REVIEW: SHADES OF EARTH BY BETH REVIS

Note: If you haven't finished the series and don't want to be spoiled, do not read this review. I tried not to give away any major plot points but it was impossible not to have any spoilers at all.

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceshipGodspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience. 

But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing. (Summary via Goodreads)

Can I just start off by saying; what is up with the cover change?! Man, I hate it when they do that. Not that I have anything against this cover, it just DOESN'T MATCH. Okay, I'm over it. Phew.

I started reading this the moment I finished A Million Suns, and for the final book in the trilogy it did not disappoint. It was a slight shock to move so quickly from the familiar walls of Godspeed to a completely new and interesting planet, but Revis handled this so well and the world-building was brilliant. I could picture in my head exactly what Centauri-Earth looked like. 

By this book, we are so familiar with our main characters that its great to read them again, but this book also provides a refreshing change of pace and some new (long awaited) faces. I loved reading the conflict between Amy's father and Elder. I thought it was amusing but intriguing at the same time to see how they reacted to one another. I also loved how we got to see different parts of both Amy's and Elder's personality, especially seeing Elder's jealous streak. I loved how their relationship developed and finally it became clearer to both of them what they wanted. Also...it gets a bit steamy.

The mystery of GodSpeed and Centauri-Earth only gets deeper in this book, bringing information forward that makes you question everything you learned in the last two books. It was actually slightly frustrating, I got so desperate just to finally know the truth and I can only imagine how Elder and Amy must of been feeling. This one is much more action packed than the previous two, and there were so many more close calls for both of our main characters, which put me constantly on edge worrying about their safety. One thing I've learnt about Beth Revis after reading this series is that she is not afraid to kill off a character, and I realised this pretty early on. Baring this in mind, I still did not expect the ending. For some reason, I had it my head that everyone was going to make it out safely and would live happily ever after and so on. So when the final chapters took place, they shook me and I literally cried my eyes out until the end where the final twist takes place and then I cried my eyes out even more. The final dialogue in the book really got me, and if you've read it, you'll know what I mean. I'm not going to quote it as I think that'll probably spoil it!

I'm sad this series is over, and by the ending there is definitely a lot of potential for more. I would happily read anything set in this world, whether it be a prequel or another sequel. In fact, after this series I would happily read anything that Beth Revis puts out next, sci-fi or not. I absolutely loved this series and I will definitely be re-reading it some time in the future.