First, thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an egalley of this sequel to
Feuds. This was a good conclusion to the story. While there were still some formulaic bits to it, it was still different in its own ways for different parts of the story. And I'm pretty happy with how it ended. I like when we get some closure to the story, like a little epilogue that tells something in the future from when the story actually ended. Of course if you haven't read the first book, I can't promise no spoilers! In fact I know there will be for the first book. So, you might want to go to the link on the first book and read about it to decide.
So our main characters are back, Cole and Davis. Only Davis thinks Cole is dead, because he wasn't able to get word to her that he wasn't. Davis has been sent to TOR-N, which stands for Territories' Operational Research facility, with a specialty in the virus Narxis. However this isn't quite the medical spa her family was led to believe it was. Turns out that it's on an island where there used to be a resort, but it hasn't been taken care of. It seems the people running the island are skimming money from the rich parents to use for themselves and not really doing much to cure the disease as that would cut into their money. Davis makes a new friend, Mercer, who like her is a "Neither", not an Imp or a Gen 100%. They are both recovering, and are upset that nothing is being done to actually cure the disease. Mercer is from a town where there are a lot of scientists who are actually trying to do something. So he convinces Davis to escape with him and head back to his town to try to help find a cure from their blood. Only Davis isn't quite sure about Mercer, he seems to be really falling in love with her, but she doesn't know if she's over Cole yet. And when they get to his hometown, things will not be as they seem, and she'll even learn more about her mother and what really happened when she was younger.
Cole is in hiding, but trying to find a way to cure Narxis so that he can save Davis. His friend Worsley is in a new lab working on a cure, and when Davis's best friend Vera is found after being thrown out on the streets by her parents, Worsley knows that he can use Vera to help. Vera is pregnant, and her baby could be what is needed to figure out the cure. They also find out that the next Olympiads will be open to everyone, so Cole wants to enter and try to win the money so that he can save his family and again, Davis. But he is supposed to be dead, so he must figure out a way to enter without getting caught by the authorities, as well as he must train. He meets a girl named Mari, whose father used to be a trainer for other competitors. And he trains, learning he can't box, he must find a new sport to compete in. Worsley's experimenting becomes worrying to Cole when he does the unthinkable and injects Vera and her baby with Narxis.
In the end it is Cole entering in the Olympiads, and Davis escaping knowing what she does about Narxis that will have to come together to solve all the issues. If they can though, there will be many obstacles.
I like how everything is done in a realistic manner, that no one is really perfect in the story, other than Cole and Davis's love for each other. A great dystopian story, with a great ending.
