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Perfected #3
Unraveled
Ella isn’t anyone’s pet anymore, but she’s certainly not free.After exposing the dark secrets about NuPet’s breeding program, forcing them to repeal the law that allowed genetically modified girls to be kept as pets, she thought girls like her would finally be free. She never dreamed that it would backfire. NuPet may have convinced the public of their intentions to assimilate pets back into society, but Ella knows it’s a lie.They aren’t planning mass rehabilitation…they’re planning a mass extermination. Now, with the help of a small group of rebels, Ella and Penn, the boy she’d give up her life for, set out to bring down NuPet for good. But when her group gets implicated in a string of bombings, no one is safe. If she can’t untangle the web of blackmail and lies that extends far beyond NuPet’s reach, she won’t just lose her chance at freedom, she’ll lose everyone she loves.The Perfected series is best enjoyed in order.Reading #1 PerfectedBook #2 TarnishedBook #3 Unraveled
304 pages, Hardcover
First published April 3, 2018
126 people are currently reading
1555 people want to read
About the author
Kate Jarvik Birch
7 books508 followersKate Jarvik Birch is a visual artist, author, playwright, daydreamer, and professional procrastinator. As a child, she wanted to grow up to be either a unicorn or mermaid. Luckily, being a writer turned out to be just as magical. Her essays and short stories have been published in literary journals including Indiana Review and Saint Ann’s Review. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband and three kids. To learn more visit www.katejarvikbirch.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
March 16, 2018
The explosive conclusion to the Perfected series.
The congressman has gone too far. First, he passes a bill to genetically modify humans to be the perfect pet. His work was a mistake but for him, there is no going back. The consequences for everyone are more than evil. Lies, blackmail and a corrupt cooperation are just part of this disaster. All cards are on the table. Some will play dirty and some will show compassion.
Ella and Penn are back but the celebration is short-lived. Missy is in trouble and Ella feels she owes her a lifeline. This duo has found some new friends but also some hidden enemies. The journey ahead looks as though there is no good path to take. Unraveled is a good title for this book and it's full of twists. The family that started this whole nightmare are at the heart of the book and everyone's future is uncertain. Don't worry Ella gets her happy ending. This is a dystopian world so I'm afraid there is no glitter just silver linings.
I've really enjoyed this series it has been constant throughout. It's a continuous story and is fast-paced. The first book was probably my favourite but the whole series is good. The world is corrupt but it's only seen with open eyes.
4.5 stars out of 5. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The congressman has gone too far. First, he passes a bill to genetically modify humans to be the perfect pet. His work was a mistake but for him, there is no going back. The consequences for everyone are more than evil. Lies, blackmail and a corrupt cooperation are just part of this disaster. All cards are on the table. Some will play dirty and some will show compassion.
Ella and Penn are back but the celebration is short-lived. Missy is in trouble and Ella feels she owes her a lifeline. This duo has found some new friends but also some hidden enemies. The journey ahead looks as though there is no good path to take. Unraveled is a good title for this book and it's full of twists. The family that started this whole nightmare are at the heart of the book and everyone's future is uncertain. Don't worry Ella gets her happy ending. This is a dystopian world so I'm afraid there is no glitter just silver linings.
I've really enjoyed this series it has been constant throughout. It's a continuous story and is fast-paced. The first book was probably my favourite but the whole series is good. The world is corrupt but it's only seen with open eyes.
4.5 stars out of 5. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 13, 2018
I’m a fan of this series. Kate Jarvik Birch is such a lovely writer, and Ella’s story is one I won’t soon forget.
The beauty of the Perfected series was Ella’s inner story. I’ll always hold Perfected (book 1) on a pedestal for how much the innocent love story within touched me. It’s where Ella learned to see herself as a person, and a person of worth at that. Tarnished (book 2) will stick with me for the pit it put in my stomach. It’s where Ella learned the ugly cruelty of the world, but used those experiences to find and shape her convictions. More poignantly, it’s where those convictions blossomed into hope for a better world, and turned into determination to make her vision reality.
Unraveled, this final book of the trilogy, is where Ella, molded by her experiences of love and hardship, stands strong on her own and fights for vindication. Because it’s her choice.
I fully loved the journey and appreciated what each installment brought to the story. Admittedly, some of the events and dynamics in Unraveled required some suspended belief, but because the strength of the series is in the beautifully conveyed concept, I was able to put aside the need for super-realistic and just enjoy the action-packed ride to the end. This is one of those series where delivery makes a difference, and the author’s lovely writing always had me on board. Overall, these beautiful hardcovers get a permanent home on my shelves. :)
Recommendations: Perfected was a trilogy of unforgettably poignant moments that fits snugly into what I’m calling the “elegant dystopia” genre, where pretty dresses and fancy lifestyles are underscored by ugly realities (you know what I mean if you’ve read any… it’s one of my favorite weird sub-genres). Each book offers something different, the first of which landed in my conservative list of all-time favorites.
I’d like to thank Entangled Teen and Kate Jarvik Birch for the chance to read and review an early copy of Unraveled. :)
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
The beauty of the Perfected series was Ella’s inner story. I’ll always hold Perfected (book 1) on a pedestal for how much the innocent love story within touched me. It’s where Ella learned to see herself as a person, and a person of worth at that. Tarnished (book 2) will stick with me for the pit it put in my stomach. It’s where Ella learned the ugly cruelty of the world, but used those experiences to find and shape her convictions. More poignantly, it’s where those convictions blossomed into hope for a better world, and turned into determination to make her vision reality.
Unraveled, this final book of the trilogy, is where Ella, molded by her experiences of love and hardship, stands strong on her own and fights for vindication. Because it’s her choice.
I fully loved the journey and appreciated what each installment brought to the story. Admittedly, some of the events and dynamics in Unraveled required some suspended belief, but because the strength of the series is in the beautifully conveyed concept, I was able to put aside the need for super-realistic and just enjoy the action-packed ride to the end. This is one of those series where delivery makes a difference, and the author’s lovely writing always had me on board. Overall, these beautiful hardcovers get a permanent home on my shelves. :)
Recommendations: Perfected was a trilogy of unforgettably poignant moments that fits snugly into what I’m calling the “elegant dystopia” genre, where pretty dresses and fancy lifestyles are underscored by ugly realities (you know what I mean if you’ve read any… it’s one of my favorite weird sub-genres). Each book offers something different, the first of which landed in my conservative list of all-time favorites.
I’d like to thank Entangled Teen and Kate Jarvik Birch for the chance to read and review an early copy of Unraveled. :)
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
January 15, 2023
You're best off reading my review of the full trilogy on my book blog or watching the video version on my youtube.
It was his love that showed me we were equal… that this heart of mine was every bit as human as the one that beat in his chest.
8
Hey, if you had to guess what the plot of book three was, what would you come up with? Stop right now. Write it down. Make a couple predictions. I mean, this genre is pretty formalistic, even if the big reveal and ‘freeing’ of the Pets happened at the end of book two. NuPet barely apologised and said next time they’d make Pets that weren’t carried by surrogates, while Ella needs to go rescue Missy from John. Pets still aren’t legally human. I think we all know what to expect from the final book, right?
With John pretending to be pro ‘Pets are human’, I totally expected him to be taking many ‘freed’ Pets in for his own purposes, while also pushing NuPet to release Pet 2.0, artificially grown Pets that are perhaps even less human- grown faster, maybe visibly unique with unnatural hair colours. Ella would have to save Missy and together they’d advocate for the idea that there is no such thing as a human that is also a Pet, and that NuPet must be shut down. That sounds like a good way to make a thesis statement on ‘slavery is bad’ while wrapping things up, right?
Well, Unraveled is nothing like that. This book is, inexplicably, about Ella joining a domestic terrorist cell that is really bad at domestic terrorism.
Ella and Penn are now with the Liberationalists, our obligatory ‘revolution’ group. The group is a very nebulous thing, however, with unclear numbers, goals, resources, and funding. We understand they want to help or free Pets, but their actual plan’s desired end point is never made clear. Especially as immediately the group is sold out to NuPet and John, leading Ella’s team to go on the run. We never hear from the Liberationalists again.
Ella and Penn aren’t alone in this though, joined by a new cast of characters who are entirely interchangeable and new. Perhaps sensing the book series only had four characters, the author quickly had added Markus the Pet, Ian the Pet, Dave the Guy, and Jane the Lady. None of them stand out or have anything interesting going on. Markus was briefly in the last book and is notably violent, angry at the abuse he faced as a Pet, but even that doesn’t give him the sense of being a character.
This book is luckily very short and mostly filled with Ella’s team arguing and being aimless, which makes writing a summary easy.
It’s been nine days since Missy gave herself up so Ella could live. NuPet has been recalling all Pets and making propaganda tapes claiming they’re being rehabilitated to live in human society, but of course secretly they’re planning to kill them all. Ella’s team must find the girls, as well as Missy, and save them all. And yes, for some reason rather than kill Pets as they get them, the whole plot hinges on the idea they’re just keeping them together in a box for one big execution.
They go to Penn’s mother Elise for help. Elise was always horrible to Ella and especially her daughter Ruby, but in this book she’s fled John and is a smart, kind woman. She tells them John is so powerful because he has blackmail on everyone ever and thus controls everything. Elise explains John has a secret computer server somewhere that holds all his blackmail. Ella’s team is framed for a series of bombings, resulting in Penn being arrested for the rest of the book.
The team finds John’s computer server is in a bunker in the woods which is heavily guarded. They successfully plant a bomb on the roof, but Ella refuses to let them press the button and explode it. Especially when they learn John is in the building.
My hate for the congressman grew inside me like a disease. It wormed its way through the middle of me, seeping into everything good. It was a sickness, this hatred- it fed itself, that sour taste inside me, suckling the bitter need to make him suffer. But just because he was a monster didn’t mean I’d allow myself to be turned into one.
“I can’t do it.”
[Markus] “What do you mean? […] Have you forgotten what he’s done to you? What’s he’s done to all of us? What he’s still doing?”
Of course I hadn’t forgotten. I could live a hundred years and I’d never forget how small that man had made me feel, how used. But that didn’t change things. That didn’t excuse murder. “That’s Penn’s dad.”
“The dad that framed him for murder? God, Ella! Think of the bigger picture. I realize life is precious, I do. I understand what a gift it is. He’s the one who doesn’t understand.”
121
Now, there’s nuance to this and the idea of Ella being a character who simply refuses the idea of murdering someone is valid. Agree or not, it’s a character trait. She refuses to let someone else press the button though, or even consider it. To her, killing John is the same as John being complicit in the death of hundreds of Pets, thousands even, as the writer of the Pet legalization bill. I again am frustrated by this, because jeez, John is a simply despicable man in every way, but okay, it’s a choice that defines Ella. Pro-bombing with a device she’s told will level an area the size of a football field, but anti-killing even the worst man in the world.
Then the narrative does a thing I hate, which is to tell us Ella was correct. Suddenly her character trait of refusing to press the button is explicitly rewarded, telling us it was the correct opinion. Not a trait at all, but some absolute karmic right- because John’s daughter Ruby is at the bunker. Killing John was a tough choice Ella had to argue with everyone else about, but with Ruby there, it’s clear it was always the only option. It is no longer a tough choice, pressing the button, it’s an absolute and easy one.
Obviously don’t blow up the child.
Nearly doing this makes Ella go down a bizarre spiral of doubt where she begins to wonder if she’s on the wrong side… in the fight to be considered a human being. Yes, Ella briefly wonders if the slavers are the good guys.
It was hard to remember what we were fighting for anyone. Was this even about the pets, or had it gotten mixed up and tangled into something else?
[…] “Nobody fights for something because they think it’s wrong. Maybe we’re the crazy ones. Maybe we’re the ones on the wrong side of history.”
Jane shook her head. “Human rights and social justice are never the wrong side of history.”
“Yeah, but you have to think I’m human to believe that.”
125-126
It cries of a fundamental misunderstanding by the author of what this book is even about. Ella has long accepted and thought of herself as human, and has seen countless horrors in the world of Pets. She is actively trying to save Missy, a Pet who has suffered even more. This is not a fight that can inspire self-doubt, because this is a fight for the most basic and fundamental of human rights, the right to even be human. This is not an opinion, that Pets are human, and it’s especially not an opinion for Ella. It isn’t even that she has been faced with the worst of humanity and wondered if she is anything like them- she goes into this crisis because she considered setting off a bomb. Her potentially accidentally killing a child is entirely unrelated to her existence as a human. Her spiral here thus feels unnatural, almost offensive.
Anyway, Ella’s team flounders for a while being nothing, until human man Dave says he knows where the Pets are and takes Ella and Markus to an old church. It turns out this is a trap and Dave is the traitor who’s been framing them. His reasoning is just as unexplored as his personality. He shoots Markus dead and Ella flees to get the rest of the team. They’ve found the real location of the Pets and rush to save them. While doing so, Ella learns Missy is being held at the bunker with John’s files, so she rushes there to save her.
Ella, alone, drives to John’s bunker and demands to be let in. She has no plan, a stun gun, and a real gun. John greets her and gets her to drop the stun gun. He taunts her and takes her inside to see Missy, who has been tied to a chair for like two weeks in the same room as his computer server of blackmail. They’re both in cages. Ella pulls the gun to threaten him, but he points out she doesn’t know how to open Missy’s cage and thus can’t kill him. So she drops the gun, and he draws his own gun.
He gives a villain speech that does not explain anything, talking about how his motive is just power, and that he also has been giving orders to NuPet, not the other way around. He goes to shoot Missy, but Ella pulls out the bomb detonator and threatens him. He taunts her and says she doesn’t have it in her, so she presses the button.
So rounding back to that anti-murder point…
If I killed [Dave] now, wasn’t I just as much to blame as the rest of them? This was the problem with war, wasn’t it? And this was war, just like Markus had said. Two sides battling against each other, each convinced the other was wrong. But didn’t they know no one would ever win? Not with killing, at least.
137
Wars, of course, rather famously are won near exclusively with killing. And indeed, this quote from earlier on becomes dramatically incorrect the moment Ella ends the book by setting off a bomb and potentially killing a fair amount of people- beyond herself, Missy, and John, there’s also all his staff and guards. Perhaps there’s something to be said about this moment as a thesis. That in the end, Ella, confronted with the monster face to face, realizes death is the only way to stop him. That she tried everything else, but this is a man who knows only violence and will never agree to peace.
Maybe there’s something to the balance. He dies in the blast, but so does she- she abhors the act of murder but will not live with that sin. Killing is wrong, but John must be killed, and by giving her life at the same time she is only paying a due. Perhaps by becoming a martyr, Ella represents the cycle of violence, that no matter her morals she still had to die so others might live. That blood is messy and final, and no matter how hard she tried, the cycle of violence turned her into what she refused to be…
Maybe. Hmmm…
Oh, and also Missy is there.
Missy! Dear god, Missy is there. When Ella threatens to blow the place up, Missy gives a nod, accepting her death. But her presence still ruins any commentary on Ella’s choice here having true meaning. Not that it ever had true meaning, to be clear, I was joking earlier. Ella does not reflect on her choice to press that button and explode, and the book does not try to balance her refusal earlier with it now. We can infer that she simply had no other choice, having lost both her guns and needing to stop John, but her powerless status in this bunker is exclusively her fault. She went here without a plan, and she put the gun down. The gun that might have killed John in one shot, no bombs needed.
Why? Because Missy is in a cage.
A… cage. A barred cage. A cage that needs a key, but is just a cage. John gets her to put down the gun because without him alive, she’d have no way to open the cage. Because as we all know, cages are magical devices that cannot be opened in any other way.
That was sarcasm. It’s not very hard to break open a cage without a key. You can melt the lock open. Melt the bars. Physically cut the bars. Pick the lock. Even if it was a magical cage that could never be opened, Missy would be able to live fine in it, as there’s room to pass food and water through the bars. But rather than think of any of this, Ella presses that button, and everything explodes.
Ella lives. Obviously. So here’s the finale, the epilogue, the wrap-up: Ella lives, and they all lived happily ever after. How, though, you ask?
When Ella comes to in the hospital, Penn is there, as is Elise his mother. Elise says she randomly found a flash drive backup of all the data on that server she just blew up, with all the blackmail. She gives it to Ella. Ella holds a press conference, explaining John- who lived- has been blackmailing people for years. She compares being blackmailed to being owned as a slave, and says she’s going to set everyone free, smashing the flash drive under her shoe. She urges everyone who was once blackmailed to go do something good with their life, and that goodness is the one true trait of humanity. Then Penn shows up so they kiss.
In our official epilogue, we learn Ella and Penn are going to university in Greece and that the government is officially actually rehabilitating human Pets. NuPet has been made illegal to operate, but is still trying to lobby the government to let them be legal again. This is it for the conclusive wrap-up: it is never said Pets are now legally humans, or that anything has really changed. That anyone has been arrested besides John. It seems taking John down has toppled everything and yet only changed one thing. Perhaps those he had blackmailed came forward with more evidence to lock him up, but still, the only revolution is his downfall.
It’s like Mr. John is actually Mr. Slavery. It isn’t a systematic problem, it’s a One Bad Guy problem. Pets having clear rights isn’t important enough to mention, and was never the issue. It was… John. John in this book declares he controls NuPet, that Pets were some project of his. Pets have been being made for 32 years, evidently at his behest, and he’s the one who blackmailed everyone into getting Pets legalized across the USA. Why? We don’t really know. My best guess is a man with a hyperspecific fetish and too much money taking things way too far.
The lack of wrap up though continues that dream logic of this world, where the amorphous blob of the public barely exists, and the crimes worth punishment flip and flop. It appears like John is merely going to jail for his blackmailing. Not him making Pets, not Pets being humans, not him having those humans killed, not him raping and murdering his last human slave- no, it’s the blackmail. And that solves it. The book at one point does bring up corruption, saying exposing John is hard, and the idea that government and police often are corrupt in a messy, complicated web. But in the end, there’s no web, just John. John doesn’t own NuPet but controlled it, and when he’s in jail NuPet somehow still exists. Pets are illegal, but there’s a huge corporation still trying to make them happy again. No penalty, no fault for the years of Every Crime Ever. Just John.
Ella’s final speech at the end destroying the flash drive even is about John more than her. She does say she’s human, that she didn’t choose any of this, that she just wants a chance at life… but her focus is on the blackmail. The blackmail is slavery, and that is wrong, she says, ignoring the fact slavery is slavery and also wrong.
So what is going on here? I’m not sure. Bad writing, okay, but let’s keep thinking. Perfected was always a series about race by someone who didn’t know what racism was. Here we see that in its purest form: Racism is not a system, a history, according to Perfected. It’s barely a belief. Rather, it is a law set up by evil men, and once those laws change, everyone is equal. This is a lot like thinking once Lincoln ended American slavery, racism ended too.
This is a very flawed understanding of things, of course. If you don’t really get it, let me help you to understand. Racism is a very complicated term and a very simple one- and it has two basic meanings. These are basic-basic, I’m not a scholar on this. Something is racist or shows racism if it is discriminatory or judging based on someone’s race. Racism, however, also refers to a much broader term of systemic racism, that is when discrimination based on race is a fundamentally ingrained or accepted part of most things, like politics, art, and law.
In the world of Perfected, Pets are slaves. Many people know they are human, but they are accepted to simply be lesser because of circumstances that have been entirely placed upon them- being lab-grown and raised. They do not have any human rights. Someone like John is very complicit in the slavery of Pets, and indeed racist against Pets, believing them truly inferior. He is the one who passed laws to make Pets slaves, ingraining their lack of rights into law.
When people learn about the injustices of the Pet world, like the dead babies, they still frame it from a human point of view, not a Pet one. This is because a baby is good, but a Pet is not. People who talk to Ella tend to react to her as human, but their actions are still influenced by seeing her as an other. When John is revealed as being a blackmailer, he goes to jail for that alone.
The issue of Pets is not well addressed. It appears people are happy to think of them learning to be human, but their rights as actual humans are not clear. They can’t just join society, be like humans, be free of this- the immense trauma they faced as Pets is not addressed, nor is the fact Pet ownership was never unpopular. It was chic! The Pets are going into a world very much racist, and structurally set against them. Their former owners, the rich and famous, have faced nothing and never will, but the expectation is that the Pets have a happy ever after.
Because again, John. Because in this book, racism and slavery are the same idea, while I hope I’ve helped explain how they’re really quite different. In this book, Racism and slavery are a singular law which a bad man named John made up to oppress some girls, and with him gone, everyone is equal. There are no loose ends.
Oh.
Wait.
There is Missy.
Hey.
I haven’t mentioned Missy yet. Did you notice that? After Ella hit the button and exploded the bunker, risking the lives of so many… I mean, Ella lived, as did John. Actually, that guy Markus who got shot point-blank? He’s fine too! But we were talking about Missy, weren’t we…
Well, Missy died.
(This is just part of my full review! You're best off reading it on my blog, where there's SO much more!)
It was his love that showed me we were equal… that this heart of mine was every bit as human as the one that beat in his chest.
8
Hey, if you had to guess what the plot of book three was, what would you come up with? Stop right now. Write it down. Make a couple predictions. I mean, this genre is pretty formalistic, even if the big reveal and ‘freeing’ of the Pets happened at the end of book two. NuPet barely apologised and said next time they’d make Pets that weren’t carried by surrogates, while Ella needs to go rescue Missy from John. Pets still aren’t legally human. I think we all know what to expect from the final book, right?
With John pretending to be pro ‘Pets are human’, I totally expected him to be taking many ‘freed’ Pets in for his own purposes, while also pushing NuPet to release Pet 2.0, artificially grown Pets that are perhaps even less human- grown faster, maybe visibly unique with unnatural hair colours. Ella would have to save Missy and together they’d advocate for the idea that there is no such thing as a human that is also a Pet, and that NuPet must be shut down. That sounds like a good way to make a thesis statement on ‘slavery is bad’ while wrapping things up, right?
Well, Unraveled is nothing like that. This book is, inexplicably, about Ella joining a domestic terrorist cell that is really bad at domestic terrorism.
Ella and Penn are now with the Liberationalists, our obligatory ‘revolution’ group. The group is a very nebulous thing, however, with unclear numbers, goals, resources, and funding. We understand they want to help or free Pets, but their actual plan’s desired end point is never made clear. Especially as immediately the group is sold out to NuPet and John, leading Ella’s team to go on the run. We never hear from the Liberationalists again.
Ella and Penn aren’t alone in this though, joined by a new cast of characters who are entirely interchangeable and new. Perhaps sensing the book series only had four characters, the author quickly had added Markus the Pet, Ian the Pet, Dave the Guy, and Jane the Lady. None of them stand out or have anything interesting going on. Markus was briefly in the last book and is notably violent, angry at the abuse he faced as a Pet, but even that doesn’t give him the sense of being a character.
This book is luckily very short and mostly filled with Ella’s team arguing and being aimless, which makes writing a summary easy.
It’s been nine days since Missy gave herself up so Ella could live. NuPet has been recalling all Pets and making propaganda tapes claiming they’re being rehabilitated to live in human society, but of course secretly they’re planning to kill them all. Ella’s team must find the girls, as well as Missy, and save them all. And yes, for some reason rather than kill Pets as they get them, the whole plot hinges on the idea they’re just keeping them together in a box for one big execution.
They go to Penn’s mother Elise for help. Elise was always horrible to Ella and especially her daughter Ruby, but in this book she’s fled John and is a smart, kind woman. She tells them John is so powerful because he has blackmail on everyone ever and thus controls everything. Elise explains John has a secret computer server somewhere that holds all his blackmail. Ella’s team is framed for a series of bombings, resulting in Penn being arrested for the rest of the book.
The team finds John’s computer server is in a bunker in the woods which is heavily guarded. They successfully plant a bomb on the roof, but Ella refuses to let them press the button and explode it. Especially when they learn John is in the building.
My hate for the congressman grew inside me like a disease. It wormed its way through the middle of me, seeping into everything good. It was a sickness, this hatred- it fed itself, that sour taste inside me, suckling the bitter need to make him suffer. But just because he was a monster didn’t mean I’d allow myself to be turned into one.
“I can’t do it.”
[Markus] “What do you mean? […] Have you forgotten what he’s done to you? What’s he’s done to all of us? What he’s still doing?”
Of course I hadn’t forgotten. I could live a hundred years and I’d never forget how small that man had made me feel, how used. But that didn’t change things. That didn’t excuse murder. “That’s Penn’s dad.”
“The dad that framed him for murder? God, Ella! Think of the bigger picture. I realize life is precious, I do. I understand what a gift it is. He’s the one who doesn’t understand.”
121
Now, there’s nuance to this and the idea of Ella being a character who simply refuses the idea of murdering someone is valid. Agree or not, it’s a character trait. She refuses to let someone else press the button though, or even consider it. To her, killing John is the same as John being complicit in the death of hundreds of Pets, thousands even, as the writer of the Pet legalization bill. I again am frustrated by this, because jeez, John is a simply despicable man in every way, but okay, it’s a choice that defines Ella. Pro-bombing with a device she’s told will level an area the size of a football field, but anti-killing even the worst man in the world.
Then the narrative does a thing I hate, which is to tell us Ella was correct. Suddenly her character trait of refusing to press the button is explicitly rewarded, telling us it was the correct opinion. Not a trait at all, but some absolute karmic right- because John’s daughter Ruby is at the bunker. Killing John was a tough choice Ella had to argue with everyone else about, but with Ruby there, it’s clear it was always the only option. It is no longer a tough choice, pressing the button, it’s an absolute and easy one.
Obviously don’t blow up the child.
Nearly doing this makes Ella go down a bizarre spiral of doubt where she begins to wonder if she’s on the wrong side… in the fight to be considered a human being. Yes, Ella briefly wonders if the slavers are the good guys.
It was hard to remember what we were fighting for anyone. Was this even about the pets, or had it gotten mixed up and tangled into something else?
[…] “Nobody fights for something because they think it’s wrong. Maybe we’re the crazy ones. Maybe we’re the ones on the wrong side of history.”
Jane shook her head. “Human rights and social justice are never the wrong side of history.”
“Yeah, but you have to think I’m human to believe that.”
125-126
It cries of a fundamental misunderstanding by the author of what this book is even about. Ella has long accepted and thought of herself as human, and has seen countless horrors in the world of Pets. She is actively trying to save Missy, a Pet who has suffered even more. This is not a fight that can inspire self-doubt, because this is a fight for the most basic and fundamental of human rights, the right to even be human. This is not an opinion, that Pets are human, and it’s especially not an opinion for Ella. It isn’t even that she has been faced with the worst of humanity and wondered if she is anything like them- she goes into this crisis because she considered setting off a bomb. Her potentially accidentally killing a child is entirely unrelated to her existence as a human. Her spiral here thus feels unnatural, almost offensive.
Anyway, Ella’s team flounders for a while being nothing, until human man Dave says he knows where the Pets are and takes Ella and Markus to an old church. It turns out this is a trap and Dave is the traitor who’s been framing them. His reasoning is just as unexplored as his personality. He shoots Markus dead and Ella flees to get the rest of the team. They’ve found the real location of the Pets and rush to save them. While doing so, Ella learns Missy is being held at the bunker with John’s files, so she rushes there to save her.
Ella, alone, drives to John’s bunker and demands to be let in. She has no plan, a stun gun, and a real gun. John greets her and gets her to drop the stun gun. He taunts her and takes her inside to see Missy, who has been tied to a chair for like two weeks in the same room as his computer server of blackmail. They’re both in cages. Ella pulls the gun to threaten him, but he points out she doesn’t know how to open Missy’s cage and thus can’t kill him. So she drops the gun, and he draws his own gun.
He gives a villain speech that does not explain anything, talking about how his motive is just power, and that he also has been giving orders to NuPet, not the other way around. He goes to shoot Missy, but Ella pulls out the bomb detonator and threatens him. He taunts her and says she doesn’t have it in her, so she presses the button.
So rounding back to that anti-murder point…
If I killed [Dave] now, wasn’t I just as much to blame as the rest of them? This was the problem with war, wasn’t it? And this was war, just like Markus had said. Two sides battling against each other, each convinced the other was wrong. But didn’t they know no one would ever win? Not with killing, at least.
137
Wars, of course, rather famously are won near exclusively with killing. And indeed, this quote from earlier on becomes dramatically incorrect the moment Ella ends the book by setting off a bomb and potentially killing a fair amount of people- beyond herself, Missy, and John, there’s also all his staff and guards. Perhaps there’s something to be said about this moment as a thesis. That in the end, Ella, confronted with the monster face to face, realizes death is the only way to stop him. That she tried everything else, but this is a man who knows only violence and will never agree to peace.
Maybe there’s something to the balance. He dies in the blast, but so does she- she abhors the act of murder but will not live with that sin. Killing is wrong, but John must be killed, and by giving her life at the same time she is only paying a due. Perhaps by becoming a martyr, Ella represents the cycle of violence, that no matter her morals she still had to die so others might live. That blood is messy and final, and no matter how hard she tried, the cycle of violence turned her into what she refused to be…
Maybe. Hmmm…
Oh, and also Missy is there.
Missy! Dear god, Missy is there. When Ella threatens to blow the place up, Missy gives a nod, accepting her death. But her presence still ruins any commentary on Ella’s choice here having true meaning. Not that it ever had true meaning, to be clear, I was joking earlier. Ella does not reflect on her choice to press that button and explode, and the book does not try to balance her refusal earlier with it now. We can infer that she simply had no other choice, having lost both her guns and needing to stop John, but her powerless status in this bunker is exclusively her fault. She went here without a plan, and she put the gun down. The gun that might have killed John in one shot, no bombs needed.
Why? Because Missy is in a cage.
A… cage. A barred cage. A cage that needs a key, but is just a cage. John gets her to put down the gun because without him alive, she’d have no way to open the cage. Because as we all know, cages are magical devices that cannot be opened in any other way.
That was sarcasm. It’s not very hard to break open a cage without a key. You can melt the lock open. Melt the bars. Physically cut the bars. Pick the lock. Even if it was a magical cage that could never be opened, Missy would be able to live fine in it, as there’s room to pass food and water through the bars. But rather than think of any of this, Ella presses that button, and everything explodes.
Ella lives. Obviously. So here’s the finale, the epilogue, the wrap-up: Ella lives, and they all lived happily ever after. How, though, you ask?
When Ella comes to in the hospital, Penn is there, as is Elise his mother. Elise says she randomly found a flash drive backup of all the data on that server she just blew up, with all the blackmail. She gives it to Ella. Ella holds a press conference, explaining John- who lived- has been blackmailing people for years. She compares being blackmailed to being owned as a slave, and says she’s going to set everyone free, smashing the flash drive under her shoe. She urges everyone who was once blackmailed to go do something good with their life, and that goodness is the one true trait of humanity. Then Penn shows up so they kiss.
In our official epilogue, we learn Ella and Penn are going to university in Greece and that the government is officially actually rehabilitating human Pets. NuPet has been made illegal to operate, but is still trying to lobby the government to let them be legal again. This is it for the conclusive wrap-up: it is never said Pets are now legally humans, or that anything has really changed. That anyone has been arrested besides John. It seems taking John down has toppled everything and yet only changed one thing. Perhaps those he had blackmailed came forward with more evidence to lock him up, but still, the only revolution is his downfall.
It’s like Mr. John is actually Mr. Slavery. It isn’t a systematic problem, it’s a One Bad Guy problem. Pets having clear rights isn’t important enough to mention, and was never the issue. It was… John. John in this book declares he controls NuPet, that Pets were some project of his. Pets have been being made for 32 years, evidently at his behest, and he’s the one who blackmailed everyone into getting Pets legalized across the USA. Why? We don’t really know. My best guess is a man with a hyperspecific fetish and too much money taking things way too far.
The lack of wrap up though continues that dream logic of this world, where the amorphous blob of the public barely exists, and the crimes worth punishment flip and flop. It appears like John is merely going to jail for his blackmailing. Not him making Pets, not Pets being humans, not him having those humans killed, not him raping and murdering his last human slave- no, it’s the blackmail. And that solves it. The book at one point does bring up corruption, saying exposing John is hard, and the idea that government and police often are corrupt in a messy, complicated web. But in the end, there’s no web, just John. John doesn’t own NuPet but controlled it, and when he’s in jail NuPet somehow still exists. Pets are illegal, but there’s a huge corporation still trying to make them happy again. No penalty, no fault for the years of Every Crime Ever. Just John.
Ella’s final speech at the end destroying the flash drive even is about John more than her. She does say she’s human, that she didn’t choose any of this, that she just wants a chance at life… but her focus is on the blackmail. The blackmail is slavery, and that is wrong, she says, ignoring the fact slavery is slavery and also wrong.
So what is going on here? I’m not sure. Bad writing, okay, but let’s keep thinking. Perfected was always a series about race by someone who didn’t know what racism was. Here we see that in its purest form: Racism is not a system, a history, according to Perfected. It’s barely a belief. Rather, it is a law set up by evil men, and once those laws change, everyone is equal. This is a lot like thinking once Lincoln ended American slavery, racism ended too.
