Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano

May 11, 2014 Vicky Marie rated it liked it

Shelves: dystopian

WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO THE COVERS!?

After reading

After waiting a year for the second installment of the Internment Chronicles I'm sad to say it was a complete disappointment. The plot went almost nowhere. Instead of a journey into a new world, Morgan and friends are left to stay in a hotel pretty much the entirety of the book. I wanted adventure, to discover what secrets the ground below held. What we get is pages with Morgan and Pen sneaking out at night with their new friend to get wasted. The ...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Hannah (The Curiouser & Curiouser) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-favorites, favorite-author, i-want-to-eat-the-writing, genius-heroine, dystopian, my-brain-is-happy-dancing

UHHHHHH . . .

Dat cover . . . WHHHYYYYYYYYY?????

HOW could they think the original type of cover wasn't perfect?!

Firstly, now my copy of Perfect Ruin is not going to MATCH with the rest of the series.

Secondly, the original cover was perfect!!!! It is still one of my favorite covers. So beautiful . . .

But NOOOO . . . they have to mess with beautiful things.

Check out my blog, where I also review and rant over YA books:http://obsessivereads.wordpress.com/

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Jan 13, 2014 Rayne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, romance, love-triangle, between-3-and-4-stars, fantasy, young-adult, dystopian

3.5 stars

Nobody bores me quite as beautifully as DeStefano. She is a very talented writer and her lyrical prose is absolutely mesmerizing. Her writing pretty nearly makes up for 300+ pages of almost comatose inactivity because it is simply a delight to read her words, to see the way she strings sentences together and creates the most beautiful of images almost effortlessly. Even after losing the intrigue that made the first book in this series, Perfect Ruin, a hit with me, I was riveted by the w 3.5 stars

Nobody bores me quite as beautifully as DeStefano. She is a very talented writer and her lyrical prose is absolutely mesmerizing. Her writing pretty nearly makes up for 300+ pages of almost comatose inactivity because it is simply a delight to read her words, to see the way she strings sentences together and creates the most beautiful of images almost effortlessly. Even after losing the intrigue that made the first book in this series, Perfect Ruin, a hit with me, I was riveted by the way in which DeStefano developed her characters in this one, the way she presented this new world and the decisions she made regarding the relationships between the characters. Sadly, at least for me, that still leaves a fairly repetitive and uneventful book that felt like it lasted forever. I understand the need to give these characters a chance to develop and become the people they need to be for the next book, but, quite frankly, I was bored with the novel most of the time.

This novel is very different from Perfect Ruin in almost every aspect, maybe not in most of its elements, but definitely in what they focus on and that made a marked difference in my reading experience. In the first novel, the mystery and intrigue behind the story, the beautiful contradiction between the technological and modern aspects of this monarchic, deeply religious island in the sky, and the sensitivity and thoughtfulness of the main character, made Perfect Ruin an enthralling read that defeated my every protest about the plot. Many of the same elements find a place in the sequel, but to a much smaller scale. There's also a mysterious, inconsistent world, but it is not explored as much as Internment was, and in spite of having a few elements to it that were pretty fascinating, those didn't play into the actual plot in the novel quite as much as the elements of Interment did. Moreover, the world wasn't explored all that much or figured that prominently in the way the story was told. Certain elements of it were highlighted, and enough details were given to pique my interest, but they never built together anything concrete or that satisfied my curiosity. There is not much of a mystery behind this world, either. There's some intrigue, but it is not unpredictable or all that hidden in the novel, and it has a lot more to do with what can potentially happen in the next book.

Morgan's still a great narrator, but her voice wasn't as compelling in this one, mostly because there wasn't all that much plot-wise for her to contemplate, and the way she saw the rest of the characters turned somewhat repetitive. What became evident to me about Morgan in this novel is that, by herself, she's not a very interesting character. Actually, she's almost a blank slate of a heroine, and she is defined almost exclusively by the people around her and what they say and think of her. In this novel, Morgan had a lot of time to think for herself and by herself, and it wasn't nearly as engaging as when she had others around her to buoy her characterization. She's a fantastic narrator because DeStefano is a magnificent writer and because she's a lot better at defining others than at defining herself and making her character stand out. I know being quiet and slightly unremarkable is part of her characterization, but she's too much of an observant when she should be an active participant in her own story.

I liked how DeStefano played with the characters, the new dimensions she gave them, how alliances shifted, friendships weakened while others flowered, and how she twisted around the romance angle. I didn't see that last one coming, and it was an interesting way to play up the tired love triangle angle, as well as a way to develop the characters involved and throw some light on some things we might've missed about those relationships in the first novel. The new characters introduced were certainly intriguing and they did add to the story and the characters we'd met before, becoming a natural fit into the group dynamic, but even though she did a commendable work with all of the aforementioned, the fact still is that those things took over the story and left the actual plot stagnant.

Truth be told, there wasn't much of a plot in there. There was a general idea guiding the story, but it didn't factor in until the last third of the novel, where it gave the novel a rather abrupt ending. This one is a very slow-moving read, compelling in a strange way, but still almost uneventful. I do like the thoughtful and measured way in which DeStefano moved her characters here, and truth be told, this is a really good novel, but because of how different the take in this one was from the first novel, and how stilted the development of the entire novel was, I was left feeling unfulfilled and that ultimately had a lot of weight on how I rated this novel.

I still think this is a good novel, maybe not the strongest sequel, but definitely a really fantastically executed product that just focused its attention on some areas in particular, and did a great job at it, while relegating others to the background, some of which I think it could've benefited from. Slightly predictable, vague and confusing sometimes, I think the novel needed a bit more tightening up with the world-building and the development of the main plot removed from the main characters. It was slow-going, but I did enjoy the novel, even if it did not live up to my expectations entirely. In spite of everything, I'm still eagerly looking forward to the next book. ...more

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Oct 15, 2014 Victoria Scott rated it it was amazing

How I love this book! Let me count the ways:

1) The return of characters I adore.

2) A fresh, new world and plot. No second book syndrome here!

3) Reveals that broke my hearts (in a good way).

4) Romantic tension that sizzles.

5) The dreamy, lyrical writing DeStefano is famous for.

6) Beautiful endings that leave you feeling complete, yet wanting more.

GIVE ME THE LAST BOOK!!!

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Jun 12, 2018 Rusty's Ghost Engine (also known as.......... Jinky Spring) rated it it was ok

Shelves: annoyed, that-don-t-impress-me-much, sci-fi-or-dystopia, apocalyptic

Review posted here
https://edwardsghostengine.wordpress....

After reading the first book, which set the scenes up very well, I had quite high expectations for this one. I thought at last we would have the history behind this world revealed, but we didn’t. Instead I just got a well written description of the characters everyday lives and while that may be ideal for some, it makes boring, uneventful reading for me.

I think the only real good thing here was the writing style and how the author was abl Review posted here
https://edwardsghostengine.wordpress....

After reading the first book, which set the scenes up very well, I had quite high expectations for this one. I thought at last we would have the history behind this world revealed, but we didn’t. Instead I just got a well written description of the characters everyday lives and while that may be ideal for some, it makes boring, uneventful reading for me.

I think the only real good thing here was the writing style and how the author was able to keep the reader intrigued even when not a lot was going on. It, like the first book was very well written with our MC’s feelings being fully brought to life. That’s where the good ends though, I felt hardly anything important happened in this book, at least not until the few chapters at the end. It was just pointless descriptions of the characters everyday lives in the hotel they were staying in on the ground with no revelations about the history of the world on the ground or the floating city of Internment.

Another thing I didn’t like was that most of the characters were pushed into the background with only the MC and her closest friends being spotlighted. Everyone else just felt like a dismissed extra and I will admit though that Morgan’s character was still realistic and believable, in fact everyone’s character was, I just wish the other characters had had more page time as well cause this author definitely knows how to develop her characters…

There could have definitely been more things going on in the plot and would it have really been too hard to fit in some history? Despite all this the writing still managed to keep my attention but there really isn’t much to say about this book because genuinely not a lot happens AND there was a small hint towards a future love triangle which I thought developed way too fast without any sort of build up.

I can definitely see why some would like this even though I wasn’t really impressed. Despite this I will read the last book in the series mostly out of curiosity as to how the author is going to tie everything up and what will become of both these worlds… But mostly this was a disappointing read that had a lot of potential to be exciting and informative but just fell flat throughout most of the book. ...more

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Jan 14, 2014 Tegan marked it as to-read

Shelves: gimme-now, 2014-releases

October 7th?!

I guess it could be worse...*sigh*

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Aug 30, 2014 Michael rated it liked it · review of another edition

Picking up straight were Perfect Ruin left of, Morgan and her colleagues arrival on Earth is quite the culture shock. This land is far different from what they know of there home city in the sky, Internment. What confront's them is a land of seemingly endless size, with huge oceans, black and white silent movies and no rules on who can marry who. Taken in by a hotel owner Jack Piper, who is friends with ruler, King Ingram, and his five children, Morgan and her fugitives will soon come to wonder Picking up straight were Perfect Ruin left of, Morgan and her colleagues arrival on Earth is quite the culture shock. This land is far different from what they know of there home city in the sky, Internment. What confront's them is a land of seemingly endless size, with huge oceans, black and white silent movies and no rules on who can marry who. Taken in by a hotel owner Jack Piper, who is friends with ruler, King Ingram, and his five children, Morgan and her fugitives will soon come to wonder if escaping there floating island home was a good idea after all.

