Review: Tinkerbell and the Lost Boys
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 26, 2014
Prefacing this review to say that I did receive an ARC of this book. Because I won a copy by messaging Tracey with my favorite quote of Writing on the Wall, when I started reading, I couldn't help but start picking out my favorite quotes. I was really anticipating the sequel to Writing on the Wall, so much so that it almost turned into an obsession. Every few days, I would check Tracey's amazon page to see if anything had been released yet. That cliff hanger really got to me! Fair warning, there might be some spoilers ahead. I try to not be too spoiler-y but I get over excited.Backs Against the Wall starts up right where Writing left off, and the action doesn't really let up. Others might find the beginning a bit slow, where Joss is recovering from her fall. I didn't think it was slow in the aspect that it was boring, just a little more time for some character development, which I love. The addition of Trent is great IMHO. He's so creepy, and weird, I love it. Despite the fact that Joss is constantly threatening to kill him, Trent is one of her lost boys and I could just feel a weird friendship forming. Not to mention, Crenshaw makes an appearance again! He has to be one of my favorite characters, ever. There's something a little strange about him, but you can't dismiss someone like Cren either. I also really loved his interactions with Ryan. I felt very WTF like Joss, but it fit.Between The Colonies, the Hive (who have some characters deserving of an entire review themselves), and some reappearing characters from Quarantined (!!), Backs Against the Wall never lets up, but it doesn't let character development fall by the wayside. There are a lot of things I can say that I loved about this book, but my number 1 thing is Joss and Ryan's relationship. It felt so real, and not contrived at all. Ryan is respectful of Joss, which is so refreshing. It seems like there's an increasing amount of books where the male lead is controlling which is supposed to romantic. He wants to protect her (because it's in his nature) but respects that Joss is her own person and can make decisions for herself. I also loved that Joss didn't lose the sense of who she is. She still doesn't like to be around people, and she still feels a measure of uncomfortableness around Ryan. It's realistic, and I appreciate that so much.The writing is really clear and clean. Tracey's style flows very well which makes it easy to read. I am a fast reader but if words are choppy and dialouge stilted, it takes me sooo much longer to finish. I finished the last 75% in about 4 hours. There was never a time where I was confused what was going on, or had to reread because it didn't make sense.I really can't wait for the next in the series. Backs Against the Wall ends on a similar note that Writing did. Tracey really has a way with cliff hanger endings, all I can say. I'd definitely recommend the Survival series (and really all her books). My only gripe that the next one isn't out yet!