This is a very flawed understanding of things, of course. If you don’t really get it, let me help you to understand. Racism is a very complicated term and a very simple one- and it has two basic meanings. These are basic-basic, I’m not a scholar on this. Something is racist or shows racism if it is discriminatory or judging based on someone’s race. Racism, however, also refers to a much broader term of systemic racism, that is when discrimination based on race is a fundamentally ingrained or accepted part of most things, like politics, art, and law.
In the world of Perfected, Pets are slaves. Many people know they are human, but they are accepted to simply be lesser because of circumstances that have been entirely placed upon them- being lab-grown and raised. They do not have any human rights. Someone like John is very complicit in the slavery of Pets, and indeed racist against Pets, believing them truly inferior. He is the one who passed laws to make Pets slaves, ingraining their lack of rights into law.
When people learn about the injustices of the Pet world, like the dead babies, they still frame it from a human point of view, not a Pet one. This is because a baby is good, but a Pet is not. People who talk to Ella tend to react to her as human, but their actions are still influenced by seeing her as an other. When John is revealed as being a blackmailer, he goes to jail for that alone.
The issue of Pets is not well addressed. It appears people are happy to think of them learning to be human, but their rights as actual humans are not clear. They can’t just join society, be like humans, be free of this- the immense trauma they faced as Pets is not addressed, nor is the fact Pet ownership was never unpopular. It was chic! The Pets are going into a world very much racist, and structurally set against them. Their former owners, the rich and famous, have faced nothing and never will, but the expectation is that the Pets have a happy ever after.
Because again, John. Because in this book, racism and slavery are the same idea, while I hope I’ve helped explain how they’re really quite different. In this book, Racism and slavery are a singular law which a bad man named John made up to oppress some girls, and with him gone, everyone is equal. There are no loose ends.
Oh.
Wait.
There is Missy.
Hey.
I haven’t mentioned Missy yet. Did you notice that? After Ella hit the button and exploded the bunker, risking the lives of so many… I mean, Ella lived, as did John. Actually, that guy Markus who got shot point-blank? He’s fine too! But we were talking about Missy, weren’t we…
Well, Missy died.
(This is just part of my full review! You're best off reading it on my blog, where there's SO much more!)
April 10, 2018
3.8 Out Of 5 heavily deliberated STARS
A fairly predictable third and final addition to the Perfected Series, but engaging nonetheless. It was refreshing to watch Ella evolve into the fiercely loyal and brave girl she always could be, underneath her NuPet training.
I had a lot of issues with the first book in this series, with its believability…but with everything going on in the world recently…I feel you never can tell what barbarity humans could be capable of. The second book was on track with where this story needed to go and the third wrapped everything up quite pleasantly.
A fairly predictable third and final addition to the Perfected Series, but engaging nonetheless. It was refreshing to watch Ella evolve into the fiercely loyal and brave girl she always could be, underneath her NuPet training.
I had a lot of issues with the first book in this series, with its believability…but with everything going on in the world recently…I feel you never can tell what barbarity humans could be capable of. The second book was on track with where this story needed to go and the third wrapped everything up quite pleasantly.
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~MY RATING~
☆3.8☆STARS - GRADE=B
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~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~
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Plot~ 3.7/5
Main Characters~ 4.3/5
Secondary Characters~ 4/5
The Feels~ 3.5/5
Pacing~ 3.7/5
Addictiveness~ 4/5
Theme or Tone~ 4.5/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 4/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 4/5
Originality~ 4/5
Ending~ 4/5 Cliffhanger~ Nope, I believe this is the last one.
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Book Cover~ Quite striking…all the covers for this series are.
Publisher~ Entangled Teen Publishing
Series~ Perfected #3
Setting~ New York
Source~ I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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May 6, 2019
A somewhat satisfying, if predictable ending to a mediocre dystopian trilogy. If nothing else, Ella does finally become less of a twit as a character, and I was entertained by the series, even if I cringe when admitting I read it. Would recommend for dystopian diehards, but not for newbies to the genre. 2 stars.
April 3, 2018
*I received a free copy from the publisher and chose to leave a voluntary review. Thank you!*
I remember picking book one up when it came out, not really knowing what to expect and really enjoyed it and thought it was pretty unique and clever for a dystopian.
Now we are at the third and final book of the series and I’m absolutely thrilled to have been following Ella and her small group of trusted people.
This book was a the perfect conclusion to the series, it was just as nail biting and thrilling as the other two books, if not even a bit more. Everything is wrapped up nicely for the most part. There were a few minor things but that was okay and it was nothing important.
Sadly not everyone makes it to the end and I was at first not sure about it but it was kind of a good fit into the story.
I also really enjoyed Ella in this book, she came such a long way since book one and really has grown into her character. I love that she still has little flaws and sometimes is not sure of herself. It makes her so much more relatable.
The ending was great and I thought it did the entire series great justice.
Overall I did not only enjoy this book but the entire series and I can’t wait to see what Kate Jarvik Birch comes up with next
I rate it 4 ½ ★
March 30, 2018
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. This is a voluntary review; all opinions are my own and not influenced by my source.**
This book kept the momentum strong from start to finish! It's a great way to wrap up this series!
I found this story never really stopped. The pacing was great; always building and evolving as the characters delved deeper. There was also a lot more physical action to the story as well. That added some unpredictability to the novel that kept me anticipating what would happen next.
Ella really shines in this for me as a reader. She gets a little caught up in the somewhat cliche role of a dystopian heroine at times but watching her come into her own was great. She's come so far from that first novel and it's amazing to see that in the finale.
I would have liked a little more near the end in terms of wrapping things up. Not that everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow necessarily, just that I would have liked to have seen the end results more so than just to be told they occurred.
Regardless, I was impressed with the final book and how this series progressed from start to finish.
Check out more spoiler-free book and series reviews on my blog SERIESousBookReviews.com as well as read book series recaps!
Full Review: https://wp.me/p7hLUw-2pZ
Actual Rating: 4/5
This book kept the momentum strong from start to finish! It's a great way to wrap up this series!
I found this story never really stopped. The pacing was great; always building and evolving as the characters delved deeper. There was also a lot more physical action to the story as well. That added some unpredictability to the novel that kept me anticipating what would happen next.
Ella really shines in this for me as a reader. She gets a little caught up in the somewhat cliche role of a dystopian heroine at times but watching her come into her own was great. She's come so far from that first novel and it's amazing to see that in the finale.
I would have liked a little more near the end in terms of wrapping things up. Not that everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow necessarily, just that I would have liked to have seen the end results more so than just to be told they occurred.
Regardless, I was impressed with the final book and how this series progressed from start to finish.
Check out more spoiler-free book and series reviews on my blog SERIESousBookReviews.com as well as read book series recaps!
Full Review: https://wp.me/p7hLUw-2pZ
Actual Rating: 4/5
March 12, 2018
Review:
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
May 3, 2018
eARc provided by Netgalley and Entangled Teen in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Another series down. I actually completed a goal I set for myself, completely forgetting I was going to be finishing this series. Oh well. Nothing wrong with that!
For a series ender, this was great. I got the closure I needed and even though I would love to continue reading about Ella and Penn, I am satisfied where the author left them. I have no further questions about anything that happened but at the same time, I can't help feel like there was something missing from this book to give it that full 5 (five) stars. I'm not sure what but it's bothering me slightly...
One of the major things I look for in a series in character growth. Anything bigger than a duology (not that I am saying that they can't have character growth but with trilogies and series, you are with the character for a while), there should be some major growth and Ella had such growth. She went from a docile pet who was meek and scared to someone strong and not afraid to get hurt. I always adored Ella and in this book I felt no different. From the first few pages, I was blown away by everything she did. She recognized her faults and did her best to overcome them. She didn't rely on her love interest to save her. She was all around a great heroine!
The plot was also well done. This was a clean up book, so to speak. Everything that happened in the first two books were wrapped up in this one in a big way. There was quite a bit of action, more so then the first two. But it was not overdone.
Overall, this was an excellent series. The concept of human girls kept as pets still bothered me at times but once I started to get over that (or at least look past it), the series actually turned out to be pretty good. I highly recommend this trilogy!
Another series down. I actually completed a goal I set for myself, completely forgetting I was going to be finishing this series. Oh well. Nothing wrong with that!
For a series ender, this was great. I got the closure I needed and even though I would love to continue reading about Ella and Penn, I am satisfied where the author left them. I have no further questions about anything that happened but at the same time, I can't help feel like there was something missing from this book to give it that full 5 (five) stars. I'm not sure what but it's bothering me slightly...
One of the major things I look for in a series in character growth. Anything bigger than a duology (not that I am saying that they can't have character growth but with trilogies and series, you are with the character for a while), there should be some major growth and Ella had such growth. She went from a docile pet who was meek and scared to someone strong and not afraid to get hurt. I always adored Ella and in this book I felt no different. From the first few pages, I was blown away by everything she did. She recognized her faults and did her best to overcome them. She didn't rely on her love interest to save her. She was all around a great heroine!
The plot was also well done. This was a clean up book, so to speak. Everything that happened in the first two books were wrapped up in this one in a big way. There was quite a bit of action, more so then the first two. But it was not overdone.
Overall, this was an excellent series. The concept of human girls kept as pets still bothered me at times but once I started to get over that (or at least look past it), the series actually turned out to be pretty good. I highly recommend this trilogy!
April 2, 2018
Beautifully written and inspiring. I'm so glad that I could read the final book because it’s not easy after such a long time since the previous two books. Obviously, I could not deny myself finding out how it all ended. And it's so worth it!
The thrilling action and tension combine effectively with the vivid feelings conveyed by the sensitive writing. I could feel every doubt, every frustration, every dream and pain Ella and Penn go through as they face this evil, giant enemy that never hesitates to lie, kill and overpower.
Ella and Penn also have to deal with the cost of this fight to their bond, it is tested but it blooms beautifully in the end. I loved their times together, when they click and when they suffer. I understood when they considered fleeling versus making a stand. It felt real. And then, Ella was like a phoenix bird, gritty in her sweaty, painful efforts, but so brave and inspiring in her flawed humanity.
Once again, the moral price of taking hard decisions was paramount. Is vengeance or winning against evil a good enough reason to forgo one's soul? Humans as pets bred on a laboratory is such a great theme to ponder this issue. I was mesmerized in the first book and I think it really shows all its depth in this finale. This struggle is interwoven in the scenes which are full of surprises and action.
Ella is working with a team to overthrow NuPet and the congressman, all of them have a part in this mission, yet she shines with inner strength that's all hers and born of steadfast goodness and resilience.
What a wonderful conclusion to this dystopian trilogy about the meaning of humanity against a backdrop of greed, slavery, violence and the true meaning of freedom. The climax of this novel pulsates with fantastic action and adrenaline, but it also stands out with its own powerful message of self-empowerment and true love. A very inspiring heroine in the midst of an adventure that makes you think and feel. Loved it.
The thrilling action and tension combine effectively with the vivid feelings conveyed by the sensitive writing. I could feel every doubt, every frustration, every dream and pain Ella and Penn go through as they face this evil, giant enemy that never hesitates to lie, kill and overpower.
Ella and Penn also have to deal with the cost of this fight to their bond, it is tested but it blooms beautifully in the end. I loved their times together, when they click and when they suffer. I understood when they considered fleeling versus making a stand. It felt real. And then, Ella was like a phoenix bird, gritty in her sweaty, painful efforts, but so brave and inspiring in her flawed humanity.