Morgan is sceptical of this world she is know in, which seems to be a mishmash of 1800's western world and some modern day technologies. Her best friend Pen though is more that happy to explore the world and gets drunk on more than one occasion and befriends Jacks daughters Birdie. The outings though are not safe with a war in place between the forces of Ingram and rival King Erasmus. Bombings are a constant threat to the population but looking for fun the girls take there chances much to Lex, Thomas, Basil and Birdies older brother, Nimble's displeasure. Princess Celeste believes a diplomatic partnership can be reached on behalf of her world and Ingram's while Morgan, despite knowing the dangers of her corrupt world wan't to return. Little does she know what the king's true intentions are for them and her home land.

Overall although not being as impressed as i was with the first installment in the series, i still found Burning Kingdoms to be an enjoyable read. On the plus side is strong characterization with some great female friendships such as best friends Morgan and Pen and the unlikely development of Celeste and Morgan, who despite early resentment come to a rocky understanding. World building was something that could of been better as you can only jazz up Earth so much even if in Morgan's eyes it's one of wonder and fear. The pace is a fair amount slower in Burning Kingdoms, but this was for me at least not a problem thanks to DeStefano's beautiful layered writing. In conclusion this is a worthy follow up and sets up things nicely for what i hope will be a ground breaking ending to what has been to know, a really good series. ...more

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Apr 06, 2015 Molly rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-stars, dystopia, borrowed, ya-lit, fantasy, i-want-to-like-you, good-concept-poor-execution, meh, read-in-2015, spinning-wheels

Classic bridge book. Lots of walking and talking and *almost* revelations, and then everything wraps up with a cliffhanger. Stay tuned for book three!

What's weird is, nothing really happened in the first book either. Again, more wibbling around, talking endlessly about maybe doing something, and not until the last 50 pages does anything of note happen. Plus there's the world's most poorly thought out rebel resistance ever. We don't get much info on that front, because book two takes place exclu Classic bridge book. Lots of walking and talking and *almost* revelations, and then everything wraps up with a cliffhanger. Stay tuned for book three!

What's weird is, nothing really happened in the first book either. Again, more wibbling around, talking endlessly about maybe doing something, and not until the last 50 pages does anything of note happen. Plus there's the world's most poorly thought out rebel resistance ever. We don't get much info on that front, because book two takes place exclusively on the ground. And at first I was on board: it's like our world in the 20s. And also at war. And with a monarchy. Morgan and friends end up staying with the king's advisor Jack Piper and family at a huge, off season hotel. I'm not sure what city this was meant to emulate...obviously one near water. I'd guess New York if not for the fact that there are numerous references to the ocean. And also Internment was probably once part of a nearby archipelago, over which the king is now at war. The islands are the only source of some precious fuel-adjacent resource that could power everything, and...do you see where this is going?

As it transpires, Princess Celeste is keen to make a deal in the hopes of saving her mother (dying of "sun sickness," aka skin cancer). (view spoiler) Woe is Celeste.

I really wanted all of her sob stories to just be a way of manipulating Morgan into sharing the info about the fuel, but no, she's all sincerity. Barf. She reminds me a bit of Dinah from the Queen of Hearts series: I know I'm supposed to feel sympathy for her, but I'd like her better if she just gave in and went mad. Without Celeste, there's no real villain here. Oh sure, the country is at war, and the King is corrupt (aren't they all?), but both of those are sort of shadowy dangers at best. The plot consists mostly of a lot of sneaking out of the hotel, bonding with oldest daughter Birdie, and remarking on all of the differences between Internment and the ground. There's so much space! They have all this open space! Wow, a graveyard is such a waste of space! It felt like sort of a cheap way to get in exposition about Havalais.

Speaking of which, I wanted to know more! I said in my review of Perfect Ruin that DeStephano got around her world building problems by making the world smaller. Here, unfortunately, those problems are on full display. How is Internment more advanced than the ground? I'm not sure if I should shelve this as dystopia or fantasy. Book one was pure fantasy, but by bringing the crew to the ground (which, let's be honest, probably had to happen), DeStephano opened up a whole new set of questions she doesn't seem interested in addressing. Is this alternative history, a la Queen of the Tearling? The fashions and slang and technology all certainly evoke the 20s. But there are mermaids, so we're clearly dipping a toe in the fantasy waters here.

We're told in Perfect Ruin that Internment was created as a punishment, that the city was carved out of the ground and placed into the sky by the gods over three hundred years earlier. But Havalais is basically a tourist attraction: it features a theme park where you can pay to look at Internment through a telescope. And the people on the ground are fascinated by the sky people, but we aren't told what *their* story is for this magical floating island. Pen reads a "sacred text" that bears a great deal of resemblance to the Christian bible. And while it's been a loooooong time since I did any bible study, I'm pretty sure I'd remember a story about God creating a floating city. It's like DeStephano can't quite commit to dystopia or fantasy, so we're stuck in this sort of no man's land with no explanation for the damned island in the sky!

