Monday, August 28, 2017

Review: The Dazzling Heights - Katharine McGee

The Dazzling Heights
Katharine McGee
Series: The Thousandth Floor, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller/Suspense
Publisher: HarperCollins
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
New York City, 2118. A glittering vision of the future, where anything is possible – if you want it enough.

Manhattan is home to a thousand-story supertower, a beacon of futuristic glamour and high-tech luxury… and to millions of people living scandalous, secretive lives.

Leda is haunted by nightmares of what happened on the worst night of her life. She’s afraid the truth will get out – which is why she hires Watt, her very own hacker, to keep an eye on all of the witnesses for her. But what happens when their business relationship turns personal?

When Rylin receives a scholarship to an elite upper-floor school, her life transforms overnight. But being here also means seeing the boy she loves: the one whose heart she broke, and who broke hers in return.

Avery is grappling with the reality of her forbidden romance – is there anywhere in the world that’s safe for them to be together?

And then there’s Calliope, the mysterious, bohemian beauty who’s arrived in New York with a devious goal in mind – and too many secrets to count.

Here in the Tower, no one is safe – because someone is watching their every move, someone with revenge in mind. After all, in a world of such dazzling heights, you’re always only one step away from a devastating fall…
The Dazzling Heights brought us back to the future! McGee immediately set the stage for another suspenseful read, by opening with another body, and I spent the whole book trying to figure out who it was.

I loved my second go-round with the inhabitants of the Tower, as they tried to keep what happened on the roof under wraps. Leda, Rylin, Watt, and Avery were all still dealing with Eris' death while they are also dealing with their own personal problems. It was interesting to see how the shared secret changed the dynamic between these four, and I have to say, I was really please and surprised by how it affected them.

Most of the characters experienced positive growth. They seized new opportunities, they changed their lifestyle, they mended fences, and they fell in love. McGee gave me a fantastic pairing, as well as some hope of a reconciliation for another pair. So, the romance lover in me was quite pleased.

I thought McGee upped her world game in this one too. We not only learned about the household gadgets, but we went outside, and got a little more of a view into that part of the Tower world. I was so enthralled with some of the devices these people had, and I kept wondering if we could get those invented now. They sounded so amazing. (Self-cleaning diapers anyone?)

I also thought we got to know the characters better. They shared a lot more with us in this book. Now I know more about what some of these characters hoped for in the future, how they felt about their pasts, and what they feared. I think developing the characters further was important, as we switched between the multiple POVs, and by doing this, McGee made them distinct for me.

I gather from the introduction of a new character, Calliope, and how her story ended, that there will be another book, which made me really happy. I love this book for what it is: a delicious, soapy, futuristic teen drama. Being a lover of all things CW, this was right up my alley. We had lies, deceit, and cut-throat antics, but with a futuristic twist.

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.








What is something you expect to find in the future?
Let us know in the comments!

12 comments:

  1. I tried the first book and couldn't get into it because of the multiple POVs. It's something that I unfortunately struggle with. I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed this sequel though. It's not always that you find a sequel better or as good as the first book.

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    1. I love multiple POVs. It's true when they say there are more than two sides to any story, and if done properly, it is very enjoyable. I have heard a lot of people say they do not like more than 2 POVs, but it's all good for me.

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  2. This one just sounds like total brain candy. :) Kind of like years ago when I read the Gossip Girl series. It was so much mindless fun. Good news that there will be another book, too!

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    1. I really is. I am a fan of the series, and I liked where McGee brought some of the characters' stories, which gave me that little something that I sort of need in a story.

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  3. This sounds really good. I am going to have to add this series to my list of books to get my hands on. Glad you enjoyed it!

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    1. Sometimes you just want to read something soapy and this one delivers that with the added fun of the futuristic setting.

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  4. Excellent review Sam! I can't believe book 2 is already out!

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    1. Thanks! I actually love when series have a new book every year. I am old, and forget stuff quickly. 😆

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  5. Yay! I really enjoyed the first book, and I was hoping this second one would be more of the same. Sounds like it might be even better!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. It was more of the same, but I also really liked what McGee did with certain characters. I am intrigued by the new addition as well, and look forward to seeing how she plays into the overall story in the next book.

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  6. We disagree for once! I wasn't a huge fan of the first book - too many POVs, some of which I didn't care about, and that weird sibling relationship.
    Jen Ryland

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    1. There are quite a few bloggers I follow that are not a fan of multi-POV books. They don't really like more than two, but for me, it worked in this story. I like getting into all the different heads and hearing their thoughts. Oh, the siblings were my least favorite part. They got very down-graded in the second book, which I was ok with.

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