Once again, the moral price of taking hard decisions was paramount. Is vengeance or winning against evil a good enough reason to forgo one's soul? Humans as pets bred on a laboratory is such a great theme to ponder this issue. I was mesmerized in the first book and I think it really shows all its depth in this finale. This struggle is interwoven in the scenes which are full of surprises and action.
Ella is working with a team to overthrow NuPet and the congressman, all of them have a part in this mission, yet she shines with inner strength that's all hers and born of steadfast goodness and resilience.
What a wonderful conclusion to this dystopian trilogy about the meaning of humanity against a backdrop of greed, slavery, violence and the true meaning of freedom. The climax of this novel pulsates with fantastic action and adrenaline, but it also stands out with its own powerful message of self-empowerment and true love. A very inspiring heroine in the midst of an adventure that makes you think and feel. Loved it.
May 12, 2018
#Unraveled #NetGalley
publisher synopsis: After exposing the dark secrets about NuPet’s breeding program, forcing them to repeal the law that allowed genetically modified girls to be kept as pets, she thought girls like her would finally be free. She never dreamed that it would backfire. NuPet may have convinced the public of their intentions to assimilate pets back into society, but Ella knows it’s a lie.
They aren’t planning mass rehabilitation...they’re planning a mass extermination.
Now, with the help of a small group of rebels, Ella and Penn, the boy she’d give up her life for, set out to bring down NuPet for good. But when her group gets implicated in a string of bombings, no one is safe. If she can’t untangle the web of blackmail and lies that extends far beyond NuPet’s reach, she won’t just lose her chance at freedom, she’ll lose everyone she loves.
First off, I love the cover! How beautiful!! So many meanings tied up in a dress and a trap. I love how the dress appears to be fluttering out. And how the chain runs off the cover as if someone in the shadows has laid a trap and has the means to set it off from afar.
Secondly, the book. It was good. A great ending for the series. I felt that in the end Ella made a great moral choice, even thought some of her friends thought otherwise. I also liked that Ella really tried and knew where her limits were. She drew her "line in the sand" and stuck to it.
I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
publisher synopsis: After exposing the dark secrets about NuPet’s breeding program, forcing them to repeal the law that allowed genetically modified girls to be kept as pets, she thought girls like her would finally be free. She never dreamed that it would backfire. NuPet may have convinced the public of their intentions to assimilate pets back into society, but Ella knows it’s a lie.
They aren’t planning mass rehabilitation...they’re planning a mass extermination.
Now, with the help of a small group of rebels, Ella and Penn, the boy she’d give up her life for, set out to bring down NuPet for good. But when her group gets implicated in a string of bombings, no one is safe. If she can’t untangle the web of blackmail and lies that extends far beyond NuPet’s reach, she won’t just lose her chance at freedom, she’ll lose everyone she loves.
First off, I love the cover! How beautiful!! So many meanings tied up in a dress and a trap. I love how the dress appears to be fluttering out. And how the chain runs off the cover as if someone in the shadows has laid a trap and has the means to set it off from afar.
Secondly, the book. It was good. A great ending for the series. I felt that in the end Ella made a great moral choice, even thought some of her friends thought otherwise. I also liked that Ella really tried and knew where her limits were. She drew her "line in the sand" and stuck to it.
I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
May 9, 2018
This is the third book in the Perfected series. In it, Ella and Penn are working with a small group of rebels trying to expose NuPet and the congressman.
I've enjoyed this series a lot, and I'm a little sad to see it end (at least, I think this is the end?). I enjoyed the first book the most, with the world building and learning about this new concept of pets.
In the first book, we saw Ella come to the congressman's house and begin to learn about her situation (and the situation of all pets), both good and bad. The reason that book worked so well for me is the psychological aspect of the story. The mind games, manipulation, and perceived danger all kept tensions high as I tore through the pages.
As the series has gone on, the action becomes more tangible. Ella faces explosions, weapons, and personnel loyal to the congressman. There are betrayals, stalkers, and danger lurking around every corner. All of these things were good, but it was so different from the story I started reading. I felt the same way with Twilight and The Hunger Games and pretty much every series I've ever read.
When all is said and done, this was a decent but not amazing series ending. I enjoyed the series, and I wonder if I would have enjoyed Unraveled more if I was in the right mood for it. As it was, I'm glad the story wrapped up the way it did. The ending had just the right amount of satisfaction to it. There are a few plot points that didn't get completely tied off, so maybe we'll see more of Ella and Penn in the future?
Content: Non-descriptive sex, violence, and some language (no f-bombs)
Source: Thank you to Entangled Teen for sending me a copy of this book.
I've enjoyed this series a lot, and I'm a little sad to see it end (at least, I think this is the end?). I enjoyed the first book the most, with the world building and learning about this new concept of pets.
In the first book, we saw Ella come to the congressman's house and begin to learn about her situation (and the situation of all pets), both good and bad. The reason that book worked so well for me is the psychological aspect of the story. The mind games, manipulation, and perceived danger all kept tensions high as I tore through the pages.
As the series has gone on, the action becomes more tangible. Ella faces explosions, weapons, and personnel loyal to the congressman. There are betrayals, stalkers, and danger lurking around every corner. All of these things were good, but it was so different from the story I started reading. I felt the same way with Twilight and The Hunger Games and pretty much every series I've ever read.
When all is said and done, this was a decent but not amazing series ending. I enjoyed the series, and I wonder if I would have enjoyed Unraveled more if I was in the right mood for it. As it was, I'm glad the story wrapped up the way it did. The ending had just the right amount of satisfaction to it. There are a few plot points that didn't get completely tied off, so maybe we'll see more of Ella and Penn in the future?
Content: Non-descriptive sex, violence, and some language (no f-bombs)
Source: Thank you to Entangled Teen for sending me a copy of this book.
December 3, 2018
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Unraveled is an action packed, feminist themed story that holds a hell of a lot of appeal.
Female 'pets'have been bred, manipulated and abused until Ella uncovers all the horrors of this system and fights to over turn it.
As a stand alone book you can pick this up and still be completely drawn in by Ella and those she surrounds herself. The dystopian story grips you and wrenches at your heart strings whilst simultaneously shrouding you in hope for a better future for everyone in this book despite all these horrors they endure.
Kate Jarvik Birch is not afraid to kill off characters so don't get too attached because just as the story captivates you it can also break you.
A brutally honest look at the darker side of humanity and a raw and emotional read that will stay with you. I absolutely loved it and will be buying the whole trilogy to add to my library because it's so damn touching.
Unraveled is an action packed, feminist themed story that holds a hell of a lot of appeal.
Female 'pets'have been bred, manipulated and abused until Ella uncovers all the horrors of this system and fights to over turn it.
As a stand alone book you can pick this up and still be completely drawn in by Ella and those she surrounds herself. The dystopian story grips you and wrenches at your heart strings whilst simultaneously shrouding you in hope for a better future for everyone in this book despite all these horrors they endure.
Kate Jarvik Birch is not afraid to kill off characters so don't get too attached because just as the story captivates you it can also break you.
A brutally honest look at the darker side of humanity and a raw and emotional read that will stay with you. I absolutely loved it and will be buying the whole trilogy to add to my library because it's so damn touching.
November 2, 2024
Almost didn’t read this series b/c of poor reviews but so glad I did. I devoured these!!! Fast paced, solid plot, kept my interest from the first page of book one
It’s giving the favorite girl meets the handmaid’s tale
It’s giving the favorite girl meets the handmaid’s tale
May 19, 2024
This book was a beautifully crafted conclusion to the Perfected trilogy. I ended up crying at the end out of both pain and joy. Ella and Penn’s story was beautiful to witness as well as the stories of the friends they make on their way to freeing the pet’s and giving them their freedom.
November 15, 2019
This series could not have had a better ending. I'm so glad they were together at the end. I was afraid she had lost him forever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2018
It took me so long to finish this book simply because it was so uninteresting and AWFUL. Some books you can get so into that most of the time you don't even realize that you are reading, you just see it in your head. Yeah, that didn't happen with this one. I could tell that this was scripted, and that it had all been forced into the paper. Actually, that's a good way to describe how everything happened in this book. The characters were forced to act in certain ways, the way events happened were forced by some unknown presence in the sky. People would start screaming at each other over something that wasn't that big, or things that would of been questions ended with an exclamation mark. The author wants us to believe the Ella is human, which she is, but what would help her case is if she wrote Ella out like a human, not some little toy to play with while writing.
It was so obvious to tell that Dave was the leak or the mole. In some moments he was the "brave" one and was going like, "come on, this isn't too bad let's finish this mission, no one is a match for us", blah blah blah, but in the time it takes to flip a coin he would go like, "are you sure that the risk isn't too great? We could always try a different way, or come back later." And, he was the one who started almost all of the fights with unnecessary screaming, yelling, and finger- pointing.
In the end of the second book it talks about finding Ella's mom in the third book, in this book, but yet she was never once mentioned in this book. Did the author simply just forget, or think, nah, I'll just scrape the ideas of her mom and hope no one remembers that I talked about her once. Also, I could totally tell that Missy was going to die, Ella needed more motivation that just rescuing Missy to make it though the book.
The only reason that this has two stars is because of the scene in the end where Ruby finds Ella, and Missy in her cage. I liked how the author described how Ruby had grown up in such a short time. Some of her actions were a little off, but the scene overall was fine. And Mr. Vasquez, I liked the ten seconds that he was alive in the book.
The first two books had such promise, it was a shame that this one was so awful.
It was so obvious to tell that Dave was the leak or the mole. In some moments he was the "brave" one and was going like, "come on, this isn't too bad let's finish this mission, no one is a match for us", blah blah blah, but in the time it takes to flip a coin he would go like, "are you sure that the risk isn't too great? We could always try a different way, or come back later." And, he was the one who started almost all of the fights with unnecessary screaming, yelling, and finger- pointing.
In the end of the second book it talks about finding Ella's mom in the third book, in this book, but yet she was never once mentioned in this book. Did the author simply just forget, or think, nah, I'll just scrape the ideas of her mom and hope no one remembers that I talked about her once. Also, I could totally tell that Missy was going to die, Ella needed more motivation that just rescuing Missy to make it though the book.
The only reason that this has two stars is because of the scene in the end where Ruby finds Ella, and Missy in her cage. I liked how the author described how Ruby had grown up in such a short time. Some of her actions were a little off, but the scene overall was fine. And Mr. Vasquez, I liked the ten seconds that he was alive in the book.
The first two books had such promise, it was a shame that this one was so awful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2021
Unraveled was pretty meh. I’d put it right at a 3.5 rating. The book wasn’t bad, per say, but I suppose it just felt forgettable? I really liked the first book in this series, but as a whole, the Perfected series was average.
There were a few interesting scenes in this book that glimmered enough to catch my attention whenever I felt like putting down the book, like Ella’s struggle to climb up the fire escape. I also liked the climax scene with Ella, Missy, and the Congressman. It was really satisfying when Ella made the resolute decision to set off the bomb. I did like that show of character development.
Unfortunately, the book overall was so-so. The constant paranoia of being overheard felt overplayed, and I saw Dave’s betrayal coming from a mile away. The other members of the Liberationists didn’t get much development, and Penn was also just kind of existing. I felt like his role didn’t add much to the story or group dynamic other than “protagonist’s obligatory love interest.” I don’t hate him, but I didn’t feel as much attachment to him in this book as I did in the first. Honestly, in book two, I was much more invested in Missy and Ella’s dynamic, and I was disappointed that Missy had to sit this book out until the end.
In conclusion I didn’t hate this book, but it I didn’t think it was amazing. It just kind of... exists.
There were a few interesting scenes in this book that glimmered enough to catch my attention whenever I felt like putting down the book, like Ella’s struggle to climb up the fire escape. I also liked the climax scene with Ella, Missy, and the Congressman. It was really satisfying when Ella made the resolute decision to set off the bomb. I did like that show of character development.
Unfortunately, the book overall was so-so. The constant paranoia of being overheard felt overplayed, and I saw Dave’s betrayal coming from a mile away. The other members of the Liberationists didn’t get much development, and Penn was also just kind of existing. I felt like his role didn’t add much to the story or group dynamic other than “protagonist’s obligatory love interest.” I don’t hate him, but I didn’t feel as much attachment to him in this book as I did in the first. Honestly, in book two, I was much more invested in Missy and Ella’s dynamic, and I was disappointed that Missy had to sit this book out until the end.
In conclusion I didn’t hate this book, but it I didn’t think it was amazing. It just kind of... exists.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2018
I can't believe that this book is finally out. I'll be completely honest, it's been ages since I read Tarnished and this series has kind of drifted away from memory. When I got the email about possibly participating in a blog tour for this grand finale I was so on board.
One of my favorite things about this trilogy is the never ending action and we get served that right from the beginning. Admittedly, it took me a while to refresh my memory about on names and what had occurred at the end of the second novel, but I was able to pick things up relatively quickly.
We start off with the Ella and her friends make attempt #1 of many to free the rest of the NuPet girls from extermination. I don't know if it was me, but I knew things were going to go downhill the minute I figured out what was happening. Maybe it's because we just started and so much was happening already that a happy ending so soon just didn't seem reasonable. That was the fine the first 1-2 times, but after they fall into trap after trap, it starts to make me frustrated for them and the plot because we weren't getting anywhere.
I'm wondering if it's because I have reached a mental limit with dystopian novels but I found myself being a lot more cynical towards how certain events were unfolding. However, I still found myself enjoying the story because how can you not? These are characters whom I have seen go through so much and this is the conclusion of all their efforts. My heart still broke with Ella and Penn, was furious with Markus, and cheered for Missy's headstrong spirit - even after all these years, I still cared so much for them.
While reading, I was reminded about how powerful the message of this story was - yes the story at times had certain lines that could border on cliche, but these are words that our society needs to hear. Kate Jarvik Birch does a fantastic job bringing this trilogy to a close with all the heart pounding action that leaves you breathless.
Originally posted on Le Petit Photograph
One of my favorite things about this trilogy is the never ending action and we get served that right from the beginning. Admittedly, it took me a while to refresh my memory about on names and what had occurred at the end of the second novel, but I was able to pick things up relatively quickly.
We start off with the Ella and her friends make attempt #1 of many to free the rest of the NuPet girls from extermination. I don't know if it was me, but I knew things were going to go downhill the minute I figured out what was happening. Maybe it's because we just started and so much was happening already that a happy ending so soon just didn't seem reasonable. That was the fine the first 1-2 times, but after they fall into trap after trap, it starts to make me frustrated for them and the plot because we weren't getting anywhere.
I'm wondering if it's because I have reached a mental limit with dystopian novels but I found myself being a lot more cynical towards how certain events were unfolding. However, I still found myself enjoying the story because how can you not? These are characters whom I have seen go through so much and this is the conclusion of all their efforts. My heart still broke with Ella and Penn, was furious with Markus, and cheered for Missy's headstrong spirit - even after all these years, I still cared so much for them.
While reading, I was reminded about how powerful the message of this story was - yes the story at times had certain lines that could border on cliche, but these are words that our society needs to hear. Kate Jarvik Birch does a fantastic job bringing this trilogy to a close with all the heart pounding action that leaves you breathless.
Originally posted on Le Petit Photograph
March 19, 2018
REVIEW
After reading and loving Perfected and Tarnished, the previous books in this series I knew that not only did I want to read the third and last book in this series, I really had to. I needed to find out how everything ends for the characters I have come to love. I also wanted to see if the ones I enjoyed hating got their comeuppance too. So when I was asked if I would like to review the book I jumped at the chance.
I have loved all the covers in the Perfected series and the cover of Unraveled fits in beautifully with the other covers. This one has a gorgeous flowing green dress at its centre which certainly draws your eyes to it. Then you notice the open jaws of the trap, which gives a really big hit as to what is going on in the book. There is also another great byline featured on this cover which says, "Rebellion comes at a price" which is also really appropriate for goes o in the book.
The genres I have seen listed for this book are Teens, YA though I would also add that it is Sci-Fi and Dystopian. A plague also plays a important part in the book so I would also add Post apocalyptic to the genre list.
This book begins with Ella, Penn ad their new liberationist friends Markus, Ian, Dave and Jane gathered outside a large warehouse about to undertake a mission to rescue the NuPets held within. They are acting on intelligence they have managed to gather that says a large number of NuPets are going to be held at the warehouse prior to being exterminated. Sadly for them they are walking right into a well laid trap. The liberationists have been tricked and given false information. The most annoying pat of the failed mission for leader Markus is that they have been sold out from someone within the trusted liberationist group.
Ella is determined to free as many NuPet's as she possibly can. She is most determined to pay what she sees as a debt back to Missy. Missy willingly sacrificed her own freedom so Ella and Penn could get away. Ella will go to any lengths needed in her efforts to free Missy even putting her own life on the line. Even when faced with the choice of swapping places with Missy during the failed warehouse mission, Ella is instantly prepared to give her own life in exchange for her friends freedom.
So since there's a spy in the group Markus decides it isn't safe for any of them to return to their Head Quarters. They need to find somewhere to lay low for a while. They need to take stock of the equipment they have and what skills they have to plan out what to do next.
Whilst the small now isolated band of liberationist's are licking their wounds, covertly gathering supplies and trying to lay low they end up being front page news. Several bombs have been detonated first at the Greenwich Kennels, killing Miss Gellner, so at least one person is dead. Then once again at a small restaurant where some of the liberation group have been meeting someone to help them to possibly bring down John Kimballrecently been seen in. Obviously this causes some unrest within the small group of liberationists, first accusing each other, then thinking it could be the liberationists they left at head quarters. Who could be framing them? The spy from within their own group? Or is John Kimball stooping so low as to kill people and the put the blame on his own son Penn and the other members of the liberation group to discredit them and turn the public opinion against them? It seems John Kimball is not above using his own daughter Ruby as a pawn in his relationship with wife Elise. What else or who else will John Kimball discard and "throw to the wolves" to save his own reputation, wealth and career?
John Kimball really does seem to be the man whom nothing bad ever seems to stick to! It seem's he always has a friend in the right place to smooth everything over for him. However with a little help from a rather unexpected source during a dangerous clandestine meeting means that the liberationists finally have a location for some evidence that will bring him down once and for all, but it all sounds so easy. . . an isolated, unprotected small shack holding information that would bring him to his knees. Well yes the saying if it sounds too good to be true it usually is definitely fits the predicament that Ella and her liberationist friends find themselves in. What with bickering, jealousy and trust issues, its a wonder they.....well I won't say anymore.
I genuinely loved this book there was plenty of action, suspense and betrayal. The way Kate Jarvik Birch had everything slowly unfurl, giving you as a reader the chance to guess at who the spy/double agent was great. Kate Jarvik Bich certainly keeps you o the edge of your seat in this book.
I also loved the more emotional scenes with Penn & Ella, Penn ad his mother Elise, Ruby & Ella and finally the scenes with Ella & Missy.
Though she is not central within this final book, she is still there and being used as a pawn to punish Elise ad Penn. I loved Ruby and her unquestioning trust and the love she shares with and for Ella.
I loved Ella and her determination to push on against the odds, even when things are stacked heavily against he she continues her efforts.
Ella finally has a change of fortune and receives a little help from a unlikely source just when she thinks she has lost everyone and everything.
I enjoyed hating John Kimball and continued to do so even more in this last installment of the series. I hated how John mistreated and used Missy to goad and draw Ella to him. He enjoyed flaunting the bedraggled, hurt, abused, and caged Missy in front of Ella. I fact the only time you see a glimmer of sorrow is when he realises his daughter Ruby has seen ad heard what is going on.
In the end Ella has a difficult, life changing choice to make, at one point she isn't sure she will be able to carry out her threat. . . . annnd of course I am not going to reveal whether she does or not.
Loved this series from the very beginning, sad to lose such a well loved character. Thoroughly enjoyed reading and seriously hated having to put this book down!
My final thoughts upon finishing this book were "wow! what a series!" I do not like revealing anything spoilery and but I have revealed that there are deaths in this book though I will not reveal which the who or the how. I will say one of the death had to happen or the book would not have been realistic enough. For all the adored characters to simply survive would have been too contrived and I think, ruined the feel and tone of the book. It would have made the ending too "cutesy" and "chocolate box".
After reading and loving Perfected and Tarnished, the previous books in this series I knew that not only did I want to read the third and last book in this series, I really had to. I needed to find out how everything ends for the characters I have come to love. I also wanted to see if the ones I enjoyed hating got their comeuppance too. So when I was asked if I would like to review the book I jumped at the chance.
I have loved all the covers in the Perfected series and the cover of Unraveled fits in beautifully with the other covers. This one has a gorgeous flowing green dress at its centre which certainly draws your eyes to it. Then you notice the open jaws of the trap, which gives a really big hit as to what is going on in the book. There is also another great byline featured on this cover which says, "Rebellion comes at a price" which is also really appropriate for goes o in the book.
The genres I have seen listed for this book are Teens, YA though I would also add that it is Sci-Fi and Dystopian. A plague also plays a important part in the book so I would also add Post apocalyptic to the genre list.
This book begins with Ella, Penn ad their new liberationist friends Markus, Ian, Dave and Jane gathered outside a large warehouse about to undertake a mission to rescue the NuPets held within. They are acting on intelligence they have managed to gather that says a large number of NuPets are going to be held at the warehouse prior to being exterminated. Sadly for them they are walking right into a well laid trap. The liberationists have been tricked and given false information. The most annoying pat of the failed mission for leader Markus is that they have been sold out from someone within the trusted liberationist group.
Ella is determined to free as many NuPet's as she possibly can. She is most determined to pay what she sees as a debt back to Missy. Missy willingly sacrificed her own freedom so Ella and Penn could get away. Ella will go to any lengths needed in her efforts to free Missy even putting her own life on the line. Even when faced with the choice of swapping places with Missy during the failed warehouse mission, Ella is instantly prepared to give her own life in exchange for her friends freedom.
So since there's a spy in the group Markus decides it isn't safe for any of them to return to their Head Quarters. They need to find somewhere to lay low for a while. They need to take stock of the equipment they have and what skills they have to plan out what to do next.
Whilst the small now isolated band of liberationist's are licking their wounds, covertly gathering supplies and trying to lay low they end up being front page news. Several bombs have been detonated first at the Greenwich Kennels, killing Miss Gellner, so at least one person is dead. Then once again at a small restaurant where some of the liberation group have been meeting someone to help them to possibly bring down John Kimballrecently been seen in. Obviously this causes some unrest within the small group of liberationists, first accusing each other, then thinking it could be the liberationists they left at head quarters. Who could be framing them? The spy from within their own group? Or is John Kimball stooping so low as to kill people and the put the blame on his own son Penn and the other members of the liberation group to discredit them and turn the public opinion against them? It seems John Kimball is not above using his own daughter Ruby as a pawn in his relationship with wife Elise. What else or who else will John Kimball discard and "throw to the wolves" to save his own reputation, wealth and career?
John Kimball really does seem to be the man whom nothing bad ever seems to stick to! It seem's he always has a friend in the right place to smooth everything over for him. However with a little help from a rather unexpected source during a dangerous clandestine meeting means that the liberationists finally have a location for some evidence that will bring him down once and for all, but it all sounds so easy. . . an isolated, unprotected small shack holding information that would bring him to his knees. Well yes the saying if it sounds too good to be true it usually is definitely fits the predicament that Ella and her liberationist friends find themselves in. What with bickering, jealousy and trust issues, its a wonder they.....well I won't say anymore.
I genuinely loved this book there was plenty of action, suspense and betrayal. The way Kate Jarvik Birch had everything slowly unfurl, giving you as a reader the chance to guess at who the spy/double agent was great. Kate Jarvik Bich certainly keeps you o the edge of your seat in this book.
I also loved the more emotional scenes with Penn & Ella, Penn ad his mother Elise, Ruby & Ella and finally the scenes with Ella & Missy.
Though she is not central within this final book, she is still there and being used as a pawn to punish Elise ad Penn. I loved Ruby and her unquestioning trust and the love she shares with and for Ella.
I loved Ella and her determination to push on against the odds, even when things are stacked heavily against he she continues her efforts.
Ella finally has a change of fortune and receives a little help from a unlikely source just when she thinks she has lost everyone and everything.
I enjoyed hating John Kimball and continued to do so even more in this last installment of the series. I hated how John mistreated and used Missy to goad and draw Ella to him. He enjoyed flaunting the bedraggled, hurt, abused, and caged Missy in front of Ella. I fact the only time you see a glimmer of sorrow is when he realises his daughter Ruby has seen ad heard what is going on.
In the end Ella has a difficult, life changing choice to make, at one point she isn't sure she will be able to carry out her threat. . . . annnd of course I am not going to reveal whether she does or not.
Loved this series from the very beginning, sad to lose such a well loved character. Thoroughly enjoyed reading and seriously hated having to put this book down!
My final thoughts upon finishing this book were "wow! what a series!" I do not like revealing anything spoilery and but I have revealed that there are deaths in this book though I will not reveal which the who or the how. I will say one of the death had to happen or the book would not have been realistic enough. For all the adored characters to simply survive would have been too contrived and I think, ruined the feel and tone of the book. It would have made the ending too "cutesy" and "chocolate box".
March 24, 2018
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
You know what? I loved this. I wasn't sure with book two, but this made up for it in 100s. Kate has created this world pretty good, and the world building has been for me believable. Ella is and are still a strong main character you just have to root for. Ella wants so save all the NuPets, but is that even possible when the lying asshole congressman (f*ck him btw) is happening? I didn't know. I went into this book and expected things to happen which they did but not at ALL what I was expecting.
Rebellion comes at a price is mentioned here, and is something I think is very interesting which the book executes well. I'm not gonna spoil anything because I don't feel the need for that, but the deaths hit me. As I said, rebellion comes at a price.
Absolutely loved this ending to this book! I wasn't sure I would but it surprised me and I would seriously recommend this whole series to anyone who wants to pick it up :)
You know what? I loved this. I wasn't sure with book two, but this made up for it in 100s. Kate has created this world pretty good, and the world building has been for me believable. Ella is and are still a strong main character you just have to root for. Ella wants so save all the NuPets, but is that even possible when the lying asshole congressman (f*ck him btw) is happening? I didn't know. I went into this book and expected things to happen which they did but not at ALL what I was expecting.
Rebellion comes at a price is mentioned here, and is something I think is very interesting which the book executes well. I'm not gonna spoil anything because I don't feel the need for that, but the deaths hit me. As I said, rebellion comes at a price.
Absolutely loved this ending to this book! I wasn't sure I would but it surprised me and I would seriously recommend this whole series to anyone who wants to pick it up :)
May 22, 2025
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an eARC from Netgalley of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
I fell in love when I first read Perfected. I'm always drawn to stories about clones and genetified modified people. Maybe it's the Sci-fi of it all. Unraveled was a conclusion I feel like I've been waiting years for. It was one of my most anticipated 2018 books.
I didn't exactly love the conclusion to the story but I also didn't hate it. I just didn't feel like I connected well with this book. Maybe I'm just not invested in the story anymore. The writing was good, I zoomed through the book, and I feel like I got closure even if I wasn't completely sastified with the ending.
Unraveled felt very political at times and even though it's more of a dystopian/utopian story, it relates very well to current events. The release's timing couldn't have been planned better.
I preordered a physical copy of Unraveled months ago and can't wait to add it to my bookshelf.
The covers for the entire series have been absolutely gorgeous. 💖📚
I fell in love when I first read Perfected. I'm always drawn to stories about clones and genetified modified people. Maybe it's the Sci-fi of it all. Unraveled was a conclusion I feel like I've been waiting years for. It was one of my most anticipated 2018 books.
I didn't exactly love the conclusion to the story but I also didn't hate it. I just didn't feel like I connected well with this book. Maybe I'm just not invested in the story anymore. The writing was good, I zoomed through the book, and I feel like I got closure even if I wasn't completely sastified with the ending.
Unraveled felt very political at times and even though it's more of a dystopian/utopian story, it relates very well to current events. The release's timing couldn't have been planned better.
I preordered a physical copy of Unraveled months ago and can't wait to add it to my bookshelf.
The covers for the entire series have been absolutely gorgeous. 💖📚
April 6, 2018
Unraveled is action-packed and fast paced. Wonderful ending to a fantastic series. Everything in the first two books is coming to a head so it's very suspenseful and intriguing. The main character, Ella, has done a lot of self discovery and growth throughout the series. I felt more connected to her struggles than ever and was glad to see her taking action in this one. There was a loss in this one that surprised me, although I guess it shouldn't have. I was always anxious to find out what was going to happen next and therefore found this a very quick read. I liked that it was a bit darker and more gritty than I originally thought the series would be. It's hard to talk about this one book without thoughts of the entire series leaking through but I really did enjoy each book on it's own and the series even more as a whole. It's dark and compelling with some action and romance too. I definitely recommend this series to those who enjoy a dark YA dystopian read.
** I received this book from Entangled Teen through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it. **
** I received this book from Entangled Teen through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it. **
May 23, 2018
I originally picked up this series when the first book came out and when I saw this book 3 I was happy to see there was a continuation. In all honesty, it had been a while since I read the second book so I did have to go back to remind myself where it left off. With that said, I was glad I did pick it up. I enjoyed diving back into this world and seeing what was going on with the characters. There is plenty of action, deception, and danger in this installment and if you are interested in picking up a dystopian that will keep you wondering what will happen next, consider checking this series out.
March 27, 2018
I received this eARC in exchange for a fair review.
I really enjoy this series! There are so many great and relevant issues addressed in these books, hidden inside the contemporary/dystopia style writing. Ella is such a strong character and I admire her determination to do what is right even when faced with just doing what is easy. It was actually good to see her come into her own away from Penn; he’s a great person for her, but she needed to see she can also do things on her own. My only qualm is that it is such a short read; I’d have happily read along for another 100+ pages.
I really enjoy this series! There are so many great and relevant issues addressed in these books, hidden inside the contemporary/dystopia style writing. Ella is such a strong character and I admire her determination to do what is right even when faced with just doing what is easy. It was actually good to see her come into her own away from Penn; he’s a great person for her, but she needed to see she can also do things on her own. My only qualm is that it is such a short read; I’d have happily read along for another 100+ pages.
July 1, 2019
My only complaint is that they never aderess the fact that she wanted to find her mother. They never mention her after tarnished.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2023
The not so thrilling and to a book that literally only has four characters at best most scenes. Mediocre romance that should be labeled horror concludes in this final book.
What are my thoughts upon this mess, however?
It has been 9 days since Missy gave herself up, she's still the superior character and Ella is still shaming her with a little bit of Marcus sass on the side. I feel all of my emotions go towards Missy and none go towards ella. I could not care if Ella got thrown in a meat grinder in this book. That's a great example for how bad this writing is: it has made me not care about the main character so much that I am worried about the only other character this book has shown me that isn't the owner of Ella. The other pet who is barely a character.
#JusticeforMissy
Despite all of these slavery moments the fact that they're all abused, the dead babies, the fact that these guys will be killed if they are caught. None of this matters to our main character. LOL thanks that everybody should be scared and maybe we shouldn't killed these people who are committing to eugenics and murder. She sees the mess still alive. I wanted to be angry but honestly I felt my eyes rolling into my head too much to be mad.
She's spirals into the state of wondering if maybe the people who are creating all these pets and forcing parents to watch their children die, as well as killing imperfect babies are the good guys. And my eyes were already rolling but now they were narrowed and mad. It's bad. This is bad!
I don't know how to word it. There's just so many books that have made me disgusted, angry, bored, so many emotions but this book.
This book is stupid. Stupid. It's so stupid.
Missy has been kidnapped for nine days and a pairs to be sitting in the same seat/cage for the last week and a few days, waiting for some form of rescue. My immersion has been dead for a long time, but for some reason this stood out to me and bothered me more than the rest of the book. We can have our dumb protagonists think what if we're the bad guys. We can have our dumb protagonist side with the bad guys. We can have our dumb protagonist hesitate to kill the bad guys. But to tell me that they just waited nine days while somebody was strapped to the cage and not moved around. I can't. I cannot with this book.
There are characters dying left, right, and sideways.
We barely had any characters to begin with. And I'm supposed to believe all of this is happening and our main character just left them waiting and they just sat there. What is this book supposed to be?
It's listed as a romance, but I haven't found any romance in it.
What the fuck?
So Ella explodes everyone and kills Missy because she decided to put a gun down earlier. Except, the guy she blows it up to kill. That guy. He's still alive. So what was the point? So Missy could just die. So basically, they decide to take him to court. And even though they blew all this stuff up and nothing came of it, they taking the court and win. And this one guy is responsible for the last thirty years of human pets. And they realize human pets are still human. Grand finale everyone.
Still 0 stars. It almost became half a star but then the bomb scene happened and the magical flash drive scene. I'm so done with this.
I expected just a hint of soul. It was not delivered.
What are my thoughts upon this mess, however?
It has been 9 days since Missy gave herself up, she's still the superior character and Ella is still shaming her with a little bit of Marcus sass on the side. I feel all of my emotions go towards Missy and none go towards ella. I could not care if Ella got thrown in a meat grinder in this book. That's a great example for how bad this writing is: it has made me not care about the main character so much that I am worried about the only other character this book has shown me that isn't the owner of Ella. The other pet who is barely a character.
