Review of Fever

My review of Fever by Lauren DeStefano is based on an ARC that I received from the publisher. The following review is my honest opinion.

Goodreads Summary: "Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever."

As a certain Tiara Talk I posted not too long ago may have led you to believe, I'm a big time cover whore. I absolutely adored the cover for the first Chemical Garden book, Wither. I drooled over it. I yearned for it. I want to have it as a framed poster on my wall. It's just that gorgeous. I wish I could say the same for Fever. Yes there are similarities between the circular pattern as well as the motif of a girl in a dress but there's just something lacking for me. I can't recall where I read this, but someone posted that the girl on the cover of Fever looks seriously drugged and I completely agree between the dark eyes, pale skin and simply lethargic positioning...this girl looks ready for rehab. Needless to say despite the awesome rocking horse and tarot cards this cover isn't a favorite of mine. [Note: I wrote this section before reading the book, simply based on the two covers. After having read Fever I have to admit that the cover really fits which ups it's value in my opinion. It's growing on me, I actually really like it now. I'm just not in love with it as I am with Wither's cover.]

With such a gorgeous cover I wanted to love Wither, I really did. I tried so hard. But it fell just ever so short for me, I liked it well enough but something just wasn't there for me. With the lackluster cover Fever came with, and how I had felt about Wither, I wasn't at all sure what I was getting myself into with the sequel. You can imagine my surprise when I found that I loved it.

I can't quite put my finger on it but in Fever, Lauren DeStefano found that missing element for me. I devoured this book. I had to know what was next for Rhine. I loved the interactions between the sister-wives in Wither, it really drew me in and gave me a taste of something I hadn’t really considered before. I loved the real-ness of it. But I think what was lacking for me was action. It was character-based. Fever brings on the action and than some while still maintaining a character-based story, if that makes any sense to you darling readers. You feel the growth, you feel the real-ness of the people that Rhine encounters while still having the plot launch forward like a wild rollercoaster.

My only disappointment lies in the love triangle between Linden, Rhine, and Gabriel. Why? Because I don't particularly want her to end up with either of them at this point. Though by the end of the novel Linden did show some potential. Gabriel on the other hand just seems too soft for Rhine, in my honest opinion. He has a backbone and he loves her, I know and believe that, but I don't think he has that inner strength that makes Rhine who she is. I do however think he makes a wicked awesome best friend for her. And there's a certain someone towards the end-ish of the book that I think would make an awesome love interest for her. Just saying.

I'm giving Fever by Lauren DeStefano a five out of five stars review. I was iffy on the Chemical Garden series with Wither but Fever sealed my fate and I'm looking forward to how Rhine deals with the repercussions of the events in the next novel. And this one I will read as soon as I can possibly get it because as always, Alli knows best. Translation? I should have read Fever the second I got my little hands on it. xD