Trilogy Termination: The Chemical Gardens by Lauren DeStefano

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Spring 2017

Trilogy Termination Blitz: I finally finish some trilogies I started years ago by reading the final book! But don’t let my delay in finishing them deter you from picking them up…or should it?

Miss the Introduction Post? Read it here!

booksynopsis

Synopsis for Wither (from Goodreads):
By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape–before her time runs out?

Together with one of Linden’s servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

breakdown

SERIESous’ Top Picks: Cover Love
Series: Chemical Gardens Trilogy
Author: Lauren DeStefano
# of Books: 3 (Wither, Fever, Sever)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance, Science Fiction
Heat Rating: warm
Point of View: First Person, Single
Publication Dates: March 2011 – February 2013
Source & Format: Public Library–Hardcover; eBook (Sever)

thoughts

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I can’t remember how Wither crossed my radar all those years ago. I might have been browsing my library’s new catalogue items when the cover caught my attention. These covers are some of my all time favourites…well, not Sever so much but they are beautiful.

For Wither and Fever, I was the first one to read them at my library. I made sure my name was first on that holds list and I pretty much read them on their release date. But my not so great experience with Fever stopped that trend when it came time to read Sever the following year.

The Concept / The World:

As a scientist myself, the whole premise is what drew me to this story.

A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years.

Talk about intriguing!

It adds a layer of desperation to this series. There is nothing more thrilling in a novel than watching what happens when people are pushed to their extremes. It also creates the potential for a great villain (which we get here!).

And while this series doesn’t focus too much on the science of it all (not really until the last book), the premise itself creates a unique backdrop for this story.

The Plot:

Don’t go into this series thinking it is more science fiction than it is romance. While the romance isn’t the primary focus, it drives the plot more I find than the science of the world (which acts as a backdrop more than anything). It’s hard to pinpoint the main genre of this story.

And I think that might be this series problem: it’s hard to define.

I really enjoyed Wither for its unique premise: a girl thrust into a dire world she desperately wants to escape. Learning about Rhine’s world was probably my favourite aspect of that book.

But Fever has a completely different feel–it’s darker and lacks the romanticism underlying in Wither. But it also had a plot that seems to lack direction other than the passing of time. Sure, you get little bits and pieces of information but nothing is really done with it all. I found myself getting bored; especially when I was so absorbed in the world I had seen in Wither. It was a big disappointment for me.

Sever has that same slowness to it as well. I thought with the intense ending of Fever that it would continue that thrilling pace…but not so much. I would have DNF’d it if it wasn’t for it’s decent page count and my desire to see how this was all going to wrap up. Sure, it had its surprises but by that point I was past caring.

I think what this series needed was a more definable overarching plot-line. Perhaps it is just a result of me reading these books over the span of the course of years (thus missing the finer details), but I felt like each book was its own plot and world, only briefly linking to the one before it. There isn’t a complex plot to this series–or at least one that gets teased enough to keep you interested. I suppose the “cure” is the complex plot but it takes such a backseat for 80% of the series that it doesn’t contribute much to the notion.

The Characters:

Rhine doesn’t do much for me as a main character. It’s hard because you do learn a lot about her and her circumstances; I just wasn’t finding myself rooting for her throughout the series. She’s jaded and even though I understand why, she was just so “blah” to me as a character.

I think my biggest problem with Rhine is that she lets everything happen around her. And yes, she does have some pretty difficult situations and circumstances to navigate. Vaughn sure doesn’t make her life easy. But unless it was to save her own butt, she takes the meeker approach and that bored me. I just wanted some tenacity and not “meh”.

Truthfully, Linden was probably my favourite character. I’m not particularly sure why but I really felt for him as the series progressed.

The Romance:

This one didn’t do much for me. I’m sure my dislike of Rhine contributed to me not enjoying her romances. Not that she really had any. I suppose a better way to phrase the romance would be “love interests” that potentially could go somewhere.

But I wouldn’t suggest reading this series if all you wanted was a romance. There are much better science fiction romances out there if that is your main draw to this series.

Series Rating: 3/5

Wither 4/5 | Fever 3/5 | Sever 2/5

overall

This series is one of those missed opportunities for me. It has a cool premise but the execution just falls short for me. Perhaps, seek out a second opinion because I feel like I am in the minority. But if you want a science fiction novel that isn’t overly complicated, this is an interesting series to try.

Read if You Like: jaded heroines, light science fiction
Avoid if You: want more romance, want a more complicated plot

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Thanks for tuning in for this review blitz! I hope to have another one in the very near future!

Comments 4

  • I remember picking up Wither when it came out and really enjoying it, but then DNF’ing Fever! Like you said, I think the second book really lacked direction of any kind. It’s an interesting premise, for sure, but I don’t think I’ll give the series another chance.
    Genni @ Ready, Set, Read! recently posted…Vote for What Wattpad Book Should I Read!My Profile

    • Honestly, I don’t think you are missing much if Fever couldn’t keep you interested. I really struggled through that last novel.

  • I remember being awed by the beauty of the Wither cover when I saw it in the bookstore for the first time. It’s just so beautiful, and it remains a favourite to this day. I eventually caved and bought it because I wanted the cover in my life and the plot sounded good enough for me to want to read.

    I just checked my Goodreads ratings for the series because I couldn’t quite remember what I had felt about them. Turns out Wither and Fever were three stars and Sever was four stars. I’m almost tempted to read them again because I have hardly any memory of what they were about, except that there was a love triangle and they went to some cabin and camp along the way, haha. But then again, there are so many new series and books I could read that I will probably give it a miss.

    Congratulations on finishing the series! It’s always such a good feeling. It’s a shame you didn’t enjoy the conclusion very much, though 🙁
    Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity recently posted…Five Reasons To: Watch When Marnie Was ThereMy Profile

    • I adore the cover to Wither. One of my favourite book covers ever.

      I think if I read the last two books closer together, I probably would have had a different experience with the last one. I did read a pretty good synopsis of what happened in book 2 but having it fresh in my mind would have been better I think.

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