ARC Review- FEVER--So good I might Die

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.

This is a spoiler-free review! 

Holy CRAP. That's what I'm going to start off with. Holy...freaking....crap, you guys. This book. I do not even know what to say about this book. So let's break it down.

Look at it! YOU MUST BUY IT!!

1. I am in love with this cover- It's gorgeous. It fits so well with Wither's cover...and the strange, carnival, trippy aspect that is MOST of this book. Rhine looks so much more broken down, and it is perfect for what is inside this book!
2. Fever is so Amazing I can't even fathom it- I don't even know how to begin. So much happens in this one. The relationship between Gabriel and Rhine blooms. There are so many struggles, and so much confusion. Destefano allows the reader to go on this horrifying journey with them, from the prostitution carnival that they get trapped in, to the fear that Vaughn is always on their trail, to the growth of their relationship, the search for Rowan...everything. The ending is terrifying, and beautiful, and everything it should be. 
3. New Characters- I had no idea what to expect with this book. One of my favorite characters from Wither, and I will not say who, for those of you who have yet to read book one, is no longer in the picture. But there are so many new faces. New villians, like Madame, who is creepy in a Professor Trelawney-ish (Harry Potter) sense, but with the black heart of Housemaster Vaughn. There is Maddie, a malformed little girl who Rhine takes under her wing. Even though she doesn't speak, she is fantastic. Unbelievably Smart. The descriptions about her are wonderful, and I found myself flipping through the pages to get back to Maddie. I don't know why. I just connected with her. I wanted her to be okay. 
4. This will be me fangirling for the next few sentences- OH MY GOSH. This book. This beautiful, twisted book. The writing, you guys...it is amazing. So many gorgeous descriptions. Haunting ones. Beautiful ones. Ones you wish you could see with your own eyes, but if you close them and let Destefano's words settle in, you feel yourself right there with Rhine and Gabriel. And dear God, don't even let me get started on how wonderful Gabriel is. So sweet. Handsome. Caring, and honest, and worth every bit of their escape from the mansion. 

I thought Wither was amazing. I thought it couldn't be beat. But then I got Fever. And my expectations for this book were blown out of the water. This is one of those books I will be shoving into people's hands for months. Because it changes you. It drops you into a world where the impossible is possible, and fear is very, very real. But something capable of overcoming. Bravo, Lauren Destefano. You are a gifted writer, and the team at Simon&Schuster is truly blessed to have you!

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Have you read this book? What did you think?