Author: Lissa Price
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Shelves: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Recommended for Fans Of: Suzanne Collins, Amy Tintera
Publication Date: January 7th, 2014
Source: Random House Kids for review
Format: Physical ARC
Summary (from Goodreads): With the Prime Destinations body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself out to creepy Enders. But Enders can still get inside her mind and make her do things she doesn't want to do. Like hurt someone she loves. Having the chip removed could save Callie's life - but it could also silence the voice in her head that might belong to her father. Callie has flashes of her ex-renter Helena's memories, too ...and the Old Man is back, filling her with fear. Who is real and who is masquerading in a teen body? This is the thrilling sequel to "Starters".
Review: First, a HUGE thank you to Random House for sending me Enders for review! This better not be the last book. Lissa Price, there better be a third book. Just so everything can be tied up and left neatly. I get a little "anxious" when I finish a book and there are endless possibilities. I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone, but the very ending was pretty good. What would make it even better would be a follow up book.
Characters: Callie definitely annoyed me less in this book. She was still artificially beautiful, and it still irked me that this may have been the only reason she had a chance for romance. I said it in my review of the first book, and I will say it again. However, in Enders, romance and relationships are no longer her first priority, which helped me like her a little better.
Romance: Well the romance in this book came as a HUGE surprise. I wasn't expecting it at all, and I think it's one of the main things that makes the sequel worth reading. It wasn't perfect, but it was definitely entertaining and easy to read. One thing I do have to say about Enders, is that the romance in this book will not be a life-changing-oh-my-gosh-feels type of romance. It just is. It may even seem a little plain to people, but the twists and turns added in are definitely something that does give it a little bit of an edge.
Writing: The writing in Enders was definitely much of an improvement from Starters. Enders is filled with more suspense and shocking twists. I could also definitely relate to Callie a lot more, and feel the heart-pounding, pulse racing emotions she felt.
Conclusion: Although it's not really a favorite of mine, I found Starters and Enders interesting and a fresh twist in YA dystopian novels.
xoxo,
Fiction_TheNewReality
I'm finding Starters very interesting and kind of creepy so far. The fact that the Enders can "rent" a younger person's body is so weird! I'm not very far into the audiobook, but I have to agree that it's a fresh twist. I'm glad to hear this one's even better because now I'm looking even more forward to reading Starters and continuing onto this book. Great review, Jayne!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Kaitlin! :) Let me know when you have a review up! Would love to hear what you think;)
Delete-Jayne
These books sound a lot like that canceled Joss Whedon show Dollhouse... Have you seen it? If so, is it similar? I have STARTERS on my TBR list...I hope to read it soon!
ReplyDeleteHey Tracy! I actually have not.. Maybe it is similar. If you're not dying to read anything else before this, then definitely give it a try! Maybe you'll end up having a better appreciation for it then I did:)
Delete-Jayne
The first book, Starters, was something my former roommate had actually suggested to me a while back ago... maybe even sometime around the end of 2012? (College tends to muddle my memories a lot @A@). I just recently got the book from the library, mostly because of the second book.
ReplyDeleteAnd, ooooo. I never thought about comparing this to Dollhouse. That show was really good. Now I'm even more excited to read this duology (??). :D
I didn't expect that change in the story. I have placed the first book as "To read" and i would really like to see what will happen. It also surprises me the cover; which is too essential for the plot too! :)
ReplyDeleteI've only recently heard of this series and have seen some mixed reviews. I'm still debating whether to read Starters.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear Callie has developed more as a character in this book. That was one of my main reservations about reading it
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed it! I remember Starters very vividly. It was such an unsettling read for me. I've been looking forward to this for so long!
ReplyDeleteI have heard so much about STARTERS! I thought that it was a classic for some reason, I had no idea that it's brand new and on the rise! I'll have to look at ENDERS when it comes out
ReplyDeleteLooks like this one's a really good sequel! I'm so glad that it improved for you. I haven't started this series yet but it's def on my TBR! Great review, Jayne! :)
ReplyDeleteStarters wasn't a favorite of mine when I read it last year. I liked it well enough, but it didn't really get me too excited. I have been curious about Enders though, so apparently there was at least some interest. My main issue with the first book was Callie. I was not a fan of hers. But it seems like she has maybe grown some in this book, so maybe that will be enough to make this book in the series more interesting to me than the former one! Thank you for the review!
ReplyDeleteI have been looking forward to reading the Starters series! I am glad to read in your review that you liked Enders better and that you felt her writing improved. Hopefully it will get better with the next one too!
ReplyDelete