Xpresso Reads

I was expecting a sequel but The Dead -Tossed Waves is more like a companion with new characters. It's now the daughter of the protagonist from the first book, which makes it different and intriguing. We still have glimpses of the past and Mary's life so it blends well into this second novel.Though it was a very captivating page turner, I found the first half of the book slow and irritating. First, Gabry was WAAAaayyy too whiny! And second, I found there was too much back and forth and the plot was just not going anywhere. Like teasing a dog with a piece of meat, to just yank it back at the last minute; about 3 times I thought, ok now the real action is starting, she's escaping, but nope we went back to square one. Eventually though about halfway through we got there, and then it was a real rush. So the second half makes up for it.I really enjoyed learning more about the past, how the fenced villages came about and Gabry's family. I thought I had a lot of it figured out and was rolling my eyes at the predictability, but I had guessed all wrong. I was sure Elias was her brother, but happy that he wasn't. It took me by surprise that she had a twin and was Jacob's daughter. I knew her parents were someone from the first book but I was thinking it was Cass or Harry. It was also unnerving to get more into the real world they live in. With all these weird viruses emerging lately it's not that big a stretch to imagine an epidemic like this happening. Another great series in the dystopian genre that I highly recommend.