Review: Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on April 10, 2013 | 16 Comments


Review: Shades of Earth by Beth RevisShades of Earth by Beth Revis
Series: Across the Universe #3
Published by Razorbill (1.15.2013)
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 369 pages
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon


5 Stars

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.

But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.

My thoughts

Caution: Possible spoilers for the previous books!

It’s strange to have this series come to an end. To be honest, there aren’t many series I’ve actually seen all the way through (seriously, I can count them on one hand), so it’s not a feeling I’m used to! (I have some serious series commitment issues O_O) But this was a perfect conclusion to a fabulous sci-fi trilogy!

The best part: Centauri-Earth! EEP! We finally get to see it! And after the crazy cliffhanger in book 2, I was dying to set foot on the new planet. And the talk of monsters was super intriguing. I don’t want to give too much away, so I won’t go into depth on that. But it was awesome! Like, Jurassic Park meets Avatar awesome. The world was a foreign and unwelcoming place! I definitely wasn’t disappointed.

And of course, more secrets! Just when you think the crap can’t get any deeper, it does. Beth has a way of kicking your feet out from under you. Expect the unexpected, and don’t believe anything you’ve been told!

The relationship between Elder and Amy is just as complicated as it was in A Million Suns. It’s hard to tell where they stand with each other sometimes, despite the fact that it’s obvious they’re crazy about each other. At times I wanted to knock their heads together! Not to mention there was a new male in Amy’s life to complicate things even more: Chris. First of all, let me state that I did not like or trust him right from the start. I couldn’t pinpoint why (okay, I had my suspicions), but I just didn’t. And I turned out to be right…surprise, surprise! Always trust your instincts ;) Plus I felt bad for Elder when Amy was interacting with Chris, even though I don’t think he really ever had a real reason to be jealous.

By the way, I cried. Hard. Snot and everything. Toward the end, there’s a major sacrifice made by a certain character that will remain unnamed, and OH MY GAWD YOU GUYS. Beth, how could you?! You ripped my heart right out of my chest!!! But the end. Ahhhhhh. That is all I shall say. *sigh* I forgive you, Beth. I forgive you. (Can you pleeeaase make another series?!)

Overall assessment

Plot: 5/5 
Writing style: 5/5 
Originality: 5/5 
Characters: 4.5/5 
World-building: 5+/5 
Pace: 5+/5 
Cover: 3/5 
I don’t really like the new covers…

Overall rating: 5/5 starfish

Previous books

across universe million suns
Click cover for my review

Jessi (Geo)

Posted in: Book Reviews | Tags: , , , , ,

Subscribe to Novel Heartbeat to get more posts like this!

16 responses to “Review: Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

  1. HOLY COW. Now that I have this book I expect greatness. Which I’m sure I’ll get. AACK. I need to start this now. Beth is a crazy amazing person [which I’m sure you know from meeting her!] and she rocked my world with ATU and AMS, though YES that was a terrible cliffhanger. GAH. Authors that can do that to me have my complete annoyance and respect. [Like Rick Riordan]. Oooh! This should be our first Nator Discussion. :D Hehe.

    OFFF TRACK. *drill sargent alias pushes Inky back in line* ANYWAY. I’m so glad you loved it. Now I’m gonna have to find space for this one soon.

    <3333 Inky

  2. Eek I want to read this one so bad now!! I need to find it at my library soon! Also, Centauri-Earth sounds so imaginative and creative and just simply breathtaking!

    Now I’m really scared for the ending O_O I’m not an emotional reader so I don’t know if I’ll cry buti m sure I’ll be freaking out nonetheless.

    Fantastic review Jessi!

  3. Kelly

    Chris gave me the creeps too! I don’t know why, but it just felt like something was off about him. And that ending, ugh, my poor heart! I’m so glad you enjoyed this one; it felt like Revis took years planning how best to give us whiplash from all of the twists and surprises!

  4. Molli Moran

    5/5?! YAY! I hope you don’t mind I skimmed this one – I’ve yet to start this trilogy, but I wanted to see what you rated it. :) I’m encouraged you liked it so much, Jessi! I’m planning to read the first book this year. (I don’t like the new covers, either.)

    Molli | Once Upon a Prologue

    • That’s okay, I totally get it! I tend to look at reviews just to see the overall feeling toward the book if I haven’t read it :)
      I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

  5. Yup, officially expecting a lot from this series now. From all the positive reviews, I really hope this doesn’t disappoint! I agree with the new covers, they look so boring and plain. Ergh. And the thought that they changed them at the last book just infuriates me *angry face* At least I didn’t buy these books, otherwise I’d go nuts. :/

    • It’s pretty amazing, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! (If you like sci-fi, that is)
      I despise cover changes. I really do. Especially when I’ve already bought the first book! *coughcoughShatterMecough*

  6. Jordon @ Miss Book Reviews

    Eek I loved this book! It definitely was a great end to a really awesome series! I have to hand it to Beth Revis for being able to create a whole new world and new characters in the last book. I’m going to miss this series!

    Miss J @ Miss Book Reviews

Leave a Reply to Jordon @ Miss Book Reviews Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.