Melissa de la Cruz

It took me a while to rate this because I had to really process how I felt about the ending. The book is very fast paced and filled with non-stop action right from the beginning, which I usually like though there were some things that I had issues with. For one thing, this felt way cheesier than the first 2 books, though it's been a while since I read the first 2 so maybe I just don't remember them that much but it felt cheesier and some things happened way too easily, like in the beginning when Nat escapes the iron chains. But my major disappointment with this book was the very end. Now I love happy endings but I did not like the way this one occurred, which I'll explain more in the spoiler section. The end felt kind of like a cop out, which is why I can't give it more than 3 stars. The book had a lot of potential but for the conclusion of the series I wish it would have ended better.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

So in the end pretty much every single character dies, except for Nat and no this isn't an exaggeration, literally every character dies. However, everything seems to turn out ok because in an alternate universe the world isn't destroyed by ice, everyone is alive and happy and they all remember what their lives was like in the other world. What?! First off, did everyone really need to die in the first place? I feel like some deaths were unnecessary and could have been avoided. Second, I feel like by creating the alternate universe where everything is all rainbows and butterflies and they never had to go through any of the hardships they went through, just negates all the sacrifices they had to make. Also if this is an alternate universe that isn't destroyed by ice then why are they remembering their lives from the other world? It's like the characters died and they were plucked from death and dropped into this perfect world but kept all their memories so they would still know how they felt about each other. It's ridiculous and the only reason this is a 3 stars is because I was actually enjoying the book until the end, despite some of the issues I had that I mentioned above.… (mer)

3.5 stars. I loved Frozen when I read it last year and I wish I had reread it before going into Stolen because there's a lot I forgot. Stolen picks up right where Frozen left off and it doesn't do much of a recap so it was a little confusing at first but I caught on soon enough. Since I loved Frozen so much I had really high expectations for Stolen and unfortunately I was disappointed. I still enjoyed the story but not as much as I thought I would. The beginning switches between Wes and Nat's POVs and in the beginning there didn't seem to be much going on from Wes' POV so I was much more interested in reading Nat's. The ending is of course the best part. The end had lots of action and twists, though some of which were predictable. I liked the action scenes but I thought they were kind of short and cut off. I wish those scenes were longer and I wished the whole book was longer as well, it would have made it better. I really like the villain in this story (I won't say who it is so I don't spoil anyone, though this was one of the twists that was predictable). The villain was perfect, very cruel and evil and I believed it. Overall I enjoyed it but I recommend rereading Frozen before jumping into Stolen if you haven't read it in a while.… (mer)

I literally just finished the book and wow. I really enjoyed this book, there was a lot that I liked about it but there were some stuff that I didn't and so I have to give it a 3.5 stars, mainly because the ending felt rushed. There was a lot of plot twists in the end so much so that I just kept saying "what". It was a bittersweet ending, I won't say why but some of the characters I wish things could have worked out differently for them but it wasn't the worst situation ever. I really liked a lot of the characters in this book, I loved Wolf the most. I think the characters were the best part of the book because nothing really happens in the story until the end and then there's like major twists and things revealed but I think the ending should have been spaced out more. I don't see how this would be a series cause I feel like the ending wraps everything up. The way it ended I don't know where it would be going next if it were to continue. Anyway, I still enjoyed the book and I think if they were to make this into a TV show I think it would be really good.
… (mer)

