Manuscript Musing

  **SPOILERS BE HERE** I expected this series to be of the typical dystopian fashion that was all the rage a decade ago, but was pleasantly surprised by it. I'll admit that I'm entertained by rich kid, CW-esque drama, so these were nice guilty pleasures. This review is specifically about the final book, though, and sadly it was the worst of the bunch. It wasn't awful by any means, but there was a noticeable decline in quality. Part of that stems from how obvious certain "mysteries" were—Nadia had clearly murdered Mariel (which was plain as soon as it happened in the previous book) and Avery was unquestionably alive. Another part of the quality decline came from the pacing. I really think The Towering Sky and The Dazzling Heights  could have been one book; there just wasn't enough story content for two. I wasn't thrilled with some characters' choices. Max was a perfect gentleman (too perfect?), so I was disappointed that Avery still couldn't get pa...

  **SPOILERS BE HERE** This was a behemoth. I thought the length would bother me more than it did, but there was never a moment when I dreaded reading it because it seemed like an insurmountable task; I was genuinely interested and anxious for the conclusion. There were some times when it dragged a bit, but never enough to spoil the story. As always with this series, my favorite part was the mystery, and I think it was done very well. I was completely wrong in my guess of whodunit--I was convinced it was Dr. Gupta because he was too unassuming, and then I thought it must be Irene. I fell into the same trap as all the characters! I didn't expect it to be who it was, and I definitely didn't see the extent of the murders coming. I did figure out what was going on with Shifty's Boss early on, though! That was pretty obvious, so maybe I shouldn't celebrate that easy win.  For a while, I also thought Margot must still be alive and transgender because of all the hullabaloo aro...

Behind every great man is a woman.  First and foremost, I should point out that I listened to the audiobook—due to waning attention and listening in awkward chunks, my memory is hazy.  I enjoy all these stories coming out about women being the driving force behind their husbands' great accomplishments (the above quote holds true!). I enjoyed Hamilton quite a bit more than The Other Einstein , but it was also quite a bit flashier....I digress. I liked this book all right. The story held my attention, and it brought up some emotions. I was furious at Albert by the end for his treatment toward Mileva, while simultaneously disappointed in her for not standing up for herself more. Different times, blah blah blah, but I just so badly wanted her to find another physicist she could work with to publish her own theories.  Unfortunately, I think the most interesting part of the book was the Author's Note, which pointed out that major liberties were taken. That's all fine and well ...