AimeeKay Review: Monsters (Ashes Trilogy #3) by Ilsa J. Bick with Giveaway!

Series: Ashes Trilogy #3
688p.
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Available Now
Source: From Media Masters Publicity for Review

The Changed are on the move. The Spared are out of time. The End...is now. 

When her parents died, Alex thought things couldn't get much worse-until the doctors found the monster in her head. 

She headed into the wilderness as a good-bye, to leave everything behind. But then the end of the world happened, and Alex took the first step down a treacherous road of betrayal and terror and death. 

Now, with no hope of rescue-on the brink of starvation in a winter that just won't quit-she discovers a new and horrifying truth. 

The Change isn't over. 

The Changed are still evolving. 

And...they've had help. 

With this final volume of The Ashes Trilogy, Ilsa J. Bick delivers a riveting, blockbuster finish, returning readers to a brutal, post-apocalyptic world where no one is safe and hope is in short supply. 

A world where, from these ashes, the monsters may rise.

AimeeKay's thoughts:

*sigh* *double sigh* *triple sigh*

Sorry I’m moping. I’m still stuck in Bick’s world but there’s no more book about Alex, Tom and Ellie to read… *WAHHHH!*

Ok. Think I got that out of my system…at least enough to get on with the review.

First let’s start with Monsters, and then I’ll give my opinion on the series as a whole. Monsters is the final book in the trilogy and this series definitely goes out with a bang!

Monsters is written the same way that Shadows was, from multiple perspectives. This is good because you get to see how all of their stories end. I think if Bick had gone back to how she had written Ashes, solely from Alex’s point of view, there would have been just too much left out.

I had already fallen utterly in love with the series from the first and second books so it’s no surprise that Monsters pulled me in from the first page. The action keeps up throughout the book AND lots of questions are answered. I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. But it is as good as the first two. Bick even had me in tears by the end. (Nope not sayin’ why, just keep some tissues nearby when you read this one.)

One thing I do want to talk about though is how Bick handles the whole Chris/Alex/Tom thing. She blatantly has one of the characters confront the whole love triangle issue. I love how Bick has them say that if it was a book it would go a certain way, but because it is real life that it doesn’t. This series isn’t about a romance. It is about the characters; mainly Alex in the beginning, but eventually growing to encompass the rest of the characters as well. How they handle the end of their lives as they know them, how they grow and survive through it all. How they confront the monsters within themselves. Bick stays true to that throughout all the books and I like that she didn’t change it in Monster or throw in a love triangle to add to the drama. But she does have the humor to comment on the relationship between Tom, Alex and Chris and I just happened to really like the way she handled it.

The book doesn’t have a definite happily ever after. But I think the ending itself is solid and it gives the characters at least a bit of hope. I would eagerly devour any more books about Alex, Tom and Ellie, but it is a trilogy and therefore has to end with book three. I’m not happy there aren’t any more Ashes books to read, but I can live with how the author choose to end the books.

Now for my feelings on the entire trilogy. If you’ve already read my reviews of the first two books you probably saw this coming, but I LOVED this trilogy! Personally I like the fact that the author switched from just Alex’s POV to the multiple POVs in the second and third book. It gave me a chance to see what was going on with the other characters when they were separated from Alex and also to see how they handled their own confrontations with the monsters both inside and out of their own heads. I think the author did an amazing job of bringing all the stories together, some in some really surprising ways. I know I couldn’t wait to get to the next page just to see how she was going to bring everything together. There were parts that made me laugh and parts that made me cry and I still can’t believe that I’m already done reading all three books. I still think I should be reading more. Not because I feel anything was left out per say, but because I just got that attached to the characters.

I think this is an awesome set of books and that if you’re looking for a great read to definitely pick them up. I would recommend picking them all up at once so you don’t have to wait to read the next book. I also would recommend making sure you won’t be interrupted so you can fully enjoy them. Yes there is gore in the books, there is death and other serious subjects touched upon too, so don’t just go handing it over to your kids until you read it first. I know both my girls have enjoyed the series as much as I have and they are teenagers, but I didn’t give them to them to read until I had finished them. But you don’t have to be a teen or young adult to enjoy them.

To purchase a copy of Monsters:

* Barnes and Noble

* Amazon

* Indiebound

Bloggy Note:
Giveaway!
Media Masters Publicity is giving away one copy of this book! Just fill out the rafflecopter form below. US only giveaway.

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