Good Morning!

I hope you’re having a good start to the weekend. I have a busy schedule of editing this weekend for my Reaper sequel and am hoping to get through four chapters by end of day tomorrow. But before I get started on that, I simply had to finish the book I was reading.

This time I read The Toll, the third in Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe series.

After reading the first and second book, I simply had to finish this series and see how things ended for these great characters. So what did I think? Scroll on down, folks!

Blurb:

It’s been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.

In this pulse-pounding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.

GoodReads

The Review:

I gave this novel four and a half stars.

I have to say, this was a phenomenal ending to the series, and I am very happy I finished this series.

Continuing from the second book, a lot is up in the air. Citra and Rowan are seemingly gone, and Scythe Goddard is now in control of North Merica. With this new world order, the planet seems to be teetering on the edge of something chaotic. Can anyone stop Goddard and his insatiable lust for power and control before things get even worse?

There are so many great things about this book.

The characters, first and foremost were what really made this journey a great one. There are plenty of characters in this book, maybe technically too many, but Shusterman spins an interconnected web between them that makes each of them vital, salient to the plot. Obviously, Citra and Rowan are my favorites, and I enjoyed seeing them continue to fight for a better world. I will say that they didn’t have as much progression as they did in books one and two, but that didn’t bother me. I think they simply plateaued as people.

Greyson was probably the biggest shock for me. In the second book, he kind of came off as a poser to me, and going in I still had that feeling. But he really did grow on me and I think he had some great progression, enough to make me think at the end ‘You’re okay kiddo, you’re okay.’ I also loved Jeri’s gender fluid character. They get major kudos for bringing attention to non-binary individuals as well as some major support through this novel.

The plot was riveting. We kind of start the book with a hard reset. The way back to a better world is going to be a rollercoaster ride, and that’s exactly what we got. Mystery, action, and double crosses in spades!

I will admit that the first half of the book definitely had its slower moments, but at a certain point there’s a shift and things just keep amping up. And those last 100 pages? That’s why this is a four and a half star and not just four stars. I was blown away in those last pages. Obviously I can’t spoil it for you, but I thought I knew what was going to happen and I was so wrong! I loved the shift that happened and the ending that resulted.

Overall, this book and series are unforgettable, and it ranks right up there with Lois Lowry’s Giver series. If you like YA/Dystopian with a thoughtful twist, give this series a read!

That’s a Wrap!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!

Have you read this book before? What did you think? Do you have a book recommendation similar to this one? Feel free to share in the comments!

If you’d like to see other reviews of mine, feel free to check out the book review section of my blog or my GoodReads. You can also follow my GoodReads reviews here. There are some great binge-worthy books on there!

Have a great day!

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