Flame by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Flame by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Sky Chasers #3

Release Date: January 16, 2014

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books UK

Source: Publisher

Star Rating: ★★★★

Rating: Essential

Waverly and the other members of the Empyrean have been scattered, and their home ship destroyed. The mission to rescue their parents didn't go quite as planned, and now they're at an even greater disadvantage: trapped with their enemies on the New Horizon, trying to find a way to survive. Will Seth's health hold out long enough to help Waverly topple their enemy? And will Waverly find a way to unite her friends before the final battle? Nothing is certain and every second is a risk in this explosive finale.

The wait between the end of Spark, and Flame's release has been torturous. Spark, the second book in the Sky Chasers series, pretty much broke me. I had a breakdown on Goodreads, cried all over Twitter, and basically didn't want to go on. I've been anticipating Flame for a year now, and I am happy to confirm that it lived up to my expectations. 

Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Sky Chasers #2
Release Date: July 17, 2012 (US)
Publisher: St Martin's Griffin
Source: Bought
Rating: Essential

Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

In one night, a strange explosion rocks the Empyrean—shooting them off course and delaying their pursuit of the New Horizon—and Seth is mysteriously released from the brig. Seth is the most obvious suspect for the explosion, and Waverly the most obvious suspect for releasing him. As the tension reaches a boiling point, will Seth be able to find the true culprit before Kieran locks them both away—or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? With the balance of power precarious and the clock ticking, every decision counts… every step brings them closer to a new beginning, or a sudden end... - Goodreads

I read Glow when I received it for review last year, and I adored it. I remember being slightly put off at the beginning because the characters lived in such a strange society, where teenagers could get married and everyone accepted and even pushed it. Because babies are important on a spaceship, y'all. 

Anyway, this review will contain spoilers for Glow, because Spark is a sequel and I can't contain myself. In any case, go and read Glow if you think it sounds like your sort of thing. Like I said, I personally loved it, although it's definitely not for everyone due to the themes involved. 

On with the Spark review...

Was anyone reading my status updates on Goodreads? If you are following me on my personal twitter account, then your whole timeline would have been filled up with my tweets as I read the last fifty pages of this novel. IT WAS AWESOME. And I went a little crazy. 

Spark picks up where Glow left off, with the girls back on the right spaceship but the adults still on the other one after being kidnapped. Kieran is still leading the ship (boo!) and Waverly is trying to lose herself in her new job as a mechanic. Seth was still in the brig, but someone lets him out and he turns into a runaway. As much of a runaway as you can be, that is, on a relatively small ship.

If you've read my review of Glow, or have spoken with me about the book, then you'll know that I DESPISED Kieran in that book. He was the worst. And he still is. I still absolutely hate him, and I don't think anything could change that. He's still as controlling as ever, and he is NOT fit to be a leader because he makes such stupid decisions, and yet he wants to be in charge. Idiot. POWER HUNGRY MORON. Ehem. Yeah, I don't like him at all and I want to throw him off the ship so he suffocates out there.

Waverly is as awesome as ever, though! I love that the author wrote her to be affected by her time on the other ship, because that's not something you just get over overnight. She's a badass, though, and definitely one of my female characters. She has MAJOR issues and flaws, which is also awesome because it means a) character growth and b) lots of interesting scenes. 

I also love Seth. I despised him at the beginning of the first book, but he really grew on me towards the end of it and I've come out of this one absolutely worshipping him. Well, not quite. But I do think he's an awesome character. Again with the flaws thing. I adore the character growth he's been put through, and there is still potential for me. He really came a long way in this book and EEP. I love him. Surprisingly, he has become the most level headed out of the three main protagonists. 

Is the third book going to be the final one? Because at the end of Spark it says "Check out the third book in the series at such-and-such a date", but it didn't say "the third and final book". Does anybody know? 

