A Review of Renegade by Antony John, the final book in the Elemental trilogy and a GIVEAWAY!

Hi everyone! I know I've been away for many weeks and haven't posted a whole lot, and unfortunately, after this post and another one at the end of the month, I'll probably be absent for a couple more months as work has ramped up a ton. Thanks for hanging in there with me and loyal followers will be rewarded with two great giveaways!

Goodreads book description: The finale to the dystopian fantasy trilogy James Dashner called "fantastic" has a daring escape from pirates, life-or-death rescue missions, and a heartbreaking romance.

Thom and his fellow colonists are in danger of paying the ultimate price to secure their homeland in this last book of the Elemental trilogy. After the shocking discovery that his mother is still alive and on Roanoke, Thom is determined to return to that island. However, the island is still under pirate control, and a mysterious boy in possession of a dangerous element appears. With the help of an unlikely ally and the newly discovered ability to combine elements, Thom must summon the full extent of his power to end this battle for their home once and for all.

Packed with adventure, mystery, and romance, the gripping conclusion to the series that began with Elemental and Firebrand is perfect for fans of Ship Breaker and Divergent.

Rating: 4 couches

Review:
If you've read my reviews, you know that I really enjoy Antony John's books. He has a great voice, and I'm going to pick up every book he writes. The Elemental trilogy is no exception. I remember reading the first book and being sucked into this dystopian paranormal world where everything was bleak, but yet, anything was possible. I loved the voice of Thomas and really enjoyed Alice, the fiesty sidekick and the sweet Rose, who had a lot of potential to become more than just sweet. The paranormal aspect was also fascinating and I loved learning more about it throughout the trilogy.

The second book, I also enjoyed, but because it is a trilogy, the world had to expand, and there was something about being on the island of the first that really worked for me, while this expansion didn't as much. The cast grew in numbers and I lost a sense of knowing the characters as much as I would like to. That said, Thomas and Alice and now Rose dominated the life of the story and a couple of newcomers added a great element of danger as well as intrigue.

Needless to say, I was eager to read the third book. As the first two, it was fast paced, and as promised, it is full of explosions, harrowing escapes, and a large number of wonderful reveals. I definitely enjoyed the twists and turns, and overall, I was satisfied by the ending. A lot of disparate pieces are brought together in this final volume, and I don't think readers will be disappointed.

That said, I had some issues with it that were basically the same as the second book. There were a lot of characters and a lot of parents (I guess I know now why so many parents are killed off in YA! You get YA characters + their parents and that's already tripling your character count!), and while Antony did a heroic job of reminding you of who was who, I didn't feel like their personalities were distinct enough to keep them straight. This is very difficult to do and there are only rare books with a wide cast that are able to do this (and honestly, probably have many more pages in bulk than this trilogy).

Overall, I thought this was an incredibly entertaining trilogy with a solid main cast of characters and an imaginative dystopian world. In a deluge of dystopian YA books, this world definitely stands out. Pick up your copies now!

OK now, get your chance to pick up a signed copy of any three in the trilogy, winner's choice! Sorry to my INT readers. This giveaway is for US followers only. Thank you to Left Bank Books who is donating a copy of the book for this giveaway!

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