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Crewel World #3
Unraveled
Autonomous. Independent. Dangerous. They tried to control her. Now she’ll destroy them.
Things have changed behind the walls of the Coventry and new threats lurk in its twisted corridors. When Adelice returns to Arras, she quickly learns that something rotten has taken hold of the world and Cormac Patton needs her to help him reestablish order. However, peace comes at a terrible price. As the Guild manipulates the citizens of Arras, Adelice discovers that she’s not alone, and she must let go of her past to fight for mankind’s future. She will have to choose between an unimaginable alliance and a deadly war that could destroy everyone she loves.
Things have changed behind the walls of the Coventry and new threats lurk in its twisted corridors. When Adelice returns to Arras, she quickly learns that something rotten has taken hold of the world and Cormac Patton needs her to help him reestablish order. However, peace comes at a terrible price. As the Guild manipulates the citizens of Arras, Adelice discovers that she’s not alone, and she must let go of her past to fight for mankind’s future. She will have to choose between an unimaginable alliance and a deadly war that could destroy everyone she loves.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 7, 2014
44 people are currently reading
4576 people want to read
About the author
Gennifer Albin
30 books1,019 followers****Guess what?! I am writing YA again! Check out Gennifer Albin writing as Geneva Lee and my new series GILT: By Invitation Only coming May 31!****
***HEADS UP REVIEWERS: I don't respond to review requests sent through Goodreads because I don't get on here frequently enough. However, it's super easy to fill out the review request form. I can't guarantee it will get you a copy, but it will get your name on the right list to the right people! And thank you for your interest.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/v...
BIO: I like coffee. A lot. Writing gives me time to go get a cup without my kids. I like books as much as I like coffee, but it is easier to read with children hanging on you than drink coffee due to the threat of third degree burns. That's why coffee gets top billing in my intro: its unattainability.
I hold a Masters in English with a specialization in 18th century women's studies. While this is a highly marketable area of expertise, I stay home with my kids, which means my 3 year-old son uses correct grammar and doesn't burn down the house.
I have a ridiculously supportive husband who dreams of being included on a book jacket: "The author lives in Kansas with her husband, two children, and a Tuesday cat."
***HEADS UP REVIEWERS: I don't respond to review requests sent through Goodreads because I don't get on here frequently enough. However, it's super easy to fill out the review request form. I can't guarantee it will get you a copy, but it will get your name on the right list to the right people! And thank you for your interest.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/v...
BIO: I like coffee. A lot. Writing gives me time to go get a cup without my kids. I like books as much as I like coffee, but it is easier to read with children hanging on you than drink coffee due to the threat of third degree burns. That's why coffee gets top billing in my intro: its unattainability.
I hold a Masters in English with a specialization in 18th century women's studies. While this is a highly marketable area of expertise, I stay home with my kids, which means my 3 year-old son uses correct grammar and doesn't burn down the house.
I have a ridiculously supportive husband who dreams of being included on a book jacket: "The author lives in Kansas with her husband, two children, and a Tuesday cat."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 394 reviews
May 7, 2015
2/5
La elección final me ha parecido un final bastante decepcionante para una trilogía distópica que pintaba muy bien al principio, y de la que se hubiera podido sacar mucho partido. Un final mal elaborado, la confusión y la sensación de que la autora estaba ansiosa por acabar como fuera la historia, me han acompañado en toda la lectura y no me han permitido disfrutar de ella. Es una pena, porque podrían haber sido tres libros maravillosos, y se han convertido en un lastre en mis estanterías.
La elección final me ha parecido un final bastante decepcionante para una trilogía distópica que pintaba muy bien al principio, y de la que se hubiera podido sacar mucho partido. Un final mal elaborado, la confusión y la sensación de que la autora estaba ansiosa por acabar como fuera la historia, me han acompañado en toda la lectura y no me han permitido disfrutar de ella. Es una pena, porque podrían haber sido tres libros maravillosos, y se han convertido en un lastre en mis estanterías.
January 4, 2015
This is a difficult book to categorise, evaluate and give a star rating. It's truly a mix, which is probably why my feelings about it are so mixed.
The story picks up right where the second book (Altered) left us. From there, things really slow down. There is virtually no action until about the last 25% and key characters are absent. It's a lot of political maneuvering while Adelice and Cormac continually face off. I wasn't so bored I wanted to put the book down, but when I did have to put it down I wasn't overanxious to get back to it.
The character development was so-so. Granted, most of these characters have been well-defined in the first and second books. But honestly, I didn't like Adelice very much. She just seemed angry and brooding most of the time. Her actions didn't always make sense. She was scheming and plotting in her head (apparently) but her behaviour was very docile; there was a disconnect there. The whole first part of the book was a missed opportunity for some great action which would have really helped the pacing.
There is a new character introduced that I didn't like at all. She was highly underdeveloped and seemed to be stuck into the story as a plot device. By the end, I disliked her about as much as I disliked the main character.
The action picks up about 75% of the way through; the science starts to make sense. The characters go off on somewhat of a tangent which kinda/sorta/maybe makes some sense in the context of the plot. But there is really no natural progression to get there. The way it happens is clear enough, but that whole section seemed kind of stuck-on to further the story. If I as a reader can imagine a better way to handle that particular part of the plot, that says something to me about just how much the author was invested in the book.
The climax to the plot was good. But moving from there to the ending felt very clunky and contrived. Adelice tended to tell us her feelings and thoughts throughout the book by her own musings. It really translated as info-dumping for me; I'd much rather have seen the actions that revealed these feelings instead of having Adelice wax poetic over them.
The ending was overlong and somewhat maudlin. Although I don't hate it, I think it was truly a wasted opportunity. The whole story felt like it just dropped off a cliff. Things happened for no reason, and be warned: this story does not have a happy ending. There is resolution but it is not overly satisfying. If "bittersweet" is the word to describe it, I'd say it was about 90% bitter and 10% sweet. Part of the problem is that the world-building just kind of screeches to a halt. There are things that happen but there is no real context for them. Adelice's feelings are undefined; is she sad? Is she resolved? Is she going to cry? Is she strong? All of this was way too ambiguous; her actions never followed what she was voicing in her head. She gets angry but she just lets the anger hang there without doing anything about it. It's as if the author was determined not to end the book in an expected way with the standard tropes, and as usual when an author decides that, the story tends to feel forced and doesn't follow through to a natural conclusion.
I think that this series just reached a little too far and fell short. It's as if it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be sci-fi or fantasy or dystopian, or YA or NA. In the first book, this seemed relatively clear. But as the series progressed (and especially in this book) it got muddier and muddier. The science of the worlds was clever, but I never really understood just why Arras was created and how it was fueled. And what was all this "rebounding" stuff? How did that work? I never did get that straight, and as it figures prominently, I felt I should have. As far as YA vs. NA, I only say this because it didn't feel that Adelice was just 16 at all. She seemed much, much older. The ending never gave me the sense that all this had happened to a very young girl. Add to that the fact that you had a young teenager who was a father and all of the cast seems indeterminate in terms of age.
Honestly, I wish I'd stopped after the first book. It was inventive, clever, well-paced and smart - but things seemed to go downhill from there. So many of the idea in this story were so smart! For it to end this way seems like such a waste. And as much as I like this author, I do not love this series. As ambitious as the story was in total, it could have reached so many more heights than it did. The concept could have been far better defined and even slightly simplified in order to more easily imagine the story elements. Overall things could have made far better sense than they did.
On audio, this book was narrated by Amanda Dolan. She was very good in terms of the emotion she imbued; the voices she gave the characters and her voice-acting lent itself well to the drama. She was a good choice as a narrator for this book.
I'm giving this one 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3. As much as I like Gennifer Albin, I just couldn't go there with this book, and that makes me sad.
The story picks up right where the second book (Altered) left us. From there, things really slow down. There is virtually no action until about the last 25% and key characters are absent. It's a lot of political maneuvering while Adelice and Cormac continually face off. I wasn't so bored I wanted to put the book down, but when I did have to put it down I wasn't overanxious to get back to it.
The character development was so-so. Granted, most of these characters have been well-defined in the first and second books. But honestly, I didn't like Adelice very much. She just seemed angry and brooding most of the time. Her actions didn't always make sense. She was scheming and plotting in her head (apparently) but her behaviour was very docile; there was a disconnect there. The whole first part of the book was a missed opportunity for some great action which would have really helped the pacing.
There is a new character introduced that I didn't like at all. She was highly underdeveloped and seemed to be stuck into the story as a plot device. By the end, I disliked her about as much as I disliked the main character.
The action picks up about 75% of the way through; the science starts to make sense. The characters go off on somewhat of a tangent which kinda/sorta/maybe makes some sense in the context of the plot. But there is really no natural progression to get there. The way it happens is clear enough, but that whole section seemed kind of stuck-on to further the story. If I as a reader can imagine a better way to handle that particular part of the plot, that says something to me about just how much the author was invested in the book.
The climax to the plot was good. But moving from there to the ending felt very clunky and contrived. Adelice tended to tell us her feelings and thoughts throughout the book by her own musings. It really translated as info-dumping for me; I'd much rather have seen the actions that revealed these feelings instead of having Adelice wax poetic over them.
The ending was overlong and somewhat maudlin. Although I don't hate it, I think it was truly a wasted opportunity. The whole story felt like it just dropped off a cliff. Things happened for no reason, and be warned: this story does not have a happy ending. There is resolution but it is not overly satisfying. If "bittersweet" is the word to describe it, I'd say it was about 90% bitter and 10% sweet. Part of the problem is that the world-building just kind of screeches to a halt. There are things that happen but there is no real context for them. Adelice's feelings are undefined; is she sad? Is she resolved? Is she going to cry? Is she strong? All of this was way too ambiguous; her actions never followed what she was voicing in her head. She gets angry but she just lets the anger hang there without doing anything about it. It's as if the author was determined not to end the book in an expected way with the standard tropes, and as usual when an author decides that, the story tends to feel forced and doesn't follow through to a natural conclusion.
I think that this series just reached a little too far and fell short. It's as if it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be sci-fi or fantasy or dystopian, or YA or NA. In the first book, this seemed relatively clear. But as the series progressed (and especially in this book) it got muddier and muddier. The science of the worlds was clever, but I never really understood just why Arras was created and how it was fueled. And what was all this "rebounding" stuff? How did that work? I never did get that straight, and as it figures prominently, I felt I should have. As far as YA vs. NA, I only say this because it didn't feel that Adelice was just 16 at all. She seemed much, much older. The ending never gave me the sense that all this had happened to a very young girl. Add to that the fact that you had a young teenager who was a father and all of the cast seems indeterminate in terms of age.
Honestly, I wish I'd stopped after the first book. It was inventive, clever, well-paced and smart - but things seemed to go downhill from there. So many of the idea in this story were so smart! For it to end this way seems like such a waste. And as much as I like this author, I do not love this series. As ambitious as the story was in total, it could have reached so many more heights than it did. The concept could have been far better defined and even slightly simplified in order to more easily imagine the story elements. Overall things could have made far better sense than they did.
On audio, this book was narrated by Amanda Dolan. She was very good in terms of the emotion she imbued; the voices she gave the characters and her voice-acting lent itself well to the drama. She was a good choice as a narrator for this book.
I'm giving this one 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3. As much as I like Gennifer Albin, I just couldn't go there with this book, and that makes me sad.
August 23, 2015
Me siento engañada y decepcionada. El primer libro prometía muchísimo, pero todo fue de mal en peor.
Este libro es relativamente corto, menos de 300 páginas y siento que la primera mitad no tiene mas que relleno, no ocurre absolutamente nada. La protagonista supuestamente tiene habilidades nuevas que piensa usar para salvar a todos, pero a la hora de la verdad no hace nada.
Y el final? Lo deteste demasiado. Es un final triste, pero acabó tan repentinamente que no me dio tiempo a asimilarlo. Además quedaron demasiadas cosas sin respuesta.
El autor tenía una gran oportunidad que no supo aprovechar.
Este libro es relativamente corto, menos de 300 páginas y siento que la primera mitad no tiene mas que relleno, no ocurre absolutamente nada. La protagonista supuestamente tiene habilidades nuevas que piensa usar para salvar a todos, pero a la hora de la verdad no hace nada.
Y el final? Lo deteste demasiado. Es un final triste, pero acabó tan repentinamente que no me dio tiempo a asimilarlo. Además quedaron demasiadas cosas sin respuesta.
El autor tenía una gran oportunidad que no supo aprovechar.
October 21, 2014
Major Spoilers... seriously don't look if you don't want to read the ending (aka who lived and who died). I warned you.
So..... Did I misinterpret that ending or did Erik tailor himself to look like Jost? Thus Jost really is the one that died and Erik is pretending to be Sebrina's dad? And Alix knew about it and lied? That entire ending was so all over the place and not well explained I'm not entirely sure what just happened there....
Also, what the hell was "never stop you" supposed to mean? I just don't get it...
So..... Did I misinterpret that ending or did Erik tailor himself to look like Jost? Thus Jost really is the one that died and Erik is pretending to be Sebrina's dad? And Alix knew about it and lied? That entire ending was so all over the place and not well explained I'm not entirely sure what just happened there....
Also, what the hell was "never stop you" supposed to mean? I just don't get it...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 24, 2014
I really enjoyed this but the ending left me slightly confused :/
November 9, 2014
Gennifer Albin's writing is absolutely incredible and the story and world building was probably the most creative and unique I've ever read!! But... Still trying to process the ending.
lost-interest
April 27, 201715/11/2013
May 17, 2015
Original Link to the review at my blog Le' Grande Codex - here
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Unraveled as a whole felt disappointing. 'Crewel' was the cream of the crop, 'Altered' almost following at the heels but 'Unraveled' left a bitter after taste. Unraveled was supposed to be the big showdown, the big action-packed finale but somehow the whole experience felt anti-climatic and lackluster. Starts where Altered ended and man does it crawl at the slowest of speed imaginable.
Thing is Altered promised us a lot but Unraveled went stale on them. Beginning where the second book left but then as I mentioned things just went the slowpoke way. Adelice was angry, scheming and rebellious in this book but apparently it was all in her mind, the one reason she had decided to give herself up was because she was confident she would be able to change Cormac Patton's mind and work to severe Arras from Earth as was planned.
Apparently all of that character development that happened in the first 2 books were for naught because she remained rather docile in the face of the enemy. The most powerful of all the spinsters and she just gave in and let things run in its own way. Of course when the action begins.... was the best part of the book because really Adelice wasted our time ..... I kinda get that maybe Albin was trying to establish that tense atmosphere of Arras but it didn't bear much fruit.
Jost & Eric didn't get much page space too. Really again after all that and seeing virtually nothing here was disappointing. And I don't believe i'm saying this but Cormac Patton, our villain extraordinaire was the one who commanded much space here and rather shone through what with his dissent into insanity. The resulting climax was good of course but the post climax chapters were a bit too much and not really needed. Unraveled was a bittersweet after taste but I will totally look for what Gennifer Albin publishes next.
"A bittersweet finale to an exotically exciting adventure"
January 14, 2015
The first book within this series, Crewel, was beautifully written, had well developed characters, and was overall a great read. The second book went somewhat downhill, but was still somewhat decent. Unravelled had no redeeming ending, was filled only with a useless love triangle and the protagonist uselessly sitting in the hands of the enemy trying to "help the society from the inside" while in fact does nothing and eventually has to be rescued. The ending is one of the words to have ever read, it provides no closure, uselessly kills of a character, and instead of solving the problems within her society or facing her destiny, she simply destroys their society as a whole. Not a good read.
May 6, 2015
En realidad es un 4.5
March 20, 2017
Esta saga tiene todo:
Un mundo cerca a un final apocalíptico, una protagonista que tiene que usar hermosos vestidos, un rombo amoroso...con unos hermanos y la cereza del pastel son los zombies...que diga remanentes.
Un mundo cerca a un final apocalíptico, una protagonista que tiene que usar hermosos vestidos, un rombo amoroso...con unos hermanos y la cereza del pastel son los zombies...que diga remanentes.
October 21, 2014
Oh Gennifer! Why did you do this to me??!!!!
I absolutely love her writing style and I think her imagination is something to definitely be applauded. She is a fantastic story writer and this final tale in the trilogy sucked me in right from the beginning... I read it all in one night, couldn't put it down!
But the ending. Oh, the ending.... SPOILER ALERT.... How could you have killed Erik?! Seriously! But not only did you kill him, you gave him a blah death. No details, no description of his heroics, no goodbyes, nothing. Just nothing. And then to have Adelice run back into the simpering arms of his brother Jost? Like, immediately! What the hell were you thinking!
Combine this with a couple of other smaller issues. (How easily they rescued Adelice and even little Sebrina), not to mention how Adelice's dad gets killed off and her mother is left as a Revenant like they have just forgotten all about her... Bizarre.
I understand that main characters have to be killed off in the finale but I believe, especially with Erik, you killed off the wrong ones!!!!!
Fantastic writing aside, the end of this trilogy left me rocking quietly in a corner, wishing I'd never picked it up to begin with!
I absolutely love her writing style and I think her imagination is something to definitely be applauded. She is a fantastic story writer and this final tale in the trilogy sucked me in right from the beginning... I read it all in one night, couldn't put it down!
But the ending. Oh, the ending.... SPOILER ALERT.... How could you have killed Erik?! Seriously! But not only did you kill him, you gave him a blah death. No details, no description of his heroics, no goodbyes, nothing. Just nothing. And then to have Adelice run back into the simpering arms of his brother Jost? Like, immediately! What the hell were you thinking!
Combine this with a couple of other smaller issues. (How easily they rescued Adelice and even little Sebrina), not to mention how Adelice's dad gets killed off and her mother is left as a Revenant like they have just forgotten all about her... Bizarre.
I understand that main characters have to be killed off in the finale but I believe, especially with Erik, you killed off the wrong ones!!!!!
Fantastic writing aside, the end of this trilogy left me rocking quietly in a corner, wishing I'd never picked it up to begin with!
