Recommended by Irina - Carve the Mark !!

“Soft hearts make the universe worth living in.”

Genre: Science Fiction, YA, Dystopia, anticipated YA of 2017

Recommend it highly if you like: strong female lead character, all that was good about the “Divergent”series, dystopian books

Hello, lovelies !!

Finally my time has come to share my thoughts about one of YA’s most anticipated books of 2017 – “Carve the Mark” by Veronica Roth.

As you already saw, we – your bloggers – decided to take the time and all review the same book. And if you were wondering why, the answer is as simple as it gets - because we have all been there.. wondering if we should or shouldn’t read a “most wanted” book. Some of us liked it more than others, but we were hoping to give you more insight if this is the book for you and help you make the decision. So here are my thoughts.

To start with the obvious – I really really liked this book !! I loved reading it. I felt drawn to the story until the end, in reality I am giving 4-4.5 crosses only because I didn’t agree with the ending – it wasn’t bad or anything, it just didn’t fit to my perception of the story.

And let’s address the inevitable first - I couldn’t stop comparing this book to the Divergent series while reading, it was just stronger than me. Most of you have probably read the books and/or seen the movies and/or hated the end of “Allegiant”, the 3rd and final book of the instalment, as much as me :D But it was so bad.. really, who can blame us all. So I couldn’t help but looking for resemblances – both for the things I loved at the beginning of the series and the things I hated at the end. 

But it feels as if Roth has learned her lesson and decided on an entirely new approach. In my opinion, she has kept all that got us hyped about Divergent in the first place while avoiding the whiney Tris-want’s-to-die-doesn’t-want-to-die-make-a-decision-finally part (yes, that should be an official dictionary word!). In “Carve the Mark” both main characters – Cyra and Akos, were great, down to earth and honestly realistic. And unlike Divergent lead character Tris (which I absolutely adored at the beginning and couldn’t stand at the end), Cyra kept my full interest, being the strong female role model that seems to appear more and more in YA books. Akos was charming with his flaws and decisions, but that was expected since Four (for those of you who missed by some chance to read the Divergent series, Four is the one reason that tips the scales in favor of the books, a totally gorgeous male character *dreamy eyes* loved by many girls all over the world). And I think it is about time I stop ranting about Divergent now.. 

The story is set in a fiction world in the galaxy where different planets are set under their own governments, every person develops a “currentgift” which gives them special abilities (spoiler alert – they are not necessarily good). The book is written from the POVs of the two lead characters and fits well to the dystopian stereotype, where evil fights good, a love story steadily develops in the hearts of two enemies and rebels are forming allegiances for the greater good. What I loved about this book is that there wasn’t any whiney love story at the center of things, but a gentle romance that doesn’t distract from the plot. The world-building was perfect, steadily unfurling with the story and introducing you to a novel life, filled with extraordinary objects, moments and details – skill that Roth has proven to be a master in. I would like to state here that I really don’t understand why a lot of people said they didn’t understand it (and end here as well, maybe some people really don’t get fiction worlds :/). The only thing I didn’t really like was the ending – it felt a bit rushed, but hopefully the sequel will correct that.

To summarize, I think this book is a good comeback for Roth. The story isn’t flawless, but it compensates with plot-twists, skill of presenting events and details and two strong lead characters that just can’t seem to help becoming your favorites:

“You want to see people as extremes. Bad or good, trustworthy or not. I understand. It's easier that way. But that isn't how people work.” 

So I say go for it, shake of your prejudices (which it seems we all have), buy your copy and judge for yourself, and dive deep in this galaxy world and I promise you would find something worth reading!!

Irina :)