The final book promises a war in which Internment will play a part, but I have to wonder how many of these questions will still be left on the table at the end of the series. I like the idea, but I feel like there's not much *there* there. The concept of Internment itself could have made a nifty short story, but all of the "ground stuff," as it were, needs some work.

I still enjoy DeStephano's writing style, and while I don't hate Morgan as a narrator, I kept wishing that the story were from Pen or Celeste's perspective instead. We're beaten over the head with what a good and proper girl Morgan is, which is completely true...which is why she's not terribly interesting. She's very blah, while Pen is off self medicating with gin and Celeste is falling in love with the king's advisor's son (who (view spoiler)) and Morgan is wibbling around feeling sad and out of place. Again. Some more. She and her betrothed aren't that into each other, and she'd really rather mack on Judas, but in the end she and Basil (ugh) just sort of shrug their shoulders and decide to be together anyway. I'm certainly not complaining about the lack of romance here, but the above interaction is indicative of the kind of character Morgan is. She's like "meh" personified.

That having been said, will I be back for book three? Of course. I just can't quit you, YA trilogies! ...more

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Nov 09, 2016 Cesar rated it really liked it

4 stars

This review will contain spoilers from Perfect Ruin. You have been warned. Also some minor spoilers for Burning Kingdoms

You know, when a series is beginning to expand in the world building and exploring new places and new people, it can make a series much better. It all depends if the author manages to create a unique world with interesting characters. For some, it’s either a hit or miss. I’ve read some books where the world building is great! And other times I’ve read some books where th ...more

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Mar 12, 2015 LB rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, dystopian

2.5 / 5 stars rating

This review is also posted at http://readingnookandcranny.blogspot....

I have an interesting take on DeStefano that I developed while reading her Chemical Garden series, and this series only seems to solidify it. DeStefano is a talented writer, but she isn't a great novelist. That is, she has the words to make eloquent writing, but she doesn't seem capable of writing a plot that can keep me interested in a series. Perfect Ruin was interesting, but nothing special. It left a lo ...more

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Dec 25, 2013 Roge marked it as to-read

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COVER?

EXPECTED PUBLICATION: MAY 10TH 2015

MY REACTION

OH WELL!!!.......

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Feb 09, 2015 Stacee rated it really liked it

Shelves: edelweiss, read-in-2015

Sort of a slow start, but I really enjoyed it.

For me, it lost some of the magic Perfect Ruin had once the characters went to the ground. There are some great new characters and some sweet swoons. The ending is a bit floaty and I'm not a fan of that. I need concrete endings and now I need book 3.

**Huge thanks to Simon and Schuster and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**

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Jul 26, 2014 Lauren ✨ (YABookers) rated it really liked it

Shelves: edelweiss, highly-anticipated-2015, dystopian, owned

I received a free copy via Edelweiss for review purposes.

First Impression: I didn't enjoy Burning Kingdoms as much as Perfect Ruin. It seemed a lot slower and very much anti-climatic. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it and love the female friendships.

Review: I really enjoyed Perfect Ruin. So much so that I hadn't even finished the first one before I requested the second.

Burning Kingdoms picks up immediately after Perfect Ruin, and the gang have just had their first steps on Earth. It's different, they'r ...more

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Sep 18, 2014 Jessie Potts rated it really liked it

I liked it a lot! I think I"ll enjoy the audio version even more, I loved the narrator for Perfect Ruin and am currently reading the 1.5 installment and can't wait for 2.5!

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Dec 26, 2013 Trisha rated it really liked it

"How is it that there are two worlds - one in the sky and one on the ground - and I forever feel that I have nowhere to go?"

This was an amazing sequel. I read it in just a few hours and could not put it down. I stayed up way to late and hung on every written word.

There is a feel of the author's other series here, but just barely. This story definitely stands well on it's own. I don't know what it is, but I absolutely love Morgan and Basil. Pen and Thomas equally make me angry and everyone else ...more

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May 07, 2016 Giedre rated it it was ok

Book was quite disappointing in terms of slow development and too much unnecessary situations. I had high expectations for this book. Anyhow, last few chapters were really good so I am off to read the third installment.b

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Apr 25, 2015 Teigan Elliott rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned-books

This was a good sequel. It kept me interested the way Perfect Ruin did and I think I like it as much as the first one. Lauren DeStefano ' s writing is so beautiful and poetic, and she has some amazing quotes in her writing. She has a beautiful way with words and that makes up half the series for me so far. The other half is everything else: the character building, the relationships, the plot. I really feel like in this book I got to know Pen and Morgan so much more. Pen was becoming damaged, lif ...more

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Oct 13, 2015 Carys rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 40-book-challenge-2015

Soooooooooo, I have a lot to say about this book.

