Gypsy Reviews

Originally posted at Gypsy ReviewsWither was one of my first 5 star ratings ever and I devoured it quickly, craving for more. Fever however left me empty and hollow as I was underwhelmed by the events Rhine went through. Sever though is a satisfying ending to the trilogy but the storytelling was little from what I expected with many filler moments and a plot twist that failed to impress and convince me. Needless to say, Sever was an underwhelming book and I could come to terms with the ending but it could have been so much more.We continue from when Linden takes Rhine out of the house and keeps her away from his father, Housemaster Vaughn. Rhine is determined to find her brother and let him know that she is alive. I quite liked Rhine in Wither and somewhat in Fever but now in Sever, I find her to be quite fickle-minded and she fails to redeem herself and be the heroine that she is portrayed to be. Rather, she is a damsel-in-distress and constantly being assisted by everyone, not doing much herself.A large part of the book is filled with Rhine’s ramblings and I was expecting it to go a lot faster than that because it seemed like much was supposed to happen. I don’t really want to hear about Rhine’s conflicting feelings, I want more story development. When is Rhine going to find her brother? Can Vaughn just leave them alone already? It bothered me so much that Rhine was falling in love with Linden and kept saying she ‘owed’ Linden. What do you owe him? You’re not his wife anymore. It made no sense to me. Rhine’s love life wasn’t exactly handled very well because she didn’t love Gabriel either, she has never indicated that she truly loves him or has feelings for him. In one way or another, she used him and I just wanted to shake Rhine by the shoulders whenever she was talking about her feelings for Linden and then talking about Gabriel. Make up your mind girl!I loved Cecily, she has definitely grown from that dainty girl who was so excited to be married and have kids with Linden, so clueless about the world to a more mature, hardened and loving mother who would do anything for her child. She’s become more defiant and more herself. It is hard seeing Cecily being forced to grow up in this situation but yet I’m happy to see her become more rooted to reality. She’s pretty bad-ass in this book though, more than Rhine was anyways. I don’t really have much to say for Linden because Linden is sweet and endearing but that’s pretty much it.I was so disappointed by the events that unfolded after Rhine met up with Rowan finally. It felt like everything we knew was a lie and I was wondering, then what was the whole point of setting the entire story that way? Although the explanations provided were well-tied and covered up the loopholes, it was just such a drastic change that it was very hard to adjust to. It also made the book less exciting and it got pretty boring. But there is something about this series, it isn’t that good but it just sucks me right in and I devour it quickly. I call this series my guilty pleasure hahaI know fellow reviewers have complained about the world-building and it is slightly better in Sever because some things do get clarified but it is rather simple. For me, when it comes to world-building, I don’t require too much because I prefer simplified ones to over-detailed ones where I would get confused easily and lost. As long as it makes sense to me and is easy to visualise and not over cluttered with details. So in this aspect, I’m okay with DeStefano’s world-building but something to consider if you are someone who prefers more detailed world-building.Sever wraps up the trilogy with a satisfying ending but the events leading up to it were disappointing. It was a shame we didn’t get as much of Lauren DeStefano’s beautiful writing here because I love her writing. I do recommend those who have started this series to finish it but those who haven’t yet, I would recommend it with reservations because although I loved Wither, I’m not sure everyone would too because this series is my guilty pleasure haha.