Matt and Rose are now full-fledged members of the guard, yet their futures have never been bleaker.
Despite Titan's resurrection spell, Antai is comatose with no signs of waking. The healers have tried everything, and Rose is beginning to lose hope. She needs someone to trust, but the king is more suspicious than ever.
Matt is also growing desperate. His mom is on the brink of death, and he hasn't even begun to learn how to heal her. He must find a teacher fast or risk losing the only family he has left.
Meanwhile, the Holy One is closer than ever. The laborers speak of his arrival, and they have the evidence to prove it. A string of murders erupts throughout the city, permeating even the palace walls. Nowhere is safe, and it's only a matter of time before the Holy One unleashes his full power.
OK there are a few cliches in this series with teens discovering secret powers & going to battle at school etc etc. But this is a really interesting world and extremely well written. Really enjoyed the first 2 books.
So this is a book that I was really looking forward to after blitzing through and loving the first one. The Dividing.
So – what did I like:
I really love the character of Rose. I was a bit worried in the middle of the text that she was losing her way a little and becoming some kind of helpless female character, however this did not last. I like that she is strong and independent, she does not wait for any kind of male savior. I love that she had strong ideals about what should happen and seems to be following through. I love that she believes in people, and can be convinced to listen.
I also love the character Matt. If you have read the first book then you will already know that he is a demon and I really love that he has the ability to really play in a morally grey area, of knowing what is right, but also knowing what he can do and what he is capable of doing. I love that he is the epitome of nuture over nature – you get to chose what it is that you want to be.
I still love the world, I like how close it is to the world outside your window, but is somehow removed. I love the detail in the adamic language and their traditions and their technology.
I love the amount of knowledge that you can see Devin has about medicine and religion, and that that really comes through in his characters. This makes it really fascinating, and real.
The plot – the story, it really draws you in and I loved being there with the characters – I genuinely look forward to book three.
I loved the way the main characters were able to see through or past the class elements that were so important in their world. This was a fantastic aspect in terms of being able to show us the essence of who these characters were.
I have finally finished the book. For the longest, my rating was oscillating between 3-4 and I ended up giving a 5 because I loved it that much. I stopped lying to myself and I also changed my rating for the first book because I'm in for the long run.
My opinions about the characters are still the same. I'm still annoyed by Rose. I'm still rooted for Kendra and Matt. Zane will forever be my favorite. Vyle is...I have so many words about him and his family but whatever.
I cried and screamed. My heart raced so many times because of the twists and turns, especially at the end.
Passed the first half of the book, the pace went from 0 to 100. Real quick. And when I say real quick I meant it. I was content with how things were going and then bim bam boom, I couldn't let my Kindle go.
I couldn’t put this book down. I had to know what was going to happen next between complicated family dynamics, a love triangle (or is it a square?!), the like-able yet evil villains that have me wishing they would turn good, plot twists, ex best friend drama, and beautifully written heart ache. The fighting scenes had me on my toes and holding my breathe. There are plot twists and big reveal moments that have me yelling in my head! Overall great, entertaining read. I recommend this book to anyone who is even a little bit into fantasy, dystopian societies, romance, easy to follow action, and suspense.
The Surviving is book two in the Adamic Trilogy and was a great continuation of the story.
I love the magic system and world-building that Devin has created for this series. It’s unique, but not complicated, and you can tell a lot of time was put into that development.
The beginning felt a bit slow for me. I think it would have helped had there been more reminders for the readers as to who certain characters are, their motives, etc, but after about 35%, the pacing really picked up! (If you read book one and two back to back, you won’t have that issue at all!)
I love the dual POV in this story. I find all of the characters to be really interesting, but Matt is one of my absolute favorite characters, and his development in this book was what really made it exciting for me.
There were twists that were expected, but still felt surprising, and of course, OF COURSE, Devin made me cry once again.
Book three should be out this fall, so if you decide to pick up this series, you won’t have to wait long for its completion!
The second booking this trilogy lived up to the amazing world building of the first and the plot continuation met and perhaps exceeded expectations. I'll confess that some of the "plot twists" didn't surprise me but I didn't find myself caring. It was a solid, well-rounded book and I am looking forward to the final instalent.
3.5 Stars.. I really like the story and the characters. The writing is getting stronger as the books continue. The storyline twists are pretty predictable, but there are some surprises. All in all I am excited for book 3. I will say that the editing is bad. There are inconsistencies with descriptions, the grandfather being called the father, names being misspelled..
The world building is fenomenal and the story is flawlessly continued from the previous book. The pov being split between two characters is interesting and brings a depth to the story that really brings the world and characters alive.
Excellent story, I'm really invested now. Plenty of action and twists and turns. More errors in this one but I still enjoyed it. I NEED the next one... Like... Yesterday please
Absolutely love the pace and storytelling. Very pleased with how this one went and can't wait for the last book! The author made some really great choices and built a fantastic world here. 👏
Above a 4 but not quite perfect 5. As others said takes a while picks up more but shows different perspectives and interesting events good continuation. Recommended read after the previous if you like fantasy.
Some portions were a bit predictable. Last fight felt a little rushed, which dulled the climax. But all in all a really good read. I even pulled a quotable from it.
I loved the Dividing, and the Surviving definitely didn't disappoint. It got me out of a reading slump, so im forever grateful 😂😂
It's just so well written, keeping you hooked from page one, with interesting worldbuilding and characters. I really recommend it.
(When I reviewed the Dividing, I mentioned a tiny concern about, uhh how do I phrase this, a few lines in the book that showed questionable attitudes towards women (that makes it sound bad, it really wasn't). Well, i was being a bit overly picky so when I saw the author like the review I was mortified. Sorry!! Anyway, just wanted to say that those issues were fixed, so big respect to Devin for listening !!)
Great world-building series. The world there is super tightly tied down, and the characters are ones you come to care about.
I think this author has some great things coming in the future.
I just hated to learn that (as of the date of this review) the final book in the trilogy has not been written. I like to read a series like this straight through.
I feel in love with this series when I read the first book in the series The Dividing. I couldn't wait for second book The Surviving to come out. I loved both books. The storyline is unique. I love all the characters. The heroes and the villains. The end of The Surviving was exciting and had some unexpected surprises. I am really looking forward to the release of the next book.