Review: Sever by Lauren DeStefano

*WARNING* This is the last book in a trilogy and may contain spoilers!

Sever by Lauren DeStefano
The Chemical Garden Trilogy, #3
Hardcover, 371 pages
Published February 12th 2013 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.

 

 

Initially I had problems gathering my feelings for this book but after I really started thinking about it they just came flowing in. Being the last book in the trilogy I had to think of how this book wrapped the series up and whether it met my expectations or not.

The first thing I thought of was the character growth. If there was one thing this book did that was excellent it was the character growth. The difference between Rhine, Linden, and Cecily between the first book and this one was crazy. They all grew and changed so much. I loved it.

Lots of questions were answered in this book. There was an explanation for the world building which wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be but it still did a good job of explaining. One part of it was a little unbelievable and I wasn’t really sure that I liked what turn it took.

There were actually a few things that I wasn’t expecting in this book.  One is that I felt that ending was rushed. This is what dropped the rating down a notch on this book (not quite a 3.5 but not quite a 4). Everything at the end seemed to happen a little too easily and some things just fell into place in a sort of weird way, such as Rhine finding Rowan and especially the very end of the book.

There was a lot of explanation from Housemaster Vaughn and what was going on with his research. So much backstory was told in this book. We find out some shocking things about what originally happened with Rhine and Rowan. We also find out some really interesting things about their parents and research they were doing.

I felt that the book was a little long but I never lost interest with it. There was a lot of time spent in one place at this book. However, this introduced a character that I loved, Reed. Reed was bar far my favorite character of the book. He acted just as I thought he should and I loved reading any section with him in it.

I can definitely see how there are many many feels in this book. So many things that made me say oh my goodness, especially at the end.  I can honestly say that this was not my favorite of the three. I loved the first book.

Oh and just for the record I am pro Linden. I just really dislike his father.

The last thing I want to talk about is the covers. I don’t know about everyone else, but I absolutely love these covers. The hints on the covers are great and correspond perfectly with the stories.

Do I Recommend this Book/Series?

Yes! I know there are a lot of people that didn’t like Wither and I can say that if you didn’t like it then there is no point in continuing the series.

My Rating: