Review: The Believers by Katie French

I was a little torn when trying to decide how to rate this one. I knew it would be a high rating, but I was waffling between four and five stars. I feel like I have been giving too many five stars as of late, and don’t want to arbitrarily give them out. So I devised a system, and needed a few days to think how this book fits. Basically, in order to receive a 5-star, the book needs to do the following:
1. Be enjoyable. This is a given, but important.
2. Be emotive. I want to have some feelings when I read. I feel like that is a sign of a good book.
3. Make me think about it after I am finished reading.

So with that in mind, after a couple days’ pondering, The Believers earned its five stars. The reason I was unsure at first is that this is a very dark book. I generally enjoy a few moments of lightheartedness in my books, a few moments to take my mind of the terrible things happening to the characters and world around them. But after thinking about it, it works in this book. Because the plot is always moving, always evolving, you don’t really have time to dwell on the darkness. Obviously, you realize that this world sucks, but you are too busy caring about the characters and what happens next to focus on that.

I really liked the first book, but this is one of those rare books that is better than its predecessor. The characters become more developed, and the plot goes places that I never imagined. I love that it wasn’t in any way predictable. There were insanely sad moments, but they had purpose, not just shock value.

So I think it goes without saying that I would recommend this book, especially to those who enjoyed the first. And I will be most definitely be reading any other books in this series.

Posted January 12, 2014 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Review / 0 Comments

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