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The Cure #2A
Melancholy: Episode 1
Here in the west they know a lot about hope. They know how to ration it just as they do with food and water.
Josephine is at last free of the blood moon. But in a desperate rush to find help for a comatose Luke, she discovers the strange and dangerous world of the resistance, and it is unlike any world Josi has known.
In the west they believe in fury – they cultivate and encourage it. The unruly people of the resistance know that to survive means to fight. But can they fight the inevitable cure for sadness that rushes steadily closer?
In the action-packed sequel to Fury, everything Josi believes about herself will be challenged. Haunted by atrocities and betrayals, she must find the strength to trust again, and decide how far she is willing to go to fight the inevitable.
At times both brutal and sweet, Melancholy is the story of second chances and finding love in a ruined world.
Josephine is at last free of the blood moon. But in a desperate rush to find help for a comatose Luke, she discovers the strange and dangerous world of the resistance, and it is unlike any world Josi has known.
In the west they believe in fury – they cultivate and encourage it. The unruly people of the resistance know that to survive means to fight. But can they fight the inevitable cure for sadness that rushes steadily closer?
In the action-packed sequel to Fury, everything Josi believes about herself will be challenged. Haunted by atrocities and betrayals, she must find the strength to trust again, and decide how far she is willing to go to fight the inevitable.
At times both brutal and sweet, Melancholy is the story of second chances and finding love in a ruined world.
- GenresYoung Adult
148 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 9, 2015
4 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte McConaghy
22 books9,500 followersCharlotte McConaghy is the author of the New York Times, USA Today, and Indie Bestseller WILD DARK SHORE, named Amazon’s Best Book of the Year So Far for 2025; as well as the New York Times Bestseller ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES, winner of the Indie Book Award for Fiction 2022; and the international bestseller MIGRATIONS, a TIME Magazine Best Book of the Year and the Amazon Best Fiction Book of the Year for 2020.
She started her writing career with a number of SF/F titles for YA readers; MIGRATIONS was her first foray into adult literature.
Her books have been translated into more than 25 languages, and are being adapted for film and television. She lives in Sydney with her partner and two children.
She started her writing career with a number of SF/F titles for YA readers; MIGRATIONS was her first foray into adult literature.
Her books have been translated into more than 25 languages, and are being adapted for film and television. She lives in Sydney with her partner and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 18, 2015
So for me, Fury was one of the stand out books I read last year in that it stayed with me for ages after reading it and when I noticed Melancholy (Episode One) available on Netgalley I immediately remembered everthing about Fury including all the nuances. So to say I was excited to read the next part would be putting it mildly.
Melancholy is great. Really great. At the end of Fury, Luke was down and Josephine was in a difficult positon - having survived the Blood Moon she ends up away from the city living with a group of supposedly like minded individuals, desperately hoping for Luke to recover.
I love the absolutely gorgeous flow of the story - I was hooked back into it immediately, no waiting and as we hear from Josephine, Luke and others, exploring this new situation Josephine is in, it is completely gripping. I especially liked Raven who is a highly engaging character, enigmatic, seemingly not that nice but occasionally showing flashes of somebody you may like to know. Quinn, the head of the community I really did not like at all - he is cleverly drawn, difficult to get a handle on his motivations. So characterisation wise this has a very high standard with plenty to love and hate.
The concept for Fury was highly intriguing - what if we could cure emotions. You would think it might be a good thing, but with "Melancholy" Charlotte McConaghy has explored that theme further, with Josephine being a bit of an emotional mess, questioning everything and even considering taking the cure herself to stop the desperate level of feeling she is having. This layer of the plot was beautifully woven and very compelling.
Of course this is just Episode One - with Fury I did not read until it was released as a complete novel - I did consider doing that here but you know me I HATE waiting. And in fact when I came to the end of this part I did curse the author for where she left it but also found a delight in looking forward to Part Two, and the idea of episodic narration is actually one I quite like.
Overall this was excellent then, keeping up the pace and passion of Fury yet adding some great new layers and plot developments and I for one cannot wait to get my teeth into the next part.
Highly Recommended.
Happy Reading Folks!
Melancholy is great. Really great. At the end of Fury, Luke was down and Josephine was in a difficult positon - having survived the Blood Moon she ends up away from the city living with a group of supposedly like minded individuals, desperately hoping for Luke to recover.
