This is the 2nd book in a series, friends. Spoilers from book 1 are floating about. Please read my review of Fury by Elizabeth Miles (book 1) or scroll all the way down to read my review on a post-it with non-spoilery thoughts.
Book Title/Author: Envy by Elizebeth Miles (The Fury Trilogy #2)
Publisher/Year: : Simon & Schuster- September 4th 2012
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Fiction
Series: Yes, this is book #2 in the series.
Other Books From Author: Fury by Elizabeth Miles (book one in this series)
Amazon| Goodreads | Elizabeth Miles’ Website
After the death of popular football star Chase & making a deal with the Furies so they didn’t harm her very best friend JD, Em thinks she’s dealt with the Furies for now so she pours herself into learning about them & why they might be in Ascension and tries to make amends with Gabby and a cold JD who is shutting her out. Meanwhile, the new girl in town, Skylar, has her own secrets. Now that she’s living with her grandmother, she’s free of her alcoholic mother and her perfect older sister and she can forge her own path to popularity and be everything her family never thought she’d be — at any cost. Luckily for Skylar, in addition to popular Gabby who has befriended her & helped her get the ins to Acension’s social scene, she’s got three beautiful sisters who want to help her out…or so she thinks.
I’ll start with this — Envy was fan-freaking-tastic and really made me love this series more! I always am nervous to start the second book in a trilogy for fear of the dreaded second-book-in-the-series syndrome. You know…where nothing really happens at all and it just sets up for the rest of the series. If I’m being honest, Envy, the sequel to Fury, unfortunately does have some symptoms of this Second Book syndrome but doesn’t necessarily fail because of it or SUFFER fully from it..for me at least.
Especially when compared with Fury, it seems like there isn’t much happening in this sequel. It just doesn’t have that same pacing or action that I personally felt with Fury. It also didn’t feel nearly as dark or creepy. That was one of the biggest things I loved about Envy — it was so dark and creepy and the Furies really were something out of a horror movie for me. Envy seemed like it was a lot more high school politics and Mean Girl-esque plotlines until the middle/end.
A lot of that “feeling like the sinister & dark factor wasn’t there” feeling was, I think, because the plotline with Em revolved around her researching and learning more about the Furies in the beginning with not too many appearances of them and a lot of the Furies BIG appearances that revealed things were from the middle to the end. And the new character Skylar, the new girl in town & the alternating point of view in this one, has a very catty and conniving role and her dealings with the Furies are very different than how we’ve seen them.
Envy makes up for the “symptoms” with its compulsive readability and some really great characters both new and old. Skylar, well she just BROUGHT the high school drama with her desperate need to fit in, be pretty and popular and get her way no matter the cost. Speaking of her, I really loved Skylar’s alternating point of view in contrast with Em’s. She was incredibly compelling though I wanted to bitch slap her for a good chunk of this book but it was evident as we learned more about her that there was more that meets the eye. I really loved her chapters to be honest. I couldn’t put them down. Em became a lot more likeable this time around and DREA. Love Drea!
Once I finished the book and was thinking about how it lacked the creep factor, I realized that, all along in the beginning, I DID feel kind of unsettled — like there was something eerie just lurking in the shadows. When I watched the Furies toy with Skylar, I just was sitting there waiting with bated breath knowing what kind of destruction they caused before on people’s lives. When Em was researching the Furies and things seemed calm to her, I was waiting for them to strike again and even more brutally. I was waiting for her to uncover something terrifying or unsettling. It’s what drove me to read faster and faster. So while the creepy factor may not have ultimately felt as intense in the beginning, it’s there! It just lingered throughout and them BAM..you better sleep with a nightlight on because IT GETS REAL. And the ending. OH MY. OH MY. Miles’ writes this in such a way that you just keep plowing through to find out WHEN the you know what will hit the fan.
But I will say, thumbs down to the whole Crow storyline. How random is he?
Envy is an excellent follow-up to Elizabeth Miles’ Fury. It’s poised to be read compulsively and has this underlying creepy tone that ebbs and flows but is more subtle through most of the novel when compared with Fury. It does have a slight case of Second-Book-Syndrome because there is a lot less that actually happens in this novel nor do we find out anything groundbreaking BUT this isn’t a second book that FULLY succumbs to the Second Book Syndrome. Definitely an underrated series I’d like to see more people pick up if they are looking for TRULY creepy and more horror-filled paranormal that breathes new life into the mythology based Furies but delicately so as it remains true to the vengeful nature of the Furies. It’s not preachy, it’s full of flawed characters whom you might hate but they become sympathetic when contrasted with the judgement the Furies are hellbent on bringing down on them for being just that — flawed people who make big mistakes. Oh HEY and it’s not all focused on a romance.
