Review: Until the Beginning by Amy Plum (ARC)

Title: Until the Beginning (After the End #2)
Author: Amy Plum
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins)
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
Amy Plum, international bestselling author of the Die for Me series, delivers a heart-pounding adventure perfect for fans of Michael Grant, Veronica Rossi, and Alexandra Bracken. Until the Beginning brings this duology to a stunning and captivating conclusion.

Juneau has been searching for her people and for answers . . . and she is about to find both in the exhilarating sequel to After the End, which Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the Legend series and The Young Elites, called "Wonderfully riveting."

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.

My Review

You can read my review of the first book, After the End, HERE.

I hate to say this about a book that I enjoyed at the time, but I remembered almost nothing about After the End when I started reading Until the Beginning. I recalled the premise, but I couldn't recall the character names or the whole of the situation. And unfortunately for me, Until the Beginning picks up right where book one leaves off.

I even considered DNFing the book because I didn't have time to reread the first book or play catchup. My fortitude paid off when, slowly, I was fed breadcrumbs that brought me back to the story. I may or may not have done some skimming because the alternating point of views were a little jarring, and not too much other than traveling happened in the first half of the book.

I know I say that I don't like a lot of tension in books, but it felt like there wasn't any in Until the Beginning. I don't know if it was my detachment or something in the writing, but I never felt like Juneau or Miles were ever in any danger. The stakes didn't seem that high, but then again, it was a long time before anything really happened other than seeing cars in the distance for so long.

If you haven't read After the End, I would highly recommend reading it and Until the Beginning back to back so you can enjoy the continuous story. I have no doubt that I would haved loved Until the Beginning even a year ago because Juneau's hippy-dippy, Yara-loving, nature-hugging ways were neat and made a lot of sense. Something was just lost for me.

- 3/5 Stars -

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To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received an advance copy of the book briefly for reviewing purposes through Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for an honest review. The book was likely provided to the tour by the publisher or author, which has in no way affected the outcome of my review. All opinions expressed are rambling, honest, and completely my own.