I love the absolutely gorgeous flow of the story - I was hooked back into it immediately, no waiting and as we hear from Josephine, Luke and others, exploring this new situation Josephine is in, it is completely gripping. I especially liked Raven who is a highly engaging character, enigmatic, seemingly not that nice but occasionally showing flashes of somebody you may like to know. Quinn, the head of the community I really did not like at all - he is cleverly drawn, difficult to get a handle on his motivations. So characterisation wise this has a very high standard with plenty to love and hate.
The concept for Fury was highly intriguing - what if we could cure emotions. You would think it might be a good thing, but with "Melancholy" Charlotte McConaghy has explored that theme further, with Josephine being a bit of an emotional mess, questioning everything and even considering taking the cure herself to stop the desperate level of feeling she is having. This layer of the plot was beautifully woven and very compelling.
Of course this is just Episode One - with Fury I did not read until it was released as a complete novel - I did consider doing that here but you know me I HATE waiting. And in fact when I came to the end of this part I did curse the author for where she left it but also found a delight in looking forward to Part Two, and the idea of episodic narration is actually one I quite like.
Overall this was excellent then, keeping up the pace and passion of Fury yet adding some great new layers and plot developments and I for one cannot wait to get my teeth into the next part.
Highly Recommended.
Happy Reading Folks!
September 7, 2015
What a cliff hanger! I'm not reading another episode. I just want the omnibus edition next month. 4.5 Stars *full review to come*
*Update*
Find this review and others on my Blog
It’s so great to get back into this story! I love Josi and Luke, even though they aren’t seeing eye to eye right now. This episode ends with a major cliff hanger, which was expected. I’m just not going to read the other episodes, I’ll wait for the omnibus edition to release next month.
This story picks right back up at the end of Fury. Josi and Luke are being taken to the Resistance camp, and Luke is still not conscious. Will, Hal and Pace are some great characters to add to this story – especially Pace. Love her wry sense of humor, and the girl can spot BS a mile away. Quinn and Raven on the other hand, I distrust. It was nice to get Raven’s POV, because the woman is truly sinister. I don’t like her because of the way she thinks every man should want her. And the fact that Luke isn’t interested in her, pisses her off something fierce. Josi is right to keep her true identity a secret, because there’s no telling what Quinn and Raven will do to her.
I didn’t like the tension between Luke and Josi, but I knew to expect it. He lied to her, and it’s hard to admit that you love someone who would do that. I’m not sure what to expect from Luke with that virus in his blood. Will he go on a murdering rampage every blood moon? I hope not, but surely Josi will see the signs and lock him in a cell until it’s over. I think if they manage to get Dr. Ben, he and Dodge could put those genius brains together and find a cure.
I enjoyed this episode, but I’m waiting to read the whole book next month. I highly recommend this series, especially for Dystopia lovers. Do Not, I repeat, Do Not read this episode (or the omnibus edition) before reading book 1. You will not know what is going on with these characters, trust me. Charlotte has created a great world and awesome characters with this series. I can’t wait to read more.
*Update*
Find this review and others on my Blog
It’s so great to get back into this story! I love Josi and Luke, even though they aren’t seeing eye to eye right now. This episode ends with a major cliff hanger, which was expected. I’m just not going to read the other episodes, I’ll wait for the omnibus edition to release next month.
This story picks right back up at the end of Fury. Josi and Luke are being taken to the Resistance camp, and Luke is still not conscious. Will, Hal and Pace are some great characters to add to this story – especially Pace. Love her wry sense of humor, and the girl can spot BS a mile away. Quinn and Raven on the other hand, I distrust. It was nice to get Raven’s POV, because the woman is truly sinister. I don’t like her because of the way she thinks every man should want her. And the fact that Luke isn’t interested in her, pisses her off something fierce. Josi is right to keep her true identity a secret, because there’s no telling what Quinn and Raven will do to her.
I didn’t like the tension between Luke and Josi, but I knew to expect it. He lied to her, and it’s hard to admit that you love someone who would do that. I’m not sure what to expect from Luke with that virus in his blood. Will he go on a murdering rampage every blood moon? I hope not, but surely Josi will see the signs and lock him in a cell until it’s over. I think if they manage to get Dr. Ben, he and Dodge could put those genius brains together and find a cure.
I enjoyed this episode, but I’m waiting to read the whole book next month. I highly recommend this series, especially for Dystopia lovers. Do Not, I repeat, Do Not read this episode (or the omnibus edition) before reading book 1. You will not know what is going on with these characters, trust me. Charlotte has created a great world and awesome characters with this series. I can’t wait to read more.
