Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Aug 10, 2019 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, post-apocalypse, dystopia

What a great read! I love all the characters- Liam and Ruby, Chubs, Vida, Jude. Clancy Grey is the insane megalomaniac we love to hate. More intrigue, power plays and politics. How do you know who to trust? All good stuff.

21 likes · Like · see review

Mar 03, 2016 Robyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016

The stakes keep rising! What will happen? (Or in other words, good middle book of an engrossing trilogy.)

20 likes · Like · see review

Mar 10, 2016 Lindsay rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2016-favorites

The action picks up many months after the events of the first book, with Ruby now leading teams in the field with the League, but the League itself seems to have a split personality. Am opportunity comes up that requires Ruby to go off-books on a special mission and she runs into old friends, old enemies and discovers lots more about the world and her own powers.

This was not at all a let-down from the first book and makes a logical step in the narrative. In the first book it was about Ruby's sur ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Mar 16, 2016 Suzanne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian, ya

I got a little impatient towards the middle of the book, but that didn't last long. Ruby has grown and is much stronger, and the plot progresses well - it is definitely not a rehash of the events in book one. A solid second book! ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Sep 14, 2015 Amanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed this one much more the second time around.

7 likes · Like · see review

Mar 13, 2016 Helen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Liam is back, yay. We meet bad guys, reds (which had me thinking about Darrow!), new kids and have explosive fun.

6 likes · Like · see review

May 27, 2013 Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-ya-library-catalogue

Via Book Reviews by Niki Hawkes at www.nikihawkes.com

I’m sure I mentioned in my review of The Darkest Minds that I was unsure if I wanted to continue reading. It wasn’t for the hope that things would get better – she took that away completely at the end of the first book. No, what’s kept me reading was the pure appreciation of the side characters. They were vibrant, interesting, and I was excited enough about them to want to see where they ended up. I also liked the main character, but I think c Via Book Reviews by Niki Hawkes at www.nikihawkes.com

I’m sure I mentioned in my review of The Darkest Minds that I was unsure if I wanted to continue reading. It wasn’t for the hope that things would get better – she took that away completely at the end of the first book. No, what’s kept me reading was the pure appreciation of the side characters. They were vibrant, interesting, and I was excited enough about them to want to see where they ended up. I also liked the main character, but I think certain plot ideas got in the way of her relatability (I’ll talk more about that below). Let me just say this: these are some of the best characters I’ve read all year, and I could definitely learn a thing or two by studying this for my own writing.

So, now that I’ve established how much I love these characters and how brilliant I think the author is at creating them, I’d like to talk a little bit about the things that are keeping this series from being outstanding. At least in my eyes.

The only thing that consistently brings the ratings down for these books is story. In book one, the author left the characters, and therefore the readers, without any hope. It didn’t really give me anything to look forward to in Never Fade and, frankly, I had a hard time deciding whether or not I wanted to read it. While the second one inspired more hope (and convinced me I want to see where the story ends), it still had some story elements that put me off.

For example, I found myself constantly questioning the rationale of the main character. Her decisions often didn’t make any sense. It was almost like the author didn’t know how else to get the story where she needed it to go, so she made it convenient for herself by making the protagonist responsible for the new directions. As a result, the main character came off as highly illogical, unsentimental, and by extension, less relatable. When people have very little, they tend to cling to it more fiercely. Several times throughout the story, the main character went against this norm, pushing away everything she had with no solid reasons for doing so. It might have worked if those odd decisions actually accomplished anything, but all it ended up doing was stirring up senseless turmoil and make her difficult to support.

Overall, I see where Bracken was trying to take the story, and even like the ideas behind it, I think she just could have chosen a better way to get there. It is still an enjoyable series, but I just can’t help but see the opportunities where it could have been stronger.

Recommendations: as far as teen dystopian’s go, this isn’t one of my favorites based on concept and story alone. However, it has superb characters and includes one of the best naturally developing love stories I’ve ever read in a teen novel. I would probably recommend this only if you’ve already read (and enjoyed) my five favorite dystopians below. A warning to the wary, this particular teen book contains an exorbitant amount of language… perhaps a fair bit of violence, too. ...more

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Sep 30, 2018 Susy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

4.5 stars
Loved the story! At first it took me a while to get back in to the story, but that didn't take long. Soon I was sitting at the edge of my seat, wanting to know what was going to happen next. The further I got into the story, the stronger this feeling became.
I loved the new characters and really grew a connection with them (Jude being my favourite and Vida taking some time to grow on me). Ruby still annoys and irritates me. Often I don't get why she's angry or sad, it just doesn't feel ...more

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Oct 08, 2013 Christina Pilkington rated it really liked it

This book took a little while for me to finish, almost a week in fact. Maybe that was because it was over 500 pages, maybe because it was a busy week of travel for me, and maybe it's because if it takes me more than 2-3 days to read a book I don't feel as immersed in the story like I could have, but I don't think that was it.

Ruby was more fleshed out in this book. I felt more connection to her. But I wanted to learn more about the secondary characters. It wasn't that we didn't learn ANYTHING ne ...more

2 likes · Like · see review