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Re-read with my buddies Kristin (KC), Sarah, Jennifer, and Maythavee. So much fun guys! 🙂

Love as defined by Dictionary.com: a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
Love as demonstrated by Tris and Tobias in Insurgent and Divergent: Two stubborn people who consistently participate in selfless acts that get them into horribly dangerous situations for the other person.

If that isn’t love, it’s just foolishness…but I’d like to think it’s a little of both. Tris and Tobias find themselves in the middle of a war for the factions-even those that would rather not be involved. They don’t know who to trust or what their next move should be, which leads to one thing: What’s the lesser of two evils? Trust one known wholly evil person, or a person who has just recently resurfaced and might have a hidden agenda. Who doesn’t in this faction divided world?

I really liked the story behind Insurgent. Anybody who chooses to read my reviews knows that I like a good romance sandwiched by suspense and peril. Both Divergent and Insurgent dove head first into my favorites pile for these exact reasons, and I am now left feeling a little ache in the pit of my soul where these books ended and left us to wait for the final installment in the trilogy. It seems this has been happening a lot lately-adding books to my “not yet released” shelf. It’s driving me crazy.

A lot has happened since initiation day when everything was still normal. There are even more characters involved and a lot more at stake. People from the past who were undoubtedly out to get them [T/T} aren’t as much of a threat anymore and may even be an unknown ally. We can’t be sure, what with all the deception and lies, but Tris is realizing things are black and white-you are either good or you are bad, you might help this time and not help the next, and no one is ever truly innocent in their intentions.

Overall, a truly fun read. While not as good as the first, I still became immersed in the story and couldn’t put it down. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was nervous as shit for each and every perilous situation. With one more book to go there is a lot that can still happen, but I can only hope for twenty times the action and quadruple the romance. I can’t wait to see what becomes of Tris and Tobias-hopefully a happy ever after.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Divergent #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Insurgent #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Allegiant #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea
Four: A Divergent Collection #0.1 - 0.4 *Four's Story*

I know some things-I know that I’m not alone, that I have friends, that I’m in love. I know where I came from. I know that I don’t want to die, and for me, that’s something-more than I could have said a few weeks ago.

This is such an impossibly hard review to write, because I loved this series so very much. I have seen so many negative reviews pertaining to this particular installment, and while I understand the sadness, what I don’t get is the harshness with which people rated this story. Yes, things happened that can never be ‘undone’, but there is so much more to the story than the inevitable ending. Many different thoughts cross my mind when I think of Allegiant, but outcasting it based on one event has never been one of them.

Now she looks pale and small, but her eyes make me think of wide-open skies that I have never actually seen, only dreamed of.-Tobias

A piece of her hair falls into her eyes, and I am brushing it back before she even notices it. She covers my hand with her own, which is warm and strong, and the corners of her mouth curve into a smile.-Tobias

Told in dual POV, we get an insight into Tobias’s head that helped us to see his inner turmoil and strong feelings for Tris. Anyone who has read the novellas in Tobias’s POV knows that Veronica Roth can write for both the female and male POV with no problem. For those of you who haven’t, well, it was a surprise to me as well that Roth chose to make the final installment in alternating views. She welcomed those readers who hadn’t had a chance to be in his head into the inner workings of his mind, and overall I think people enjoyed it. Refreshing, well-written, confused, and meaningful, not a moment was wasted in Four’s head. Roth wrote an intricately woven web for Tris’s counterpart, and just like in Tris’s POV, the writing was vivid, imaginative, and flawless. Not many authors can do that, and that’s why I had to focus on this for a bit-I loved seeing what made Four’s soul so full of turmoil, and I loved seeing him work through it all-it added a much needed layer to the story that I never expected possible, transitioning from T-T seamlessly and without a single glitch-I enjoyed every second of each POV.

Above me, panes of glass reflect light in every direction. Somewhere up there is the chair I sat in while I was running the attack simulation, and a smear of Tris’s father’s blood on the wall. Somehwere up there, Tris’s voice pierced the simulation I was under, and I felt her hand on my chest, drawing me back to reality.-Tobias

Now for the hard part. It’s difficult to write about something so weighted. Slinging words around like ‘genetically damaged’ and ‘genetically pure’, I found myself detaching from the middle of the story because of such technical content. While essential to the story, I felt as if Roth could have toned it down a bit or not dragged these sequences out as long as she chose to.

The shaking moves down my arms and into my hands, and soon my entire body is shuddering, as if rejecting some kind of poison that I’ve swallowed, and the poison is knowledge, the knowledge of this place and its screens and all the lies I built my life on.-Tris

See, that’s the thing with this story-it was all about choices. Every. Single. Page. The choices we make separate us from those who are too weak to do so, from those who are too damaged to make the right or harder choice, the choice that will ultimately set a path for the rest of our lives. Heavy, right? Each chapter had the wheels turning in my head, constantly trying to figure out what the best choice was, who T/T should trust, what the best option for survial might be, and ultimately, what each character was willing to do to save an entire society, even at the cost of their own life-or whether they were willing to save it at all. These were the choices that would shape the rest of their lives, and I couldn’t put the book down. I just had to know what became of some of my favorite characters of all time.

I feel a pang in the middle of my chest. She’s right. Desperation can make a person do surprising things. We should both know.-Tobias

Now, I rated this four stars because of content. I have been anticipating Allegiant for months, extremely excited to finish out an unexpected series that came highly recommended by one of my better GR friends. And while I started this book with an optimistic outlook, DESPITE the negative reviews that have plagued GR and other book websites, I couldn’t change the fact that the middle of the story made me both angry and eager to skim. I have read some very sad and heavy books lately, but none like Allegiant. It crushed me with it’s intensity and swallowed me whole. I felt weighed down with the knowledge Roth was giving us, I even began bordering on depression. There is a complete bone deep certainty that comes with the choices I was speaking of earlier, and they kickstarted a swell of emotions inside of me, making me dizzy with the gravity of what was to come.

All the knots of tension inside me come apart at once. I feel just for a moment, like I am remade, like I am brand-new.-Tris

Overall, I did enjoy the story immensely. It was harsh, it was realistic, and I guess in a way I respect Roth for not feeding us complete fairytale bullshit. It doesn’t mean I enjoyed every aspect of the book, but I have complete and utter respect for it. I am at peace with the way the story ended, and I will not likely forget it soon. Maybe that was what Roth was going for-an unforgettable ending that will always be with us, whether we loved or hated it. Bittersweet and with a twinge of redemption, I found myself rooting for each and every character (aside from Nita-fuck her). Tris has grown so so much over the course of these three books and became one of my all time favorite female leads. She was rational and steady, even when Tobias wasn’t, and she kept her feet on solid ground even in the face of danger. I hate to say goodbye to these characters forever, but their story is complete, and I am happy (enough) with the conclusion and what is to come for all of our beloved fictional favorites.

“And,” I say, “I think you’re still the only person sharp enough to sharpen someone like me.”
“I am,” he says roughly.
And I kiss him.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Divergent #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Insurgent #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Allegiant #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea
Four: A Divergent Collection #0.1 - 0.4 *Four's Story*