May 13, 2015
I think I should have waited for the omnibus edition, now having read the other two episodes I would rate the omnibus edition 5 stars. I found this episode slower to get into but by the end of all three I was just as blown away as I was after Fury.... Read on people.
March 18, 2024
Melancholy: Episode 1 is the second book in a series, and only half of the full Melancholy story. I expected both of these things going into reading it, and it should be clear this is in no way standalone. Context for the first book, Fury, is never fully explained if just reading this one. The story was engaging. I didn't love the characters, but I did wish I had gotten both sections to read past the cliffhanger of Episode 1 as the story was very interesting with a dystopian society coping with the removal of emotion and resistance to the drone-like effects.
Thanks to NetGalley and Momentum Books for this ARC; I apologize for this belated review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Momentum Books for this ARC; I apologize for this belated review.
May 28, 2015
Thank you Pan Macmillin for sending me Melancholy!
I don't know what to say. I finished this last night at 3AM. I just couldn't stop. Ms. McConaghy has such a way with her prose. It's lyrical. It's beautiful. It's poetic. And I truly cannot write a review great enough to do her work justice.
Is it the Dystopian society she builds that holds me captive? No. While I love it, it's the characters Ms. McConaghy writes that captures me and will not let me go. I cannot emphasize enough the amazing level and depth she captures in her characters, and the talent it takes to do so.
Josie is so beautiful. In all that she has endured. Surrounded in a world full of emotionless people when she's so overwhelmed with emotions herself and not at liberty to feel with others because they are incapable of it and she's marked if she does so.
Luke whose past haunts him day and night, forced to watch the ruin of his family through the Cure. It's the beauty of Luke and Josie together that captures my heart. There was a subtle beauty in Luke taking Josie to see the ocean and to pretend that she sat in front of her cello. I could hear the music pouring out of that cello set against the backdrop of the ocean. It's so pure, so fundamental and that the writer can convey such depth is something so magical and rare.
To read both of their dreams for a future that seems too impossible a task to accomplish, but their passion, their emotions, their belief that there is still something good and green out in the world, a world that still exists where there are no Furies, there is no cure, a world where people can live free of a Cure that has ultimately led to their damnation...Ms. McConaghy makes me believe through Luke and Josie, that yes, yes, there is the world they dream of out there somewhere and someday they will find it together.
I remember vividly getting my hands on the Fury ARC, and remember reading it while at Myrtle Beach. At times I would stop and pause only for a moment and ask myself, "Am I really reading this?" Only to say that Fury was so good, I was stunned that I stumbled across something so beautiful. Same thing happened when I read Fury. I stayed up so late in the night, but it was so good, I had to purchase the second episode and stay up even later. It was so good I couldn't wait for the ARC of the second episode. I had to know what happened! It was infectious, addicting, so good that nearly a year later, I did not struggle one bit to recall the cast of beautifully flawed characters. Nope. I remembered them well, because the author wrote them so well, they were real to me. Luke. Josie. Ben. Luke's brother and parents. And I nearly jumped out of my skin when Melancholy landed in my in-box. I called my sister the minute I received the ARC, so excited was I. And now at the finish, I can say there is no disappointment.
Melancholy was as beautiful as Fury. The world is scary. The characters real, flawed, tragic. But the emotional depth and hope the author weaves leaves the reader on the edge of their seat, glued to each page, devouring each word like there is no tomorrow.
If you are a fan of Dystopian themed novels, it doesn't get much better than Ms. McConaghy. Truly, her novels are the contemporary version of Mr. Aldous Huxley's. This is literary beauty at it's best.
I don't know what to say. I finished this last night at 3AM. I just couldn't stop. Ms. McConaghy has such a way with her prose. It's lyrical. It's beautiful. It's poetic. And I truly cannot write a review great enough to do her work justice.
Is it the Dystopian society she builds that holds me captive? No. While I love it, it's the characters Ms. McConaghy writes that captures me and will not let me go. I cannot emphasize enough the amazing level and depth she captures in her characters, and the talent it takes to do so.
Josie is so beautiful. In all that she has endured. Surrounded in a world full of emotionless people when she's so overwhelmed with emotions herself and not at liberty to feel with others because they are incapable of it and she's marked if she does so.
