Fever (The Chemical Garden #2)

This may be the unpopular opinion, but I have to say--I liked Fever much more than I liked its predecessor. This book had all the great elements that Wither had (interesting premise, gritty settings, lovely writing), only I found it more exciting.

My biggest complaint with Wither (if you haven't already, you can read the review I posted for it yesterday) was that I didn't feel like enough happened. Fever certainly doesn't have that problem. The pacing is much better in the second novel, so it was way more exciting. There was way more external action and complications. I had trouble putting the book down because I needed to find out what was going to happen next.

Now let's talk settings. We follow Rhine and Gabriel as they make their way to Manhattan to find Rhine's brother after having escaped the Mansion. However, they run into a slight complication when they get taken against their will into a carnival-like brothel. They're forced to be intimate with each other in front of spectators, and they spend a lot of time in a drug haze, Maybe I'm weird, but I love reading about this kind of thing, especially in YA. DeStefano does an excellent job capturing the creepy, gritty atmosphere without being gross or too explicit as to the happenings of the brothel. We also get another taste of impoverished Manhattan, and one of the orphanages there. All of these things were just so incredibly intriguing to me and I loved reading about them.

But here is the thing that bothered me the most--and it bothered me in Wither as well. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I like Rhine as a narrator, I've enjoyed seeing her development, I've been hardcore rooting for her...but I can't say I feel a huge connection to her. I kept puzzling over why this could be, but I think I figured it out. I think it was hard to connect to her because she's so focused on herself. That may not seem like it makes sense, but I want to know more about her in regards to the other characters, I don't think we see enough of her feelings in that aspect, which in turn makes it hard to connect with/get to know the other characters as well. The number one thing that pissed me off while I was reading is that Gabriel is supposed to be such an important character, but we don't get to know him AT ALL. It's like he's just a person there for Rhine's benefit--to go on this journey with her, to help her make realizations about herself, to take care of when she's sick. We get almost zero insight into his feelings, and it makes him such a flat character.

Despite any peeves I had while reading, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Lauren's writing is extremely engrossing! I can't wait to find out how the series ends!

Now, I love a good series, but I’m also not a fan of change, so sometimes the books following the first can be difficult since there’s always something different whether it be a character, the setting, etc. That being said, once I overcame my fear of change I really enjoyed Fever.

Once Rhine managed to escape we were left with a big What Now and boy do we get answers in Fever. There’s quite a lot of adventure to be had outside the mansion walls, but none of it is really the good kind. We do meet some nice people along the way, but Gabriel and Rhine mostly face gobs of horrid people and situations. But we wouldn’t have a story if it was all sunshine and happy endings, now would we?

Once again, DeStefano weaves together a story that is beautiful in all its heartbreaking glory. Everything flows together so well that I found myself completely pulled into the story. I loved meeting all the characters from the terrible Madame to the warm and gentle Claire. Rhine spends a lot of the story in some state of haze, but it’s not at all boring.

We get a few more answers, but not many. I’m hoping the last book in the trilogy answers everything.

Also, I really love the cover. As you read you can identify things from the story on the cover which I didn’t quite get with Wither.

The Nutshell: Fever is almost an entirely different story than Wither, but not in a bad way. It’s full of adventure and new people. DeStefano’s writing is a gorgeous as ever, but despite the haze that Rhine often finds herself in it doesn’t have the same languid feel of Wither. I think that’s due to the fact that we’re following Rhine and Gabriel as they escape up the coast, though. If you loved Wither then you’re sure to be satisfied by Fever.