how things went down. I thought it was Juri at first too, and when it came out that it was really him, I actually went back to reread just a little bit with this knowledge.

Now we can do this. After one small fight and the last big one, they do. And Lela is given a choice. Of course, we all know what she will choose and it's quite a happy ending.

I love Malachi. While sometimes his whole 'gotta save the world' attitude is a bit overbearing, he is one great guy. And such a fantastic warrior. That's probably one of the hottest things about him. But this book was just cruel to him. He was put thru so much that it's amazing he would be able to stay himself (yes, I know this is fiction). Lela was a great character too because she was a strong girl. Like she said, she was not a waif and could hold her own. She fought for those she loved and did what she thought was right. The two of them together were truly a great couple. I also really liked Raphael in this series. He was always pretty much emotionless, but he always just added more to the story.

Very good series, and I'll be checking out [b:Stories from the Shadowlands|23223566|Stories from the Shadowlands (Guards of the Shadowlands, #3.1)|Sarah Fine|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410881601s/23223566.jpg|42765529] soon