Luke whose past haunts him day and night, forced to watch the ruin of his family through the Cure. It's the beauty of Luke and Josie together that captures my heart. There was a subtle beauty in Luke taking Josie to see the ocean and to pretend that she sat in front of her cello. I could hear the music pouring out of that cello set against the backdrop of the ocean. It's so pure, so fundamental and that the writer can convey such depth is something so magical and rare.
To read both of their dreams for a future that seems too impossible a task to accomplish, but their passion, their emotions, their belief that there is still something good and green out in the world, a world that still exists where there are no Furies, there is no cure, a world where people can live free of a Cure that has ultimately led to their damnation...Ms. McConaghy makes me believe through Luke and Josie, that yes, yes, there is the world they dream of out there somewhere and someday they will find it together.
I remember vividly getting my hands on the Fury ARC, and remember reading it while at Myrtle Beach. At times I would stop and pause only for a moment and ask myself, "Am I really reading this?" Only to say that Fury was so good, I was stunned that I stumbled across something so beautiful. Same thing happened when I read Fury. I stayed up so late in the night, but it was so good, I had to purchase the second episode and stay up even later. It was so good I couldn't wait for the ARC of the second episode. I had to know what happened! It was infectious, addicting, so good that nearly a year later, I did not struggle one bit to recall the cast of beautifully flawed characters. Nope. I remembered them well, because the author wrote them so well, they were real to me. Luke. Josie. Ben. Luke's brother and parents. And I nearly jumped out of my skin when Melancholy landed in my in-box. I called my sister the minute I received the ARC, so excited was I. And now at the finish, I can say there is no disappointment.
Melancholy was as beautiful as Fury. The world is scary. The characters real, flawed, tragic. But the emotional depth and hope the author weaves leaves the reader on the edge of their seat, glued to each page, devouring each word like there is no tomorrow.
If you are a fan of Dystopian themed novels, it doesn't get much better than Ms. McConaghy. Truly, her novels are the contemporary version of Mr. Aldous Huxley's. This is literary beauty at it's best.
April 25, 2015
I loved Fury... I loved Episode One of Melancholy. The ending of this.... my gosh. Cliffhanger, no doubt.
The tension between Luke and Josi somewhat grated my nerves a bit, but that was to be expected, given what he put her through. I love strong female characters, so I love Josi (Dual?) and her super human emotional sarcasti-assness but I wish we can start to see her really get into some of this badassery physical stuff that is there somewhere. (Maybe let lose on Raven or something?!) I had to lose one star on the semi weakling bit.
I can't wait to see how this turns out.... I hate this whole leave 'em hanging thing... impatiently waiting...
I received an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.
The tension between Luke and Josi somewhat grated my nerves a bit, but that was to be expected, given what he put her through. I love strong female characters, so I love Josi (Dual?) and her super human emotional sarcasti-assness but I wish we can start to see her really get into some of this badassery physical stuff that is there somewhere. (Maybe let lose on Raven or something?!) I had to lose one star on the semi weakling bit.
I can't wait to see how this turns out.... I hate this whole leave 'em hanging thing... impatiently waiting...
I received an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.
April 20, 2015
*** Copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review ***
I couldn't finish this book.
I tried hard, Really hard, but only got to 38 %. I was bored, so bored. By the story, by the characters, by all of it. And I wish this wasnt the case because the previous book had such good feedback, I wanted to love this.
I couldn't finish this book.
I tried hard, Really hard, but only got to 38 %. I was bored, so bored. By the story, by the characters, by all of it. And I wish this wasnt the case because the previous book had such good feedback, I wanted to love this.
April 9, 2015
Wow! Is it possible that Melancholy, Book 2 of The Cure, will be better than Fury? Episode 1 had me hooked from the start. It was so great to be back in the world of Josi and Luke. Can't wait for the next episode!!!
April 22, 2015
Was so excited to see that the next in this amazing series has come out! And it's just as gripping and heart-aching as Fury... Set in the West with a focus on the resistance, it's ever more complex and refined plot kept me hooked. A must!
May 6, 2015
I love the concept of this world, but I haven't read any of hte previous Episodes and I don't recommend starting anywhere but the beginning. It's really interesting, but confusing having 0 knowledge of the characters backstories and plot.
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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September 28, 2018I loved it all the way through to the end and then I had to buy the next one immediately and start reading. Its sense of mystery through the unusual multiple perspectives style keeps you hooked just to try and figure out what's going on.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews