by M.R. Carey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It sucks when a follow-up to a strong book is not nearly as good. The first book in this series, The Girl with all the Gifts, is infinitely better. I almost wonder if this book even needed to be written or if it wasn’t a decision to do so just to generate more income off the first book (which was also made into a movie, I have not seen yet).
The Boy on the Bridge spends the first half repeating discoveries we already know from the first book. Yawn. It’s also really annoying that I don’t really feel like the ‘on the bridge’ part of the title is even relevant or a factor in the book. Why not name it something more related to the story?
Additionally the characters are just not as likeable or relatable. They are just lacking in general. Unlike in the first book I honestly didn’t care too much about any of the deaths or outcomes for most of our core characters. There are also a fair few of them (and some seem very similar to one another) which doesn’t really help the cause.
I’m just not convinced this sequel adds much to this world and overall narrative; with two exceptions:
1) it confirms a number of things we thought to be true at end of book 1,
2) it’s ending is significant and an interesting choice by Carey.
I don’t want to give anything away at all but this only gets three stars for it’s ending. Otherwise it would be lucky to get two from me. The ending is interesting, unique, and definitely makes you think. As someone who tends to hate endings (especially of dystopian or mystery books) this is significant for me and so vaults it into the four star territory.
On that note, make sure you read this series in order so you have the context of book one, and because it’s a much better read.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Follow me on Goodreads
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It sucks when a follow-up to a strong book is not nearly as good. The first book in this series, The Girl with all the Gifts, is infinitely better. I almost wonder if this book even needed to be written or if it wasn’t a decision to do so just to generate more income off the first book (which was also made into a movie, I have not seen yet).
The Boy on the Bridge spends the first half repeating discoveries we already know from the first book. Yawn. It’s also really annoying that I don’t really feel like the ‘on the bridge’ part of the title is even relevant or a factor in the book. Why not name it something more related to the story?
Additionally the characters are just not as likeable or relatable. They are just lacking in general. Unlike in the first book I honestly didn’t care too much about any of the deaths or outcomes for most of our core characters. There are also a fair few of them (and some seem very similar to one another) which doesn’t really help the cause.
I’m just not convinced this sequel adds much to this world and overall narrative; with two exceptions:
1) it confirms a number of things we thought to be true at end of book 1,
2) it’s ending is significant and an interesting choice by Carey.
I don’t want to give anything away at all but this only gets three stars for it’s ending. Otherwise it would be lucky to get two from me. The ending is interesting, unique, and definitely makes you think. As someone who tends to hate endings (especially of dystopian or mystery books) this is significant for me and so vaults it into the four star territory.
On that note, make sure you read this series in order so you have the context of book one, and because it’s a much better read.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Follow me on Goodreads
1 comment:
Aw, that's so disappointing! I just can't pass up a sequel to a book I liked and then it's especially crushing if it doesn't live up to it.
Post a Comment