Monument 14: Savage Drift (Monument 14 Series, 3)

This book was SO predictable.I predicted a tense, tight plot: bingo!I predicted that it'd be a page-turner: check!I predicted that strong characters would steal my heart: tada!Are there no dull boring plot-writers left in this world? *Sigh* I suppose I will have to succumb to the mind-blowing, gut-wrenching aftermath of reading a fantastic book. My emotions are in upheaval.If you haven't figured it out yet, I loved Savage Drift. It was just as strong as the first two M14 books and I expected nothing less from Laybourne.This time, we followed Dean and Josie's points of view (POVs.) At first I was hesitant entering Josie's head. I wasn't sure how it would fit with my current view of her. But it worked. In fact, it worked really well. I never once, in all three books or POVs, got confused as to who's head we were in. That's tough to pull off with first-person.Josie's story broke my heart. At one point, a character refers to the "O Camps" as a concentration camp, and that's almost what it was like. Her struggles with figuring out who she was internally -- monster or human -- were realistic and bittersweet. I especially loved how she saw God work. She kept praying and praying for a sign that she should end her life. Almost wanting confirmation that it was okay for her to give up and die. Finally, frustrated with His silence, she prayed for a sign that she shouldn't end her life. A sign that she should keep fighting.And that's when He answered.It was sweet. It was perfect. And it completely fit.Dean's POV was also gripping, even though we've been with him through all three books. A favorite part about Savage Drift was watching him grow up. Dean became such a leader in this book, which was a true miracle when you think back to who he'd been at the start of this whole story.Okay, we've established the characters are strong.Now, what about the plot? Weren't we all happy and safe at the end of book two?Well, not all of us. Josie! We had to rescue Josie! Not just that, but Astrid's about to pop out a baby and that's a scary thing for a seventeen-year-old to handle, especially when the government is kidnapping pregnant women.I never got bored with this book. I read it in a day. I admit, when I first picked it up I thought it would be hard to make the plot as tight or interesting as the first two. But Savage Drift gets into the government's reaction to all the chaos. What are they doing about it? What are they hiding? And what are all these experiments they keep stealing people for?CONS:Please keep in mind that these cons are based on my subjectivity and my preferences. I share them in the hopes that they will help other readers with similar interests know what to expect.There was some violence I could have done without. You know, ripping out guts by the handful and repetitive stabbing. That sort of thing. Also, certain steps of intimacy bother me in YA books. A couple has sex, but the writing is not gratuitous. I just don't like the message that sixteen-year-olds should sleep together if they're in love.Overall, the book was fantastic. The entire series has left me impressed. And what a sweet ending! I won't give anything away, but it concluded everything that needed to be concluded and left me sad to say goodbye, but fully satisfied. I recommend it for older teens and up.I rate this a four star mostly because I'm a pretty tight stickler with that five-star rating. A five-star book needs to blow my mind in ten million different directions and then stick with me forever. Savage Drift just blew it in one million. ;) If Amazon had half star ratings, I'd give it a 4.5

Review - Monument 14: Savage Drift5 out of 5 gnomesNow this has definitely been a great series. I loved the world, tone, and characters of these books. You have deadly serious moments mixed around with moments of hope and even some laugh out loud moments. This ending was fitting and also non-depressing which alone in my view gives this book a plethora of gold stars/awesomeness.I really like having the chapters from both Dean and Josie’s points of view. They are in different places both physically and mentally and both their journeys are crazy. Dean really grows over the course of the series and especially this book. Josie has to pretty much find her way back to being able to care again and her journey is enough to drive anybody insane.There is a love triangle but it has an actually understandable resolution and doesn’t feel shoehorned in like some triangles do. These teens all do a lot of growing up in this book. Dean and Josie probably grow the most as characters.It’s all about family, finding family and or making a family out of who you have left. There are plenty of scary situations and some rather surprising twists in the story. All these characters have big personalities and there is no drought of conflict.I thought this was a very fitting end to the series because not every question is answered so this makes it so you can only imagine what’s going to happen next to this world.Overall a superb and intriguing story of survival. I highly recommend this series because you'll find yourself drawn into this story and caring so much about all of the characters.

