*70 pages in* I'm totally there, man. I'm there. <3

*100 pages in* I didn't reread The Archived before starting this one and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get into it as quickly. It's just so familiar and I love the characters so much. There's one little thing that's niggling at me, and it's not really little but it is a THING. There's a lot of offhand comments about Mackenzie's mother's therapist that maybe she doesn't have her best interests at heart, or that she's only looking for a payday. That's quite dangerous to project in a book, particularly if it's aimed at young adults. I'm hoping that it'll be unpacked or addressed at some point.

*100 pages left* No clue what's going to happen or how it's going to be resolved. The love story is freaking ADORABLE but I am SO STRESSED.

*40 pages left* It's all kicking off. I have no idea how this is all going to get fixed.

*30 pages left* I swear there better not be a cliffhanger at the end of this. I can't deal.

*20 pages left* How can there be another plot twist?!

*Finishes* Huh.

It's taken me an entire day to compose my thoughts into some semblance of order. Absolutely loved it and it didn't disappoint. I've been putting off reading it since it came out and I think it's because I didn't want to be let down after The Archived. But it was so familiar to me. I was worried it would rehash Book 1 but it doesn't. Mackenzie is dealing with PTSD and everything that happened in the last book. I wish it had been longer and hadn't wrapped up so quickly but it didn't take away from my experience. I had an issue with the demonising of therapy but it was addressed with the introduction of Mackenzie's therapist. You see her anxiety over it and her reluctance to engage but because we have such a different representation it showed that there isn't just one type and yes, there are people who would take advantage but more so than that there are people who genuinely want to help.

I'm really going to miss this world.