June 20, 2015
La elección final es un cierre más que satisfactorio para una trilogía que, a mi parecer, ha ido de menos a más con cada libro que pasaba. Me encantó este original mundo que creó Gennifer Albin y ha sido todo un placer ir leyendo la historia de Adelice. Una historia llena de acción, sorpresas, intriga, amor y alguna que otra despedida dolorosa. Sin duda, muy recomendable.
http://lavidasecretadeloslibros.blogs...
http://lavidasecretadeloslibros.blogs...
August 2, 2017
Ok, first things first, I started this book series because the first book, Crewel, was on a list of CLEAN YA books. Let me just say, this book is NOT clean. All right, now that I've got that out of the way, let's get to the real review. I'm going to cover the whole series in this review, because I'm sure as heck not going to write three separate reviews. (So just warning you, this is going to be a really long review, 'cuz I have a lot to say about this series.)
The first book, Crewel, started out okay. The premise was exciting, and first few chapters caught my attention. After that though, the rest of the book was kind of boring. Most of the characters had just enough personality to carry the story. The rest of the book after the first chapter or two was disappointingly devoid of action. You'd think that since Adelice's parents tried to prevent her being taken by the Guild, and died in the process, she might try to escape or something? Nope. She mostly just makes out with Jost, complains about Cormac, and dresses up in fancy dresses and goes to balls and stuff.
The second book, Altered, contained more action and was more entertaining than Crewel, when Adelice wasn't dealing with her love life. Seriously people, if you can't write a good love triangle, don't write one at all. At the beginning, she and Jost are absolutely, positively in love for ever and ever. Then, suddenly one night, Jost is like, "I love my daughter I haven't seen for 2 years more than you and that means that we can't be together." WHAT?!?!?! And Adelice is just like, " Oh, okay." Then she goes to her room and is depressed for about a day and then suddenly, "oooh, look at that hot blonde guy over there who has been here the whole time but hasn't played a real role until the plot until now!" And within two weeks, Erik and Adelice are absolutely, positively in love for ever and ever. They kinda sorta try to hide it for Jost's sake, which doesn't work. The end of the book was kind of cool, when they met a kind of alternate-reality Albert Einstein, and they learned that (surprise, surprise) Adelice is destined to save the world.
But compared to the first two books, Unraveled takes the cake for most boring and cringiest - at the same time. The book starts with her being Cormac's prisoner and doing nothing about it . . . and that's about it. I think Adelice was supposed to be this kick-butt rebellious heroine that brings down the evil government, but she spent most of Unraveled complaining about getting married to Cormac and hoping that her friends might save her. Her exclusively male friends, I might add. Not only that, but at the beginning she decided that the only way bring down the Guild and save the world was to get into Cormac's good graces. And then promptly spent the rest of the book insulting him and sassing him with absolutely no consequences. Cormac admits he doesn't want to marry her. So why is he putting up with her? He could have her mind altered so she's the perfect wife, and he just says something along the lines of, "I want a wife with some spunk." It makes no sense. Then Adelice is rescued by her friends, who were actually doing something while she attended parties and appeared on TV. They discover that the people are being attacked by this horrible disease that kills about 5 people then never shows up again. They find Jost's daughter, which is surprisingly easy based on how much they plan for it. Then they come up with a master plan to save the world that only might be destroyed. Ok, now skip to the part where Adelice and Dante are alone with Cormac, and Cormac basically kills everyone Adelice cares about and she does nothing about it. She doesn't even use her legitimately awesome powers, which could totally stop him. Now fast forward to the end. Oh my goodness, the end of this book. You find out that Erik and Jost are most likely dead, but Adelice spends months searching for them. Then you find out that Erik is dead, but Jost is still alive and (come on, really?) still loves Adelice. And . . . that's it. The end. No closure whatsoever. It's still driving me crazy a couple weeks after finishing this book.
I think the biggest thing that drove me crazy about the series as a whole was that it couldn't decide what it was about. Most good dystopian books are about a certain theme that the author feels could become a problem in the future, and the Crewel World books didn't really have that. I kind of got the male supremacy vibe, but then most of the female characters were weak and shallow, so the point was lost. Anyway, sorry you had to listen to my rant. Hopefully you'll take my advice and just skip these books altogether.
The first book, Crewel, started out okay. The premise was exciting, and first few chapters caught my attention. After that though, the rest of the book was kind of boring. Most of the characters had just enough personality to carry the story. The rest of the book after the first chapter or two was disappointingly devoid of action. You'd think that since Adelice's parents tried to prevent her being taken by the Guild, and died in the process, she might try to escape or something? Nope. She mostly just makes out with Jost, complains about Cormac, and dresses up in fancy dresses and goes to balls and stuff.
The second book, Altered, contained more action and was more entertaining than Crewel, when Adelice wasn't dealing with her love life. Seriously people, if you can't write a good love triangle, don't write one at all. At the beginning, she and Jost are absolutely, positively in love for ever and ever. Then, suddenly one night, Jost is like, "I love my daughter I haven't seen for 2 years more than you and that means that we can't be together." WHAT?!?!?! And Adelice is just like, " Oh, okay." Then she goes to her room and is depressed for about a day and then suddenly, "oooh, look at that hot blonde guy over there who has been here the whole time but hasn't played a real role until the plot until now!" And within two weeks, Erik and Adelice are absolutely, positively in love for ever and ever. They kinda sorta try to hide it for Jost's sake, which doesn't work. The end of the book was kind of cool, when they met a kind of alternate-reality Albert Einstein, and they learned that (surprise, surprise) Adelice is destined to save the world.