Let's just start by clarifying the reason I gave it 2 stars. The plot merited it a good solid 1, but I felt obliged to give it another because Lauren DeStefano's writing was still as beautiful as ever, despite the not-so-beautiful story.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Perfect Ruin. I thought the plot was more or less good, but it was the characters that really got me. They all felt so real and raw and exposed, and I appreciated that. Nowadays, most Y ...more

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Aug 10, 2014 Desirae added it

Shelves: dnf

6/15/2015 ---

I'm not saying I won't finish it, but I've been trying to get past chapter three for nearly four months, so...

on hold for now...

I do feel like Lauren DeStefano has lost her creative edge, and she's trying way too hard to be like other contemporary YA authors by creating series with ideas that have already been done.

Thoughts from before I started reading, way back when I was excited to read this ---

First the freakishly long wait after book 1's publication, and now the cover design ...more

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Oct 16, 2014 Brandi Kosiner (Brandi Breathes Books) rated it liked it

I wanted to read Burning Kingdoms because I enjoyed the characters in the first book and wanted to know what happened to them.

Karen at For What It's Worth and Mary at The Book Swarm occasionally post twitter-style reviews. Karen calls hers Short and Tweet, and I am going to borrow that review style here.

Tweet Review:

Slow at times, but still featured the characters I love and introduces new ones. Will be continuing.

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Jan 17, 2017 Amanda Leon rated it did not like it

Shelves: series, small-towns, historical-fiction, read-in-2016, read-in-2017

Incredibly dull and dragged the entire way throughout.

Check out my review for the other installments in the series here.

If you like my reviews, check out my beauty and book blog, ReadsByAmanda.com! Thanks for reading! :)

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Dec 26, 2013 Amy Williams rated it it was amazing

lol just finished the fist book like two hrs ago, so i was searching for the second book online only to find it didnt come out yet.... haha

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Oct 03, 2013 Alexa rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015-publication, fantasy, i-cried

Lauren DeStefano weaves magic with her words, is what she does. I am seriously so in awe of how eloquent she is. Her writing style is simply so smooth and beautiful, nothing else — no one else — can compare.

We collect a few stares from passersby, but they mean nothing. We are young and enchanted and clattering with beads. We are untouchable.

“We can't be kings,” I tell her. “We're girls.”
“So what, we're girls?” Pen says. “We can be anything we want, and tonight I want to be a king of this mad wor

...more

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May 10, 2017 Cassie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-read

3.5 Stars

Why the cover change?? The cover for the first book was beautiful... these covers for the 2nd and 3rd make no sense to me, but whatever, it's what on the inside that counts most of all.

So.... this book. I was thrilled to go back into this world, even though throughout the whole book as a whole I dealt with some issues. I will admit, when I started the second book I had some HIGH expectations. Such as, Morgan having more personality, the world on the ground being developed more and descr 3.5 Stars

Why the cover change?? The cover for the first book was beautiful... these covers for the 2nd and 3rd make no sense to me, but whatever, it's what on the inside that counts most of all.

So.... this book. I was thrilled to go back into this world, even though throughout the whole book as a whole I dealt with some issues. I will admit, when I started the second book I had some HIGH expectations. Such as, Morgan having more personality, the world on the ground being developed more and described, etc. But let's start off with this, DeStefano's writing is simply memorizing and in this book I came to really appreciate it. The way she had described people and things going on, was absolutely stunning. But even with it, the MC Morgan still lacked personality and depth, to me at least. I can say she is slightly better in this book than in the first one, but still she seems SO flat to me. Maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to when I think about it, to describe her personality aloud. While on the other hand, Pen is still my favorite character, she has spunk and confidence.

Here comes the biggest issue I had with this book, it literally had no action for most of it, instead being a lot of dialogue. Plus, you never really get a clear picture of what the world on the ground really looks like, I've tried numerous times to picture what the map would look like in my head, and I've come to blanks every time. I literally have no idea what the heck it is supposed to look like. The only action was basically when Birdie, Pen, and Morgan went out at night. And that brings me to another thing I can't seem to fathom. Pen and Morgan's friendship. I'll be frank here, and before I state this, please do not think I'm against homosexuality, I support those who are part of that and I see them as equals. BUT PEN AND MORGAN SEEM TO NOT JUST 'Like' EACH OTHER AS FRIENDS. So many times in this book it seemed like they were more in a relationship with each other rather than the people they are betrothed to. And then that whole thing with Morgan and (view spoiler). I mean I secretly ship that, but still?! Amy and Judas, and especially the professor had basically no role in this book! Nothing of importance happened at all to them, and they were basically never mentioned unless the author just decided to plop them in at random scenes. I was annoyed with this because those three are higher up on my favorite characters in this trilogy rather than the MC herself!

