Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Review: Until the Beginning


Until the Beginning (After the End, #2)Author: Amy Plum
Series: After the End, #2
Released: May 5th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 336 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Amazon


When Juneau's clan disappeared, she lost so much more than her friends and family. She soon discovered everything she thought she knew about her life was a lie. Her people's gifts were actually secret abilities that others wanted, desperately enough to kidnap an entire village.
Juneau and her new companion Miles's cross-country journey to find her clan has led them to a game preserve in New Mexico. Now Juneau's people are finally within reach, and she will stop at nothing to save them. But she has a target on her back too, because unbeknownst to her she is the key to unlocking everything. To rescue her people - and herself - Juneau must discover what she, and her abilities, are truly capable of.

Amy Plum, one of my most trusted YA authors, has apparently reached new heights. Her Until I Die trilogy has a very special place in my heart, but After the End is in a completely different category. With its imaginative worldbuilding and heroes we can admire and adore every step of the way, this duology is really every reader’s dream come true.


In this second part, Juneau and Miles are outnumbered and outgunned. They have enemies on all sides and very few resources, but for Juneau, abandoning her clan simply isn’t an option. Plans need to be made and battles need to be fought, and Juneau’s sense of honor and responsibility through it all is stupendous.

Oddly enough, Until the Beginning is a bit slower than After the End. It is a different book, focused more on Juneau’s introspection and crisis of faith. With everything she thought she knew about her world gone, Juneau has much to consider and make some very difficult choices for herself. Miles also faces some enormous changes and although the struggles with them somewhat, he quickly takes them in stride, as is his way. Unlike Juneau, he is more ‘go with the flow’ kind of guy, which is certainly an advantage when your world shifts from one second to the next.

Their relationship develops beautifully in a very short time. There is a true friendship and companionship between these two, followed by deep and honest trust. When you have all that, love follows not far behind, and even though it happened in mere weeks, theirs was a connection I believed completely.
There’s not much to do except wholeheartedly recommend this duology to all of you. Amy has shown us that her imagination knows no bounds and that she’s an author with so much to offer. I’m willing to bet that we’ll be getting many incredible stories from her, and all those updates about her life in Paris certainly don’t hurt either.

If you have yet to meet Juneau and Miles, make sure to do so as soon as you can. From Alaska to Nevada, their adventure will leave you breathless.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.


17 comments:

  1. Sadly, I've never read anything by Amy Plume but I do have one of her books on my shelf. I swear I'll get to it someday. This series sounds amazing btw.

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  2. I haven't read this series yet (surprise, surprise). Mostly because I didn't quite enjoy her debut. Ever since then, I haven't had the motivation to pick up her books. I'm glad she's a favourite of yours, Maja!

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  3. This recently just came onto my radar, and my husband is reading book one right now and really liking it. I might listen to the audio version of both books (they're at my library, yay!) I don't want to read this review and spoil the first book, but I'm happy to see your 4 stars, Maja. I read the description of the first book and it sort of reminded me of The Village the movie by M. Night Shamalyan (spelling ?).

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  4. Ah this author... I have the first book of her first series but I haven't read it yet. I was curious too when I saw the release of this new series and the reviews were quite mixed so I didn't try in the end either. I should maybe.

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  5. I have heard only good things about this author, this series and that previous one

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  6. I adore Amy too and I loved After The End, and after reading your review I'm now sure without a doubt that I will love Until The Beginning once I get to reading it, hopefully soon!
    Great review Maja!

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  7. I'm so glad to hear such praise from you, Maja! This is one of my all-time favorite duologies. I completely agree with everything you mentioned about the romance. It was the perfect romance and I loved the slow build of it.
    Beautiful review, Maja!

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  8. I haven't had a chance to read this author yet (I have Die For Me on my shelf), but this duology sounds really good!

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  9. I really didn't connect with the first book even though I really wanted to so I'm so glad that this was a much better read! Great review Maja!

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  10. I have yet to read a book by Amy but I love a good duet and from what I've heard, this certainly is one. I'll definitely be picking this up soon--pretty sure I have both the ARCs of this one and its predecessor somewhere back home!--so I hope to enjoy this as much as you did, Maja! :)

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  11. I've read her before, but not this duology. The MC sounds compelling, which is a high selling point with me. I also have a soft spot for romances done the right way, as this one appears to be. I want to read this. Excellent review :)

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  12. I know you are a big fan of this author, and I have the first book of this series on my kindle. I have no idea why I haven't read it yet. sigh....

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  13. I read and enjoyed the first book in this series but I guess I forgot so much that I wasn't sure if I would continue. Now that I read your review I know I really do need to! Wonderful review!

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  14. Awww, it somehow warms my heart a lot to know that these two have gone such a long way since the series first started, and that before love, there is friendship, companionship, and trust between them. Those three are so important in romances. I don't mind if it happens in a short while as long as it's not insta love with no real foundation for their feelings to stand on.

    Faye at The Social Potato

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  15. Ooo I need to get my hands on this. I read the first one and enjoyed it.

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  16. For one, yay for a duology versus a trilogy! Interesting how this second book is a little slower than the first (not that it's a bad thing just different).

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  17. Unfortunately, I had to put After the End aside because I was pretty bored while reading it and so won't check this one out, but I'm glad that it met your expectations, Maja. I'm looking forward to seeing what Plum writes next though; hopefully, I'll connect with it more.

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