But compared to the first two books, Unraveled takes the cake for most boring and cringiest - at the same time. The book starts with her being Cormac's prisoner and doing nothing about it . . . and that's about it. I think Adelice was supposed to be this kick-butt rebellious heroine that brings down the evil government, but she spent most of Unraveled complaining about getting married to Cormac and hoping that her friends might save her. Her exclusively male friends, I might add. Not only that, but at the beginning she decided that the only way bring down the Guild and save the world was to get into Cormac's good graces. And then promptly spent the rest of the book insulting him and sassing him with absolutely no consequences. Cormac admits he doesn't want to marry her. So why is he putting up with her? He could have her mind altered so she's the perfect wife, and he just says something along the lines of, "I want a wife with some spunk." It makes no sense. Then Adelice is rescued by her friends, who were actually doing something while she attended parties and appeared on TV. They discover that the people are being attacked by this horrible disease that kills about 5 people then never shows up again. They find Jost's daughter, which is surprisingly easy based on how much they plan for it. Then they come up with a master plan to save the world that only might be destroyed. Ok, now skip to the part where Adelice and Dante are alone with Cormac, and Cormac basically kills everyone Adelice cares about and she does nothing about it. She doesn't even use her legitimately awesome powers, which could totally stop him. Now fast forward to the end. Oh my goodness, the end of this book. You find out that Erik and Jost are most likely dead, but Adelice spends months searching for them. Then you find out that Erik is dead, but Jost is still alive and (come on, really?) still loves Adelice. And . . . that's it. The end. No closure whatsoever. It's still driving me crazy a couple weeks after finishing this book.
I think the biggest thing that drove me crazy about the series as a whole was that it couldn't decide what it was about. Most good dystopian books are about a certain theme that the author feels could become a problem in the future, and the Crewel World books didn't really have that. I kind of got the male supremacy vibe, but then most of the female characters were weak and shallow, so the point was lost. Anyway, sorry you had to listen to my rant. Hopefully you'll take my advice and just skip these books altogether.
Read
August 3, 2015I really love the idea that people can be literally reduced down to threads which can be tugged out of the body. Eric and Jost getting to know each other again was nice to see. Like how this series was all wrapped up ;)
January 28, 2018
So proud of myself that I finished this trilogy! I so often read the first book in a series and then set the rest of the series aside.
So, I will admit that the ending confused me a bit but I do have a theory of where the author was going with the last few paragraphs.
Okay, so I'll admit that after the whole Hunger Games & Divergent hype went away, I wasn't inclined to read really any of my dystopian/ post-apocalyptic books anymore. Which really sucked because I own so many of them. But, after getting into this trilogy, it reminded me of my love for these type of books and I can now happily say that I will definitely be trying to read more of these books on my shelves.
I thought that this installment in the Crewel world trilogy was great ending. It answered some questions while leaving others with a hopeful openness. As with all dystopias/Post-apocalyptic/ fantasy series, there are always going to be characters that die, so I was expecting characters to die in this book, which of course they did. Some of the characters that died were sad, some were joyous, but mostly I wasn't at all surprised with who was left standing in the end.
Sure there were some things in this trilogy, and this ending that I didn't agree with/ like, but I enjoyed the overall story line and never got bored with it, which is what matters the most to me.
So, I will admit that the ending confused me a bit but I do have a theory of where the author was going with the last few paragraphs.
Okay, so I'll admit that after the whole Hunger Games & Divergent hype went away, I wasn't inclined to read really any of my dystopian/ post-apocalyptic books anymore. Which really sucked because I own so many of them. But, after getting into this trilogy, it reminded me of my love for these type of books and I can now happily say that I will definitely be trying to read more of these books on my shelves.
I thought that this installment in the Crewel world trilogy was great ending. It answered some questions while leaving others with a hopeful openness. As with all dystopias/Post-apocalyptic/ fantasy series, there are always going to be characters that die, so I was expecting characters to die in this book, which of course they did. Some of the characters that died were sad, some were joyous, but mostly I wasn't at all surprised with who was left standing in the end.
Sure there were some things in this trilogy, and this ending that I didn't agree with/ like, but I enjoyed the overall story line and never got bored with it, which is what matters the most to me.
January 12, 2016
Initial Impressions 11/24/15: Actual rating, probably 3.5 - 3.75 stars but I don't quite feel right giving it 4 on Goodreads because there were some major issues for me.
Firstly... again, this was my fault for waiting so long between books BUT I do still believe a good book can stand on its own regardless of what has come before it. I do remember the feel of the first two and I was sorely lacking the banter and sarcasm for a good portion of the book which was something I really loved. There was a very specific portion towards the end where the snark was on point and reminded me how much I really did miss that!
Secondly, I just felt so disconnected. Yes, yes, the time between books, but I think I've started to really have trouble with dystopian worlds... or maybe it's just because I'm finishing dystopian series (since it's taken me so long) and the subject matter between book one and book three (or the last book, whatever number) really has changed that much. There were things that had zero appearance in any other book that were all of a sudden major and important... But then were explained later and I did like their explanation. I also can't stop comparing every book to The Hunger Games which is weird because I've read so many other dystopian novels that by now you'd think that wouldn't be a go-to for me anymore but eh. I guess it is.
I wanted so much more from Adelice in this book and I still think the brothers are way too similar. But wait, guys. What was that ending!?! Obviously spoilers so I won't give anything away but I was so disappointed with the denouement and things wrapped up sloppily, I think. Well, sloppily for me.
Overall, I actually did enjoy the book but it was more of like a surface enjoyment where you're coasting along with memories of the series instead of really getting into the book and being like "Wow, this is good and I am invested." I just really wanted to be so much more invested with the last book of a series.
Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 1/1/16: Poor UNRAVELED. This was another series I just waited too long to finish and I totally lost steam with it. I ended up actually grabbing the audiobook for this to make some progress and finally finish out this series but I just couldn’t quite get into it. I also do feel like a good book is still a good book and even though I took a long time to read UNRAVELED, that wasn’t the only issue. I really wasn’t able to fall back into it and this book really lost the familiarity for me. I felt like the characters had changed — which isn’t a bad thing at all — but I did miss the banter and sarcasm that I felt was much more prevalent in the first two books.
I also had a bit of trouble with the fact that there were some things that popped up in this book that I don’t remember at all from CREWEL or UNALTERED. Yes, they were things that would have popped up later in the series and especially in a conclusion but I love when authors are able to layer their books/series so things so huge and series-changing at least have a small mention before they alter the entire course of a book. I did struggle with a few things like that with UNRAVELED and I just wish there was at least some mention of some of these really large concepts before they came into play.
I was actually fairly disappointed with the ending. I suppose it’s more of a personal preference but the way that everything played out seemed abrupt and unsatisfying. I was working on catching up to all of these major ideas and concepts and then once it was all over, it took a bit too long to wrap up. Without spoiling anything, it really there was one final question to answer and I just wasn’t happy with how it was answered and how long it took for the one final reveal.
