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jessica's Reviews > The Toll
The Toll (Arc of a Scythe, #3)
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the best thing about this book is the storytelling/writing. without a doubt.
shusterman is a genius with how he weaves each of the characters, old and new, having their paths flirt with each other until they finally intertwine. there are so many moving parts to the conclusion of this series that it feels like the reader is watching a puzzle being completed, with each piece slowing finding its home until the final result is realised. its just so masterfully done that i cant help but praise the writing and how the story is told (so much so that i want to round up my rating).
that being said, i have finally become tired of the story itself (luckily, its now over). i just think the novelty wore off after the second book and this installment is much longer and drawn-out than it needs to be, in my opinion. it also doesnt help that the reason i loved this story to begin with (citra and rowen and how they interact with each other) is not present for 95% of this novel. its a personal pet peeve when stories separate the main characters, so i just wasnt enjoying that aspect of the plot.
i do appreciate how everything is resolved and i think many fans of the series will like the conclusion but, unfortunately, i just felt a little less invested in this than i was at the beginning of the series.
� 3.5 stars
shusterman is a genius with how he weaves each of the characters, old and new, having their paths flirt with each other until they finally intertwine. there are so many moving parts to the conclusion of this series that it feels like the reader is watching a puzzle being completed, with each piece slowing finding its home until the final result is realised. its just so masterfully done that i cant help but praise the writing and how the story is told (so much so that i want to round up my rating).
that being said, i have finally become tired of the story itself (luckily, its now over). i just think the novelty wore off after the second book and this installment is much longer and drawn-out than it needs to be, in my opinion. it also doesnt help that the reason i loved this story to begin with (citra and rowen and how they interact with each other) is not present for 95% of this novel. its a personal pet peeve when stories separate the main characters, so i just wasnt enjoying that aspect of the plot.
i do appreciate how everything is resolved and i think many fans of the series will like the conclusion but, unfortunately, i just felt a little less invested in this than i was at the beginning of the series.
� 3.5 stars
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Reading Progress
November 4, 2019
– Shelved
November 4, 2019
– Shelved as:
to-read
Started Reading
November 9, 2019
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Finished Reading
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Stefanie
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rated it 4 stars
Nov 10, 2019 07:27AM
Recieved my pre-ordered copy this week and anxious to dive in! Love love love Shusterman's storytelling!
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stefanie - woohoo! i hope you enjoy it! happy reading! :)sarah - thank youuu!
IMO, Shustermans writing has such an amazing easy breezy flow- every time i look at the page number, i am shocked at how much I’ve read in so little time. That flow & his ability to make new people/ concepts/ events feel like... home... are the two main things that keep ME invested, and eager to read the new character POVs. Although, every time rowan or citra has shown up, I’m mentally jumping up & down on the furniture, haha. Im really loving it so far; I’m sorry you didnt have a better experience :-( ! That makes me so sad! Beautiful review, as usual, jessica 💛.
I just absolutely love reading what you have to say, always, without a doubt!
So thank you, for another little slice of happiness (even if it makes me sad that you didn’t get the read you’d hoped for, this time 😔).
awwww. i LOVE how much you love shustermans writing. im so happy to hear that reading his books is such a positive experience for you! <3
I am almost done and I feel the same.
good to know im not the only one!
I’m halfway through and so close to quitting. It feels so stagnant. I’m so disappointed cause I loved the first two books so much and love Neal’s writing.
yeah, with all the build up in the previous book, them not being even in the same area for 95% of the book really bummed me out.
Same thoughts! It took me 6 weeks to read this bc I got bored after 300 pages. Too many new characters that I didn’t care about and way too many stories to follow.
Agreed. The book definitely could have been shorter.
I was Trying to figure out why I wasn’t as into it as much as the others when I read your review and you nailed it.
Oh and hear me out, citra and rowan escape but oh no, citra dies and rowan is separated from her AGAIN
That’s true. I got so frustrated when Citra and Rowan were separated again. Rowan couldn’t catch a break, honestly.
Pretty accurate review. I've just finished it. I absolutely loved the first two books. Especially Thunderhead and I also very enjoyed The Toll but agree that it was rather dragged out in places and longer than it needed to be. A couple hundred pages shorter probably would have worked I think. Although the character of Grayson Tolliver was always my favourite to read about and there was plenty of him in this one obviously so overall I enjoyed it. Looking forward to the movie franchise!
I fully agree with you!! I’m glad the story is over. I loved the first 2 books but the last book was just so unnecessary drawn out. The ending was absolutely disappointing for me.
Yesss there was literally no Citra and Rowan content at all
You said everything! That’s it!
To be honest this was my favourite book of the series because of its intricate storylines. Shusterman does an incredible job linking the them together in the end. I guess you could argue that it could have been plotted faster. What I don’t understand is some commenters said that Rowan is separated from Citra but really I didn’t think so because it looks like they reunited at the last sentence of the book.
Yeah I like this review and agree with it, I wish there was more interactions between Rowan and Citra :(
You said everything in this review I wanted to say, and we had the same rating. I definitely wanted more Citra-Rowan action... I feel like we didn't get to see into their relationship except when they were in danger. I wish we could have seen it develop more.
yes! this is exactly how i feel. ever since the end of the first book it felt like citra and rowan never had any interaction and that was my favorite part too
