Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

In one night, a strange explosion rocks the Empyrean—shooting them off course and delaying their pursuit of the New Horizon—and Seth is mysteriously released from the brig. Seth is the most obvious suspect for the explosion, and Waverly the most obvious suspect for releasing him. As the tension reaches a boiling point, will Seth be able to find the true culprit before Kieran locks them both away—or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? With the balance of power precarious and the clock ticking, every decision counts… every step brings them closer to a new beginning, or a sudden end… – Goodreads

I read Glow when I received it for review last year, and I adored it. I remember being slightly put off at the beginning because the characters lived in such a strange society, where teenagers could get married and everyone accepted and even pushed it. Because babies are important on a spaceship, y’all. 

Anyway, this review will contain spoilers for Glow, because Spark is a sequel and I can’t contain myself. In any case, go and read Glow if you think it sounds like your sort of thing. Like I said, I personally loved it, although it’s definitely not for everyone due to the themes involved. 

On with the Spark review…

Was anyone reading my status updates on Goodreads? If you are following me on my personal twitter account, then your whole timeline would have been filled up with my tweets as I read the last fifty pages of this novel. IT WAS AWESOME. And I went a little crazy. 

Spark picks up where Glow left off, with the girls back on the right spaceship but the adults still on the other one after being kidnapped. Kieran is still leading the ship (boo!) and Waverly is trying to lose herself in her new job as a mechanic. Seth was still in the brig, but someone lets him out and he turns into a runaway. As much of a runaway as you can be, that is, on a relatively small ship.

If you’ve read my review of Glow, or have spoken with me about the book, then you’ll know that I DESPISED Kieran in that book. He was the worst. And he still is. I still absolutely hate him, and I don’t think anything could change that. He’s still as controlling as ever, and he is NOT fit to be a leader because he makes such stupid decisions, and yet he wants to be in charge. Idiot. POWER HUNGRY MORON. Ehem. Yeah, I don’t like him at all and I want to throw him off the ship so he suffocates out there.

Waverly is as awesome as ever, though! I love that the author wrote her to be affected by her time on the other ship, because that’s not something you just get over overnight. She’s a badass, though, and definitely one of my female characters. She has MAJOR issues and flaws, which is also awesome because it means a) character growth and b) lots of interesting scenes. 

I also love Seth. I despised him at the beginning of the first book, but he really grew on me towards the end of it and I’ve come out of this one absolutely worshipping him. Well, not quite. But I do think he’s an awesome character. Again with the flaws thing. I adore the character growth he’s been put through, and there is still potential for me. He really came a long way in this book and EEP. I love him. Surprisingly, he has become the most level headed out of the three main protagonists. 

Is the third book going to be the final one? Because at the end of Spark it says “Check out the third book in the series at such-and-such a date”, but it didn’t say “the third and final book”. Does anybody know? 

If it IS the final book and this is just a trilogy, then I really hope that minimal amounts of time are spent talking about Waverly’s love for Kieran. Because no. I don’t like it, and really she should be well over him by now because he’s an ass. 

This book is action packed, and while some found the pacing to be a little off, I thought it was fantastic. It reached its peak at about 65% – 70% of the way through, like most books do, and then shit just gets crazy. 

I’m going to just leave my status updates here, because I feel they’re important.

You can also check out my initial (and insane) thoughts, which I wrote just after finishing the book. 

So. Yes. If you can’t tell already, then I do recommend this book. *happy dance* And now I just have to wait for book three.