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What if a single revelation – like a single choice – changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?
The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered – fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.
But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature – and of herself – while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice and love.

I didn’t have high expectations for Allegiant, I’m not going to lie. After reading Insurgent and finding it disappointing, I wasn’t sure whether this would be any better. I’d also heard more bad things about this book than either of the others. It was also the first book in which I didn’t really know what to expect, because the movie only covers a small portion of the book and is less similar to the story. However, I did know what the big spoiler was, and have known for years!

I actually enjoyed this book more than expected, and definitely more than Insurgent. It was so interesting to finally be outside of the city and learn about the world alongside Tris and Four. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about Four having his own chapters, but I quite liked it. It gave a different dynamic to their relationship and I liked reading about how they both reacted to certain situations.

I fell in love with him. But I don’t just stay with him by default as if there’s no one else available to me.

Tris seemed to mellow a little, or at least she annoyed me less in this than she did in Insurgent. Her character was definitely less of an annoyance, and the plot became more of one. This book just felt so slow. I managed to read it in only a couple of days, and I read the second half of the book (about 250 pages) in a day. But even though I read it quite quickly, it felt like a slog. It felt like walking through custard. Not much happened, all was leading to an explosive (pun not intended!) ending that just fell quite flat for me.

I had little emotional connection to the characters too, which was disappointing considering how much I went through with them as a reader. The ending in general felt like quite a let down and was particularly unrealistic in parts.

I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me.

Overall, I did enjoy this more than Insurgent but it still felt like quite a disappointment. I did like having two narrators for a change and I didn’t mind Four as a character. But I do wish I hadn’t found this quite so slow!

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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