There were things that I enjoyed about the book while reading/listening but looking back on it now, I feel like I barely remember what happened and everything else was more of a memory of what I had read in CREWEL and ALTERED. Again, I think it was mostly the fact that I just took so long to finish this series. I think I could have been in a higher rating-range had I read it sooner but I also think it still wouldn’t have been a stellar finish for me no matter what.
Firstly... again, this was my fault for waiting so long between books BUT I do still believe a good book can stand on its own regardless of what has come before it. I do remember the feel of the first two and I was sorely lacking the banter and sarcasm for a good portion of the book which was something I really loved. There was a very specific portion towards the end where the snark was on point and reminded me how much I really did miss that!
Secondly, I just felt so disconnected. Yes, yes, the time between books, but I think I've started to really have trouble with dystopian worlds... or maybe it's just because I'm finishing dystopian series (since it's taken me so long) and the subject matter between book one and book three (or the last book, whatever number) really has changed that much. There were things that had zero appearance in any other book that were all of a sudden major and important... But then were explained later and I did like their explanation. I also can't stop comparing every book to The Hunger Games which is weird because I've read so many other dystopian novels that by now you'd think that wouldn't be a go-to for me anymore but eh. I guess it is.
I wanted so much more from Adelice in this book and I still think the brothers are way too similar. But wait, guys. What was that ending!?! Obviously spoilers so I won't give anything away but I was so disappointed with the denouement and things wrapped up sloppily, I think. Well, sloppily for me.
Overall, I actually did enjoy the book but it was more of like a surface enjoyment where you're coasting along with memories of the series instead of really getting into the book and being like "Wow, this is good and I am invested." I just really wanted to be so much more invested with the last book of a series.
Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 1/1/16: Poor UNRAVELED. This was another series I just waited too long to finish and I totally lost steam with it. I ended up actually grabbing the audiobook for this to make some progress and finally finish out this series but I just couldn’t quite get into it. I also do feel like a good book is still a good book and even though I took a long time to read UNRAVELED, that wasn’t the only issue. I really wasn’t able to fall back into it and this book really lost the familiarity for me. I felt like the characters had changed — which isn’t a bad thing at all — but I did miss the banter and sarcasm that I felt was much more prevalent in the first two books.
I also had a bit of trouble with the fact that there were some things that popped up in this book that I don’t remember at all from CREWEL or UNALTERED. Yes, they were things that would have popped up later in the series and especially in a conclusion but I love when authors are able to layer their books/series so things so huge and series-changing at least have a small mention before they alter the entire course of a book. I did struggle with a few things like that with UNRAVELED and I just wish there was at least some mention of some of these really large concepts before they came into play.
I was actually fairly disappointed with the ending. I suppose it’s more of a personal preference but the way that everything played out seemed abrupt and unsatisfying. I was working on catching up to all of these major ideas and concepts and then once it was all over, it took a bit too long to wrap up. Without spoiling anything, it really there was one final question to answer and I just wasn’t happy with how it was answered and how long it took for the one final reveal.
There were things that I enjoyed about the book while reading/listening but looking back on it now, I feel like I barely remember what happened and everything else was more of a memory of what I had read in CREWEL and ALTERED. Again, I think it was mostly the fact that I just took so long to finish this series. I think I could have been in a higher rating-range had I read it sooner but I also think it still wouldn’t have been a stellar finish for me no matter what.
November 19, 2014
A copy of the audiobook version of this title was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts are my own.
This review can also be found at The Starry-Eyed Revue.
I loved Crewel but I have to admit that my interest in this series has seriously waned as it's progressed. I'd actually liken my enjoyment of this trilogy to that of the Divergent trilogy: where the first book was kind of epic in its uniqueness, the sequel was still pretty good, but the final installment just left me so unsatisfied.
That's not to say that the elements I enjoyed in the previous books weren't still there. I enjoy Albin's writing style. I loved how rebellious her heroine was. And I delighted in how deliciously evil her villain was, even if I still held out hope that he might be redeemed before all was said and done. But I felt like this series had me zig-zagging across the galaxy, when in reality, we were only really dealing with two parallel worlds: Earth and Arras -- or new Earth, as I liked to think of it. And by that, I mean it was kind of all over the place in terms of plot.
The romance, i.e. the love triangle, was pretty much handled in the previous book, I think, so I'm not going to spend too much time on that. I'm in favor of the path it took, but not so much where it ends up, if what I read into that ending is any implication of where it's headed. I listened to this a couple of weeks ago before I got sick, and I remember there was a tender moment/scene, but I believe that's pretty much all Adelice got before war between the rebels and the Guild broke out. I didn't expect this finale to be a romantic book, but still.
Ugh, and the worst part is how rushed that ending felt. Now, I'm a girl who dislikes gift-wrapped happily ever afters, so I appreciate an open ending or one that doesn't necessarily leave me with the warm and fuzzies. But the ending of Unraveled just felt so...pivotal and yet lackluster at the same time. Like, it should have been gut-wrenching, but instead, I just felt kind of numb to it all. Some of it was expected but some of it came out of nowhere, with no explanation and no hope for one. It was as if I were just expected to accept it and move on. Or the characters were expected to, anyway. Either way, it left me kind of bitter over the whole thing.
Amanda Dolan narrated all three books in this series, and I thought she did a decent job portraying Adelice and the fight she had ahead of her. I remember thinking nothing about her performance stood out to me in the previous books, and that's still true, though I do recall really enjoying the smarmy voice she gave to Cormac Patton.
I'm sad that I didn't enjoy this final book more, but I'm not put off reading anything else the author writes because of it. It could have been that I had really high expectations for this finale or the fact that I was hoping for more romance. So, I'm not going to hold those things against the author's future works. Hopefully, I'll find another favorite like Crewel among them.
GIF it to me straight:
This review can also be found at The Starry-Eyed Revue.
I loved Crewel but I have to admit that my interest in this series has seriously waned as it's progressed. I'd actually liken my enjoyment of this trilogy to that of the Divergent trilogy: where the first book was kind of epic in its uniqueness, the sequel was still pretty good, but the final installment just left me so unsatisfied.
