Wither by Lauren DeStefano

 

In Rhine's world males live to the age of 25 and females live to be 20. For that reason, young girls are kidnapped and forced into marriage. This is what happens to Rhine along two other girls who will also be Linden's wifes. All that Rhine wants is to somehow escape to be with the only family she has left; her brother. She needs to find a way to escape, especially from Linden's father who is trying to find an antidote for the virus. Will she fall in love while trying to escape and will he help her?

I was a little bit surprised with this book. I wasn't expecting very much since it seemed like a typical YA dystopia with no world building and completely focused on the romance. I also wasn't sure how heavy the romance might be between Rhine and Linden but I was pleasantly surprised when it was barely there and leaning more towards friendship. I liked Rhine and Gabriel's relationship much better and this was one of the rare series where I actually cared who the main character ended up with (Gabriel!!!!). The love triangle didn't bother me since in a way it was forced on Rhine. The underage marriage did a little bit but I understand that its a dystopia and that the world could get tough like that someday.

The plot moved smoothly and I loved the relationships between the girls. There was almost no jealousy, except from Cecily a little. I like how close they all were to each other but it kind of creeped me out how they were all married to the same guy. It grossed me out really bad to how Cecily was only thirteen and she was pregnant. That was what made me really hate Linden. Overall I didn't really like him but going into the book I knew I wouldn't. Even if he didn't kidnap Rhine directly he was still a part of it and I hated how oblivious to it all he was.

The writing was super good. I really liked DeStefano's writing in her Perfect Ruin series and this was just like it. It seems lyrical and for some reason I just read through it really quickly. It just flows beautifully. I will honestly read anything by her!!!

I would recommend this series even though I only gave this one three stars. The last book is the best in my opinion so even if you didn't really like this one you should stick through it because it gets better!