The reason this book got 3.5 stars from me instead of 2.5 (which I was originally thinking of doing up until the last chapters) was because in the last 50 or so pages it started to get real and had a lot of action and plot. I will of course continue this only because I NEED to know what happens, but compared to other series/trilogies I've read that are dystopians, these books fall a little short. Which is sad, since I believe this could have been probably one of my favorites, considering how much I seriously LOVE this world even with its faults. ...more

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Jan 18, 2017 pdbkwm rated it it was ok

Can't say that I'm surprised, but I'm still surprised that this happened again. Lauren DeStefano creates great stories that immediately pulls you in, but this is the second time she's written a subpar second book despite the fact that the first one was so good.

In Burning Kingdoms, Morgan and her band of merry men and women have escaped their magical island in the sky and landed on the ground. Before they have a chance to do anything noteworthy, they’re immediately whisked away to a hotel. The ho ...more

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Mar 15, 2015 Shanti rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, write-faster-author, book-is-better-than-beautiful-cover, fangirl-worthy, made-me-cry, reviewed, yes, fabulous, fantasy-realms, fighting

This book was almost entirely perfect. I love it deeply. Now I want to read Wither- is it good? I also can't believe that I have to wait AN ENTIRE YEAR FOR A SEQUEL. Seriously, Lauren DeStefano how could you do this to us? *fangirls intensley* aside from EVERYTHING The characters, setting plot, dialogue and characters and concept and honest portrayal of war made me love this with all my little heart and it gets a five star.

So, lets start with characters. I liked Pen a lot more this time. I r

This book was almost entirely perfect. I love it deeply. Now I want to read Wither- is it good? I also can't believe that I have to wait AN ENTIRE YEAR FOR A SEQUEL. Seriously, Lauren DeStefano how could you do this to us? *fangirls intensley* aside from EVERYTHING The characters, setting plot, dialogue and characters and concept and honest portrayal of war made me love this with all my little heart and it gets a five star.

So, lets start with characters. I liked Pen a lot more this time. I really got where she was coming from, and I loved her curiosity. I also loved the reveal close to the end (view spoiler) Thomas was also really well built into the story. I felt sad that Basil took a backseat here, and so did the professor. All of the Piper kids, especially Birdie and Nim were fabulous and complex, and their father was an antagonist. Celeste was also developed much more- I enjoy seeing her assertiveness and willingness to make decisions, but enormous vulnerability at the same time. (view spoiler) Lauren dealt a hand of many different characters here, but they all developed and I loved seeing their backstories.

And then there is Morgan. A couple of times her voice felt a little isolated, but apart from that her narration continued to be a high point for me. She really grew as a character. I was glad that she wasn't spared from the horrors of the earth, and she got injured but retained her faith in others while questioning her faith in in Internement and the god of the sky. Her friendships and choices were also done really, really well.

The setting of this book was delicious. Vaguely magical 1920's kingdom at war? Heck yes. There were parties and drinking and cinemas and fun and bombing and magical elements called phosphane... There are secrets and treachery that hold this world together though, and that was interesting. I liked it, actually. The different words and Internments' ex-residents exploring of the world offer an interesting means of worldbuilding. The kings are terrifying. Juck Piper is really sad. So I liked the setting, yeah.

The dialogue between the characters was really great. I felt that the authors was really true to her characters and how they think. I especially liked that one conversation between Basil and Morgan *feels* and all of the hallucinations and sadness at the harbor. Be warned: the characters in this book will break your heart more than a little bit because they are so good. I wished that Morgan would talk more to Lex, but that was the way it was and ugh I understand so much more now

I don't want to write a super long review (too late) but I'll just mention some of these things quickly
- The way that war is shown as heartbreaking and real and having an impact on real people was great. And also heartbreaking. There was pain. It was mostly my pain.
-The concept was really cool. I liked how it evolved in this book, and the isolation and friendship and emotion was PRETTY DARN AMAZING.
-The plot kept moving, kept revealing stuff kept making me feel things.. it was certainly never boring. (view spoiler)
-The prose is precise and emotional and understanding (though obviously not of my feelings) And I need a map. and a tree like they had and HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME LAUREN. *sorry*

So pretty much I loved this book a lot and you should go read it right now.

...more

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Mar 26, 2015 Abbey rated it it was ok

2.5 star rating

Burning kingdoms is the second novel in the Internment Chronicles by Lauren DeStefano. This series is a total mixture of science-fiction, adventure and even a bit of romance.

This book follows Morgan -our confused and a bit naive- protagonist who just arrived on Earth after becoming a fugitive in the only place she's ever know as home; Internment, a floating city in the sky. After escaping the (clutches, I guess you could say), of Princess Celeste and her brother Prince Azure, Mo 2.5 star rating

Burning kingdoms is the second novel in the Internment Chronicles by Lauren DeStefano. This series is a total mixture of science-fiction, adventure and even a bit of romance.

