Tag: veronica roth

Review: Four (#0.1-0.4) by Veronica Roth

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment
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Readers first encountered Tobias Eaton as “Four” in Divergent. His voice is an integral part of Allegiant. Readers will find more of this charismatic character’s backstory told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When read together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias Eaton’s life.
The first three pieces in this volume – “The Transfer,” “The Initiate,” and “The Son” – follow Tobias’s transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, his Dauntless initiation, and the first clues that a foul plan is brewing in the leadership of two factions.
The fourth story, “The Traitor,” runs parallel with the events of Divergent, giving readers a glimpse into the decisions of loyalty – and love – that Tobias makes in the weeks after he meets Tris Prior.

This one pleasantly surprised me, actually. I actually left this book trying to analyse why I may have enjoyed this ever so slightly more than the series itself, and I think it all comes down to Four. This book followed Tobias before and during his transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, and the first time he meets Tris. Even though you learn a lot about his history in the Divergent series itself. it was really enjoyable to read from his point of view.

I stopped allowing myself to dream, 

I think a lot of this comes from how annoying I found Tris as a narrator of the main series. I enjoyed reading from Tobias’ point of view in Allegiant and finding out that he was meant to be the main character of the series surprised me. I think I may have enjoyed it a lot more as a whole if he was! I thought some of his dialogue in the main series was quite harsh, but reading from his point of view made a lot more sense to me.

Even though I knew the bare bones of most of Tobias’ story, I did quite enjoy reading it and finding out his justifications for his actions. I read this in about 12 hours and a couple of sittings, it was super quick!

because it was more painful to long for things and never get them than to deal with whatever was in front of me.

Overall, I can’t believe I enjoyed this more than the series, but it really shows how much a character can change things.

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Allegiant (#3) by Veronica Roth

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment
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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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Review: Insurgent (#2) by Veronica Roth

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments
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Tris Prior’s initiation day should have been marked by victorious celebrations with her chosen faction; instead it ended with unspeakable horrors. Now unrest surges in the factions around her as conflict between their ideologies grows. War seems inevitable; and in times of war sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge and choices will become ever more irrevocable. Tris has already paid a terrible price for survival and is wracked by haunting grief and guilt. But radical new discoveries and shifting relationships mean that she must fully embrace her Divergence – even though she cannot know what might be lost in doing so. 

Unfortunately, this book really fell flat for me. Luckily, I think I’ve only watched the movie once (looking back, I’ve probably watched Divergent more than once and that’s why it was so fresh in my mind), so it didn’t feel like such a re-read for me and I could see it with fresher eyes.

But Insurgent made me realise why everyone found Tris really annoying back when everyone was reading this series. It had serious second-book syndrome for me. I rarely find narrators I find as annoying as I’m finding Tris right now – she just cannot make a good decision. She spent this entire book pushing everybody away and taking childish, uncalculated risks that turned into mistakes. And I just couldn’t even bring myself to sympathise with her.

Cruelty does not make a person dishonest,

The plot fell flat too and just didn’t have the same kind of excitement for me as book one. I still got through it in a couple of days, but it felt slow and like not much happened for long stretches of time. I found the start of the book okay, the middle a slog, and then the last 30 pages or so finally ramped up, but by that point it was way too late.

Tris and Tobias feel like completely different people and I really did not enjoy reading about their relationship. This whole book is a back and forth about them doing stupid things and then forgiving each other with one kiss. I cannot take their sucky communication skills. They never seem to talk about anything and their relationship is unrealistic. I hope it takes a backseat again in Allegiant as it did in Divergent.

the same way bravery does not make a person kind.

Overall, this was not great. I still found it okay, and it was fun in parts. There are still glimmers of what I enjoyed about Divergent, and I’m hoping the third book picks up!


★★★
3 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Divergent (#1) by Veronica Roth

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments
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Goodreads | Waterstones

Beatrice Prior is on the brink of a decision that will change her life. In a society divided into factions all are forced to choose where they belong. And the choice Tris makes shocks everyone, including herself.
Once decisions are made, the new members are forced to undergo extreme initiation tests with devastating consequences. As their experience transforms them, Tris must determine who her friends are – and if the man who both threatens and protects her is really on her side.
Because Tris has a deadly secret. And as growing conflict threatens to unravel their seemingly perfect society, this secret might save those Tris loves… or it might destroy her.

This is one of those few books (and most of them are under the dystopian category) that I’ve watched the movies and never read the books. I’ve also watched the movies fairly recently, meaning in the past few years, so I started remembering what happened as I was reading. I didn’t know the first movie stayed so close to the book, but it felt like a reread to me and I found it so hard to rate because of it!

I read this partly on audiobook and partly a physical version (probably around 70/30) and I really enjoyed reading it that way. It made the book go so quick and I read it within a few days.

We believe in ordinary acts of bravery,

I’m finding it really hard to articulate my thoughts of the book, but overall, I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat as much as I think I would have been if I was reading it without watching the movies first, but I did still enjoy the plot. The biggest change for me was obviously being able to see inside Tris’ head, and I quite liked her as a character. Her inner torment was really interesting to read about and how she discussed the factions in relation to how she felt about her own mannerisms was fascinating.

I liked the other supporting characters, although I didn’t quite click with Four. Their relationship kind of got to me at times, and I just didn’t feel like they knew each other very well, or I knew him well enough to like him as a character. I felt like Tris didn’t own up to how she felt, and that really frustrated me. And some of the scenes between them were just so cringey.

in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.

The writing wasn’t particularly astounding, but it kept me hooked and interested. Some scenes were written particularly well and had me on edge, but most of the book felt quite mediocre.

Overall, I like the concept of this series, it feels quite original and was interesting and fun to read. It didn’t wow me, but I’m looking forward to carrying on with the series!

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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