Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever by Lauren DeStefano
Release Date – February 21, 2012
Publisher Website – Simon and Schuster
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - pages
My Rating- 8.5/10
**Obtained from swapping with another bloggers**

********************Spoilers for Wither************************

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

Wither ended with Rhine and Gabriel escaping the mansion and setting off to Manhattan to find her brother. Fever picks up when they’ve come ashore and we quickly learn it’s not going to be an easy or peril free journey for them.

In many ways Fever scared me more than Wither. The world outside the mansion is just as (if not more so) dangerous than the one Rhine left behind. There are some pretty horrible fates that can await young women in Rhine’s position and we get a taste of what happens to those who don’t become brides. It’s easy to imagine a world like this and that is where Lauren manages to capture your attention. It also brings to mind one of the main plot points of the second novel - Rhine coming to terms with leaving the mansion and if it was the right choice. She spends a lot of time thinking about Cecily, Linden and the comforts of the mansion. There are cases where it almost seems like Rhine has been freed from one prison just to be locked into another one.

I liked Rhine in this novel. She didn’t just sit back and let things happen. She fights and is very focused. Sadly, she spends much of the novel in situations that are really beyond her control.

Vaughn is horrible.He is such a chilling bad guy. Mostly because he is driven by something we can all understand. He wants to find a cure. His means of doing it are awful, but it is something everyone wants. Also, just when you think the chills and creep factor could not get higher Rhine has something done to her eyes that will give me nightmares.

Fever ends with Rhine once again on the edge and trapped in a precarious situation. She’s dropped an explosion on someone and we are going to have to wait for book three to see the fallout.

Lauren’s dark, scary, and all to realistic world combined with a wonderful writing style has me anxiously awaiting the next instalment in the series.

Team Linden!

The awesome Brodie from Eleusinian Mysteries and I are fighting about book boys again. This time, however, there is no boxing ring involved because we not fighting over the same boy. Instead, we are fighting over who is best for the lovely heroine Rhine - Linden or Gabriel.

I am firmly Team Linden. Yes, I know, his father is horrible. I am not Team Vaughn or even Team Linden’s family. I simply love Linden. I am going to lay out my reasons for thinking he is the best match for Rhine. Not all of them are going to be popular reasons, but ultimately I think he’s the one that is best capable of being what Rhine needs.

I might as well get the less than wonderful aspects of Linden out of the way. He is certainly not perfect. In order to see my points you have to remember the world Rhine lives in. She will die when she reaches 20. This is not something she can ignore or not deal with. It might be selfish of her, but Linden can provide comfort during her agonizing illness when it happens. I am not only referring to his presence. He has the ability to make her illness a little easier on her. She will be kept comfortable, given what medication she can to ease the pain and be surrounded by her sister wives and a loving husband.

There is always Vaughn to contend with and I agree that Linden would be much more appealing without him around. I think that Linden would protect Rhine from him. A position as the favoured wife would afford that.  One of Linden’s flaws is that he has been kept in the dark about his father’s true nature for too long, and it would be beneficial for Rhine to tell him. It would make her life with Linden much easier.

Not only is Linden kind to her, he is patient as well. He doesn’t push or really expect anything from her. He lets her go at her own pace. Rhine could have ended up in much worse circumstances than with someone like Linden. It may seem like a weak reason, but in Rhine’s world it is a real possibility that she could have ended up with someone much less gentle towards her.

Linden is this kind hearted, broken young man who has loved and lost. While Rhine can’t relate to losing a significant other the way Linden lost Rose, she can relate to losing someone she loves. Her parents (and even her brother.)They both understand loss and could comfort each other and hopefully help each other heal.

Linden is broken, very much so. He seems to come alive, and even takes steps forward with Rhine. She holds him and lets him cry with her. She is used to taking care of people, and it’s this type of relationship Linden needs. I think Rhine needs to feel needed and Linden would give that to her.

Linden himself isn’t happy with how they became married. He is as much driven by the circumstances of the world they live in, and quite sheltered by his father as well.

We see that Rhine is coming to care for Linden while at the mansion. She even gets jealous when he is dancing with another girl at a party. She was almost running from her feelings because she wanted so desperately to find her brother. I think if there was a way for her to know her brother was ok, and see him regularly she would have been happy where she was.

In Wither we see that Rhine is softening towards Linden. She could truly be happy with him if she could let herself.  Neither Gabriel nor Linden are perfect but I think she could be safer, and happier with Linden.

Have I convinced you to give Linden a shot? Want to learn all about Rhine’s other love interest Gabriel? Head on over to Brodie’s blog and read her persuasive Team Gabriel post.

Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of Fever, and let me know in the comments if you are Team Linden or Team Gabriel!

In My Mailbox....

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

I have a lot of books to show you this week. I had to split it up into 2 pictures for it to work. It's a little heavier due to the amazing blogger meet up I went to this week.

First I will mention the books I got from the library this week -

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (goodreads)
The Alchemy of Forever by (goodreads)

So excited to read both of these!

As mentioned I went to a fantastic blogger meet up with some fantastic Ottawa bloggers. We were fortunate enough to have the publishers provide us with some review copies for the meeting.

I want to thank Meaghan from Feeling A Little Bookish, Emilie from Emilie’s Book World, Katherine from The Lady Critic’s Library and Katie from Bookishly Yours for the wonderful afternoon. We have to do it again soon ladies!

I received from Hachette Group Canada for review -

Belles by Jen Calonita (goodreads)
The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney (goodreads)
All For You by Sheila O' Flanagan (goodreads)
A Private Affair by Lesley Lokko (goodreads)

I received from Harper Collins Canada

Until I Die from Amy Plum (goodreads)
Arcadia by Lauren Groff (goodreads)

I can't thank the publishers enough for being so amazing and helpful. Really, they are the best.

We also decided to swap books while there and I obtained

Fever by Lauren DeStefano (goodreads)
Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer (goodreads)
Dead To You by Lisa McMann (goodreads)
Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (goodreads)

I had gotten Bloodrose out of the library as my hold came in, but I just haven't talked myself into reading it yet, because I know it's going to break my heart. I am going to start it tonight....wish me luck.

As you can see I also have my third Vampire Diaries EW cover. So happy I have the set, and I love the Stefan and Elena one the best!

Happy reading everyone!

Waiting On Wednesday....Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

I loved Wither and I am so excited to see what is next for Rhine. I am curious to see how the items on the cover will fit into the story.

Expected release date - February 21st 2012