I can't believe it is over. I'm not ready to say goodbye to these characters. They were just perfect even the ones I wasn't so fond of (Jake). I was impressed the way in concluded because it wrapped everything up nicely. Most of all the story lines were covered and it left a little bit open so you could use your imagination. I wish there was more but unfortunately their story is done. The characters I will miss the most is Dean and Max. We didn't get too much of Max in this book but he was such a big personality that it will be hard to forget him. I loved the added touch of Jocie's point of view because her story line was fantastic and fascinating. It was so different from the others. I have been looking for a story that pulls you in this since I read the Gone series and now I have finally find one. I just can't get over how thrilled I was with this series. I did decide read each book a different way. The first book I read on my Kindle. The second book I read the paperback and the third book I listened to on Audible. I have to say that the narrator did a great job. He captured the emotions and voice of both Dean and Jocie.

This the third, and last, book in Emmy Laybourne's "Monument 14" series is thrilling, exasperating, heartening and disappointing. You can throw in realistic too, if you like. Thrilling because the several heroes face adversity and win out, exasperating because their victory is not complete. Other characters that are met along the way linger in limbo as the central characters celebrate their success in the last scene. That last chapter is heartening because of that signal victory, but the book disappoints at times when the "heroes" don't measure up to previous perceptions of them. In a nutshell: their human frailty is exposed. That is where the realism comes to the fore. The central figures have faults and need help, they change from tough and strong to weak and fickle in the turning of a chapter. Those weaknesses gnaw at you. Sometimes a "hero" should just be heroic, right? For all it's foibles this trilogy is well worth reading, with a story and characters that will stay with you long after you have finished the last page.

Third and final book in the 'Monument 14' series of young adult novels. A post apocalyptic story of a group of teenagers and younger children trying to survive in the wake of huge natural disaster.There is an opening section which serves, in a rather neat manner, as a reminder of what came before in the first two books. Whilst it might be useful exposition if you've not read those this still wouldn't really be a good jumping on point. Start with  Monument 14 (Monument 14 Trilogy 1)  instead.The recommended reading age of these would remain at fourteen. As, with the earlier two books, there is violence and disturbing moments and some mild adult references.This volume runs for three hundred and thirty seven pages. It's divided into forty seven chapters, plus that opening section and an epilogue.We pick up from the end of book two, with nearly all the characters in a refugee camp. Where life isn't too bad. But where there are rumours about pregnant women disappearing. And the government is seemingly very interested in testing them. Which doesn't help Astrid's mood. Nor does the fact that Dean and Jake are still butting heads.Josie, meanwhile, is in another camp. For those with her blood type. Because of what they can now do. This is not a nice place.When Niko discovers where she is, he wants her back. Can they all survive to be reuinted?And what are the drifts that the government denies exists?.....This one only has two viewpoint characters. Dean and Josie. The narrative jumps between them in alternating chapters. Since the focus is largely on getting Josie back, and worries over Astrid's pregnancy, it means those two plus Dean and Jake and Niko take the lion's share of the narrative. The others not getting too much of a look in.It's a longer book than the first two. And it does take about a hundred pages to really get going. Although this section is still pretty good reading. As it's very convincing in showing the setting, and the fact that this kind of thing can bring out both the very worst and the very best in humanity.Once the rescue mission is on, it really does get going. As Josie has a lot of problems. And the journey to get to her isn't an easy one either.The Jake Dean Astrid situation is superbly written. The behaviour of the characters all being so very believable.As with book two it again manages to ramp up the tension and really keep the pages turning rapidly by rapid cross cutting between the two narratives towards the end.This just doesn't quite manage five stars though because, in addition to the taking a little bit to get going, one item of plot that is tantalisingly dangled in front of the reader throughout never quite gets the resolution that it could do.But those are just two minor complaints. Because whereas some series can have great first books and then feel a bit stretched out to a third, this never has that problem. And the epilogue is very good, with just the right amount of closure to get the right emotional reaction from the reader.A decent wrap up to an excellent series. Monument 14 (Monument 14 Trilogy 1)

