Great Imaginations

First off, I am so ticked over this cover redesign. Let's make these covers look like every other dystopian book out there, why don't we? A hovering body, some decrepit buildings, and a generic font. Let's ROLL! Um no. As psychedelic as the original cover or Crewel was, at least it was unique and recognizable. This was a bad switch. And I am not amused.

AS for the contents of Altered, that's a bit more impressive. Look. If you hated or remotely disliked book one, I don't recommend you reading on, because you are most likely NOT going to like book two. It's the same characters, a continuation of the same plot (with the introduction of a few new characters), and a new setting within the same world. The same crappy love triangle with Jost (ewww!) and Erik (I ship it!). 

If the wacky world building made sense to you in Crewel and you could get behind it, well it just gets even more bizarre. I loved it though. It doesn't always make sense, but the imagery sure is fun. Let me try to explain this.

There is something called The Interface. This is what Adelice ripped through when she literally fell OUT of Arras and landed below it. On top of The Interface is Arras and the weave. Below it is what remains of earth. The way The Interface was described was so amusing. I pictured it like this cross stitch pattern with all the loose and tied off threads hanging below it. So the bottom is messy, there are a bunch of strings, but it's not made of actual thread, but matter instead. (I rhymed. I win the internet.) So as Adelice is moving through this world and trying to figure out how to save her sister and Jost's daughter and escape Cormac, the sun is blocked out because of this enormous weave above her where Arras is. And earth is perpetually dark. It's interesting and pretty cool. But what I thought was odd world building before just gets weirder. There are air ships, The Hearst Mansion, immortal people, zombie-like creatures with no souls that eat flesh...it's a mixed bag. But the best part about this series is that it's never boring.

On to the love triangle because I am sure you want to hear me complain about that, except I'm really not going to. I'm not really a fan of too much angst and extra romantic-y baloney, but it WAS limited. There were some make out scenes that I eye-rolled a little at, and I am certainly no fan of Jost. He treats Adelice like garbage in this one. He's always mad and bitching at her, but they have awesome chemistry, so take the abuse, girl! LOL no. I can't stand him. I don't exactly remember how he treated her in Crewel but he acts like she is so selfish. Poor, poor, Jost. ADELICE IS JUST TRYING TO SAVE THE WORLD! But then you have Erik, who is the sweet, cocky and sexy one. I LOVE ERIK. If Adelice does not end up with Erik, I will do something drastic.

The one thing you need to know is that there is no second book syndrome here. It's exciting from the get go, though there are some moments where it slows down a bit (but nothing to make you bored). The story continues to develop and gain even more depth and mystery, and there's not nearly as crappy a conclusion as the one at the end of Altered. Wasn't that shit brutal? OMG. I have never been so frustrated with a book as I was with that one. You should have seen me. It looked something like this:

So do I recommend you read this series? I do. There is another strong woman in this one besides Adelice, and there is a whole lot of excitement. I don't like how they introduced a particular character towards the end though because it makes what is hard-to-believe world building even a bit more tough to invest in. I totally love this book, but I get why it's hard to suspend disbelief for some readers. It's a bit much. Still, there is a lot of uniqueness here and I gotta reward that. Is it time for book three yet?