That's not to say that the elements I enjoyed in the previous books weren't still there. I enjoy Albin's writing style. I loved how rebellious her heroine was. And I delighted in how deliciously evil her villain was, even if I still held out hope that he might be redeemed before all was said and done. But I felt like this series had me zig-zagging across the galaxy, when in reality, we were only really dealing with two parallel worlds: Earth and Arras -- or new Earth, as I liked to think of it. And by that, I mean it was kind of all over the place in terms of plot.
The romance, i.e. the love triangle, was pretty much handled in the previous book, I think, so I'm not going to spend too much time on that. I'm in favor of the path it took, but not so much where it ends up, if what I read into that ending is any implication of where it's headed. I listened to this a couple of weeks ago before I got sick, and I remember there was a tender moment/scene, but I believe that's pretty much all Adelice got before war between the rebels and the Guild broke out. I didn't expect this finale to be a romantic book, but still.
Ugh, and the worst part is how rushed that ending felt. Now, I'm a girl who dislikes gift-wrapped happily ever afters, so I appreciate an open ending or one that doesn't necessarily leave me with the warm and fuzzies. But the ending of Unraveled just felt so...pivotal and yet lackluster at the same time. Like, it should have been gut-wrenching, but instead, I just felt kind of numb to it all. Some of it was expected but some of it came out of nowhere, with no explanation and no hope for one. It was as if I were just expected to accept it and move on. Or the characters were expected to, anyway. Either way, it left me kind of bitter over the whole thing.
Amanda Dolan narrated all three books in this series, and I thought she did a decent job portraying Adelice and the fight she had ahead of her. I remember thinking nothing about her performance stood out to me in the previous books, and that's still true, though I do recall really enjoying the smarmy voice she gave to Cormac Patton.
I'm sad that I didn't enjoy this final book more, but I'm not put off reading anything else the author writes because of it. It could have been that I had really high expectations for this finale or the fact that I was hoping for more romance. So, I'm not going to hold those things against the author's future works. Hopefully, I'll find another favorite like Crewel among them.
GIF it to me straight:
May 9, 2015
In Unraveled, the final book of the Crewel World Series, Adelice Lewys is chosen by Cormac Patton as a pawn to distract the people of Arras so he can fulfill his dreams of ultimate control, power, and immortality.
Rebels on both Arras and Earth are responding to the lies and corruption of government. Civil and political unrest lean toward war. Love, sacrifice, loss and hope poignantly burnish the pages.
This thrilling conclusion left me in tears! A Must Read!
Rebels on both Arras and Earth are responding to the lies and corruption of government. Civil and political unrest lean toward war. Love, sacrifice, loss and hope poignantly burnish the pages.
This thrilling conclusion left me in tears! A Must Read!
May 13, 2015
4'5. No podría haber tenido un final más perfecto que ese ¿eh? De verdad que no <3
October 16, 2025
2.5 stars
Okay so this was not it...
Let's start with all the good things:
1. The author's style is beautiful, Albin does know how to write.
2. I like all the information she gives us in case we forgot the previous events in the last two books; that was helpful, but a bit akward at the same time.
3. There are very good scenes that actually made me feel terrified and sad, good job there.
4. I like the fact that the love story was not the most important part of the plot, 'cause I was a lot more invested in some other things.
Now the bad things:
1. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that the pedophilia topic was never really adressed: Adelice was still a child.
2. I was never really invested in this book, everything was just too rushed. There was so much information that I couldn't really process and there were also many twists and things going on that I was just so lost.
3. I can't stand how Adelice NEVER really developed her powers, and she didn't stop messing things up until the very end, but I guess that's because she's just 16.
4. The book was way too short to actually make things credible.
5. It was a very abrupt conclusion with many loose ends.
Many questions unaswered:
And that end... wtf? Like I really can't believe the amount of things that happened in just 300 pages. This should have been longer... or the plot easier.
Okay so this was not it...
Let's start with all the good things:
1. The author's style is beautiful, Albin does know how to write.
2. I like all the information she gives us in case we forgot the previous events in the last two books; that was helpful, but a bit akward at the same time.
3. There are very good scenes that actually made me feel terrified and sad, good job there.
4. I like the fact that the love story was not the most important part of the plot, 'cause I was a lot more invested in some other things.
Now the bad things:
1. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that the pedophilia topic was never really adressed: Adelice was still a child.
2. I was never really invested in this book, everything was just too rushed. There was so much information that I couldn't really process and there were also many twists and things going on that I was just so lost.
3. I can't stand how Adelice NEVER really developed her powers, and she didn't stop messing things up until the very end, but I guess that's because she's just 16.
4. The book was way too short to actually make things credible.
5. It was a very abrupt conclusion with many loose ends.
Many questions unaswered:
And that end... wtf? Like I really can't believe the amount of things that happened in just 300 pages. This should have been longer... or the plot easier.
May 12, 2018
This was absolutely fantastic!! I don’t know how this isn’t talked about more.
I highly recommend this series if you are looking for a smart dystopian YA series with a twist. I am so happy I accidentally found it!
I highly recommend this series if you are looking for a smart dystopian YA series with a twist. I am so happy I accidentally found it!
June 28, 2018
This was my favourite book of the trilogy, for lots of different reasons. The main character starts taking initiative (FINALLY), all the different parts of the series connect, and the scale gets way larger. The writing in this book was better, too; more profound, better descriptions, and more natural dialogue.
April 25, 2024
2024
2.5 stars
2.5 stars
October 11, 2019
I love the concepts of this series and I enjoy the characters but I have read several books with the same kind of story arc so it was a bit predictable and didn't have much to make it stand out. The idea of spinsters and tailors is pretty cool but other than that there isn't much.
Decent read!
Decent read!
December 30, 2014
Autonomous. Independent. Dangerous. They tried to control her. Now she’ll destroy them.
Does this not sound like some seriously pissed off chick is about to go HAM on somebody? I mean I'm thinking she's gonna go off like a psycho ex-girlfriend. Well, that's not what happened.
Unraveled, the final novel in the Crewel World trilogy, was...disappointing. Let me tell you why:
-The book lacked much action.
