Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever

(The Chemical Garden Trilogy # 2)

By: Lauren DeStefano

Pub. Date: February 21, 2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Pages: 368

Source: ARC

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.

Despite what other people felt, I really enjoyed Wither. I thought it was a very original story and I could not wait for Fever. When I got an ARC at ALA, I was so excited and I started it right away. Happy to be back in the world of Rhine and Gabriel, I was on cloud nine! Unfortunately, Fever wasn't as amazing as I was hoping it would be, but it was still a very enjoyable read!

Fever picks up right where Wither left off. Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion and are on there way to Manhattan to find Rhine's twin brother, Rowan. But nothing goes as planned and the two of them keep finding themselves in the worst possible predicaments. Things just kept getting worse and worse for them. My heart broke several times.

My main issue was with the characters. I found Rhine to be extremely annoying. She just kept repeating herself over and over again. As for Gabriel, I absolutely loved him in Wither and I was really hoping to learn more about him and his past in Fever. I was extremely disappointed that this did not happen. I also felt that there is no real connection between Rhine and Gabriel. It seems that they are together for convenience, rather then for love. But maybe that is how it is supposed to be. Maybe she is supposed to actually be with Linden (who I also love) or someone else!

We are introduced to some secondary characters in Fever as well. I really liked Silas. His story was really sad, and I hope one day he finds what he is looking for.

Other then the issues with Rhine and Gabriel's characters, I really enjoyed Fever and would recommend this series to anyone. The plot kept my interest the entire time and the writing flowed nicely. I am looking forward to the third book in The Chemical Garden Trilogy and I can't wait to see everything come together!