The Fall by Claire Merle

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Faber

Pages: 358pgs

The Story

Ana has escaped her father and made it to the Enlightenment Project - a secluded sect living on the outskirts of the City. Back in the arms of Cole nothing is simple. Some in the Project believe her presence jeopardises their safety, others interpret her coming as part of their prophetic Writings.

When the recording Ana stole goes viral, the Project comes under attack. Now Ana's father isn't the only one looking for her. She's come to the attention of Evelyn Knight, the Chairman of the Board - a powerful woman with a sinister plan. Ana must take greater risks than ever to unravel the truth and discover the secrets that lie beneath the Pure test. But unlike her father, the Chairman doesn't want her safely home. She wants Ana's spirit crushed, permanently. And she will destroy everyone Ana cares about to do it.

The Review

A big thanks to Allen & Unwin for sending me a review copy of this book!

The first book in series, The Glimpse, was quite an interesting read for me. It may not have been necessarily my favourite book thus far in the dystopian-like genre, but it was still an enjoyable read nonetheless and a book with a very creative concept. But in terms of this sequel, while I still may have liked the first book a lot more than this one right here, but in a sense of continuing the storyline and developing further with the characters and all of that, I thought it was a great sequel in that aspect and I'm definitely interested in reading more from this author as well, even though I disappointed to find out that this series is only a duo-logy which I don't see very often as most things nowadays are trilogies. Ah well, it was still a good book.

I think what I enjoyed most in this particular sequel was just learning about what happens after the events of the first book, The Glimpse, and also getting to see how the main character, Ana, grows into her own strength and how she builds on that strength, especially since she has been through quite a lot over these two books and I think the author did her justice in this book since I actually came to like her more in this book, so I'm glad for that. In terms of the ending though, I'm not entirely sure how I felt about that ending . . . it felt a little incomplete for me but that's just me being picky as a reader. But again, I just wanted something more from that ending but it doesn't matter because the book offered many other great things this time round and it had better fast-pacing also, which I was looking for originally from the first book so it delivered on that part.

Overall, I thought THE FALL has a lot going for it and it will appeal a lot to readers, and I think many readers of the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver especially will definitely enjoy this book as it has the same vibe about it. There's action and plenty of romance to satisfy readers, so if you love one of those two things then you'll love this series without a doubt!

The Rating

3/5 stars

The Glimpse by Claire Merle

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Pages: 432pgs

The Story

Once you've seen into the future, can you change your destiny?

In a near future, society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to Pure-boy Jasper Taurell.

Jasper is from a rich and influential family and despite Ana's condition, wants to be with her. The authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out among the Crazies. As Ana's joining ceremony and her birthday loom closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City and live a 'normal' life. But then Jasper disappears.

Led to believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not intefere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society and into the pits of the human soul. And as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper's abduction she uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown up to believe, but she also learns to love as she has never loved before.

The Review

A big thanks to the publisher on netGalley for accepting my request in reading this book early!

Only having read a couple of reviews for this book and loving the simplistic cover I've seen around the internet, I didn't necessarily have any too many high set expectations for this new YA dystopian novel and perhaps this was a good thing on my part. After reading this book, while it certainly had its entertaining elements, however I was a little disappointed by this book but it was something different which added a more likable factor to it.

THE GLIMPSE had a wonderful but an also terrifying world that I could see many of its readers loving and becoming very interested in throughout the book. For you see, the main character, Ana, whom reminded me a lot of the main heroines from Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky and Lauren Oliver's Delirium series, lives in a dystopian world where a simple test must be taken by young children in which determines whether someone is crazy or not. Or, as the book calls them, you can either be a Pure - someone who can stay within the walls of the city and live a very comfortable life - or be one of those people called the Crazies - someone who will eventually be casted out of this so-called perfect society and be forced to survive in a dirty and an unregulated world . . . which by popular opinion is almost like sending someone out for a death sentence for such citziens receiving that result. But in Ana's case, she soon learns her test results were altered by her scientist of a father and if that information is exposed to the public and if she doesn't join with her "betrothed" Jasper in marriage on their due date, it could mean deep trouble for her and for her future. Problem is Jasper is missing and as Ana sets off to go and find him, she not only begins to question the truth of her city but she will also question her heart in the process.

Now much like what the other readers experienced, I struggled quite a lot with this book - more than I hoped I would, unfortunately. I mean, the storyline is bloody awesome and I wished I thought of it myself, but there just wasn't that strong connection between me and this book. However, even with the first half of the book being uninteresting and a little 'yeah yeah' at times, but once I reached the second half of the book . . . my god, my opinion of this book changed completely. Everything from the second half til the end was a non-stop, plot-twisting, cliche romantic ball of surprises and I was so glad this book started to have this opposite affect on me because from then on I wasn't able to put the book down which is a good sign I guess.

Character-wise, everyone seemed okay to me. I might not have gotten to know them nor cared about them all too much - especially with the main character, Ana - but once she met a possible love interest in the storyline, a boy named Cole, and as she searches for her missing Jasper, I soon began to warm up to her character and began to understand her as a person, and why she was risking everything for freedom and for love. But all my high praises go straight to our boy Cole, whom I just couldn't get enough of and honestly it was a real pity that his character didn't get to shine a lot more in this novel like he deserved. Even with a romance blossoming between him and Ana (which was slowly built up and perhaps was a little too 'insta-love' for me), but I loved Cole which is the main point I'm trying to make and the mysterious side of him that he offered up onto the table. Two thumbs up for him fangals out there!

Overall, Claire Merle's YA debut novel THE GLIMPSE leaves her readers with plenty of unanswered questions and solved secrets that I'm sure will make everyone want the sequel more and more when you too will begin questioning this dystopian society of Ana's. The book may not have been the most amazing thing I've read so far in the genre, but the storyline slowly comes into its own and fans of The Hunger Games, Delirium and Matched will definitely need to pick up a copy of this book as soon as possible!

The Rating

3 1/2 / 5 stars