The Dazzling Heights

I read Katharine McGee’s first book in this series, The Thousandth Floor, in one sitting because it was so different and intriguing in concept. She created a whole world built on tech that somehow seemed improbable but doable at the same time. In one sense the technology that her characters depend on and interact with in order to make their lives work became a character unto itself especially when one of them has a quantum computer implanted in his brain. What that computer can do made me a little jealous and wishing I could have one.

If all of that wasn’t enough she ended on a jaw dropping cliffhanger that made me want to throw the book across the room because I was so on edge and now NEEDED to know what was going to happen show more next.

McGee has FINALLY taken pity on all of us and has her sequel ready; you are going to LOVE IT! In case it wasn’t obvious, you MUST read The Thousandth Floor before this one or the story continuation and a lot of the character interactions won’t make sense or have the same impact.

We obviously find out what happened post cliffhanger and honestly I was a little irritated for quite a while at how it played out. I don’t want to say too much for those who read the first one, and like me, have been not so patiently waiting to know. However, by the end I felt much better at how things were handled because of the evolutions in the personality, sense of responsibility and so forth made me realize that what happened was obviously not okay but I was holding it up to a level of judgement that far exceeded the intentions of the character.

It is really hard not to divulge too much detail, but still talk about a main plot point which essentially the whole second book revolves around, when you don’t want to give stuff away!

Yet again McGee had me blowing through this in one sitting not just because I needed to see how this was all going to play out but she makes these people so real, the settings so interesting, the technology completely jealous for, and the intrigue of it all addicting.

This I will tell you – she ends on ANOTHER cliffhanger that feels EVEN MORE “WTH??!!” than the first. Seriously McGee are you trying to give us all heart attacks from the stress of waiting to see what happens? show less

UGH. I LOVED THIS. So much. I was apprehensive of a sequel because I remembered adoring the first so much and I didn't want to lose my love thereof, but this pulled it off really well, too. It's some sort of Gossip Girl with a few dystopian aspects leading to some fascinating class talk and some overly extravagant parties and bomb technology. It's basically everything you could ever want from a good, teeny-boppy YA! I love it! I, of course, will not go recommending it to everyone, but 10/10 to myself.

Oh how I love all the juicy drama!

I forgot how much fun this world was until I picked this one up. It felt like I never left and immediately got sucked into the lives of all the characters. I always love series were you follow multiple characters. I'ts always interesting to see how your opinion on you favourite and least favourite characters change as the novels progress.

I did find that this one lagged a bit in the middle. I know that this is the middle book so you have those slower moments naturally. But the start and the end are so strong that I truly enjoyed every moment of this book!

Check out more spoiler-free book and series reviews on my blog SERIESousBookReviews.com as well as read book series recaps!

Full Review: show more target="_top">https://wp.me/p7hLUw-1KX
Actual Rating: 4/5 show less

I think a lot of the fun of the first book was how fresh it felt. I really enjoyed all the futuristic fun. I enjoyed that here too but the newness factor was gone.
So, more focus on the characters I think.

The star crossed lovers might be too much for my taste. The author did find a believable reason for why a relationship would be controversial even a hundred years from now. It worked lol I'm not totally sure about these two together either.

I enjoyed the storylines of Rylin, Watt, Leda and Cord more.

*Ok this is a spoiler only if you haven't read the first book*
How did Leda still not know the truth about Eris? It was in the obituary and also where she was buried

Final thoughts, assuming this is a trilogy. I will read book three but I show more won't run out and buy it the day it's released like I did with this book. show less

Since I guess I’ve resigned myself to continue reading this until the bitter end I thought about giving my brain a cast of characters:
Mariel - Rosa Salazar
Eris (I know she’s only there in memory but still) - Katherine McNamara
Avery - Dove Cameron
Leda - Amandla Stenberg (tbh I hated how she was always cast for every YA book mixed girl role out there but funny enough I couldn’t picture someone else like Zendaya or Yara Shahidi)
Atlas - Austin Butler (I figured he had to be ridiculously hot if everyone and their mom was drooling over him)
Watt - Avan Jogia
Calliope - Hailey Baldwin (lol I know)
Rylin - Eva Noblezada
Cord - Logan Shroyer (I had to google his name but my brain kept telling me ‘that one guy that plays teen Kevin’ on This show more is Us ahahaha)
Because I’m too lazy to write a review I’ll just write my thoughts when I was reading: Is this really going to be the exact same story as the first book? Oh boy…let me get a drink. So….Calliope is the next goner?…Travis…Atlas?? The only thing that would surprise me is if Avery dies HA. Calliope has sympathy for my homegirl Leda…I still don’t like her lol. GO RYLIN… HAHAHAHa called it. Leda Cole deserves better…so does Watt for that matter…Oh no. Geez why is Atlas so attractive to everyone? Older Anderton is right he is boring. I totally forgot the dude’s name ha…I AM HERE FOR THIS. I’ll spare you any spoilers from here on out.
No one really develops. It’s just a bunch of girl drama over the homicide of Eris, and I know it sounds so flippant the way I’m describing it but it’s true. There is not a single female relationship that sounds genuine. At least there’s no slut shaming this time around. I’m still not into Avery and Atlas’ relationship, it’s just weird and seems like pure lust. But the other relationships that turn up are just as toxic though they all have waaaay more chemistry. I’m trash, so naturally I gravitated towards those ones over the supposed main one.
The ending was really lame to the point where I rolled my eyes. I was so disappointed in the direction the author took the second book because it was cheap and annoying. It was not unexpected though.
So help me, but I’m totally going to finish this series just to see what happens to Leda because no matter what anyone says she’s totally my antihero that I want to see get out of this mess and get help. show less

Not You Average 2nd Sequel.
This sequel not leads up to the final installment, but has some great scenes of deception and lies swirling around and mixing together like cream into coffee, creating a delicious dessert. It's fun to read about rich people lying and deceiving each other

We added to the Gossip Girl roster:
Calliope = Charlie

And just like GG, she’s my least favorite character.

This is still stupid. But I will finish this trilogy so I can laugh about how absurd it is.