*Not really any spoilers*
It was just kind of ok.
Never Fade starts about 6 months after The Darkest Minds ends. Ruby has now been trained by the Childrenās League and is used regularly by them to extract/torture information out of their enemies they capture.
We are given a lot of information about the league and how they operate pretty much straight out of the gate and I found myself kind of struggling to remain interested. The first half of the book was kind of boring for me and I really had to kind of force myself to keep reading, hoping that things were going to pick up.
We are introduced to some new and I think pretty integral characters to the series, mostly children who have either escaped from the camps or avoided detection and was found by the league. Vida I liked, I thought she was a good contrast to Ruby as she is so blunt and kind of overly aggressive and direct. Jude was just kind of like another Zu. He is younger than Ruby and she kind of takes him under her wing and dotes on him as she did Zu. Again, I liked these characters but I didnāt really spend enough time with them to form a bond or really care about them.
I think I just went into this book a little bit biased, as I didnāt quite like the choices Ruby made at the end of The Darkest Minds and how she has come to be in this situation now. I didnāt like that she ended up at the Childrenās League and how she manipulated Liam and kind of just abandoned Chubs. We literally donāt hear about him for the first half of the book and when he finally reappears its then explained how she checked what happened after the hospital. I didnāt really feel any kind of progression from Ruby as a character for most of this book. I thought she still seemed very naĆÆve and passive and made a lot of choices that just kind of bugged me. She second-guesses herself constantly and I just want her to assert herself and be the strong, powerful, confident character I know she can be. I see the potential there but its just lacking a bit for me at the moment.
I will still be continuing on the series as I am curious as to how it ends and I want to see some form of conclusion for Ruby, Liam and Chubs. I want to know where Alexander Bracken will take the plot from here and I still have hope that In the Afterlight will be the stand out novel of the series for me.
āļø3/5 stars not great, not terrible just ok
I am soooo glad I finally have my hands on this book! Ever since I read One Dark Throne and Three Dark Crowns earlier this year I have been highly anticipating this read! There were so many unanswered questions at the end of the last book and I honestly cannot wait to get stuck right in and see what will happen next. This series is super atmospherical and is quite dark. I think Arsinoe is definitely my favourite of the sisters, I just found her to be the most relatable of the three. I am very much invested in the characters and the premise of the series as a whole is creative and captivating. I am very excited to get stuck in to Two Dark Reigns and see what Kendare Blake has in store for us next!
Ultimately I thought it was a lot better than Shatter Me. I felt most of the characters progressed well throughout the novel but I definitely still feel like there is room to grow.
Amy Leigh Reads 