Let’s talky talk: Have you read this series? Interested in it? What are some other books you’ve read that deal with revenge and justice for wrongdoings?
Kate the Book Buff says
Hmmmm, I’ve been eye balling this series for a while….I may just have to dig in. Thanks for the great review and heads up that it is a smidge second book syndome-y. With that in mind I doubt I’ll be disappointed 🙂
-Kate the Book Buff
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Jamie says
Can’t wait to see what you think! I really liked it but I know a lot of people who didn’t because they couldn’t get past how unlikeable the characters were. I actually LIKED that part because you struggled to like them but contrasted with the Furies revenge..they became sympathetic because you realize they are flawed, flawed people but don’t deserve such revenge even though it’s hard to stomach what they did.
Kristen Evey says
Thank you for the spoiler warning! Sometimes I don’t like to read reviews for that reason. This is a series I’ve been looking at. Been meaning to give the first book a go. Love anything to do with mythology, and a re-imagining of the furies sounds fantastic.
Jamie says
Not a problem! I figure it’s a given that there will be spoilers for the first book in a review of the second book but I always like to give fair warning. Will love to hear what you think!
Lori says
I really enjoyed Fury and I’ve been a little wary of this one, just like you. I’m happy to see that you liked it! I need to get to it soon.
Jamie says
I think you’ll find Skylar (while irritating as shit) a great addition to the series and Em is so much more likeable this time around. Can’t wait to hear what you think!
Quinn @ Quinn's Book Nook says
I’ve not read this series, or even heard of it, but it seems really interesting. I will have to add it to my TBR list. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Jill Marie says
I have been considering this series for awhile. Although I do that with a lot of books!
This is a great review and I love your sticky note at the end!
It’s nice to know what to expect from the second book sometimes before I start a series. I too can be a little wary.
I’ll definitely be moving this up on my list!
Tiff- Escaping... One Book @ a Time says
I am so in need of this one!! It shares my birthday <3 I will never get sick of that lol That aside the entire series just sounds so good and I have had my eye on it for awhile. Despite the fact I have heard that it does have second book syndrome from more people than just you, the fact that you say it's creepy and flows well is a HUGE thing for me! Great review <3
Michelle says
I blew through FURY so quickly because I just *had* to know what happened. Unfortunately, I think I might I have read it a bit too quickly because details are definitely fuzzy. I’m afraid I’ll have to re-read it if I want to read its sequel. That being said, you make me want to re-read it just to get to the sequel! I am curious how Em is going to deal with her new-found knowledge.
michelle s. says
i’ve seen this book around the blogosphere a lot. never really stopped to read about it so i didn’t know it’s book 2. i gotta check out book 1…
Christa @ Hooked on Books says
I really enjoyed Fury but I’ve been nervous about starting this one (probably for the same reason you were!). Glad to hear the series still holds up! Although I am a little disappointed to hear that it’s not quite as creepy as the first. That was one of my favourite things about it!
Erika says
I might have to check out this series. I’ve heard a little about it but not much so thank you for the review. I will add it to my to read list:)
Lena @ I Love Books Club says
Interesting, for some reason i thought this book was the first book or a stand-alone novel….. boy was i wrong… Anyhoo i haven’t read that many books with mythology in it.. but this one sounds interesting… have you heard about Furious? http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15728219-furious
Caitlin E says
I’m super excited for this one. I LOVED Fury. Although I am not loving the new covers.
Nikki R says
This looks like a really good book!
Iffath says
Thanks for the great review! I looved Fury, but I wasn’t sure about the sequel–I know I definitely want it now! The horror especially intrigues me, LOL
Jasmine Rose says
Oh boy, this Crow character sounds annoying. I hate random offshoots in plot that make me go “why the heck is this even here?!”
It sounds like Envy will be lacking some of the things I loved in Fury (the creepy setting since now it’s Spring, the mystery, the eeriness, etc) but you seemed to have enjoyed it well enough, so I have high hopes still :]
Tara says
I’ve ben wanting to read this book, thanks for the great review! 🙂