Sever

Sever by Lauren DeStefano

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary (From Back Cover)
Time is running out for Rhine.
Having escaped from Vaughn's mansion, Rhine finds respite in the dilapidated home of her husband's uncle, an eccentric inventor who hates Vaughn almost as much as Rhine does.
Rhine's determination to be reunited with her twin brother, Rowan, increases as each day brings terrifying revelations to light about his involvement in an underground resistance. She realises she must find him before he destroys the one thing they have left: hope.
In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano's The Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered. 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.

Review
I only finished reading this a couple of hours ago and I'm still wiping away the tears! This is my favourite of The Chemical Gardens books and I'm going to try and give a non-biased review, but in all honesty, I think I'm going to struggle.

The story itself picks up a couple of days after Fever left off, with Rhine in hospital and Linden by her side. It has quite a slow start in comparison to the other two books with a lot of trying to convince Linden his father's a complete sociopath but once uncle Reed is introduced the whole thing picks up pretty fast. All your unanswered questions from the previous two books are answered and there are more than a couple of surprises on the way. Along with some familiar faces we thought - maybe even hoped - we had seen the last of.

In the past I've been in two minds about Rhine and it's all come down to the fact I have a soft spot for the men in these books. Both Linden and Gabrielle have this naivety to them that makes you want to jump into the page and protect them from all the evil things this world has in store for them. And more often than not Rhine's the reason - even if unintentionally - they're hurting. But in this book you're able to look past that, to really get behind some of the decisions she makes. Because no matter what, you can see her heart is in the right place.

There is one new face in this instalment that you need to look out for and that is Reed - Linden's uncle. Rhine goes to live with him pretty early on in the book so I don't feel bad telling you about him. He's an eccentric first generation recluse who's grumpy mannerisms had me smiling when other events in the book made my heart ache. Although, I was a little worried when he started showing Cecily how to shoot a gun!

Speaking of Cecily, throughout these books she turned from a child playing wife to something I never expected her to be when I opened the first book. She's gone through just as much as Rhine, and learned a lot of lessons the hard way, making her into a strong and independent woman that I hope you all come to love as much as I have.

I don't feel like I can say much more because I don't want to give the story away! There were so many surprises in this book that make you see previous events in a whole new light. There's also moments that will make you cry, moments that you won't see coming. One in particular, that if I had know was coming I would have shoved the book in the freezer faster than the speed of light!

If there was any part that I felt disappointed with it may have been the ending. It wasn't bad, it just felt a little rushed. I would have like another 50 pages or so, to unravel the final events of the books a bit more. But that might just be because I really don't want this series to end. It's well written and will captivate you mind while steeling your heart. If you haven't read this series then I don't know what you're waiting for!

If you haven't done so check out my reviews on the previous books in The Chemical Garden's Trilogy.

Wither     .     Fever

Official Book Trailer...