With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.
Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.
In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.
Review:
When we left off in the Chemical Garden Series, Rhine was back in the mansion, Vaughn was creepy and manipulating, Linden was vulnerable and sullen, Gabriel was far away, and Rhine's twin brother, Rowan, has been on a rampage while he's blinded by the pain Rhine's disappearance caused him. Rhine has been through hell and back time and time again, but now it seems like she's so far stuck in its fiery depths that there's no escape. She is in the hospital in Sever's beginning, recovering from harsh experiments conducted by her dear father in-law. The hospital is owned by Vaughn, so no safe haven seems so have appeared for her. It's sad to think about having no alternatives. In most of our lives, if something is bad, we can make a phone call or two and all will be resolved. We can run away from our issues so easily. What if , like Rhine, you couldn't run, but instead were just stuck? If your eyes couldn't stare at anything but a sterile white ceiling and you couldn't move your appendages because of the straps that bound them? Rhine showed the readers a really valuable point, I think. That is that a person who is stuck in something bad cannot always run, but instead can only resolve their issues and replace the bad with good if they face asperity straight on. Rhine is being tied down by threats from Vaughn and annoyance and, if you believe it, love for now-preggers once more Cecily, who I personally think gets on my nerves at moments more than any other character in the book. Anyway, Throughout the book the dynamic changes between many if the characters, including some that we haven't seen or gotten to know before this point. One of those is Vaughn's quirky and hilarious brother, Reed, who is a character I know every reader will adore. He is an inventor, an entrepreneur, and a misfit. For this, he is pretty much awesome. In some unusual circumstances--Linden helping Rhine run away again to find Rowan-- Rhine's and Reed's paths cross, and he treats her like the daughter he never had and never knew he wanted. Their personalities mesh in an endearing way that will captivate the readers. As the story progresses, Rhine has to deal with a lot of emotions. On one side, Gabriel is out there, some where, an still dear to Rhine. On the other hand, Linden is the epitome of sweetness an vulnerability, and without Gabriel there, Linden seems like the easy choice. But Rhine is nothing if not stubborn, doing anything to get what she wants. She finds Rowen against all odds and even helps him back to the brother she knew. I'm obsessed with the idea of twins, so seeing more twin action was fun. With some surprising twist and turns, the two reunite and have to make more crazy decisions. I won't give away the ending, but let me just say this: you will not see it coming. I give this read a 10/10 for going beyond my expectations and showing the readers a different side of the characters.
