REVIEW: The Dazzling Heights by Katharine McGee

The Dazzling Heights is the second book in this futuristic YA series fill of romance, angst, mystery a la Gossip Girl. 

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. She redeems herself and became, at least for me, a tad bit more likeable but she's not perfect by a long shot.

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? Still one of the most interesting characters for me but I have a feeling that the whole 'Nadia' deal is going to explode soon.

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. I feel bad for Rylin because she's got great potential but still keeps getting swept up into less than desirable circumstances.

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. I am SUPER over Avery and her tumultuous, forbidden relationship.  She comes across as immature and too annoying for me to connect with her.

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. The introduction of Calliope was an interesting twist. She's bound to keep causing trouble.

Overall, I was really satisfied with this book. It is engaging and had a superb cliffhanger of an ending. I can't help thinking that this would be a fun television series!

Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars

REVIEW: The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

A hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and dreams. Everyone there wants something…and everyone has something to lose...

Leda Cole - whose flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have touched.

Eris Dodd-Radson - whose beautiful, carefree life falls to pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart.

Rylin Myers - whose job on one of the highest floors sweeps her into a world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will this new life cost Rylin her old one?

Watt Bakradi - a tech genius with a secret: he knows everything about everyone. But when he’s hired to spy for an upper-floor girl, he finds himself caught up in a complicated web of lies.

 Avery Fuller - the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl who seems to have it all—yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have.

Amid breathtaking advancement and high-tech luxury, five teenagers struggle to find their place at the top of the world. Unfortunately, once at the top, the only way to go is down.  The Thousandth Floor is a futuristic Gossip Girl with a hefty dose of underage drinking, drug use, profanity, some domestic abuse, sexual promiscuity and allusion to a rape.  

Beautiful, eye catching cover.  

I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. The characters were interesting with enough of a well woven narrative full of good conflict, if a tad predictable. As expected, the superficiality of a few characters makes them difficult to stomach in large doses but work with the overall story. I enjoyed the world building of this all inclusive high rise and the idea of a class system beholden to the floor you live upon. 

The structure and cliff hanger of the ending remind me a lot of Big Little Lies. I'm intrigued enough to read book two: The Dazzling Heights.

Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars