Fever by Lauren DeStefano

I have this pet theory. My theory states that in a trilogy, the middle book or movie is always the weakest. In most cases, the first book which covers the beginning of the over arching plot and the last book which covers the overarching climax and wrap up are better paced and written. Middles in narratives are notoriously difficult to write so the middle book in a trilogy often struggles a bit. Usually it's an issue of pacing and the individual climax of the book gets muted and lost in events that build the overall plot. Sometimes it is a big issue. Sometimes it is just a small matter of degree.

I go into all of this because it is rare for me to rate a middle book in a series higher than its predecessor. I rated Fever higher than Wither. I suspect now that source of my lackluster review for Wither  is sourced here. Something about it didn't quite pop. I'm not sure now what it was, but despite being a good premise, with a solid protagonist, and good writing, it just didn't quite come together.

Fever doesn't have that problem. In some ways it is a weaker storyline. However, DeStefano tackles a number of problems introduced in the first book. First, she spent so much time developing the sister-wives and characters in the mansion that it felt strange to discard them all for the rest of the series. From the beginning of fever, I was on the lookout for Rhine's return to the mansion in Florida. Frankly, I kind of dreaded it because her escape was such a goal in Wither. The only way I could see her going back was another kidnapping and that gets old. Thankfully that isn't what happens.

Second, this whole twin business. We know that Rhine has a twin in the first book but we never meet him. However, he does provide a rather compelling reason for her to be despite to escape such a pleasant captivity. At least on the surface. In Wither, Rowen, the twin, is a kind of non character. He is defined almost entirely by Rhine's desire to get back to him. Which is fine if he never shows up in the narrative. The moment Rhine escapes, it becomes clear the Rowen is going to be a focus in Fever and will need better development. While still mainly in his absence, Rowen's character gains depth over the course of the novel and it's not entirely sunny.

Third, DeStefano toys with the idea of an unreliable narrator when Rhine gets severely ill. It can be annoying when a character spends a third of the book half-delirious. DeStefano pulls it off though and mainly because Rhine never becomes truly unreliable and holds on to a sense of what is real. All of this serves to deepen the idea of Vaughn, the house master, as a villain. He goes from sinister in Wither to downright vile in Fever. In the process, the lack of apparent surveillance in Wither is explained even though it's never even raised as a question in the first novel.

On the negative, Rhine's relationship with Gabriel is a bit of a mystery to me. I never really buy it in Wither and it gets more seemingly ambivalent in Fever. This doesn't present too much of a problem but it tears down any sort of apparent love angle. It really seems more like a relationship of mutual reliance. If anything, it almost seems like Rhine loves Linden after all.

Over all, a better read with excellent pacing but extremely grim.