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A review by belle33120
Flame by Amy Kathleen Ryan
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 :)