Review: The Dazzling Heights

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:

Author: Katharine McGee

Publication date: August 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Mystery

Punctuation: 4/5

PREMISE:

"All that glitters is not gold.

New York City, 2118. Manhattan is home to a thousand-story supertower, a breathtaking marvel that touches the sky. But amid high-tech luxury and futuristic glamour, five teenagers are keeping dangerous secrets…

Leda is haunted by memories of what happened on the worst night of her life. She’ll do anything to make sure the truth stays hidden—even if it means trusting her enemy.

Watt just wants to put everything behind him…until Leda forces him to start hacking again. Will he do what it takes to be free of her for good?

When Rylin wins a scholarship to an upper-floor school, her life transforms overnight. But being there also means seeing the boy whose heart she broke, and who broke hers in return.

Avery is tormented by her love for the one person in the world she can never have. She’s desperate to be with him…no matter the cost.

And then there’s Calliope, the mysterious, bohemian beauty who arrives in New York determined to cause a stir. And she knows exactly where to begin.

But unbeknownst to them all, someone is watching their every move, someone with revenge in mind. After all, in a world of such dazzling heights, just one wrong step can mean a devastating fall."

REVIEW:

What do you do in the second book when you’ve killed off the best character on the first one? You write her ex-girlfriend's revenge. Honestly, I’m all for that premise but why turn Mariel into the villain? Even if Leda is one of the main characters, she can be a villain too, she did it very well through the end of the first book and the beginning of this one. I don’t like how the author is trying to convince us that Leda is a good person when she is literally blackmailing people (amongst those her supposed best friend) to keep her secret. What’s her secret? She killed Eris, yeah, we are told multiple times it was a mistake, that she didn’t mean to kill her but she’s still blackmailing people...

Anyway, besides this missed opportunity this book was pretty good. We get Calliope who brings the sassiness that Eris brought on the first book. Calliope and her mom are Golddiggers that hide their identity and go from country to country tricking a rich man into gifting them with expensive lifestyles and jewelry. I loved the scene where they tricked a hotel manager into letting them stay for free, though I know that scene if form a movie (I don’t remember the name if you do please comment it, Jennifer Love Hewitt is in it). I fell in love with Calliope, I wanted her to succeed. However, other characters I didn’t like all that much; Leda, for obvious reasons. Avery, I didn’t absolutely hate, I enjoyed her arch and the moments she was happy were great to read and surprisingly I found her jealousy relatable, I usually hate jealous people in books but when she explained why she felt like that I found myself understanding her. Watt is a pretty good character, I find his flaws to give him depth, however when he started falling for Leda… I wanted those chapters to end fast.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Just like the first one, it was a fast read because it was full of drama and the tinge of mystery kept me going during long chapters. I found the ending (don’t worry NO SPOILERS) to be uncomfortable but that’s because the author intended it that way. That said the book as a whole is fun and light. For those who liked reading The selection series, Anna and the French kiss, and obviously the first book (The thousandth floor) you’ll like this one. And if you haven’t read any of those, it’s similar to Gossip Girl, Elite, and Pretty Little Liars.