#JusticeforMissy
Despite all of these slavery moments the fact that they're all abused, the dead babies, the fact that these guys will be killed if they are caught. None of this matters to our main character. LOL thanks that everybody should be scared and maybe we shouldn't killed these people who are committing to eugenics and murder. She sees the mess still alive. I wanted to be angry but honestly I felt my eyes rolling into my head too much to be mad.
She's spirals into the state of wondering if maybe the people who are creating all these pets and forcing parents to watch their children die, as well as killing imperfect babies are the good guys. And my eyes were already rolling but now they were narrowed and mad. It's bad. This is bad!
I don't know how to word it. There's just so many books that have made me disgusted, angry, bored, so many emotions but this book.
This book is stupid. Stupid. It's so stupid.
Missy has been kidnapped for nine days and a pairs to be sitting in the same seat/cage for the last week and a few days, waiting for some form of rescue. My immersion has been dead for a long time, but for some reason this stood out to me and bothered me more than the rest of the book. We can have our dumb protagonists think what if we're the bad guys. We can have our dumb protagonist side with the bad guys. We can have our dumb protagonist hesitate to kill the bad guys. But to tell me that they just waited nine days while somebody was strapped to the cage and not moved around. I can't. I cannot with this book.
There are characters dying left, right, and sideways.
We barely had any characters to begin with. And I'm supposed to believe all of this is happening and our main character just left them waiting and they just sat there. What is this book supposed to be?
It's listed as a romance, but I haven't found any romance in it.
What the fuck?
So Ella explodes everyone and kills Missy because she decided to put a gun down earlier. Except, the guy she blows it up to kill. That guy. He's still alive. So what was the point? So Missy could just die. So basically, they decide to take him to court. And even though they blew all this stuff up and nothing came of it, they taking the court and win. And this one guy is responsible for the last thirty years of human pets. And they realize human pets are still human. Grand finale everyone.
Still 0 stars. It almost became half a star but then the bomb scene happened and the magical flash drive scene. I'm so done with this.
I expected just a hint of soul. It was not delivered.
April 3, 2018
Unraveled is the conclusion we've all been waiting for. It's been a few years since the last book came out and I wasn't sure if I'd have trouble getting back into the mindset for this. I remember really enjoying the first book. Mainly because it was so demented and twisted. I mean, humans who are bred for the sole purpose of being someones "pet" is pretty messed up. So, I was really looking forward to seeing how everything unfolded in the end.
Ever read a story where you have no idea who the bad guy is until the moment it's revealed, leaving you with your jaw on the ground? Well, that was not this story. From the moment I met this traitor I had their number. I mean, it was so blatantly clear that I can't believe no one caught on. Not to mention that when their first mission ends up in an explosion and they know someone ratted them out to the enemy, why do they continue to have open discussions among their group?! You have vital information with the place and time of a secret meeting? Why not share it with the class! This happens time and time again, and every time their well thought out plan goes way off course. But, yet they still kept discussing stuff out in the open like they were trying to come up with a theme for their science project. It just really bothered me that they knew something was up, and yet kept on chugging along like nothing was amiss.
Aside from the characters lack of intelligence, this was a good story. I mean, there's a lot of suspense, action, and you're always wondering what's going to happen next. Right from the beginning of the story we hit the ground running. Between missions, and trying to uncover where the girls are, there was just so much going on. It wasn't all just to save the girls from their evil master's either. These girls are going to be terminated and when one of their tips leads them to a slaughterhouse... "shudders:... you can't help but feel the urgency in what they are trying to accomplish. Even though there are some really dark subjects brought up, there are no actual visuals. So, you are told they are going into the slaughterhouse, you are told that a bomb blew people up, but you don't actually witness it as the reader. So if my previous comment freaked you out, you don't have to worry about it. The author doesn't really go into detail on the more darker side of things and instead glosses over it.
I thought that Unraveled was a good conclusion to the story. I thought the original concept of the trilogy was interesting... creepy, but interesting. I had a big problem with the mole in the group and how naive the people within the rebellion were. However, I was still interested to know how things played out and continued with the story. I'm glad that after all these years we finally got an ending to Ella's story.
Ever read a story where you have no idea who the bad guy is until the moment it's revealed, leaving you with your jaw on the ground? Well, that was not this story. From the moment I met this traitor I had their number. I mean, it was so blatantly clear that I can't believe no one caught on. Not to mention that when their first mission ends up in an explosion and they know someone ratted them out to the enemy, why do they continue to have open discussions among their group?! You have vital information with the place and time of a secret meeting? Why not share it with the class! This happens time and time again, and every time their well thought out plan goes way off course. But, yet they still kept discussing stuff out in the open like they were trying to come up with a theme for their science project. It just really bothered me that they knew something was up, and yet kept on chugging along like nothing was amiss.
Aside from the characters lack of intelligence, this was a good story. I mean, there's a lot of suspense, action, and you're always wondering what's going to happen next. Right from the beginning of the story we hit the ground running. Between missions, and trying to uncover where the girls are, there was just so much going on. It wasn't all just to save the girls from their evil master's either. These girls are going to be terminated and when one of their tips leads them to a slaughterhouse... "shudders:... you can't help but feel the urgency in what they are trying to accomplish. Even though there are some really dark subjects brought up, there are no actual visuals. So, you are told they are going into the slaughterhouse, you are told that a bomb blew people up, but you don't actually witness it as the reader. So if my previous comment freaked you out, you don't have to worry about it. The author doesn't really go into detail on the more darker side of things and instead glosses over it.
I thought that Unraveled was a good conclusion to the story. I thought the original concept of the trilogy was interesting... creepy, but interesting. I had a big problem with the mole in the group and how naive the people within the rebellion were. However, I was still interested to know how things played out and continued with the story. I'm glad that after all these years we finally got an ending to Ella's story.
April 6, 2018
4.5 Stars
'Unraveled' is the third and final installment in a fantastic young adult dystopian trilogy. It picks up where the second book left off and takes off. This is a fast paced story line with tons of action and suspense. I loved how quick it was - it made everything in the story seem tense and full of suspense, which only made me read faster to see what would happen next. I don't do spoilers in my reviews, so I can't say too much about the plot without giving anything away - but it's definitely a thrill ride with a nicely wrapped up ending.
I loved getting to know all of the characters on a deeper level, especially our main character and heroine, Ella. She's an amazing character and has been right from the beginning of the series. She has great traits - she's determined to make things right and get justice for what NuPet has been doing, she's strong in more than one way, and she grows a lot throughout the series. I loved feeling like I was right beside her throughout everything - the good and the bad. There's obviously romance in the book, Ella and Penn, and I adored them both separately and as a couple. They were so cute and I liked seeing their relationship grow and change throughout the series. The secondary characters were interesting and had a great amount of detail as well, and I liked getting to know each of them a little more too.
One last thing I want to mention is the writing style. The author used the first person point of view for the book, written from Ella's perspective. This is my favorite writing style and I'm so glad that she used it for this book and the series. It made connecting with Ella so easy - I immediately identified with her from the beginning of the first book and continued to until the very end. I love the first person POV because the readers gets to know the narrator on a deeper level than any of the other styles allows, which makes all the difference for me personally.
Overall, this was a fast-paced thrill ride of an ending to a fantastic series that fans of the genre should definitely get their hands on.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
'Unraveled' is the third and final installment in a fantastic young adult dystopian trilogy. It picks up where the second book left off and takes off. This is a fast paced story line with tons of action and suspense. I loved how quick it was - it made everything in the story seem tense and full of suspense, which only made me read faster to see what would happen next. I don't do spoilers in my reviews, so I can't say too much about the plot without giving anything away - but it's definitely a thrill ride with a nicely wrapped up ending.
I loved getting to know all of the characters on a deeper level, especially our main character and heroine, Ella. She's an amazing character and has been right from the beginning of the series. She has great traits - she's determined to make things right and get justice for what NuPet has been doing, she's strong in more than one way, and she grows a lot throughout the series. I loved feeling like I was right beside her throughout everything - the good and the bad. There's obviously romance in the book, Ella and Penn, and I adored them both separately and as a couple. They were so cute and I liked seeing their relationship grow and change throughout the series. The secondary characters were interesting and had a great amount of detail as well, and I liked getting to know each of them a little more too.
One last thing I want to mention is the writing style. The author used the first person point of view for the book, written from Ella's perspective. This is my favorite writing style and I'm so glad that she used it for this book and the series. It made connecting with Ella so easy - I immediately identified with her from the beginning of the first book and continued to until the very end. I love the first person POV because the readers gets to know the narrator on a deeper level than any of the other styles allows, which makes all the difference for me personally.
Overall, this was a fast-paced thrill ride of an ending to a fantastic series that fans of the genre should definitely get their hands on.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
July 19, 2019
I'm really glad I made time to read the rest of this series! I read Perfected last year, but then had to reread it before diving into Tarnished and Unraveled. I read each in about a day and a half because the pacing is great, and I HAD to know what was going to happen!
I thought the events of this book followed logically after what happened at the end of book two, and the Congressman striking back and becoming a different, more crazy person was insane. It was pretty clique that the main villain is just a guy obsessed with power, but also scary to wonder if most politicians are like him. Also, how he could do what he did to his family is just awful.
The Liberationists being framed for explosions made perfect sense in the story, and I thought the way things escalated was a great buildup! I love how Ella became an even stronger character willing to do whatever it takes to bring the congressman down and free the other pets. She doesn't only function with Penn around; she can function without him too, and I think that was important for her to learn about herself.
Penn seems so generic a character, and while it was sweet how much he loved Ella, I also thought it unrealistic for him to be so devoted to her at the expense of his family and his life's original goals. He gave up everything to be with her while she was trying to save the other pets, but he was only doing it for her, not for any empathy for them that I could detect. I only point this out to say, Ella is definitely the star of this series, with Penn only being a supporting character in my opinion. However, I did like the extra scenes from his point of view at the end, and if those had been interspersed throughout the series, I may have cared about him more.
Two characters that really grew on me through the series were Missy and Elise, and I'd say their development were some of the best surprises (besides Ella's).
I thought the events of this book followed logically after what happened at the end of book two, and the Congressman striking back and becoming a different, more crazy person was insane. It was pretty clique that the main villain is just a guy obsessed with power, but also scary to wonder if most politicians are like him. Also, how he could do what he did to his family is just awful.
The Liberationists being framed for explosions made perfect sense in the story, and I thought the way things escalated was a great buildup! I love how Ella became an even stronger character willing to do whatever it takes to bring the congressman down and free the other pets. She doesn't only function with Penn around; she can function without him too, and I think that was important for her to learn about herself.
Penn seems so generic a character, and while it was sweet how much he loved Ella, I also thought it unrealistic for him to be so devoted to her at the expense of his family and his life's original goals. He gave up everything to be with her while she was trying to save the other pets, but he was only doing it for her, not for any empathy for them that I could detect. I only point this out to say, Ella is definitely the star of this series, with Penn only being a supporting character in my opinion. However, I did like the extra scenes from his point of view at the end, and if those had been interspersed throughout the series, I may have cared about him more.
Two characters that really grew on me through the series were Missy and Elise, and I'd say their development were some of the best surprises (besides Ella's).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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