Unleashed by Sophie Jordan Series: Uninvited #2
Published by Harper Teen
Published: February 24th 2015
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Unleashed, the romantic, high-stakes sequel to New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's Uninvited, is perfect for fans of James Patterson's Confessions of a Murder Suspect.
Davy has spent the last few months trying to come to terms with the fact that she tested positive for the kill gene HTS (also known as Homicidal Tendency Syndrome). She swore she would not let it change her, and that her DNA did not define her . . . but then she killed a man.
Now on the run, Davy must decide whether she'll be ruled by the kill gene or if she'll follow her heart and fight for her right to live free. But with her own potential for violence lying right beneath the surface, Davy doesn't even know if she can trust herself.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
As someone that loved Uninvited and found it a really thought-provoking book, I was really excited for Unleashed. But after reading the book I have a lot of mixed feelings on it and I’m not sure how to react to them. On one hand I felt really cheated and almost tricked into reading this book and on the other hand, I actually liked the story on its own, but not part of the duology. It confused me and unsettled me. I wanted to love it and yet I couldn’t but I also couldn’t hate it. See…mixed feelings.
(I apologize for spoilers on Uninvited as I have to reveal some of that story in order to explain Unleashed. You’ve been warned.)
Unleashed continues with the story of Davy, a girl that has been marked as a murder by the government and her genetic makeup. But Davy isn’t just named a murderer, she is one. She has taken a life to save the life or her love Sean before they escaped the camp they were held in along with Sabine and Gil. Now on the run and in hiding, Davy struggles with the fact that she has taken a life and become what she was told she was. Although she is pulling away from everyone they decide to go to Mexico for safety. When the plan doesn’t go so smooth Davy ends up separated from the group and is found by a different group and one of their mysterious leaders Caden. As Davy learns more about these people and Caden she is torn between staying and finding her friends. But with a war outside and people, she doesn’t trust inside she isn’t sure which is safer.
Sadly this felt like a 3rd book, not the conclusion of a duology. Click To Tweet
Where to start. I guess the best place is with the fact that I really loved Davy and Caden’s story. I enjoyed it and liked them together whether as friends or something more. They had a chemistry that I liked a lot. I liked how they didn’t immediately have a friendship or jump into a relationship or even like each other immediately. Their relationship grew and formed something that seemed true. I loved that. What I didn’t love about it? It was part of this story.
When it comes down to it my problem with Unleashed wasn’t giving Davy a new guy. It wasn’t even that I felt like I was reading the 3rd book and not the 2nd book. It was the fact that I was drawn in to love Sean in book one. I got to know him and care for him and like him and Davy as a couple. But he was written out most of book 2 and I just don’t understand why. Why did I invest my time in this guy that was just shoved aside for something different? I wanted to see them work through their problem or not. I wanted to see Sean see that Davy was struggling and why. Instead, we didn’t get that chance and when it comes down to it that is why I felt cheated. I felt like I was reading the beginning of a new series and not the conclusion of a duology.
Basically, Davy and Caden do have an amazing story that I 100% would have loved if it were in a different book. Unleashed reminded me a lot of the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi in which the love interest is written a certain way to easily dismiss him. It bothered me and left me feeling downright upset about a book I had previously been really excited for.
I really liked Uninvited too and even though I haven’t gotten to Unleashed yet I was excited to see what happened. Writing Sean out of the story completely is definitely strange and I would not have expected that. I’ll probably still pick this up at some point, but I’ll keep my expectations low.
I was so very excited for Unleashed and when I was reading it I was just waiting for Sean. I mean we fell in love with him in book one and I felt bad that he was just kind of kicked out. I enjoyed the book but was disappointed. Your review mirrored my thoughts exactly. Thank you for sharing.
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