*Warning: This review DOES contain SPOILERS* 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book and I'm excited for the next one to come out and to see what that entails. This book is sort of a blend between fantasy/post-apocalyptic/dystopian world. It's such an interesting world they created especially with the marked and the different abilities. I also really liked the love story between the characters in this book, it was really cute. Usually most YA love stories annoy me because you have two characters who meet and instantly fall in love and then are joined at the hip and would die if you tried to separate their characters but this wasn't like that (at least not yet, I hope they don't go in that direction for the rest of the series) and I couldn't help but root for Nat and Wes to be together. As for characters, maybe this is because they introduced all these characters at once but I had a hard time keeping track of who is who among the crew. There's Farouk, Zedric, Daran, and Shakes and it took me half of the book before I could differentiate each character. I feel like there should have been more depth to these characters and maybe that would have helped me keep track of them better. The first part of the book I kept confusing Farouk and Shakes and Zedric and kept asking myself: which two are brothers? Which one was Wes with at the casino? Which one did he know from his military years? It was just confusing. I liked hearing about Shakes' backstory but I wish we knew more about it and more about the other characters as well. Hopefully as the series goes on we'll find out a lot more about each of the characters. There were also some parts of the book that I didn't get but I'll save that for the spoiler section. The book is pretty predictable but then so are a lot of books. Overall I thought it was a great book and I flew right through it.


**SPOILERS**

So on to the things I didn't get. What was the whole point of the temporary marriage license? I know they said it helps keep disease down, but who's actually going to take the time to go get a temporary license for a one night stand? How would the government even know anyway if someone had a one night stand without having the license? They could find out if they used a hotel maybe, but if someone went to someone's house or apartment how would they know that, unless they have a way to follow every single citizen in the country 24 hours a day, but they don't otherwise they would know the minute someone tried to jump the border and leave. The whole temporary license thing just didn't make sense to me. Another thing I don't get, they say that pure water is scarce and very valuable but they live in a world where everything is frozen and covered in ice. Ice is water in solid form, why couldn't they take the abundance of ice they have and melt it to have water? Also, where are all the scientists? They said there's only a few left but if the world were to change and everything become frozen, that would be a huge scientific mystery and it would seem like it would draw more people to become scientists and try to figure out what's happening to the planet.

I knew from the beginning that Nat was a Draken and I was frustrated during some parts of the book because she didn't know she was a Draken or her true power. When they got captured by the slavers I kept thinking "Nat use your powers! You can kill them with your mind." She caused Daran's hand to catch on fire when he tried to attack her, why couldn't she use her powers on the slavers?! Frustrating.

One thing that I didn't like about the main characters (Nat and Wes) was that they seemed too perfect, which didn't make them feel real. They were both very smart, brave and incredibly gorgeous. They're kind, selfless, and non-judgmental and yes they both have a sad background story but they don't seem to have any flaws. I can't think of any imperfections about them that was mentioned. They were too perfect and I think if we were to see their flaws and shortcomings then they would feel more real and relatable. Though like I mentioned earlier I do like their love story. They start off very playful and flirtatious and their relationship continues to build from there. I love the end when Wes is leaving with the crew and Nat tells him she loves him but she can't go with him. She had to stay to protect the Blue. Like I said before most YA couples become annoying because they become inseparable and cannot function for a moment without the other person beside them but so far Nat and Wes prove to be different from most YA couples in that respect and I hope it stays that way. At one point in the story though, I thought they were going to do the same thing like The Mortal Instruments and reveal that Nat is really Wes' sister Eliza. When Wes was talking about his sister disappearing and not knowing what happened to her and Nat began to realize something, I thought it was going to be that she was Eliza. That would have been horrible and I would have hated it cause I really want Nat and Wes to be together (unlike Clary and Jace who should have just stayed siblings cause their love is just really annoying) but I'm glad it didn't turn out that way.

Last thoughts: I really liked how this book ended. I liked that it was wrapped up nicely and it didn't leave you with a major cliffhanger where you're in agony for the next year waiting to find out what's going to happen. Obviously there's more to come and more that's going to happen but at least it didn't cut off mid-action and leaving you thinking "What?! That can't be it!" I'm really interested to see how the next book turns out, especially since Nat and Wes are now separated. Will the story mainly follow Nat or Wes? Or will it switch evenly between the two? Also I think in the next book we're going to find out that Wes has some sort of power. His twin sister seemed to have a power (I think she was a marked but I can't remember for sure) and when he kissed Nat for the first time he ended up putting a protection spell on her, so in the next book I think we'll find out that he does have powers.… (mer)