sahithi akella

The worst series I have ever read. I continued with the second book after the first because I foolishly thought that there might be some substance but the second book only makes it so much worse. The main character is one of the most unlikable characters I have ever read about - she is supposed to be kind and funny but her characterization only fuels the notion that a woman who is kind and funny cannot be smart enough or mature enough. She is so immature - I haven't for the life of me come across any person who is so immature - my 2-year-old niece shows more maturity. She is so idealistic - not the idealism that's born out of hope for change but a foolish idealism that can only exist in someone not having even a shred of responsibility.

I usually do not write reviews but this series is so terrible that I have taken it upon myself to ensure that others do not read it. I would give this book 0 stars if I could. Also, the one thing that cemented my hatred for this entire series is the “fact” that, in the author's description at the end of the second book, after the acknowledgement where she thanks her husband and children, the author somehow found it pertinent to inform the readers that she has kissed approximately 14 men in her life. I hope I do not need to explain why that gave me the ick.

I usually do not write reviews but the absolute brilliance of this book by Jennifer Lynn Barnes practically compelled me to write one. This is one heck of a rollercoaster - from the sheer number of twists and turns to the shock value they provide the reader with - Barnes does not disappoint. Sometimes, the logic does get a bit difficult to follow but I believe that it speaks more of me as a reader than as a critique of the book itself. There is no possible way to avoid rethinking your own morals by the end of the book, especially at the end of the book considering what Avery is about to do.

It is absolutely beautiful. Pick the series up if you want to be shellshocked by the power of the human mind - both Tobias Hawthorne's and the exponentially greater one of Barnes'.