Dean, Alex, Astrid, Niko, Jake, Sahalia, Chloe, Batiste, Max, Ulysses, Caroline, and Henry are in Quilchena refugee camp. Josie is still missing, or dead. Niko searches for her name and face everywhere he goes. Then, he finds her. She’s with Mario. But she’s being held against her will. They must join forces to get to her...Meanwhile, Josie simultaneously finds out about the Monument 14 gang. She believes they aren't looking for her, as they think she is deceased. Josie is with Mario in a type “O” containment camp. Life there is rough, there’s very little food and medical care, and she has to pass by a corridor of men every morning and night...Dean is fairly content with life at Quilchena, there’s food, water, medical care, a clean place to sleep, and a place to shower. And they're mostly all together. But not all is as it seems. Astrid hears rumours that pregnant O’s are being taken while they sleep. Astrid has a hard time convincing anyone, but eventually she gets through to them. But will they be able to escape the soldiers that are there for her?I have been waiting eight months for Savage Drift to be released. And I'm only slightly disappointed about it. I don't know what, but there seemed to be something missing throughout, I can't pinpoint it, but it's there.There are two POV's which are Josie's and Dean's. I am not a huge fan of multiple POV'S but it seems to work for this series. They are both easy to separate, knowing what's going on with each person without getting muddled, possibly because the scenarios are so dissimilar to each other.The first part is pretty slow, but then it recovers and goes faster. Savage Drift is written fairly well, although I didn't like the exclamation marks, which were randomly added to add emphasis on irrelevant points.---THIS SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS---Also, I found no references to God in the main body, but there is some in the epilogue. Seen as it was left out of the main body, I don't see why it had to be included in the epilogue. And that the ending was lame. I mean, c'mon! Basically all their families were reunited. Just get lost, that's not what would happen!Niko has left Astrid and Dean and is making his way to Josie...Dean and Astrid are making their way to Niko's family's farm. But on the way they are alerted to an unexpected item in the boot, a toddler names Rinee who is the child of the mother who was killed and they must take her back. But when they do Astrid vomits all night, and Dean takes her to hospital, but a MORS drift occurs, and he blacks out. He wakes up in an ambulance on the way to USAMRIID...“I want you to know something.”“What?”“I love you,” she says. Her eyes close and tears leak out of the corners. “I just want you to know that”Josie is in the USAMRIID facility, and she wants to get out. They want to do a spinal tap. But Josie knows the odds aren't looking good for her if she does. She is then bribed, and Niko is brought to her, and they rekindle...He kisses me hard and we lie back on the bed. We are kissing and crying and I am learning that bodies can express what words cannot. I see his hands are shaking as he lifts his shirt over his head. Mine are, too, as I unsnap my thin blue gown. The air makes my skin prickle in goose bumps, then Niko lies down on me and our bodies warm each other. We melt together.His hands are tentative at first, but we find our way.I really liked this book, and the whole series to be exact, with an average of 4.83 for all three (not including the novellas). And I most certainly recommend for you to read!

Great book to read

This is the third book in a trilogy. As with the others in the series, this is simply written and is packed full of action and drama. There are some unbelievable bits yes, and I'd say it's more aimed at the teen market than the adult market reading YA books, but it was still very enjoyable. I liked how they focussed on different characters and there was a good development of key characters. Like a said a little rushed in places but overall a good end to the trilogy and an easy read.

This series of book are the best money can buy. I loved every minute from start to finish and when I realised I'd finished the last book I nearly cried... They take you on a roller coaster of emotions and give your imagination endless plots for the story to take. I definitely recommend these books and I also think Emmy laybourne is an amazing author.