Review: Sever (Chemical Garden #3) by Lauren DeStefano (September Sequels Challenge #4) #TackleTBR Read-a-thon Final Update

I won this book a while back, but again, it was before I started marking the books so I could remember when I reviewed them where they came from. So whoever I got this from, thanks!!  It has been 2 years though since I read the 2nd book in the series, Fever, so of course I was a little bit behind when I first picked it up with trying to remember everything.  I really feel that this book did answer a lot of the questions from both the 2nd book, as well as the first one, Wither.  But, I think I can see many ways that I like for some books to be added to the series.  I think one from the aspect of Rhine's brother Rowan would be really great to read. To see his take on Vaughn.  As well as a prequel, following their parents, which would also include Vaughn.  Here is my summary, with spoilers unfortunately for anyone who hasn't read the first two books.

We begin with Rhine in the hospital, recovering from being experimented on in Vaughn's basement.  Linden and Cecily are there with her.  They have sworn to find her somewhere else to go besides back to the mansion.  And this ends up being at Linden's uncle Reed's house.  Reed is an interesting character.  Quite the tinkerer, constantly building and working on things.  He is no longer allowed on Vaughn's property, even though it was once his home as well.  Reed seems to click with Rhine, partly because, as with Linden, she reminds him of Rose, the first wife.  Cecily ends up going back to the mansion with Linden and their son Bowen.  Linden asks Rhine to wait in her search for her brother.  To heal, and to let him come up with things to help her on her way.  But during the time she's waiting, tragedy strikes Cecily, and this tragedy makes Cecily no longer trust Vaughn, and she has her family now move out to Reed's place as well.  Where Reed promises to protect them from Vaughn.  When Rhine is ready to go, before her brother can blow up another clinic, she hears on the radio that he thinks she is dead.  This leads to talking to the person who did the report on the radio, causing Rhine to know she must find Rowan right away.  There are more pitfalls along the way, Vaughn puts out a missing person report for Linden and Cecily, getting all three of them caught on their search.  And who they end up with, well, it will bring back nightmares for Rhine, but in the end, it may be for their best interest.  More things are learned about Rose, and yes, Rhine does get to her brother, only to find out he may have signed a deal with the devil, even if it was for the good of the cure.

Lots, and lots of answers given in this book.  The world outside of where they've lived?  Much different than thought.  History books, possibly re-written before Rhine and her generation read them.  A good ending, although as I said at the beginning, I really wish there could be a companion and a prequel.  

Unfortunately I didn't do so well on this Read-a-thon.  My goals were to read 4 books, and while I ended up reading 3/4, only one of those was on my predicted list:  Asunder.  Sever is the 3rd one, and Unravel Me was the 2nd.  These 2 weeks just didn't quite go the way I planned.  I'll just have to work to do better next year if I participate again.

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever by Lauren DeStefano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I waited so long to read this from when I got to read the first book in the series, Wither. I wished really bad I'd get an ARC of it since I'd gotten to read Wither as an ARC. But it didn't happen, so I had to check the book out from the store where I work. I gave Wither 5 stars I loved it so much, and this was really good, but had some of the same issues that a lot of 2nd books in a series seem to have. I was a little surprised they that Rhine and Gabriel ran into a trap so soon, but I guess I'd have realized that if I'd read the summary on Goodreads. :-) But it made sense because that is where they met "Lilac" and her daughter Maddie. It is also where we got the idea that their former housemaster, Vaughn, Linden's father, had more secrets than we had even begun to find out in Wither. At first when Rhine started feeling sick, I wondered, was she finally pregnant? It doesn't really ever say that she and Gabriel go that far. But I was a little confused. Then, when you figure out what Vaughn may have done, it all begins to make sense. I knew that the whole situation with Linden couldn't be finished yet, it just wasn't completely tied up, and this is how we get back to begin to deal with it. I was so anxious for Rhine to find her brother as well. And I'm glad we do finally get some satisfaction on whether he's still alive at the end. I'm almost wondering though, if we still have more to learn about their scientist parents, and if they were as good as a child remembers their parent to be.
So now I'm eagerly awaiting the 3rd book! It would be so awesome to get an ARC of that, but not holding my breath, so at least this time I'll be waiting the same amount of time as everyone else who has to wait till the book is actually published. In conclusion, I liked the book, and am still hooked on the story!
This book will go on my "C" for the A-Z Reading Challenge, for being part of the Chemical Garden series.

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Waiting on Wednesday - Fever (Chemical Garden Trilogy #2) by Lauren DeStefano

Waiting on Wednesday is sponsored by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.

I haven't done this in awhile because I felt I'd pretty much listed all the books I'd really been waiting on. But, au contraire, mon frere. It's just that a lot of the books I'm not waiting on will not be published for another year because I read the first one in the series before they were published, so they've just been published and now I'm waiting. In fact, this book I'm choosing today will not come out till 2012. And at the moment I haven't found a cover for it, it is supposed to be revealed sometime this month.

Fever is the 2nd in the Chemical Garden trilogy by Lauren DeStefano. It is the sequel to Wither, one of the latest dystopian teen novels I enjoyed reading this past year. Wither is currently on my Staff recommendation table at the bookstore where I work. In this story, because humans have figured out how to live long lives, now their children die young, girls at the age of 20, boys at the age of 25. So young girls are kidnapped to be sold to rich men to have their babies. It is even possible for these rich men to basically have harems of wives. Other young girls are sold to research lab so they can try to figure out how to solve this problem.

Rhine is our main character, and she had been kidnapped away from her twin brother and forced to marry Linden to have his babies. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the first one yet. But needless to say we left off at a cliffhanger and I want to know where it goes next!