Book Review: Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts

Title: Rage Within

Author: Jeyn Roberts
Series: Dark Inside, #2
Pages: 406
Publisher: Macmillan
Date of Publication: 30th August 2012
Source: Publisher*
Synopsis from Goodreads:
After the earthquakes came the infectious rage, turning friends into deadly enemies. For survivors Michael, Aries, Mason and Clementine the battle to stay alive is about to get even tougher. The new world is organising itself, with camps that promise protection for the uninfected. But the reality of the sites is far more sinister. Besides, nobody is safe from the rage within their own soul...

"The world may be broken, but hope is not crazy." ~ John Green 

My Thoughts:
Rage Within was very different to Dark Inside. It was still the same series, obviously, but the super frightening action of the first book was replaced by a more subtle and creepy undertone in Rage Within. The characters are hiding from the Baggers, and they risk their lives every single time they leave their safe house. You never know when one of them might get killed, or captured, and it makes for very tense reading. I found that towards the end I was glued to the pages to make sure they weren't captured or killed, as if I could do anything to change the words on the page.

I really liked characters, although there were definitely too many. I got confused more than once about who was who, and who was good and who wasn't, but I pushed through and eventually it got easier. I must admit, I remember next to nothing about Dark Inside which definitely didn't help, but once I'd read for a while it started to come back a little, even if it was only small details about each character. I'd definitely recommend a reread of Dark Inside before you start this!

My favourite character was Aries. She was badass. I liked that she took on a sort of leadership role in the group and I found myself looking forward to reading her chapters the most. I liked that she had her little breakdowns and that she didn't know exactly what she was doing, and that when she hit problems she did what she thought was right, even though often it wasn't the best thing she could have done. It showed that they are still teenagers, and despite them being in such an awful environment that has forced them to grow up, they still are vulnerable and scared out of their minds. There is hope though, and that was awesome to see. Even if it was just a small victory against the Baggers, there was hope for the future and that was the best thing ever.

Unfortunately, this book isn't without its faults. It got slow in the middle, although whether that was because of the book, or because of me, I don't know. I hit a bit of a reading slump in the middle of the book and it just wasn't doing anything for me to keep me hanging on and reading it. I put it down for a few days and read something else, and then when I went back to it I enjoyed it a lot more, so I'm sure it was just me. Also, I got so confused! So much happens, and there are so many characters, and at times I felt like I just couldn't be bothered to keep up with the story anymore... And then something would happen and I'd need to carry on just to make sure the characters survived!

Despite that, the book ends on a high. It's exciting, full of action, and the last hundred pages are definitely the highlight of the book. I'd definitely recommend to anybody looking for a (mostly) fast-paced, page-turning thriller, and I think that despite its flaws, this series really is one that must be read. So, go out and pick up copies of both the books if you haven't already, or get reading this one if you've read the first! It's not for wimps - it's exciting, unpredictable and sometimes terrifying, but with it's little glimmers of hope in a broken world, it is so, so worth it.

*Huge thanks to Macmillan for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. In no way has this affected my opinion of the book. 

I'm on the blog tour for this book! Head over to here for a post from Jeyn herself, talking about who she would cast if a film or TV show of Dark Inside were to be made!