Shield (Spark, #3) in The Spark Army

Sep 19, 2016 Jananee (headinherbooks) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016-reads

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The Rating: 4.5 / 5 Stars

Shield was one of the strongest conclusions to a trilogy that I have ever read - an emotional and thrilling end to an already brilliant series. The great thing about these books is that they read very much like a movie, there isn't a dull moment in them and because of that, they make great binge read material. Which is me trying to justify that I read both Stray and Shield over the span of 24 hou For more reviews, check out my blog --> www.headinherbooks.wordpress.com

The Rating: 4.5 / 5 Stars

Shield was one of the strongest conclusions to a trilogy that I have ever read - an emotional and thrilling end to an already brilliant series. The great thing about these books is that they read very much like a movie, there isn't a dull moment in them and because of that, they make great binge read material. Which is me trying to justify that I read both Stray and Shield over the span of 24 hours. Moving along...

Rachael Craw continued to utilise her magic combination of characters, world building and plot to create a fantastic story in Shield. These books are strong because of the fact that Craw doesn't rely on just one element to drive the story, but instead wields all of them with impressive deft. We continue to learn more about the roots of Affinity and the histories of the characters introduced in Stray whilst simultaneously witnessing the impact that the ending of the second book had on all our characters.

This book focused more on the political aspects of Affinity and whilst that was super interesting (evil corporations usually are), it was not as high-paced and action packed as the second book (which, thinking back, was probably beneficial because I don't think my emotions would have handled another battering a la Stray).

Now onto the juicy stuff: Evie and Jaime.

I talk about their relationship in every single one of the my reviews on this trilogy but Evie and Jaime's relationship was hotter than ever in this book and I cannot get enough. It may just be me, but I adore forbidden romances and the tension between Evie and Jaime hits breaking point in Shield. It is so addictive to read about, with the tension off-setted by how delightfully awkward they are around each other as they try to act like everything is normal. Also doesn't help when a certain female from Jaime's past makes a reappearance ;). Speaking of, we are introduced to a few new characters in the novel who are as complex and as interesting as all the ones we have been introduced to thus far. Davis, who I never dreamed of liking in Stray, really grew on me in Shield, exemplifying Craw's spectacular character development and writing abilities. The only point of disappointment character-wise was that Kitty was not included as much as she was in the first book, which makes logical sense considering the story arc, but I missed seeing her and Evie's interactions because their relationship was so sweet and empowering.

All in all, this was a strong concluding novel to the fantastic trilogy that is Spark. I highly, HIGHLY recommend these books to everyone - especially if you are in the market for some quality YA Sci-Fi! The world-building, characterisation and plot twists are done fantastically time and time and again and I guarantee that these are books you will be adding to your favourites lists if given the chance. ...more

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Feb 21, 2017 Kristy (Book Nerd Reviews) rated it it was amazing

This review contains does not really contain spoilers for previous books in the series.

The finale of this amazingly unique series was certainly one of my most anticipated of 2016 – for me this is a series of shallowness and depth – and I was dying to delve into both!

Let me start by explaining the shallowness. I am happy to admit that I am rather superficial when it comes to this series, and the fault lies in equal parts to the publisher, the author and me. The first of the shallowness is the cov ...more

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Aug 25, 2016 Alex M rated it it was amazing

Managed to get a hold of this book (bit earlier than what I think was the release date - oops!) today and absolutely devoured it. It was a satisfying end to an excellent trilogy. Although I am feeling a post-book depression I cannot wait to see what Rachael Craw writes next!

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Jan 23, 2018 Sophia rated it really liked it

So I finally got around to setting a day aside to read this book and honestly I wasn’t disappointed. I just love the detail and the intricacy of the story, and all I can say is that I’ll be severely disappointed if someone doesn’t go on to make this incredible series into films. I’d love to see Craw’s deeply descriptive visuals come to life on the big screen!

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