This book follows Morgan -our confused and a bit naive- protagonist who just arrived on Earth after becoming a fugitive in the only place she's ever know as home; Internment, a floating city in the sky. After escaping the (clutches, I guess you could say), of Princess Celeste and her brother Prince Azure, Morgan and her band of fugitives finally made it to the ground. But of course, it's not at all what they were expecting. Otherwise you hade no story, right?

Let's start off with Morgan. She's just a girl who's trying to keep her friends and family safe as well as her whole city. Which is pretty much like any other protagonist out there. I feel like Morgan is a very 2-dimensional character and reminds me very much of Cassia form Ally Condie's Matched. Both are betrothed to one guy, yet want to be with another. She is always looking out for someone, wether it's her brother, best friend or some other acquaintance who she meets along the way. She's just trying so hard to please everyone, which is just very exhausting to read about.

This book didn't have a very neat plot line. It's just Morgan coming to the ground, her and her friends get in fights, she confused about which boy she loves and of course she gets hurt along the way. Nothing really happened durning this book, except a few chapters near the end when Morgan and her friends find themselves in the middle of a bomb attack. The whole world on the ground was kind of confusing. They had castles and kings and wore giant dresses everyday yet, they had things like yachts and electricity and amusement parks. I do like though, how some friendships start to weaken and others develop and how DeStefano takes a different approach to the love-triangle idea. Also, the whole "King vs. King vs. other King" thing they had going on really bores me.

I went into this series without knowing anything expect the little synopsis on the inside flap, which I actually found quite enjoyable. I hadn't heard very much hype about this book, yet I still had very high hopes it. Unfortunately, this book failed to reach my expectations. I respect DeStefano as an author and a person and frankly, I love her writing style. I give her props, her worlds are very interesting and whimsical-like. Even though I found this instalment kind of boring, I found myself intrigued to find out what would happen to Princess Celeste or what would become of Morgan and Judas.

I read Perfect Ruin -the first instalment of the Internment Chronicles- a few months ago and as I reflect back on it, I realize that I didn't actually enjoy it as much as I thought. While reading both books, I became very distracted and overall, I didn't really care so much what would happen to the characters. A main character could all of the sudden die, and I probably wouldn't even blink an eye.

Let's just discuss these covers for a moment. I thought the cover for Perfect Ruins was absolutely beautiful with the drawn tree and gears and the girl who resembles Morgan's look very precisely. Then the publishers change the cover to the clay face that's cracking or even exploding if you will. The first cover was fine and I actually prefer it to the new covers. Also, the paperback version and the hardcover version of the first book don't even match, so when I bought Burning Kingdoms and both hardcover copies didn't match, I was quite disappointed.

Overall, I have mixed feeling about this book, most of which are negative. Yet, you can count on it that when the third book -Broken Crowns- comes out, I will be picking it up. Even if it takes me a week to finish it. ...more

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Feb 03, 2016 Cynthia (Bingeing On Books) rated it it was ok

Shelves: book-series

When I read the first book, it was so incredibly slow and I just attributed it to the world building that is necessary with the first book in a series. I was hoping that this one would have more action. Umm, no. That was not the case. Morgan and all of her random cohorts finally arrive on the ground and what happens? Nothing. Absolutely nothing for 60% of the book.

First, let's talk about all the people. Oh man, there were SO MANY characters. Did we really need them all? First, there was the fami When I read the first book, it was so incredibly slow and I just attributed it to the world building that is necessary with the first book in a series. I was hoping that this one would have more action. Umm, no. That was not the case. Morgan and all of her random cohorts finally arrive on the ground and what happens? Nothing. Absolutely nothing for 60% of the book.

First, let's talk about all the people. Oh man, there were SO MANY characters. Did we really need them all? First, there was the family who took Morgan and her friends in. I guess this guy ran a hotel (that was empty because of off season, thank goodness) and he was an advisor to one of the Kings on the ground. This guy had six children . . . or maybe it was seven. I really don't remember. There were so many siblings and we saw a few of them more than others. Some of the siblings were just placed in scenes sporadically. Then, we had Morgan and her friends. Let's see who we had: Morgan, Penny, Basil, Thomas, Amy, Celeste, Alice, Lex, Judas and the professor. You see what I'm saying about all the characters? And we saw way more of the new family than Morgan's friends. Alice and Lex were no shows for most of the book. Morgan would mention them occasionally and the fact that they never came out of the room. The professor refused to come out of the plane for most of the book and then when he did come out, he was not mentioned again. Thomas only showed up when Penny was acting out so he could wring his hands and try to act like he owned her and blah, blah, blah.