If it IS the final book and this is just a trilogy, then I really hope that minimal amounts of time are spent talking about Waverly's love for Kieran. Because no. I don't like it, and really she should be well over him by now because he's an ass. 

This book is action packed, and while some found the pacing to be a little off, I thought it was fantastic. It reached its peak at about 65% - 70% of the way through, like most books do, and then shit just gets crazy. 

I'm going to just leave my status updates here, because I feel they're important.

You can also check out my initial (and insane) thoughts, which I wrote just after finishing the book. 

So. Yes. If you can't tell already, then I do recommend this book. *happy dance* And now I just have to wait for book three. 

Sky Chasers series:

1. Glow

2. Spark

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Sky Chasers #1
Release: October 7, 2011 (UK)
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Buy the Book: Amazon US | Amazon UK

What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside. - Goodreads Page

Earth has become almost uninhabitable, and so two sister ships – The Empyrean and The New Horizon – have been set off into space to commence their journey to New Earth. Our two main characters, Kieran and Waverly, are on one of those ships.

So as you may have deduced, this novel is a sci-fi/dystopian. Don’t you just love those? I do. Ever since I read Across the Universe I have been fascinated by the genre, and I was so excited when I received this ARC in the mail. As predicted, Glow did not disappoint – I absolutely ravished it.

The story is told in two points of view – Kieran and Waverly’s – and in alternating parts. We are first introduced to The New Horizon, where Kieran and Waverly are the eldest children. They are greatly favoured, as previously to them being born the females of the ship had been infertile. I won’t go into too much detail about that, because there is so much to be explained and explored, and I wouldn’t want to ruin any potential surprises!

Something inevitably goes wrong, and causes Waverly and her boyfriend Kieran to be separated. I, for one, was quite looking forward to the change in status, but anyway, let’s continue.

The main story arc of the book was excellently dealt with; there were many twists and turns throughout the plot, and lots of action scenes thrown in! The plot was fast moving, yet I didn’t have any trouble keeping up with what was going on. There were some time jumps, but these were almost perfectly well managed, and stayed very consistent throughout the parts.

Most of all, I loved the world building. You all know I love dystopias, and this is possibly one of the best I’ve read so far. The little details were brilliantly though out and executed, and I loved that everything had relevance within the story.

I’d also like to add that I was extremely impressed by the villain. Without mentioning any names, I thought our villain in this book was brilliant. The reasons for the villainous acts were well put across, and you could really tell that nothing was done without cause. Simply amazing.

Waverly, our heroine, was fantastic. She was strong willed, and didn't let anything bring her down. Instead of whining on about how bad her life had suddenly become, she strived to help the others on the ship and to plot a way to get back to Kieran. That said, I liked the fact that Amy Ryan hadn’t made her to be too tough. Things affected her, and circumstances changed her. She had great character growth and her development right until the end of the novel was clear.

As for Kieran... Meh. Usually it’s the girl that annoys me, but Kieran was an awful character. I really wasn’t interested in his relationship with Waverly, and I do not think they are suited in the slightest. Waverly was such a strong character, and I feel that Kieran put her down. His whining especially got on my nerves, along with the preaching.

 In fact, I’m rather looking forward to seeing more of Waverly and Seth, and hopefully seeing something form between them. Yes, I know Seth is a bit of a bugger, but he’s significantly better than Kieran and I think Waverly will do Seth good.

And to top all of that awesomeness off, Amy Ryan’s writing style was impeccable. There were a couple of scenes in which I could feel the character’s pain physically, for example in one scene, someone pulls an IV out of their arm and then has to put it back in. This scene and the descriptions just left me cringing; it was awful and yet amazing at the same time. This rarely happens to me whilst reading.

I definitely recommend this book to sci-fi and dystopian fans. I’d also like to recommend it to everyone else, whether you’re a fan of politics, family relationships, religion, or none of the above. You can just ignore the fact that it’s set in space, because I can guarantee you are probably going to love this book!