-After she chose brother #2 over brother #1 in Altered, which I thought was an unnecessary love triangle, the series ends with her getting neither boy. While part of me thought, "Yeah, that's what you get," I totally think Albin should have owned her decision to have Ad choose brother #2 and have them end up together in the end. Didn't happen. Except, it sort of did. So stupid.
-Brother #2 has a lady friend pop into the picture. I didn't like this girl. Her cold mood made her unlikable- that would have been okay, except for the ending. She is like the 3rd wheel of the unrecognized love triangle between brother #2, Ad, and this chick. But at the end I'm just like, "Who are you? You don't even compete. You are pointless." #ByeFelicia
-The ending. Purposely vague & totally not worth it.
Now for some brief positivity:
The book was pretty decent throughout. It was riding a 3/3.5 star rating until the end which definitely dropped it to a 2.5/3 star rating.
The first book (Crewel) was amazing. This trilogy, however, falls into the really-strong-start-really-weak-finish category, like Divergent/Allegiant.
Does this not sound like some seriously pissed off chick is about to go HAM on somebody? I mean I'm thinking she's gonna go off like a psycho ex-girlfriend. Well, that's not what happened.
Unraveled, the final novel in the Crewel World trilogy, was...disappointing. Let me tell you why:
-The book lacked much action.
-After she chose brother #2 over brother #1 in Altered, which I thought was an unnecessary love triangle, the series ends with her getting neither boy. While part of me thought, "Yeah, that's what you get," I totally think Albin should have owned her decision to have Ad choose brother #2 and have them end up together in the end. Didn't happen. Except, it sort of did. So stupid.
-Brother #2 has a lady friend pop into the picture. I didn't like this girl. Her cold mood made her unlikable- that would have been okay, except for the ending. She is like the 3rd wheel of the unrecognized love triangle between brother #2, Ad, and this chick. But at the end I'm just like, "Who are you? You don't even compete. You are pointless." #ByeFelicia
-The ending. Purposely vague & totally not worth it.
Now for some brief positivity:
The book was pretty decent throughout. It was riding a 3/3.5 star rating until the end which definitely dropped it to a 2.5/3 star rating.
The first book (Crewel) was amazing. This trilogy, however, falls into the really-strong-start-really-weak-finish category, like Divergent/Allegiant.
August 19, 2018
Overall, I thought Unraveled was a solid end to the Crewel trilogy.
It seems like the open ending caused a little heartburn for some readers, but I loved it. While an actual explanation as to what happened with Jost and Erik would have been nice, knowing would have ruined the effect of the ending .
My major gripe is with what seems to be a bit of a bait and switch with the plot. At the end of Altered, we learn that Adelice is the Whorl, a genetic prodigy, if you will, whose unique skill set gives her the ability to separate and tie off Arras from Earth. You would think this would be the end goal of Unraveled, but in fact, this third installment takes the plot in a completely different direction. It's not a dealbreaker - the ultimate resolution is still compelling - but it is a bit of a letdown.
Additionally, in this installment, as with the first two, the plot seems to meander. Adelice spends more time than she should helpless and confined to her quarters, which means she's not doing much of anything to find a solution to Arras's problems. Instead, she spends her time bickering with Cormac, making nice with her sister, learning about the rebellion, and searching for her mom's stolen soul thread. All nice goals, but largely unrelated to the core conflict.
Still, the book was compelling enough that I wanted to keep reading, so I'm going to count that as a win.
It seems like the open ending caused a little heartburn for some readers, but I loved it. While an actual explanation as to what happened with Jost and Erik would have been nice, knowing would have ruined the effect of the ending .
My major gripe is with what seems to be a bit of a bait and switch with the plot. At the end of Altered, we learn that Adelice is the Whorl, a genetic prodigy, if you will, whose unique skill set gives her the ability to separate and tie off Arras from Earth. You would think this would be the end goal of Unraveled, but in fact, this third installment takes the plot in a completely different direction. It's not a dealbreaker - the ultimate resolution is still compelling - but it is a bit of a letdown.
Additionally, in this installment, as with the first two, the plot seems to meander. Adelice spends more time than she should helpless and confined to her quarters, which means she's not doing much of anything to find a solution to Arras's problems. Instead, she spends her time bickering with Cormac, making nice with her sister, learning about the rebellion, and searching for her mom's stolen soul thread. All nice goals, but largely unrelated to the core conflict.
Still, the book was compelling enough that I wanted to keep reading, so I'm going to count that as a win.
November 3, 2014
I really loved the creativity of the first novel, and the second novel was a spectacular follow up! I find most middle novels to be slow and just a lead up to the third, unfortunately I think this series peaked with the second book. I enjoyed the third book, but didn't love it as much as the second. it was a little slow for a finale, lacking a solid climax. and I felt adelice took a step too far back into passivity. I assumed she would develop from the quiet, bullied girl in novel one, to the strong opinionated girl of novel two, to the woman of action in three. but she thought more than acted. not bad, just not exciting. I also found the end of the novel too open ended to interpretation...preferring a more solid and clear ending myself. people died off to fast and all at once. it was a bit of a let down. that being said, I did enjoy the book, loved getting closure on things. and I did have a hard time not reading it because I wanted to know what came next. this series was quite unique in my opinion, and I loved the weave theme throughout, especially since not being too knowledgeable didn't prevent my ability to understand and jump into it.
August 21, 2016
No, no. no. nooo!! este no puede ser el final de la trilogía! noooooo! Esta historia merecía un final épico! y fue un final insulso y demasiado abierto, que carajos paso! me siento muy triste :( esta distopía de verdad me encantaba y el personaje de Adelice prometía mucho y en este tercer libro prácticamente no hizo nada, y Erick! waaaaa en serio estoy muy triste!
June 9, 2015
Me pareció un libro de relleno, casi media mitad de mismo con cosas que sobraban, sólo al final hay un poco de acción -como es obvio- para el desenlace de la trilogía.
El final...algo abierto y con muchas preguntas sin responder.
Visita: http://oceanodelibros.blogspot.com/
El final...algo abierto y con muchas preguntas sin responder.
Visita: http://oceanodelibros.blogspot.com/
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