Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The Rycke

It just didn't grab me like the first two books. I was originally super interested in learning about the Rycke, but the book lost my interest as it progressed. The Rycke species felt like this huge build up into a species that felt kind of wishy-washy. The species just... didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense, not like others we have been introduced too.

I did like that we got to see how non-military lived in the wastes, but Ghost/Gage just wasn't my favorite character. His story didn't interest me at all. Moth, Rig, Lilac. THOSE characters have depth and are intriguing.

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wardenred's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“Wait… what’s your real name?”
After a moment, One’s face broke into a huge, beautiful grin, and I knew that was it. I was utterly smitten. Totally, one hundred percent gone for this strange, winged monster with creepy black eyes and ghostly, green-tinged skin.
“Aury,” he said.

I think my impressions on the book are a bit... patchy. I really liked the first half. Ghost and Auri were both so sweet, individually and together, and even though objectively their relationship and the development of feelings moved fast, the way it was described had a very slow-burn feel to it—exactly the vibe I enjoy. Two shy anxious individuals coming together in that gentle way? Give me more.

I also really liked the shift from "wandering around the post-apocalyptic wastelands, stopping at abandoned buildings ~~that mysteriously have water and electricity most of the time~~" to a far more community-focused story. Lots of new characters to meet here, lots of obvious set-up for future books, lots of interesting relationships in the Raiders' camp. I really enjoyed Anchor as a character and would love to get to know her more. Despite being a side character, she had an interesting arc and her struggles made me feel for her. I also liked Ghost and Rig's friendship, found myself super intrigued by Lilac, and I want to get to know Moth more.

Later in the story, though, I began to... not quite lose interest, but there were some aspects of the book I found frustrating. The Rycke as a species didn't make much sense to me, neither biologically nor psychologically nor in general. I get the idea, it's a fun and interesting idea, but the way all the bits of it were put together just felt contrived in so many ways. There are also aspects of the setting that still raise a lot of questions for me and threaten to fall apart if poked at too hard. Also, there are some things about the monsters that are getting seriously repetitive—such as, why do they never have to eat or drink? Give me a monster with a really weird food preference instead!

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fuzzywilson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I had the same problem with this book as I did with the second in the series: I cared about the relationship, but very little about the rest of the plot. So any time the story went chapter after chapter without much happening between Gage and Aury, I got bored and sort of skimmed.

Which is unfortunate because I LOVED them! Again, the tenderness and the sweetness did me in. But I don’t think I’ll be continuing with the series anymore. Soul Eater was perfect, but I haven’t enjoyed the subsequent stories to even a fraction of the same degree.

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ednam0dewannabe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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jessie_h's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

4.0

Y'all! We finally got a book featuring the Nebraska camp and it was so cute! I quickly fell in love with Ghost and just want his life to be all rainbows and sunshine from now on. Well, as much rainbows and sunshine you can get in a dystopian world. I loved Aury and was so excited to finally get more of the backstory of the infamous Rycke! Their romance was adorable and I enjoyed this book even though I called a couple of the twists before they happened! It did make me tear up in a couple places though. I'm really excited that Rig's book is next but I really, really need a Lilac book to happen soon! I'm loving this series so much!

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