Okay, so now I will talk about Basil and Judas. Of COURSE this turned into a love triangle because no dystopian would be complete without it, right? Now I must have missed something with Morgan and Basil. In the last book, she kept talking about how much she loved him and how he was her best friend and then in this book, she was questioning her feelings. Judas really only showed up in a couple of scenes so that Morgan could feel some kind of spark or something. I'm glad she did because I didn't. I don't understand why her feelings for Basil suddenly changed either. It was completely out of the blue. For a large part of the book, she was wondering about the politics of the people between the ground and the sky and then all of a sudden, she started being more concerned with romance. Ugh

There was not a lot of world building with this book. I still don't understand what was going on with the ground or how America turned into it or even what time period it was. In some ways, the people in the sky were actually more advanced. And there were two kings on the ground who were at war with each other, but I didn't understand who controlled what territory.

Okay, so after about 60% of the book, a few things started happening. Up until that point, it was all romance and sneaking out and drinking and Penny's antics and stupid cattiness between Penny and Celeste. Then Morgan makes a surprise move. I thought there would be more action after that, but it took SO LONG for the consequences of her actions to be revealed. And we still don't know a whole lot. I guess we will find out in the next book. Are you confused? Because I am, for sure. I am in no rush to read the finale of this series. ...more

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Apr 07, 2015 Amanda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-read-and-don-t-own-or-like

So Morgan and her betrothed Basil, and her friends land on the ground. Once on the ground they are barely able to take in their surroundings before they are ushered into cars that come immediately after they crash land. Morgan and her friends meet Jack Piper and his five kids, Nimble, Annette, Marjorie, Riles, and Gertrude, who goes by the nickname Birdie. Why her parents would name her Gertrude is beyond me, I think Birdie is a much better fit for her. The Pipers live in a big fancy hotel, whic So Morgan and her betrothed Basil, and her friends land on the ground. Once on the ground they are barely able to take in their surroundings before they are ushered into cars that come immediately after they crash land. Morgan and her friends meet Jack Piper and his five kids, Nimble, Annette, Marjorie, Riles, and Gertrude, who goes by the nickname Birdie. Why her parents would name her Gertrude is beyond me, I think Birdie is a much better fit for her. The Pipers live in a big fancy hotel, which Morgan, Pen Thomas and Basil live in with them. I liked Nimble and Birdie the best of the Pipers five children. Nimble is a peaceful person like Morgan, and Birdie is like a bird who longs to be free of her father and his smothering hold on her. I didn't like Jack Piper at all, he is very strict and in my opinion too religious. Not only that but he has a very tight hold on his five children, which causes them to pull away from him more. Birdie acts like the perfect child in front of him, but she is just like their mother, she is curious and she is tired of living under all the pressure her father places on her. She likes to sneak out a lot at night, which she does with Morgan and Pen. They sneak off to the harbor and they go to brass clubs. They see the wonders that they've been dreaming about all their lives up in the sky on Internment. But what Morgan and her friends soon come to realize after they land on the ground, is that this is a land at war. As despicable as humans can sometimes be, they are at war over a precious substance, a substance that is in abundance on Internment. Morgan and Pen know it as sunstone, but on the ground it's called phosane. A substance that can run a city for decades. So king Ingram and another king are at war over a mine of it like the idiots that they are. In the book Morgan and her friends experience some bombings, they can't believe a kingdom would destroy one another for some rock that produces fuel. Pen starts drinking a lot more once they're on the ground, as it isn't as restricted as it is on Internment. And Morgan learns something horrifying about Pen's past that not even she suspected. You wouldn't have seen it coming because nothing indicated towards what happened. In the first book there were little signs, but you would just assume that was just how she was. After a bombing that nearly took Morgan's and Pen's life, Morgan begins to see how evil this world really is. So all in all a very good read, i didn't like the war and Jack Piper but that's it really. I don't think Jack realized how tight his hold on his children really was. He didn't realize that like with all children, the more you try to keep them close, the further away they will pull. Lex and Alice barely leave their room at the hotel, and Morgan learns a terrible secret that Lex has kept from her. I'm dying to read the third book and see where this war goes. But like all wars, it probably won't end well. I'm giving this book five stars because i really liked the characters, i would have given it four stars because of the war and the bombings otherwise. It's a very refreshing read. ...more

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Jun 12, 2013 Jennifer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: most-anticipated-books-of-2015

3.5/5 stars

Burning Kingdoms is book two in the YA dystopian The Internment Chronicles trilogy. There will be spoilers from book 1 in this review.

The narrator is Morgan (girl). She is from Internment, a floating kingdom in the sky.

It has been a really long time since I read the first book, Perfect Ruin. I read it when it first came out and really liked it. But then when the second book was only being released one and a half years later I decided to wait to read books two and three together. So th ...more

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